Last week was PACKED with goodness – lots of time with family and friends, some relaxation, and a ton of fun! It was the epitome of what vacation time should be and I’m working overtime this week to make up for the lack of productivity, but – no regrets, y’all!
Let’s get to the recap!
Monday, November 25
Monday morning, we woke up a little earlier than usual, we had leftover donuts, and then we hit the road to pick up Jacob and his friend WJ (Jacob had spent the night out) to go see Wicked!!!!
We went to the 10:30 AM showing so we could *hopefully* avoid the crowds, and it was a great strategy, because we did, indeed, avoid the crowds. There was barely anyone in the theater! The movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes + 30 minutes of trailers, so it was a long one, but it flew by because – it was PHENOMENAL.
I was raised watching The Wizard of Oz every year, but I’d never read the book Wicked, nor had I seen the Broadway play (much to my dismay) so I didn’t even know the story. It was a real treat getting to see it for the first time at the theater… it is truly a cinematic masterpiece. .
I sobbed during the dance floor scene before the girls sang For Good. SOBBED. I can’t imagine anyone not sobbing during that scene. And then I also sobbed at the end during Defying Gravity. Y’all, it was just so good. I’m tearing up now as I’m typing it just from thinking about it… probably because the whole storyline is (unfortunately) still so relevant in today’s climate. It made me look at the Wicked Witch AKA Elphaba from The Wizard of Oz in a totally different way.
When I scheduled her eye appointment a year ago, it didn’t occur to me that it was during Thanksgiving week, and if I’d known that, I wouldn’t have done it. Haha. When I realized it a couple of weeks ago, I should’ve rescheduled it, but I didn’t, so we were stuck with it. Boo. The appointment wasn’t too terribly long, but it wasn’t quick either, and we were home around 4:30.
At that point, we still hadn’t taken pictures for Christmas cards, so I rounded up all of the outfits, and we went out in the back yard with the tripod and knocked those out. FINALLYYYY. They actually turned out pretty decent except for the fact that Jacob looks super tired from staying up late as his sleepover the night before. Note to self, don’t schedule family pictures the day after one of the kids has a sleepover. Haha.
We knocked those out in less than 30 minutes, and then I headed to my office to finish a blog post. I ended up not being able to get it done, so I put up my “Oopsie” post from last week and moved some stuff around to give myself more time. I’m telling y’all, when I say I took the week off, I really did take the week off. I did very minimal work last week.
After dinner, the kids showered and I got in a mixed cardio workout, I did my Bible study, and I also got the towels folded and put away. I also tidied some of the house and caught up on some tasks that had been forgotten since we were away most of the day.
Tuesday, November
26
Tuesday morning, we slept in, had breakfast, and then I spent about 30 minutes in my office catching up on blog reading. I had to stop and get showered and ready for the day at 9:45 because I had to take Olivia to have her baby teeth extracted at 11.
We had already tried to have them extracted at our regular dentist a month or so ago, but he doesn’t specialize in extractions for kids, so he stopped when she felt uncomfortable. He didn’t want to push it and scare her, and instead, he referred her to a pediatric dentist to do them for us.
We’d already had a consult with the pediatric dentist, and we were highly impressed, so I had a good feeling about it, although, I was still dreading it just because Olivia was dreading it so bad.
To make her comfortable, I told her to wear her comfiest clothes (she chose leggings and her Eras Tour hoodie), she brought along her two favorite stuffies (always Sheepie, and her new one, Billy, that she’d just gotten from Target), I let her pick the music on the way there (she chose “Mommy’s Christmas music” AKA the Pop Christmas play list that we listen to often with Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, Britney, etc.), and when we got there, she was pretty chill.
Once that was playing, the assistant put the numbing cream on her gums, and then the dentist came right in to give her the shots in her gums. They had a second assistant there to gently hold Olivia’s hands so she wouldn’t flinch, and I held Sheepie and Billy for her. <3
It took about 30 minutes for the shots to numb her mouth, so we watched The Eras Tour the whole time and Olivia was just as chill as she could be with that nitrous oxide. The dentist came back once her mouth was numb, and he had all three teeth out within 90 seconds. Olivia did so well, but she did cry a little bit with the third one because it was a molar, and it wasn’t even loose yet.
