how we do

This is perfect. We didn't have enough noise in our house.

I shared my secret cheese & caramel popcorn with this guy because he calls me Queen. And he says things to me like, "Have a nice day cutie!"

Dan and I took an afternoon, hired a babysitter and spent a few hours down at the beach. We found a spot that I didn't think looked big enough for the van but Dan said I could totally fit. Between the backup camera and Dan guiding me from the front, we squeezed in. It looks like my back bumper is touching the car behind me but there's an inch between us so he totally had enough room to get out. I'm kidding. There was no one behind him. Just a red curb. Common, this is so impressive. Unfortunately, this is the only pic I got of our afternoon out. It was lovely though.

"Mom, what planet are we on?"

 

Perks of COVID, you can wear a swat costume to school every day.

 

Mya had a relaxing day in mind. First, she took a bath in my bathroom with peaceful music on. Then she brought her painting supplies outside, including a Kindle for music. Not long after that, her little siblings joined her and asked her questions, shook her chair, and Winter put a walkie talkie near her and sang annoying made-up rap songs loudly from in the house. Mya hates rap.

Heard around here lately:

Me: Next time you guys ask for a granola bar, the answer is going to be no because you left the wrappers on the table again.

Addie - Well I just hope you forget that.

(And I did)

Addie: God created the whole university!

Angus: Yep

Angus: Mom where do T-rexes live?

Me: They’re dead

Angus: You mean extinct 

(I feel like that was a setup to make him sound smarter than me)

Things that are bringing me joy:

1. The Instagram account 'livefromsnacktime." It's just funny quotes from kids. I love a good kid quote, obviously.

2. The new Taylor Swift CD playing in an old school boom box (purchased off of eBay) in my room with the door closed while I fold laundry. I use the word 'fold' loosely. I just sort them in piles and throw them in drawers.

3. The Caro Emerald station on Pandora. Just give it a listen and you'll know what I mean.

4. My mom and my sister Wendy and I have an ongoing Marco Polo chat. If you don't know what Marco Polo is, it's a video message app. I highly recommend it if you want to stay in communication with loved ones in other time zones or different schedules. Wendy and mom and I video message each other back and forth multiple times a day and it really is one of my favorite things these days, especially since I haven't seen mom in person since March. 

5. I watched Away on Netflix with Hillary Swank. It was REALLY good. It was like a movie. A good movie. Slightly stressful but very well done. 

Things that are not bringing me joy:

 An earthquake at 11:38PM. I grabbed on to Dan's arm and burst into tears yelling earrrrthquaaaaake!! Dan was sweet and told me it was okay and then made sure I knew how to shut off the gas in case he's at work and there's a gas leak. Normally I don't think I would freak out over a medium-sized earthquake. I've been through some big ones in my day. But right now after everything we've been through and waiting for things to get better as they continue to get worse, I'm in a fragile emotional state. I was prepared for the end of the world when the room started shaking. 

But today was a great day. We drove up to church and noticed a very blue sky and deer grazing on the property. Then I dropped kids off at kid's church for the first time in 6 months. It might not be the end of the world yet.