Despite doing the best I can do right now for our family and others during this time (thank YOU for some of your suggestions!), I think it’s okay to admit that sometimes all of this just feels scary, daunting, confusing and overwhelming. I actually don’t watch the news much but I do consume a lot of it via articles on the internet and social media and I’m trying to limit what I read to a few reliable sources every day versus checking it multiple times a day and letting it completely inundate my mind and my life. It’s been a much better approach and I’m checking in today feeling a lot better. A good weekend with my family always helps, too!
Saturday
We continued with social distancing this weekend and most of our family’s interactions were limited to the four of us and Sadie. I was up really early on Saturday and after coffee and my morning devotional, I took advantage of some quiet time to take Sadie on a one-on-one walk.
(Whenever I post a pic of these sneakers, I always get questions about them, so here’s a link to them again! They’re restocked in most sizes — they sell out fast — and are currently more than $20 off. I’d definitely size down 1/2 to even a full size because they run big.)
I listened to the Well + Nourished podcast, another new-to-me podcast find, and covered two miles before heading home for a big bowl of oatmeal. Ryan was wrapping up a workout in the garage when I arrived and the boys were up soon after so we all eased into the morning together. It was rather misty on Saturday morning but Chase requested a morning walk to the lake near our house to look for worms so we figured that was as good a plan for the morning as any and made our way down to the water.
Chase could search for worms for hours on end and it’s one of his favorite activities. Ryan, on the other hand, made me laugh out loud when he stood up after helping Chase look under some rocks for a while and said, “I’m so lightheaded. I’m not meant to bend over for that long.” Ha! We always joke that nothing makes us feel older than trying to get up off the floor after playing with the boys for a while. Our mid-30s came at us FAST!
Ryder was much more interested in throwing rock after rock into the water and his little toddler mind exploded when Ryan showed him how to skip a rock across the lake. No, he couldn’t actually make the rock skip, but he could hand Dad a million rocks to skip for him!
We spent a solid hour and a half out and about around the water with the boys before making our way back home. The drizzly weather morphed into the most beautiful 75-degree sunny day and I think Ryan and I commented on how gorgeous it was on Saturday at least 50 times throughout afternoon and evening.
As we walked down our street, we saw one of our neighbors had set up a garage sale and my curiosity was instantly piqued when I saw two bookshelves jam-packed with books.
To be honest, I hesitated even going to the garage sale and the thoughts that ran through my head regarding social distancing protocols shows just how all over the place my mind is right now. A part of me wonders if its just a matter of time before something as simple as a garage sale is no longer okay in our area? The garage sale was not at all crowded and took place outside (and in the garage, obviously) and seemed very well managed. Those also browsing were mindful of social distancing practices and we left with two foam swords for the boys, some children’s books and four almost brand new cookbooks (for $2 each!) for my collection.
Almost all of the cookbooks on the shelf were Keto or Paleo cookbooks. I love a good Paleo cookbook since the recipes are made with clean ingredients and often a decent amount of vegetables, so I was excited to nab a few of them to try. I cannot wait to dive into Danielle Walker’s Against All Grain cookbook since her Meals Made Simple cookbook is one of my all-time favorites. If you’ve tried any of the cookbooks pictured above and found some recipes you love in them, please let me know!
After the garage sale, we headed home and Ryan took Sadie and the boys in the backyard to play for a bit while got in my car for the first time in a week and drove off to pick up some dog food for Sadie. (We’ve been using Instacart for groceries. Also, quick tip: You can order groceries for others through your Instacart account as well! It’s been an easy way for us to help those who might be most at-risk right now.) It felt so weird to be out and about! I made it back home to find everyone eating lunch and joined them at the kitchen counter.
Eventually we got Ryder down for his nap and I couldn’t help but want to go back outside because of the beautiful weather!
Chase was more than pumped when I asked if he wanted to take his Power Wheels Jeep for a spin so we headed out while Ryan stayed behind with Ryder as he slept.
By the time we made it back home, we were ready for a snack. Chase then joined Ryan to help with some yard work while I group FaceTimed with three of my best friends from all the way back to elementary school. It was so, so great to catch up, especially as a group all at once, and I loved chatting with some of my very favorite people in the world. It’s always great to connect with friends but especially nice right now when we’re all a little deprived of social interaction!
Eventually Ryder was up from his nap and we spent the rest of our evening grilling outside and watching the first half of Kung Fu Panda 2 on Netflix for our movie night. Naturally ice cream was also involved!
Oh and I had someone ask me to report back on the Earth Grown Vegan Protein Veggie Burgers I nabbed from ALDI during my last grocery haul post so I wanted to give some feedback about them now that we’ve gone through the whole box. I made them both in a skillet and on the grill but both times I’ve topped them with a myriad of toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish and sauerkraut) and really liked them! I will say that I don’t think they’d be the best on their own — I feel this way about a lot of frozen veggie burgers — but once they’re all doctored up, I think they’re a great high-protein veggie burger option.
Ryan and I got the boys in bed a little before 8 p.m. and then settled in to watch an episode of Jack Ryan before bed. We just started the show (available on Amazon Prime) on Friday and we’re already all-in!
Sunday
Fellow parents, you know those activities you have planned with your kids that you envision as this wonderful family bonding experience… and then it goes almost comically wrong? That was our Sunday morning in a nutshell.
We planned to take the boys to the Davidson Trail for a family hike with Sadie and everything from the loading process (oh Ryder whennn will you outgrow car seat battles!?) to the drive there (so much whining) felt draining. And then the boys were totally uninterested in staying their stroller which would’ve been okay since we were on a hike except Ryder didn’t want to walk or be held either… and then they fought over snacks and toys and it was just a mess. It wasn’t really one big thing but one small annoyance after the next and less than 10 minutes into our walk, Ryan and I just turned to each other and started laughing as we joked about what a lovely morning we had with our delightful children.
Thankfully things began to turn around on the second half of our trail hike once Ryan perched Ryder on top of his shoulders which seemed to finally make him happy.
Oh and he discovered a pair of my sunglasses in the stroller as well which helped keep him entertained. Whatever works!
By the time we made it back to Ryan’s car, we were all hungry and called in a pick-up order from Toast, our favorite breakfast spot in Davidson, to grab on our way home. A little bit of food helped lift everyone’s spirits as well and our day started to turn around. Ryder also went down for an early nap and slept for a solid three hours which he clearly needed. Phew!
While Ryder slept, Ryan hung out with Chase so I could get a jump start on this blog post and respond to some collaboration emails since a lot of things are getting shuffled around at the moment. Once Ryder was awake, we spent the rest of our Sunday at home and the boys spent some time on the indoor bounce house that I’m pretty sure we’ll have set up in our home for months and months at this rate (it’s saving my sanity during social distancing with two wild ones!) and then wrapped things up with bath time, movie night and bed time for the boys.
As for the week ahead, I’m planning to do more of what we did last week and hope to fill our days with a mix of outside time and activities at home. I hope your week ahead is a decent one even if it is different than what any of us expected this week to look like even two weeks ago.
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