Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 7 (A New Restaurant/Arcade, Another Museum Visit, Sleepovers, and More House Projects)

Last week was another week of fun and productivity, and I can’t believe we’re already rounding out SEVEN WEEKS of summer.  How on earth has it gone by this quickly?!

Monday, July 8

Monday morning, I was up at 7:30, I got showered, and then I headed downstairs to eat breakfast, water the plants, and all that jazz.  I headed to my office after that to work on some blog things, I sent birthday invitation texts to Jacob’s friends' moms, and then I spent 15 minutes finishing up my book (Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering) because I had to know how it ended.  It was just so good, y’all.

Once that was done, it was time to hit up Walmart and Publix for groceries.  My trip was quick, and I was back within the hour to put everything away.  When I got home, the kids were playing their instruments together – Jacob was playing away on the piano while Olivia was strumming my Dad’s mandolin that he’d let her borrow Sunday evening. 

Once the groceries were all put away, we all sat down and had lunch together, and then after that, Olivia worked on IXL summer homework.  While she did that, I posted a bunch of the kids’ old uniforms for sale in a local Facebook group and gathered the ones that sold immediately to get them ready for pickup.

I also spent some time cleaning off and organizing the counter by the fridge – it’s our drop off spot for all things that need to be taken somewhere else – library books, store returns, Tupperware that has to go back to my Momma, etc.  It was a total junkyard, so it was nice to get it straightened.

Meanwhile, the kids did a huge house tidy as well.  Things had gotten way out of control, and it was starting to get to me, so it was time to get it all back in order!

Once that was done, I spent some time in my office working on blog stuff, and I also made a couple of phone calls – a call to the dealership to check on my car (they still hadn’t even looked at it), and a call to the eye doctor to talk to someone about fixing Olivia’s glasses that had gotten bent months ago. 

After that, I got in a Bible study, and then I headed downstairs to make sausage, peppers, and onions tacos for dinner.

After dinner, Olivia wanted us to come hear a song she’d made up on the mandolin and it was the cutest thing ever.  Dad gave her a little book that teaches the chords, so she’s trying to learn those, but with this particular song, she didn’t use any chords at all… she just plucked the strings.

I sent the kids outside after that because it had clouded up and the temperature had dropped a bit, and I got out for a run.  It started raining a few minutes into my run, but I kept on going – I don’t mind running in the rain – but once I saw two bolts of lightning, it was time to head home which meant that my run was cut short along with the kids’ outdoor time. 

When I got back home, I was in productivity mode, so I took down all of the older stuff from Facebook that hadn’t sold, I bagged it up, and I got it in Brian’s car to donate the next day.  I also organized my pile of stuff to sell since I have some stuff listed and some stuff that still needs to be photographed and listed.  Then I got everything else ready for Tuesday since we were going to be running errands all day.

After that, I jumped in the shower, and then we got the kids in bed a little earlier because we all had to wake up early Tuesday to drop Brian at work since we needed his vehicle.  Brian and I watched an episode of The Morning Show, and then we headed to bed a little earlier, too.  I was dreading the 6:45 wakeup call even though that’s much later than I wake up every single day during the school year.  Haha.

 

Tuesday, July 9

6:45 came early, and we were showered and out the door by 7:40 to get Brian to work by 8.  After we dropped him, the kids and I went out for breakfast as a little reward for having to wake up early.  ;o)  I had made the mistake of asking them where they wanted to go, and they both said IHOP (boooo… I was thinking along the lines of something local), so off to IHOP we went. 

As we were driving by our favorite local donut shop, I jokingly said, “Well, we could always just go there if y’all want.”  And they both yelled, “YES!”  I was like, “Really?  Y’all just want donuts?”  Haha.  And they did.

So instead of going to the location we always go to, I decided to take them to the newer location that opened last year that we still hadn’t visited.  It’s in an iconic location in our city, so I had been wanting to visit, and I was excited.

