Month: March 2020

So I know there’s lot of homeschooling parents offering tips and tricks and I by no means am a homeschooling mom. I am a hands on crafty mom though and I love schedules! Day 1 of figuring out this e-learning situation and helping my kids homeschool was a HOT MESS!!!!! I watched a YouTube video of one family saying Day 1 mom was all excited and ready to go and day 2 they were just like “yeah, whatever”.

Me??? I was the Opposite!!! Day 1 I was a hot mess! The teachers were slowly sending us messages with assignments and links and my kids were so confused as I was. Thankfully my oldest is in 7th grade so she’s used to doing all this and knew her logins and I just had to tell her what subject to check. My 2nd grader was not, she wasn’t sure all login information because it’s normally preloaded on the school iPads. There may have been a point where we both cried out of frustration and we stepped away and took a mental break!

Day 2 though…..much better! We set up a plan the night before and made a schedule to try and have an idea when we should do what. This worked out great and the teachers got assignments to us faster and we moved through the day with much more ease. Below is a picture of our make shift schedule, it’s flexed here and there because we have had to run out for an errand or two. (just car ride errands no where to expose my kids) Overall this has worked and the kids typically have been done working on school work by lunch. So after lunch the kids will have “Home Ec” time to bake, sew, craft, or they have some screen free time playing.

While I’ve let some of our learning time shift and it’s depended on when teachers have sent assignments we’ve been consistent with our wake up and bed time as if they were in school! We’ve kept our meal times close to normal and every day we’ve gotten up, gotten dressed and acted as if everything is normal! That the best thing for everyone is to try and keep things as close to your normal as possible. We’ve had our moments of frustration and I’m sure it’ll continue to happen, but I’ve done my best to be calm with my girls and if we need a breather we step away from the stress and breath! Each day will be different, but there’s a whole virtual world of people going through the same thing, we are not alone! Lets lift each other up where we can and we will get through this chapter of life!!!!

I attended mass this past weekend without the kids for what I didn’t realize would be the last mass I could attend for several weeks. The Father(priest) we had this weekend covering for our usual Father who was out of town. This Father was also there to tell us about a great organization called Cross Catholic Outreach which is a great organization that helps those in need throughout the world with food, medicine and other resources! Check it out if you’ve got time.

The main part of his sermon that has stuck with me since Saturday is to “spread the love!” He spoke on lent and how many give up things like sweets and video games, but he suggested along with this we must use this time to reflect within and at how we can spread the love to the world. The sacrifice we make for lent is supposed to be a reminder to us each of the sacrifices Jesus went through for us at this time! Why did Jesus sacrifice for us? Because of his love for us! This I feel was the Fathers point in reminding us to spread the love!

As each day passes I keep hearing of the insanity going on and everyone hoarding toilet paper and other supplies, store shelves are empty in so many areas it’s sad! I know that we all want to stock up for fear we can’t leave our homes but some of these items there is no way we’d use them in 2-3 weeks! Which is unfortunate that we’ve hoarded these items that may go spoiled when others could use them now. The one that gets me is people buying all the items labeled WIC because some people rely on those items and now can’t get them and will lose those certificates. If you see a square with a W in black on it by the price on shelves or the WIC orange stickers and can get an alternate please do so.

Okay, so somewhat sidetracked there! Not really as that was relevant as well! I implore everyone as we navigate these crazy times to please SPREAD THE LOVE!!!! Only take what you need to handle the next two to three weeks and watch out for those who can’t afford to substitute it to more expensive choices! While we aren’t supposed to be physically together we can still spread the love in other ways and share tips to make it through this challenging time! If you are a praying person now is definitely a time to do that as well! We will get through this chapter and hopefully come out stronger!

I want to take a quick moment to remind anyone who stumbles over to this page to not forget yourself!

Sounds a bit silly, but you see people talking about self care and self love all the time and for good reasons! It’s very important to remember that even in the craziest times what you need matters too. Even if it’s as simple as a late night bubble bath with a good book! For some it’s being sure to get that daily work out in! Others, it could be bigger then that. Whatever it is for you to make you feel refreshed and ready for what life throws out at you, don’t forget to do it!

Self care can be different for each of us, but take a moment to think “what will turn this day around?!?” Then make it happen! For me most of the time what makes my day is a good bubble bath, but I also love getting my morning work out done and when I don’t I feel derailed. Sometimes though just completing one to do works or a few rows of crochet too! Which aren’t typical “self care” ideas when I say those words but it’s what I need to feel grounded again!

We tend to lose our self’s with our family, jobs and life, so for whoever needs to hear this “it’s okay to put you first too!”