Week in Review

 I decided to do the weekly format again this week to change it up. I am going to write each day.

Sunday: we are having a quiet day. Thomas is reading the Harry Potter series and we are watching each movie as he finishes. Today, we watched The Prisoner of Azkaban. I fell asleep on the couch and had a nice power nap during the middle of the movie. I have not been sleeping well and last night was the worst. There was a drive-by shooting across the street from our house. Yes, you read that right. I woke up around 5:30 and was laying in bed at 5:46 when I heard three gunshots. There is a house, one of the larger fancier ones in the neighborhood, that is next door to the house directly across the street, where there has been some suspicious activity. That is where the sound seemed to come from. I looked out the window but didn't see anything. But, shortly after 6, there were two police cars present. I went out and asked them to confirm I heard gunshots and they said yes. It does not appear to be random and fortunately, no one was hurt.

I am dreading work this week. I work as the legal advisor on various teams. One of my team members screwed up something significant and no one on the team caught it. As the lawyer, I feel especially incompetent. Now, we are facing the repercussions. Last week was a week of very unpleasant phone calls informing all our bosses what happened. Of course, it had to happen on a high profile matter that has received a lot of attention. Everyone has been very nice, which in some ways makes me feel worse. They keep saying these things happen and to just move on. But, I am not sure I should be let off so easy.  This is going to cost a lot of time (like hundreds of man hours) and (maybe) money to fix. I can't say anymore, but the bottom line is I spent the last week feeling like a complete idiot and there is no end in sight.

Monday: It was a busy day at work. I worked from 6-545, with about 1.5 hours of breaks during the day. I took some time in the morning to get Luke to school and start dinner in the crockpot (pot roast) and some time to pick him up. Luke has a good routine in the afternoon, he comes home, washes his hands, has a snack, does his homework and usually has about 30 minutes to do electronics. Then, once the other kids are done with their school, he turns off the t.v. and plays with one of them, usually Jack. I try and end my day around 4:30, but some days, well most days lately, it just doesn't happen. Today, I tried to sign out at 5, but then the phone rang and it ended up being a longer than expected call. Then an e-mail came in that I "needed" to answer. After that, I just shut down. Thomas actually had to go to the office today for an in-person meeting. He was pretty bitter about going. It was his first visit in months. Going back full time, if that ever happens, is going to be painful! We really appreciate the flexibility of working from home. The kids all said their days were uneventful. Everyone liked the pot roast, and it is always nice, and rare, to have a dinner everyone is happy about.

Tuesday: The older kids had an orthodontist appointment this morning. The rubber bands aren't working for Anna and her mouth is bothering her. Her lower teeth are cutting into her upper gums, making her mouth sore. I got the name of the surgeon and called to arrange a consultation. Thomas and I got our flu shots and watched some Thanksgiving Friends, as is our yearly tradition (true for both the shot and the Friends). 

Wednesday: Thomas and I didn't have work, but the kids had school. Score! We took Luke to school and then did a lot of shopping. We went to Kohls, Hallmark, Barnes and Noble, Bath and Body Works, Five Below and Target. We bought something in every store we went in. It was a LOT of shopping. We bought some Christmas presents, candles, soap, and household items. It was really fun to be out on our own. We also got a free lunch at Panera (yay for Veteran's Day).  We got home in time to grab Luke and had everyone smell our new candles and pick out their favorites. We had some from Bath and Body Works and some from Target. The Target "Threshold" ones are really nice. We had coupons for most of the places we went--even Target was doing 10% off for Veterans, so that was fun. I love a bargain! 

Kara went to her ballet and acro class. I dropped her off and then came home to dinner. Thomas made pesto pork, a family favorite. Well, sort of, Jack and Luke eat the pork plain and won't eat the cauliflower grits that accompany the pork. He used our air fryer for the pork (on bake mode). We have been getting a lot of use out of the air fryer; it is nice to not have to heat up the whole house. Luke did a test on his "Fry 6th one-hundred words" and got them all right.  The older kids had math tests and did well. We asked them if given the choice, do they want to return to school in the new year. Kara said no, Jack maybe and Anna said yes. We will see how it goes.

I am sitting on the floor writing this while Luke brushes my hair, he is such a sweet kid (most of the time).  Although, he never stops talking :) 

Kara's teacher sent me this one. Kara enjoys working on her flexibility.

Thursday: Tropical Storm Eta is passing by north of us. We had some rain and wind last night and I was afraid they would cancel school. Fortunately, Luke was able to go as planned and it turned into a mostly nonevent for our area. I walked to pick him up and it was sprinkling a bit. Then, it turned into a downpour. I had umbrellas for each of us, but we still got pretty soaked. Thomas came and picked us up about halfway home (he'd been in a work training). Soccer was canceled, but Anna had her basketball practice. She said it went fine. While she was gone, Jack and Luke were playing with lightsabers. Somehow Jack hit Luke's lightsaber, which then hit Luke in the face. I've probably said this, but I REALLY miss our basement. Jack and Luke are incredibly loud. Even when they're not doing anything excessive, the noise just reverberates through the house. I miss the days of yelling get outside or get in the basement. I can still force them outside, but Florida is hot and rainy most of the year. At least it seems like most of the year. Anyway, Luke has a nasty mark, but he said it stopped hurting after a few minutes.

They are lucky it missed his eye!

Friday: Finally Friday! We worked and schooled. Thomas took the older 3 to get flu shots, Luke got his earlier in the year at school. We are all now vaccinated, which is a relief. After work/school, we went to SeaWorld for dinner. There was an accident on the highway that shut the road down, with police routing traffic off the highway. We used Waze to navigate and it ended up taking us 45 minutes to get to SeaWorld (normally, it is around 25); but we could see the cars stuck on the highway with no where to go and felt grateful. I can't find anything about the accident, so hopefully no one was seriously injured. SeaWorld was really nice. The weather was pleasant and they had their Christmas decorations. Their Christmas event officially opens tomorrow and I am looking forward to lots of visits.

Saturday: We've had to wake up Luke every day this week for school, usually around 7:45. Of course, Saturday morning rolls around and he is up and ready to go at 7:15. He exercised with me and had breakfast. We did a Walmart pick-up and then got ready for sports. Luke had his soccer game and played pretty well. No goals yet, but I think it is coming. Anna had her basketball game. Again, they were outmatched, but Anna said she had fun and she forced herself to talk with her teammates (something that is hard for her), so I consider it a huge success. Now, we are relaxing and watching a silly Thanksgiving movie, Free Birds. It's been a long week!