Our Week - The One with One Last Fun Day of Summer Break, Back to School, and a Surprise Party

Well, we are officially back at school, and I’m happy to report that the kids had a great first week back!

Monday, August 5

Monday was our last full day of summer break, but we had a LOT on the agenda, including meet the teacher for both kids, so we were up at 7:15, and we hit the ground running.  Brian took the day off so he could hang out with us, and we started the day trying a new breakfast place that specializes in cinnamon rolls.  You basically use a cinnamon roll as your base and then you can customize it with different icings and toppings. 

Brian, Jacob, and I all opted for the original because we’re boring – haha – and Olivia ended up not wanting anything because she doesn’t like cinnamon rolls.  Who doesn’t like cinnamon rolls?! 

We knew this going in, of course, and we thought for sure that they’d offer something else there besides cinnamon rolls, but unfortunately, they didn’t, so after we were done there, we headed across the street to McDonald’s to get my little girlfriend a biscuit.  I hadn’t been to McDonald’s in yearssss, and I thought for sure the biscuits would be disappointing now as most fast food has gone way downhill, but their biscuits were still large and light and fluffy.  Olivia was in heaven.  She loves a biscuit just like her momma.  The cinnamon roll place on the other hand?  None of us were impressed.  I would have rather had the McD’s biscuit.  Haha.

She ate that on the way to the school because we had “Meet the Teacher” for her at 9 AM.  When we got to the school, we stopped by my friend, Heather’s, new classroom because she just moved to our school from teaching at public school for her whole career.  We are so dang excited to have her and I’m so happy that she’s going to finally be teaching at her alma mater (she graduated with me in 2000) and she’ll be at the same school that her daughter attends.  We hugged her neck and gave her a little gift, and then we headed to Olivia’s hall to meet her teacher who we all already know.  Haha.

She has the same fifth grade teacher that Jacob had, and we couldn’t be more excited about that.  This year, she also gets her very own laptop that she can now take home, so she was excited to pick that up.  We snapped a picture on the way out of her hallway (as you can see, Olivia dressed cozy since we were heading to a movie afterward – haha) and then we stopped by the school office on the way out for me to drop off some paperwork as I’m going to be taking on a position working with alumni relations this year. 

You may remember a couple of years ago, this was in the works, but things kind of fell apart because the girl who was organizing everything had a new baby and went out on maternity leave.  Then, when she got back, it was just so busy that she didn’t have time to revisit it.  Well now we are officially go for launch, and while I will be compensated for taking this position, I will not be considered an employee, which is exactly what I wanted.  Haha.  I’ll just be doing some training at the school and then minor work from home every now and then, and that’ll be it.

By the time we left the school, it was nearing movie time, but we had some time to spare, so we swung by UPS so I could drop some Amazon returns, and then we headed to Staples to drop some more Amazon returns because Amazon is silly, and they now split up all of our returns at different locations.  Sigh.

The movie was up next – Despicable Me 4 – and it was cute.  I’ve never been a huge fan of those movies even though I think the Minions are cute, but this one did have some laugh-out-loud parts.  And we had the theater mostly to ourselves since we went to the 10:15 AM showing.  Haha.

When that was over, we had a quick lunch at Chick-Fil-A, and then we had to head back to the school so Jacob could get his schedule (which we’d already seen) and his locker assignment.  He was able to get his locker set up – locker organizer and magnetic pen cup – BOOM.  Simple.  And then we went to find all of his classrooms and meet his teachers.

This year as an 8th grader, he is taking two high school courses (mind-blowing), so we walked over to find his classes and meet his teachers there.  It’s wild because he’ll be on the semester system and a 10-point grading scale for those two classes, but he’ll still be on the quarter system and a 6-point grading scale for his middle school classes.  And he’ll have midterms and final exams for the high school courses, too.  Just wild. 

Once we were done there, we headed home, and everyone did their own thing for the rest of the day.  The kids played video games/watched crafting videos (Olivia) while I worked all afternoon, and then I got a Bible study done before heading down to make dinner a little earlier because it was officially a school night.  YUCK.  Haha.

We did breakfast for dinner, I went for a run and did an arms workout, the kids got showered, and then we watched a little bit of the Olympics before sending them to bed early so they could put their best foot forward on Tuesday for the first day of school.

Tuesday, August 6

Tuesday, my alarm started going off at 5:33 AM (UGGGGHHHH) and I rolled out of bed at 6 AM (the worst).  I absolutely did not miss that at all during the summer. 

