Weekly Review 79

We had some whacky spring weather here in the region this past week. One day it was snowing, the next it was 70 degrees, and my sinuses are not taking it well. The week also brought wholesome moments, a “first” experience for Mr. O (that I didn’t realize until it was too late), another beautiful sunrise and, hopefully, some answers! Overall, I can’t complain. It was a good week with my family and I’m very blessed.

Now, I welcome all readers to the latest edition of my Weekly Review, where I share my previous week with you.

On Monday morning I was supposed to drive to my mom’s and work from her house for the day. She needed someone to dog-sit and I told her I would do it. It’s the least I could do! She does a lot for us. However, you never know how the weather is going to be in The Region. When I finally looked outside it was snowing, and then I received a text from my mom telling me not to drive over there because it was too icy. I’m sure it was fine, but she really didn’t want me to drive on the roads. So, since I was up and Mr. O was asleep, I finished my paperwork for a doctor’s appointment I had scheduled for Tuesday morning. When I finished all of that, Mr. O was awake and I went to grab him and get him ready for the day. When I turned the knob on his door, before he even saw me, he said “Hi, Dada”, in his soft and gentle morning voice. It was so sweet. He didn’t even know for sure if it was me, he just assumed! It was a sweet moment with him. I cherish those.

The workday went by and suddenly it was the evening. Lea was making another new recipe while Mr. O and I played in the family room. This time she made steak, veggies, and stuffing. She wasn’t a fan of it, but I enjoyed it a lot. Well, let me correct that…she liked it, but not as much as some of her other meals. She’s not used to cooking steak either, but like I said, she did great. It was delicious. While we ate we watched the show Mad Men. It was finally my turn to pick and I haven’t seen this show in over a decade (I think), so I picked it to watch this time. It’s alright, Lea likes it just fine but I don’t think she’s fully invested in it, Lol. I told her she can veto it, we’ve only watched 5 episodes so far, but she said “No, it’s fine”, so I guess it’s fine (?).

After Mr. O went to bed, I turned on Smallville and watched an episode while I had a big bowl of ice cream. Then I walked for 30-40 minutes on my treadmill and played PlayStations for a bit before I called it a night. It was a great start to the week (minus the cold and snow).

On Tuesday I had the morning off from work for a doctor’s appointment. I took Mr. O to daycare and then I had some time to kill beforehand, so I went over to my mom’s to hang out with her dog, Sparty. He recently got a haircut and I can’t believe how chunky he is. He’s adorable, but seems overweight. With his haircut his body looks so large and his head so small, Lol. I love him! My mom said they’re going to start walking together once it’s warm out. We’ll see! I hope they do, otherwise Mr. O and I can go and walk around the block with him a few times.

Once it was time for me to leave I said my goodbyes to the good boy and was on my way to the doctor. If you’ve followed my Weekly Reviews recently, you might remember me always mentioning my congestion. I feel like I’ve been constantly congested and it’s driving me insane. So, I went to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) to hopefully figure out what’s going on in there. I think we’re going to have some answers soon, and from my conversation with the doctor, I’m thinking it’s not that serious of an issue and we’re going to get it fixed. Let’s hope! Lea mentioned, “What if you’re allergic to the cats?”. I’d never thought about it, Lol. Lea and I have had cats since we started dating over a decade ago. Although the recent chronic congestion is a fairly new issue, something could have changed and inflamed my sinuses. I could very well be allergic to my own cats. It would be sad, but there’s probably a fix for that. Anyway, I’ll be fine!

In the evening, I went to my car and grabbed a present for Mr. O that I brought from my mom’s house. He was so excited to open another present for his birthday (which was weeks ago). This time, his present was a Jurassic Park toy. It was a truck, with a little man action figure and a big dinosaur. The car came with these little shooter-things that hook onto the car. He loves it. He’s been playing with it non-stop!

While we were playing, Lea threw a lasagna in the oven, along with some garlic knots. She was tired, so she went with a simpler dinner on this night. It was great. She gets the lasagna’s from Aldi and they are always so good. After dinner we watched American Idol and played. Then I gave Mr. O a bath and finished my evening with a nice walk.

Finally, it was the middle of the week, which meant work was almost over and it was almost the weekend. That’s how I keep myself going on Wednesdays, Lol. In the morning I made myself some eggs and then did half of the dishes. I usually do all of them, but somebody woke up when I was halfway through! I went and got him dressed for the day and we hung out a bit before I was able to clean up the rest of the sink. In the evening, Lea was at a meeting, so it was just me and my boy. We went downstairs into the basement and he worked out with me again. He’s a great cheerleader for me. He was yelling at me once again to, “LIFT IT! COME ON!”.

Once we were done lifting, I washed off while he layed on my bed watching Bluey on Lea’s iPad. Then, we ate dinner and watched Spidey & Friends (I think that’s what it’s called) before it was time for him to go to sleep. Once he was down for the night, it was time for my weekly meeting with my fellow Orthodox Christian’s. I think I mentioned this last week, or the week before, but in case there’s someone new reading this (welcome!) I want to explain it again. Every Wednesday other young men, like myself (yes, I’m still young!), join a call to discuss various topics regarding Orthodox Christianity and the church. We also discuss what’s going on in our lives, how we’re doing, and what we could be doing better. It’s a great group and I’m fortunate to be a part of it.

