Remember When

Tony has been doing the grocery shopping about once a week (where he buys 3 gallons of whole milk for Miles) and when he texted me from the long line at Trader Joe’s I was thinking back to the times that we didn’t have to wait in line 6 feet away from the person in front of us not wearing a mask. Those were the days. I always appreciated a solo trip to TJ’s, but now I don’t even want to go. The last time I was at TJ’s (over 2 months ago) I was waiting in line, but you didn’t have to wear a mask and on my way out I saw a friend and we air hugged from 6ft away. We are living in weird times.

Thankfully we are able to get outside the past few days and enjoy the warmer weather. Yesterday Miles and Owen had a blast playing in the puddles in the driveway. The puddles were fairly small, but the boys were able to make a huge mess. I’m getting better with dealing with the mess of two kids but it is a process.

When we moved into our current house, I said that the playroom would be the room off the front entry. That worked for a while, but then Miles arrived. There are more toys on the ground than put away on the shelves, but the kids are having fun so that’s what matters. Now I look out into a sea of rainbow colored toys in the living room, and think “this is my life”. This is what kids taking over your house feels like.

Highs and Lows

When your living room has been a fort for two days and you can’t walk without stepping on a toy you go a little crazy. I don’t mind making forts and providing a million snacks a day, but it would be a little easier if I knew I was able to take a break. Owen also asked for Halloween decorations earlier this week and I caved and dug some out so he could decorate. It lasted a good 15 minutes.

A few days ago I gave Miles his first graham cracker to hold him over before dinner. Now, like clockwork, he stands by the pantry with his hands up. I get it. We’re stuck in the house pretty much all of the time (the weather has been really cold so far this May). We all deserve a little treat every once in awhile. At least we don’t have to worry about putting sunblock on yet.

On those few sunny days when we can get outside, Miles is so happy. He loves all the stones in the driveway, and he is super excited when he finds the right stick. Oh, and on Monday we found out that he could spend all day in the sandbox. He is really good at dumping sand on his head. Fingers crossed that we can still go on our beach trip toward the end of summer. At this point I would just take a night away without the kids.

I know that Owen really misses his teacher and his friends from school. Last night he got the chance to chat with his class remotely, and he was super excited about it. I’m glad that his teacher is planning to do another one soon.

Owen has been getting good at riding his bike and even played with chalk for a few minutes the other day. For days when it’s not nice outside, does anyone have fun ideas for their kids to do inside that doesn’t involve Kinetic Sand?

When it rains

Being stuck inside is hard on a normal day. Being stuck inside when you during a quarantine is extra hard. One day goes so well and then the next day it rains. So you watch movies, eat all of the snacks, and then play. Then Owen gets bored and screams and is sent to his room to sulk. Next more TV and then the Wii. Tony has been trying all morning to get Owen to do a math worksheet that shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. After 2 hours or so of tantrums and breaks he finally completed the sheet.

Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow, and school won’t be torture. If not, there’s always wine :).

Growing up

Owen turned 6 on Sunday, and this birthday was unlike every other one he has known. He planned on having a space theme party with his friends this year, but with the Covid-19 that wasn’t possible. So he settled for some sushi and ice cream. We’ll have to make up for it next year.

We really couldn’t think of a place that we could all safely go that wasn’t crowded so we decided to have a backyard bonfire. He likes anything sweet so we roasted marshmallows and had s’mores. Both sets of grandparents stopped for a quick distant-visit to drop off gifts and say hello. Then we had dinner and put his candles in his ice cream, which if you haven’t done, it is harder than putting it into cake.

Owen has been getting taller. Soon we’ll run out of pants that fit, and all of his baby chubs will be gone. He still loves Marvel superheros with Black Panther being his favorite. Surprisingly he hasn’t lost a tooth yet, but he has been saying one has been loose for a few months now. I think he is starting to like his brother being around, but he can get a little too wild with him at times.

Feeling Stuck

We aren’t new to working from home but not being able to go anywhere and not having a break from our kids is so hard. Owen and Miles both have been getting upset really easily. I think the only way we are getting through it is knowing that everyone is pretty much going through the same thing.

