Weekly Review 82

Hello, readers. Christ is Risen! I hope all of all my Orthodox readers had a happy Easter. This wasn’t a bad week, but it wasn’t a great one. I received some irritating news (literally and physically). It was Holy Week for us Orthodox Christians, so we went to church more than usual. Mr. O is growing too fast and I feel like I’m going to cry!

Welcome all, old or new, I have some news I want to share with you. Well, not really news, just another life update in my Weekly Review. 

Once again, it started on Monday. We woke up in our nephews bedroom (which is way cooler than ours) and started packing our things. What seemed like one of the longest weekends of my life was finally coming to an end. I don’t know why it felt that way. Maybe it’s because I was rushed out of my in-laws house an hour after we arrived, had to re-pack the car, drive to my brother-in-law’s house and crash their Easter dinner with his wife’s family, and unpack the car again. Or maybe it was because I took Monday off and it was a three-day-weekend for me? A lot had happened in the few days we were visiting. 

Once we finished packing, no thanks to Mr. O, who was too busy playing with all of his cousin’s toys, we loaded up the car for the final time and hit the road. First, we stopped for gas. Then we made our usual stop at Dunkin Donuts. Lea and Mr. O got a box of mini donuts, along with a couple drinks (he likes ice water, she likes some caffeinated drink that looks like lemonade), while I got a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant. In most cases, I can multitask very well. However, when it comes to eating and driving, I struggle a bit. So, I let my food cool off for a while and we began our journey home. I like to set the car on cruise control, it’s easier for me to eat when I only have to hold onto the wheel and not worry about the gas pedal. I turned on the remaining episodes of the lecture on humility and attempted to listen as Mr. O bombarded us with questions. “What that? What that for? Where the truck go?” Lol. He’s so curious, I love it. 

With an hour left in our drive, the lecture series had ended and I turned on Spotify to play my “Liked Songs” playlist. I’ve been adding songs like crazy to it lately. Some are old that I had forgotten about, and some are new that I’d never heard before. I’ll give you a glimpse at some of my the new songs I added: 

• Sand in My Boots – Morgan Wallen
• Dream Chaser – Willie Nelson (who I’ve been listening to a lot lately after never listening to him before in my life). 
• Wherever You Will Go – The Calling (This is in the first season of Smallville, maybe even the first or second episode, and I love it. I can’t believe I forgot about this song!)
• Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
• My Best Friend – Time McGraw

Those are the five most recent songs I’ve added. I can’t believe I forgot about some of these. My Best Friend used to play in my headphones when I was sitting in my bedroom doing homework, or scrolling MySpace and YouTube. I loved that song, and I still do. I played it in the car and said, “This song goes out to Mama”. We made it about a minute in before Mr. O shut it down: “NO! I no like this song. Turn it off.” He picks and chooses which songs he likes and doesn’t like, and if he doesn’t like it, he will talk through the entire song, Lol. He then requested I turn on his playlist because he wanted to listen to Shiny from Moana. At first I said no, but I didn’t want to hear him cry the rest of the drive, so I caved. Suddenly, the “tears” were gone and he was all smiles as he sang “SHINY!”. 

The remaining minutes in the car were peaceful. Everyone was quiet, the surrounding farm land underneath the big blue sky looked incredibly beautiful. If only those giant, ugly windmills weren’t in the way (I understand they serve a purpose. They were just making the scene in front of me ugly, though). When we finally came home, we unpacked for the final time. Then I played hide and seek with Mr. O before heading to my doctor’s appointment. I was having an allergy test done to see if I have any allergies that would be causing this constant congestion I’ve been dealing with. To my surprise, I am apparently allergic to almost everything on that list! I don’t know how accurate it is, though. The woman conducting the test would probably tell me it’s very accurate, but doesn’t she have to say that? Maybe I’m wishful thinking, but at the same time, some of the things on that list, which she marked I am allergic too, have had no effect on me my entire life, and they still don’t. I don’t know. What I do know for sure, though, is that my arms were on fire! They were itching like crazy and I couldn’t scratch them. I had to constantly think of something else so I wouldn’t scratch out of habit. 

When I came home I played with Mr. O as he dumped out one of his Easter baskets. He wanted to play with the Spiderman sticker book, but he didn’t know how to peel them so that’s where I came in. I peeled them off, he stuck them wherever he wanted to on the page. Then, we switched to playing with his firetruck and his spidey car (a car with webs and with Spiderman’s head sticking out). A few minutes later I made the little guy lunch, while Lea walked through the door carrying our dry cleaning. I helped her bring in the groceries as well and then I went back to playing with Mr. O. Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling well at all. I don’t know what randomly hit me, but it knocked me down good. I went to lay in bed, and then an hour later Mr. O came in with my IPad and laid down with me. We watched one of his shows on Disney plus. 

Wow. All of that was only for Monday! Lol. On Tuesday morning I was able to enjoy another peaceful breakfast. I then made sure Mr. O’s diaper bag was ready to go before I went and woke him up for daycare. When we arrived, he gave me a big, long hug. Then he let go, took a step back, looked at me, stepped forward, grabbed my cheeks, and planted a big wet kiss on my face. It was so sweet! In the evening, Lea and I unpacked Mr. O’s BIG BOY BED. At this point in the week it didn’t hit me yet how fast he’s growing up (it will). Then I did the dishes and Lea made us dinner. To wrap up the day, I gave Mr. O a bath, put him to bed, and wandered around Skyrim for a bit. 

