Alright here I am, back again! It is day….I honestly don’t know, of our self isolation journey. After the last post, I felt a sense of guilt for venting so much. I feel like it can come off as whiney and pessimistic, but it also just goes to show some days are hard.
So after that post, I decided to get us on some kind of structured plan. I wrote out several different things/charts. A chore chart for each big kid, a schedule, a rules chart, an attitude scale, and a consequences list. I hung them on the wall in the dining room. It has worked wonderfully for Pickle, he is almost 7 so he can grasp the concepts a lot easier. Monkey has been my biggest battle these days. It is a work in progress.
Besides that, I was looking through my gallery in my phone. Mainly looking back on my pregnancy with Bug, his NICU stay, and how much he has grown. I was also looking at everything we have done thus far (in isolation) that I happened to get pictures of. I thought it would be fun to share some of those!
I have been trying to incorporate the kids in my daily activities. Things like cleaning and cooking, to help them learn some life skills. I also have been letting them take the reigns on some things, like my 3 year old Monkey making herself a PB&J sandwich. Pickle learned how to make carmelized onions.
Speaking of food, something we have always done, but I have been taking more pictures of lately, is family dinner. We always eat dinner together, whether it is home cooked or delivered. We eat at the table as a family. On rare occasions, we will eat our dinner picnic style in the livingroom with a movie. It is always fun.
Sometimes, the kids just start doing random things to entertain themselves. Like Pickle building a condiment tower after dinner.
I also have been trying to think of things that are exciting here at home. We have done a lot of crafts, but we also have done some science experiments, some bowling, treasure hunts, and playing outside.
These kids and their trampoline. I swear they would live on it if we let them.
Since this whole thing started we (the kids and myself) have only left the house 3 times. One was just a drive to the post office, one was a drive to get a target drive up order (just me and Monkey went), and then we also took the kids to the drive through safari.
It was slow moving, but we weren’t in a hurry. It took us about an hour and a half to drive through the whole thing. We saw some elk, some deer, many birds including bald eagles, and some Bison. The kids enjoyed yelling at the animals in their “native tongues”. They also found amusement in the geese and cranes that were blocking the road. We paused to listen to the sounds of nature, which I was grateful for some silence, even if only for a minute.
This past week I was pinteresting and came across a gorgeous ring. Somehow it lead me into the thought of trying on my wedding dress. So, 8 years and 3 kids later…
It still fit (minus the armpit area that was a bit more snug than I remember)! I may or may not have surprised Chris when he got home from work that day to a fake little kitchen wedding.
House projects tend to keep my anxiety going more often than not. Though I don’t have pictures right now, we finally got our shower redone. Oh and then! Our carbon monoxide detectors decided to die within 24 hours. We did get those replaced, too.
Moving on….we have cebrated St. Patrick’s Day and prepared for Spring/Easter. We have participated in the local “hunts” for shamrocks and easter eggs. We also have decorated for Bug’s first birthday which is in 5 days!
Easter is tomorrow, so of course we decorated eggs. We tried a few new methods this year, shaving cream, napkins, and the plastic baggy method. We also did our typical cup method.
The baggy method worked better than the shaving cream. The napkin method worked nicely, if you are old enough to do it. Monkey decided it was best just to use her hands and rub dye all over the eggs. Bug, well, he just kept trying to eat everything.
We also put together 133 treat bags for my sister’s senior residents at one of her properties. I love teaching the kids to think of others. We explained to them how these people couldn’t be with their families for Easter and we wanted to make them smile. They both understood the best they could for their ages I think. Bug, of course, bit open a chocolate bunny wrapper and helped himself. He can be such a vulture!
And lastly, tonight. Tonight we moved Pickle out of Bug’s room, per Pickle’s request. Then once they were asleep, the Easter bunny stopped by!
He also hid some eggs for them to find!
We aren’t religious so Easter for us usually meant a family brunch or dinner with Chris’ family. Sometimes my family does dinner together, but obviously this year things are different. I am going to make quiche in the morning and then for dinner we will have ham and a few sides. We likely will video chat our parents at some point.
I hope you enjoyed this post. More importantly, I hope you are all healthy and sane.
Reclaiming My Sanity 