Our Week - The One with Halloween and the Most Productive Weekend We’ve Had in a Long Time

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Last week was shockingly low-key aside from Halloween, which is a rarity for us during the school year, especially in October!  As a result, we were able to head into this week feeling well-rested, well-organized, and well-prepared, and I sure do love that!  :o)  That is going to be very helpful considering this week will be the exact opposite of last week.  Haha.

My neck tension/dizziness has been raging for over a week now, too, so much of last week I was also dealing with that, so I was grateful we didn’t have a lot going on.

Let’s get to the recap!

Monday, October 28

Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school and headed straight to Walmart and Publix to do our grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks.  I also had to stop and get gas on the way home because I was on empty.

When I got home, I got the groceries put away, I got dinner in the slow cooker, and I worked on the blog all day long.  It was nice to not have to be anywhere.

After school, the kids and I came home, and then Olivia and I headed back out at 4:15 for a checkup at the doctor, and then we headed back home to have dinner.

I’d put chicken in the slow cooker for chicken tacos, so we had those along with some chips and salsa, and fruit for dinner, and then afterwards, I got out for a walk/jog + an arms workout.  Since the time changed this past weekend, that was my last after-dinner walk for a long time!  I’m going to have to start going in the afternoon before dinner now.

When I got home, I got showered, and then we all snuggled up on the couch for some rare family TV time.  We hadn’t had any of that during the week for quite some time so it was nice to have a little more time Monday night.  We ended up watching Sing Thriller which was cute (the Sing movies did a special for Halloween) and then we watched a few minutes of Hocus Pocus 2.  We never have time to watch whole movies in one sitting these days, so we’ve been resorting to splitting them up.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched some Saturday Night Live and I did some more work from my phone on the couch, and then we went to bed.

 

Tuesday, October 29

Tuesday, I had nowhere to be while the kids were at school, so I worked on the blog aaaallll day.  I also finally got the house photographed for my Halloween home tour, and that was no easy feat since the house was a wreck. 

After school, I picked up both kids.  Jacob didn’t have his Velocity meeting, which was nice because I didn’t have to commute back and forth the extra time, and instead, we all went home.  I got my Bible study done while the kids studied and worked on homework, and then Olivia and I headed out to drop her at dance. 

Since it was Halloween week, she was able to dress up, and she wore her Red costume from Rise of Red, which was her main costume for Halloween this year.

While she was at dance, I cooked dinner – rosemary wine chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and Cheesecake Factory brown bread – and we all ate dinner when Brian and Olivia got home. 

After the kitchen was clean, I got in a stair stepper / arms workout while the kids got showered and ready for bed, and then we were able to watch a decent chunk of Hocus Pocus 2 that we’d started Monday.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched some more of Saturday Night Live and then called it a night a little early.

 

Wednesday, October 30

Wednesday, I had nowhere to be yet again (I don’t know how I managed to have such an empty week!), so I worked on the blog all day yet again.  I’ve been working on some very time-consuming posts lately, so while it seems like I should be super duper ahead, I’m only ahead by a couple of days as I type this.  Haha.

I grabbed the kids from school at 3, and then we headed home for them to do homework.  I worked on my Bible study and got a bunch of tiny little annoying tasks done, and then it was time to get Olivia to dance.

Brian arrived at home shortly after I did, and we got dinner ready – eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and toast – and the three of us ate together.

After dinner, I got in a barre workout that kicked my butt, and then I got ready for bed, downloaded some music for Jacob to add to his music library on his phone, and then I lay in bed and read for a bit while Olivia got showered and ready for bed.

Since Wednesday is her late dance day, we got the kids in bed super late, and then Brian and I watched some more Saturday Night Live before calling it a night.

Thursday, October 31

Thursday, was Halloweeeen, so we all got up and got dressed in our costumes.  I dropped the kids at school and then walked over to the high school to help set up for Trunk or Treat.  Every Halloween, our high schoolers decorate their trunks in different themes, and the kids who don’t have cars yet get to decorate a table, and all of the high schoolers hand out candy to our lower school kids (babies – 8th graders).  It’s always such a fun event because it’s something that the whole school gets to participate in together, and we had a blast, as always.

I helped the Home & School Association ladies hand out candy to all of the high schoolers and keep their stashes replenished, and I also walked around with Olivia and then Jacob when it was their turn to go around.  The turnout was great, as always, and the high schoolers had some really creative themes and well-decorated vehicles this year! 

I dressed up like Taylor Swift this year from the song “22” during the Eras Tour, but I did a spooky version with my Halloween tee.  Our high school guidance counselor, who is also one of Olivia’s friend’s moms, and I were twinning, so of course, we had to take a picture!

