If you need replenishments on items you usually purchase there, consider the friends you know who sell makeup, skincare, hair care, etc.! (HINT HINT—I’ve got you covered.)
If you’re going to order online anyway, you could be helping a family with your purchase…
So Illinois just announced a Shelter in Place until at least April 7 (though I’m predicting longer). So just like this past week, we’ll continue to be saving humanity by staying the F home (Tom is working from home now, too). Please do the same so we don’t have to keep doing this until Christmas.
I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and stressed and not even wanting to get dressed, let alone put makeup on…so this is what I did today.
My thoughts? Day-um I’m a plain Jane. But also day-um I clean up pretty well.
And just to show you the WHOLE thing… Here are a bunch of outtakes and bad pics. I took 97 pictures total.
Extrapolate this to similar events happening ALL DAY LONG and you can see why it’s mentally EXHAUSTING.
As of 9:30 we were already off schedule because Katie “forgot to eat” so her reading time is taken up with eating. She asked if she could finish reading during creative time (the next block). I said yes. (Also, if her normal body clock has her hungry at 9:30, school starts WAAAY TOO EARLY but I digress.)
When it finally is time to read, do you think she picks up either of the two books she has been reading? Of course not. Plus we are still working on being able to tell us what happens in a story because we recently figured out that she hasn’t actually been reading to comprehend. 🤦🏻♀️
And Owen… he has been asking for the next Harry Potter book forever and so we finally were able to check it out online so he can read it on the Kindle and what does he grab? The same Captain Underpants books he’s read four times already. 🤦🏻♀️
So Owen is reading as scheduled and humming while he reads. Katie of course has sat down RIGHT next to him so asks him to stop. He doesn’t—nd honestly shouldn’t have to because she has a whole house she can read in. She refuses to move to her “book nook” she created in the other room AND ASKED TO LEAVE OUT. Owen then starts humming even crazier JUST to annoy her. Mad props to him but I can’t say that so I tell him that isn’t nice but she does move to another room. When the official reading block is up I remind her she was going you finish and she flat out refuses to continue reading even though SHE JUST ASKED to finish her reading.
I showered but put clean comfy pants back on. Hair up, no makeup, no big whoop. Coworkers were only mildly annoying. Had margarita with dinner only because we were having nachos.
I don’t think these detox and moisturizing masks will help with Covid-19 but our skin will certainly feel awesome. 🙌🏻
I had to go to my regular chiropractor visit this morning and didn’t want to take the kids so left them at home alone for the first time. I can be there and back in like 20 minutes so it was a good test.
When I was done I called home to Alexa from the parking lot to see how they were doing and if I could run to Sam’s. Katie answered in a towel so I love she’d finished her shower as instructed. They said they were good so off I went. Yay for them getting older!!
The school schedule worked pretty well and we all survived…but there’s room for improvement for sure. But I also decided to start our taxes today and that was more of a nightmare than anything. Oh, and I scored toilet paper and tissue…but no milk. Cheers!
One of the Facebook memes is to talk about your day with your kids but calling them your coworkers. Without further ado…
My female coworker lost her shit when her hair didn’t do what she wanted and ended up whimpering in my lap while I tried to gently explain she’s kinda stuck with her hair forever.
My male coworker is still behaving nicely in order to earn his daily Xbox time. The female doesn’t seem to give two shits about the Xbox time.
Both coworkers are blind to Legos on the floor and lost some when maintenance vacuumed.
ETA: Both co-workers needed to be reminded that they can make their own lunches. They used to do it every day so why am I now a chef? Make yourself a damn sandwich.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
Please click to see MOVING visuals of what will happen with AND without social distancing.
Owen. Within maybe two hours of being home from a full weekend of camping with his scouting friends (and after a brief discussion about our new Covid Rules including Mythbuster videos on how germs travel), was whining and mopey: “Whoever started the coronavirus is stupid because I can’t play with my friends.”
Katie was sooooooooooo booooored allllllll daaaaaaay. Like she’s never had a weekend day without friends. I finally had to tell her if she told me she was bored we’d start cleaning and throwing stuff away.
I tried to have them help me make Brazilian bread for dinner and that went south almost immediately because no one listens to me or reads directions.
I honestly don’t know how I’m going to survive this.
So the kids get two weeks off. We’ve cancelled our spring break plans. This is gonna be…fun.
Edited to add: This was the start of everyone getting canceled.
So I’ve noticed something wasn’t right but have been avoiding checking out her ear because I didn’t want to deal with it…but I finally made her remove her earrings today and…this is what has happened.