I told this story in my Instagram Stories last week, so if you saw that, just skim past the next two paragraphs.  But anyway, this donut shop is in a 100-year old Tudor home here in town.  It was used as a home until the 1980’s, and then for my whole life it was a Burger King!  I frequented that BK with my friends in high school and college, and it holds such special memories for me.  When Burger King announced its closure a few years ago, we were all heartbroken that the beloved “house Burger King” wasn’t going to be there any longer. 

Thankfully, our favorite local donut shop decided to open a second location, and they ended up purchasing it, so the house lives on!  They kept the house preserved, so most of the rooms are still in tact which means that you can eat in the old sitting room, the bedrooms, etc.  It’s such a cool place!

The kids had never been when it was a BK, nor had they been to the donut shop yet, and they thought it was the coolest thing!  It was a great way to start our morning… much better than IHOP.  ;o)

 

After we were done there, we headed to the school and church to drop some uniforms with one of my friends who works there, and then we headed to our church’s outreach building to drop a bunch of donations.  I had tons of clothes including old maternity clothes and a ton of old hangers that they needed desperately.

After that, it was on to the eye doctor to get Olivia’s eyeglasses repaired.  They had never returned my call from the day before, and just as luck would have it, they called me back as we were walking into the building.  Haha.  The lady told us to come on in and they were able to repair them in less than five minutes and we were on our way!

I’d been wanting some coffee, so we went through the Starbucks drive-through next, and we picked up a coffee for our school’s resource officer while we were there.  After that, we rode back over to the school to drop it off.  All of these locations we were visiting were all within a mile radius, so while it sounds like a ton of driving around, it really wasn’t.

We visited with him for a bit, and then we headed home to take a little break before our next appointment.  I worked in my office and the kids watched some TV for about 45 minutes, and while we were there, Kia finally called to let me know that the problem with my Telluride was… a dead battery.  OMG.  If we’d known that was the only problem, I could have taken it down the street to have one installed in like 20 minutes instead of waiting a week.  I was sure it was the starter or something else more involved because of the way it was behaving, but nope, it was just the battery.  I did have two recalls that they were able to fix, though, so it wasn’t a total wasted trip.

Olivia had an orthodontist appointment later in the morning, so we left the house yet again to go there.  This girl has been dying for braces for years.  For some reason, she thinks they look really cool and she wants them so bad she can’t stand it, so she was STOKED for the appointment… the complete opposite of how I felt when I went.  Hahahaha.

At her appointment, we found out that she’s missing two permanent teeth – her lower right second premolar and her upper left second premolar.  WHAT?!  Y’all may remember that we found out that Jacob is missing one of his permanent teeth, too.  SO dang weird.  The orthodontist also told us that her overbite is partially skeletal, so between that and the missing teeth, she is going to have to have some major work done.  CRINGE. 

While Jacob’s baby tooth over his missing permanent tooth has great roots, and the orthodontist said his baby tooth will likely just stay in his mouth his whole life, Olivia’s baby teeth over the missing permanent teeth have shallow, weak roots, and they will likely fall out soon which means she’ll have two gaping holes with no permanent teeth to fill them.  Sigh.

So, the plan is for her to have three baby teeth extracted now (to go ahead and get progress started), wait nine months for all of her permanent teeth to move a bit more, and then reevaluate in April.  Then she’ll likely get braces at the beginning of next summer.  The orthodontist said he’ll be able to shift her other teeth on the top to cover the missing tooth there and you won’t even be able to tell, but he said for the missing tooth on the bottom, she’ll likely have to have an implant.  Ugh.  And for her overbite, she’s going to have to have a special appliance attached to her braces for the first year called a Herbst appliance.  It looks wildly uncomfortable, but she is so excited about it.  Hahahaha.  Jacob told her she is going to be a cyborg.  Lol.  She’ll have to wear braces for at least 2.5 years, so her treatment plan is going to be a little longer than average. 

So that means we’re about to have two kids in braces at the same time, along with me… although I should be out of mine by the time Olivia gets hers.  At least they give a family discount.  Hahahaha.  Now I’m just trying to figure out who in our family is missing permanent teeth because it sure isn’t me!!  And the orthodontist told us that 99.9% of the time it’s hereditary.

