Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for May 31 - June 6)

We had another great week of sticking to our plan, even though there were a few days that I didn't watn to cook. I had a tough week staying motivated last week, not sure what was going on with me. I took some time this weekend to refocus and feel much better about our week ahead. We got our first CSA delivery this past Friday as well as getting some produce from my in-laws who were given way too much to use from the food bank. So this week meals will be focused around using up squash, peppers and the greens we got.

We have a weird week this week but for a great reason - we will be celebrating AJ's 13th birthday!! He turns 13 on Tuesday so we will be celebrating that day with his picks for dinner, dessert and a movie. Then on Saturday we are having a few of his friends over for a small birthday party for him. I'm thankful to his friend's parents for allowing their children to come over and help celebrate AJ becoming a teenager. It will be a fun week for us for sure!!

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - Parmesan Chicken & Veggies with Air Fried Radish
Tuesday - Jets Pizza and Cookie Cake for AJ's Birthday
Wednesday - Garlic Chicken & Potatoes with Asparagus
Thursday - Chipotle Turkey Chili with Air Fried Yellow Squash
Friday - Stuffed Peppers with Kale Chips
Saturday - Little Caesar's Pizza and Cookie Cake for AJ's Birthday

Water Flavor - Mango. I got a box of 6 mangos from Costco last week and they are close to ripe. I love the sweetness of mango in my water so I'm going to use up some of them this week in that.

Baking This Week:
I'm not doing much this week since we'll be getting two cookie cakes plus we're taking a trip to the local ice cream place, Cones and Concoctions for our weekly trip out for food this week. We also have a loaf of friendship bread left from last week so we'll be eating that this week too. The only baking I'll be doing is another batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars because the boys have been eating them for breakfast every morning.  Looking forward to some variety in my baking next week!

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for May 24 - May 30)

We did a great job of sticking with our meal plan for last week except for Wednesday when I just ran out of time to get dinner ready. So we bumped that meal to the next day and bumped a meal to this week. I am proud to stay that I stayed under my calorie goal for 6 of the 7 days last week, only allowing myself to have my one cheat day. I have been feeling better and also sleeping better as I eat better. I know that happens but I still keep going back to the junk food.

This week is a pretty easy week for me as I have two days off from cooking. Our CSA produce deliveries start on Friday so I haven't planned out any farther than that since my meals will start to be planned around whatever we get each week. I'm so excited to start getting these deliveries, the produce is just so good! I already made my selections for this week so I know what we'll be getting delivered on Friday. It will also help us keep up the healthy eating since we have so many fruits and veggies around that we don't want to go to waste.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Steak on the Grill, Air Fried Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad
Monday - Air Fried Chicken Tenders & Garlic Chili Stir Fry Veggies
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!! Chicken for the adults, beef for the boys
Wednesday - Take out to celebrate our anniversary!!
Thursday - Meatball Subs for the kids and Meatballs over Zoodles for the Adults
Friday - Cavatelli
Saturday - Out for dinner to my brother's house and dessert from Sticky Fingers Ice Cream

Water Flavor:
Citrus since I had an orange and a grapefruit with bad spots on them. That was enough to fill the infusor for this week. Citrus is never my favor flavor, but it does help control my appetite.

Baking this Week:
I'm done with another Amish Friendship Bread starter on Wednesday this week so I'll be making that for us to enjoy for breakfasts. This may be my last time making it, the boys are over eating it and I'd like some variety.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 5/15 - 5/21)

Friday (5/15) - Day 63 of "Corona break." Last day of school!! AJ finished up earlier this week so it was only Daniel and Zak that had work to finish today. AJ and I did need to take a drive to his school to get his baritone fixed so that he can practice over the summer. We were finished by noon and I was thrilled to put it all behind us. I know things will look different in the fall, but I'm really hoping these kids go back to school and I can go back to work. If not, we will deal with it then. For now we are going to try to enjoy our summer break. It started with them playing video games for the day while I relaxed downstairs, watching TV, reading and getting a few things done.

Adrian took a late lunch break and we took Rocky for a walk before the rain hits later. When we got back, I did a Zumba livestream with Kass Martin who was fantastic to dance with! I had a great time dancing to her super fun playlist. When class was over I rehydrated and got a snack before heading upstairs for a shower. Then Adrian and I decided we didn't want to cook tonight so we made a frozen pizza for dinner and just chilled. We fed the boys leftovers and then cleaned up and played a game of Space Base and I won! Maybe we losing streak is over. After the game, we watched "The Goldburgs" from this week and then watched "The Mandelorian" with the boys. We put them to bed after the show and came down to watch this week's "Schooled" before heading to bed too. It's been a long week!

Saturday (5/16) - Day 64 of "Corona break." We got up and moving fairly early this morning because we had a busy morning on tap. Unfortunately I woke up to a mess downstairs because Rocky had an upset stomach and had an accident in her crate over night. Adrian and I took care of getting her and her bed cleaned up pretty quickly but it was a stressful start to the day. After getting that cleaned up, I got ready and headed to the church to teach my Zumba class this morning. Thankfully we had no Zoom issues today and we all had a great time dancing together. After class, I went out to the front of the church to donate some items to the food drive and visit with a few people in the church. It was so nice to see friends and see the generosity of our church family!!