On Thursday I made myself eggs again for breakfast. I like that I’m adding this to my routine a couple of times a week. It feels good eating something other than cereal in the morning. When Mr. O woke up, we packed his things and, before we left for daycare, I let him “drive” my car. He likes to sit on my lap and play with the steering wheel and the turn signals. Sometimes he likes waking up all our neighbors with the horn. It’s a blast. On our way to daycare, there was a beautiful sunrise happening. We were driving right towards it, I wish I could have gotten a picture (but I’m a responsible driver!). The sun was just barely peeking over the clouds. It began shining on top of the farmland, which had a pretty red barn on it. “Wow, isn’t that beautiful?” I said to Mr. O. “What?” he replied. I wish I could have taken a picture, but by the time we were at a stop light were already to far along. The perfect spot for a picture was right when we turned on to that specific street.

The rest of the day was also beautiful. How could it not be when the sunrises like that? It was 65 and sunny here in The Region on Thursday and man, it felt so good! Once I was off work, I played outside with Mr. O for a little bit. We sat at our table in the backyard while he ate his snack and the wind blew through his curly hair. Then we got out his little car and I used the remote to drive him up and down the sidewalks. When we came back inside, we made him chicken nuggets. I also made burgers and mac & cheese. Sometimes he will eat the burger, sometimes he won’t, so we made him his nuggets too. You never know with this kid.

After dinner it was time to give him a bath and put him down for the night. Then, I watched the movie Man of God on Prime. It’s about Saint Nektarios of Aegina, and all the trials he went through. It’s a beautiful movie. When Friday morning arrived, I was filled with energy. I don’t know if it’s because I am suddenly feeling better now that Spring is almost here, or if it’s because of the beautiful weather, but I was ready to get the day started! Mr. O and I went downstairs and vacuumed, Lea cleaned the kitchen and made chocolate chip pancakes, it was a busy morning. A few hours later my aunt and my cousin came over to visit Mr. O and play with him. They brought him new books. He was super excited to see them.

Surprisingly, I was able to get off work an hour early, and since the weather was so nice I told Mr. O to go get his shoes on because we were going to the park! He was PUMPED. We walked all the way there, and about halfway, I think we both regretted it. Although it was beautiful, it was so windy and the wind was so cold. It was that piercing kind of wind that hurts. It did not matter to Mr. O, though, because nothing was stopping his evening at the park. He’s been waiting to go back all winter long! We went and played for about an hour before heading back. He was so cute, he held my hand the entire walk:

It’s a small moment, but it was so precious. I’m so glad I recognized it and was able to take this picture. When we came home, we turned on Spiderman: Homecoming. About 10 minutes in I realized, “Oh my gosh! This is his first ever Marvel movie!” It was too late for a picture, unfortunately, but he enjoyed the 30 minutes we were able to watch before his attention went elsewhere. Later that evening, after Mr. O went to sleep, I played my personal campaign on Baldurs Gate 3, then I finished the night watching Smallville.

On Saturday morning I made breakfast for me and Mr. O (Lea wasn’t up yet. We let her sleep in). Well, I didn’t so much “make” it, as I did pour it. We each had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios while we watched his Iron Man show on Disney+. Then, Lea was up and left for a few hours. She was spending the morning with our goddaughter and they had so much fun. They both like to read so Lea picked her up and they went to Barnes & Noble to buy some new books. While they were there, Mr. O and I were at home doing the dishes. Once we finished (and cleaned up all the water he spilled), he went down for a nap. I was able to get another workout in this week and I’m so thankful for the energy to do it. I’ve been struggling with working out 2 days a week for a long time, but I hope this is the start of me getting back on track.

When Mr. O woke up, we played all over the house. In the family room, we played with his toys. In the playroom, we played with his toys and ran around. In my office, he played “work” while sitting at my desk, and I put on Sinatra on the record player. He bobbed his head along while he “typed” on the keyboard that doesn’t work. Then we went and sat on the couch to relax a bit with Lea. I was scrolling online and found this great website to buy handmade icons from. It’s called Legacy Icons. I really enjoyed their site and I made a few wishlists of things I eventually want to buy. Then, I found this Train Simulator app to download on my phone and Mr. O went nuts. He wants to play it non-stop. We’ve been cautious because we don’t want him to be obsessed with phone or iPads, so I only let him play for 10-20 minutes sometimes. It’s a cool game though and I will probably play it myself when he’s sleeping, Lol. To finish the evening, we watched Mad Men, and then I wrote a blog post that will publish tomorrow (Tuesday).

On Sunday Mr. O and I let his mama sleep in again, so we went downstairs and ate breakfast while watching his Spidey show again. The day, so far, has been filled with a mix of relaxation, play time, and reading (he’s loving those new books). Currently, Lea is at the store, Mr. O is asleep, and I am writing this on my kitchen counter as the dishwasher makes it’s wooshing sound while it cleans our dishes (Mr. O helped me clean those off too). Oh, and what do you know, you’re getting a live look at what’s happening in our house right now. Lea just walked in the door with our groceries. “Lea say hi to the readers!” “Hi.” She’s annoyed with the lack the of options for Easter clothing for boys, but she says hi.

A Moment I’m Still Thinking About

The moment that’s been replaying in my head is from Friday, when we were walking back from the park and Mr. O was holding my hand (as you can see in the picture above). What you can’t see is the feeling of his little hand in mine, holding on tight. We can’t see his mind and how he probably feels so safe walking like that, with our hands intertwined. It’s such a small, yet beautiful moment. Which, I’ll add, was ruined shortly after the photo because he wanted to walk alone. He pushed my hand away and said “No, Dada”. I guess it’s time he starts trying to be a little independent. It stinks, but it was going to happen eventually.

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Peter