spring break... kinda

Well we made it through our second week of social distancing. We haven't gone anywhere except Walmart pickup. Oh and I got gas because Dan got really excited that the prices were so low. It feels like we've been home for about a month. This week was supposed to be our spring break. So I decided that we would stop any and all thoughts of learning, reading or anything school related. "Distance learning" starts next week so that will be interesting. The kids are going to receive assignments from their teachers mostly online. I want to say it shouldn't be too hard but that sounds a bit naive, doesn't it.

I know that this season is really hard for some. People are losing jobs, or losing their income temporarily, people are sick or have health problems and this virus is making it impossible to get the care that they need. Nurses, doctors and office staff are beyond exhausted and just wanting to be home with their families like the rest of the world. I guess all of this is a constant reminder that I have it pretty good right now. It's fine to miss community. It's fine to miss my normal life. And it's fine to have a hard time with what's going on. BUT it doesn't really help anything to be constantly thinking about why things suck right now. What helps is to be thankful.

Things I'm thankful for:
-Dan's job
-plenty of food in the fridge, pantry and freezer thanks to Walmart pickup.
-4 kids who entertain each other during a time when hanging out with friends or even neighbors isn't an option.
-a big house with room for us all to spread out, even though usually at least 3 kids are in the same room together.
-Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon
-technology like facetime and marco polo that helps us keep in touch with loved ones.
-Amazon prime to deliver most things we want right now
-a husband who likes to cook
-all my kids are older and not toddlers anymore. I think this would have been much harder with littles.
-a nice walking path close to home.
-healthy kids
-our neighborhood. We spend so much time outside and rarely see any cars driving by, especially these days.
-spring! This is actually the perfect weather for all of this. It's so nice out.

It's actually nice to not be able to do anything. It takes away all of those decisions I have to make daily. Where should we go? What should we do this weekend? Go out to eat out or cook? The choice has been made already. The kids are normally constantly asking me to go places like the park or the thrift store or chick-fil-a or a million other places. Now they know that the answer is no so they don't ask.

Last week I made a new rule I should have made a long time ago. If they want to do something like bake cookies or ride bikes or make play dough, they only get to ask one time and then they have to wait until I'm able and willing to do that thing with them. They cannot follow up 100 times until I say okay we can do that now. It has actually helped a ton with my sanity. Maybe that's a rule you need to make in your house if you have kids? Dogs never obey this rule by the way so don't try it with them.

The kids are having to eat new and different things sometimes because we don't have the option of having everything we usually buy. "What kind of nuggets are these? Is there even chicken in here?" That was actually Dan. 

I made Addie home made lunchables with cheese, turkey and wheat thins. She ate them all but when I asked her if she liked them, she made this face. 

And this one. 

When you go to church on the couch, sometimes you fall asleep.

These two love being outside. So it's usually me and them going on bike rides and exploring.

Angus has been helping Dan with his projects.

Winter too...

Mya watches. She likes to stay clean.

I say it a lot but I love that Dan does the cooking. We really are spoiled.

Winter made some cookies...

Mya did too...

Then she was a dancer for a little bit.

Angus is using the dog to prop up his puzzle box.

Dan has been stretching daily. The kids take advantage.

Addie did some laundry.

This year has been a lot of drama at school with friends or sometimes lack there of. Every day the girls have come home with a different story about how someone hurt their feelings or how they are having to deal with difficult kids. It has been nice to have a break from all of that. I love their relationship with each other. Their personalities come together like a puzzle. 

"I'm a pothead!!" Yep he actually yelled that.

This is my buddy Star. She lives across the street. I'm not really a dog person. If I had to choose a pet I would probably pick a dog but I'd prefer not to touch them. But for some reason, dogs love me. Star is no exception.

Addie wore her pants like this all day. Perks of social distancing. Nobody to judge me.

I learned about this phrase on a podcast. It made me laugh. You know how when you turn on your camera and you accidentally have it on selfie mode and you look down and see your face from that awful angle and you're like AHH! There's actually a name for it. Now you know. 

If you need a few suggestions of things to watch, I've taken the liberty of providing a few:

Troop Zero is a movie on Amazon (Prime Video). It's a super cute feel good movie. The kids in the movie use language I wouldn't allow my kids to use, so it's not exactly family friendly. For instance, one of the little girls goes by the name, "Hell-no." 

This Beautiful Fantastic is really good. It's a few years old but I just watched it on Prime Video. It's a romantic drama. It's kind of a feel good movie too. It has a similar feel to Notting Hill. 

Modern Love is a series on Netflix that was really good. Most episodes were really good and a couple episodes were just good.

I'm loving Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu. Kerry Washington is pretty much the same character as she was on Scandal but she's an artist, and Reese Witherspoon does an excellent job of playing the rich white housewife. It's very similar to her role in Big Little Lies. They are both staying in their lanes but they're so good in them.