After a short visit, I headed home to pick up Adrian for our morning "date." We headed to the salon for our appointments, he got a much needed haircut and I got my eyebrows waxed. Then we went to Bibibop to pick up lunch and Jersey Mike's to pick up dinner. We also filled up the van's gas tank and picked up a small grocery order from Kroger before heading home for the day. When we got home, we had a super fun and relaxing day playing board games and watching comedies on our DVR. We played:  Castles of Burgundy (Adrian won), Lords of Watergate (I won), Wingspan (Adrian won), Lost Cities (we tied), That's So Clever (Adrian won, but just barely) and Ticket to Ride (I won). It was nice that we both won some games this weekend, it is more fun for both of us. While we hung out downstairs, the boys hung out upstairs playing Minecraft and Roblox. We were going to play a game with them but they weren't interested and we were having so much fun that we decided to just let it go. We all stayed up past midnight since we were having so much fun! I hope everyone sleeps in a little tomorrow since we were up so late tonight.

Sunday (5/17) - Day 65 of "Corona break." We all did sleep in today after the late night last night. Once we got up and moving, we got started on our to do lists for the weekend. We got a ton of cleaning done and prepped for the week ahead. We found all of our library books that we already read and reserved a bunch of new ones so we have plenty to read. We figured out what we want our summer weeks to look like since we don't have schoolwork anymore. Everyone pitched in and we got a ton of stuff done today, I'm excited that the kids are now so involved in helping us clean the house. We finished the night with Buffalo wings for dinner and a make your own sundae bar for dessert. We watched another episode of "The Mandelorian" with the boys before we put them to bed for the night. Then we watched an episode of "Will and Grace" from our DVR. Adrian was really tired so he headed to bed and I finished the recent season of "Summer House" and enjoyed some alone time and some "Mom Juice" before I also headed to bed. It was a really great weekend!!

Monday (5/18) - Day 66 of "Corona break." First offical day of summer break! Unfortunately AJ was up super early this morning and woke up me, Adrian and Rocky earlier than we wanted to get up. I tried to stay in bed a little longer but finally just got up and started the day. I had a mini jam from Zumba to watch this morning so I attended that and learned a fun song from one of my favorite jammers. Then we started working on our weekly goals for each week of the summer. The boys worked on their new puzzle for over an hour, and didn't fight at all!! Then we did some reading, instrument practice and learning to tie shoes. The boys saw that they can do some other things other than just video games and YouTube while staying home.

The day passed quickly while I worked around the house and the boys played upstairs. I got a ton of stuff done and am slowing chipping away at my to do list that has things on it that are over a year old. I made dinner for us and Adrian and I ate an early dinner before I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class. Thankfully there were no Zoom issues today and everything went smoothly and we all got a good workout. While I was there, Adrian fed the boys dinner and got AJ on his call for his merit badge this week, he is learning about Space Exploration. When we were all done, we got snacks and watched "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" before everyone but me headed to bed. I came back down and watched some of my recorded Bravo shows for about an hour and just enjoyed the peace of being alone before I got too tired and head to head to bed.

Tuesday (5/19) - Day 67 of "Corona break." We all slept in today since we were so tired after the early morning yesterday. Zak was the first one up followed soon by Rocky and then me to take care of Rocky. We had a lazy morning while everyone slowly woke up and Adrian headed upstairs to work. We eventually got moving and got some stuff done around the house and on our summer bucket list. The boys finished their first puzzle, 550 pieces in 2 days. We'll be doing one puzzle each week for the summer to keep them busy with things other than video games.

In the afternoon, I took an awesome Zumba class with one of Zumba's trainers and had so much fun dancing with him!! When that was over, I headed out to run to Aldi to restock our fruits and veggies for the week. I also stopped to pick up Zak's bag of stuff from his school. This is such a sad ending to the school year, I can't believe I just picked up my kid's stuff in a garbage bag from the express line. I wish all of the kids could have had a different ending to this school year, but I do know this is for the best.  When I got home, I made tacos for everyone for dinner and then we cleaned up a bit before getting ready for family movie night. Tonight we watched Adrian's pick "Knives Out" which was a great movie. It was a little over Zak's head and he made it an hour before declaring he was bored and heading upstairs to watch TV. The other 4 of us enjoyed it and I was happy to watch something that wasn't Avengers. After the movie, it was really late so we got the boys to bed, watched one comedy from our DVR and headed to bed ourselves.

Wednesday (5/20) - Day 68 of "Corona break." We got up and moving fairly early this morning even though we were up late last night. Adrian got Rocky ready and dropped her off at daycare while I got the boys ready to start our day. I decided to start my day with my long list of errands to run for the day. I headed out to return our movie, shop at Meijer, pick up AJ and Daniel's remaining school items and pick up our first dozen of donuts for the summer. While Krispy Kreme isn't exactly a small shop, we had a coupon for a free dozen so we decided to start with these for our goal of going to a donut or ice cream shop every week over the summer.

