Owen really needed a trim so Tom was called to duty.
Author Archives: Jen
Making our own pseudo corn dogs!
They turned out okay and everybody liked them but I would probably do it differently the next time. We had to lay the hotdogs down because they were too tall to stand upright but it was a little weird just having a hotdog in the middle so I would probably actually cut up discs instead. I might also make them more bite-size and use smaller tins.
Quarantine Day 15. You’re welcome.
Our new way of hanging with friends.
So this is how we hang Covid-19 style with friends… playing Evil Apples and having drinks.
Our kids were in the basement video chatting as well!
Frozen Margaritas, Day 2
We did make the kids slushes today which they loved…but THIS is why I got it.
The call is coming from inside the house!
When you’re watching TV in your room and the kids are playing and then you get a video call from your kids.
The maiden voyage of my Margaritaville machine!
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’ve tried our really good blender before (that’s supposed to be good with ice but… didn’t give you really smooth ice) but wasn’t sure the cost of this would be worth it.
But it is. It sooooo is.
The only thing at the moment is I don’t have the individual ingredients for margaritas…so I’m just using my ready-to-drink mix. It’s good, but once you mix it with the ice, it tastes diluted. So…I decided to add some extra tequila, some Grand Marnier, and some mashed strawberries from the freezer!
And then this happened. NOOOOO!!!
Yes, don’t worry. I know how to fix it. After realizing there was no way to get all the cork out…in it went and then I strained it.
Cinderella’s Castle
I gave Owen and Katie a small Lego project to work on together and they managed to do it without much argument or fighting. Katie really liked playing with it, too.
This has been on my wishlist for a looong time.
I mean, I had Kohl’s cash (plus a 30% coupon) to spend so why not? So tonight we’ll be celebrating spring break and I’ll be prepared for e-learning that starts next week.
I also learned during the buying process that there are different levels of this machine—I hope I bought the right one!!
I posted on Facebook and a friend told me my face should be on the box. So I did this:
The new norm for classroom instruction.
Today Owen’s teacher did their first test conference call. This will be the new norm.
Does it look like the end of the world out there?
If you’ve been thinking it looks like the end of the world out there and it’s depressing AF, read this.
Our chef this evening!
Instant Pot spaghetti and meatballs! Delish!
This is about the third time he’s done it and we’re hoping the next one he’ll be able to do ALL on his own.
A Frozen s’more!
Since we had a fire of course we wanted s’mores…except we didn’t have any regular marshmallows?! We only had Frozen marshmallows which were a little small to roast so we just toasted them in our June oven. Still delicious.
This is what it’s like doing puzzles with kids and animals in the house.
At one point the kids left the box of pieces open and Maggie stepped in it, dumping them. I finished and had this. 🤦🏻♀️ We had to pull apart the couch to find the pieces (which we did).
The first nice day in forever…
It was nice today (57°!) so we took a walk to do a photo scavenger hunt and leave chalk notes on people’s driveways!
The kids went across the street to decorate the driveway of a single older lady. Owen also told me her brought her trash up to the house. ❤️
As far as for social distancing? Every single person that we saw and had to pass kept the right distance. Sometimes we moved out of the way, sometimes they moved out of the way. Thankfully we didn’t see any kids at the park but I would’ve lost my mind.
I was really happy about all this because I keep hearing stories about how parks are FULL of kids with and without parents around?!?! GRRR. I just think a lot of people are in the “it’s not going to happen to me” camp. And, of course, in the best case scenario, we won’t see anything happen at all and we will think all of this was for nothing. But that just means that it worked.
Anyway, they really had a lot more fun than I thought they would. Now we just need lots more nice days…
I treated myself when we got back… uncovered my egg chair and had a drink!
Show me your drunk face v2
I innocently started a Facebook group to continue the drunk face thing…and we had a mini explosion. Over 100 people joined and a fair amount of them have posted!
Most are my friends (from all times and areas of my life—going back to high school classmates and my first internet friends from 1997 to family members and of course Tivo peeps) but others are inviting people, too!
It really isn’t a drunken fest—it’s more a show me what you’re drinking but I just thought the original sounded funnier.
I went outside my shadow box today!
Okay so I went outside my box today and used Champagne Shimmer with—ARE YOU READY?—Pink Hibiscus Shimmer on my lids AND under my eyes! And it doesn’t look like I’m sick or have two black eyes!! SUCCESS!!
Also? How exciting is it to have two photos that are almost identically positioned?! That never happens. #selfienerd
I’m still in my day PJs and Tom’s in his night PJs.
Don’t judge.
