Our family’s plans are to follow our governor’s orders and right now that means sticking to the stay at home order, currently in effect through May 8. After that, there’s a plan in place to open things back up in stages. What do things look like in your area?
Saturday
Like the past month and a half, we spent this weekend at home as a family. We kicked things off on Saturday with some coloring and crafts at home before venturing out on a walk with Sadie while the boys drove in their Power Wheels Jeep.
(Look at those little smirks! And kindly disregard the overgrown, un-brushed hair. I’m not about to attempt cutting the boys’ hair and my desire to spend time styling their hair these days has gone out the window along with my desire to do my own hair. Messy buns for liiiife.)
Our destination was a local marina about a half mile away where the boys love to look for fish, turtles and ducks.
Lots of races in the grass also took place, as usual.
We coerced everyone home with the promise of a stop by a local bakery for curbside pickup of some sweet treats. Bakery 28 is new to the area and after loving the goodies we got from this local spot for my birthday on Monday, we were all excited for more macarons on Saturday.
Once we made it back home, Ryder was ready for an early nap and I think his pre-6:30 a.m. wake-up was to blame. While Ryan fed Ryder lunch and put him down for a nap, I fixed Chase a picnic lunch to enjoy in the stroller while we took Sadie on a three-mile walk around the neighborhood. The 70 degree temperatures and sunshine were calling to me and Chase was all too excited when he saw me putting his lunch together in his “school lunchbox.”
It’s weird things like Chase missing his preschool lunchbox that hit me in the feels right now. Though I expected it, learning that school and all summer camps through July that usually take place at Chase’s preschool have been canceled in our area still stings a bit.
Once we made it back home from our walk, Ryan, Chase and Sadie headed out on the boat and the initial plan was for me to meet them at the dock with Ryder once he was up from his nap. Well, wouldn’t you know, Ryder selected Saturday as the day to nap for more than three hours (something he hasn’t done in months!) so I ended up home bound with our littlest dude. It honestly worked out just fine because I was able to crush some work that I figured I’d have to do after the boys went to bed on Saturday and Sunday nights. A surprise work window was amazing for my productivity and I worked away until Ryder woke up and we had some one-on-one time to play together before the rest of our gang arrived home.
We spent the rest of our evening in the backyard, grilling burgers and chicken sausage while the boys ran around in pajamas (Chase) and mostly naked (Ryder).
Ryder’s look can be attributed to a dirty diaper that went up the back of his sweatshirt while he was riding his Plasma Car inside. I wasn’t about to put him in new clothes so close to bath time, so rain boots (his choice) and a diaper worked juuust fine.
Ryan and I high-fived ourselves when we managed to have both boys in bed by 7:30 and we headed back downstairs to watch Pitch Perfect together. Our love for a cappella music is strong and it’s one of our favorites!
Sunday
I was up around 5:15 a.m. on Sunday for no reason other than the fact that my brain wouldn’t turn off. I decided to go with the flow and eased into the day with coffee and my devotional before heading into the garage for a quick 30-minute workout before the boys were up.
I recently took advantage of the free 90-day trial of the Peloton app and selected a 30 minute upper body strength workout with Robin and loved it!! Her energy was awesome and the workout was fast-paced and exactly what I was looking for on Sunday morning. By the time I was done, both boys were making noise in their rooms so Ryan and I got them up and then Ryan had the idea to do a “special stroller pajama breakfast” walk… aka his way of trying to coerce the boys to actually stay in the stroller while we took Sadie on a walk around the neighborhood.
His plan worked and we managed to cover 3 miles without the boys asking to get out of the stroller which is no small feat these days since Ryder is on a bit of a stroller boycott at the moment. (Most of our daily walks take place with him in the convertible push-trike or Power Wheels Jeep or even scooting along on Chase’s scooter.)
We spent the rest of the morning digging into breakfast 2.0 (banana bread protein pancakes!) and gathering up everything we needed for a day on the lake! We made it out on the water early enough that it was still a bit chilly so we took our time heading up the lake and found a little beach about 45 minutes north where we dropped anchor.
Since we packed plenty of food, water, towels and sunscreen, we made the most of our Sunday on the water and hung out for a few hours. It was so, so nice to take some time to relax and enjoy the sun even if the water was waaay too cold for this former Florida girl to swim.
Ryder was in my camp and avoided the frigid water but Sadie went all in and Ryan and Chase even braved the water and splashed around a bit.
