August in Review

8/1 I had a fasting blood test at LabCorp, and realized I could probably work while I was there, so I ran to work and got my laptop and a study book then headed to LabCorp. I did my first blood test, drank a nasty glucose drink, worked for an hour, got my second blood test, worked for an hour, and got my third blood test. Then I went to work. It felt like a whirlwind of a morning. I went to the gym, then went home to start laundry and eat. I changed quickly, made a veggie plate, grabbed a Fairlife shake, and drove to Labcorp because I forgot my water bottle there. I then drove to Cottonwood High to get my teaching renewal form signed. I went to Smith's for groceries and picked up AJ. I did more cleaning. We spent time in the yard. 

8/2 I went to the gym. We went to FitCon for a little while. We stopped at Kuwahara for some peaches. I did some Fitbliss work and some laundry. AJ took a nap for a little bit (he went to bed whining and woke up whining). I finished cleaning (kitchen and bathroom floors mostly). We were about to leave for dinner when the dryer stopped working, so that was a bummer. We went to an early dinner at Sizzler to see if it was as bad as we remember; we were not fans at all. We went to Parfe Diem in Sugarhouse to use my Yelp elite event deal. We shared a Gold Bar and a Cadillac OG parfe as a family. It was so good! I came home and hung up all my clothes to dry. We did bath and bed time like normal. 

Baby flowers coming up

8/3 Matthew went to the laundromat. I took AJ on a walk; he ran most of the way! I did some to-dos (watering in the yards, laundry, supplements, lunch prep, watering my orchid, cutting pineapple and dragon fruit, etc.). We left at 11:15 for Monroe to Matthew's brother's house. It was our first time there and was nice to just hang out with them and be in their awesome yard. After dinner we started the long drive home at 6:15. We got home about 8:40 and did bath time and bed time. 

8/4 I went to the gym. I went to work; some of the team got Olive Garden for lunch so that was fun. I picked up AJ and tried to get a car wash, but it was closed. I took him home, fed him, and then left to my doula appointment with my client. Matthew managed things at home while I was gone. I got a car wash after that. AJ was still awake so I went in and gave him some loves. 

8/5 I slept in. Work was busy since I had dropped the ball on a current class. Had to scramble to get things ready that I should've done ahead of time. I deposited our rent check, picked up AJ, went to Walmart, and grabbed my books from my doula client. Matthew made us dinner with my Olive Garden leftovers. We went on a walk as a family. I did bath time and bed time while Matthew did dishes. We watched Andor. 

8/6 I went to the gym. I went to work where I had my pre-test with my ESL students and also managed the popcorn throughout the day. I picked up AJ. When we got home, Matthew started cooking dinner but realized the ground beef wasn't good even though I had just bought it. So we went to Itto Sushi, and stopped at Smith's after. I worked in the backyard. We did bath time; Matthew did bed time. I made my lunch and did dishes. 

8/7 I did ten minutes of yoga - it's a nice gentle way to start my day, and the view out my window is so pretty in the morning. Work was fine. I picked up AJ. Matthew made spaghetti. We went to Waffle Love since I had an offer for a free kids' waffle. I did bath time and bed time. 

8/8 I went to the gym and worked a half day. I got my emissions and registration done. We had Best Home Appliance over to repair our dryer, but they didn't have the parts. I grabbed a swab kit to see if I am a match for baby Kiri. Matthew and I went to a Bees game in the evening. 

8/9 We went to the balloon launch, and I went to the gym. I did some Fitbliss stuff. I did a few loads of laundry at our neighbor's house downstairs. We finished the house cleaning. 

8/10 We went to breakfast at Ruth's and then went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day. AJ played at the Zoo splash pad and loved it. He took a nap! I went to a baby blessing. I did lots of random stuff like vitamins, cutting a pineapple, chopping all the tomato plants. I hosed down the litter box and tried to fix our Eufy vacuum. I did bath; Matthew did bed time. I went on a walk. 

8/11 I went to the gym. Work was super busy. I had to leave early to go home to get my dryer repair finished. I picked up AJ. It was a normal evening--lunch prep, dinner, clean up, garden, vacuums, litter box, bath time, bed time. I did try again to repair my Eufy; it's upset about something, and I can't figure out what's wrong. 

8/12 I went on a short walk before work and did another during work. Work was not terribly busy, thankfully. Matthew picked up AJ. It was a normal evening - lunch prep, dinner, clean up, garden, litter box, bath time, bed time. Matthew and I watched Andor. 

8/13 I went to the gym. Work was INSANE. I was nonstop until about 4pm. I taught my first ESL class at work, and it was awesome. I also coordinated a training workshop on suicide prevention (this means set up, recording, clean up, trimming recording, uploading recording, etc.). I picked up AJ from daycare. We had a normal evening at home. Special moments: AJ wanted to do "daddy's toes," which means he wants to tickle dad's feet on his bed. It's always a delight watching him giggle uncontrollably to get his dad's reaction. 