She claims she has no idea how this happened (and it’s just one ear). I’m a bad mom because I noticed it awhile ago but convinced myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was—so it probably got worse.
I did seek medical advice and were told she really just needs to take them out and let them close and hopefully it will heal enough to not need surgery?! And maybe sometime in the future she can get them pierced again. We’re both a little sad.
But how on earth could she do this and not realize it? Baffled.
🎶 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME 🎶
Wait. I can. 🙌🏻
The last time I had a facial was 2016 and the esthetician said my skin was okay but I really needed to start taking better care of it. So after a few years of using SeneGence products?? I was thrilled to hear that I have the skin of someone 10 years younger! 😱😱 I’m going to keep on keeping on and hopefully I’ll keep going back in time!!
I’ve been anxious since I woke up. Why??? I am an adult. I know I have to do this. I know it isn’t THAT bad and it’s over quick.
But still.
Anyway…a bonus? They suggested I try getting in for my mammogram today since they typically aren’t busy on Fridays so I’m getting that done today, too! (It was scheduled for next week!) So two (three?) birds with one stone!
As I make my way to the bathroom for the fourth time today… Thought I’d share this hydration tip with y’all. Probably better for those of you working outside the home or dealing with people.
When you need your husband’s readers because your contacts don’t seem to be cutting it any more. 🤓😭
I can’t believe I forgot to post about this. It happened way back on November 21.
The MOPs guest speaker today talked about the horrifying effects of media and technology on kids. We didn’t know all this stuff years ago, but the research has now been done and the results aren’t good.
So I had been feeling pretty good about how little they use media now—but after listening to her talk for an hour I decided to remove even more media/screen time from their lives. They just DON’T need it and their behavior is so much better without it.
She told a story about Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. She said the opening scene is like 2:32 long—one long scene, no cuts—and kids sit still and watch the whole thing. Then she said, watch the intro to Paw Patrol and see if you can count the number of cut scenes in it. SHE LOST COUNT. So how can we expect our kids to sit and pay attention to teachers for longer than five seconds if we’re training their brains to watch the fast-paced BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM video style? It’s impossible. And there really is no such thing as an educational app—kids can’t really learn off a cold glass screen. They need tactile learning—feeling the smoothness of the paper, hearing the pencil write on the paper, smelling the crayon. (There are very few actual educational apps and shows—like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood from the Children’s Television Workshop.)
We told the kids at dinner…explaining that it wasn’t a punishment but that people/parents/we didn’t know better at the time, but as we learn and grow and scientists do research, we learn things that may change our behavior and how we live our lives. And technology is one of those things
Overall, honestly, it wasn’t a huge change. They still get video game time (Owen) and computer time (Katie) but only on the weekend (no more during the week). They don’t get to play computer games masquerading as math or language arts apps (we have workbooks for that). No more unlimited video after video at night on YouTube before bed (they’ll get one if they’re lucky). And don’t even ASK to use the computer.
The biggest thing is that Owen loses Chromebook time (he needs it for band but unless he has specific homework, it stays closed) and a too-adult videogame (I haven’t liked it from the beginning but I didn’t fight Tom on it—but Tom now agrees). But the videogame was really killing him. Like he was crying and said he was really upset and went to his room. When he calmed down and came back I reminded him about a game he used to play that was PERFECTLY appropriate and he thought for a moment, smiled, and thanked me for thinking of it and reminding him.
And just so you don’t think it was all about the kids…we also agreed to no devices at the table. And we are all going to try to look at one another when we’re talking to each other so they can learn how to react to people and pay attention.
Oh, and we watched an episode of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood tonight. Holy crap. We weren’t quite sure what to expect—I mean, Owen hated the original Star Wars episodes after seeing the whiz bang newer versions first so I didn’t hold out much hope. But I knew both would give it a shot because they will watch ANYTHING on a TV. I think they’d watch static, frankly.🤦🏻♀️
So imagine our surprise when we put the first episode on and they sat and watched, totally entranced. They both loved it. They asked questions. They talked to the screen. We discussed things. WHAT?! It’s amazing.
(We’ve also started watching The Brady Bunch—and while not educational, those shows have a lot of good lessons and they love it, too.)
So I will continue to be a hard ass on this so my kids don’t turn into little terrors. And enjoy some walks down memory lane…
It’s funny because it’s true.
