It’s the weekend, although it’s hard to determine what day it is. I feel like I’ve been doing lots of things and also nothing at all. Like I mentioned in this post, everyone’s life while staying at home looks a little different.

For us, Jeff is working remotely in various “offices” around the house. The kids are required to complete daily assignments and report back to their teachers so I’ve been facilitating that. I’ve been trying to get a post up here and there in order to share helpful items and sales.

Here’s a little diary of some of this weeks activities. I hope to look back and share this with the kids one day on what we did during the pandemic!

Morning Routine

The kids and I have been waking up later than usual. But, every morning I get dressed {even if it’s in these comfy joggers}, drink a glass of water with vitamins {I like these daily gummies} and layer on the skincare. I haven’t been putting on eye makeup really. Just dew skin, bronzer, and lipstick/gloss.

Then I make my bed and kids’ beds and grab their clothes. Sometimes Sam surprises me and independently dresses. While I have my first cup of coffee, I write out the morning message.
It has a welcome greeting, the day and date, and something about the day ahead.

Before morning meeting, the kids need to eat breakfast, be completely dressed, and have their teeth brushed.  This part has been going well so far. I’m not a stickler to a certain time like 9 on the dot, but it usually falls around when Jeff secluded himself for work.

Homeschool Life

Marielle is in PK4 and Sam is in 1st grade. I’ll share a few activities for each.

Bean Tracing// This activity helps with fine motor skills. I found some dried beans but you can use things like Cheerios, beads, etc. I drew a few shapes like a spiral and she places the beads over the design.

Baking // Sam read Pete the Cat’s Groovy Bake Sale and we made chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  The kids used the measuring cups and we talked about which ones were bigger and smaller, how many ingredients we used, and counted the temperature to bake at.

Letter Recognition// We have a kids game Bananagrams, that has lower case letters. Marielle has been putting the Letters in alphabetical order. Then we match it up with upper case letters. Scrabble works great too!

Cutting with Scissors // This is the easiest activities and also helps with their fine motor skills!

Shape Search// Simply make a sign with the various shapes and then search the house for them. Triangles were the hardest to find for us until we stumbled upon some Magnatiles.

Cherry Blossoms // This time of year we have cherry blossoms all around DC. On a walk, we brought home some branches. Then I cut a few little flowers and Marielle colored them. She wanted purple cherry blossoms so it’s really anything you imagine!

Popsicle Stick Shapes // Make different shapes and letters using popsicle sticks

Chalk Messages to Friends// Our friend recently “chalk bombed” us with sweet messages like I MISS YOU! And HI! So we’ve been paying it forward and stopping by the friends we miss seeing at school.

For Sam, we’ve been doing reading, math, and writing assignments from his teacher.  His favorite books are from Dav Pilkey: Dog Man, Ricky Ricotta, and of course Captain Underpants. He’s also reading Elephant and Piggy books, Olivia, and Dr. Suess.

Since I am not even a fraction of a teacher the kids are used to, I’ve been relying on a few YouTube shows for different subjects. A few we’ve watched:

Art Hub for Kids // I secretly love this one. We drew a leprechaun for St. Patrick’s day, bunnies, Ariel,… It’s so easy to follow.

Cosmic Kids Yoga // Marielle has been doing a few yoga moves with this show which also teaches mindfulness in a kind friendly way.

Tippi Toes // Marielle was signed up for these classes when school was open. Now she can continue her dance lessons at home!

Kids Learning Tube // The kids have been learning states, countries, and continents with this one. A favorite is the countries in North America. I have that song stuck in my head constantly.

Prodigies Music Lessons // We watched this after  Marielle asked me to explain what “pitchy” was. {If you’ve watched Frozen 2 a few times, then you know}.

Story Bots // They have song episodes on YouTube, but you can also find full episodes on Netflix. They answer questions like, “What makes a planet?”, “Where does rain come from?” and have fun celebrity appearances.

What We’re Watching

Tiger King // Ok, this show is absolutely insane. But completely captivating.

A few recents that have been good:

• Knives Out
• The Pharmacist
• Sex Education
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Mind Hunter
• The Crown

Besides the obvious Disney Plus shows, the kids have been watching:

• Space Jam
• Hook
• Out There with Jack Randall
• 101 Dalmatians

How I’m Staying Healthy

At Home Workouts // I’ve done a few classes from Xtend Barre and plan to do a few from Biker Barre. This week. My Class Pass membership has been frozen for the time being so I’m happy to support these local studios. My favorite workout outfit is this Alo top and Beyond Yoga Leggings.

Getting Outside // Sam especially is like a puppy. Without 2 hours of outdoor activity, he will destroy the place. We’ve been walking to the parks, playing soccer, hiking, and trying to walk past our friends houses. I’ve gotten in a few runs as well!

Eating Healthy // While I find that I don’t always have all the ingredients, making a big pot of soup loaded with veggies has helped me. I made a Minestrone the beginning of the week and it’s been an easy lunch.

Other Activities

Currently Reading // The Lying Game. I just finished The Giver of Stars and next up is Dear Edward.

Board Games // Battleship {find a friend to play with virtually!}, Gobblet Gobblers, Checkers.

Puzzles // This 1,000 piece dog puzzle, and this ocean one. {We like to support local game store in Capitol Hill called Labyrinth. We stopped by on their last day open to pick up games and puzzles}.

Zoom Cocktail Hours // Grab a glass and virtually drink with your friends and family. Jeff even attended a surprise zoom birthday party.

Family Album // Each year I create a yearly family album on Shutterfly. My goal during this time is to complete 2019!

Putting up Easter Decorations // We needed a little cheer around here. I put up my Easter wreaths on the front door and slowly adding bunnies and spring flowers. I see egg dying on next week’s activity list.

Shopping Online Sales // So many retailers are offering amazing deals including Nordstrom,   Madewell, Anthropologie, Beautycounter, and J Crew. It’s a great way to save while staying at home.

What I’m Drinking

Let’s get real. Wine is really helping us through this crazy time. We usually pick up locally or during a Trader Joe’s run, but not now as we are staying at home. Now, we rely more on our favorite wine sites: Wine.com and Wineacess.com.

Wine.com // This site has tons of wines and you can easily sort by type, price, region, and more. You pay membership for a year to get unlimited free shipping if you like.  New customers get $20 off $100 orders with the code NEW2020.  Check your credit card points/ rewards. You may even get points for shopping! Our last order: Decoy Sauvignon Blanc, Oberon Cabernet, Pardouxx Red, Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wineaccess.com // This site is more highly curated, so you won’t find every wine. When a deal comes up on one of our favorites, we order in bulk. Our last order: 2015 Karo-Kann Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.

OK, friends. Hope this post helps you pass the time while staying and home and being safe through the next week.

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