Weekly Review 42

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

Instagram, TikTok, Rumble: @Theregionlife

On Monday morning, Mr. O and I hung out (as usual. We’re best buds). Before I knew it, it was time to lock myself away and work all day. It was a boring, but busy day. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it does to me, lol. After work, I made dinner. I turned on the grill, cleaned it off, and cooked some grilled chicken. Inside, Lea and Mr. O made mashed potatoes and a can of sweet peas. Mr. O loves sweet peas, and it’s easier for him to feed them to himself if they are mixed in with the potatoes, so they don’t fall everywhere! Unfortunately, this did not matter on Monday night. Mr. O decided to pick up his bowl of mashed potatoes and peas and try to walk to his little couch to sit and eat. I already knew what was going to happen the second he started walking over there. He almost made it, and then dropped the entire bowl!

Potatoes and peas all over the floor. His surprised face looking back and forth at Lea and I, while he whispered “Oh no”, lol. We reassured him it was okay, quickly finished eating (since we were almost done anyway) and cleaned it up.

On Tuesday morning I drove the little stinker to daycare. When we pulled up the house, I noticed a nasty smell in the car. It wasn’t me, so I assumed it was Mr. O. I don’t know if it was a toddler fart or what, but he did not go number two. I opened the back door, where he was sitting, and started sniffing around to see if it was coming from him. He giggled and started calling me a pig! “Dada pig haha Dada pig! haha!” oh yeah soooo funny (it was)! Before I knew it, the work day was over. Lea and Mr. O came home and I fired up the grill again to make a few burgers. I don’t know about my readers, but I like buying the Wahlburger brand. They’re so thick and cook really well (in my amateur chef opinion). Later that night I got a good workout in downstairs and then passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

On Wednesday morning I took Mr. O to my mom’s house. He didn’t want me to leave, which was so sad. I feel bad because we left on kind of bad terms. He didn’t want to go into her house, so I picked him up to take him inside myself and he threw his little toddler fit and hit me in the face. We tell him all the time “No hit” to try and teach him. I know he’s young, which is why we repeat it often. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but in the moment it felt right. I raised my voice and told him “NO HIT!” a few times. I was frustrated and I instantly regretted it afterwards. His eyes became teary and he started crying and clinging to me. Hugging me so tight and he wouldn’t let go. I told him it’s okay and we hugged, but I had to try and put him down. He was not having it. It’s so hard leaving him places when he doesn’t want to go. It’s especially hard when you have to leave right after you try and discipline him.

Later that evening, it was like nothing happened. We went to my grandma’s house because my aunt and cousin were in town from Florida and we had planned to spend time with them. So my mom and Mr. O met Lea and I there after work. I walked in and started chatting with my aunt, when all of the sudden I feel these little hands and arms wrap around my legs and I look down and Mr. O is giving me the biggest hug with the biggest, most beautiful smile ever. I picked him up and gave him a proper hug. I love my boy! It was a fun night. We ordered food and Mr. O ran around the house in his own litle world. When we came home, I sat on the patio in our backyard and worked on my Exploring the Region post some more. This one is taking more time than usual due to two factors: 1. I’ve been so busy and tired with life and 2. motivation. I have not had the motivation to write it. I’ve writtent most of it, but I don’t like it so I dont know if I am going to rewrite it or leave it as is. We will see!

On Thursday I had to take Mr. O to my mom’s house again. This time was much easier. When I came home and started working, I realized it was going to be a busy and exhausting day. I could not wait for it to be over. Naturally, it took even longer because I kept looking at the clock. Once 5 PM hit, I think I set a new personal record for how fast I turned my computer off, lol. It was officially Fourth of July weekend. Lea brought dinner home, we packed for my in-laws and folded laundry, while occasionally breaking to dance with Mr. O while his songs were playing on Spotify. After the little man went to sleep, I worked out downstairs, or at least I tried. I had to rush it towards the end because Mr. O has been having trouble sleeping recently. We think he is becoming more aware, and realizing he is scared of the dark and loud noises (fireworks) outside. So, after I finished my workout I relieved Lea of her duties and took over rocking and re-reading all of his books to him. It’s funny because after I put him down, he went on to sleep through the night, lol. I know Lea did the hard work and I came in at the end, but it was just a funny thing to realize.

