Just doin what I do...

[jlmckee13]

To Blog or Not to Blog

The fifth week of quarantine fell in line with my son’s spring break and Easter. Ten days. TEN. DAYS. Where I said... okay Bud you can chill. We will do some things here and there that require some semblance of structure but really this time is for you (and me to an extent) to shut down and recharge. To blog about it seems almost silly.

SO what does one do to pass the time? WHY......Start watching the Star Wars sagas of course! We have gotten through 5 of them.

The Easter Bunny being banned from “our bubble” (as I call it) was the number one issue over break. As I mentioned before, we created an Easter Bunny “Drop Box” to put on the front porch to ensure that we alleviated this problem.

In the end, Easter wasn’t awful. It was just quiet. Not at all what we are used to for the holidays. Certainly not having the family together was a hard adjustment but we all touched base and just... well dealt with it... I guess.

The weather was perfect for a one-man wrecking crew of an Easter egg hunt and we hit the final stages of our rock tumbler experience.

The week itself he had fun with. We turned the tables and he did the morning announcements and “walked me to work.” All but one day. After five weeks of this journey the earliness or the cold and rainy weather didn’t stop us from our morning walks, but throw in a mommy migraine the same day as freezing windy weather and I had to throw up the white flag.

Our #beautybreaks certainly caught on. He found some great spots to stop and take notice of and he continued to yoga his week away.

For me, I found this week’s lack of structure to be hard at times but also rewarding. After a few sulking bouts with boredom my son is becoming increasingly better at finding things to do. Thank the heavens! I admittedly think (know) that he is so used to me coming up with the activities of his life that it is nice for me to see this LIFE SKILL develop. You will never hear me say I am this ideal mother. (Who is?) I am sure in a lot of ways I may have hindered it up until now, but breakthroughs occur when they occur and I am behind it 100%.

That being said...... He has also developed the interest in finding things for all of us to do. Exhibit A: Our household weekly dinner assignments chart he has created. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS except for the fact that I am cooking the next 25 out of 30 days worth of dinners. I mean what is not to love? Chart format (LOVE!)- He worked on it for three evenings alone in his room not to be interrupted (OMG LOVE!)- and then his militant observations of compliance yet flexible attitude towards his “employees” rational needs for schedule adjustments once it was implemented (I FRICKIN LOVE MY CHILD!!).

Getting back into the swing of things.... hold on!! I say that like its now my new normal...uuggghhhhh!!! Anyway, getting back to a routine will be nice. I can bring some creativity back while also allowing myself more time with my work as he works. My brain knows it’s still only April- but if we are still in this limbo when summer hits... Oh lord help us we need to get a pool- slip and slide... something!

May the force be with us!

[jlmckee13]

A month.

Lately, I have been struggling with why I started this quarantine blog. As a marketer at heart I hear my inner monologue ask who I am targeting, what my goal is, and what I am trying to get out of it. 

I still don’t have any impressive answers to these questions BUT what I do know is that it does give me some sense of self-made purpose. Something that I think really has been stripped of many of us throughout this ordeal. Whether we have noticed or not.

So... whoever you are (target market??), welcome to whatever this is.

A month of this has come and gone. On the larger scale we all know it sucks. My goal is not to focus on the suck, however. Without turning into a full blown hippie, I truly believe I have found so many ways it hasn’t.  And what kind of ungrateful miserable lump of mush would I be if I even remotely began to complain?!? My family and friends are healthy and safe and I am so grateful we are getting through this.

#MommySchool will be something I will cherish always and there have been so many moments where I have harped that we need to stop and take notice of what is around us and appreciate it. (Something I have been so guilty of not doing in my pre-covid life.) So with that, I have implemented “beauty breaks” while we are out and about- which also apparently has a pretty thriving hashtag already established on “the gram.” You will see a few of my #beautybreaks sprinkled into my Week #4 breakdown.

DAY #1- Marvel/Marble Monday

The current theme trend is that we will call it something and then it will likely be abandoned or hardly accomplished. This day would pretty much fall into that category- WHICH IS TOTALLY FINE!