When I got home, the afternoon passed quick for all of us. The boys finished up their daily stuff for the summer and then went back to video games. I recorded a new Zumba Toning class for my students and grabbed a shower before heading out to pick up Rocky from daycare. The day went so fast that I ran out of time to cook dinner, so we I just quickly air fried some chicken and we made salads for dinner. Then I headed out to the church to work for an hour while Adrian got ready for his Zoom Bible study and got AJ ready for his Zoom Scout meeting. When we were all done and back home, we finished up the night with an episode of "Series of Unfortunate Events." We didn't love the first episode we tried a few weeks ago, but this one was better so we're going to keep watching the show. After the boys went to bed, Adrian and I finished the last two episodes of "Will and Grace" which were OK but honestly their first series finale was better than this one.

Thursday (5/21) - Day 69 of "Corona break." We all slept in a little and then got our day started. It was raining again all day and with this bad weather, it's honestly feeling like the same day over and over. We were pretty productive around the house though, the boys did all of their stuff on our bucket list for today and I got some stuff done around the house while Adrian worked. We had fun watching Mystery Doug this afternoon and his live episode was about space, which is what our day camp for Scouts is about so that was a happy coincedence.

After a quick dinner, I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class tonight. I thought it was one of my better classes, probably because I have more energy since I'm eating better. However, there were some technical issues with Zoom and I was off from the music for the second half of the class. I then tested the new Zumba platform that I have been anxiously awaiting...and it was a total flop!! It didn't work for any of my students. I left the church and came home hating technology, ha! But my bad mood was quickly turned around by watching "Holey Moley" with the boys. We loved this show and laughed at the different golf courses in the competition. After the show, we got the boys to bed and then Adrian and I watched "Broke" and "Man with a Plan" and headed to bed for the night. It wasn't a great day and I'm hoping the weekend is better.

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for May 17 - May 23)

We had another pretty good week following our meal plan last week until Friday night. I'm not sure what keeps happening but I really run out of steam on Fridays and just don't feel like doing anything, especially cooking dinner. So this past Friday we had frozen pizza and bumped our planned meal to this week. Tomorrow we are starting to get back to a little more healthy eating because our waist lines are really out of control. There will be 6 days of healthy eating and one cheat day, the same as we were doing earlier this year. That seems to work best for us and will allow us to indulge once in a while.

This week officially kicks off summer break for the boys so I will have lots more free time during the week now that I don't have to worry about school work for any of them. We are still planning on doing some fun activities together that will take some of our time, but not nearly as much as we were doing. We are also going to try to support some of the local businesses and get out of the house a little bit by going out for either donuts or ice cream each week. I'll try to share where we're going each week on these posts too.

I'm going shopping this week and will be doing a Costco run next week in hopes of stocking us up for a while. Next week our CSA deliveries will start up again for this season and I can't wait to have fresh fruits and veggies delivered to our door again! Our deliveries will come on Fridays and I will figure out our meals for the week over the weekend, and write our weekly meal plan around the seasonal produce we receive. We'll hopefully be able to do this every week until early November which will significantly reduce my trips to the grocery store and our bill when I go.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Leftovers and frozen food
Monday - Chili Mac with salad
Tuesday - Shrimp Fajitas for the adults and Tacos for the kids
Wednesday - Pasta Skillet with salad
Thursday - Air Fryer Chicken Tenders with Sauted Zucchini
Friday - Squash and Tomato Frittata with Grapefruit and English Muffins
Saturday - Leftovers or sandwiches (cheat day). I'm going to a friend's house for drinks and snacks this night so I'll just be eating light before I head out for a few hours.

Water Flavor:
I have three more pears to use up so I'll be using them this week for my water flavor. It was so good this week, I need to remember this for the summer when pears are in season!

Baking this Week:
Amish Friendship Bread - I have taken care of another start and will be ready to bake more bread on Monday. I will again give away 3 starts and keep the last one that I will bake next week. I'm going to keep doing this until I give starts to all of the people on my list, or the boys get sick of eating the bread.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread - The boys keep asking for this for breakfast and I never made it last week so I'll be making it this week for sure!
Buckeye Bark - This popped up on my Facebook feed this week and it looks easy and delicious. I'll make it and bring some to my girls night out on Saturday and Adrian and I will enjoy the rest here at home.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 5/8 - 5/14)

Friday (5/8) - Day 56 of "Corona break." We made it to another weekend, although all of the days are running together and the same these days. I got up and moving fairly early this morning so I could attend my last session for the virtual Zumba convention. It was a session with tips on how to teach virtual classes and I learned a lot from it. I'm glad that Zumba has worked so hard to give us options to keep teaching and help keep people moving during this crazy time. After the session, I got the boys started on school for the day. They are starting to wrap up their school years and were very focused and finished around lunch time today. I was very proud of Zak especially because he started the week so rough but really pulled thru and got all of his stuff done by the end of the week.