(My 22 week bump + My 22 month old baby)
We puttered home in the middle of the afternoon and commented that it almost felt like a holiday weekend on Lake Norman because there were so many boats out on the water. Clearly 80-degree temperatures and social distancing make for a perfect storm for boating.
Ryder ended up falling asleep in my lap on our way home and since he woke up happy and energetic we figured he would fight us big-time if we tried to make him take another nap on Sunday so we just rolled with it and ended up enjoying some snacks and stories in our screened-in porch before transitioning to the front yard where we set up the mini sprinkler splash pad for the boys which occupied them until dinner time.
We rounded out our weekend with family movie night, take out pizza and fresh strawberries and ice cream. Yum! Ryan and I also managed to get the boys into bed at a decent time again and we both worked for about an hour on our computers before calling it a night and climbing into bed to hang out and read. After a couple of duds, I think I finally found a winner with my latest novel. I recently started reading The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane and am enjoying it so far. I loved The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by the same author and have high hopes this book will continue to be a winner.
Now I’m off to get this Monday rolling. I hope you all have a good Monday and a wonderful week!
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This looks like such a beautiful weekend, Julie and those macaroons look incredible! I definitely can relate to how you’re feeling with social distancing and all that’s going on right now, I feel very similar and it’s hard to know what to believe and follow with all the mixed messaging we receive. I’m hoping that soon things will start to take a more positive turn so all of us can enjoy the summer amongst friends & family again.
We’ve made the choice to hang out with a select group of people during the whole of quarantine. Ourselves and a few of our friends just decided at the beginning of it all that we would continue to hang out as long as we didn’t exhibit symptoms. And I made the choice to see family this weekend. We’ve all practiced social distancing since the beginning, and my sister and I just finally decided to risk it and see each other this weekend.
You just have to do what feels right and comfortable for you.
Here in Portland, OR I’ve noticed people starting to be more lax as well. It’s only going to get worse as things start to open up. What people don’t seem to understand is that just because the government is allowing places to open, doesn’t mean the risk is gone. More people will get sick and there will be big spikes in cases. The purpose of opening up is for the economy. I don’t really understand why people don’t get it, but it is what it is.
There was one family in our neighborhood that we consistently hung out with the whole time. Since both of our families were quarantined, we were not too worried. Our kids played together every day, so it was a lifesaver. Most of our neighbors are hanging out now. Since it’s been so gorgeous, there have been lots of ways to safely do it outside. We don’t live near family so that is not an issue, but if we did, realistically we would probably see them. We live in Greenville, SC, and it’s really not a “hot spot” here. If I lived in one, maybe I would feel differently. Honestly, you just kind of have to do what works for you, within reason. I feel like so many more people have been exposed to this than we will ever know, and if we haven’t been, we will. At some point, life needs to resume, although it may look a little different for a while.
I live in Northern California, it seems like people may be relaxing a bit? I think atleast starting to see family and friends again. We haven’t been “in public” since like March 10thish, my baby has a lung disease so we are obviously staying put. I am gonna watch and see how the next few weeks play out as people resume normalcy and see if there is a surge in cases or not.
Those diaper and boot pictures of Ryder are the cutest ever!
We haven’t seen my parents in at least six weeks and they live 15 minutes away. This Friday we are going to celebrate Mother’s day in their backyard. I don’t plan to hug them or even to get within six feet of them but I still can’t wait! I have one friend who lives completely alone and she has had a really difficult time during all of this. I made the choice to go on multiple outside walks with her and it really helped both of us. I definitely want to be safe but I also want to stay sane! One of my friends has only gone to her mailbox or front porch since March 12th. There is no way my boys and I could have done that. We are outside every chance we get and it’s still really hard for us. We’d be in BIG trouble if we could only walk to the mailbox. I have also worn a mask in the Starbucks drive thru line many times. I loved the pumpkin cold brew in the fall…now I love the sweet cream cold brew! My four year old has some developmental delays including a speech delay. He is the most insane climber so indoor and outdoor playgrounds are very missed right now! And preschool! Shadowing him all day every day for two months has been really hard. I am lucky if he sleeps 11 hours a day do that’s 13 hours of following him…and nonstop movement! But if I had a full time job I would be in big trouble because I can’t even keep up with laundry!
Robin is the best peloton instructor!!!
