Hair Treatment

My hair type is normal to oily, which means I can't go two weeks between washing my hair, despite that length of time being a trend right now.  Even with dry shampoo, I make it just about two days before I need to re-wash.  I've never colored or dyed my hair, it's naturally wavy/curly and it's relatively thin so I try to find shampoos that are designed for adding volume or smoothness or clarifying.

(How it naturally looks:)

I use the Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner which I either buy from JC Penney or on Amazon.  About every 5 washes or so, or after swimming in the summer, I try to use Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo.


I bought these Pantene Intense Rescue Shots from Publix several months ago and I use just a dab from a tube every few washes.  I apply it from the middle of my hair to the ends.  I really focus on the right side of my hair which is oddly the most curly/wavy side, and the most likely to become frizzy and out of control.  The directions on the package say to use a whole tube, but I imagine that would make my hair look too greasy.


I have gone back and forth with several products trying to tame my frizz.  Most recently, I've used the Color Wow Supernatural Spray.  My hair stylist gave me the rest of this bottle when I got my hair cut in January.  It works pretty well.  It lasts for about four shampoos, and I don't use it religiously since I'm trying to bide my time before I get more.  It's fairly pricey at $28.00 on Amazon.  I intend to buy this from my hair stylist though once salons open back up in our state.  She was kind enough to give me the rest of the bottle, so I'd like to support her rather than buying it from Amazon.

I bought this Mirah Hair Oil several months ago and wasn't too sure how to use it, so for a while, it just sat.  I periodically applied it to my hair after styling, but if I was over-zealous (read: two or three drops rubbed all over my hair), my hair looked greasy and I felt like I defeated the whole purpose of washing, drying, and styling my hair that day and it guaranteed that I'd have to wash it the next day.
However, this past week, I tried applying one to two drops when my hair is air drying and still damp.  This has seemed to work well and it has helped in the styling process.

I also use this Crack hair creme from Amazon.  It's a leave-in conditioner that I apply when my hair is damp.  I usually apply this at the same time as the hair oil.  Then I let my hair air dry and I straighten it or pull it into a bun after it's dry.

This combo of hair oil and Crack creme seem to be the best combo.  I'm excited to see how this holds up in the summer when the humidity arrives.

So far, it's doing well. This is how I looked after grocery shopping in 80 degree weather. Trust me, its usually way more frizzy!

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

32 Things for 32 Years

Today is my birthday and I'm 32!  Being in my thirties is still weird to me.  Mainly because I had always anticipated that being in the '30s meant that I was "getting old" however I don't feel any differently than I did when I was in my 20s.  So it's kind of a mind battle to create the new normal that being in my '30s really isn't that weird at all.

I thought I'd come up with 32 random facts/interests/things about myself.

1. I love to bake.  It's definitely a stress relief for me.

2. I really like the Netflix series "Longmire."  In fact, after Aaron and I finished watching it together, I immediately started rewatching it by myself the next day.

3. I love the "Cat Who" mystery series of books by Lilian Jackson Braun.  I don't think I've made it through the whole series yet, but I can read them in any order and still love them.

4. Bugs (all types) creep me out and it's taking a big leap of courage to hang onto to Noah's classroom set of caterpillars to help them become butterflies.

5. My hair color naturally turned 100% dark brown this past year.  It altered my appearance so much that one of my best friends didn't recognize me when I met up with her last summer.

6. I'd rather be at the beach than any other place.  Not just any beach-- my family beach property.  This is where I feel most relaxed.

7. I love photography, but beat myself up too much at the sharpness and focus of images that I only take pictures of my own children or landscapes.

8. I like to kickbox and would love a kickboxing bag in our shop as a work-out prop.

9. I hate messes although I understand they're a part of life-- especially when children are involved.

10. I prefer order. A tidy desk and bed can certainly change my perception for the day because I feel like I can breathe better.

11. I hate spending money.  Unless it's on other people, then I love it.  This is probably one of the reasons why Aaron and I get along so well.

12. I prefer the end result and really don't enjoy the journey all that much.  This is especially true of working out. I hate the process, but love the results seen after consistency.

13. I am incredibly modest.  I feel very very uncomfortable if I'm not overly modest in my clothing.  This works in my favor as a teacher because I know I'll never be called in for dress code violations.