Since I was getting my hair done Tuesday morning, I skipped my shower, and instead washed my face, put on makeup, and made my hair look presentable enough to run to Publix after I dropped the kids at school.

They were both excited and ready (and a little sad that summer was over), so drop-off was easy.  We are not allowed to walk them in on the first day of school (that’s what “Meet the Teacher” is for) so they hopped out of the car and I drove off. 

I have to say, this is the first year that I was just plain sad and not even the least bit excited about sending them back.  Normally by now, I’m ready for some structure and I’m ready to have some time to myself to get stuff done, but this year, I was just not ready.  I’m still not ready as I’m typing this, and they’ve been back at school for a week.  Haha.

I went straight to Publix for groceries (notice I did NOT go to Walmart this time after what happened there a couple of weeks ago – haha) and my shopping experience was a pleasure as it always is there.  I had the whole store to myself, I didn’t have to wait in line to checkout, and they had employees fully staffed and ready to check me out, so I didn’t have to use self-checkout and get yelled at for “missing a scan” or for my “daughter touching that case of beer.”  THAT’S THE WAY IT’S DONE, WALMART!!

I was in and out of there so fast, and I was back home by 8:15 to unload the groceries and get them put away before Jamey got there at 9 to do my hair.

It took him about an hour to trim and get my foils in for my highlights, and then he told me to set a timer for 35 minutes and he was on his way.  I got the foils out and showered once my timer went off, and my hair was so much better!  Per usual, it was long overdue!

After I was done showering, I worked for a bit, and then I had lunch and worked some more.  I deep cleaned the toilets just before it was time to leave to pick up the kids, and then I headed out.

I left at my regular time which usually means that I’m pretty far back in the line on the first day since everyone gets there SO EARLY on the first day, but I ended up getting there with only three cars in front of me, which is crazy, because on a regular day last year there were at least 10-12 cars in front of me at that time.

So I don’t know if this means that there aren’t as many people picking up on that side of the school this year (we have three different car lines around campus that all run at the same time) or if people are just going to get there later this year, but I’m excited about that prospect because it means I won’t have to leave the house so dang early and sit in the car for so long!

When the kids got in the car, they were both chattering nonstop about how awesome their day had been.  They both had THE BEST first day, and that made me so happy.

We swung by Dairy Queen on the way home to get Blizzards as we always do on the first day of school, and then when we got home, they both came and sat in my office to chat with me some more about their day.

I got in a Bible study after that, and then I headed downstairs to put the rest of the groceries away and make dinner – stir fry with rice, chicken, and veggies. 

After dinner, I did a stair stepper workout, and the kids got showered, and then Jacob and I sat down to go over the syllabus for some of his classes.  We also had to check out Olivia's sunflowers because they were starting to bloom!

 

After that, we got the kids in the bed, and then Brian and I watched an episode of Defending Jacob before heading to bed.

Shockingly, I didn’t feel half dead by the end of the day as expected, but as the week went on, that changed.  Haha.  It’s exhausting getting back in that groove of waking up at 6 AM.  I’m not a morning person.

 

Wednesday, August 7

Wednesday morning, I got the kids to school, stopped to gas up the car, and then I headed home to work all day.  I knocked out a TON of blog work, caught up on some blog reading, cleaned off my desk, and got a few other things done around the house.  I've been trying to get more protein every day, so I made an egg bowl for lunch.  I plan to share that on the blog soon, hopefully!

The kids both had fantastic second days of school, and we headed straight home after the car line.  Their extracurricular activities didn’t start until the second week of school, so it was nice to have that first week off!

When we got home, I did my Bible study, and then I deep cleaned all of the bathroom countertops before making dinner – beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini and garlic cheesy bread.  I even indulged in a glass of wine since we had a bottle that was already open.  My mom also swung by shortly after we got home from school to drop a bunch of stuff off for the surprise birthday party that we were hosting for my dad on Saturday.

After dinner, we saw that a bunch of Olivia’s sunflowers had bloomed, and they were beautiful!  Not sure why these don’t have dark centers, though.  Next year, I’ll have to pay more attention to the seeds I purchase.

I got in a strength workout after that, and then I watered all of the indoor and outdoor plants, and I dusted the entire house.  Meanwhile, Brian got the front and back yards mowed since we were going to be hosting 36 people at our house on Saturday.