First schoolwork, then I kicked our butts outside and scootered our afternoon away.  Little man wasn’t very strong on how to do it so I came up with some challenges with the parking lot lines to help him. Concept was easy, start at the end and try and scoot with one push as far as he could- trying to get further each time.

Marvel time kicked in with the most redic project idea.  He drew and colored his favorite characters onto popsicle sticks.  Mine were spot on BTW. 

My other goal was to start a marble machine. Didn’t happen. It’s fine... but we gotta do something with all these toilet paper rolls I am saving for it ASAP.

The weather was just too nice out- as you know I love. So sidewalk chalk positivity was the rest of the day.

DAY #2- Karate Tuesday

Or as my little guy calls it... Cry-Rotty. (Oh... man.. so good.)

Karate Tuesday was cool- definitely saw some future potential activity in it for him.  He really took to the YouTube videos I found on them:

Video #1

Video #2

Also, weather was perfect for me to finally whip out this cement garden stone kit I had never done. So in the spirit of using what we got lying around- that was a winner.

DAY #3- Weird Wednesday

There are very little things that will literally stop me in my tracks. I tend to be a person either lost in thought or on a mission but on this day something did.  I walked by our sink and out of the corner of my eye I caught the largest most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen in my 30......ish years on this planet.  It was awesome!

Oh and dudeman made a few weird people out of playdoh and a “weird mobile” that was rather reminiscent of DogMan out of construction paper, glue, and a small amazon box. Case closed.

DAY #4- Themeless Thursday

His school pushed the possible return to May 11th- so looking at another good month of #MommySchool. 

Themeless Thursday was just that. We winged it.  Easter was just on the horizon and I had him decorate a big container that we dubbed the “Easter Bunny Drop Box” because... he wasn’t allowed to enter the house... DUH!

His PE teacher had a zoom workout for the first time and that was a fun one for him.

DAY #5- SPRING BREAK BEGINS

His Spring Break began and he knew it.  He slept in and enjoyed running the show on this day.  He earned it for sure. I also, from a technical standpoint, had off from work so we both took it pretty easy. 

For the next week, he will not be assigned any work from his school but I am going to be on the job.  I will likely stray a bit from the crazy structure and themes and nonsense that has made a lot of sense for us over the past month. I won’t stray from the values like “letting the light in”, “getting outside and moving”, “#beautybreaks” or “learning something new” each day. Something also tells me that these will stick with us for many days, weeks, months, and years to come.

[jlmckee13]

Week #3 gone but not forgotten

As I sit down and get in the right headspace (is that one word? Hyphen? Two? Ehhh roll with it...) to return to Week #3 of #MommySchool I am half way finished with Week #4.... A month... Lordy Lordy!

Anywho, Week #3 is not a week that will go unappreciated. As I mentioned before, and will continue to do, the weather- oh my- the weather is a huge factor on how we operate around here. That being said, we chugged along and soaked up the goodness where we could outside and coasted into April with our new way of life.

Before I breakdown the week. Here’s a fun fact! Hair continues to grow despite the arrival of a global pandemic. I now have a new mom skill. I can cut a mean 90’s style bowl cut for my son. ::taking my bow now::

Day #1- LEGO DAY!

LEGO Day included the... you guessed it... HISTORY OF THE LEGO. The story is riveting- one of struggle, heartbreak, and triumph. I give it 5 stars at the box office! Check it out here.

After all of his schoolwork was finished I then gave him a few “challenges” of things to create with his LEGOs. A few animals, free choice, and the cool one was a maze for me to have to navigate through. Max requirements: he just needed to give me a start and end location, his creativity and scenario building was really impressive on this one.

This day included the introduction of... ::drumroll::... MEMOM! My mother would ween off of hours at work and add a little flare to our days. Basically, the entire house smells like meatballs on a consistent basis now.

Weather Recap: Eww

DAY #2- PLAYMOBIL DAY!

Basically the same day on repeat. He picked it. I tried but had no real plan. Playmobil Day’s google search at lunchtime led to this winner... I mean...how did they whip this up so quickly?!?