After school was finished, we all had lunch and then the boys headed upstairs to play while I headed out to run a few errands to get what we need for this weekend.  I picked up cupcakes from Smallcakes, bagels from Panera and a few groceries from Meijer. I also picked up a few bottles of wine to surprise a few friends with gifts on their porches. I made my bags with wine and chocolate and went and dropped them all off before I headed home for the weekend.  When I got home, we were all exhausted and didn't feel like doing anything. So we decided to blow off the whole weekend and just have fun and relax. We ordered Jets pizza for dinner and then soon after the very late dinner, we settled in for family movie night. We watched "Captain America: Civil War" in our continuing effort to rewatch all of the movies. After the movie, we put the boys to bed, watched a comedy from the week and headed to bed too. I'm really hoping to recharge this weekend!!

Saturday (5/9) - Day 57 of "Corona break." Today was family fun day, although really this whole weekend will be a fun weekend. We did a few small things around here just to make sure we are staying up on the big things like dishes and laundry. Then we spent the rest of the day relaxing, playing board games and watching TV. We also had our second visit from Kona Ice, which wasn't as much fun as the first one, probably because it was freezing cold outside!  My horrible board game luck continued as we played Castles of Burgundy (Adrian won), That's so Clever (Adrian won twice), Carcassonne (Adrian won) and Viticulture (Adrian won). I had fun but it is super frustrating to lose every single game all weekend!! In between games, we watched some of our comedies from the week, ate a ton of junk food and took Rocky on a few walks. The boys took a break from playing video games to have the first of two cookie cakes with us tonight and we watched another episode of "Stranger Things" with them. The day passed quickly and it was a very relaxing day. I am already starting to feel recharged and we still have another day of relaxing ahead of us!

Sunday (5/10) - Day 58 of "Corona break." Happy Birthday to Adrian!! And Happy Mother's Day!! It was a jam packed day of celebration for us! We started by all sleeping in then enjoying more bagels for breakfast. We opened our presents soon after everyone got up because we wanted to play Adrian's new board games today. We spent most of the day playing games with the boys.  We played Space Base twice (Adrian won, Zak won), Funko Verse with the Golden Girls and Harry Potter (kids beat the adults) and Good Cop, Bad Cop twice (AJ, Adrian & Daniel won and AJ, Adrian and Zak won).  We also took one hour to clean the house just to make sure we didn't fall too far behind after this weekend. We took a break from playing games to order Piada for dinner and then enjoyed cookie cake number two for dessert while watching another episode of "Stranger Things."  The boys wanted a little bit of time to play video games, so while they did that, Adrian and I played Splendor and I finally won a game!! Hopefully my bad luck is over for a while! After the game, we got the boys to bed and then followed soon after since it was so late and it's back to our (current) regular schedule.

Monday (5/11) - Day 59 of "Corona break." It was super hard to get up this morning, probably because we stayed up late last night. My alarm went off so I could join in a Zumba livestream class, but I decided to turn it off and get a little more sleep this morning. When we finally got up, Adrian started working and I got the boys started on school. They have very little to do and were done within an hour today. They spent the rest of the rainy day playing video games and watching YouTube. I got a ton of stuff done around the house, including catching up on some things I didn't do this weekend. It was a productive, if a little boring day.

AJ is starting a new merit badge this week and he's working on his movie making badge with Zoom calls every day this week. After the productive afternoon, we had dinner together and then I headed out to the church to teach my Zumba class on Zoom tonight. I had a smaller group than usual, but I'm sure a lot of people were tired after the fun weekend. After class, I ran to pick up a prescription and then came home for the night. We finished cleaning up from dinner and then watched another episode of "Stranger Things." When that was over, Adrian and I got the boys to bed, watched two episodes of "Will and Grace" and then headed to bed too. Hoping for warmer weather as this week continues!

Tuesday (5//12) - Day 60 of "Corona break." We did a little better getting up and moving this morning. Adrian got up and got Rocky started for her day, then went to work in our bedroom. I attended a Zumba mini jam and learned an awesome song from one of my new favorite virtual jammers. After that, I got the boys started on school for the day. Once again, they were done in less than an hour so they played some video games. AJ submitted his last assignment today so he is officially done for the school year.  He did a great job with this virtual learning and I think he may like this better than going to school.

The afternoon passed quickly with me working around the house, the boys playing and Adrian working.  I joined one of my friends for a later morning Zumba class and had so much fun dancing with her!! AJ did his second day of his movie making merit badge workshop. We enjoyed tacos and fajitas for dinner and a nice long walk with Rocky since it was so nice outside. Then it was AJ's pick for family movie night and instead of a movie, he chose to binge watch the last 3 episodes of "Stranger Things." We loved this series and all 3 seasons and can't wait for season 4!! It was an emotional roller coaster for sure watching the last 3 episodes all in a row but we were thankful that we did. When we were done discussing it, we all headed to bed for the night because it was super late!

Wednesday (5/13) - Day 61 of "Corona break." Today was an early morning for us, especially after such a late night yesterday. Adrian got up and got Rocky ready and dropped her off at daycare for the day. Zak and I were also up early so we did a little bit of school work this morning and then we were done for the day. He's pretty much done for the year, but I'm having him do a few things that were optional in his classroom. AJ and Daniel slept in and then got up and started playing video games. Daniel did the little bit of schoolwork that he needed to do this morning as well, he has just a few more things to finish up for the year.