Am I the only mom that didn’t tell their kid that he is on spring break? Sure I don’t like teaching him everyday, but I think if we take a break for too long it will be even harder for him to get back in the groove. He only went to school for a half day and next year he will be going for a full day. It was going to be a huge change for him anyway, and now with not going back to school I’m very worried for him. I can just try my best and hope that he feels confident going into first grade and has a great teacher like he did this year.

Going into the weekend I’m going to try to focus on the good from the day even if it is small.

Broken Pencils

Parents everywhere have now become teachers on top of everything else. I knew this would be very challenging for us. Owen’s teacher is awesome and I really truly hope that he is able to go back before the end of the school year.

I am thankful that Owen is only in kindergarten and that he has a short amount of schoolwork that he has to complete each day. Some days are easier than others, and the beginning of the week started out well. Friday not so much. After breakfast we tried to start his work but he wasn’t able to focus and he broke a pencil in frustration. A few hours later, with some pushing and a lot of guiding, we were able to get through it. We’ll have to see what the next few weeks bring.

The unknown is so hard during this time. The one thing that keeps me going are when I’m able to get a work out in. Sometimes the kids are gathered around me and I’m tripping over toys, but at least I accomplish something for me. I always feel better after I get a workout in. What is your small piece of happiness these days?

Instant Toddler

Miles has been pushing his hair out of his eyes since he got his helmet off so it was time for a trim. I really hated to do it because every time Owen ever got a haircut he always looked older, but I knew Miles would be more comfortable after he got it done.

We went to Cookie Cutters and did the whole “Baby’s First Haircut” picture and certificate that we did for Owen’s first haircut. We didn’t know how Miles was going to act, but pretty quickly after we strapped him into the Spiderman seat he was not happy. Even a snack and cartoons to watch didn’t calm him down. The hair stylist tried her best to try and get him to stop crying, but the only thing that worked was seeing his big brother playing on the play place. Owen always puts a smile on Miles’s face.

All done!

Mild March Weather

You know when your kid suggests something and it is usually crazy or not something that you would actually say yes to? Well, on Monday Owen had a good idea of taking a trip to the zoo. The weather was mild and sunny and I enjoy the zoo when it isn’t too hot. So we took a short trip to the zoo. It wasn’t that crowded because most kids were in school (Owen has 1/2 day kindergarten). We breezed through and saw of the animals. Owen really enjoyed seeing the cheetahs, and Miles was just happy to be outside. He was pretty content with staying in his stroller, thank goodness. I also brought some snacks because even though we had lunch before we left right when we pulled in the parking lot Owen said that he was hungry.

Smiles for Miles

A year ago yesterday Miles was born, and I have to admit it went by super fast. I’m not sure, but maybe it was because he is so different from Owen. The biggest difference is his sleeping patterns. He slept through the night pretty early on, and has generally been a happy baby. So we weren’t walking zombies like we were with Owen.

Since Miles is such a happy baby we made his birthday party theme smiles and confetti. We kept the party pretty small with just some family. It was your traditional first birthday with a smash cake. His cake was a fancy two-tier ombre style cake.

The smash cake was pretty simple with some blue and white icing. I was fully expecting him to really make a mess and dig in, but after we sang happy birthday he really wasn’t into eating it. Not sure if he isn’t into eating sweet foods or all of the people staring at him was just too overwhelming. Or maybe he wasn’t interested because the cake wasn’t made of his favorite food – meat :).

Stuck in the middle

I never knew how much room I really had when we only had one kid when traveling. We took a weekend trip that had a good amount of driving involved. I really don’t know anyone who enjoys long drives, but then adding a few kids really makes it interesting.

The thing that you never know is when the crying will start. We tried having Miles run around and play before we left and also skipped a nap. We also made sure that we had plenty of snacks and milk in tow, but the crying still happened. Owen was able to help out a bit with handing teething crackers over to Miles, but when it came to drinking his milk that was hard. Miles is now done with bottles (yay!) so we are still trying to find the perfect sippy cup. He just wasn’t able to tilt the cup enough to get milk out and was getting upset. So, I shoved myself in the backseat in between the two car seats. It was cozy :(. I was able to calm Miles down for a while, but we had to make more stops than we wanted to.

What are your tips when traveling with kids other than snacks and screen time?

He’s not always smiling