My son has Playmobil items at home that he has access to but like most of his toys don’t get played with. Basically an out of sight out of mind situation. SO I was pumped that he would naturally play with them seeing as how the day was dubbed PLAYMOBIL DAY... instead... my antsy house restricted 6 year old who is the size of some sixth graders I know basically opted to beat me up for the latter part of the afternoon.

Listen, if you ever find yourself to be a mom of a boy I highly suggest to start training to survive the physical outbursts that will naturally show up at your doorstep. Or in my case, my face or midsection. Follow up thought: I don’t have a daughter so I can not speak to the possible need to physically amp up.

Weather Recap: Yuck

DAY #3- APRIL FOOLS DAY/????????????

THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This day was a joke in terms of structure. I thought I had the date right for a Dav Pilkey (Author of Dog Man & Captain Underpants books) livestream event and I didn’t. Then I walked by the TV and thought I heard it was Earth Day and it wasn’t. Big guy told me he wanted us to adopt an orphan so that was awkward at best but none of it mattered because THE SUN WAS OUT!

As noted in Week #2, identifying what our body is calling for has been a major factor in busting through the mucky days. Without question the sun is medicine for the soul. In my son’s case, a daddy visit does the trick too. Kickball2 is now a mommy-free affair.

Weather Recap: Slice of Heaven

DAY #4- Building Day

I hate Thursdays. Okay okay “hate” is a strong word. Rephrase: I habitually struggle with the arrival of a Thursday during a regular work week. I have always felt they were just mean. So close yet so far away from the weekend. Welp not my son. He was amped for this day so he helped me to shape up for this one.

We made the switch this week to a whole new line of schoolwork which was a welcomed change for his mind. For me, it took a little more instruction time on my end (Not complaining just informing). So theme days basically are in the afternoon for the most part.

Thanks to Amazon his K’nex arrived and was a great way to dive into “Building Day” well after lunchtime.

Here is the one I selected for him.

I also found these mesmerizing videos on YouTube (along with 42 million other viewers):

Video #1

Video #2

If this doesn’t waste time (I mean what??)...cough... provide insight on human spirit and ingenuity, I don’t know what else does. 

In addition to that inspiration, (all joking aside) he spent a lot of great time with these: KEVA Planks.  I cannot recommend these enough! I recently purchased them in the gift shop at the DaVinci Science Center in Allentown, PA (another recommendation) and they were the perfect ingredient for our Building Day.

Weather Recap: Sun but super windy

DAY #5- Fossil Friday...umm I guess

“Hey wall. Nice to see you again.” 

We woke up with his principal livestream- which he loves. Dove into the day and sulked through his work JUST in time for his classroom zoom chat around lunch. Afterwards, he ate the entree portion of his lunch (he had something to hold him over so he didn’t get hangry during the chat) and watched some fossil tutorials. 

If you are anywhere in the 30-40 age range you undoubtedly know who my go-to-guy was on this one: Big Willy.

That was about it for the fossil part... Frankly, we were toast. The afternoon became movie time. I was able to be productive with my laptop and he was able to zone out a bit and cuddle before he left for the weekend. It was a win-win.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the demise of our backyard flagpole. The wind was bonkers the day prior and we woke up to mother nature’s destruction. Unable to salvage, Pop Pop is on the case for a replacement but for the time being we will need to do the POA on the front porch.

Weather Recap: Cold & dreary; sun poked through later

So in the blink of an eye, our third week was there and gone. The week frequently brought about times of down mucky moments- but then, before you could blink, the sun came out and we’d feel a surge of energy.

I think it was day four where I said I wanted to switch up our walk a bit in the a.m. We went to a part of the neighborhood where we could look over the marshes- a place that is quite frankly unbecoming and mucky the majority of the time. On this day, that was not the case. The waters had risen, life was active and buzzing around it, and the view was a lot less crummy. It just felt like there was potential for it. 

Consistently this week showed potential. We maximized it where we could, when we could.

[jlmckee13]

AHHHH- I will update some day

I would love to say that I have been SOO busy that I can’t update from Week #3 but truth is- I hit a major wall. You will have the introduction of Rae’ch coming, see me get beat up by my child out of sheer boredom and even the demise of our flag pole from the wind. So much coming ::slap head::

[jlmckee13]

Week 2 #MommySchool in Review

If you caught my earlier blog post you may have gathered from the tone that I was not overly impressed with my job performance as a first grade teacher this week. Now that I have decompressed a bit, I have decided that it wasn’t necessarily awful.

