Are you journaling at all during this time? I haven’t been, but I just bought this line a day journal and can’t wait to get started with it. These times are so unusual and life moves so quickly that I want to remember as much of it as I can. So here’a a peek into our personal Groundhog’s Day version of our stay-at-home orders. I lost count of which day we are on exactly, but I think it’s somewhere around day 30-something, a Wednesday.

I woke up around 6:15 AM. Since this “new normal” began, I’ve been a lot more relaxed with myself on pretty much everything, wake up time included. I’m typically a 5:15 AM girl, but the extra hour is making a difference. I made a cup of coffee and headed straight for the office. 

I got in a solid hour of blog work, responded to Instagram messages, read a little news, then went to get dressed just shy of 8:00 AM. While I was getting dressed, Kaitlyn wandered in sleepy-eyed with a groggy “BOO!” David was waking up at the same time, so we all made our way into the kitchen. David opened Hailey’s door and Kaitlyn begged to help with breakfast. I’m loving these slow mornings. Right now David is only in the hospitals roughly two days a week, so we are enjoying the perks of more leisurely family breakfasts.

Kaitlyn helped open and pull apart the biscuits and crack the eggs. I cooked bacon and eventually the aroma wafting into her room made Hailey come join us at the table for breakfast.

After cleaning up, David started math with the girls. This might be my FAVORITE thing about having him home. He just stays cool , calm and collected no matter how much Hailey groans.

Halfway through he had them break for a “brain break” exercise video on the Peleton app. We are doing a 90 day free trial and their “fit family” collection is awesome! The brain breaks are five minutes long, get them moving, and are fun. This one was a “freeze” version and was so much fun! Then they finished math while I finished up some more work in the office. 

After math I got to swoop in like the super fun parent I am and suggest some Harry Potter. We’re on the 4th book, The Goblet of Fire, which definitely gets a little darker but the girls are so into and I just keep imagining the day we can book a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter together.

We read a chapter then headed to the car to get ready for a birthday drive-by. Have you done those during this quarantine time? The idea is that you coordinate with friends to all meet at a certain time with homemade signs (I ordered this paper for just this purpose) and balloons, then drive by the birthday person’s home honking and singing and throwing candy. It’s a weird time we’re living in, but it’s super sweet, and it was nice to at least get to see our friends in their cars!

We came back in time for lunch. We’ve gotten into a pretty sweet lunch rhythm where I make the girls snack plates (deviled eggs, carrots, strawberries, cheddar Nut Thins, etc) which they love and I devour a Splendid Spoon meal.  The one pictured is the brown rice taco bowl which was delicious, but I haven’t had one yet that I haven’t enjoyed.

Can I take this moment to be vain and note how much my roots growing in are driving me crazy? Oh how I long to just have my hair darker again!

I’ve also been in a habit of making dinner at lunch time. It frees up more of our afternoon for outdoor play and it gives me a little break from being in the kitchen allll the time. While the girls ate I made a big salad and a double batch of my mom’s spaghetti meat sauce which makes the house smell so darn good.

At 1:00 PM Kaitlyn had her language arts zoom call with her co-op. We miss our co-op crew so much, but it’s been amazing how they’ve pivoted so quickly to provide lessons and engagement for the kids online. Kaitlyn does her call (30 minutes) from the kitchen table while I work with Hailey on her language arts worksheets and on writing a paragraph. 

Around 2:00 PM we all were ready for some down time. David was still working in the office, so they girls went to get on Hailey’s computer to check her email and then play Code Spark. I went outside for my favorite daily ritual- walk and talk. I swear I end up at 14,000+ steps everyday now just because of this new habit.  I chatted with my dad, my mom, and then my brother. I’m not usually a big phone talker, but it’s been so nice to connect each day with family and friends while getting sunshine and fresh air. It’s truly been my saving grace.