We got the kids in the bed a little early because everyone was exhausted, and then Brian and I watched another episode of Defending Jacob.

Thursday, August 8

Thursday, I dropped the kids at school and then spent the day working, scrubbing and tidying the house from top to bottom, and prepping for and fielding text messages and phone calls regarding my dad’s upcoming surprise 70th birthday party.  It was a busy day.

After school, the kids and I headed straight home, and Jacob and I spent some time going over another class syllabus.  I also helped him organize his school email inbox for the upcoming year – we created folders for each of his classes, explained why it’s important to save all emails from his teachers until the end of the school year (CYA, haha), and I told him my method for handling emails – checking them a couple of times per day, deleting the junk, filing ones that are important/relevant/done, and keeping emails in my inbox that require an action and/or a response.  Once said action and/or response are completely done, then I file them. 

While he’s used email for a few years now, most of the emails he’s been receiving were not emails that he actually needed to check.  Now that he’s taking high school courses, it’s going to be much more important since that’s how the teachers primarily communicate with the students.  So, I’m trying to get him to start having good habits this year to set him up for success for his first year of high school next year.

After that was done, I did my Bible study, and then I headed downstairs to make dinner – sausage, peppers, and onions tacos, chips, and fruit. 

After the kitchen was cleaned up, I got out for a walk/jog and then I did an 8-minute arms workout before getting showered for the evening.  The rainy/stormy portion of the summer has been over for about a week now, and it has been blazing hot every day (nearly 100 degrees every day), so my walks/runs have been HOT.  After that, we all sat around in the living room and watched some of the Olympics for a bit, and then we got the kids in the bed early again.

Brian and I finished the show Defending Jacob and, wow, it was good.  While Brian and I had kind of figured out how the trial would end, we were not expecting the twist at the very end.  Yeesh.

 

Friday, August 9

Friday, I dropped the kids at school and spent the whole morning working on the blog, paying bills, getting my room mom email distribution ready for the upcoming school year, and doing several other random “life” things that needed to be done.

At three, I grabbed the kids from school, and we headed straight to the bakery to pick up cupcakes for my dad’s surprise party Saturday night, and then we headed home to get them in the fridge.  We walked in the house just as my uncle was having some tables and chairs delivered for the party, and then we turned right back around to take Jacob over to his friend’s house to hang out for the evening.

When Olivia and I got home, I got straight into my PJs, and I worked on more party prep – hanging old pictures on the mantle, deep cleaning the coffee table (it has glass inserts so it gets filthy and it takes forever to clean it well), stocking the guest bathroom, and removing things from the sideboard in the dining room to have a clean slate for party décor.

Brian picked up pizza for dinner, and then he and Olivia and I ate together.  After dinner, I was so exhausted from the busy week (and all of the waking up early) that I fell promptly to sleep on the couch while Brian and Olivia watched some show on Netflix called Scaredy Cats, which appears to be a low-budget wannabe of Hocus Pocus in TV series format.  Haha.

Brian went out to pick up Jacob around 8:30 and Olivia jumped in the shower, and then when Jacob got home and showered, they got into bed.  B and I started a new show, Black Bird, on Apple TV, and then we headed to bed.

Saturday, August 10

Saturday morning, we were up and at ‘em because we had a big day – it was the day of my dad’s surprise party + my father-in-law’s 80th birthday lunch. 

I whipped up some homemade waffles for breakfast, and then we immediately got started on party prep.  Brian swept off the back porch and then hosed it all down.  We’ve been having a bird problem and they’ve been leaving droppings everywhere, and it’s driving me absolutely nuts.  They are ruining all of the furniture cushions, pillows, and rugs.

While he did that, I did all the things – I removed most of the stuff from the kitchen countertops, deep cleaned the counters, cleaned out the sink, unloaded the dishwasher, got everything dried and put away, worked some more on the pictures wall, loaded up the fridge with beers and Cokes and waters for the party so they could start getting cold, unpacked all of the Amazon décor, set up the cupcake stand, pulled out serving trays, etc., etc., etc.  All.  The.  Things.  I call this my "house cleaning" workout.  Haha.

While I did that, the kids got their laundry in the washing machine and the dryer, they tidied up their spaces, and they got ready for the day.

Mid-morning, I got showered and ready and then my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg swung by with some big fans to put on the back porch since it was going to be sunny and 96 degrees.  Not ideal weather to host a party for 36 people.  Cringe.

