Last week was a
good one! I got ahead with blog work, we
tackled a lot of the spring cleaning at home, and we had a really fun
weekend. Let’s get to the recap!
Monday, March 2
Monday morning, I snoozed an extra time and then I dropped the kids at
school. I had a Home and School Advisory
Board meeting right after drop-off, so I hung around for that, and then a
couple of the ladies and I chatted in the parking lot for a bit before we
left. We are already looking at
end-of-the-year activities, and I can hardly believe that summer break is just
right around the corner. The kids will
be wrapping up the school year in just over ten weeks. HOW?!
After I left the school, I headed to Walmart and Publix to pick up
groceries, and then Brian helped me unload them when I got home. The rest of the day was spent finishing up my
blog post for Tuesday and folding and putting away the towels I’d washed over
the weekend, and then it was time to get in the car line to pick up the kids.
The three of us were extra happy Monday because nobody had anywhere to be
– no extracurricular activities and no appointments – so we had a nice, long
stretch ahead of us at home.
I started the afternoon with a cup of tea and a Bible study, and then I
got out to walk because it was 80 degrees!!
I did a very slow and light arms workout afterward, and then I watered
the ferns. Since it was nice outside,
Brian got out to do some yardwork (pulling weeds, trimming back some hedges,
and such), and the kids rode their scooters outside, too.
I showered and started on dinner after I was done working out, and the
kids had some screentime while I cooked.
On the menu for Monday was my beef and parm pasta with zucchini with
some garlic cheese bread.
After dinner, we all cleaned up the kitchen and then the kids hung out
for a bit before getting showered and ready for bed.
After dinner, Brian and I finally got our Disney Magic Bands re-synced to
my app for our upcoming trip… for some reason they’d been giving us trouble,
but Brian finally figured out what to do.
Then, I got all my indoor plant babies watered and I did my Lent
studies. I had gotten a couple of days
behind, so I took the time to get caught up.
Olivia was in her room crocheting, so I hung out with her for a bit. She taught herself how to crochet using those
The Woobles kits (highly recommend!) and now that she knows what she’s doing,
we bought her some yarn for her birthday so she can make her own
creations. She has been crocheting
little stuffed animals for her friends and it’s the sweetest thing ever.
Once everyone was ready for bed, we settled in for some family TV time,
and we finished the movie Jurassic Park 2. I sat with everyone and caught up on our One
Second a Day video for this new year while we watched.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched the most recent episode
of Paradise and then we headed to bed.
Monday, we also got the news that Brian’s aunt passed away. We knew it was imminent because she had been
ill for quite some time, but it did still happen faster than anyone had
expected. She was my mother-in-law’s
baby sister, and she was so young, and it was a heartbreaking loss for Brian’s
whole family. Please keep them all in
your prayers.
Tuesday, March 3
Tuesday morning, I dropped the kids at school, Olivia with stuffies she’d
crocheted for her friends in hand. And yes,
she also made the collars for them and named them. Don’t ask me where she comes up with these
names… she always tells us that she “looks into their soul” and then the name
just comes to her. Lol.
I was halfway home before Brian called me to tell me that Jacob was
texting us to let us know that both kids had forgotten to wear their Mass
uniforms. Sigh. Every other Tuesday, the kids attend Mass
during school hours, so they are required to dress up on those days (pants,
oxford shirt, blazer, tie, and nice shoes for Jacob and skirt, oxford shirt,
knee socks, and nice shoes for Olivia), and they’d both just worn their
everyday uniforms (shorts, polo, tennis shoes, and a school hoodie for Jacob
and skirt, polo, and tennis shoes for Olivia).
By the time I got home, Olivia was already calling me on the phone from
the school office to tell me the same thing, so I gathered up both kids’ Mass
uniforms and I drove back to the school to drop them off so the kids could get
changed.
We’ve had kids at the school for eleven years, and in eleven years we’ve
never forgotten a Mass day… until last week.
I guess there’s a first time for everything. Haha.
The school even sends a reminder text message the evening before, but we
still managed to forget.
When I got home the second time, I made a cup of tea and got started on
my day. Tuesday’s focus was the
blog. I started and finished my blog
post for Friday, I started and finished my blog post for the following
Wednesday, I caught up on blog comments, and I caught up on three days of blog
reading.
By the time all that was done, it was time to get in the car line to pick
up the kids. When we got home, I did my
Bible study and quiet time, and then I did a quick arms workout before taking
Olivia to dance.
The boys went to play golf, and then when I got home to the empty house I
went out for a walk. I got showered and
ready and started dinner shortly after the boys got home, and I also made a
batch of chocolate chip muffins to have on hand for the week ahead. The kids and I looooveeee muffins, so lately
I’ve been making them almost every week.