Mr. O slept in even more on Wednesday. I think he’s growing again. He’s, like, the tallest three year old I’ve ever seen. But at the same time, he looks so small. Once I started working, Lea and Mr. O were heading to my grandmother’s house. She spent the winter in Florida at my aunt’s house, but since she is coming back soon, she asked Lea to go to the house while the technician comes to set up her Wifi again. So Lea and Mr. O spent half of their day there, then they went to church for Holy Wednesday and to receive Holy Unction. If you’re unfamiliar, Holy Unction calls upon God’s grace to heal the soul and body. It heals the physical, mental, and spiritual afflictions we all deal with in our lives. It’s also about repentance and forgiveness. It’s a very special service and a critical time throughout Holy Week to prepare for Easter. 

In the evening, I went to church on my own (there are multiple services throughout the day):

I love our church. I have so many memories there, good and bad. As I drove home, I looked at the time and realized Lea was probably putting Mr. O to bed, and that I hadn’t seen him all day. Only for a few minutes before they left for my grandma’s. It made me sad. 

On Thursday I woke up a little later than I usually do. As I’ve said before, I’m trying not to always be in such a rush, so when I woke up I had to remember that it’s okay to take my time. Then I made sure Mr. O’s things were ready to go before I woke him and got him ready for daycare again. I let him “drive” my car again for a few minutes, then I chased him around the car trying to catch him and put him in his carseat. In the evening, I didn’t feel like grilling, so I baked chicken in the oven instead. It turned out really well. It was so juicy and delicious! After dinner, we all relaxed before Mr. O took a bath and went to bed. 

When Friday morning came around, Mr. O gave more evidence to my theory that he is growing. He slept in long enough for me to eat, do the dishes, shower, and get ready for the day. When he finally woke up, I barely had any time to hang out with him before going to work. The day went by fast, thankfully, and before I knew it I was off work…except Lea and Mr. O weren’t home! They went to my other grandmother’s house to spend time with her and my mom. So, I played Skyrim until they came home. It was nice to let my mind wander into another world for a bit after the long work week ended. 

An hour later my little family returned, and they brought gifts! Well, they brought dinner my mom had made and packed for me. I heated it up and ate as we watched Community and played for a bit before we began our bedtime routine. Mr. O and I read four books and then he gave me such sweet cuddles before passing out. On Saturday he slept in even longer than the day before! I managed to eat breakfast, do the dishes, clean the microwave and the stove, and shower before he woke up. When he finally called for me, we went downstairs and Lea made him breakfast before him and I went to church for Holy Saturday. When we came home we tried to get him to nap one last time in his crib, but he wasn’t tired. Instead, Lea and I took apart his crib and put together his “big boy bed”. This is when it hit me. While I was taking the pieces of his crib into the basement. Our boy is getting so big so fast! I don’t like it at all! 

As we were putting it together, I scratched my finger enough for it to bleed. Lucky for me, Mr. O had a bucket of bandaids in his room:

Yes, that is Rocky from Paw Patrol. All his bandaids have Paw Patrol characters on them. I’m not even sure if he gave me the right name for the character. He probably did, but if I’m wrong, you know who to blame. When we finally finished, after an hour or two, I vacuumed upstairs and then we ordered Aurelio’s. Lea and I got caesar salads, and Mr. O got a meatball. We love that restaurant. 

We took an early bath since Mr. O was so excited to sleep in his big boy bed. After we put his Spiderman pajamas on, I laid in bed with him while he rested his head on my arm, and read him a few books. One of the options was Green Eggs and Ham. I asked him, “Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?”, meaning, do you like the book? He replied, “No, I like chicken nuggies” Lol. We read three books, cuddled, and then I said goodnight. Mr. O then pulled the “Why are you leaving me?” card. I laid back down. I told him this is his bed now and he has to sleep in it on his own. I gave him a kiss and left the room. Five seconds later he opens his door and calls for Lea to come sleep with him. He said he’s scared of his new bed. Poor guy. Lea ended up sleeping with him the first night. We will see how the second night goes!

It did not go well. Those two were apparently up all night, with Mr. O constantly tossing and turning. Lea also complained the mattress “wasn’t comfortable”, but Mr. O likes it. When I woke up it was Sunday morning, and it was also Easter for us Orthodox Christians. Christ is Risen! We cuddled up on the couch with Mr. O and watched some cartoons. Then, since Lea and Mr. O were tired from being up all night, I got dressed for church and went on my own. 

Now, I’m home writing this post, Lea went to the store, and Mr. O is hopefully going to continue napping by himself in his new big boy bed. In the evening, we will celebrate the holiday at my aunts house, with lots of food and cousins. 

A Moment I’m Still Thinking About

I’m still thinking about how fast Mr. O is growing up. I can’t believe he is in a real bed now, and that his crib is in pieces down in the basement. It’s all happening so quickly, I feel like just yesterday he was transitioning from his bassinet to his crib. Ugh, does time ever slow down?!

Which moment from your week is still stuck with you? Let me know!

Christ is Risen!

Peter