First off-I cannot begin this post without saying a giant THANK YOU to everyone who sent messages, comments, and e-mails last week. Thank you for reaching out. I heard lots of you say that you were looking forward to having this space to come to again and I SO appreciate you for saying that! I’ve missed you and I’ve missed interacting on this tiny piece of the internet.
To come off a Hawaii vacation and be plopped in the middle of a real pandemic was so incredibly mind numbing. I appreciate you being so patient as I took the week off to make sure all of my travel clients were taken care of and take some time with my family.
Now, I’ve gotta be honest-I’ve been keeping up with friends through social media but I can’t stay on for long because some of the information out there is simply too much. I want this spot to be a place of encouragement, light-heartedness, and fun. Please know that’s what I plan on sharing here so if you’re not looking for that in the next few weeks, this probably isn’t the place for you.
Enough of all that-let’s get into it!
Over the past week, I’ve learned that while I’d never have said I’m a homebody before I’m excelling at this role rather quickly. I can hang inside with my people. I’m also REALLY trying to soak up this time. How often during a normal week in the spring do we get to play five rounds of Battleship? NEVER! With sports and activities and work, there’s not time to do things like that. I keep thinking of how often I’d love to have just ONE MORE DAY with baby Ebby Lee, baby Nixon, baby Bowen, or baby Britt. One day I’ll look back and be thankful for this extra time I’m getting with them. I’m constantly praying for those who’ve lost so much, for those fighting in the hospitals daily to save lives, for everyone who’s contracted this horrible virus, and the list goes on. At my house with my family I’m trying to soak it all in and enjoy these extra minutes.
I’ve got a whole big post full of a little of THIS and a lot of THAT for you today. 🙂
THIS…last week the kiddos and I were all hanging out on the back patio just for a change of scenery. Andrea called and we were chit-chatting so the kids went inside and I told them I’d be in in just a minute. Little did I know, it was about to pour rain! I was stuck under the patio with my computer and my cell phone. Now don’t feel bad for me-it was the most peaceful minutes of my entire week. #mamawasdiggingthealonetime I ended up calling the kids inside on our Echo Show to say-I’m stuck for a bit.
THAT-Nixon’s reading/writing teacher planned a Zoom call on Friday night with her class. There were about fifteen kids who hopped on and it was seriously the sweetest thing. I might have had to back into another room because I was crying! His teacher is one of the best and hearing her interact with each kiddo and even the younger siblings who kept popping into the frames as well as allow them to all ask questions about what was happening. Well, it just melted my heart.
Notice Ebby Lee peeking…our family was all peeking to watch. It was the highlight of our week at home!
THIS-Is one thing we’ve been doing to stay busy. LOTS of game playing has been happening around here. We had a Battleship tournament on Friday night and look who won! {Please imagine Queen’s, “We Are the Champion” playing as you check out that bracket.} If you’re looking for some other things to do to stay busy, these worked in our house this week…
*Chores-Everyone was assigned a few things at the beginning of the day and had a time to complete their tasks. This allowed them a little independence and worked well.
*Binge Watching-Home Improvement-Do you guys remember this show from childhood? We’ve been watching one episode a day during lunch time and everyone loves it.
*Guess Who-Tournament is coming soon!
*LOTS of card games have been happening around here.
*Card Tricks-Each kid has learned a card magic trick via You Tube {while I’m observing-You Tube can make me nervous} and they work on perfecting it to show Tab. We had a little “show” and the best magician won. Spoiler Alert-Ebby Lee might have a future in magic. She’s a week or two away from being able to perform at birthday parties.
*Taste Tests-We’ve had two so far. We made chicken bites wrapped in turkey bacon two ways-baked in the oven AND the air fryer. I didn’t tell anyone which was which and we voted afterwards. {A complete tie.} I found a pack of different sauces at the grocery store…an Asian sauce, honey barbeque, and a parmesan garlic-we dipped chicken in it and voted on our top sauce for the night.
Some of these things are really not a big deal but my delivery in how amazing they were gonna be really brought the hype. And I think we’re all looking for a little “extra” these days.
THAT-is the schedule we’re LOOSELY sticking to this week. Our school is officially out until April 3rd and then our district will readjust. Online learning from teachers starts next week so this week my plan is to help us get a little more structured. We’ve been staying up WAY late and sleeping in like we are still living on Hawaii time. I really am just trying to add a little more structure so when next week hits we’ll be ready.
*Prodigy and Imagine Math are two programs our kids use at school. My plan is to have them rotate reading to Britt so I can get work done while they’re reading. And then creative time will look different for everyone. They can write a letter to a friend, make a poster for someone’s birthday, build with blocks, etc. They can work together or work solo. I had a girlfriend tell me they’ve been watching a documentary everyday just to incorporate a little science or social studies so we’re gonna try that. If you have any good documentaries, please send them my way. 🙂 Please note I used the word, “loosely”. Some days I’m sure we’ll do great and others we’ll be super unproductive. I’m okay with it.
