Our Week - The One with Girls Night, Sleepovers, a Baptism, and Easter

Last week was a busy one, but as you’re reading this, we’re on spring break and we’re celebrating in the happiest place on earth – DISNEY WORLD! – so be sure to follow along on Instagram!

Monday, March 25

Monday was BUSY and it was also a Monday in every sense of the word (because I was behind all.day.long), so I was exhausted by the end of the day.  We started the day with a super snotty child – we weren’t sure if it was her allergies ramping up even more or if it was a little cold – but we decided to keep her home because I couldn’t in good conscious send her to school with her sniffling and snorting as much as she was. 

Thankfully, Brian was working from home that day, so I didn’t have to cancel all of my appointments.  I headed to drop Jacob off at school, and then Brian and Olivia met me at Kia to drop my Telluride for service. 

The three of us headed home after that, and then I got Olivia settled in with a pillow, a blanket, and Netflix, and then I headed to my office to knock out some work.  I alternated between that and laundry for an hour or so, and then, mid-morning, I headed down to check on her, grab a snack for her and refill her water, and then I took Brian’s SUV to my 10:15 appointment with my therapist. 

After my appointment, I swung by Target since I was in the area, and I dropped some returns, grabbed some of my favorite cinnamon tea that I was dangerously close to running out of, and then I headed back home. 

On the way home, the Kia service department called to let me know that my Telluride was ready, so as soon as I got home, Brian and Olivia and I all loaded up and picked up my car.  Then we headed home and had lunch together.

After lunch, Olivia watched some more TV and I tried to squeeze in some more work.  I was terribly behind after having computer issues and a shortened work time Sunday afternoon, so I was on the struggle bus aaaallll day with the blog work.

By the time I had to turn around to pick up Jacob from school, I still hadn’t even finished my blog post for the next day, so I was feeling a little stressed.  And then on the way out the door, I discovered that Maui had puked all in her bed and blankets, so I asked B if he could throw it all in the wash while I was gone.  She’d been feeling bad all morning, and I wasn’t sure what was going on, but apparently, she had some stomach issues.

On the way home from school, Jacob was excited because we saw his old music teacher on the road on the way home again.  Apparently, his route to work is the same route as our drive home from school because we’ve seen him a couple of times now.

Traffic on the way home was a BEAST, though, and we ended up getting home way later than usual.  We have so much road construction right now in our area, and it seems nearly every route we take is affected in a major way.

When we walked in the door, I got the kids started on homework, and then I headed upstairs to finish that darn blog post once and for all.  I also worked on a couple of others that I’d had on my list for the day, and then I headed downstairs to get dinner on the table early so Brian could get out and mow the lawn.  Our grass has been growing like crazy from all of the rain we’ve had and had been needing to be cut for a while.

We had chicken tacos with all the fixings for dinner, and I was grateful for that Crockpot for doing most of the work for me because at that point, I was scrambling and way behind on my to-do list for the day.  That’s always the worst feeling.

After dinner, I got the kitchen cleaned up solo so B could maximize his time outside with the hope to get the whole front and back yards done before dark, and then I headed out for a run.  Much as I was tempted to skip it in favor of tackling tasks, I knew I would regret it, so I didn’t.  I do always prioritize exercise because it helps keep my anxiety at bay.

When I got back home, I instructed the kids to tidy the house because they’d made a complete tornado out of Olivia’s room and the playroom, and then I jumped in the shower.  Oh, and Olivia was still feeling totally fine aside from being snotty… she and Jacob were bouncing off the walls.  And none of us ever got sick, so it really must have just been allergies.  I always hate keeping them out of school when I know they don’t really need to be missing, but ever since Covid, we’re always overly cautious and considerate just in case.

When I got out of the shower, I got in my PJs, I told the kids to start the process of showering and getting ready for bed, and then I put away some of the laundry AKA tossed most of it on the chair in our room and in the laundry basket to deal with later.

While the kids showered and got ready for bed, I tackled a boatload of tiny tasks that were on my list that I still hadn’t gotten around to doing – I got some Amazon returns ready, I packed a few things for our Disney trip, I watered the indoor plants, I helped the kids get their money sorted from their Easter eggs (we always do tithe, save, spend), I tidied my office, I wrapped up a couple of last-minute things on my computer, I checked several other tasks off of my daily to-do list that had been neglected all day, and I sent several text messages to friends/school peeps/family about upcoming events to make sure I was organized. 