When you put things into perspective like my increased life load and still end your day with your child saying that they had a great time, really all the details don’t even matter. Regardless, I tried and as I attempted to convey in my previous post- really from Day #1 this week you could feel there was a different vibe in the air.  Here is how it went:

DAY #1 & #2- Rock n’ Roll Monday...cont’d to Tuesday

The weather really was crap on Monday. It poured all day. Any normal person that may be planning to do an outside activity might check the weather prior- I did not and then I had to adjust on the fly. My plan was to listen to rock music all day while he and I both worked (Which we did), learn about geology (Rocks. Get it?), play some games, and go outside and dive into the gem stone dig kits and a rock tumbler that Santa brought. 

On this day, I also had to plan to go to the school’s work drop box to do a drop and grab. Well, that was a great opportunity to rock out to music on the way BUT THENNNNN... All the work we completed the previous week fell into a huge puddle. That’s what I got for wearing Minecraft gear to “protect” myself at the drop off location. 

All was not lost on Day #1, however, as all of his work returned home with us and dried out on the floor. (I wanted to cry- but I salvaged it) We played... drum roll please... “Are they a Rockstar or Are they a Pirate?” the best cardio Rock n’ Roll game known to mankind. 

Needed: Googled Photos, One Sign in a corner that says “Rockstar” and Second sign that says “Pirate”

Rules: Lay on your stomach, look at photo, run to correct answer.

It was hilarious to me. I guess that counts for something. 

Tuesday picked up the slack on what I was not able to fit in on Monday. The weather allowed for us to get outside in the late afternoon to break out the gem kits- always a crowd pleaser. BUT then... insert the rock tumbler. What I thought might take 20 mins tops has now become a symbol of my entire coronavirus existence. 

Just so you are aware, a rock tumbler takes upwards of a MONTH to complete the process.

Here is a fun video that we threw in there to hit our geology education piece.

DAY #3- Outer Space Wednesday 

More appropriately called Work Wednesday. We both had our share to tackle so here is what outer space day entailed: This, a really unmotivated attempt at this, and a pretty sad light projector show at night (I could not find the pamphlet explaining the slides- good job mom- he didn’t have a clue). He was also not pleased AT ALL with his actual gym teacher’s assignment of this. The wall very much was arriving. 

DAY #4- Dinosaur Thursday

I don’t even feel like it happened. During his work breaks and lunch he watched a youtube video that was interesting enough for him to shout out some facts later though so- WIN. 

We had moved into our basement earlier in the week to accommodate my need for a work area, so I opened our bilco doors to motivate us with extra sunlight. He was able to finish his daily work up early- praise the heavens! Mon.-Weds. he was dragging and so was I. It was hard for him to stay focused with me having to direct my attention to zoom meetings, phone calls, and my laptop needs. Curiosity? Maybe? 

Thankfully the weather totally flipped and so did any plans on this day. In fact, today was the day where there were no plans. 

Our walk to the park was so helpful to get our bodies back in motion. We were not the only ones, however, who needed to get out- I got nervous about the increased amount of people that started to trickle in so it was short lived. On the way back, I fought the good fight on trying to convince him to take a nap with me- but even better happened. He suggested sitting and looking at the clouds. Oh. My. G. YES!

It was glorious. The sun! The beautiful sun!  

Coparenting needs kicked in. I asked his father earlier in the morning to try and swing by because the weather was perfect to stay outside. It was a nice surprise for him and he visited for a few very essential hours. Both my son and I were able to recharge a bit from the visit- and any conversation needs between dad and I were met. Our divorce papers don’t exactly have a global pandemic clause... I wonder how many will moving forward into our new world... 

DAY #5- Fun Fact Friday

FRRRRRIIIIIIIDDDDAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

What a huge day!

Big moment for him with his first class Zoom Room. Yes I cried! You try sitting and listening to a bunch of 6-7 year olds go around and say that they miss their friends. So innocent and heartbreaking at the same time. It was so good for him and his classmates though.  Modern technology will certainly get us all through this.

