Our Week - The One with Jacob’s National Junior Honor Society Induction and Prepping for My Trip to NYC

I was in New York City for the majority of last week, so I’ll be recapping that later, but in the meantime, I’m recapping the rest of our week.

Monday, November 27

Monday was the first day back at school and work after Thanksgiving break, and I woke up to a to-do list a MILE long.  First up, I dropped the kids at school, and then I dropped Maui off at the vet again for another urinalysis.  Since she was just diagnosed with stage one kidney disease, the doctor wanted to run some more tests.

After I got her there, I headed straight to Walmart to do the bulk of the grocery shopping for the next two weeks, and then I immediately stopped at Publix to grab the items that Walmart didn’t have. 

When I got home, I got all of the groceries put away, and then it was time to get to work.  I started several blog posts, did a load of laundry, ordered Christmas cards, paid some bills, worked on some stuff for the school auction baskets, and I took advantage of Cyber Monday, and I knocked out a little chunk of the Christmas shopping list. 

At 3, I grabbed the kids from school, and thankfully, we had nothing going on for the rest of the evening, so I was able to get right back to it when we got home.  The kids did their homework and then they spent some time outside, and I tackled some house things like putting clean dishes away, tidying the kitchen, watering the indoor plants, and many other random things.

We had sheet pan roasted veggies with sausage for dinner Monday night because a) it’s easy, and b) we needed something healthy after eating soooo much junk the week of Thanksgiving.  Those veggies were much-needed, y’all!  Haha.

After dinner, I got in a quick stair stepper workout, and then I finally started packing for my trip to New York City.  I got all of my outfits planned and folded, and then I did some more Cyber Monday Christmas shopping while the kids wrapped up their showers.

We ended up just hanging out for a few minutes after they were ready for bed because we didn’t have anything to watch, and then we got them in the bed early since we’d had so many late nights the week prior.  After the kids went to bed, B and I watched another episode of Tell Me Your Secrets, and, y’all, that show is soooo good.  I was HOOKED and I had to finish it all before I left for New York because I couldn’t leave not knowing how it ended.  Haha.

Tuesday, November 28

Tuesday morning, I skipped out on the all-school Home and School Meeting because I had too much on my plate.  That meeting is always just a review for me anyway since I’m on the board, so I already knew what was going to be going on, and I figured it would be okay to miss… especially since they were keeping it short so they could decorate the school for Christmas.

Instead, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed straight home for an hour to knock out two more blog posts before I had to be back at the school and church for Mass with Jacob.  He was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society on Tuesday, and we are just so proud of him.  NJHS members are chosen based on their embodiment of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship, and Jacob was one of the kids who was chosen.  He has just flourished in middle school, and we could not be more proud of him!

After that was done, I headed home to eat a quick lunch and knock out a few minutes of work, and then I visited with my therapist.  After my appointment with her, I stopped by Target to do a return and a pickup, and I had enough time after that to run to Staples and do an Amazon return and drop our donation items.  It was so nice to check two items off of the master list that weren’t even on the list for that day!

I headed to pick up the kids after that, and then we went home so they could do homework before Olivia had dance.  Both of them have found AR books that they were loving, and they both ended up reading the whole time after homework was done.  I love to see that since neither of them love reading like I do!

After Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance, we headed straight home.  He did some YouTube Minecraft video watching, and I did a lot of packing.  I finally got my clear bag all put together, and it felt good to have that done since it’s so hard to squeeze all of my liquids into that tiny bag.  Every time I carry on, I always have to put some of my liquids in Brian’s clear bag, but he wasn’t with me this time so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if they didn’t all fit.  Haha.

After I finished packing, I got some gift wrapping done and then it was time to get dinner ready.  Olivia’s hip-hop class was canceled Tuesday, so she got home 45 minutes earlier which was nice.  For dinner, I reheated the sausage and veggie leftovers from the night before because I’d made so much.  After dinner, we surprised the kids with their Advent calendars for this year, and they were so excited!  They are obsessed with Pokemon!

After dinner, I got in a stair stepper workout, I got my office tidied, and I worked on a few other things while the kids got showered and ready for bed.  By the time they were done, it was time to get them into bed, and then B and I watched another episode of Tell Me Your Secrets.