The day passed quickly with the boys playing, Adrian working and me doing work around the house. I'm trying to catch up on all of the stuff that I haven't had a chance to do in the past year or so. Zak had his last speech therapy session for the year this afternoon and AJ had his merit badge virtual workshop too. He is working very hard to complete 6 merit badges over the next few weeks. After all of that, it was just about time to pick up Rocky from daycare. When I got home with her, I made dinner for everyone and then Adrian and I took her for a long walk to enjoy the weather. We finished up the night with an episode of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" together and then part of "Survivor" after the boys went to bed. I was exhausted so I didn't make it very late tonight, I'm hoping for a good night of sleep and less pollen tomorrow!

Thursday (5/14) - Day 62 of "Corona break." We all got a great night of sleep, including Zak who slept in and was the last person to get up, which is very rare for him. Daniel has one more thing to finish up for school and while working on it this morning, he had a question come up so he's waiting for an answer before finishing it up. Zak did a little more elective school work this morning and then all 3 boys spent most of the day playing video games and watching YouTube. We are giving them this week "off" to do that and then we'll come up with some ideas to do other things starting next week. I spent most of the day getting stuff done around the house, I felt very productive today!!

In the afternoon, AJ had his virtual merit badge session and then worked on some of the merit badges he is currently working on. We got word that some places may start opening soon so we have hope that we might get to do some fun things this summer! I cooked an early dinner so I could eat and then head out to teach my Zumba Toning class at the church. Unfortunately I had significant Zoom problems and we kept getting kicked off and class kept getting interupted. After this happened 3 times, I opted to just cancel the rest of class and call it a night. When I got home, Adrian was on his call with his small group so I cleaned up a little and waited for him to finish. When he was done, we watched "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" together as a family, then put the boys to bed. Then Adrian and I finished up watching "Survivor" from last night and were happy to see Tony win, although we really wanted Sarah to win. It was a great season, we loved seeing the past winners come back and play again!!

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 2/21 - 2/27)

Friday (2/21) We made it to another weekend and all got up on time.  Unfortunately, AJ woke up nauseus and not feeling well so he stayed home from school.  Adrian helped get everyone up and then he headed to work for the day.  I drove Daniel to school then came home and got Zak and myself ready and made sure AJ was all set for the day.  Then I headed in to school with Zak to sub for the day.  I thought I had 2 assignments, but ended up bouncing around to cover whatever needed covered and ended up being 4 different teachers in 4 different grades.  I was exhausted when the day was over and really just worn out.

When I came home, I saw that Rocky has not behaved during the day with AJ and chewed up a bunch of things.  It was not a great start to our weekend!!  We took some time to catch our breathes and then assessed the damage.  Thankfully everything she chewed up, we can replace pretty easily.  I hung out and rested for a bit and then I got ready to go to my Zumba class at the Y.  AJ was feeling better so he did a little homework and then got ready for his campout this weekend.  Adrian fed himself and Zak and then the two of them headed to the church for basketball.  Zak played really well and also did a great job learning his memory verse this week so he earned the "Christ-like Attitude" award!!

When we all got home, the boys had some video game time and I was honestly so tired I could barely function to get anything done.  Adrian and Zak finished up his car for the Pinewood Derby tomorrow and then Adrian and AJ got packed up to go camping.  The boys wanted to stay up a little later so we let them but got them down around 9 because we all have early mornings tomorrow.  After getting them down, Adrian and I watched "Modern Family" while having snacks and then headed to bed.  We were both exhausted after what felt like a very long week!!

Saturday (2/22) We were up super early this morning getting moving for a busy day.  Adrian and AJ finishing packing up and headed out to AJ's Scout campout.  I got Daniel ready and our friend picked him up to take him to art class.  Then Zak and I got ready and headed to the church.  I set up for my Zumba class and then Zak was picked up by his friend to go to his weekly bowling game.  I am so thankful for my village and that we were able to do all of that today!!  After I taught an awesome Zumba class, I headed to Gahanna to pick up Zak and then we headed downtown to pick up Daniel and David.  When we all got back home, we had a quick lunch and a little relaxing before round two this afternoon.

Daniel, Zak and I headed out to Zak's Pinewood Derby for Scouts in the afternoon.  His car was a little below the weight limit so I add a few coins to boost the weight.  Zak won all three of his races and won first place in his den this year!!  He was super proud and excited!  He also did a great job of cheering on his other den mates and not gloating that he won.  All of the Scouts did great and I'm proud of them.  When the race was over, we headed to Target to get Isabelle's birthday gift and spend some of their birthday money.  They did great picking out what they wanted and we had fun shopping.  When we were done, we finally headed home for the day.

When we got home, the boys started playing with their new toys, including a new marble maze and some stuffies.  I started working around the house trying to catch up on all of the stuff we hadn't done all week.  I was really worn out already from the day though so I wasn't as productive as I hoped, but I still managed to get a lot done including catching up on laundry.  We also spent some time in the yard playing with Rocky since it was a nice day.  The afternoon and evening passed quickly and before long it was time for the boys to go to bed.  I came back down to have a snack and watch a little TV and didn't even make it thru one show before heading back up to bed myself.  It was a fun but exhausting day!!