Brian went back out to pick up Olivia from dance, and then when they got
home, we sat down to eat – parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli,
and muffins.
After dinner, Olivia went upstairs to get showered, and the rest of us
cleaned the kitchen. By the time
everyone was prepped and ready for Wednesday, it was time for the kids to get
in bed, and then Brian and I turned on an episode of SNL before we went
to bed.
Wednesday, March 4
Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids off at school and then I headed
home to tackle my list for the day. On
the agenda was…
-
Starting and finishing my blog post for Monday
-
Downloading my niece’s wedding photos (she finally
got them all back from her wedding and they are stunning!)
-
Typing up a recipe to add to my recipe book
-
Updating more album covers… I’m on a roll and I’m
hoping to finally be done with this massive project sometime in the next couple
of months
-
Finished catching up on blog reading
-
Put gas in my car
-
Stopped by UPS to drop off a couple of Amazon
returns
-
Stopped by the library to drop off some books
After school, the kids and I met up with Brian in a parking lot near the
school so Jacob could jump in Brian’s car to go to golf. Meanwhile, Olivia and I headed home so she
could study, eat dinner, and get ready for dance. I did my Bible study while she studied for a
test, and then I made some chicken fingers for her to eat before we left.
I had to swing by CVS to pick up my new daily inhaler after I dropped her
off at dance, and I’m so very grateful that we were able to find one that does
not cost $654 per month. This one is
only going to be $40… still more than I was paying for my previous inhaler, but
thankfully, actually affordable.
Wednesday evening, we were supposed to have had a girl’s dinner, but a
couple of girls had things come up and a couple weren’t feeling well, so we
decided to postpone again. Instead, I
headed home and I went for yet another walk and then I headed back home to work
out my arms. The arms workouts are still
very light and very short, but thankfully, they don’t seem to be bothering my
neck so far. Fingers crossed maybe I’ve
finally turned a corner?!
Right before I left for my walk, the sunlight was pouring into our bedroom,
and it was bouncing off one of the mirrors and projecting a rainbow onto my
nightstand. You know I had to photograph
it! It was so beautiful and in all our
years living here, I have never seen that happen. I also had to capture the flowering trees in
the sky… everything is blooming and it is so beautiful!
When the boys got home, I reheated the leftover beef and parm pasta from
Monday, and the boys had that while I just had a little hodgepodge of random
items – turkey, cheese, an orange, kiwi, a handful of almonds, etc. It was a much healthier alternative than the
Mexican food I was supposed to have had if our girl’s night had happened. Haha.
I sure did miss my girls and the yummy food, though!
After dinner, Jacob got showered and I prepped for Thursday and did my
Lent study for the day, and Brian headed to pick up Olivia from dance.
Once the kids were in bed, Brian and I watched the most recent episode of
Shrinking that had dropped and then it was bedtime.
Thursday, March 5
Thursday after the kids had been dropped at school, I headed home to make
a cup of tea and tackle another list for the day…
-
Started my blog post for the following Tuesday
-
Started my blog post for the following Friday
-
Caught up on emails
-
Paid a couple of bills
-
Printed my goals for the month
-
Shopped for Easter baskets
-
Opened a couple of packages that delivered
-
Texted our resource officer about doing security for
the upcoming dance I’m co-chairing
-
Updated some more album covers
It was a pretty basic day.
After school, the kids and I went to music lessons, and I sat in with
Olivia. Mr. Steve let her play his
electric guitar and I think he created a monster because she wants one along
with an amp and a pedal now. Hahahaha. She practiced The Fate of Ophelia over
and over again while Steve played with the pedal to let her hear all the
different sounds the guitar could make and then Steve showed us how the pedal
loop works. He always knows how to keep
lessons interesting! Never a dull moment
with him!
When we got home, I did my quiet time, and the kids went outside for a
while to burn some energy and soak up the sun and fresh air. I walked/ran 2.41 miles and then I
showered. Brian and I made breakfast for
dinner – our usual Thursday evening dinner – and then after dinner the kids got
showered while I prepped for Friday.
The kids wanted to start Jurassic Park 3 for TV time, so I snuck
in some reading time while they watched because I’ve seen all the JP movies
approximately 84,000,000 times because my brother was obsessed with them
growing up. Although, I’m not sure I’ve
ever seen JP3, but trust me, I’ve had my fill of those movies because of my
brother. My parents can attest to that,
too. Hahahaha.
Brian and I finished the episode of Saturday Night Live after the
kids went to bed, and we were officially caught up on TV at that point.