Kitchen lesson #momwin
Puzzle life lesson #momfail
So—SURPRISE!—my family has stopped helping. I expected it but it’s still annoying. 😂 🤷🏻♀️ I get it. They only want the easy parts but life isn’t always easy and I’m trying to teach them that sometimes they need to just power through. They’re not having it. #momfail
Anyway. This is how I do puzzles when it’s getting towards the end—all like-shaped pieces together. Am I the only one that does this? It makes it sooo much easier to find what you’re looking for. (I also kinda want to sort by colors but I’m letting that go.)
Are you yay or nay on the whole puzzle sitch?
Y’all. It’s time for a quadruple.
The kids went outside today…and ignored my instructions about playing with neighbors… SO THAT WAS…FUN.
SETTLE IN, Y’ALL…here’s what happened on our first day of self-distanced shelter-at-home Spring Break.
The day was going as expected with sibling squabbles and whining about iPad time and complaining about little chores and me not getting to the taxes because work stuff popped up. So I finally sent them outside…and that was the beginning of the fall.
What happened you ask? Well, I might have gone a little crazy bonkers yelling at the kids when they ignored my instructions about playing with neighbors…
Granted it wasn’t one of my better parenting moments but we have just been stressing the importance of staying away from EVERYONE—learning how quickly germs travel and talking about it all the time and why it’s important and how we’re sorry you can’t play with friends now…and then to see them wilfully disobey me? Not good.
Yes, I know they’re kids. Yes, I know they forget—SQUIRREL!!—which is exactly why I said just talk across yards. But then it became “we’ll stay apart” in the driveway and I said no because you’re kids and we can’t trust that you will STAY apart even though you think you will. Heads hanging they went back outside. And the next thing I know I hear screams of kids having fun in our yard so I went to look—really hoping they were being good—and I saw five of them all too close.
Now am I really and truly worried that something bad is going to happen? No. I’m practically the farthest thing from a germaphobe you might find—but I’m trying to be proactive here because too many people think it’s no big deal and look where that got us?
So I was THAT mom who opened the front door and screamed to her children to get their butts inside and for the neighbor kids to GO HOME. I might have been loud enough for long enough that Tom came up from the office downstairs to see what was going on. And then we both proceeded to let the kids know why we were upset with them—for probably a good 10 minutes. Again, not terribly proud of how we handled it but I was just shaking I was so mad. Like I was kind of scared at how mad I was. We then made the kids strip and put their clothes in the wash and take showers (total overkill even for me but we wanted to prove a point).
After they showered and I had calmed down a bit, I hugged them both and apologized for losing my cool but explained that I just wanted to keep them and us and everyone around us safe so they need to trust us when we tell them what they can and can’t do. And emphasized yet again that we are also missing our friends—we’re not punishing them.
The whole thing was rough. And it totally sucked. But tomorrow is a new day and I’ll give myself some grace and we’ll move on. And keep a closer eye on the kids.
So use this post to prepare yourself for if and when this happens in your house so you can avoid acting like a crazy person to your kids.
Look quick! They’re getting along!
The closest I’ve gotten to Anna in over a week…
A porch pickup…or toss in this case. 🤣😭
Gold mask? Yes, please.
A self-distancing shelter-at-home snowy Monday morning certainly calls for some self-indulgence and self care…
How are you taking care of yourself today?
I put up our Christmas light last night!
There was a mini movement on Facebook too put up holiday lights and decorations (any holiday) in order to break up the boredom and monotony and give people something to look at when they’re driving by. I’m all about the Christmas lights so Tom dug ours out and I put it up last night.
And look what’s happening now?! 😒 SERIOUSLY.
Are you kidding me?
It’s snowing. Why do we live here?
Who’s on your lap today?
And then later she followed me to the basement…
Lego Challenge: Day 1
I started the kids on the Lego challenge calendar because we’ve been watching Lego Masters and they love it—so figured this would be a big treat.
Ha. Hahaha. Katie didn’t want to do the first one I picked (rockets) and Owen didn’t want to do the second (pizza) do they did Rock Paper Scissors and tied like six times. Owen finally won which sent Katie into a fit because she “didn’t know how to build a rocket and she’s stupid.”
Sigh. No good deed goes unpunished.
So after some counseling, they both worked on rockets. Katie eventually gave up but Owen did finish.
I’m not sure when we’re going to attempt this again.
MSU helmet puzzle: Day 1
Tom and Owen don’t enjoy puzzles but here they are because it’s a Michigan State Puzzle. 🧩🏈 Needless to say I did most of what you see here and no one lasted long.
And here’s Maggie, who doesn’t quite understand.
Who’s in for the epic party of 2020?
I’m already thinking about our Saturday dinners we can’t have and our awesome Back to School BBQ that will likely not happen…so get ready. That’s all I’m saying. RSVP NOW. Depending how long this shiz really goes on and depending what happens with Tom’s work sitch…we may also add a Housewarming to the mix. Who’s in?!