Weekly Review 39

Hello readers! Welcome to my weekly review, where I share my previous week with you. 

Instagram, TikTok, Rumble: @Theregionlife

Before I begin, I wanted to let you know why this weeks edition might be shorter and/or might have more mistakes than usual. Although you’ll find out about halfway through the post, I wanted to explain first! I have been fighting off a sinus infection throughout the weekend and I’m not sure if I will have the same level of concentration as I write this. However, I made a schedule and I am going to stick to it. Also, I promise I will catch up on all the recent posts I’ve missed in the WP Reader! With that being said, let’s begin our weekly review.

It started on Monday, with Mr. O not feeling too great. I hate when our little man is sick. It makes me feel useless that I can’t do much to help him besides giving him medicine he doesn’t like. After work I made sure to cuddle him on the couch for as long as he’d let me. He enjoys my cuddles, but loves his mother’s even more. Although it’s obvioulsy not his fault, his sudden illness was disappointing to Lea and I because he was supposed to start daycare this week! We were so excited for him because we know he’s going to love it, but we ended up rescheduling his start date to next week. It’s okay. He’s growing up too fast anyways, so one more week without daycare is fine with me.

After we ate dinner, I brought out my new wheelbarrow, shovel, and gardening rake to the backyard. It was time for me to start digging up all the rock out of the dirt the concrete company left behind.

I was able to dig up a little more than what this picture shows, but I didnt realize how deep it all went. After realizing how much I am going to have to dig up, how much new dirt I am going to have to buy, and what time it was (Mr. O bed time), I decided to call it a night. I was out there for over an hour and it felt like I barely made a dent! It’s okay though. I’m not going to worry about it. I have two friends coming one weekend in the near future to help me dig it all up. I will have your “after” picture too!

By Tuesday morning Mr. O was starting to feel a little better. He had more energy than the day before and was more active. The workday went by kind of fast (which is always nice) and I started making dinner before Lea came home because I didn’t want to have the “What do we want for dinner tonight?” converstaion again. We’re both sick of it, lol. So, while she was on her way and Mr. O was playing, I put on my chef’s apron, cut up an onion and two pieces of chicken breast, and made chicken and rice. I’ve mentioned this before (a really long time ago), but it’s a recipe I got from my mom. I threw it in the pot, added some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and a couple cans of tomato sauce and let it cook for about an hour.

Lea and I thought it was good, but someone disagreed. My heart broke a little bit when I heard Mr. O say “No” when Lea asked if he liked it, lol. He will enjoy it one day, but his little two-year-old palate isn’t ready for a meal like that I guess. Once we finished dinner and played for a little bit, Lea gave him a bath and got him ready for bed. Then, I rocked the little guy in the rocking chair and red him a bedtime story. Lately, we’ve been ready Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. He loves all the trucks in that one. Once he fell asleep, I went out for a beautiful evening stroll. I took this walk with no headphones this time. I wanted to hear all the noises of the town. The distant traffic sounds, the birds chirping, kids playing. It all sounded so refreshing.

On Wednesday morning, I took Mr. O to my mom’s for the day. He’s so cute whenever I drop him off there. I expect him to not want me to leave but he’s totally fine with it. “Bye, Dada”, he says with a wave, smile, and a blown kiss in my direction. It melts my heart! When I came home I started my work day, eaglery waiting for Superman movie tickets to go on sale. Finally, around 11:30/12 o’clock, Fandango had the tickets for sale in our area. I rushed so fast I think I was the first person to buy them, lol. I was so relieved. I cannot wait to see this movie!

After work I took out the grill, cleaned it off, and threw on some burgers. Lea made french fries (because Mr. O loves them and was probably not going to eat the burgers) and we turned on the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie, on Disney Plus. Mr. O hasn’t seen that one yet, so we wanted to try something new. He loved all the singing and dancing, but didn’t really care once all that was done. We didn’t end up finishing the movie, lol. This night was also when I started getting congested. It was the beginning of a long weekend!

Thursday morning rolled around and I was convinced it was just my allergies acting up after digging in the yard the other day. Lea took Mr. O to my mom’s house before work, and I tried to get rid of the congestion in my nose and ears with fluid and flonase. Needless to say, it didn’t help too much. After work, Mr. O and I played outside. He sat on my lap inside my car and was pretending to drive. He was turning the wheels like crazy and pressing every button he could reach! It was fun, but didn’t last long, lol. Once I convinced him we had to get out of the car, he grabbed his little shovel and started digging in a little pile of rocks in the yard. The rest of the night was normal for us.

On Friday I had the day off of work. Originally, I took the day off because we were going to go down south to my in-laws for our nieces first birthday party. However, with me being sick and Mr. O not feeling too hot earlier in the week, Lea and I decided it was best if him and I stayed home this weekend so we could both rest. So, Lea went by herself to see her family and enjoy the party, while Mr. O and I moped around all weekend. I slept horribly Thursday night, so Friday morning was rough. Besides the fact that I couldn’t breathe, I was also exhausted now. Before Lea took off, she stayed with Mr. O while I ran over the Midwest Express Clinic right by our house. They gave me an antibiotic and informed me I likely had a sinus infection.

When I came home, Lea and Mr. O were watching the movie Ice Age. He hadn’t seen it before and he enjoyed it for a while. After Lea left, Mr. O asked to change the TV to his train videos, lol. So we snuggled on the couch all day and watched TV. Occasionally playing and eating. He was tired too, so it worked out on Friday. Through the night I realized I was sleeping much better already. I must have caught the infection early because it felt like everything I was taking to help started working immediately. I woke up a bit refreshed on Saturday, but I was still very congested. Mr. O and I chilled most of the day once again. I made him a sandwich he barely ate, we watched a bit of the White Sox game, and we hung out all day (again). Besides the fact that I wasnt feeling great, it was a really great weekend so far.

On Sunday our weekend got even better. Lea came home! We missed her so much, but she needed a free weekend very badly. Plus, she was able to spend quality time alone with her nieces without having to worry about me and the little guy. I was feeling much better today, but I’m not out of the woods yet. I for sure will be by next weekend. At least I hope I am, because we have a fun Saturday planned for Mr. O! I hope he doesn’t read this, but I’ll take the risk and tell you our plans: we are taking him to a steam train museum! I’ll leave it at that for now, because you’ll hear all about it in my next Weekly Review, and also in my next historical Exploring the Region post.

The rest of our Sunday was spent playing with Mr. O and Lea making dinner. It was a relaxing night and a good way to end the week. Before I sign off, I wanted to share a couple pictures I saw on X that I really enjoyed. I’m not sure why, but I like them a lot. I saw them on this account called Art Fans Zone :

Out of the two I am sharing, this one is my favorite. Something about it; writing only with candlelight next to you, at an old desk next to a big window. The gloominess outside and the lantern hanging from the ceiling. I dont know, I find it comfortable; cozy even.

This one I enjoyed because it reminds me of Chicago. That’s how it looks in the late fall and winter season after work when I walk from my office to the train. The bright lights from the buildings and the car headlights. The way it all reflects off the water on the street and the people under their umbrellas walking past the tallest buildings some of us will ever see. It’s just such a pretty piece of art.

I enjoyed these, and I’m sure some of you will too. Obviously, I think it goes without saying, I did not create this images. However, just in case there is any confusion, I wanted to make that clear. I hope they spoke to you like they spoke to me, and I hope you had a great week!

Peter