Fun Fact Friday was cute.  Every time he finished his remaining work for the day, I gave him a few fun facts. Here are some helpful links if you would like to mix it into your day:

Fun Facts #1

Fun Facts #2

Fun Facts #3

Fun Facts #4 - All things Animals

We truly finished the week up strong. We both finished what work we needed to. The weather was a huge factor again.

OH! Second big moment... We switched the grit on the rock tumbler! Yup- See you in a week rocks.

He and I went on a pretty long nature walk.  It was therapy for the soul for sure.

I was proud of us this week.  This was a tough one settling into a new reality.  It almost felt like Week #1 was a joke and that Week #2 was that person that comes along and says... “No really- I am not joking.” with a stern look.

The schedule skeleton that has been mapped out up until this point works well for him but we are both learning to listen to what our body and minds are really asking us for.  Whether it is time to get moving, time to stop and just soak up the sunbeams in silence, or even be alone where we can. Learning how to identify this and more importantly the skills to communicate it without moaning, fighting, or crying will prove to be one of the best if not the best skill acquired through COVID-19 #MommySchool. 

"That process in itself was an education for me.” - Mark Messier

[jlmckee13]

What the what?!?

I really very much feel like the past week was one, if not all, of the following thoughts: 

-A complete bust.

-A bad/mean prank.

-Eye opening.

-Utterly draining.

-Similar to what the NY Marathon might feel like.

That being said, we did it! We got through it! Praise whatever it is that you praise!

As expected... No! Wait! Who am I kidding?!? I did not expect this week to be this. I really did not. 

The introduction of my work into this routine was quite the adjustment. By that I don’t mean that it was unwelcome or a burden in any way- I simply mean that the energy level required to tackle both was not expected. Something had to give. Increase the coffee- and tuck in early to regroup.

AND FOR THE RECORD... the weather DID NOT HELP! We are all at a place where having 3 out of 5 weekdays be either rain, cold or lacking sunlight is completely unacceptable to successfully push through. I will stop my bitter rant by admitting that- YES- Thursday and Friday were gorgeous- BUT- it was ALMOST too late to appreciate fully. Sheesh!

SO as you can probably gather I hit a huge wall this week. I felt it coming on on Wednesday and then Thursday- BAM! I wish I could sit here and tell you how I avoided it but I didn’t.  I can only let you know how I persevered in down moments and then ended my week on a positive upswing.

Found ways to laugh

Picked something unrelated to accomplish

Made peace with things that fell through the cracks

Made lists of what I was doing

Just went with the flow and let go

Not sure I really need to touch on why this all helped, but I will. So working in the same space as my six year old was not much unlike my current job away from home. The second I started something- “I’m DOONNEEE!” or “Mommy, were we in World War I?” or “Did you know Wario ::jibberish while my head spins::.....?” During nearly every interruption I had to just laugh. I HAD TO! When I was getting a finished math worksheet accidentally slammed into my face because he was excited to have a morning snack now- there was no sense but to turn it now into a running joke. 

Numero Dos- Accomplishing something unrelated. The schoolwork would be there. My work would be there. Similar to a coffee break or when my college mall job would give me 15 minutes to walk to the food court and back, taking some time to do something completely unrelated to 1st grade or work helped me feel sane. So... our new yoga mats arrived at the end of the week.

Making peace. I am no Super Woman. Rock n’ Roll day turned into two days and felt mediocre at best. Space Day was pathetic - Dinosaur Day was a joke. While I know that most of that review is me having higher expectations out of myself, there is no point dwelling. I tried.

MADE LISTS. This for me was the single most beneficial thing I did for MYSELF this week. The moments seem like a blur- but because I did this out of pure habit I was able to end my week by saying to myself- “wow you really did get a good chunk done”. :::pat on the back::: Some lists went to me- some to my bosses but they were really a good reference at the end of the day.

Went with the flow. Admittedly this is a skill that I try to improve any chance I can. I could feel the air was different and adjustments on the fly were needed.  Beautiful moments came from them. An impromptu hang out session on a blanket in the sun. A long nature walk. A “Sure. I will read with you in your tent” shindig.