After that, they removed the nitrous oxide and let her lay there for a bit to get her bearings, and then we were out of there! They gave her three tokens (one for each tooth) that she could use on the prize machines in the lobby, and she was thrilled because they had axolotl squishies. Haha.
All in all, things couldn’t have gone smoother, and I was so grateful for the dentist and the whole staff. They were phenomenal. Truly. Everything ran like a well-oiled machine and there was zero waiting at any point, which was good for Olivia (and me) because waiting always increases anxiety.
We headed straight home after that to have a lazy day. It was rainy Tuesday, so it was the perfect day for it. When we first got home, I gave Olivia some acetaminophen, and then she and Jacob watched YouTube videos for a bit.
We had a late lunch at home – ice cream for Olivia! – and she did okay even though her mouth was still totally numb. She didn’t eat very much, but I was glad she at least ate something.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working in my office and watching Christmas movies – I watched Serendipity and then most of The Holiday – while the kids played video games, and I FINALLYYYY got our Christmas cards ordered, too!
After the movie, the kids went to bed, and then B and I watched another episode of Outer Banks before heading to bed.
Wednesday, November 27
Wednesday morning, we slept in, we had breakfast, and then I spent just a few brief minutes in my office organizing a few things for the blog. After that, we all got showered and ready for the day, and then we headed to pick up Olivia’s friend Aubrey to hang with us for the day.
We ended up staying for a bit longer to look around, and we bought a few things to support her for Small Business Saturday (on Wednesday – haha) since we knew that we wouldn’t be able to make it over there Saturday since we had Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law.
After we were done on the trolley, we walked through the forest of lights, and then we were all hungry and ready for dinner. We’ve always eaten breakfast for dinner after Fantasy in Lights (part of our tradition!), so we headed to IHOP afterward and had a very late dinner that was absolutely delicious. There’s nothing better than coffee and pancakes and eggs and bacon after being outside in the cold all night!
Thursday morning was Thanksgiving, so we got up and made our traditional big breakfast of homemade waffles, bacon, fruit, and mimosas. I did my mimosa with white cranberry juice this time and it was next level, y’all. SO good.
Brian’s dad rode with us to my aunt and uncle’s house where we did dinner with my mom’s extended family. We usually have 40-50 people as it’s my mom’s entire extended family (and she has a lot of brothers and sisters), but we ended up only having 16 this year for various reasons. Some out-of-towners couldn’t make it, some stayed home because my uncle who has dementia hasn’t been doing well at all, so their whole family did a separate Thanksgiving, and some people were sick, including my Momma. :o(
Friday, November 29
Friday morning, I was one of those crazy people who got up early because I had to get my hands on the Taylor Swift Eras Tour book and the TTPD Anthology with bonus tracks. Target had been saying all along that there would be limited stock and that items would sell out quickly (which could have been a marketing ploy just to get people in stores on Black Friday), but there have been times in the past where TS merch has sold out quickly and there was not enough to go around, so I didn’t want to risk it.
Our Target opened at 6 AM, so I had set my alarm for 5:38 AM to give me time to roll out of bed and get there right at 6. However, I ended up not being able to fall asleep from the itchy throat feeling I’ve been having every night, but I think I finally fell asleep sometime around 1 AM.
My body clock just happened to wake me up at 5:25, so I lay there for five minutes and then went ahead and got up. I literally rolled out of bed, put in my contacts, put on joggers, a sweatshirt, my big jacket, and a beanie, and I was out the door in less than five minutes. I literally did not even put on a bra or brush my teeth. #NoShame
I had already laid everything out the night before, and Brian had parked my car outside the garage so I could go out the front door and not have to open the garage and wake anyone. I was all kinds of prepared. Haha.
I pulled up to our Target and immediately panicked because the line was already SO LONG. I ended up getting in line at 5:50 AM, and it went all the way down the sidewalk from Target, past PetSmart (which is HUGE), past Fresh Market (which is also big), and that was my place in line. Based on my estimations, I would say there were probably at least 200-250 people in front of me… maybe more??
The line started moving at 6 AM on the dot, but then it stopped as there was someone monitoring how many people to let in at once. The line then moved again and stopped right before me. And then I was finally let in with the third wave. Just as I was walking in the store, a Target associate said, “The vinyl and CDs are sold out.” I was like, “Noooo!!!!” But then another associate said that there were CDs left. The vinyl was, indeed, sold out, though. It was sold out by 6:03 AM. Sigh.