Friday was Fourth of July. Independence Day. No work and lot’s of fun. I started my day early. I don’t remember what time. I know shortly after I woke up I wrote a quick post on here about how our day was going to go, so whatever time that post says, just assume I woke up about twenty minutes before, lol. I showered, got myself dressed, finished packing and took care of some other chores before Mr. O and Lea woke up. Among those chores were feeding the cats and giving them extra food and water since we were going to be gone for a couple of nights, and putting Lea’s new license plate on her car and her new registration in her car. By the time I finsihed doing all of that, my lovely family was awake. We packed, ate, and then took off for my in-laws. It was a two-and-a-half-hour drive and I was becoming a little lightheaded once we were about an hour away. I didn’t pack any snacks and I didn’t eat much before we left. I should have known better! Thankfully, we made it there okay, but I was hangry!

Once we arrived, we went to the room we were staying in and changed into our swimsuits. We were headed to Mill Creek Lake to go on Lea’s parents boat! It was a lot of fun, and I was able to take a few pics:

That middle picture was before we hit the road, but after we filled up the tank and Lea got her Dunkin’ fix. Her order is insane. I don’t want to say what she orders because I don’t know if she will be embarrassed or not, lol. She shares some of it with me at least (sometimes). After a few hours of being on (and in) the lake, the sun wore us all down and we headed back to the house. We bathed Mr. O and then we got ourselves cleaned up and headed over to my brother-in-laws to see him and his family. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my nieces and nephew, so I am glad we went over there. It’s always a good time and Mr. O has a blast with his cousins.

When we were leaving their house, the neighbors were lighting fireworks and Mr. O was not a fan. Our poor guy was afraid. Thankfully, they were nice about it and waited until we left before lighting off more. When we were getting ready for bed, he wanted to sleep with his momma and watch Toy Story. It calmed him down and helped him sleep with all the noise going on outside. Unfortunately for me, I was booted to the couch in the other room (Lea’s childhood room turned playroom for the grandkids). I’ve told my readers before, but in case this is your first time peeping into my life, the last time Lea and I both tried to sleep with Mr. O in the bed at my in-laws I did not sleep because he decided to sleep diagonally, while kicking his feet into my stomach and pushing me against the wall, lol.

On Saturday morning we all woke up around the same time. Mr. O was watching SpongeBob, which I found surprising since he never showed interest in it before. Hey, I’m not complaining. I grew up with Bob. Love his show and appreciate his work ethic. We spent most of the morning watching Mr. O play and the movie The Sandlot. In the afternoon, some family came over and we had a cookout with burgers and hot dogs, among other things. Mr. O played in the little pool in the backyard with Lea and one of his cousins. It was a fun afternoon, but then we all went our separate ways, lol. Later that night we went back to my brother-in-laws to spend some more time with them, and then came back to my in-laws to sleep. I wasn’t tired, so I went downstairs, planted myself on the couch and for some reason turned on a movie I haven’t seen in over a decade: The Interview. Yes, the one where Seth Rogan and James Franco interview Kim Jong Un in North Korea. I have to say, it was still kind of funny, but definitely did not make me laugh the way it did in 2014/2015.

It was the typical comedy movie of that specific time. Lot’s of drinking, smoking, and cursing in the movie. That stuff isn’t so funny to me anymore. Maybe because I’m older now, or a parent. I don’t know. That part of it wasn’t funny. But overall, I still laughed a bunch.

On Sunday morning we packed up our things and drove home. Since I drove, I got to pick what we listened to for the nearly three hour drive back. Today I picked Jim Harold’s Campfire. Mr. O fell asleep almost right away (he was up most of the night) and we listened to spooky stories for about an hour-and-a-half. It was an entertaining episode. You can watch/listen on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. Anywhere you get your podcasts, actually.

The rest of the drive seemed to take forever. However, I had one thing keeping me going. I told myself when we were about thirty minutes away from home I was going to eat Lea’s extra donut she had bought before we got on the highway. Of course, as soon as I take a bite, Mr. O wakes up and wants some. I did not give him any, and he was not happy. Hey, life’s not fair! We try to keep him away from junk food as much as we can, and he did not need a donut as soon as he woke up from his nap, lol.

The rest of the day was relaxing. Mr. O and I went grocery shopping, Lea made dinner, and now I’m writing this for all of you to read today (you’re welcome!). I hope you all had a great week/weekend, and I hope all those who were celebrating the 4th had a safe and fun holiday.

Peter