Weekly Wrap Up - Changes in Routine

Do you want to hear a funny story?  Last week in my wrap up post, I shared how we were able to pay off the car and some other bills.  Well, I posted that on Friday morning, and then we decided to order Chinese carry-out for dinner, to celebrate having paid the car off.  On the way to pick up the food, the car broke down, I kid you not.  We were able to limp it into the garage, after they had closed for the weekend.  We then grabbed the van and went to pick up the now, somewhat cold, takeout food.  Thankfully the husband was off work for the weekend, so I was still able to get both girls to their various jobs without adding a trip to take/pick him up each day.   

The weekend was the usual flurry of activity, so I won't bore you again with all my notes on that.  It was also the last days before Tom has to move to 2nd shift at work.  There's been some firing, quitting and realignment of employees and despite his best efforts, he got moved to 2nd shift (3:30pm - midnight) staring Monday.

Monday morning, Olivia had to work the 5:30am shift at farm #1.  At 8am, I had to run down to the garage to take them the key to the car and explain what happened.  At 9am, I had an appointment to drop off the van to get the bumper repaired.  They gave us a lovely 2020 Kia Optima loaner car that I have really enjoyed driving!  Lindsey was off for the day, so she was able to sleep in a bit, then work on school work.  I took Olivia back to work at 1pm, and then we were home the rest of the day.   We worked on laundry and house work. Tom left around 3pm to head to work, so it was just the 3 of us for dinner.

Tuesday was Lindsey's long nanny day again, 7:30am-5:30pm.  I took Olivia to practice working on parking skills for her upcoming driver's license road test.  We also went to test drive another vehicle that turned out to be a dud.  The girls had jiu-jitsu in the evening and we had a late dinner once I picked them up.

Wednesday morning I took Olivia to work at farm #2 at 6am, instead of her regular 8am.  We had to do the shift early so that we could get to the next town over by 8am to get her driver's license test done.  Getting an appointment scheduled has been a nightmare due to all the restrictions, and we weren't about to miss it. With the new covid rules, the test is completed in a parking lot, with cones marking sections.  There was a 3-point turn, pulling into a parking space, and backing into a parking space.  The rest of the test was following verbal commands from the instructor (who stands outside the car) telling you to turn on your signal light, headlights, emergency blinkers, windshield wipers and beep the horn.  That's it. That extra practice paid off, and Olivia is now a licensed driver.  At the same time, Lindsey was taking (and passing) her learner's permit test, so now both are driving.   

Lindsey babysat from 10:30-1:30 for one family, and then went to work for another family from 3:30-5:30.  Tom got called into work early, so he left at 1pm.  Church wrapped up the evening.

Thursday was the typical 9:30-1:30 babysitting for Lindsey.  Tom and Olivia went to the gym and I went grocery shopping.  Then it was back home to do laundry and get Lindsey's school work checked.  Lindsey had another 4:30-5:30 babysitting job and then it was off to jiu-jitsu.

Friday Olivia went to work a bit early, then the three of us went to our monthly chiropractor appointment.  Lindsey has been having some issues with her left shoulder, and he's concerned that she may have torn something in it, so we need to see an orthopedic to get it looked at.  We picked up a few groceries at the discount food store before heading home.  The weather was incredible, so when we got home we started on some outdoor painting projects.  I'll do a post on that next week, if I get it done this week.  I loathe painting.   Olivia had to go check on horses around noon and Lindsey had her standard Friday afternoon babysitting gig from 1:20-3:30.  Tom left for work a little before 3 and within minutes they called to say the van was done and could be picked up by 5...he of course took the rental car to work.  Sooo...I picked up Lindsey at 3:30, ran to his work and swapped cars then picked up the van.  They even washed/detailed it for us and it looked really nice.  By the time I got home, I'd lost my painting mojo, and had a stress headache, so I just gave up on the painting for the evening.

I hope you've had a good week.  Be praying for our southern states that have been hit hard with tornadoes the last 24 hours.

Weekly Wrap Up - Ice Ice Baby

Saturday into Sunday we had a snow/ice event.  Olivia and I didn't make it to the Saturday 5:30am barn feeding because of the freezing rain and conditions of the roads. By the afternoon feeding the roads had greatly improved and we were able to get to both jobs.  Sunday morning we had freezing fog but the roads had been treated heavily enough the night before that it was ok to drive.  Olivia and Lindsey were both able to go to their afternoon jobs.

Monday morning we went to the chiropractor.  Olivia's hips and back are doing really well.  Lindsey is still having issues with her shoulder's, mostly because she's still growing and pretty stretchy.  The exercises she's been doing have helped a great deal and only one shoulder needed to be put back into place.  We ran by the discount grocery store while we were in town, and restocked the pantry.  Lindsey had some babysitting work mid-day.  She managed to complete her school work around all of that runninig around.   It was also "Box Day", and all of Lindsey's fall picks arrived.   The full post will be live next week, but here's a peek at some of the things she'll be reading.

Tuesday morning, Lindsey had to be at her nanny job at 6:15am, so I got up early to drive her.  Normally she walks to/from if it's daylight, but when it's dark I drive her.  She took all of her school work with her to work on during the day.  I had a 9am appointment, then I took Olivia to farm #3 for the day. After dropping her off I went to pick up a few items from the store, and grabbed a quick lunch out. Then things changed with the nanny job.  The mom texted to let me know that her weekend sitter (Friday/Saturday) had a death in the family and asked if Lindsey could cover those days; shortly after that the husband (who has been in quarantine at his parents' home) was hospitalized with Covid-19 and Lindsey went into full on nanny mode as the poor, pregnant mother had to keep working.

Wednesday morning Lindsey was out the door early to go take care of the kids, with her school work in tow.  The sun came out mid-morning and the temperatures hit the high 30's.  The snow and ice melted pretty quickly, but then the wind kicked up and the temperatures dropped.  Our weather forecast for overnight said 12-15" of snow with up to .25" ice.   Our city issued a statement that "residents should be prepared to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours."  WHAT???   I took Olivia to work in the afternoon, then went by the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items.   I always have a minimum of 3 months supplies on hand, so this trip was for snack items.

Thursday started with a sleet storm around 1am that lasted until around noon.  We had very little snow, but pea sized sleet that made quiet the noise and piled up quickly.  Olivia's job told her to stay home, Tom's job closed (1st time in the 15 years he's been there) and Lindsey's nanny family got iced in at the in-laws.  She did make the trek back and forth throughout the day to take their dog out, and to shovel the driveway for the mom, so that she could get in safely when they get the roads plowed.  School was done by about 10:30am.   I made a wonderful pot of lentil stew for dinner, so good on these winter days!

Friday morning we were all up and out the door early.  Olivia had to be at the farm, so she and I headed in that direction.  Lindsey had to be at work at 6:15, so Tom drove her there on his way in to work.    Roads were surprisingly clear, with a few exceptions.   Lindsey took her school work with her, so I'll check all of that when she returns this evening.

With the weather like it is, I've been making some heartier meals this week. I realized I had some sweet potatoes in the potato bin that needed to be used up, so I tried a new crockpot recipe that I found over at The Spruce Eats for crockpot caramel glazed sweet potatoes.  This dish will likely make it to the Thanksgiving meal line up come November, it was THAT good!

Our upcoming weekend temperatures are supposed to be in the teens, so our ice isn't going anywhere.  I hope you're all dealing ok with the weather where you are.  Those of you in Texas, know that we are praying for you.