When I got inside, they were SUPER organized, which I appreciated so much. They had everyone walk stay in line to grab the Eras Tour Book from the display (and they had the display near the front of the store so we didn’t have to walk too far), and then everyone stayed in the same line to get vinyl and CDs, which were on carts in the self-checkout area, and then all TS merch had to be checked out in the self-checkout area. They had associates monitoring the display and the carts and the checkout to ensure that nobody was taking more than they were allowed to, etc.
As I was halfway through the line to get to the carts to grab my CDs, an associate said that the CDs were sold out – waaaahhhh – so a bunch of people got out of that line to go check out in the other lanes since they thought they were gone. I was just about to get out of that line and get in another one since it’d be faster, but something told me to stay in the line where the CDs were just in case, and I’m so glad I did because when I got up there, they’d found more CDs. There were only three small stacks left – like, 20 at most maybe? – and I was able to get my two CDs. Whew.
The entire process was SUPER fast, and I was walking out of the store by 6:15. Everyone was super kind. Nobody was pushing or running or cutting in line. Nobody was trying to beat anybody over the head after the vinyls ran out. There’s really something to be said about TS fans, y’all… they’re the best!
When I was waiting in line for the CDs, there was one guy who walked through (not there for TS stuff), and he looked around and asked what was going on, and somebody told him we were all there to buy TS merch and he said nastily to all of us, “Crazy liberals,” and then huffed off, but he was the only dark spot in the morning. Everyone just laughed it off, and everyone in line was really wonderful and just super excited to have their Eras Tour books.
I was back in my driveway by 6:25 AM and back in my bed by 6:30 AM. I had a little trouble falling back asleep, but I finally dozed off some time around 7:30 I think, and then I got up for good at 9 AM. And it was TOTALLY worth it to get up at 5:30 AM and out in the freezing cold because THE BOOK IS SO BEAUTIFUL, Y’ALL!!!! And the hug and squeal that Olivia let out when I woke up and went in her room was priceless.
The first thing out of her mouth was, “DID YOU GET THE STUFF?!” Haha. Yes, yes I did.
We all had a late breakfast, and then I spent the rest of the morning talking to all of my friends and family because everyone was texting me to see if I was successful in my endeavors. Haha. The merch was not available online on Black Friday, but they were going to make it available on Saturday sometime. However, nobody knew what time, so I was stressing about getting the vinyls.
My friend Jess knew I was stressed about it (I was SO not excited about having to set an alarm every hour until it went live, and I was worried about the website crashing), so she checked the stock on the Target store in Bozeman, MT where her daughter lives. They just happened to still have stock on the vinyl, and her daughter was kind enough to drive over and buy two of them for us, and she’s going to bring them home with her for Christmas!!!! I truly have the best friends, y’all!! Her daughter sent this picture after the goods were secured. Haha.
After that, our friend Ian and his son, Noah, dropped by to do a quick Pokemon card trade with Jacob. Jacob and Noah had been texting all afternoon about some cards, and Noah wanted them for a battle he was doing the next day, so they grabbed those and then headed out.
Then I went to my office to do some work for the first time in foreverrrr (sung to the tune of Anna from Frozen). Hehe.
Brian and I weren’t super hungry for dinner after our big lunch, so I rounded up some mac n cheese and chicken fingers for the kids, and then I just had a green protein smoothie for dinner so I could get my collagen powder in. And we also finished our 1,000 piece puzzle that we'd literally been working on for TWO YEARS. We started it right before I got vertigo, and working on puzzles is a major trigger for me, so we put it away completely for over a year.
Miraculously, we were able to stop GT and score two touchdowns to tie it up right at the end of the game. And then, we proceeded to win the game after EIGHT OVERTIMES. Oh, my word. I think I aged like 10 years during that game. Haha.
Side note, UGA posted this picture on social media before the game, and just look at how stunning the campus is in Athens!!!! God's country, y'all!
Saturday, November 30
Saturday morning, I slept in until about 8:45… I was exhausted from the early morning and the late night Friday, and then we all headed downstairs to have breakfast. Our elf, Cheek, had come back, and he’d brought along a Christmas Lego set for Jacob, some light-up reindeer slippers for Olivia, and a bunch of sweets for breakfast. I had all of the ornaments for everyone for 2024 – Beetlejuice for Brian, a Taylor Eras Tour ornament for me (to commemorate my Eras Tour from the previous year), a cell phone for Jacob (since he got his first phone this year), and a guitar for Olivia (since she started lessons this year).