Friday, March 6
Friday, I dropped the kids at school, made my tea, and then did some blog
housekeeping before Brian and I had to leave to visit with my upper cervical
chiropractor. I had been counting down
the days until I got to see him because I could tell that my atlas was out
based on how I’d been feeling up to that point.
I considered making an appointment earlier with him, but I just decided
to stick it out instead.
My atlas was, indeed, out again, but it wasn’t as bad this time as it was
the last time. I also had him check my
jaw again, and he said that my left side was a bit wonky, but it also wasn’t as
bad as it was the last time. So,
progress, I guess? Hopefully on the way
to permanent progress now that I’m done with all the jaw changes since my
braces are off and my retainer has been regulated? (Although, my OG retainer still isn’t
perfect. Sigh.) Guess we’ll see!
While I was there, I mentioned myofunctional therapy to him since my
tongue posture has been wrong my entire life and he confirmed that tongue
posture is directly connected to the cervical spine, so that explains why my
retainer issues caused my atlas to come out again. He was very knowledgeable about myofunctional
therapy, and he told me that, unfortunately, right now, the closest therapist
is north of Atlanta which is way too far from my house to visit since it would
likely be a multiple times per week commitment up front. He told me that there is someone
opening a practice right near him, though, and soon. He told me that he knows the person and has
been in touch with him, so he’ll let me know when he has more information about
an opening date and such.
He did agree that he thinks I need to address my tongue function, etc.,
though, and he also confirmed that it’s important to visit with a specialist to
get a customized plan rather than just try to do exercises myself at home. He said that once a therapist evaluates me,
they should know which exercises I need to do and then I’ll be able to do
everything from home after that, hopefully.
I don’t know if it’s something I’ll end up pursuing, but I’m definitely
not taking it off the table. I guess it
just depends how things go from this point forward with my neck adjustments,
etc.
My upper cervical chiropractor is already a bit of a haul from my house,
so it would be convenient if I could somehow schedule both appointments
together since they’ll be close in proximity.
I guess we’ll see.
My adjustments always make me sleepy (and dizzy), but thankfully, my
adjustment on Friday didn’t make me dizzy at all! It did, however, make me sleepy, so when we
got home, I lay down on our bed to try to nap.
I kept getting notifications on my phone and also hearing bees knocking
into our bedroom and bathroom windows (LOL) and it kept startling me, so I
never actually slept.
I got up after about an hour and Brian and I had lunch together. I only
had a few minutes after lunch before I had to leave to pick up the kids, so I
worked some more on updating album covers.
After school, I finished my book.
I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, and I loved it so much. It took some getting used to since the entire
book was written in letters and emails, but once I adapted to the writing style,
I couldn’t put it down.
After that, I started updating more album covers, and I think I was able
to get 40 of them done. I am rocking and
rolling, and I’m almost done updating all artists through the letter R, so I’m
getting close to the end of the alphabet.
We had poker night Friday night which is one of our favorite evenings of
the whole month! This month, it was at
Jeannine and James’s house, so we got there around six and spent the rest of
the evening eating pizza and drinking beer (out of our Maui koozies) and
laughing and chatting… oh, and playing a little poker, too. ;o)
I know I say it every month, but I just love this group of people so
much. We always have so much fun
together, the conversation never stops rolling, and I’m grateful for each and
every one of them.
Meanwhile the kids had Pokemon battles, they watched YouTube videos, and
once it got dark outside, they played hide and seek in the back yard. The kids always have just as much fun as the
adults do. :o)
We got home just before ten, and the kids went to bed. Brian and I were at a loss for watch to
watch, so we started DTF St. Louis (pilot episode was the only one
available and it wasn’t my favorite), and then after that, Brian turned on Cruel
Intentions because I had been talking about it at dinner. It’s one of my favorite movies from the 90s…
ugh, just so good!!!! We turned off the
movie early, though, because we were both so tired.
Saturday, March 7
Saturday morning, we slept in and I made waffles for breakfast. I spent some time updating some links on the
blog along with some other blog housekeeping, and I did some more browsing for
Easter baskets.
Mid-morning, I got up and got busy and all of us worked our booties off for
the rest of the day. The kids did their
laundry and tidied their rooms and the playroom since it had gotten a bit
messy, and I deep cleaned the blinds, the windows, and the tub in our primary
bathroom, I deep cleaned the windows in the playroom, and I deep cleaned the blinds
and window in my closet. Brian worked in
the yard aaaallll day pulling weeds that started popping up, trimming, raking
leftover leaves from fall and winter, and mowing the front and back yards.