Sunday (2/23) We all slept in this morning until after 9am!  I felt so well rested when I got up, it was fantastic!  Since we were too late for first service, we weren't able to go to church this morning so we had a relaxing morning at home.  Adrian and AJ got back from camping around noon and said they had a great time.  AJ did a 5 mile hike and earned his Second Class rank!!  They also did some shooting, cooking, played some games and slept outside in tents even though it was pretty cold.  Soon after they got home, I headed out to the Y to teach another huge (over 40 people!) Barre class.  Thankfully they hired a new instructor so starting next month there will be 2 more barre classes on the schedule, yay!!

After class, I came home and got the house and food ready to celebrate all of the February birthdays with Carl, Sarah and their kids.  They came over for a few hours for a relaxing, fun time.  The kids all played together while the adults chatted and caught up.  We enjoyed meatball subs, salads and ice cream cake to celebrate Zak, Daniel & Isabelle turning another year older!!  They hung out for a while and when they headed home, we got our crew ready for bed.  We did some clean up around the house and then had the boys watch a show before heading up to bed.  Adrian was exhausted from camping so he went to bed then too.  I came down and watched a little TV and did a few other little things around the house before calling it a night too.  It was a fun but tiring weekend and I don't think any of us feel ready to start the week ahead!

Monday (2/24) We were up bright and early to get back to our normal schedule for the week.  Adrian decided to take the day off today so I let him sleep in while I got everyone off to school.  I dropped all three boys off at their respective schools on time.  We were all sleepy and slow moving, but we made it.  I also had the day off today because I'm waiting for the guy to come and set up the boys' birthday present.  I got started on things around the house early this morning since I didn't get very much done this weekend.  It was a super productive day and before long it was time to pick everyone up from school.  I picked up Daniel and Zak when they were done for the day and AJ took the bus home. Unfortunately the guy who was supposed to set up our trampoline never showed up so I took the day off for nothing!

After a short break for everyone, we finished homework and then all had dinner.  Then we headed out for our night stuff.  Adrian and Zak headed to basketball where Zak played great again, getting a bunch of rebounds, making a few shots and playing really hard.  While they were there, I was also at the church teaching my Zumba class.  We had a great time dancing together and burning a ton of calories.  After we all got home, we got the boys thru their night routine and down for the night.  Then Adrian and I finished up a few more things around the house, watched two more comedies from our DVR and headed to bed for the night.  Back to our busy routine tomorrow!!

Tuesday (2/25) We got mostly back to our normal routine today. Adrian got AJ up and started on getting ready and then headed to work for the day. I got AJ and Daniel to school and then came home to get Zak and myself ready for the day. I dropped Zak off at school and then headed to the YMCA to teach two classes this morning, a Zumba Gold class and a make up Aqua Zumba class. I had a great time doing both classes and was ready to drop when I was done! But no rest for the weary so I headed to Costco to do a major stock up trip for us since it's been a while since I've gone.

After that, I came home and rested for a bit and got everyone from school. Daniel was excited to tell me about the special assembly he had today learning about making smart choices and the basics of CPR. He said it was cool to learn it but he hopes to never have to use it! After I got everyone home from school, I headed up to West to teach my 3rd Zumba class of the day to the teachers there. When we were done, I came home and cooked a quick dinner before heading out with Zak to his Scout den meeting. We had a fun time there working on our coding belt loop even though I was really exhausted. When we got home for the night, we got the boys thru their night time routine and down to bed. Then Adrian and I watched a comedy before also heading to bed for the night.

Wednesday (2/26) We all got up and moving on time again today. Adrian helped get the boys up and started for the day and then headed to work. I dropped AJ and Daniel off at school and then came home to pick up Rocky and drop her off at daycare for the day.  Then I came home to get Zak and myself ready for the day. I dropped him off at school and headed to the Y to teach my normal three classes all day today, Zumba Toning, Aqua Zumba and Silver Sneakers. I had fun at all three classes and was not nearly as tired as I thought I would be after teaching so many extra classes yesterday.  After class, I ran a few quick errands and then got all of the boys after school.

We quickly got thru homework for everyone and then I ran out to pick up Rocky. When we got home, I got dinner for everyone and then headed to the church to work for about an hour tonight. Adrian had Bible study so he went straight there from work. When we all got home after the busy day, we finished up a few things around the house and then got the boys thru their night routine. Then Adrian and I got our snacks and watched "Survivor" for the week together before heading to bed. Wednesdays are becoming the busiest day of the week for us!

Thursday (2/27) We got up and moving on time again today, we're doing great with that this week! Adrian helped get AJ and Daniel up and started getting ready and then headed to work for the day. I dropped AJ and Daniel off at school and then headed home to get Zak and myself ready for the day. We headed in together since I was subbing for the whole day today in his school. The day passed quickly and I had a great day in 2nd grade, including seeing Zak at lunch and recess.