Anywayyyy, after that, we had to run by the library to drop a book off and pick one up, and the kids were thrilled because my friend, Jeannine’s, boys were both there hanging out.  We ended up hanging out with them for about 30 minutes, and then we headed home because we were all starving and past due for lunch.

After lunch, I squeezed in some more work while Jacob played video games and Olivia crafted, and then we had to leave yet again to pick up Brian from work.  On the drive there, it POURED.  We are talking torrential rain so bad I could barely see.  And I wasn’t driving my own vehicle so that made things 10 times worse. 

Thankfully, we made it to work, and I immediately got out and let Brian drive us to the Kia dealership to pick up my Telluride.  I was so dang excited to have my baby back!  I love my Telly so so much!

Brian and the kids headed home after that, and then I headed to CVS to pick up a couple of prescriptions.  Then it was home to do a Bible study, make breakfast for dinner, and do a strength workout.  And then we ended the evening with America’s Got Talent and The Morning Show season three finale.  While we were watching TV, my Momma texted to tell us to go outside because there was another beautiful rainbow... the second one in a week!  And look at that blue, purple, and pink sky!

Wednesday, July 10

After our busy day Tuesday, we wanted to keep things low-key, so we did just that.  I was up at 7:30, and then we had a lazy morning.  Brian had dropped Maui at the groomer on his way to work, so we did have to step out and pick her up at 10, but it was quick.  The kids were still in their PJs for the ride.  Haha.

When we got home, I lay out in the sun and read my book for an hour while the kids played outside… it was the first day that it wasn’t a thousand degrees and the humidity was insanely low, so we all wanted to capitalize on that good weather.  Plus, after our busy day Tuesday we deserved some downtime!

When I was done reading, I showered and got into comfy clothes, left my hair wet, and didn’t put on a stitch of makeup because we had zero plans for the rest of the day.

We all had lunch together, Olivia did some more IXL summer homework, Jacob worked on Clair de Lune that he’s decided to learn on the piano, and I spent some time putting all of the photos that I’d ordered in their frames.  I hadn’t refreshed the picture frames in the house in years, so it was long overdue.

After that, we all went our separate ways – Jacob to play video games, Olivia to craft, and me to work, download some new music, and get my Bible study done.  This cute little lady with her fresh haircut joined me!

I made parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli for dinner along with brown bread from Cheesecake Factory, and we all ate dinner together when Brian got home from work.

After work, I got in a quick stair stepper workout, and then I got in my pajamas and hung out with Olivia in her fort in her room for 30 minutes.

Once Jacob was showered and ready for bed, we watched the rest of AGT from the night before, and then Brian and I started The Bachelorette’s new season, which I don’t care anything about.  Haha.

Thursday, July 11

Thursday morning, I was up, showered, and ready for the day by 8.  I headed downstairs to eat breakfast and do all the things, and then I headed to my office for a bit of work. 

We had to leave at 10 to get the kids over to my father-in-law’s because I had two appointments back-to-back.  First up, was my orthodontist to get my braces tightened.  The orthodontist said everything is looking great and I’m still on track.  I’ve been having some trouble with my upper canine banging into my bottom molar for the last few weeks, so they were able to adjust that a bit, and he told me to start wearing my rubber bands differently for the next eight weeks until that resolves.  I’m always paranoid about changing rubber bands because I’m pretty sure they are part of the reason my vertigo started (since they drastically changed my jaw and face shape), and since I have to wear them asymmetrically this time (triangle on the right side and front to back on the left side) I hope it doesn’t mess me all up.

After that, I had a visit with my therapist, and then I headed back to pick up the kids.  They had been playing card games the whole time I was gone, and they were all excited because they’d broken an all-time record for points in one of the games they always play together.  They love playing cards with Grandpa!

When we got home, we had lunch, and then Jacob played video games while Olivia crafted.  She has made about 84,000 different crafts this summer and I have no clue where we’re going to store them all.  Haha.

