finding joy in the little things

In the spirit of keeping things fresh and new, we pulled out Legos. I mean, why not?! The bracelet kits and science kits and coloring needed to get put away for awhile. We are now on a rotation of crafts, audiobooks, and writing. 

Last night we decided to kick it old school with some Legos. She decided we were going to make a flower garden. There is nothing more frustrating than stepping on a Lego or trying to find just the right piece that doesn't exist! The nostalgia of this experience took me back to my own childhood.

We made flowers, a garden with a bunny, and this truck. I am a grown adult and I cannot express how satisfying it was to sit down and quietly create this truck. I went to college. I travel. I work. But this little truck struck me with such happiness, it was ridiculous. 

The irony of finding all the right pieces to fit together and create something that was just right made me feel at peace with everything going on in this world. All the pieces fit. She loved my truck. It even rolls around. We decided it should be a flower delivery truck (another homage to the current state of the world: delivery trucks!).

I am again grateful for all the little things in my life that are getting us through this quarantine. We will keep rolling along (see what I did there?!). We will appreciate the little things. We will definitely hope and pray that all the little pieces of this epidemic fall together to create whatever we need to get out of this in one piece.

losing steam

This was a big week. The quarantine was extended. The schools have started prepping for end of year. Vaccines were discussed. Masks were discussed. New rules were discussed. It was rainy,  then kind of nice, then chilly. We teach the power of the word YET and I have used the word over and over this week.

My engine is running out of steam, you guys. But I see the end is near and I am doing everything I can to keep fighting the good fight. I made more masks yesterday. I continue to chat and check in with friends and family. I avoid negativity and fake news. I keep my daughter occupied and happy. 

Most of spring was cancelled. Most of summer is being cancelled. That makes me sad for all the plans we had. Then I remind myself that my safety and happiness weren't cancelled. We have proven time and time again that we can have fun anywhere. It is going to be okay. It has to be okay! I will make it okay.

I am constantly using growth mindset so now I should step back on use it on myself. This is just one hiccup in life. Granted, it is a long and scary, unknowing and potentially dangerous hiccup, but we will get through this. Bad days are okay. Bad moments are okay. I just remind myself that they are places we visit, not places we live or places we stay. It will be okay!

quarantine and pets

Quarantine and pets. It's an interesting notion. I thought the dog would be so excited for all this extra time with us and I realize that he is quite the napper! He likes to play with his squeaky ball and take long naps while snoring loudly.

I take him outside to throw the ball and he looks at me like, "Not again!" If you can read the look on his face right now, he is not amused with more pictures. The saving grace is that we have an extra snuggler, an extra floor cleaner and some extra fun when we get bored.

We have even put the dog on the chore list. You're bored? Throw the ball to the dog. You're listless? Brush the dog. You want something to do? Take the dog outside. They keep each other entertained, everyone has something to do, and there's just a bit less dog hair in my house :) 

wise words while we are cooped up

One of my good friends posted this the other day and it gave me SO much to think about. My family is good during the quarantine. We are warm, healthy, fed, clean, and still all getting along! That's a lot to ask for, but we are managing this experience with creativity, grace,  and extra patience. 

Some things to think about before we start complaining... Not every kid is warm, safe, happy, and fed. Schools are giving out sack lunches, but not everyone is picking them up. Students have access to e-learning but they may be babysitting or stressed or unsure of what to do.

Some people lost work, some people gained work and others are working at home while navigating e-learning, cooking, cleaning, etc. Some people's lives are unchanged and some people's lives got rocked. Either way, as weird as it sounds we are all in this together.

I am trying to make sure that whatever happens, my family stays as strong as ever so that when we finally get re-released in the wild, we are helpful and respectful members of society and not reminiscent of wild animals. I want my daughter to remember this time in history when we banned together to learn new recipes, try new foods, experience new ways to communicate, work on schooling, and adjust expectations. I want these memories to remind her that together, we can do anything and we managed to stay IN the house for 5 weeks without bloodshed :) 

Now is a great time to work on smiles and memories, remembering the little things, and starting new traditions so that when your family does get a break from one another, they will have a whole new mindset and respect for one another!

creating new traditions

I am a day late, but Happy Easter! I hope everyone was able to have a quarantine Easter of good faith, family, and fun. This was a year of firsts for us in so many ways! 