By that time, the kids were done getting ready for bed, so we all headed downstairs to settle in for an episode of A Series of Unfortunate Events.  While they watched that, I spread out on the floor with all of the kids’ empty Easter eggs from the hunt at Nana and Poppie’s on Sunday, and I got the next round stuffed for Olivia’s Easter egg hunt at school when they get back from spring break.  I also divided up the remaining eggs to save for next year, and some to give back to my MIL so she’ll have some to stuff for next year.  Then I bagged up all of the candy the kids had gotten… it was a ridiculous amount, so if you’re local and you want some candy for your office, holla, and we’re happy to send some your way!  Haha.

When that was done, I cleaned up a couple more things in the kitchen, refilled the water pitcher, and then tackled the last few things on my daily to-do list.  The kids weren’t done with their show yet, so I headed upstairs to meditate, and I also spent some time in my gratitude and prayer journals.  I never had time to do a Bible study on Monday, so that was a bummer, and I missed it so much.

Once that was done, we got the kids in the bed, and then I spent the rest of the evening fielding text messages about upcoming school events, arranging sleepovers for the kids for the upcoming week, and responding to several people I’d neglected throughout the day… all while trying to watch The Bachelor season finale.

They dragged the finale out, and we ended up having to stay up late to see who was chosen, and then we went to bed late, even though we hadn’t quite finished the last episode.  And all I wanted to do was go to bed early.  Haha.  Whew.  What a day.  I was exhausted, yet for some reason, I still had trouble falling asleep.  I lay there awake for a good 30-45 minutes before finally drifting off.  That’s very rare for me.

Tuesday, March 26

Tuesday morning, I was on the struggle bus from major lack of sleep, but the kids had school, so I was up and running.  Olivia was feeling totally fine and had been bouncing off the walls half the day Monday, so I’m sure her issues were just allergies, and even though she was still a little snotty, we sent her back to school anyway.  She’s basically been snotty for, like, a month ever since the pollen started.  The pollen has been BRUTAL this spring.  I’m not usually bothered by spring allergies so much (my allergies are always the worst in the fall because of the ragweed), but this year, I’ve had an itchy throat, gunky, itchy eyes, and nasal congestion for a month, too. 

After I dropped the kids, I walked over to the hall in our church for our Home and School Association open meeting.  I’m on the Home and School Advisory Board (PTA), and we get together once a month to brainstorm/make decisions for various events and projects, but we also hold an “open meeting” once a month for anyone and everyone at the school so we can update them and get them involved for the events.

After my meeting, I ran over to UPS to do an Amazon return, and then I ran to Staples to do another Amazon return (don’t get me started on this new thing Amazon is doing where they’re splitting them up for different locations!!), and then I headed home.

The rest of the day was spent working on the blog, doing laundry, packing for Disney, and getting the kids’ Easter baskets filled and hidden so I didn’t have to worry about doing it on Saturday.

At 3, I grabbed the kids, and we headed straight home.  It rained all day again Tuesday and it was just gross outside.  The kids got homework done, and then Olivia got ready for dance.  Meanwhile, I cleaned up the kitchen, got the dishes put away, did my Bible study, and freshened up because it was girls niiiight!  MUCH NEEDED!

After that, Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance, and then I dropped Jacob at Brian’s office, and then I headed to dinner with my girls.  There’s a local restaurant that we love that’s always been located on the main street that runs through our downtown area, but they recently moved so they could expand, and they are now in the cutest new market area (still downtown) and they have a rooftop bar area.  They also revamped their menu, but thankfully, kept some of the old favorites. 

Thankfully, we had a reservation, so we were seated right away.  It’s been jumping since they opened, so it’s nearly impossible to get in without one.  We started out with a round of cocktails – the Grapefruit Technique for me, which is a blend of Cathead honeysuckle, grapefruit, rosemary, and lavender bitters.  It was really good.

Then, we did a round of appetizers – crab dip (which I tried, but don’t typically eat since I don’t like seafood), the killer tofu, and rolls with miso-toffee butter.  Their killer tofu has been on the menu for years, and it’s one of my favorite things ever.  It’s chili crisp, teriyaki, sesame, and scallion tofu and it is incredible.  You would never even know you were eating tofu.  Seriously. 

For my entrée, I ordered their burger because it has an amazing house sauce, and I substituted fries for their mac n cheese.  I’ve never had the mac and cheese before, but it was a 10/10.  It was delicious.  I was stuffed and couldn’t finish it all, so I took the rest of my mac and cheese to go.