Once we were done with Trunk or Treat, I headed home, swinging by the library on the way home to pick up a book for Olivia, and then the rest of the day was spent prepping for Thursday night.  I went ahead and made our homemade guac for dinner and I also peeled a bunch of oranges and started arranging my candy corn fruit skewers.  I wanted to get as much done as I could early on, because it’s always a cluster when we get home from school on Halloween trying to get dinner ready super early so we can head out for trick-or-treating.

Also, on Thursday, Jacob was honored at lunchtime for being an early commit to our high school.  We are so excited to have him there for the next four years!  But seriously, hoooowwww is my baby going to be in high school next year?!

When we made it home from school, I was a whirlwind doing all the things – making mummy dogs, making baked beans, adding marshmallows to the end of the fruit skewers, working on the tablescape, etc. all while quizzing Olivia for her word work test the next day.

At 5, our friends, Khristina and Ian and their son Noah came over to trick-or-treat with us as they’ve done for the last few years, and they brought along some mac and cheese and some Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin beer, which is officially my favorite seasonal beer.  It is delicious! 

My parents and my father-in-law also came over to hang out and they brought along some goodies for the kids, too.  Around 6, all of us adults grabbed beers for the road, we took some pictures in the yard to document Halloween 2024, and then we hit the road to trick-or-treat.

I mention this every year, but our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween, and therefore, we have TONS of people who come from surrounding areas to trick-or-treat.  This year was the craziest ever – I swear, it gets bigger every year – and there were cars lining every inch of every main road.  It was wild!  We ended up walking two miles around the neighborhood letting the kids collect candy, and we made it back home sometime around 7:30, maybe? 

The kids all traded candy for a bit, and then all of our guests headed home.  We all got in pajamas and had our annual viewing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and then we got the kids in the bed.  Brian and I watched a little bit more of The Golden Bachelorette and then we headed to bed, too.

Friday, November 1

Friday morning, I got the kids to school, and on the way, we were all THRILLED because one of our local radio stations had started playing Christmas music!!!!  It was such a great way to start our morning!  Friday was also the last day we had to drive to school in the dark since the time changed Saturday night!  I pulled back into our neighborhood just as the sun was coming up, and it was so beautiful, I had to stop and take a picture.

After I dropped them, I booked it back home to spend an hour working before I had to be back at the church for All Saint’s Day Mass.  Aaaand I had some hot tea in a Christmas mug.  Hehe.  I went to Olivia’s 9:30 AM school Mass, and my Momma, Mama Cass, and Aunt Joy, all joined us and the five of us were able to sit together.

After Mass, I stopped to get gas (again), and then I ran by the mall to return the rest of my American Eagles jeans that didn’t work.  I had bought multiple sizes/lengths in the styles that I liked since I wasn’t sure which ones would fit, and I ended up keeping four pairs that I LOVE.

I headed home after that, and right as I walked in the door, my friend Jeannine texted me and Khristina to meet her for lunch at the new Indian restaurant in town, but I had literally just gotten home from the other side of town where the restaurant was, so I declined.  It was a tough decision, though, as I’ve been dying to go there and it’s always fun to lunch with friends.  But since I’d been out all morning and had literally just walked in the door, I didn’t feel like turning around and going back to where I’d just been again.  Haha.

Instead, I had lunch with B, I worked on some blog stuff for a few minutes, and then it was time to pick up the kids from school.

After school, we headed home, and the kids had snacks and did some tidying while I got my Bible study done.  After that, I went over a social studies assignment with Olivia, and then it was time to head to makeup music lessons since the kids had to have theirs rescheduled from Halloween.

Jacob’s lesson was up first, and he worked on several different pieces, mostly from the book.  Olivia’s lesson was next, and she made some really good headway on Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  Her teacher, Mr. Steve, is a Christmas fanatic like we are, and he came out of his office blasting Christmas music on his phone.  Haha.  He told us that after lessons, he was heading straight home to start decorating.  My kind of people!!

After lessons, we headed back home, and Brian walked in the door right after us with dinner.  He’d gone out to run an errand, and he picked up Five Guys on the way home.  We mixed up some Moscow Mules, and then after dinner, the kids got showered and we all got in our PJs.  We settled in to finally finish Hocus Pocus 2, and then we got the kids in the bed.

Brian and I watched an episode of The Chosen after the kids went to bed, and then we started the first episode of the new season of Outerbanks, and then we headed upstairs for bed.

I got on Instagram one last time before bed and saw that I had a message from someone who I’d never received a message from before.  Y’ALL, it turned out to be ABE PARKER’S SISTER checking on me because of my vertigo!  I have told this story before – recently – but I’ll tell it again for the sake of this post. 