Meanwhile, I got some work done.  We only had a short time until it was time to get to music lessons.  While we were there, Olivia told Mr. Steve that she is interested in taking guitar lessons, and he said, “Oh, I got you, girl!” and then he ushered her into his office so he could fit her for a guitar.  He told us exactly what size and brand would be good for her, and then the kids went off to their lessons.

Jacob brought in his Clair de Lune sheet music that he printed at home, and his piano teacher worked with him on all of the parts that he couldn’t quite get exactly right on his own.  Clair de Lune is my absolute all-time favorite piano piece, so the fact that he’s learning it is making me giddy.  His teacher sat down to play it so Jacob could watch and hear exactly how it’s supposed to sound, and I enjoyed every single second of it.  I have the song in my iTunes library, and I listen to it often, but there is absolutely nothing, I mean nothing, like hearing it played live.  The sound is just so rich and so vibrant when you get to hear it live on a real piano right in front of you.  Jacob’s piano teacher plays beautifully, and his version was just exquisite.  It was such a treat to hear him play it.

Olivia also mentioned to her voice teacher that she may switch to guitar and her voice teacher was very supportive.  We haven’t made any final decisions just yet, but it’s looking more and more likely that Olivia will make the switch.  We are waiting a few more weeks for her to make sure that she’s absolutely sure it’s what she wants to do.  We also have to find out when her dance classes will be so we can plan around those.

After music lessons, we headed back home.  I got my Bible study done, and then I started on dinner – pizza Joes frozen leftovers from the last time I made them.  We had those with some steamed green beans and fruit, and then we all went outside after dinner. 

It was 90 degrees, but the humidity was blessedly low, so it didn’t feel too bad outside, especially in the shade.  The humidity is what absolutely kills our summers here in the south.  90 degrees in the shade feels like nothing without the humidity. 

Brian, Jacob, and Olivia all played basketball to start, and then Olivia asked me if I would do sidewalk chalk with her.  We hadn’t done sidewalk chalk in ages, so I wasn’t going to say no to that.

After the kids went inside, I went for a walk/jog, and then I got showered and into PJs.  We got the kids in bed a little earlier since they both had sleepovers on deck Friday, and we knew they wouldn’t be sleeping much.  Then Brian and I watched some more of The Bachelorette before heading to bed.

Thursday marked one year since the onset of my vertigo, and I spent the day feeling grateful for being able to do all of those mundane, everyday things I wasn’t able to do one year ago.  I have so much to say about it, and I intend to do a full “one year later” vertigo post soon, but in the meantime, you can see a little bit about what I had to say about it on Instagram.  There is a post in my static feed.

 

Friday, July 12

Friday morning, I was up at 7:30, I had breakfast and did all of my morning things, and then I headed to my office to catch up on some blog reading.  Mid-morning, I got showered and ready, and then we met some friends at a new restaurant/bar that has old-school arcade games, pinball machines, and video games.  They had all-you-can-play wristbands for just $5, so we bought one for each of us, and then ordered our food.  I had the smash burger with fries, and it was good.  The smash burger was nothing special, but the fries were deliciously sprinkled with sea salt and rosemary, and their house dipping sauce was divine. 

After we ate, we played some more games, and then Brian headed back home since he was on his lunchbreak from work.  We stayed with Khristina and Noah and hung out for a while longer, and then we drove over to a local museum that’s part museum, part antique store. 

We’d never been before, and apparently, it’s been around for a very long time.  My friend, Jeannine, and her family joined us there, too, and we spent the next couple of hours exploring.  They had a collection of art, and the kids got a kick out of this millennium falcon guitar while I swooned over the teacup collection.

They also had a museum of lunchboxes, and apparently, it houses the largest collection of lunchboxes in the whole world.  They had over 3,000!!!!  And I’m pretty sure that I had that exact Fluppy Dogs lunchbox when I was in kindergarten. 