8/14 I went for a short walk. I dropped my car off for an oil change and air conditioning check. We had a virtual appointment with our NaPro doctor; he was late, and then had to step away for a few minutes, so the experience was a little frustrating. Special moments: AJ came out to my car when I was leaving for work and said, "Mom!" and I said, "What?" And then he opened my car door, hugged me, kissed my belly (where his face was at), and told me he loved me. This is after insisting every morning that we do "family loves" which is group hug and kiss. At the end of the day at bed time, he and I ended up playing with a punching balloon in the living room, then Dexter got involved, hitting the balloon into the air with his nose. It was awesome to have AJ giggling so hard and enjoying our time. 

8/15 I worked a half day then went to the gym and hit some PRs (195 squat, 130 bench). I came home, ate a G2G bar, started laundry and cleaning, went to UPS, Petco, Smith's, Walmart, and picked up AJ. We went to Mooyah for dinner and had a pretty normal evening at home. 

8/16 I spent some time helping AJ build a Lego tower. I did laundry. I went to the gym. I worked on my prescriptions for NaPro - had to dissolve meds in water and stuff. I finished cleaning the floors, took a shower, and had AJ do quiet time for an hour (sadly he didn't fall asleep). Then we took AJ to the park. Matthew made us a fancy dinner of salmon, potatoes, and veggies. I did bath, and Matthew did bed time. AJ had started to have a runny nose and sniffles. 

Gourmet dinner

8/17 AJ was up throughout the night due to his allergies or cold, so it was a rough night of sleep. I took him on a walk. We went to Paris Baguette and hung out at home; I had a divine decaf Dubai chocolate latte. AJ had a nap which he fought but desperately needed. Matthew and I did some planning for camping to figure out what food we needed to buy. We went to Trader Joe's; AJ moved his stickers from himself to my leg. 

8/18 I went to the gym. Work was busy with an UltraLead class. I was off early and went to get AJ. We had rice and Kevin's honey garlic chicken stir fry for dinner. I watered outside and saw my carrot seedlings had come up. I did bath; Matthew did bed. 

8/19 I went on a run in the morning. Work had a few different meetings so it felt busy. I picked up AJ and made him dinner. Mom came over to watch AJ. We went to a Bees game. We got home at 9:30, and AJ was jumping around the living room. We were none too pleased. 

8/20 I lifted weights and felt a crunch in my neck as I set up for bench press, which was already hurting from starting to get sick. Work felt busy earlier in the day, and I made it through teaching in spite of not feeling well. I spent the rest of the day coughing. I picked up AJ. We came home. I did dishes, and Matthew came to get us to go to Itto Sushi for dinner--grateful we didn't have to clean up or do dishes. I was feeling so terrible I took NyQuil and went to bed at 8pm. 

8/21 I woke up at 4:50am to AJ crying. He had a hard morning since he still wasn't feeling good. Work was OK. I picked up AJ. We had leftovers for dinner. I worked in the garden. Matthew made us some caprese. AJ and I went on a walk. I did bath and bed time. 

8/22 I woke up an hour later than I planned--set my alarm for 5:57 instead of 4:57, so I got ready for work. Work was a weird day. We had a team build with two separate teams, HR and EHS. We did an icebreaker, then went to Grandpa's Pond where we finished out the icebreaker. Then we basically just hung out at the park all day. Thankfully it was cloudy, but still was so humid and hot. I got to chat with a couple of EHS ladies--one about birth, postpartum, and motherhood, and the other about fitness and running. It was cool. By 3:00 when we were all leaving, I realized I had locked my keys in my car when I went to get my supplements out. Thankfully my coworker had a cool tool and got them out for me. I went straight to the gym to test my 1 RM. I hit 230 on squat, 135 on bench, and 245 on deadlift. I picked up AJ, and we went to Smith's to get groceries for the week and for camping. We came home and ate, cleaned up, and started packing stuff. 

8/23 I had a slow start, snuggling AJ in bed. I did Core de Force, ate, and showered. I chopped up some veggies to take with us camping. We left about 10:30 and went to Maverik and Starbucks. After setting up, Matthew realized he brought a twin air mattress instead of the queen, which I believe is in our storage. So we went and hiked Donut Falls, then drove down the mountain to Walmart for another air mattress and more snacks (I didn't bring enough). AJ fell asleep in the car and woke up super grumpy. We got Tropical Smoothie Cafe and went back up to camp, set up the other air mattress, tried to take a nap, then made hot dogs on the fire. I wish I had brought my book and maybe some stuff for AJ to do. The facilities were closed--only honey buckets and water spigots available, which was frustrating. AJ and I were in bed about 9. It was obviously a rough night of sleep--AJ waking up 3-4 times, noise from the road, and temperatures dropping with not enough blankets. 