It was a fun evening with my girls in the cutest place, and we all enjoyed it.  Local friends, we would definitely go back!  It was delicious… although, I have to say I wasn’t that impressed with the rolls. 

 

After dinner, we finally remembered to take a picture!!!!  We forget every single time.  Haha.  Thankfully, the rain had finally stopped, so I had a nice sunset drive home, and then I jumped on the stair stepper since B and the kids weren’t home yet.  Olivia had her late dance night, and then B took them to Culver’s for burgers, so they rolled up about 30 minutes after I got home.

After my workout, I made sure everything was ready for the next day, and then we got the kids in the bed.  B and I finished watching The Bachelor – what a classy ending, y’all!  I was so impressed with Daisy and Kelsey and the way everything was handled, and I just love that they had such a seemingly genuine cast this time.  I wish they would just always have nice, genuine people instead of all of the drama queens.  I hate the drama and would rather watch actual genuine people on there.

Wednesday, March 27

Wednesday morning, I got the kids to school, and then Jamey, my hair guy, met me at my house right when I got back at 7:45 from dropping them off.  He did my cut and highlights, and then left to get off to his other job, and then after 30 minutes for the color was up, I showered and got ready for the day.  I’ve gotten so spoiled having him come to my house these last couple of times… it’s SO convenient.

The rest of the day was spent working on the blog and packing for Disney, and then at 3, I grabbed the kids to start spriiiing breeeeaaaak!!!! 

Olivia did still have dance right after school, though, so Jacob and I dropped her off there and then we headed home.  He got a couple of things tidied up around the house while I worked on my Bible study for the day, and then, his friend, WJ, was dropped off at our house at 5 to spend the night.  The boys didn’t waste any time starting Minecraft!  Haha.  So typical.

When Brian got home from work, I headed out to pick up Olivia from dance, and then we went straight to her friend, Cami’s house, to pick her up to spend the night, too.  On the way home, we swung through the Chick-Fil-A drive-through to grab dinner for all of us, and then we blasted Taylor Swift with the sunroof open and the windows down all the way home… because, of course.  ;o)

When we got home, we pried the boys away from their video games, and then we all ate dinner together.  After dinner, the boys settled into Jacob’s room to do some origami, and the girls settled into the kids’ bathroom to do makeup.

Meanwhile, I decided to go for a walk/jog to enjoy the last of the sunshine and warmth for the day.  It was such a beautiful evening!

When I got back, the boys had finished their origami projects and were playing a computer game, and the girls were hanging out in Olivia’s room.  The boys settled in for a little bit more Minecraft while I got showered and ready for bed, and then I rounded them all up for some dessert.

After dessert, Olivia and Cami headed upstairs to watch a show on Netflix, and Jacob and WJ played a board game and then tinkered on Jacob’s keyboard while B and I watched some of American Idol.  The boys are killing me with their goofy faces.  Haha.

Around 11, we called it quits for the night since B had to work Thursday.  The kids all retreated to their rooms and B and I headed to bed.  I have no clue what time they all went to bed, but Olivia claims she and Cami went to bed at midnight.  The fact that they slept until 9:30 the next morning tells me otherwise.  Lol.  They are usually up at 6 AM when they sleepover.  Jacob said he and WJ went to bed around midnight, too, but who knows!

 

Thursday, March 28

Thursday morning, I was up at 7:30 to make the kids breakfast, but to my surprise, none of them were awake.  Since they weren’t up yet, I stripped the sheets from our bed and threw them in the washer, I unloaded the dishwasher, I ate breakfast, I did some work in my office, I got some tasks transferred to my calendar, and I crossed off several other tasks from my list… all before 9. 

The boys were up at 9, but they stayed in Jacob’s room for a bit, and the girls were finally up around 9:30, so I made homemade waffles and fruit for breakfast for all of them.

After breakfast, I got the kitchen cleaned up, grabbed a cup of hot tea, and I worked in my office for a bit while also washing the bedding that the kids had used. 

Mid-morning, I got showered and ready, and then I rounded up the kids to go walk to the neighborhood playground to hang out for a while.  The boys have outgrown playground playing, so they brought Nerf blasters and ended up having Nerf wars with the girls.  I had brought Maui along for the walk, so I let her lead the way around the playground, sniffing everything in sight while the kids played. 

The kids had music lessons Thursday afternoon, so we wrapped up at the playground after about 45 minutes and then we walked back home.  I made lunch for all of them, and while I worked on that, WJ and Cami got their stuff packed up.

