Social Distancing: Week 4&5
Is anyone out there REALLY adhering to a daily schedule? There are memes flying around that joke about “for the first time in my life I’ve been on time!” because everything is online now.
Guess what?
I was late to TWO online meetings last week and forgot one altogether. 🤦🏻♀️ One thing I am thankful for this week:
Being so low maintenance.
That I don’t have to worry about covering gray or staying blonde, and I don’t do my nails/eyelashes is a blessing I never saw coming. There was a time I would have said this was a bad thing and I should take care of myself more, now I’m feeling way ahead of the times that my lack of pampering led me to being ahead in the game. 💇🏻♀️💅🏼 I can imagine there are currently A LOT of people forced to embrace their brunette and silver sides.
Our boys are in DESPERATE need of haircuts though. I cut Caiphas’ hair last month, only because his was longer and he has personally trimmed so many areas over the last year that I couldn’t make it any worse... ....and it looked pretty good until it started growing out and now it’s very obvious I’m a terrible stylist. I don’t know how to maintain what I originally did, it was a dang miracle begin with the really dull pair of scissors I have.
Carstyn, on the other hand, looks REALLY ridiculous. He was not blessed with big curls like Caiphas. Twice this week he has helped himself to herbal salve and rubbed it all on the back of his already too-long hair, so he is scarecrow meets baby orangutan meets greasy car salesman.
#pleaseopenuphairsalonsquickly
I haven’t left home much, so I didn’t really see how different the outside world was until I ran to the store last week.
I forgot how much it BUGS ME when someone tries to tell me what to do. 😳 I’m not used to so many rules and regulations!
Between all of the closures and the rationing of “one per family” on so many of the groceries that we have always bought MORE than one of, (one carton of eggs, one package of yeast, etc.) I am SO over it.
Don’t misunderstand me here, my family has done an amazing job of social distancing and staying safe, but seeing parks roped off, boat ramps closed down, river access closed.....man.
It awakens the fighter in me. How is anyone contagious in the middle of a lake or river or on a freaking hiking trail?! Our neighborhood tennis courts have been padlocked! Who plays tennis within 6 feet of each other ?! Do they even know how you play tennis?
How is this necessary?! Caiphas told me very seriously that our neighborhood pool was closed because a lot of kids with granola virus peed in it 🤣😂 I’m not sure who told him that, but that’s one of the joys of having so many siblings, they’re always “teaching” each other random facts. It’s like the whisper game- by the time the whisper gets to the end it’s nowhere near what it originally was.
That’s how these poor younger kids have it around here. Facts/history/stories/family rules or whatever are usually nonsense by the time it reaches these little ones so we rarely ever know what they are talking about or where they learned it. Most of the time we just let them believe it. 🤷🏼♀️ It makes life fun.
The boys have been obsessed with bugs lately. Combined with his bedtime story, Carstyn wants to watch ant videos on YouTube before bed each night. It’s the cutest thing!
Caiphas is at the “questions” age, and literally has questions for EVERYTHING. This may also be where misinformation starts in the house, I think his siblings make stuff up after the 10th question because they’re tired of explaining. He was asking the difference between sugar ants and fire ants and their origins and what they eat and do they sting or bite or both (it’s both btw, I’m now an ant expert) where they live and do they like us and why and and whew, it got DEEP, FAST. By the end I’m not really even sure what I answered!
The next day he was on question #43 about coyotes and asked “what about sugar coyotes?” Took me a minute to realize what he was asking, but apparently he thinks all things that might be scary in life have an opposite with the label “sugar” first, that are nice. I have since told him that sugar coyotes, sugar tornados, sugar lightening (and many other things ) don’t exist. He keeps trying though, and every day he asks me if “sugar _____” exists.
He also now tell me “I sugar ant love you!” And it’s pretty much the highest compliment ever in his mind.
Kids are so awesome and weird. Carstyn thinks licking me is the greatest thing, so I get to deal with that a thousand times a day.
The food waste this week was more from the adults than the kids. We prepped food more than once and it ended up wasted when we decided to eat a white chocolate blackberry lavender scone or almond cream-filled brioche bun instead.
Quarantine has brought out the bakers and our older two spend a LOT of time in the kitchen.
Plus, let’s get real. A scone just sounds better than plain chicken and veggies after spending the day reading/watching about ANY of the current events happening. And I’m not remotely fearful about any of it!
But it’s all just WEIRD.
And we are a foodie family.
And a traveling family.
So one of our ways of coping with the uncertainty of life right now is to create amazing meals that remind us of our travels. 🙌🏼 If we all come out of this 15 lbs heavier, mind ya business, ok? It has been WORTH IT.
Facebook and IG have UPPED their game on personalized advertising. It ain’t even right.
I am already a sucker for a good advertisement. I bought my first infomercial product (in a looong line of many infomercial products since) when I was 16 and it was the video “7 Minute Abs”. Back in the day when you called and said you wanted it, they shipped to you and then you sent a check back in and paid for it..... My first purchase on my first credit card ever was an ab stimulator belt. Mitchell and I were on a trip and up late watching hotel tv, and we saw the commercial and I just had to have it.
Anyway, the ads targeted towards me on both FB and IG are amazing. They know me better than I know myself.
A *few* (no, I am not telling y’all ALL the things I have purchased. I still need to SEEM sane to all of you out there....) I have purchased: (also, LOOK AWAY NOW Mitchell James)
😀Bamboo bowls, forks, spoons and straw sets 😃Super sweet and soft bamboo baby clothes 😄Matching bamboo pajamas for kids 😁Ice cream maker 😃Super sweet and soft bamboo baby clothes 🙂Several cute shirts with positive sayings 😌Flexible cell phone holder 😃Super sweet and soft bamboo baby clothes ☺️Sonic facial brush 😬I have purchased FOUR DIFFERENT BABY CARRIERS.🙈 Yes.
Four.
In my defense, they’re all different and will all serve a purpose. 😃Super sweet and soft bamboo baby clothes 😟I *almost* bought a super soft pullover that just looked sooooo soft and was tye dye and had amazing reviews.... I had it in my cart and decided that there was truly no reason for a super soft Comfy sweater when it’s already 80 degrees in Texas.
But I *WANTED* it. That sweater was MEANT for me.
FB knows me.
In other news, I joined a FB group this week where we all pretend we are ants in an ant colony.
How are y’all?! Also: How did any of us survive prequarantine days without 18 snacks?