14. I LOVE being a wife.  Aaron and I really are best friends and that makes our marriage so enjoyable.  We do have our quarrels and arguments, but we ALWAYS make-up that same day.  We are very very different, personality-wise.  We complement each other very well because of this.  We truly love each other and love being together so much.  Our marriage is unlike so many of our friends' marriages and for this, we are grateful.

15. I love being a mom and think that three kids is our perfect number.  I so enjoy having my sons close in age and it's like they have a built-in playmate which can be great!  They are also great helpers for their little sister and can get down on her level to play pretend-make-believe games with her.

16.  Having a daughter is a true blessing.  Although she never wore headbands very often as a baby, she's finally getting to the age that she wants her hair put up in "Elsa braids" and wants to play dress-up.

17. My favorite color is blush pink.

18.  My fingernails are naturally long. I have never had a fake-set put on at a salon.  I used to bite my fingernails terribly short, but started growing them out and now keep them fairly long.

19. I go back and forth between having long hair and short hair.  I've never truly found my "sweet spot" for haircut length.

20.  My love languages are "words of affirmation" and "quality time."

21. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 3 years.

22. I cannot drive a stick shift.

23.  My two dream vehicles are a black Ford Explorer (2013, which I have) and a matte black Jeep Wrangler 4-door (which I don't have and don't anticipate getting).

24. Problem solving is a forte of mine, but not always appreciated by those with the problems I'm trying to solve.  It's a struggle for me to listen without instantly trying to create a solution in my head.  I'm learning that everyone doesn't always want a solution-- sometimes we just want to be heard.

25. When I'm by myself with my kiddos, I do not drive on the interstate.  I will purposely take the longer way to get to any stores (pre-quarantine) so that I can take back roads.  This is mainly due to driving anxiety, and I figure if I'm on a side road, I can turn around or get help easier than if I was on the interstate in a one-way direction.

26. Sleeping-in doesn't happen much-- even pre-kids.  I'm a morning person which means that by 9:00 o'clock at night, I'm mentally checked out.

27. I have a love-hate relationship with naps.  I love the rest but I hate feeling like I've wasted part of a day.

28. I'm a rule follower through and through.

29.  Out of the three siblings, I believe I am the most protective.

30.  I do stand up for myself and for what is right, but I also feel so terrible if I hurt anyone's feelings.

31. My dad and I drove onto the set of "Lost" while living in Hawaii.  This was accidental and we actually thought it was a real plane crash until a member of the TV crew stopped our truck and told us it was a TV show scene.

32. After growing up wanting to be a busy-body and be on the go constantly, I have discovered that I'm truly a homebody and really would prefer being in my home with my family than anywhere else.



Next year I'll try to think of new things!  It would be fun to have lists with no repeats.  I love reading these posts when others do them, so this was fun!

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Foyer Light Update

In the process of making our home exactly how we'd like it to be, I really wanted to change out the foyer light.  The house was built in 2000 and really did look like it.  The year 2000 was piggy-backing off of the trends of the '90s-- lots of yellow gold light fixtures.  In fact, we still have four ceiling fans that are accented in yellow gold that I'd eventually like to change out or at least paint over the faux gold parts.

The foyer light was a glass chandelier with yellow gold accents, chains, and ceiling medallion.  I've never been a fan of it but haven't looked into changing it until this year.

Aaron and I have been looking for a foyer light on Amazon and in Home Depot (pre-quarantine) for the last four months or so.  I'd find a light that I liked but it wouldn't appeal to him.  Then he'd find a light he liked and it wouldn't be my taste.  So we've had three or so lights saved in our Amazon cart, and I've also priced out similar models in Home Depot (again, pre-quarantine) and had a few pictures on my phone camera roll of lights we semi-agreed on.  :)

After being home for weeks on end, the bug just finally got to me that I really wanted to change out this light fixture since I would be seeing this light for who knows how many more months on end?  I was reading a random blog post about someone's guest room make-over and they hadn't chosen a light fixture yet, but had said that they were contemplating a wooden beaded chandelier.  Something clicked and I knew this was the direction I wanted to head.