When we got home, we got quickly thru homework and dinner after a short relaxing break for all of us.  Then I headed out to the church to teach my Zumba Toning class for the night.  I had a great time with the group of ladies that were there and we got a great workout, as always. When I got home, we finished cleaning up a few things from dinner and then watched yesterday's "Lego Masters" as a family before getting the boys to bed for the night.  After they were in bed, Adrian and I watched two comedies from our DVR and then headed to bed too. Not the most exciting day, but productive and a little fun too.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 5/1 - 5/7)

Friday (5/1) - Day 49 of "Corona break." We had a very slow start to our day, we all slept in and were very lazy when we got up.  Adrian finally headed upstairs to work and while the boys were showering and eating breakfast, I did a quick Zumba class that my friend recorded.  Then we started school for the last day of this week.  The boys were really focused and worked hard to finish up everything they needed to for this week.  We are all excited to only have two more weeks of school work left to finish up for the year.

After they finished school, they headed upstairs to play video games and I logged on to Zumba to do my last virtual convention session of the week.  It was another session of "Latin Urban" and even though it was the same information as earlier in the week, I still learned from the amazing couple.  I had a blast sharpening my dembow skills and dancing with Heidy and Armando again, and Rocky enjoyed watching it too.  When the session was over, I ran out to pick up our custom made masks and grab a few things from Dollar Tree to make posters for all of our parades next week.  It was a quick and productive trip.

When I got home, Adrian and I made dinner together and then cleaned up pretty quickly to move on to have a relaxing Friday night.  I headed upstairs with my wine and my homemade cookie that my friend dropped off earlier for a virtual wine night with friends.  I chatted, laughed and drank for 2 hours with them, it was fantasic!!  I wish we were in person, but it was still nice to socialize with them even if it was virtual.  While I was doing that, Adrian finished cleaning up and he and the boys got our popcorn ready for movie night.  Instead of doing a movie, we watched 2 episodes of "Stranger Things" and will watch 2 more on Sunday to finish season 2.  We were going to watch them all tonight but got started too late since I was on my call.  When the show was over, we all headed upstairs and to bed for the night.

Saturday (5/2) - Day 50 of "Corona break." The alarm felt very early when it went off this morning!  I got up and moving and headed to the church to teach my Zumba Toning class.  We had fun and got a great workout, but man do I miss seeing my students in person!!  I'm hoping this is the last month of virtual only classes and that by June we'll be back to in person classes.  When I got home, we had our weekly family fun day.  We spent the whole day relaxing, playing board games and watching TV.  We played two new to me games, City of the Big Shoulders (Adrian won) and Awkward Guests with the boys (I won).  I didn't love either game, but will play both of them again.  Then we played two favorites, Castles of Burgundy (Adrian won) & Splendor (Adrian won), it clearly was not my best game playing day.  We snacked on junk food all day and let the boys stay up until midnight.  It was a fantastic lazy day and I loved every minute of it!!

Sunday (5/3) - Day 51 of "Corona break." After fun all day yesterday, today was a work day for us.  We started pretty early since we all got up and moving quickly.  The boys did a great job finishing their lists by early afternoon including making a fossil craft from Zak's schoolwork last week and making posters for our upcoming school parades this week.  Adrian and I worked hard and quickly to get the house in order for the upcoming week.  It's a lot easier now that we've gotten rid of some things and also have the boys helping us to clean up now.

I got a surprise this afternoon when the doorbell rang and I found a gift from the staff at Licking Heights West for teacher appreciation week.  I was overwhelmed that they thought of me to drop it off during this weird time.  It's filled with tons of snacks and school supplies that will all come in handy. I also have an envelope to open each day which I'm not so patiently waiting to open.  We also took Rocky on a nice long walk around the neighborhood and saw tons of friends and neighbors out and about on this beautiful day.  We enjoyed delicious grilled steak for dinner and I realized I haven't had to cook dinner for the past 4 nights, that's a record for this quarantine period!!

The boys were super helpful all day and did a bunch of cleaning around the house.  We also made our signs so we are ready to spoil our teachers from afar for the teacher and staff parades this week.  After dinner and some free time for everyone, we finished the night with the final two episodes of season two of "Stranger Things."  What a great ending to the season!!  We all loved it and are so excited to start season 3 very soon.  After the two episodes, we put the boys to bed, finished up a few things and then watched an episode of "Young Sheldon" before heading to bed too.  Ready for another week of sheltering at home!

Monday (5/4) - Day 52 of "Corona break" and day 6 of the virtual Zumba convention.  My day started earlier than I wanted it to because I had the "House Experience" session at 9am this morning.  I got up and ready and was glad I tuned in because I had a blast dancing with Rodrigo and Benjamin.  After my Zumba session, I got the boys up and moving and ready to start their school day. AJ had speech first thing this morning so he logged on and did that while the rest of us got started on work for the week.  Zak had a rough day and didn't want to do any of his work.  There was some tears and raised voices (from both of us) but we finally got thru what we needed to get thru.