THIS-A neoprene bag I purchased for our Spring Break trip. It also came with a little solid navy clutch and I bought a strap {that’s sold out} so I could wear it as a completely different bag.
Heart tank-This tank was just an easy one to pair with shorts for a little volcano watching.
Yellow stripe fedora–Beach hats are my most prized possession when my schedule says, “SUN”.
Blue/orange top–I forgot to take a picture of this one, but I’ll add it to my Insta Stories today.
Beach hat–Another day, another beach hat.
Just wanted to share some of those because they’re quickly getting low on stock and several of you messaged me about those items. Oh, and I got asked a lot about this tie dye dress-it’s out of stock now but is coming back soon.
THAT-A few items have arrived I’ve had my eye on for a while. Like this dress…I love that smocked waist with the tiered bottom. I had Easter or a spring wedding in mind when I ordered these{not sure how this whole quarantine thing will shake out by then}. I ordered my regular size.
This mixed floral shift dress is just cheery and again-fits true to size.
This fun sleeve option comes in pink or a royal blue…true to size as well.
Did you see the new line Gibson released last week? If you’re like me, this quarantine has allowed lots of extra minutes to check out the stores online. I ordered a few pieces to try. This top is so universal and looked great with a front tuck. {Might be too boxy to wear untucked.} I tried these shorts on a whim and they’re crazy comfy! I sized down one size in these shorts.
I wouldn’t pair these two together but #quarantinelife left me with no urge to change bottoms. This stripe top was really cute on with a front tuck. Again, I think it’d be too boxy to wear out/untucked {keep that in mind}. I have plans to pair this with white jeans, white shorts, and even black jeans.
Can you tell who Britty was channeling? Her inner-Anna from Frozen. 😉 #seethebraids
This tiered dress can be dressed up or dressed down and fits true to size.
THIS-Tinted moisturizer is as fancy as I’ve been getting around here. I’ve had this for a long time {notice how dirty it is} and am almost out but can’t remember if I’ve shared before. The tint is the perfect amount to make it appear like you put yourself together just a tad. I’ve added a little mascara and some lip gloss. It helps me be a little more productive if I don’t look like I just rolled out of bed all day.
THAT-Happens to be the first big project I’ve checked off my list, Britt’s closet. Madeley is so sweet to pass clothes on to us and then I pass them on to two friends who have girls smaller than Britt. I love knowing when she’s outgrown something cute that other girls will get to wear it as well.
The next project on my list is the pantry. Last year I did a big pantry clean out and used several of these bins. I grabbed a few more for the big pantry clean out of 2020.
I hope you’ve had some fun catching up THIS morning. 🙂
And THAT is coming at ya tomorrow. I hope you’ll join us!
Happy Monday, Everyone! It’s so good to see you!
XO
You might want to have the kids color pages and write a little message and send a bunch when they get home to local nursing homes so they can hang in patients room since they aren't allowed any visitors. Great way to brighten someone else's day. Also everyday at 3pm EST, the Cinncinnati zoo on their Facebook page is doing a live stream called bringing the safari to you. The live stream on of their animals, shos the zoo keeper feeding them and does alittle educational piece on that particular animal. The kids will really like it
I'm so happy to read your blog again! Having some normalcy during these times helps!
So glad you’re back! Super cute clothes, but especially love that 2nd dress on you!
Wow! Britty's closet looks fantastic!!! Okay, here we go! My schedule looks a lot like yours!! Let's do this 😉 .
We were supposed to go back to school April 6 (one week of e-learning and then our regularly-scheduled 2 weeks of spring break), but the Governor declared last week that no schools may return until at least May 1! This full-time working mama is now trying to juggle working from home with trying to teach (each teacher gave us a packet of work to download) and it is not going well. Will try to set some sort of schedule as you suggested!
My daughter's weekly art club teacher has been live streaming virtual art playdates each week…last week they made masks one day and joyful banners to hang in our front window another. The neighbors have loved seeing our "Don't worry bee happy" sign (with a bumble bee drawing) while out for their walks! Check out https://www.facebook.com/brightlyartstudio if you are interested! The next one is today at 10am EST, but all are available for playback. She comes up with things that require supplies you likely already have at home (paints, paper plates, etc.).
YIPPEEEE you are BACK!!!!! Thanks for all the this and that!
Welcome back!! You were very missed!!
All of those outfits are so cute on you! I love them all!
Welcome back! Thanks for keeping things light and fun on the blog. We all need a distraction!
Ok I love that bag! But I’m super sensitive to smells — does this one have a strong odor? Rubbery smell!?
Loved your game ideas! Thanks for sharing!