Pre-camping snugs

8/24 We were up about 6:40 and went potty. Matthew got no sleep in the car, which I expected. We packed up and drove down to breakfast at Ramblin Roads. We got home, unloaded, showered, and had a pretty slow paced day all things considered. I did a couple of loads of laundry. I took AJ to the park. I fed him lunch, and then he lay down with his dad and fell asleep. I took a nap also and had a really hard time waking up. I took AJ to Savers to get some clothes. Matthew made dinner, including the broccoli I grew! I did bath time, and Matthew finished up bed time (we do the whole process together most nights). We watched Andor. 

My garden broccoli!

8/25 I woke up at 1am from a dream and was super disoriented. I got up at 5 and lifted on a new block. I got to work and remembered it was new hire orientation, which takes from 9-3. I was busy with tasks after orientation as well. I picked up AJ, brought him home, worked in the garden, made dinner, and did dishes. Matthew did bath time. I finished out bed time. We watched Andor. Special moment this morning: AJ pulled my hair in front of my shoulders and adjusted it. He told me I look like a princess and that I'm so beautiful, and he gave me a hug. 

8/26 Another rough night with AJ waking up a couple of times; I went in once. I did a few minutes of yoga before showering. Work was less busy than Monday, but still busy! I picked up AJ, who had at least a 30 minute meltdown because I didn't let him run outside of his daycare, and because he didn't get to kiss his daycare lady. We picked up pizza and went home. All day I was texting family about things going on. It was a lot, honestly. I feel like everyone I know is struggling. 

8/27 I went to the gym. It was another super busy workday, but I got the sweetest comment from an ESL student who said she feels safe in my class to practice speaking and to make mistakes. It meant so much to me. I picked up AJ. We had leftover pizza and then went to Krispy Kreme to try to get Harry Potter donuts; they were all out. We went to Yonutz, which was another experience altogether. Kind of comical what a disaster it was, honestly. Matthew did bath time, and I did bed time. We watched Andor. 

8/28 AJ woke up at 5am complaining about his ear. He said it was outside his ear. After I left for work Matthew said AJ was still complaining about his ear, then the other one, and that he was getting hot. I directed Matthew on an onion poultice and garlic mullein but had to come home to work so Matthew could go to work. I did all the things on him - onion poultice, garlic mullein, pulsatilla and chamomilla tablets, cold wet socks. He took a good long nap. I made dessert and dinner and went on a walk. I did bath, and Matthew did bed time. We gave AJ ibuprofen before bed. 

8/29 AJ seemed good with no fever. I tried to get a Harry Potter Krispy Kreme donut, but they weren't available, which was frustrating. Thankfully Matthew got a box at Smith's. I went to work, went home to change and start laundry, then went to the gym to train with Taylor. I went to Smith's, came home and cleaned, picked up AJ, and took him to the library. He started feeling bad again. We did more onion poultice and ibuprofen. Matthew went to eat with his brother. I did bath and bed time and watched Outlander, but I had already watched that season on Starz. 

8/30 Was hard. AJ slept in and had a very high fever. He wasn't himself and didn't want to leave his bed. We were heartened when he asked for some snacks. I went to the gym and came home and had a shake and tidied. We tried to decide whether to do a virtual visit or urgent care. Matthew went to his cousin's to help with yard work. I stayed with AJ and tried to refrain from giving him anything so his fever could work itself out. I finally took him to urgent care around 3pm. They confirmed his ear infection, gave him Tylenol, and prescribed antibiotics. The Tylenol helped him almost instantly. He was so much happier about 15 minutes later. We came home. I made spaghetti sauce in the oven with our billion tomatoes. Matthew picked up the medicine and brought home dinner. I cleaned the floors. I did bath time, and Matthew finished up bed time. 

After Tylenol and suckers

8/31 AJ came to snuggle me in the morning. We went to Paris Baguette, but AJ had a meltdown because he wanted his dad to come, so we brought it home. I went on a walk. We went to Kennedy's birthday party at the park (following another meltdown). We mostly just hung out at home and had a low key day. AJ took a nap; I went to UPS and Walgreens, then Dutch and home. Matthew made spaghetti with my sauce. I finished an audiobook and spent some time outside. I went on another walk in the evening. We spent time in the back yard--Matthew mowed; I weeded and watered. Matthew did bath time. I did bed time. Special moments: AJ snuggled me on the living room floor for about 20 minutes. Probably the longest he has in literal years. 

Books I read in August

-Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (audiobook)

-The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins (audiobook)

-Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose (audiobook)

-Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (audiobook)

-The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak (audiobook)

-The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave (audiobook)
-The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (audiobook)
-Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (audiobook)