The museum also had a big collection of old radio paraphernalia, and for the second time in one week, we saw my Big Daddy (grandfather) hanging in a museum.  So cool.  He was a local radio personality here for decades, so he was somewhat of a local celebrity.  He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2008, and they had a plaque on the wall with his name on it.  They also had this piece of artwork hanging in the room, and I recognized it instantly because my Mama Cass and Big Daddy have had one hanging in their house for years that’s nearly identical. 

In addition to that, they also had a collection of old cars, and collections dedicated to a couple of local factories that produced local food and beverages.  They also had an old popcorn popper exactly like the ones that Jeannine and I used to use when we worked at the movie theater!  On the way out, the owners let the kids play a bass guitar that was on display, and they enjoyed that.  It was the quirkiest place and we just loved it.  It was something different to do indoors since it was 97 degrees outside.

On the way home, we swung by my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg’s house to pick up a guitar that they had on hand that belonged to my cousins.  We’re hoping it’s the right size and style that Olivia needs.  We’re going to take it to Mr. Steve this week and see what he thinks!

We headed home after that, and we had about an hour to relax before we had to head out again.  I got some work done in my office and the kids played video games.  Before we knew it, it was time to take Jacob over to his friend, WJ’s, house for the night, and pick up Olivia’s friend, Savannah, to spend the night at our house.

When we got home, the girls went off to listen to Taylor Swift and do girly things and I headed to my office to do my Bible study.  Brian picked up pizza for all of us for dinner, and then the girls went back upstairs to hang out. 

I watered Olivia’s sunflowers and then I took Maui for a walk around 8:45 since the sun was finally behind the trees and the pavement wasn’t too hot for her little feet.

When I got home, I got in my PJs and then Brian and I spent the rest of the night watching the first two episodes of the show Presumed Innocent with Jake Gyllenhaal.  It is SO good, y’all.  We are hooked.

Midway through the evening, I got a text from WJ’s dad with a video of Jacob playing the piano for them.  He was playing the Halloween theme song and WJ’s dad said he was impressed with Jacob’s mad skillz.  Haha. 

Around 11:30, Brian and I said goodnight to the girls, and then we headed to bed, and supposedly, the girls only stayed up until 12:30, but seeing as how they slept until 10:40 the next morning, and Olivia was still dragging all day, I’m not sure I believe that.  Haha.

Saturday, July 13

Saturday morning, I got up at 8:15 and made homemade waffles for Brian and me.  I refrigerated the rest of the batter so I could make Olivia’s and Savannah’s fresh when they woke, and it’s a good thing I did, because like I said, they slept until 10:40. 

While they slept, I went to my office and started prepping for Amazon Prime Day.  I got a lot done, and then I made their waffles for them when they got up.  Brian had gone outside to mow, only to have the mower stop running halfway through, so he wasn’t able to finish the job.

After I got the girls their breakfast, I got in a mixed cardio workout, and then I ate lunch at my desk while the girls made slime (and a huge mess – haha) foreverrrr.  I eventually went downstairs to help them clean up the slime because – OMG – it was awful, and then they went outside and did water balloons until Savannah’s dad came to pick her up around two.

After she left, Olivia and I hung out in her room together for a while.  Now that she finally got to have her sleepover, she was willing to take her fort down so we can finally get her room cleaned up before they start back to school in a couple of weeks.  She’s had the fort up for seven weeks, and she’s literally been sleeping on the floor for the entire summer break.  She has not slept in her bed once.  If I did that, my body would fall apart.  Haha.

The girls had already taken down the fort, so we stripped the bed, gathered all of her (millions) of blankets, and we got everything washed.  I helped her tidy some of the clutter so we could actually walk in the room, and we’ll do a full room cleanout/tidy soon.

After that, I had to get some more work done since I’d been neglecting it most of the week, and I also started organizing my Amazon wish lists.  I have several different ones, and I’ve been adding items to them for years, so there were tons of things that needed deleting.  I also made an Amazon Prime Day folder for all of the items we need that I want to watch, so I worked on that as well.

