Cheers to the Weekend, Hello Feburary Edition

I feel like every week, I say something along the lines of, "Shooooooey! What a week!" So, today I'll say..."Shooooooey! What a week!" ;) As we continue to check various appointments and procedures off our list to best help our Bella, in addition to the five hours of therapies she now receives weekly (doubled up on PT starting last week - woohoo!), things are just going to be crazy for awhile. And that's okay! We take things one day at a time and lean on each other to get through the chaos. And between it all, we have fun (well, mostly fun. Let's not forget the sibling tattling and tantrums, but mostly fun). :) 

Anywho. Now that we've reached Friday, here's what we're saying CHEERS to as we welcome in this first weekend of February: 

Pro Bowl fun. I couldn't share this in last Friday's post because we were in the midst of a big surprise, but my hub and I ventured off to Orlando for a fast and furious 36-hour trip last weekend! You see, we have been with our LifeGroup for nearly 4.5 years, and we all have gone through so much together during the years - births and deaths, successes and failures, fun times and hard times, and praying. Lots and lots of praying and growing together in our relationships with God. I especially love these people for all that we are to one another when things have been hard. Well, last weekend, we decided to celebrate some good. One of us was playing in the Pro Bowl (spoiler alert: it wasn't me ;) ), and the rest of us couples worked in secret to travel there to support him as a surprise. And we totally pulled it off! And then, we had a great weekend together - delicious food and drinks, live music, a little shopping, an awesome football game, and a super fun Pro Bowl After Party. We may have made it home on only three hours of sleep earrrrrrly Monday morning, but it was totally worth it. Man, I love these people. <3

Wheels up! Orlando or bust!

Surprise!!! (We walked into the restaurant where they were eating. I love surprises!)

Dinner and drinks on Night One, where there was some *excellent* people watching

Ready for the best brunch we've ever had in our lives (good Lord. If you go to Orlando, you MUST eat at Se7en Bites Bake Shop. It was featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and it was indescribably good. I am not a person who takes photos of my food nor talks about food much, but it was so good I took photos of my food and am now talking about my food) ;) D.I.V.I.N.E.

Ready for the Pro Bowl!

Our LifeGroup ladies <3

After Party. Too.Much.Fun. but totally worth the late night and lack of sleep!

Friends supporting friends :)

 Friends supporting friends. :)

Grandparent success. Meanwhile, my littles were back home with my parents having a good ol' time! And I am happy to report that Bella did a great job while away from her momma and daddy - not a single tear all weekend. Yay! Thank you, Bammy and Digby!! And Rals had a big time at one of her sweet girlfriends' birthday parties. Fun for all!

 Bella and her Digby

 Bammy with 3/4 of the littlest members of the Lu Crew

Sweet gymnasts <3

Self-care. I am a big advocate of self-care for us mommas. It's so easy to let ourselves go by the wayside, and I did that for awhile. But now, I make it a point to get in some "me" time when I can. Sometimes, it's writing a blog post in a quiet house during naptime, other times, it's getting a much needed haircut at 6:30 pm on a Thursday night. The result? A healthier, happier momma who is sans-split ends. :) 

Tube placement. On Tuesday morning, Bella had her tubes placed. I explained more about it and our action plan to address her hearing issues in my post earlier this week. So, for today, I'll just say that we are cheers-ing to this sweet baby who came out of her anesthesia happy as a clam. :) 

Ready to rock!

Early morning, pre-op snuggles 

And that's it for this week, friends! Today is a big day for us: I am headed to our school district office this morning to meet with a team of educational specialists to discuss Bella's placement in a special preschool class next year. Wish me luck! I am also PUMPED because my hub and I are headed out to dinner and a concert tonight. What concert? My favorite 80s cover band of all time - Yacht Rock! We used to see them regularly when we lived in Atlanta, and we are so excited to see them tonight. It's been years!

Tomorrow, we'll have Banks' last basketball game in the morning, and then my hub has big plans with Raleigh that night. And of course, Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday! Woot! Go Anybody-But-The-Patriots (nothing personal, Patriot fans. It'd just be fun to see someone else win it for a change [a la Clemson/Alabama in the 2016 championship. Go Tigers!]). Lastly, let me wish a VERY Happy Birthday to our one and only Digby (we love you so much, Dale!!) and another VERY Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, Addison (we love you birthday girl, Addy!). 

Have a wild weekend, y'all!