Right after they left, Brian and the kids headed out to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday with his family.  Unfortunately, I had so much to do for the party that I couldn’t join them, but they enjoyed lunch at our favorite local pub that’s near our church and school, and then they went back to my FIL’s to do cake and presents.

While they were gone, my brother got my dad out of the house so my mom could sneak over to my house, and we spent the next two hours decking the house out in 70th birthday stuff.  My Uncle Billy and his girlfriend came over with a helium tank and some balloons so we could get those blown up and done, and I lay out all of the serving trays and non-perishable food.  

All of them left just as Brian and the kids were getting home, and I continued to prep for the party for a bit before taking 30 minutes to lay on my acupressure mat and take a breather.  I had a raging headache all.day.long that Ibuprofen and Tylenol wouldn’t touch, and it was making me dizzy and sick, so it was not ideal.

After that, I got myself ready for the party quickly, and I was downstairs putting the finishing touches on the décor and setting out the cupcakes just as my Uncle Billy and his girlfriend pulled up with the food. 

We had the party catered by a local barbecue place, so we had tons of food to set out.  I also had to warm the meat a bit in the oven since it had been in the fridge for the afternoon. 

We spent the next hour putting the finishing touches on all of the décor, moving all of the drinks to the iced down coolers, and getting the food out, and then all of the guests started arriving.  Look how cute all of the decor was!  My mom had the baker make the cupcakes look like little art palettes since my dad is an artist.

We had all of the guests park down the street from our house so Daddy wouldn’t see any of the cars when they pulled up, and then he and Momma walked in around 6:30.  Daddy looked genuinely surprised and so delighted, and we all loved seeing the look on his face when he walked in the door and realized what was going on.

We had told him that we were doing dinner at our house since my brother and sister-in-law and the kids were in town… we do that sometimes when they’re over because we have a little bit more space to spread out when we have that many people.  So, it was believable and shouldn’t have made him suspicious. 

The next four hours were spent eating and hanging out and celebrating Daddy in our burning hot house.  We had so many people in there and it was so hot outside Saturday that our A/C couldn’t keep up, and it was 80 degrees inside most of the evening even though we’d bumped the thermostat down to 68-70. 

My apologies again, family.  Haha.

We got some of the house cleaned up as people were leaving, and we sent lots of family home with leftovers, but we left most of the cleaning for later because we were so exhausted.

By the time Momma and Daddy and my brothers and SIL and the kids left, it was nearly 10:30, so we got the kids in the bed, and then B and I watched a little bit of Black Bird before passing out in bed.  It was an exhausting day.

Oh, and Olivia wore my late grandmother's earrings (my dad's mom) for his party, and it was all her idea.  Be still my heart.  

 

Sunday, August 11

Sunday morning, I woke up tired.  Haha.  And I still had the headache from Saturday.  Sigh.  I tried to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast, only to find that both of the cans we had were spoiled.  One of them looked like it had melted at one point as the dough was all weird and had partially sunk into the cup of glaze and the other can had no cinnamon.  Lol.  It was literally just rolled dough with NOTHING in between the swirls.  They must have been having some quality control issues the day that made that can. 

So, we ended up making random stuff for breakfast, and then I did my yoga workout, watched my sermon, got my planner ready for the week ahead, and did my Bible study.  By the time I was done with all of that, it was time to get showered and ready for lunch at my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house. 

We celebrated my niece’s birthday while we were there, and she also asked Jacob and Olivia to be in her wedding next year!  Jacob is going to be a junior groomsman and carry the rings, and Olivia is going to be a junior bridesmaid and spread flower petals like a flower girl would.  They were both so excited!

When we got home from their house, I had to do all the things – finish up a blog post, clean out my camera roll, transfer pictures from the week to my computer, organize the pictures, do a load of laundry, sort all of the laundry for the week ahead, clean up some of the stuff from the party, and prep everything for Monday since the kids are back in school now.  The grind is officially back and I am not loving it.  Haha.  This is the least motivated I have ever been for the start to a new school year.

For dinner, I made grilled cheese sandwiches for Jacob and myself, Brian had leftover pizza, and Olivia had a PB&J.  None of us were all that hungry after our big lunch, and we didn’t have Sunday dinner at my parents’ house, so we just kept it low-key for dinner.

After dinner, we watched some of the closing ceremonies for the Olympics, and then the kids went to bed.  B and I finished the evening with an episode of Black Bird, and then we headed to bed, too.

And that was our week!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!