kicking it quarantine style!

Spa day is always a fun day at our house. There are lots of fun spa treatments to do at home. We found a 10 minute meditation video and listened to that while our face masks set. We did full hair, nails, and makeup. I even did a microdermabrasion treatment and a teeth whitening treatment. I mean, we have NOTHING but time here!!!

Then the little one thought we should do shoulder massages. Sure.... It's bound to go one of 2 ways. 1. A decent mini massage or 2. Torturous pain in the form of beating, nails, or other barbaric torture that you smile through the whole time! Today it wasn't too bad.

To round of the fun, I told her about kool-aid hair dye from back in the day. Since we don't actually buy kool-aid, we had to get creative. We used strawberry Crystal Light! Take that quarantine! We can make anything work well! She had a heck of a time sitting still so her hair could soak up the bowl of Crystal Light it was sitting in, but it worked. We have some light pink ends that will safely wash away in a week.

We had fun. We were resourceful. And we didn't have to leave the house for anything. Now I will use the rest of the Crystal Light for a fun adult beverage and spa day is a complete success :)

the craft room

Some people have a panic room in their home. We have a craft room. It's where we go to unwind, get creative, and avoid the panic. Today the world was our oyster! She finished a painting and I finished sewing her a sundress. You can truly get lost down there with little effort or planning. We have more stuff than I seem to remember.

We made my Grandma a purse with pugs on it last week (her favorite). There are endless possibilities in the craft room! We sewed a new throw pillow for the couch. My daughter wants to learn how to make a throw pillow for her bed as well. According to her, you can never have enough pillows. 

Today we decluttered all the drawers. And, oh my, was it due. Half used coloring books, broken crayons, unsticky stickers... You know what I mean. These drawers are where all the crafts go to die. We spent time sorting things into keep, toss and donate piles. We even peeled old crayons to make new crayons to donate to the children's ward at the hospital. 

The craft room kept us busy for an hour and we now have bright and shiny products to show for it made with love and creativity. Whatever it is that you do to occupy your time, make it count! Read, draw, declutter, knit, crochet, sew, workout, just make it count. Sure we are stuck at home, BUT we get to stay home! We have no pressure to go out, mingle, or get dolled up. We can enjoy our kids, families, husbands the way we want to but never get time to. Appreciate the quality of this time before we go back to the rat race of society. Find a way to smile!

Letters to soldiers

March's random act of kindness is writing letters to soldiers. Today we sat in the new blanket fort and wrote. How do you explain to your child that being stuck in your home is kind of boring at times, but being a soldier stuck overseas is much worse? I told her they might like a hello note or a reminder that we support our troops or a funny joke or a story.

She decided to use big, fancy words for some letters and regular words for others. One letter included the story of how we got our dog. One letter was all about how she feels about coronavirus. One letter was a list of her favorite things. I laughed through the whole process. And right now we could all use a little laughter. 

I think the lesson that we are all in this together and remember those who are ALWAYS away from their family and friends is a good lesson to send. We discussed vocabulary. We talked about word choice. We picked appropriate headings and closings for letters to strangers. Yes, I turned this into a mini-English lesson and I am okay with that!

I sat for an entire hour in a blanket fort and wrote letters. I watched the birds eat from the newly filled feeders. I had nowhere to be and nothing to do. How often does that happen? I embraced the quality time and I loved it. If this is how my glass gets half full, then so be it.

On a side note, April's random act is cleaning up the parks. We had to have a chat about how that may get put on hold for awhile. I agree with the quarantine. I agree with kindness. HOWEVER, now may not be the best time to be picking up garbage. Am I right??? 

Being creative

Anyone that knows me knows my love of crafting. I can't help it. It soothes me. Yesterday we decided to have some downtime, so we got on YouTube and did some drawing classes. We used Mo Willems and ArtHub to learn how to draw piggy and a pizza man. It was a nice break from curriculum and the news. 

We agreed to put this is in our regular rotation of fun, artsy crafts. After two years of only asking for science kits and art supplies for gifts, we are prepared. We are ready for any art or science task thrown at us! I hesitate to incorporate MORE screen time, but this is meaningful and more interactive verses zoning out to a movie. 

Today's crafts include making hearts to put in the windows. Apparently people are doing this to stand united and spread the love (from a safe 6 foot distance). We will also create driveway sidewalk chalk art for #815. The plan is to stay crafty so we stay distracted. We can stay united and show solidarity from the safety and comfort of our homes :)

things I never thought I would do at home...