Olivia got showered and made some bracelets in her room until Jacob got home.  Brian left to pick him up at 3, and he came home exhausted, but happy because he’d had such a great time.  They hadn’t gone to bed until 3 and then they were up before 10, so he was running on no sleep, and he’d spent the whole day in the pool. 

And Brian tackled a chore that’s been on the list for years.  We have a bed with drawers underneath, and the drawers never stay closed.  Brian put Velcro on the insides years ago with the hope that it would hold them, and it doesn’t.  So, we’re constantly hearing the Velcro rip open and the drawers slide open.  There have been times in the middle of the night where I’ve gotten up to go to the bathroom and almost injured myself because the drawers were open and I’ve nearly tripped over them.

So, he pulled apart the bed, pulled off the old Velcro, and put really strong magnets on the backs of the drawer with the hope that they’ll hold the drawers closed.  It looks like it has worked, and hopefully from here on out we’ll have functional drawers that do not constantly hang open.  I’m telling y’all, we have just been tackling aaaallll the tasks way in the depths of the master to-do list this summer!

We all got ready for church after that and headed there next.  After church, we went to our usual Mexican restaurant.  My cousin, Wil, and his girlfriend, Cat, were in town and they surprised Mama Cass at dinner since she didn’t know they were here.  We had a good time hanging out with everyone, and it was a great evening.

When we got home, we got the kids in bed early since they were both about to fall out from sleep deprivation, and then Brian and I watched two more episodes of Presumed Innocent.  Seriously, so good, y’all.

Saturday also marked the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania.  To say that I’m shocked, saddened, and scared for our country is an understatement.  While I do not condone previous (and current) behaviors of Donald Trump and I have never/will never vote for him, there is absolutely never any excuse for violence like what we saw on Saturday.  And it’s just so heartbreaking that innocent bystanders were killed and injured in the process.  Our country is so broken right now, and I pray that our government and our people start doing something to repair it soon.

 

Sunday, July 14

Sunday morning, I was up at 8:15, and I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Jacob and I ended up eating alone together for most of breakfast because Brian slept really late, and Olivia slept reaaaalllly late.  I headed to my office after that to watch my Sunday sermon and do yoga, and then I got my planner ready for the week ahead.  My mind is just blown that as I’m typing this, we only have three weeks left of summer break. 

I finally woke Olivia up at 10:30.  I always hate waking them, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to go to sleep Sunday night if I let her sleep much later, and she was still OUT COLD when I went in there.  She slept for over 13 hours.  Hahahaha. 

Once she was up, they watched a few minutes of cartoons, and then they did their laundry and tackled other weekly chores.  My mother-in-law was still recovering from being sick, so we weren’t able to do Sunday lunch again, so we hung out at home all day instead.

Brian was able to get the mower fixed and finish mowing the yard, and I worked some more on house projects and organizing.  We got Olivia’s canopy rehung over her bed, and we got all of her stuffies (she has over 100 – literally – and yes, I agree that’s ridiculous) and her blankets organized.  That empty canvas “bean bag” chair that she got for Christmas is AWESOME and it holds every single one of her stuffies (aside from the giant ones) with room to spare.

After that, I got showered and ready for the day and then I retreated to my office to do my weekly photo transfer from my iPhone to my computer while I watched The Wedding Planner for the hundredth time.  I always dread the photo transfer each week, because it rarely goes smoothly, but it was seamless on Sunday and I was so grateful.  I’m usually so grumpy by the time Sunday evening rolls around because I’ve been dealing with technology issues all afternoon.  Haha.

I got all of the dirty clothes sorted after that, and then we went to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.  We had a delicious meal of chicken spaghetti (a new recipe!), salad, bread, and fresh watermelon.  Momma had also made a peach cobbler for dessert with vanilla ice cream to go on top. 

When we got home, I took Maui for a walk – the perks of the late sunsets – and then after we got the kids in bed (well technically, in their rooms… they both wanted to read/draw), Brian watched House of the Dragon while I read my book.

Happy Thursday, y’all!