Happy Friday everyone! I hope you are all healthy and adapting as well as you can to our new reality. I’d like to start by thanking all of the healthcare professionals that are putting themselves out there and trying to keep people healthy and save lives!
As I said on Monday and Wednesday, we are working really hard to focus on and find the silver linings. In Maryland, most places are closed or closing. Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, etc. are remaining open but we are doing our best to stay home. Our restaurants are open as carry out only. The governor did say that restaurants could deliver booze with their food deliveries, so there’s something for ya. I am so happy that Gov. Hogan is our governor. He is handling everything in a serious, but calm manner. Every time he calls a press conference, I walk away feeling like we have a competent, smart, and sensible leader taking charge of our state. I’m hoping everyone continues (starts!!) social distancing and we can really flatten this curve!

I’m linking up with Narci and the girls to share my favorites from the week.

Favorite 1: BOOKS!! I have gotten back to reading a chapter book with each boy. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, Jack and I picked Hoot by Carl Hiaasen back up. We didn’t finish it this summer but we will now. Luke and I are reading the next installment in the Wayside School books, Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar. We are laughing out loud every night as we read it!

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Favorite 2: FAMILY!! Our schedule went from packed to blank for work and extracurriculars. Jeff and I both work in schools so we are home all day with the kids. It is definitely an adjustment, but we are taking it all in happily. We have eaten more meals together in the past 7 days than we have in the past month. That is a good thing! We are playing a family game every night and taking at least one family walk each day.

Favorite 3: SUNSHINE!! We have been pretty fortunate with lovely weather for March. The sun has been shining a bunch so we are able to get outside and get some fresh air. I loved this Lilly print with all the suns. It brings me joy!

Favorite 4: BOXES! I ordered 2 beauty boxes from Target recently. I was in the market for a new eye cream so I ordered the Dermatologist Tested Skin Care box. It has two eye creams, facial cleansers, moisturizers, and a sunscreen. It comes in a nice box and has a product description card with a coupon attached.

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I also ordered the Self-Care box. Two of my girlfriends were feeling particularly stressed so I sent the boxes to them, too. I am using all this time at home to partake in some of this self-care. This box has some calming fragrance sprays, one of my favorite bath soaks, lotion, a shimmering and a peel off mask, glitter eye gel pads, and a product description card with a coupon attached. Each box was $7. I got a 5% discount with my RedCard and free shipping.
I am hoping these Beauty Boxes will help me find some new skin care products and relaxation!

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Favorite 5: SAINT PATRICK’S DAY! We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in a very low key way. I work all the green and made my favorite meal from our Ireland trip – toasted specials. They are grilled cheese sandwiches. 😂

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Favorite 6: LEARNING!! We are working on figuring out what learning looks like while we are all at home. I am tackling the morning with 2 hours of work from the packets that were sent home with my kids, some instrument practice, typing, and religious education papers.

We have been trying to catch some of the online readings and doodling from authors and illustrators. Luke LOVES the Narwhal graphic novels and had a great time drawing with Ben Clanton on Wednesday.

Jeff is tackling the evening with his home school curriculum – athletes and sporting events from before the boys were born. Wednesday night was the 2008 Olympics when the men’s 400 freestyle relay won and Micheal Phelps won the 100 fly by .01 seconds. Thursday night was Pistol Pete and Jason Williams from the NBA. We are keeping these kids learning and acknowledging that it is going to look very different from a school day.

I saw this online and loved it. This is my new philosophy until we have a better idea of what schools will be doing moving forward.

Also, all the memes, tweets, and comments from parents trying to figure out how to keep their kids’ brains from turning to mush are making me laugh so hard!

Favorite 7: DISHWASHER!! We are putting our dishwasher to good use this week. I captured a rare 30 seconds when it was empty Thursday morning. It is interesting how the contents are different now that we are cooking and eating every meal at home. The bottom is way more full than the top now, which is the exact opposite of how it usually is. I can’t imagine having to wash all those dishes by hand!

Those are our silver linings for the week. I hope that everyone has a healthy weekend and stays home!! It is perfect reading, game playing, and movie watching time. Have a great weekend full of sunshine and books!