Those macaroons look too good to be true. I wish we had a good bakery here in northwest Ohio. Also, thanks for the recommendation on the free 90 trial, I have been on a fitness slump during the stay at home order so that will be a good mix of pace. I agree with you & have been trying to follow the stay at home order like I have been the past month & half even with the order becoming a bit lax this month. I ventured out for a quick grocery & Lowe’s trip for essentials over the weekend. One thing I have seen changing now vs the few times I was out running essential errands over the past month & half is much less social distancing & more masks. I think the masks are giving people the sense of protection so less are staying 6 far away from me and actually are very close like in the past during checkout lines & aisles. I wear a mask too but I try very hard to try to maintain the 6 ft or more distance so I wish others would do so too. I just came to the conclusion it was my fault to run errands during a very hot & gorgeous weekend & instead will try to run those errands during a weekday. Also, my neighbors have been having people over for small cookouts & gatherings outside but I have been refraining thus far. Kind of jealous but also want to do my part too.
Lake Lanier was packed too! Lots of tubing and water fun taking place. Too cold for me but I fell off my SUP thanks to a bIg wave and in I went!
I’m torn with all the openings in Georgia…getting my haircut tomorrow and I’m nervous but this pixie hair girl is super shaggy and being in the office it doesn’t look professional to me.
I love that he wanted to use his preschool lunchbox. Barrett used his a few weeks ago at our dining room table and it was so adorable but also kind of broke my heart like you said. I think I’ve really been grieving lately all the preschool time they’ve missed. They were so jipped 🙁 Look how cute your baby belly is! I can’t wait to follow along through this next pregnancy! You’re giving me baby fever!
In South Africa we’ve gone from a level 5 lockdown to a level 4 lockdown, which means some people can go back to work and we are now allowed 3 hours (6am – 9 am) to exercise in the street. After 5 weeks of complete lockdown, people seem to just have had enough and many are disregarding the lockdown rules. It’s frustrating because we could easily go back to a level 5 if things get out of hand. And with more and more people doing what they want, it might be very likely that we go back. It seems like everyone everywhere is just struggling – I wish people would just do the right thing and stay at home but then I also understand why they are wanting to get out and continue with normal life. Have a great week Julie <3
I think we have to remember that staying home was to flatten the curve, meaning to make sure our healthcare system didn’t get overwhelmed with patients, not to completely stop or eradicate the virus. Here in Jacksonville, our mayor has expanded hours at the beach, but still not sunbathing or playing in one spot. Restaurants are open but only 25% capacity and they must wear masks. To me it seems like a responsible way to open things back up.
We had a family across the street that we agreed to be quarantine buddies with, which I’m grateful because it helped keep my son happy and active. We clean their bikes and scooters, and no one is allowed inside houses.
Stay strong about staying home! We are in MA and are totally isolating from everyone including my parents who desperately miss their grandchildren. I watch our neighbors have friends over and it makes me furious. It’s hard, but necessary right now.
Agreed! People might be feeling antsy but it’s still important to stay home and distance. This doesn’t go away just because we want it to. I think it’s also important to model the right behavior for our communities and neighbors. Essential workers (both medical and non-) are depending on us.
It looks like y’all made the most of the quarantine weekend! Everyone is getting lax here in south Charlotte too. I’m totally going to make our 4 year old’s lunch in his preschool lunchbox this week. That’s such a great idea!
Yes!!! I said the same thing this weekend. It seems like everyone is so lax about the social distancing now. It’s crazy! I’ve been distant-visiting my family for all of our sanity, but we keep it at the bare minimum and respect the distance.
I live in Lancaster, PA and we’re still following the same orders. Part of the state opened up, which I think is making everyone EVERYWHERE feel like the virus is easing up. Stay healthy!!
I just read Winter Cottage and Spring House by Mary Ellen Taylor and The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey (all on Kindle Unlimited) and soo good!
I have definitely noticed people relaxing as well. We are still staying home except to get groceries (we wear a mask) and only visit family virtually, except on my mom’s birthday a few weeks ago (we stayed 6 ft apart and did not hug 🙁 ). I finished some great books over the weekend and did some small projects around the house. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins was fantastic, highly recommend!
I’ve been doing the Peloton free trial too & love it! You’ve GOT to try Jess Simms’s classes–her strength classes are awesome. She has made me a “classes” person when I used to hate them.
We were on the lake Sunday too – I couldn’t believe how many people were out there! The Lake Norman police boats were out in full effect!