We made salt dough eggs and painted those instead of coloring actual eggs. My daughter never wants to color eggs and, of course, this year she asked! The salt dough gave us hours of fun and creativity in painting. Now I will have them for years to come.  

Also, for the first time ever we watched online mass. It was fun getting all dressed up with full hair and makeup, then watching mass from our bedroom. We were able to watch Youtube clip for kids about Jesus on the cross and I felt that made a bigger impact for us than sitting and listening to a sermon.

I would say the best part of my day was being able to see my family. We have taught our family how to video chat, so using filters and being able to chat outside in the beautiful weather definitely helped make the day better!

We hid the plastic eggs outside and timed ourselves trying to find them. We had 17 eggs and 2 minutes. We each took turns hiding the eggs and my daughter just laughed and laughed. When she said that was the best part of the day, I knew we had won the Quarantine Easter battle.

Things were different, but we were together. We were clean, fed, and happy. We are all healthy. We had love, laughter, and good desserts. We had sunshine and made memories. That's really all I can ask for on any given year. 

It will never be about the baskets, the gifts, and the frills. My favorite part of Easter is the mass with the story of WHY we have Easter. The brunch afterwards is another favorite but this year we made do with a smorgasbord of food throughout the day. 

The point is, we focused on the reason for the season. We focused on family and faith and fun. This will definitely be one of my most memorable Easters yet because of that. Slowing down and focusing on us is maybe what we all need to do from time to time and if it takes a quarantine to realize that, then so be it.

battling the snowy blues

First off, let's talk about this weather. Two days ago I got hot outside. Today around lunch it was snowing furiously. I am dealing with all of this better than expected. I am soldiering on with a smile, keeping my head up, checking in with friends and family, but SNOW?!? The same week as Easter. During a nation-wide quarantine. 

I may have had a moment. A small moment, but it happened. Then it ended and I moved on. I worked out. I baked. Then I worked out AGAIN (and now I am sore). Then I sewed more masks for friends. And I got over it.

Mother Nature is a rotten beast. She is screwing with us and trying to test our patience. Just like this quarantine, this weather will pass. I will be basking in the sun in no time just waiting to head out to a festival or a friend's house.

Positivity is the name of the game in this house. What can we do next? What should we watch? Who should we call? What could we bake? All those questions are better than the deep, dark questions that start dancing around your head when you see snow in April.

I hope my friends, family, and community are staying strong. Fighting the good fight. Quarantining with a quarantini and a Zoom party. Doing something to see the light at the end of the tunnel instead of the darkness that can creep in when you just can't stop playing the "what if?" game.

The snow has ended and there was a rainbow the other day after the rainstorm. Who knows what will happen next? I will try to enjoy what I can while I can and just admit to myself that good enough is indeed good!

living with less...

We are living through some crazy times and each day, I learn so much. 

I learned that there is always time for quality time, we just don't always prioritize that way. We have done more games, puzzles, crafts, movie days, and silent reading than I could have ever imagined.

I learned that there's always an opportunity to bake something new, but sometimes I get tired. We have made banana brownies, gnocchi, apple crisp, honey zucchini bread, and blondies. No one gets tired when there's nowhere to go!

I learned that I hate shopping and wandering stores (that's the one thing I am not missing=stores). I do enjoy a good bargain, but I have a feeling that after this I will no longer be running to the store if I am bored or listless.

I learned that eating out is a privilege, a reward, a chance to be lazy. Now that we have so much free time, we have a hot dinner every night that is fun, new, different or something we are missing from a beloved restaurant. We have made Chili's margaritas, Olive Garden chicken and gnocchi soup, Happy Wok fried rice, corndogs and lemon shake ups from the fair, Culver's bacon cheeseburgers, and Applebee's chicken strips all from scratch. Free time means creativity in cooking time!

I learned that I am so extremely grateful for every opportunity that I have been given. I am thankful for the nurses, doctors, and other essential workers who go out every day so that we don't have to.

I learned that I can live with so much less than I have. We always talk about downgrading and now I know that if we ever needed to, we could. We have love, fun, patience and a slew of hobbies to get us through this. I am even finding joy in making hearts and searching for them on walks.

I have learned that finding joy in the little things and being grateful for all I have all day every day is all I need. In addition to my husband and kids, of course!

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 :)