I found Abe Parker’s music when I was about 10 months into my journey with vertigo, and his music really spoke to me because the lyrics to many of his songs made me feel less alone.  Brian and I were able to see him in concert a couple of weeks ago, and afterwards, we were able to meet him!  I got to chat with him for a few minutes, and I was able to tell him why his music means so much to me.  When I told him about my vertigo and dizziness and how it hasn’t resolved and how nobody can figure out exactly the cause, he told me that his sister had gone through something very similar. 

So, Friday night, when I was lying in bed and I saw her message, I was floored that she had reached out to me.  I thought it was just the kindest thing for her to do that even though she doesn’t know me.  She told me her diagnosis (it’s a rare one that no doctor has ever mentioned to me), so I now have something else to research and discuss with my doctor, and she told me that she was praying for me, which was also incredibly touching. 

The whole thing just felt like a total God moment – I found his music and loved him instantly because of all of my issues with vertigo and dizziness, and then his sister turned out to have similar issues for even longer than I’ve had mine, and then she contacted me with a new diagnosis to pursue.  Crazy.

I’m sure you’re probably not reading this, Abe’s sister (not sharing her name or info or diagnosis here for her privacy), but thank you so much for reaching out.  It was truly the kindest gesture.

 

Saturday, November 2

Saturday morning, I accidentally slept in until almost 9 – seriously, what is my body doing these days?!  So, then I threw together some homemade waffles as quickly as I could since we were late getting up.  We didn’t have anywhere to be Saturday, but I had a long list of things I wanted to do around the house, so getting a late start wasn’t the best thing.

After breakfast, I snuggled with Maui on the couch along with some hot tea and I watched a little bit of ESPN College GameDay, and then I got up mid-morning and got in a cardio/strength combo workout.

While I worked out, Brian and Olivia worked on bagging up leaves from the front yard so Brian could mow the lawn one last time before winter, and then we all tackled a ton of stuff – Brian mowed and took down our Halloween decorations outside, the kids did their laundry and tidied the whole house, and I did a ton of random, annoying things that needed to be done – laundry, pulling out some Amazon packages that we hadn’t had the chance to look at yet, deciding if we wanted to keep them, getting a couple of returns ready, trying on some new shorts that had finally arrived, putting away my travel bottles from Chicago that had been sitting out for weeks, organizing my bathroom cabinet to finally get my new batch of contacts put away, tidying my bathroom counter (it was a nightmare), cleaning up my closet (it was also a nightmare), and so many other random tasks. 

For lunch, we had Halloween leftovers, and then afterwards, the kids did some studying and they practiced their instruments, and Brian blew off the back porch, we wiped everything down, we got the old plants removed from the pots and got them put away for the winter, he put down some ant killer on some ant beds that had popped up, and I watered the remaining plants.  Whew.  It was a very productive morning and early afternoon.

After that, I headed to my office to squeeze in about 30 minutes of work, and then I showered and got downstairs just in time to watch the Georgia vs. Florida game.  While I watched, I worked on some things – I got the towels folded and put away, I finished getting my 2025 planner all set up, and I worked on a couple of other things in my current planner. 

At halftime, Brian left to pick up pizza for dinner, and I did my Bible study.  When he got home, we ate dinner while watching the second half of the game.  The game was rough – it was another close one for a while there – and when our games are close and stressful like that, I always get up and do stuff because it makes me feel better.  Haha. 

I ended up getting soooo much done because of my nerves – I got every single bit of the fall décor down, I got it all organized in the bins, and we got all the bins put away.  Then with Olivia’s help, we got the mantle decorated for Christmas! 

We ended up winning the game by two touchdowns, which were both scored right towards the end, so although our score made it look like we had a comfortable lead, that is not a true reflection of how we all felt for most of the game.  Haha. 

The kids watched the last half of the game with us and then they headed upstairs to hang out.  Not sure what they were doing, but they were playing nicely as they always do, so we didn’t question it.  Haha.

We got them in the bed around 9:30, and then Brian and I flipped back and forth between two other college football games until getting in the bed a little after 11.  While we watched the other games, I also finally got my first Chicago Reel completed – yet another item that’s been on my to-do list for weeks that I just haven’t made the time for!

 

Sunday, November 3

Sunday was the end of Daylight Saving Time, and I did a little happy dance because we had 25 hours in the day!!  When we fall back, we never change our clocks until the next morning, so that way, we don’t waste the extra hour sleeping.  I slept in until our usual 8:30, but really, it was the new 7:30, so I was able to make use of our extra hour.