After lunch, I got right back to it washing a load of clothes and deep
cleaning all the blinds and windows in the living room and kitchen. The kitchen blinds were super grimy rather
than dusty – I’m assuming from all the condensation/humidity in the air right
there since they’re over the sink – so they were tough to clean. I dusted them with my dusting gloves first,
and then I started scrubbing them down with Clorox wipes. It was a little awkward to reach since they’re
over the sink and there’s a light hanging down from there, and since they had
to be manually scrubbed repeatedly, I only got through a couple of slats before
calling it a day because my shoulders and neck were starting to feel
questionable and I didn’t want to irritate them.
Once that was done, I grabbed a cup of tea and I updated five months of blog
links, and then I went for a walk. It was
sunny and 82 degrees on Saturday so I ended up getting all hot and sweaty and I
even got some sun on my arms and shoulders even though I put on sunscreen. I have missed being tan!
I watered the outdoor plants when I got home, and then it was time to
shower and get ready for the evening ahead.
We were going to a hockey game with Jeannine and James and the boys, and
we were all looking forward to it!
We met them there at the game, grabbed dinner from the concession stand,
and then found our seats. The four kids
had seats right in front of us, so all of us adults were able to sit together
and it worked out perfectly. The kids
ended up leaving us and sitting several rows behind us at the very top of the
stadium since there was nobody up there, and they all had a good time watching
the game and waiting for a fight. Haha.
Mack and Buckley had brought their Rubik’s cubes along and Jacob was
determined to figure out how to solve it, so Mack helped him with some tips and
tricks, and Jacob is officially on his way to being one of those kids who can
solve a Rubik’s cube freakishly fast in just seconds. Haha.
The game was an exciting one and we ended up winning in sudden death
overtime. The kids were disappointed
that there were zero fights Saturday night, but they did get excited every time
things escalated.
We got home late and the kids got into bed around 11. Brian and I weren’t quite ready to go to bed,
so he made Manhattans for us and we ended up staying up until well after
midnight watching the first half of the movie Sinners.
Sunday, March 8
Sunday morning wasn’t fun at all because the clocks had moved forward in
the middle of the night. I dragged myself
out of bed just before the new 9 AM which was the old 8 AM, and I was tired
since we’d gone to bed so late. I say it
every year and I’ll say it again – I am NOT a fan of Daylight Saving Time. We live on the back end of our time zone, so
the sun rises very late already, and when we spring forward the sun rises ridiculously
late. As someone who is not a morning
person, I really need the sunshine to get me going in the morning, and we just
don’t get there here where we live. Our
meteorologist said that if we were to move to DST permanently, the sun would
rise here in the winter until NINE AM, and in some places it wouldn’t rise
until after TEN AM. That is just silly.
I know this is a very polarizing subject, and I know many who would
rather have the extra daylight at the end of the day, but I’m firmly in the normal
time camp and stop switching back and forth.
Anyhoooo, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we ended up having to
wake Olivia because she slept so late that I was worried she wouldn’t be able
to go to bed Sunday night (I was right), and then I headed up to my office to
tackle my Sunday morning things – planning for the week ahead, transferring photos
off my phone to my computer, getting them organized, and listening to the sermon
I listen to every Sunday.
After that, I cleaned a few more slats on the kitchen blinds (I’m just
doing a few every day since it’s so time consuming), and then I cleaned the
dining room blinds. That was easy peasy
with my new dusting gloves!
We had lunch after that, and then I got out for another walk. While I was out, I checked on our neighbor,
Joe, who has been battling cancer and he’s doing great. He was out in the yard doing some light
yardwork and it was so good to see him out and about! I chatted with him for a few minutes and then
headed back home to shower and get ready for the day.
Brian left for a tennis match shortly after that, and I spent some time
in my office working on this blog post, and then it was time to head to church
since we’d missed it Saturday evening.
The kids and I settled in and during the homily, we all heard a loud bang
and a few yells and gasps and the next thing we knew, like, 20 people were
running to the back of the church to help someone because they had fainted and
fallen and they weren’t getting up.
Our pastor ended up having to delay Mass by nearly 15 minutes while someone
called 911. Thankfully, we had several
doctors in the congregation, so they were able to be there with him until the
paramedics arrived, and our priest also walked to the back of the sanctuary to
pray over him while we waited. It was a
scary 15 minutes until the ambulance got there, but from what I’ve heard since
then is that he is doing better, thank goodness. We were all a bit shaken up after that.
Mass ended up running very late, so the kids and I snuck out right after
Communion because we had to pick up Mama Cass for Sunday dinner and get all the
way back out to my parents’ house on the other side of town.
We spent the rest of the evening over there, and then when we got home,
we prepped for Monday, the kids got in bed, and Brian and I started the newest
episode of SNL.
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