 

After the rough day of school, I sent the boys upstairs to play so I could try to get some things done. AJ had his virtual merit badge class, this week he is taking animation and said it's really cool!  I had a ton of unexpected things come up so I wasn't able to finish what I wanted to finish, but that's the way life goes sometimes.  I did roast a whole chicken for dinner and Adrian and I enjoyed a nice dinner alone before I left to teach my Zumba class this evening.  While I was there, he mowed the lawn and got AJ settled for his 3rd Zoom call of the day, this time with his Scout troop.  When we all finished up, we did what we could around the house and then settled in to watch "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" When that was over, Adrian and I got the boys to bed and watched an episode of "Young Sheldon" before he headed to bed and I had some time to myself to finish a few things and watch "Married to Medicine." It was a rough start to our week, I'm hoping it improves tomorrow.

Tuesday (5/5) - Day 53 of "Corona break" and day 7 of the virtual Zumba convention.  I was up early again today for another convention session.  This time is was "Street Style" and while it was not my favorite session of the 2 weeks, I still had fun dancing with Prince and Madelle and learned some tips. When that was over, I got the boys showered and dressed and we started school for the day.  We worked quick and were very focused because we have Zak's teacher parade this afternoon and want to be done for the day by then.

We weren't sure exactly when the parade would come by but we made the best guess we could and met up with some friends outside to see the parade. It was super emotional for me seeing all of my co-workers over the past few years parading by. Zak loved seeing his teacher and the other boys enjoyed seeing their teachers from past years. It was a fun afternoon, I just wish it wasn't so cold! When the parade was over, the boys headed upstairs to play some video games and I dried my tears and attended "House Experience" again with my two new favorites, Benjamin and Rodrigo. I had a great time dancing with them and reviewing the songs I learned yesterday from them.

After the session was over, I headed out to Aldi to do some grocery shopping for the next two weeks. I got just about everything that I needed and only have a few things to grab from either Kroger or Meijer now. I came home and made tacos for dinner since it's both Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo. I also grabbed a Spanish wine for Adrian and I to enjoy since I forgot to get margaritas for us to celebrate with. After dinner and some clean up, we settled in to watch "City of Ember" for family movie night. It was Daniel's pick since he just finished the book. The movie was kind of boring but AJ and Daniel both read the book and enjoyed it so we're going to read the series this summer. After the movie was over, we got the boys down to bed, watched one comedy from our DVR and headed to bed too.

Wednesday (5/6) - Day 54 of "Corona break" and day 8 of the virtual Zumba convention. Today started earlier than I wanted it to for me but Adrian and I got up and moving so he could drop Rocky off at daycare and I could get to the first session of the day. It was a session about setting goals and while it was very interesting, it was hard for me to focus because the boys were all over me this morning. I eventually gave up and just got them started on school. Once again they were really focused and finished up quickly so that they were done in time for parade number two of the week.

Today was Daniel's turn to have his teachers come around the neighborhoods. Although they were super late and caused us a little bit of stress since we didn't know when they were coming, we were glad we waited it out and saw them. Daniel was really excited to see his teachers and I'm sad for him that this is how his year is ending. Thankfully his Math teacher will be looping with him and teaching Pre-Algrebra next year so he'll have her again. When the parade was over, AJ logged in for his animation merit badge workshop, Adrian went back to work, the other boys played video games and I started getting ready for our evening.

After I picked Rocky up from doggy daycare, I stopped by to pick up our dinner from the taco truck that was in our area tonight. We got tacos, churro sundaes and margaritas to go. We ate our tacos for dinner, then I headed to the church to work for an hour while Adrian fed the boys and logged in to his Bible study Zoom meeting. On my way home, I picked up our sundaes and we enjoyed them while finishing up a few things. When we were done for the night, we started season 3 of "Stranger Things" with the boys and enjoyed our delicious and strong margaritas! When the first episode was over, we put the boys to bed and started tonight's "Survivor" but since it's 2 hours we only watched part of it before heading to bed.

Thursday (5/7) - Day 55 of "Corona break" and day 9 of the virtual Zumba convention. I started the day with an awesome session with Ricardo learning about African beats and dances. It was way out of my comfort zone but he made me feel comfortable and ready to try it. After that session, I got the boys started on school and thankfully the work is dwindling down and we have less to do each day. After they were done for the day, we got ready for our third and final parade of the week. This was AJ's teachers and earlier in the week, he was not interested in participating but by today he was interested and downstairs at 1:00 listening for the horns in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately I had another Zumba session at 3 and AJ had his merit badge workshop at 3 and the parade had still not come thru. We set up so that I was outside listening for the parade and trying to do my session while AJ was in the kitchen doing his merit badge. Thankfully his session was short today so he was done when the parade did finally come by our house. We were happy to see so many of AJ's teachers and be able to send them off for the year. When it was over, the boys went upstairs to play video games and I was able to catch the last half hour of my Puerto Rican Flow Zumba session.

After that session, I was not feeling well so I decided to cancel my Zoom Zumba class for tonight and instead just upload two classes for my students. My allergies are horrible this year and I'm really struggling with them. I am also mentally and emotionally exhausted from this week! I got dinner together for everyone and then spent the rest of the night relaxing. We watched another episode of "Stranger Things" with the boys before they went to bed for the night. Then Adrian and I finished last night's "Survivor" before we also headed to bed. I'm hoping my allergies let up soon!!