Wednesday, November 29

Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to work all day.  Thankfully, I had nowhere to be and no errands to run other than getting gas, so I got tons of blog work done since I had to work ahead.  And, of course, I worked on packing.  Maui could tell something was up, and she was extra clingy... she wanted to nap in my lap while I worked, and that never happens.

 

I grabbed the kids from school at 3, got Olivia to dance, and then I went home to finish packing and prep everything to make things a little easier for Brian while I was gone.  Somehow, by the time Brian and Olivia got home at 6, I was done with everything – literally everything – so I was able to have a leisurely evening with the fam before I left eaaarrrrly the next morning.

We had turkey and cheese sliders, chips, and fruit for dinner (I always eat light the night before I fly), and then while the kids got showered and ready for bed, I was able to paint my nails and do two Bible studies, and then I hung out with Olivia in her room for a while. 

She was really struggling with me leaving, and it just broke my heart.  The longest I’ve ever left her since she was born was two nights, and that was when she was only seven months old, so she doesn’t remember it.  I’ve left her for one night numerous times and she’s always been fine with that since it’s quick and because she’s always distracted by being with grandparents.  This time, I left for three nights, and she was going to be at home without Mommy, and she was not looking forward to it.

I came up with the idea for us to pick out Taylor Swift bracelets for each other, and wear them the whole time I was gone, so that way, any time she started missing me, she could look down at her bracelet and know that I was wearing mine and thinking of her, too.  She loved that, and I think it helped.  Every time we Facetimed during my trip, she always held up her arm to show me her bracelet and she ended up doing great the whole time I was gone.  <3

Once the kids were ready for bed, we started watching the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center, and it was so cool to be able to watch it live knowing that I was going to be there the very next day!

I hugged and kissed the kids a million times before bed, and then once they were tucked in, Brian and I finished season one of Tell Me Your Secrets.  Y’all IT WAS SO GOOD, and I’m hoping they’re planning on doing a season two. 

Thursday, November 30

Thursday, I left for my trip, so I’ll recap that separately, but Brian got the kids off to school that day and then took a half day off of work to pick them up and get them to music.  Then they spent the rest of the evening hanging out.

Friday, December 1

Friday, was another NYC day for me, so again, I’ll recap that separately, but Brian and the kiddos did the school and half work day thing again, and then he took them to get Panera for dinner.  After that, they watched Avatar 2.  Unfortunately, B had gotten sick before I left, and by the time Friday rolled around, he had pinkeye, too, so they were pretty much stuck at home all weekend.  I was around him for two days while he was sick before I left, and the whole time I prayed to not get whatever he had, and thankfully, I never did.  Whew.  So far the kids haven’t either.  *KNOCKS WOOD*

Saturday, December 2

Saturday, I was in NYC, and Brian and the kids hung out at home all weekend.  It was rainy at home, so they spent the whole day being lazy, and B wasn’t in the best shape with his cold and pinkeye.  Saturday was also Maui's 14th birthday, so they gave her her birthday cheese and Facetimed with me so I could be there for it.  I do hate that I missed Brian's and my anniversary and Maui's birthday.

 

Sunday, December 3

Sunday, I got home just before 4 PM, and I couldn’t get inside and hug all of them (and Maui) fast enough!!!!  I had such a great time in NYC, but it’s always so hard to leave my babies.  It’s also very weird not traveling with B… any time I travel, he’s pretty much always with me!

Brian was feeling much better by Sunday, so he and the kids had spent the day outside hanging all of the Christmas lights and getting the front porch decorated.  He had even done the part that I usually do – hanging the garland and the wreath and getting the trees put up out there.  Brian had also washed and dried all of the towels in the house so that was one less thing for me to have to do. 

I was exhausted by the time I got home, so I was grateful for minimal things to do Sunday, and I took a long, hot shower and got straight in my pajamas. 

We made breakfast for dinner – eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and homemade waffles – and B and I had the last of our Thanksgiving champagne in mimosas. 

After that, the kids got showered and ready for bed, and while they did that, I unpacked the necessities for the next day, sorted the dirty laundry, and left everything else in a pile to unpack and put away the next day.  I was just too exhausted to fully unpack or do anything else.  And just for the record, that may be the first time I’ve ever not fully unpacked immediately after a trip.  Haha.

Once the kids were ready for bed, we all watched an episode of Lego Masters, and then we watched a few more minutes of the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree since we hadn’t finished it the night before I left for NYC.

And that was our week!  I’ll be recapping our trip to NYC soon, so stick around!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!