The kids loaded up on all the donuts and sweets for breakfast (it’s the one day per year that we let them do that) and I had an egg along with a few mini donuts. I needed some protein to offset all that sugar.
While I watched, I did some Small Business Saturday shopping online, and I shared a few of my favorite small businesses to shop. I had about ten minutes in my office after that to get a couple of things done, and then it was time to make pineapple casserole and get ready for Thanksgiving #3 at my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house.
My step-sister-in-law and her family were all in town for Thanksgiving, and it was so nice to be able to spend time with them as always. We all ate so.much.food. and then the kids burned it all off playing badminton in the back yard.
Instead, we headed back home, I made a green protein smoothie, and then Brian started experimenting with margarita ingredients because we’re determined to figure out how to make the epic margs that we love so much from the restaurant at the beach.
We then sat down with our margs to watch the Texas vs. Texas A&M game because the winner of that game (Texas) is playing against us in the SEC Championship game this coming weekend. I was personally hoping for an A&M win, but alas, we’ll be playing Texas again, and I’m hoping things go the same way they did in the last game since we beat them. Time will tell!
Saturday night, Olivia also gave all of us some handmade ornaments she’d made for us, and they turned out so cute. Apparently one day she was bored, so she decided to craft ornaments for all of us, and I thought that was just the sweetest thing!
Sunday, December 1
Sunday morning, I was up a little after 8 which was earlier than all of the other days we’d been sleeping in, because it was our last day of Thanksgiving break, and I wanted to use it to get some things done.
I started the day with a small breakfast (one scrambled egg) because we were having brunch at my MIL and step-FIL’s for a birthday, and I wanted to save room for all the goodies they were making.
After that, we gave the kids their Advent calendars since it was December first. This year, we got Jacob a Pokemon Advent calendar, and we got Olivia a Taylor Swift Advent calendar. The only place to get the TS calendars was on Etsy, and all of them are only 13 days (because – Taylor’s lucky number), but it’s the cutest and we’ve been really pleased with it so far.
Olivia also gave us an Advent calendar that she’d made for us at school. It’s 24 individual envelopes and each one has a drawing or something she wrote in it… it’s the absolute sweetest! The first day she drew a family portrait and the second day she wrote what she loves about our family. <3
Once I’d done all I could do, I headed to my office to tackle some blog work because I barely did a thing all week in that department. I finished my blog post for Monday, I transferred all of the pictures and videos from my phone to my computer for the week, I got all of those sorted and organized, I got my planner ready for the week ahead, and I downloaded some new music I’d been wanting to get (hello, Wicked soundtrack!).
While I worked on all of that, I went back and finished the online sermon I’d started because they’d been able to get their system up and running for their later service and it was finally available. Then, I watched Serendipity again. Haha.
After I’d spent a couple of hours in my office, it was time to do all the things to get organized for Monday. I cleaned the kitchen, the kids prepped all of their stuff for school, and Brian headed out to pick up pizza for dinner. My mom was still sick Sunday, so she didn’t cook, which was definitely for the best, because this time of year, we don’t want to be around any germs.
While Brian was out picking up pizza, the kids got showered and ready for bed, and then we all sat down and ate together when B got home. We finished off the bottle of wine that was left over from my extended family’s Thanksgiving.
Sunday was Brian’s and my 17th wedding anniversary, so after dinner, he and I opened gifts from each other, and I was so excited because he bought a record player for me!!!! I’ve been wanting one for a while as I have vinyl from various artists from over the years, so it’ll be nice to be able to play them.
After we opened gifts, we all snuggled on the couch and watched an episode of Is It Cake? Christmas, and then I sorted all of the dirty clothes and watered the plants before getting the kids in the bed. Brian and I finished the evening watching another episode of the Jon Benet Ramsey case (so disturbing), and then we headed to bed.
It was a happy and full Thanksgiving break and not a single one of us was ready for Monday, but on the bright side, just 2.5 more weeks of school and work, and then we’re off for 17 glorious days!!!!
Happy Wednesday, y’all!