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I made banana pudding for dessert for Sunday dinner later in the day.  After that, I headed to my office to do my Sunday morning things – yoga, an online sermon, getting my planner ready for the week ahead, and a Bible study.  By the time I was done with that, it was still only mid-morning, so the kids and I pulled out all four Christmas trees that go upstairs and we got them up in Jacob’s room, Olivia’s room, my bedroom, and my office. 

After the trees were up and fluffed, the kids and I stopped to have lunch, and Brian headed off to play tennis just as we were sitting down.  Then, after lunch, the kids helped me decorate the trees.  We were able to get all four of them up super-fast this year because the kids were such great helpers.  I usually do them on my own aside from the kids putting a few ornaments on their trees in their rooms, but this year, I put the trees together and told the kids to fluff out their own trees, and then they both decorated their whole trees aside from a little bit of help from me.  New level of parenting – UNLOCKED.  Haha.

Once all four trees were completely decorated, I got showered and ready for the day, and while I did that, the kids got everything prepped and ready for Monday.  Jacob also worked on an essay for a scholarship for high school and Olivia studied some more for her upcoming science test.

Once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the afternoon in my office working while watching Serendipity – I officially made the change from The Wedding Planner to Christmas movies, EEK! – and basking in the glow of the lights from my Christmas tree.  Aaaahhhh.

The kids got showered and ready and then they had screen time for a little while until it was time to go to my parents’ house. 

We headed to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, and we celebrated my uncle’s girlfriend’s birthday while we were there.  She’d requested meatloaf, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, and green beans for her birthday dinner (which is what I always request – it’s the BEST) and she’d also brought along some fried green tomatoes that she’d made.  We had all of that plus biscuits and wine followed by the banana pudding I’d made for dessert.  Whew.  It was deeee-licious.  And I was so stuffed by the time we left.

When we got home, we got the kids in the bed – everyone was tired from the time change since it felt much later – and then B and I watched Saturday Night Live from the previous night.

It was SUCH a productive weekend that was also relaxing, and it was a great way to prepare for a busy week ahead!

And now for a few current things since I forgot to do them in my last post…

 

Currently Reading

This month I only read one book – The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life by Tommy Newberry – and technically I’m not quite done with it, although, I should finish it today.  Since I read 90% of it in October, I’m counting it for that month.  Y’all, I loved this book!  The author presents very powerful, yet practical tips and ideas that you can use every day to break your old, negative patterns of thinking, thus leading to a more joy-filled life.  I was a glass-half-full kind of gal (most of the time) until my mid-to-late teens, and then I started seeing a shift once I started being exposed to many of the bad and negative things in life.  Over time, I let those negative things wear me down, and nowadays, I find myself focusing more on the negative things rather than the positive.  I’m sure much of this comes from my anxiety, as well as my Enneagram Six title, as we are known to always be prepared for the worst.  These last 15 months have been especially trying with this vertigo/dizziness/tension that I’ve been having, so my negativity meter has been through the roof.  Therefore, I’m trying really, really hard to retrain my brain to focus on the positives again, hence all of these self-development books I’ve been reading over the last couple of years.  Anywayyyy, if you’re looking for a very easy read that’s loaded with nuggets of wisdom and totally practical advice, grab this book.  You won’t regret it.

I’m also still reading New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional by Paul David Tripp as my daily devotional and it’s still just as fabulous on Day 310 as it was on Day 1.

And I’m still working my way through The Bible and The Bible Recap… I’m on Day 331 as I type this (Monday, 11/4), and I’m 22 days ahead of schedule!  I still cannot believe that I’ve almost read the entire Bible from start to finish! 

 

Currently Watching

With B: In October, we watched the Vice Presidential Debate, we watched Dave Matthews Band get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we watched a few episodes of Saturday Night Live, and we started and finished Nobody Wants This (which we both loved SO much).  We also started the new season of The Golden Bachelorette, and we watched a whoooole lot of college football as well as some pro football.

With the Kids:  We finally finished America’s Got Talent, and we also watched Sing Thriller, Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  We didn’t have a lot of time for TV with the kids in October since we had extracurricular activities every night of the week + something going on every Friday night, but we did manage to squeeze in our Halloween favorites + one new one.

Alone: I watched The Wedding Planner every Sunday while I worked, and I listened to music for the rest of my work time during the week.    

 

Currently Listening To

I listened to Abe Parker for most of the month because I wanted to know his songs inside and out for his concert.  We also saw Judah & the Lion in concert on October 25, and it was so dang good that I went home and downloaded their new album immediately and have had it on repeat ever since then.  Oh yeah, and Taylor’s TTPD is still going strong when it’s just Olivia and me in the car alone.  Oh, and I also listen to my worship music here and there when I need a good mood booster!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!