Well I certainly didn’t expect my morning with Owen to include the reveal that Santa is not real. 😳😢💔
I’ve known it’s been coming for a while and I’ve managed to keep pushing it off…and although you know the day will come and you can kind of prepare yourself for it…you are never really ready and I’m sure I didn’t handle it as well as I could have.
I did go over some major points that I had ready (Santa is the spirit of Christmas, he can be a Santa now, etc.) but he wasn’t having ANY of it and he was PISSED. 😭 There were a few tears and throwing things…and saying we lied to him for 10 years and he’s a stupid kid for believing us and that he was disappointed in us. 😭 (P.S. The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were included in this bargain of a conversation as well.)
I then had to talk him down from wanting to tell everyone (including Katie) and thankfully 45 minutes later by the time he left for school he was laughing about it and excited about being a Santa this year.
(The best news is that after school he seemed to be really okay and was even shopping for secret Santa gifts for Katie when we were out running errands that night (without her).)
But still, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be over here crying in my margarita because my kid is really growing up and I hate to think about it. And I’ll also be silently cursing the mean kids who ruined it for Owen (apparently) last year. 🤬
This week I’m thankful for friends. That seems really generic, I know, but let me explain.
Being military and moving every three years, there is a certain cycle that we go through each move–it generally takes about two full years before we finally have a good set of friends. You know…the ones you can call last-minute to watch your kids, the ones you can call to take your kids to sportsball practice when you can’t make it, the ones you invite over for dinner because your kids get along so well. It’s also a time when friends are around regularly enough that it seems very commonplace–like we’ve been here our whole lives.
So we’re at that two-year mark.
This week I went for a walk around the neighborhood with a friend, I ran into a friend shopping at Michael’s, a friend came over to shop for make-up, a friend and I vented to each other about life, I helped a friend decide what artwork to hang in her house, a friend came over and picked me up because she wanted to talk and I had been drinking and couldn’t drive, and a friend offered her assistance in designing a T-shirt for our upcoming family vacation.
Friends are amazing and I don’t take any of them for granted.
I am stunned it’s only been about a year!
Before…
And they’re off! It only takes seconds to snap them all off!
Cleaning off the glue…
His first look!
The success pic with the doc!
And then…this happened.
I’ve been looking at this face with braces for a year. You wouldn’t think the smile would look THAT different without them…but it does. And look how happy he is!! And how cute (and old!) he looks!!
Now he’ll get a retainer he has to wear at night only and we go in for checks every three months. The teeth that are getting ready to come in might give us some trouble—one is perfectly angled and one is crooked—so she warned that one might need to get pulled. Stay tuned!
When your morning takes an unexpected turn because you misjudged where the stool was and your feet got tangled in the base and both you and two stools went crashing to the ground. Everything is now sore from my wrists to my back to my toes. Here’s hoping this works so I don’t have to get out the prescription stuff.
Multifocal dailies. I hate the thought of all the packaging waste, but my eyes just can’t handle the monthly lenses anymore. The huge bonus I never thought of? No more contact solution, cleaning solution, or contact cases!! 🙌
Also, Costco FTW! Ordered Monday night, had them Wednesday!
Remember me saying I was trying to lose weight…again? Well, things went SMASHINGLY well for 2+ weeks and I lost almost 20# (I think it was 17). YES, THAT MUCH. I was feeling motivated. I was being strong. I was surviving without margaritas. I knew I could do it.
And then.
A minor slip up—one drink with a friend to celebrate a reunion. And then another minor slip up—an extra piece of pizza at my kids’ birthday pool party that I ate without even thinking. And then honestly I kind of lost track after that because…summer, friends, BBQs, late nights, kids being away, vacation, etc. And I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was so I gained 16 of those 17 back and could just kick myself.
This Monday I was back at it again. Because I know I can do this. I have to do this. I worked too hard the first time around to let myself slip farther.
I’m down a few so far this week. It’s better than going up so I’m thrilled. Now I only have *cough*grumble*cough* more to go. 😂
Who wants to be my accountability buddy since this crazy kid is a good walking partner but not much help otherwise…?! 😂
Sidenote: Owen and I might have the same size shoes!
I love a clean house. Love love love. It’s actually relaxing and lowers my stress level and makes everything in life just that much better…but unfortunately I don’t have the energy to do it, let alone the energy AND patience required to get the kids to do their fair share. (You’ve heard the expression herding cats, right? It’s legit.)
So we live with clutter and chaos and hope for a somewhat picked up house every few weeks when we have friends over. 😂
What state is your house normally in?