After lunch, we all headed out.  We dropped Cami off at home, and then dropped WJ off next.  Then, the kids and I headed to music lessons.

Since Jacob is all done with his recital, he has moved on to some new material in his book, and he has also started working on a new song for fun – What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish.  While he was practicing that, Mr. Steve (the guitar teacher and the one who organizes the whole honors recital) popped his head in the door, and he said, “I just wanted to sneak in here and brag on you.”  Jacob’s face just lit up!

After Jacob’s lesson was done, he and I had to wait 30 more minutes because Olivia had a makeup lesson since her teacher was out the previous week.  While we waited, I hung out with Mr. Steve in his room the whole time since he had a no-show for his 4 o’clock appointment. 

He regularly keeps in touch with Joseph, Jacob’s first piano teacher, so I told him the next time he talks to him to tell him that Jacob did the honors recital because I know he would be so proud to know that Jacob had finally mustered up the courage to do one. 

Steve’s response was, “Girl, I’ve already told the person who is editing the video of the recital to give me a copy when he’s done because I’m going to cut Jacob’s portion out and send it to Joseph.”  He knows that Joseph and Jacob had such a special bond, so he was already planning to send it to him.  Yet another reason why I love our music school so much.  The teachers are just so invested in their students, and they really and truly care about them so much.

He went on to tell me again how blown away he was with Jacob’s performance, and he basically just gushed over him for the next 30 minutes.  He said again that it’s not typical for someone to be playing the piano that well after less than two years of lessons… especially since he doesn’t even need the sheet music.  Jacob came in there halfway through our conversation and I know that boosted his confidence to hear Steve say all of those things.  I just hope he knows how special and loved he is, and how proud all of us are of him for stepping outside of his comfort zone.  I mean, I’m sure he does because I’ve only told him about 84,000 times.  Hahahaha.

After music lessons, we headed home.  The kids tackled the mess of the aftermath of having spend-the-night company while I threw in another load of laundry and got my Bible study done. 

Olivia wanted me to print some song lyrics for her… she requests that a lot when she wants to learn all of the words to a song quickly. 

By the time all that was done, Brian was home from work, and it was time to figure out what to do for dinner.  I’d forgotten to take meat out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, so we ended up making frozen pizzas instead.  My spring break mentality was telling me I didn’t feel like cooking anyway.  Haha.  So instead, I grabbed a glass of wine and ate a Digiorno.

After dinner, we got the kitchen cleaned up and I worked on tackling a couple more things that I needed to do, and then I got in an arms workout.  The kids got showered and then they watched another episode of A Series of Unfortunate Events.  Since I haven’t been watching that with them, I used that time to get sheets back on Olivia’s bed, fold some other bedding, pack a couple of things for Disney, make a long to-do list of everything that needed to be done before vacation, and meditate.

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched an episode of The Watcher and then we headed to bed, too.

 

Friday, March 29

Friday morning, B worked from home and the kids and I all slept in.  Both kids slept even later than I did which is rare.  They were worn out from their sleepovers, I guess.

While they slept, I unloaded the dishwasher and tackled a ton of other little tasks around the house that needed to be done.  Jacob was up before 9, so he and I had breakfast together, and then Olivia rolled downstairs just as we were finishing up.  I headed to my office to get some work done for a bit after that, and then I got showered and ready for the day. 

We all had a light lunch together, and then I headed to Walmart to get all the stuff I needed for Easter lunch with my family.  I had just enough time to get it all put away and then it was time for the kids and I to head to Stations of the Cross at church at 3. 

I know I have many non-Catholic readers, so for those of you who are not Catholic, and are not familiar with it, Stations of the Cross is a service that Catholics (and some Lutherans and Methodists) attend during Lent that depicts every step of Jesus’s journey to Calvary.  There are 14 stations, each one portraying a different event – Jesus is condemned to death, Jesus takes up His cross, Jesus falls the first time, Jesus meets His Mother, etc.  If you ever saw the movie The Passion of the Christ, it structurally follows the Stations of the Cross.

It's a very somber service and it makes you feel the gravity of exactly what Jesus went through that day that he was crucified.  It was just heartbreaking the things they did to Him.  And I’m never not awestruck when thinking about the fact that He did those things for you and me to cover our sins so that we will be able to spend eternal life in heaven one day.  Needless to say, I’m always very emotional during the service.

Most of my extended family who go to Mass with us every week were there, so we were able to sit with them, and then after it was over, we chatted with everyone for a bit before heading home.