In the end, I think sometimes you just know when it’s time to pause, breathe, and then start the engine.

My next post will give a more detailed run down of how week #2 went at #MommySchool went. I leave you with this:

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” - Samuel Beckett.

[jlmckee13]

Busy bees all around and running out of gas

Holy moly rounding out the rest of the week at #MommySchool was a peek into the challenges ahead.  Working from home was introduced during the latter part of the week in addition to the need to homeschool/occupy and I found myself running out of gas.

Before I give you a glimpse into how Thursday and Friday went for our institution of higher learning and inspiration, I have decided to give you some ideas on how to keep yourself- the adult in the household- busy.

Merriam-Webster breaks down the definition of “busy” into multiple perspectives, I, however, will focus plainly on: 

1.) adj. engaged in action: occupied

I found myself diving into the whole teacher school-thing and thinking to myself while he was working... “Hey! What about me!?! What should I do?” (I also have the added hiccup of a visitation to his father’s house this weekend. My nerves are all around so staying “occupied” was essential). 

SO why not fully dive into landscaping to pass the time?!? Completely straighten the playroom and organize all matchbox cars appropriately. (Am I going insane already?!)

Here are some takeaways from MY Week #1

**Disclaimer- This is in NO WAY the right thing to do to occupy yourself. I just found this naturally occurring**

O- ORDER-- “Let’s see what Amazon can help with.” “Hmmm... Target delivers groceries?!?” “I really don’t want to leave the house.” “We are supposed to be trying to keep the economy clicking right?” “OMG He read that book so fast!” “Gonna need another one.” “RIGHT?!?”

C- CLEAN-- “No better time than now to make sure all our condiments haven’t expired in the fridge.” “Hhmmm... looks like there was a spill on the one shelf.” “You know what... time to disassemble and disinfect the entire thing.” “HOW’S YOUR MATH COMING?!?”

C- COOK-- Survival mode at it’s fullest. “If I made homemade waffles, I can freeze the leftovers...” “Soups are your friend.” “Carbs make everyone happy.” “Oh god, gym class needs to step it up a notch with those cookies we just made.”

U- UNITE-- One of the best moments of my week was when we touched base with the outside world. Zoom is a miracle worker. ClassTag is keeping the kids together. Oh and that life saving thing called FaceTime will keep the world sane. I had a co-worker “happy hour” which was THE MOST therapeutic adult activity I could have ever had. I had two work related calls which just made me feel normal again for a few hours- which also led to more things to keep me “occupied” - WIN! And when all else failed with #MommySchool we Facetimed with our friends... you know... heard actual voices... saw actual faces- a wonder drug!

P- PREP-- Everything from more #mommyschool ideas, listing how to possibly start throwing work into the mix next week, food for the next meal, writing out what type of items should be my top ten to get through this. I fell into these rabbit holes... DON’T DO IT if you can’t handle the sheer thoughts.... Click at your own risk. ... Are you sure?!  and I’m Sorry!

I- INSPIRE-- So, I kid around a lot. I am a bit of a sarcastic mess but at the end of the day my heart is big. I don’t toot my own horn- ever- I just try and do what I do and move on. That being said, even writing this portion is hard for me... but I think it is important to try and inspire others around you- some how. No matter how big or small- don’t gloat and try and one up, but just do what you do and be proud of it. A big part of this- what you are reading- is my way of trying to keep us all hopeful and get out of this- together. Inspire with ideas, suggestions, actions and words of wisdom. We all have them and it’s time for us all to shine.

E- EDUCATE-- I think one of my more current... or past-life... concerns for myself has been my inability to learn something new- Well no better time than the present. Pick up a book. Download a book. Read or listen to the news (I can not promise this will make you feel smarter). Find a Podcast of your choice and simply try to just get better at being you.    