The following is a list of things I never thought I would do at home. They say that a positive attitude can take you far and so far, we have been very positive and have enjoyed our time together. (Fingers crossed it continues!)

1. A virtual playdate: we played for an hour and a half on a Skype date with friends! Charades, Pictionary, and Madlibs are easy to do through a screen. We had lots of laughter.

2. A family workout: all 3 of us did a 30 minute Biggest Loser workout. I am sore. It was intense, but fun.

3. Recording videos: we sent them for friends and families, all while wearing pjs.

4. Enjoy staying home: doors are locked, routines are set, and the stress is minimal. I love going out, but I am enjoying just hunkering down while my kid still thinks I am awesome!

5. Actually watch the news: wait patiently to see what's going on out there, pay attention to statistics and more closings.

Stay positive, folks. These are new times with new experiences to be had. Do whatever you need to do to get through while social distancing and keep smiling.

homeschooling

Now that the world has put itself on hold, people are getting pushed to their limits. One thing we need to think about is education. My daughter went to her google classrooms tonight to see what the teachers posted for her. She actually enjoyed it!

There was no messing around. Art, Music, and PE each have their own classes with work to do. She gets to create her own animated gif for art, watch YouTube clips with questions for music, and workout for PE. She actually did mountain climbers and burpees in the living room! And she is 9! That is usually the part of a workout that I skip ;)

I enjoy the fact that she is able to be self-sufficient. She knows that when she finishes her work, we read for 20 minutes and "school" is done for the day. She played math games, practiced piano, and did puzzles... all on a computer!

We have a STEM seminar scheduled and a live fossil lab to watch through the Burpee Museum. 

I got us a new 500 piece puzzle and loaded YouTube with 30 minute workouts for us. We got toilet paper, medicine, and baking supplies. What else could some quarantined girls ask for? I am looking forward to sewing and slime and burpees or whatever else she needs to do to stay educated and entertained.

The world may be in a bad place, but we have smiles, positive attitudes, and lots of stuff to do to stay home. Stay safe, folks. Stay happy. Negativity breeds faster than germs. Keep your chins up and if all else fails, try burpees :)

Thank you Jimmy Fallon!

I am too old to stay up and watch the funny late night shows. Instead, I watch clips on Facebook while I should be doing productive things :) I watched Jimmy Fallon and Carrie Underwood do the Fit of the Fittest challenge the other day. 

One of the challenges looked like hopscotch with 3 rows across instead of just one box combined with Twister. So, on a gorgeous (almost) spring day, my daughter and I went outside and I tried to recreate his game. I used words instead of pictures to make it easier.

We ended up laughing our butts off, falling over and having a grand ol' time. Who knew dollar store sidewalk chalk and a knock off Fallon game could create so much fun!? We will definitely be doing this again. I mean, why not?!

And, low and behold, it poured rain all night so I was unable to take pictures. All I know is that we had fun outside together with minimal effort. And that's all that counts!

International Women's Day

Yes, it IS a thing. Who knew? Certainly not me. I am not one to let women's lib go by unnoticed, so here's to a day of celebration! Call your mom, grandma, BFF and embrace womanhood! I am trying to raise a bra burning, question asking, assertive-by-nature adorable little spitfire, so I feel like we need to do something fun this evening to embrace our womanhood.

I am proud to be a part of a bigger generation of ladies who led the way for me to be able to vote, drive, speak my truth, join the army, and be an equal! Celebrate yourselves today, ladies, and remind the little ones to fly free with whatever they want to be :)

The struggle is real!

It all started with theme days for school this week. It's Read Across America, so today we had to dress with numbers on our clothes. Fortunately, my daughter has a dress she loves with a number 1 on it. Add some beach waves and tights, boom. We are done.

And because we are in the midwest, we had to have a discussion about the coat: heavy ski coat? Wool coat? We settled on the lightweight coat. And now shoes:ballet flats? Tennis shoes? Snow boots? There's barely any snow on the ground, but yes. Snow boots won because this is Illinois afterall. Who knows.

All this for a dress up day. We do it because she loves it. And I am okay with that. I swear, Mother Nature was eavesdropping because once we had on a lightweight coat, snow boots and potential for a mild week, it starts to snow. Heavily. I mean seriously!?! What are the odds???

Tomorrow is dress like an old person day and I cannot wait to see what painful irony this outfit will dredge up! So, to anyone who looked out their window and saw snow, we apologize. The snow boots jinxed us all!