When we got home, I did my Bible study, and then I got reeeeaaaalllly focused on packing for Disney World.  At that point, I had packed a bit here and there, but Friday afternoon it was go-time.

I was able to finish packing most of the things that I need for the trip (aside from the things that can’t be packed until the night before since I was still using them), and I got Olivia about 80% packed. 

B picked up meatless pizza for us and mac and cheese for the kids for dinner (our last Friday abstaining from meat until next year!), and after dinner, I got out and took Maui for a walk around the neighborhood.  It was a GORGEOUS day Friday – the first Friday in six weeks that we didn’t have rain! (our local weather people posted about that on Facebook because it was such a big deal) – and I didn’t want to waste it since we’d been indoors most of the day.

After our walk, I tackled some more laundry, I worked on a few more things that needed to be done for our trip, and I meditated while B and the kids watched a couple more episodes of A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

After they went to bed, B and I finished the series The Watcher, and I have to say, I was not happy about the ending.  The series was good… until the end. 

 

Saturday, March 30

Saturday morning, B grabbed donuts for breakfast since we hadn’t had them in so long, and then I hit the ground running – throwing in a load of laundry, working in my office for a few minutes while I drank my tea, tackling a cardio workout, and then packing, packing, packing.  We had a light lunch outside, and then I got right back to packing.  The kids played outside all day because it was just beautiful, and after I’d had enough of packing, I took a brief, much-needed break to soak up the sun and read my book.

After that, I tackled some more blog work in my office, packed a little bit more, and then I got dressed and ready for the evening.  My friend, Heather, was baptized into the Catholic church Saturday at Easter Vigil, and I was her proxy.  She had asked her best friend to be her sponsor, but she had already planned to be out of town for spring break, so I was honored when she asked me to stand in for her.

I arrived at the church around 7, an hour before Mass started, so I could be there for instruction.  Then at 7:45, the entire church congregation gathered outside while our pastor blessed the Easter fire and lit the candle for the church.  From that candle, one person lit their candles, and we passed the flames on to one another until every candle was lit.  Then we all processed into the darkened church, our candles lighting the way. 

Easter Vigil is a very long Mass as it’s the Mass where all of the adults who are converting to Catholicism are baptized and confirmed, so it has a very different format than our standard Masses.  This one started with our pastor singing while we all held our candles (it was stunning in there in the dark with only the candles burning), and then we moved onto the readings.  A standard Catholic Mass has two readings followed by the Gospel reading with hymns sandwiched between each one, but this Mass had eight readings followed by the Gospel reading with hymns and a prayer from our pastor sandwiched between each one. 

Our pastor then did a short homily (sermon), and then all of the Catechumens were baptized and confirmed.  It was an absolute honor to stand up there with my friend Heather… she and I both teared up multiple times, and it was just the most beautiful night.  Mass didn’t let out until after 11 PM, making it three hours, so afterward, we took a few pictures, said our congratulations to everyone, and then I headed home. 

And another friend's mom was at the Mass, and she had captured the whole evening in pictures.  I'm so grateful for these! 

By the time I got home, it was nearing midnight, so B hid the Easter baskets while I got ready for bed, and we both passed out.  But first, I pulled a couple of pictures from the video that had livestreamed earlier of Mass.  So beautiful!

 

Sunday, March 31

Sunday morning was Easter, so we were up earlier than usual so the kids could find their baskets before a quick breakfast of leftover donuts.  Both of them were very pleased with all of their goodies.  ;o)

We headed to Easter Mass at 10:30, and it was a joyous Mass as always.  It’s one of my favorites of the whole year.  Afterward, we were able to snap our usual Easter pictures, and this year we were even able to get some with extended family.  These are the people who are with us at pretty much every Mass every weekend!

After pictures were done, we headed home, and I made mashed potatoes and plated the potato salad (bought at Walmart to keep things easy!) for our family gathering, my father-in-law dropped off some goodies for the kids, and then we headed to my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg’s house for the afternoon.  We had a HUGE spread of food, and a lot of my extended family was there… probably somewhere around 30 people, even though we were missing quite a few out-of-towners. 

My cousin, Shelby’s, birthday was on Easter – HBD!!!! – so we had a cake for her, and we also celebrated Mama Cass’s birthday one more time for those who hadn’t had the chance to celebrate with her.  Because, you know, when you turn 95, it’s a big deal and you deserve to celebrate all month.  ;o)

 

We headed home around 5, and the rest of the day was spent finishing up packing and getting the blog done for the week ahead because… we’re in Disney this week!!!!

What a week!!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!