Happy Saturday night! Isn't it weird that no one in the world is going out tonight? Like, globally, for the most part, we are all staying in on a Saturday night. It's so weird.

wona bywus

I haven't posted in a while. It has been a rough week as it has for everyone in the entire world, some have it a lot worse than others. And though things are less than ideal I feel EXTREMELY thankful and blessed to have what we have. And that includes toilet paper.

I was in line for school pickup on Friday when I read the email from the district letting me know that I would be homeschooling my children for the foreseeable future. Then I looked at my weather app and had a minor panic attack. Rain for the next 8 days. I freaked out in my car taking many deep breaths thinking about all of us trapped in one house with nowhere to go. I pictured the kids in our tiny backyard with rain gear watching the rain come down because I couldn't take having them in the house any longer. "It's fine. I'm fine. It's gonna be fine. It's fine I'm fine," I told myself.

I feel like a super spoiled person freaking out over something as dumb as my kids being home for the next month and rain making it even worse with them not being able to play outside. But I know any of you with four kids would totally feel the same way. You get it. It's a sanity thing. I'm afraid of how I will treat my children more than anything. And the stress of homeschooling them so they don't go back to school dumb and the stress of protecting my family from the stupid virus and not being able to hang out with people who help keep me sane doesn't help the matter.

The thing that scares me about this virus is needing medical care and not getting it. The virus probably wouldn't be terrible by itself but the ripple effect like hospitals at capacity, no food available, businesses shutting down, people getting stabbed for toilet paper and on and on. The reality of what is happening is setting in. I was in a state of panic all day Friday. I'm okay now. I'm just taking one day at a time and really being intentionally thankful for everything I have. Things I bought on a whim and shoved in my freezer are now such a great thing to have. I'm thankful for all the food we have in the pantry and fridge so we don't have to go out and wait in a line at 6AM for milk and eggs.

I'm thankful that I'm married to a man that is always prepared for the worst and planned ahead for this whole thing. He told me to stock up before it got bad and I did. But had I known my last trip to Costco would be my last trip to Costco for the next few months I would have bought so much more. But we're fine. I can plan what tomorrow looks like but that's about it. So that's all I'm doing right now. If I think about next month I start to panic a little bit because I have no idea what next month looks like.

Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel right now. There's an underlying feeling of anxiety in me that's never been there. Deep breaths are harder to take. I've never experienced anxiety that I know of. Now I have a taste of what it feels like. I've been walking every day and that helps. And the bible is such an awesome book, always applicable even in a time like this so I've been reading it and praying in the morning for peace in my heart and health for my family, especially for Dan as he goes to work and puts his health at risk.

With that said, it is kind of nice not to have any commitments whatsoever. Like zero. Can't say I can ever remember a time when I didn't have to be anywhere for weeks at a time. It's also nice that if you have to go anywhere on the freeway, there's no traffic. Rush hour doesn't exist right now. It's weird and great all at the same time.

Some people are socially distancing themselves a little more than others. We're on the cautious side. The kids aren't allowed to hang out with other kids or people right now. My neighbor came over to drop off some jeans she thought I could use. Of course I took them. I'll never turn down free jeans in my size. Angus greeted her this way, "Ayuse me, you have da wona bywus?" (excuse me do you have the corona virus?) She didn't understand him so I thanked her and closed the door.

I never stop taking pictures of the kids so here they are:

The beginning of COVID-19 spring break.

The girls dressed up Angus and called him Addie all day. He loved it so much he cried the following day when he was Angus again.

Mya and Dan circa 2011

Still the biggest daddy's girl ever.

Addie is working on understanding that she can't wear tights by themselves. This was our compromise.

There really is no good time to talk about the way I make eggs. So why not now? My kids know no different way. It's a combination of scrambled and fried. I break the eggs over the pan because I don't want to waist a bowl to stir the eggs in. Then I scramble them with my spatula. Then I let them be. Then I flip them. Viola. Scrambled fried eggs. The kids love them. They don't look like much but they sure are tasty.

This is me walking my usual trail with no make up because it just seems pointless and frivolous right now. I love passing fellow walkers and saying hello because it's the only social contact we're getting right now.

And now, some of my fave memes because what is life without humor? 

I have one recommendation. It's not from Trader Joe's or Costco because haha that's nuts. It's a book. I listened to it on Audible. The App. I'm not a fan of Jessica Simpson. Well I wasn't really. Now I kind of am. She reads this book herself so it's very personal when you listen to it. She chokes up when reading sad parts. It was so good that I kept my earbuds in all day and only took them out when someone demanded that I hear what they were saying. So there you go. I don't think I've ever heard anyone be so honest and open about their issues before. It's such an awesome, well written book. Oh and if you don't have the audible app, the first book is free. 

And that's all folks. Take care. Wash your hands. And do some yoga via youtube. 

Happyish Tuesday night!