D- DDDRRRRRRIII....... You know, you guys- NO! That was not what I was going to say! DRIVE was my last word....:::sigh:::... geez. I think this is all a very sobering time for all of us no matter what we do. With that, trying to stay driven- keep motivated and understand the bigger picture in all of this is essential. Often this week, despite my lofty goals to be this force for my son that kept him in line and on task I wanted to sleep in. I wanted to say- ehhh it is definitely gloomy out we should just stay in- I stopped and remembered what my driving force was. Week 2 is quickly approaching. I have a million things to get better at this upcoming week and the only thing that will allow me to do that is managing myself and my will to get through this stronger. I thought this was a good list to start with to help develop a motivation strategy. I think we can all agree the end goal is to get through this without losing our minds, but you may have other personal goals you want to succeed at while you have the time and focus- so I thought I would share.

SOOO How did the week end out at #MommySchool...?

DAY #4

Not my finest moments. I was definitely tired and had some work phone calls bring this deserted island back to reality for a bit.  Luckily, my son is a rockstar and gave me the time I needed to get my things done and we had the added bonus of some video touch bases from his class to brighten the day up. This was very much a Wingin it Thursday.  Yoga from the day before was a hit so it stayed apart of our day- and today’s project was to start his own comic book series. Pot of Lentils for the win! Got some scooter action in when we were able to get outside.

GYM CLASS: The kid wanted to run. So we ran parking spots. Jogs, sprints. Forward. Backward. Not sure it will be requested again.

DAY #5

FINAL PUSH for the week!

I found out the day before that we would not be receiving assignments from the teacher for this day because it was a previously scheduled Pro. Dev. Day. So - can you believe it... I had to figure out the entire day with no help! I know!!

SO I made a final push. This day would be dubbed Fiesta/Fitness/Freaky Friday. (It evolved from a single focus fluidly). This was the hardest day yet emotionally but we regrouped after lunch. (Is it possible to do too much? Yup!)

The day had a ton of Latino/Fiesta Music playing all day.  Lunch was Mexican related- quesadillas and chips and salsa. We made a pinata out of a box and glue and construction paper. Nothing fancy- but fun. We made a luchador mask, as my son loves the movie Nacho Libre. 

Freaky-related: It was super foggy when we woke up so we rushed out of the house to walk the neighborhood in it.  Then my son wanted to wear his stuff backwards on our real walk to school after breakfast.

Fitness-related: We had some Gym class videos to catch up on for the week. Man it got sweaty! (It was also a weird 75 degrees outside). Yoga, PE videos and then he created a new game outside. “Kickball 2″.

Kickball 2 Needs: One soccer ball, one baseball tee (or something to prop ball on) try and kick ball to or over the fence. Hits the fence= 1 point, over the fence = anywhere from 3points and up depending on how impressed he is.  Goal is to be the first person to 10 points ( or more if you like).

Just for the record... I do always try to make these short and sweet. I’ll work on that for next week.  Good luck and stay healthy and OCCUPIED out there! 😉

[jlmckee13]

#MommySchool is in Sesh

Mommy School. What initially kind of sounded like a threat to my child has evolved into a new way of living for us.  

I picked him up from school last Friday knowing I had just written an email to the powers there saying he would not be attending school this week regardless of their decision. Hey! My nerves were gaining momentum.  Thankfully they made the call about 2 hours after my email- and the folder of work accompanied him home.

My goal with this was to try and keep my son on schedule and routine as much as possible. He thrives with it- something I have been keenly aware of since week one of his existence. As I wrapped my head around how I was going to plan our week based on what they assigned, I came up with the following staples for #MommySchool. Outside of waking up normal time and eating breakfast as usual... Here is what we got...

-Walk to “school” aka around the block to get the juices flowin and mind right. 

-Pledge of Allegiance all politics aside it’s how school should start!

-Announcements Note to self: try and keep it fun and frankly gather your thoughts to figure out what exactly you ARE DOING WITH HIM!

-Let the Light In No different than waking yourself, wake up the house. Open any blinds and curtains and get some sunlight in the house.

-MUSIC I don’t know about you but silence will just make me go crazier-faster. Bonus points if you take dance move breaks!

-HIGH FIVES I believe the cool kids call it “positive reinforcement.” (With clean hands of course). Try to do this after every 2-3 activities or responsibility.

-Gym Class Everyday WE will be moving! Until they lock us in (god forbid!) we will go outside everyday. Normally he has P.E. once a week so we are kicking into high gear.