I've been a fan of wooden beaded chandeliers but never really thought I could find a space to put them in my home since we're die-hard ceiling fans in the bedrooms kind of people.  I'm not sure why I never viewed out foyer as having the potential to hold a wooden beaded chandelier, but I'm so glad the thought made it's way to my mind.  I began pursuing these chandeliers on Amazon, keeping in mind that I had a strict budget I wanted to stick to.  I detest spending more than $100 on a light fixture and I absolutely wanted to make sure it was less than $114 which is how much the latest light fixture cost that Aaron liked.  I also didn't really want the light fixture to be too big.  My goal is to keep the living room looking light and open, so I didn't want to weigh it down with a huge fixture.


I found a chandelier I liked.  It was on the smaller side, which also meant a smaller price tag (and under $114!).  It had white wooden beads and a slate-gray metal band and chain, which would coordinate well with our front door.  I told Aaron that's the fixture I wanted and he was on board.  I ordered it and it arrived last week.  On Saturday, Aaron's friend and coworker helped him install it since a tall ladder would be involved and I'm no good at electrical work or being very helpful or effective at steadying a ladder. :)

I LOVE the way it turned out.  It does hang lower than the previous light, which I thought would be an issue but the ceiling is so high in the room that it works out well and is still much higher than Aaron's head, so I feel like it will be fine.  The boys flipped out and loved it so much that they said it looked like we lived in a whole new house.  Well okay then. :)

Now that I've had Aaron install four light fixtures in the past two months, I'll probably hold off on changing out our laundry room light or painting the accents in the rooms with the yellow-gold fans. :)

Our next projects will be huge.  So huge that neither I nor Aaron will tackle them alone.  So we're bringing in a contractor.  We plan to remodel our master bath (something we've talked about since buying the house 4 years ago), and to repair our deck boards outside since the deck is several years old and the boards are rotting.  We're playing outside almost everyday (weather permitting) and need to make sure it's a safe space for kids to run around.  We'll be signing contracts on the work that we want done and it'll get started in late May and be done by early June.  The time will pass anyway, so I guess it's wise to make improvements that we'll see a return on whenever we do sell one day.


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Just some Feelings

Some days, I seriously go between being okay, maybe not even realizing my life is that much different, and all of sudden just wanting to cry because everything feels so heavy.

In some ways, being forced to stay home is a sweet experience.  I am spending SO much time with my kids, and I literally prayed for that.  Is it weird that God answered a prayer through a pandemic?  I don't know.  He answered it, so I must count it as a blessing.

Being home has allowed me and my best friends to reconnect via Zoom-- something we might never have tried if we weren't working from home and utilizing things available to us for our jobs, and discovering that we could also use those technologies outside of work related things.  This week, all 3 of us got on a Zoom call and next week we plan to add two more of our friends and do it again.

Part of me doesn't truly feel like all that much has changed.  Sometimes, my mind gets tricked enough into thinking this is summer.  Aaron would normally be at work in the summer, and he's working now.  My mom would normally work during the summer, and she's working now.  My younger brother would normally work in the summer, and he's working now.  My dad would be off since he drives a bus, so he's off now.  My mother-in-law would meet up with us for play dates since her job is caring for Avery and Avery is home with me, so she's free during the day and we really do get together and let the kids play at her house or we fly kites at church and these things would also happen during the summer.  She checks her pool temperature to see if it's warm enough to swim, and she does that in the summer too, so it's not all that strange.

At other times, I'm incredibly sad at everything that has changed.  I'm sad for my children who don't get to finish out the school year with their teachers and friends.  We had such AWESOME teachers this year and I'm so sad that their school year ended so abruptly.  Noah won't get a kindergarten graduation, and that makes me sad.  Of course I'm going to have one for him here at home, but it won't just quite be the same.  I'm so sad that my first year of teaching and ending the year with my students is gone.  I'm sad for every student who didn't have a safe home to be at for four months.  I'm sad for the seniors who miss out on prom (that I was planning), and graduation ceremonies.  I'm sad for the brides who have to postpone weddings.  I'm sad for those who are pregnant and have to face childbirth and postpartum stays without their loved ones or visitors.  I'm sad for our soccer season at church that was cut short after two games, although we do plan to try to continue our season in May.  I'm sad for those who were told they weren't essential and aren't earning money right now.  I'm sad that I worry about grocery shopping and whether or not there will be food in the stores.  I'm sad that I can't just aimlessly wander around areas to be able to spend some time to myself, which as an introvert, I need.

I miss going to the library.  I miss going to church.  I miss driving into counties without worrying about their virus count.  Sometimes it's all so weird and odd and strange and seems like a dream.  Sometimes my breath catches when I realize it's not a dream at all and that we'll probably see the effects of this for months, maybe years. 