Around 3:00 PM I came back inside and gathered the girls. We talk through a little history while they help me organize some of their old clothes and begin listing them on Kidizen. I have a huge bin to go through, but I figured it’s best to start chipping away at it.

Then we decided it was time to get outside. David joined us and we took off on a family bike ride. Kaitlyn just learned how to ride a two wheel bike and is now obsessed with riding as often as she can. We have a 4 mile loop that’s the perfect distance for us right now and it’s so awesome to be able to ride altogether.

The bike riding and neighbor chatting lasted about 45 minutes. Is anyone else more connected with their neighbors now than they have been in years? A neat perk!

When we got back home David and I headed to the gym. I use that term loosely, but we’ve slowly been piecing together a makeshift home gym in our (walk-in) crawl space and it’s actually been working decently well! We’ve been on a kick of working out daily. Sometimes the girls will join us; sometimes they’ll play outside.

On this particular day they wanted to play restaurant so while David and I drank our tiger blood (what we have named our pre-workout drink) and got to doing the Madeline Moves workout of the day, the girls took off to pick lettuce from the garden and play in the kitchen.

Our workouts take about an hour and when we came back in the house the girls had an entire restaurant set up! A centerpiece, a small salad of just lettuce they had washed from the garden, spa music playing on Pandora, and forks wrapped in paper towels with small, clear hair ties. It was so freaking cute.

David showered while I got the rest of dinner ready. Spaghetti for the fam, Palmini for me. The girls decided it was ok for us to combine our salads, too. Then we all sat and ate. Hailey begged again, like she does every night, for David to take her on a “trip around the world.” It’s basically a geography lesson but they absolutely love it. He’ll say things like “you just sent me a post card from the Eiffel Tower, what city are you in? What country? You told me that next you were heading somewhere very cold where there are penguins but no polar bears; where are you headed next?” etc, etc. 

When it was time to clean up, I got out of of it because my allergies were getting a little crazy so David told me to go shower while he cleaned up. Don’t have to ask me twice… 😉

Have I told you how much I love oil cleansing now? It’s been the best thing for my face. If you don’t know yet about these products, check them out today! They’re the best.

By this time it was 7:30ish. The girls are becoming masters in stalling bedtime and they know how to get me every time. Usually it’s by playing spa, but on this particular evening they decided to play chiropractor.

We all miss going to the chiropractor and it cracked me up to watch them putting David and I through the routine of bending our legs, pushing (gently) on our backs, and rubbing our feet (which is not something they usually do at the chiropractor, just for clarification). However, it did buy them an extra 15 minutes of not going to bed. I’m a sucker for any kind of massage.

We finally tucked them in around 8:00 PM and did our usual routine of extra tight hugs around the neck from a rambunctious Kaitlyn and sweet (but smartly stalling) questions from Hailey about what tomorrow will bring. 

After they were settled, we grabbed our nightly beverages. A La Croix for David and a cup of tea for me. I mix up my nightly selection, but I really love this sleep tea. I get it at Whole Foods and the ashwaganda in it helps me sleep SO well.

We still can’t find a show we both love. We started Mad Men, which I really enjoy, but David is just not a drama guy. He likes Jack Ryan, but it’s too violent for me. We’ve settled on re-watching Arrested Development. Can someone please recommend to me a Game of Thrones replacement? That was one we both liked!

Our usual 9:15ish bedtime has definitely been pushed back during this time and we head to bed closer to 10:30 nowadays. I know, I know, we’re wild.

Though the weeks right now bring a lot of emotional ups and downs between the stresses of the world and family health, I also feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessings I have. The warm sunshine has been my saving grace and I find myself searching out the things I’m grateful for throughout each day. Yesterday I literally opened my kitchen cabinet and felt an overwhelming gratitude for my pots and pans. Yup, cookware.

I think my brain is just trained to look for the good and focus on it, which is something I’m super grateful for during these stressful times.

I hope you and yours are well <3