-Recess Ideally we will walk somewhere for recess.

-Look around When all else fails, look around for ideas. He will follow your lead.

With all of the above in mind here is a breakdown of how Days #1-#3 went for us... also I am super mad that I lost my Day #1 video. Now I am fully aware of how to properly save my videos via Instagram Live. Ugh! I was not exactly prepared for a social media element.

Day #1-

Day #1 went according to plan and before I knew it he was done his coursework by 1:30 so I had to tack on some more fun. We walked a mile to recess which was a local playground, baked cookies, and finished up the day with baseball practice... Since that is also at a standstill.

Day #2-

Oh Day #2... St Patty’s Day.

This one got good. Scavenger hunt for shamrocks (endless fun!), art with cotton balls that have been just chillin in the closet for a minimum of 5 years, gym class with parking lot lines, and I downloaded the Mario Odyssey soundtrack (still questioning the decision).

Day #3-

Now we are cookin. He woke ME UP to start the day and was ultra pumped. Me? I could feel my body starting to ask me why I have been moving it so much lately. 13K steps a day isn’t that bad for a day at home - but no complaints this is what I wanted.

YouTube yoga a hit. Basketball nets locked down at nearby school- so there was always the parking lot.

Today was a day where I just embraced it all. All the walking we have been doing led to us “look around”. You start to see things from different eyes- mine are morphing into a first graders.

“Mommy why is there so much trash on the ground?”

“You know... yea why is there?”

“We should clean it because it’s nature and I love nature.”

“Yea.. okay we can do that. How about tomorrow for Nature class...”

Looking forward to finishing out the week strong. Should be interesting with a variety of work conference calls and forecasted rain on deck.

[jlmckee13]

Too much good stuff happening here..

“So Corona...” Let me just count how many times in the past six days some stranger on a very unwelcome dating app on my phone has started our conversation this way. AHHH DELETE! I just can’t with this... I have Day #4 of #MommySchool to prepare for.

My body, which is sore and tired currently, still wakes up at 5:50/6:00 a.m. every morning.  Or maybe it is more my brain- my body doesn’t particularly want to move so I grab my phone like the rest of the world and get motivated while hitting the snooze button once a reasonable time starts to approach. 

I have tried to do those transformation weeks in the past where I pick one thing to change with my morning routine to be more productive than... well this... but I have settled (for now) that this is my “me time.” However, I digress...

So I started this Tumblr thing-a-ma-bob BECAUSEEEEE I got too much good stuff going on here in the ways of #MommySchool  and I feel like it’s time to share.  

First of all, some people might think I am crazy.  “Just let him sleep.” or “This poor kid.” and my favorite “You are walking in the RAIN!?” are just a couple tidbits from the peanut gallery I have had to let roll off of my back.

Second of all, I am fully aware that I am lucky in ways that I can pull this off. My son’s teachers have set us up with a ton of worksheets and work for the next two weeks. Some might get flustered but I say “WIN!” 

Also, on a personal note the two of us live with my parents. This single thirty-something mom is blessed with a roof over our heads until finances improve after my divorce and we make our village work here. Basically they let me be the mom I want to be. A passion that is unmatched in basically every other thing I have going for me.

My work has been great- and there is no added stress there financially or otherwise. I do also get a sense... that we might actually be missing each other. 

Finally, my thought is really... “Why not?”  I am really and truly not doing anything spectacular.  I am:

1.) Keeping our morning routines (Breakfast, vitamins, getting out of pjs)

2.) Following directions from his 1st Grade teachers (I feel like I can handle that...)

3.) Using the internet for ideas. ALOT! (I am NO guru!)

We all do it. Moms. Dads. Grandparents. Guardians. We spend time with these children- they get distracted and we try and use some “adult-wisdom” to bring them back to a task that will keep them distracted long enough to keep us sane. Some of us use cooking lessons. Some of us use video games. No judgement.  On here, however, I plan to let you know what I have pulled out of my magic hat because not only is it helping us get through this #COVIDmadness we have been having fun. 

Stay tuned for a recap from Day 1-3.  I hear my cherub awakening now...