I know that God is still in control.  I know that in reality, none of this matters at the end of time.  I know this is a blip on our radar of life and that years from now we'll think "we lived like that for x number of months/years.  It really wasn't that long."  However, in the day to day drawn-out hours of living in this experience, it feels long and sad. 

These are just my thoughts and a way for me to process what's going on around me.  It wasn't intended to make anyone all the more sad.  Just a coping mechanism.


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Not Exactly How I Planned My Monday

I have a love-hate relationship with Slime.  I love how excited my kids are to play with it, but I hate everything else about it.  I hate the way it smells.  I hate its texture.  I hate how it changes texture overtime.  I hate the sounds it makes.  Etc. Etc. Etc. 

But because I love my children and I love seeing joy in their eyes and on their faces, I bought a 6-pack of slime in the party-favor section of Target way back in February.  I planned to bring it as a surprise to our beach rental house but once the vacation was cancelled, I got out the slime and let the kids play with it at home.  They've done a pretty good job of keeping it at the table and bottling it back up when they're finished.  Then we store it far back on the kitchen counter so Avery can't get it without our permission.  On Monday, Michael asked to play with slime while I was doing some school-work and after he had finished his school work.  I agreed and he was elated!  

Not long afterwards, Avery asked it she could play too.  Sure, no problem, I thought.  I was at the table with them and could see her playing with it.  I saw her lift it up to her hair but I didn't think anything more about it because I assumed it would be the slippery texture it normally is.  Then I heard a very gross "rip" sound and looked over at her to see that she had tried to pull the slime out of her hair but had only managed to get a quarter-sized amount which proceeded to rip out hair in the process.  I knew if I didn't get to her right away, that she'd pull the whole mass out and rip her hair and most likely her scalp too.  

Once I got to her head, I realized the slime had seized up and was no longer slippery but massively sticky.  She had massaged her hair into her slime and it was all tangled up and layered within itself. 

I quickly took off her shirt and pants and grabbed mayonnaise and then Googled "how to get slime out of hair" to make sure that mayo would work.  I kneaded the mayo all into the slime and worked on it for a few minutes to get it out of her hair.

Then I gave her a bath to rinse the mayo out of her hair.  Of course she had just had a bath the day before, which is why she's in a Ninja Turtle towel here-- because her own towel was in the wash.

I then combed out her hair to make sure the slime was all the way out.

So we ended the ordeal with Avery having some very-conditioned hair which will probably warrant another rinse-out tonight.  She also had a slight bald area on her head where the slime got some of the hair.

This certainly wasn't how I intended by Monday to go.  At lunchtime.  When food is in the oven.  And Michael's blood sugar is dropping to "near-low" levels.  Did I mention it was Monday?!?

So.... things can only get better from here.

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Easter Weekend 2020

We had a relatively low-key Easter weekend-- that's probably not a shock to anyone. :)   Aaron was off on Good Friday, so he and my dad teamed up to take the boys fishing.  They took Michael in the morning, leaving around 6:00am.  They caught four fish while they were out.  Noah and I did some school work and had a nice morning at the house with Avery.  The guys arrived home around noon so my dad could head over to the church building for a little while.  Having the boys come home at lunch allowed us all to spend time together in the early afternoon.  My dad came back around 3:30 to pick up Noah and Aaron for the evening fish.  They ended up catching 11 fish.  Michael and Avery and I had a relaxing afternoon and evening together.  Michael picked dinner for us-- we had leftover frozen pizza and I made blue-box mac-and-cheese and we ate on the deck.  Michael and Avery played outside for a while and then we ended our night by watching "Onward."  This is a super cute movie that we've probably watched a solid twenty times in the last week.  It gives us a break from Frozen 2, so I'm all in.  The guys arrived home around 7:30pm and it was nice for both fishing trips to have gone well and to have fish caught during both excursions.

On Saturday, we took it pretty easy in the morning.  Aaron and I cleaned out our office last weekend, so this weekend we tackled lots of laundry and clearing out Avery's room. For a while, I kept adding furniture pieces to her room and eventually it became a place where there was hardly any walking space.  We might have had two to three square feet to walk around.  Last weekend Aaron removed the pack-and-play and we just leapt into having her sleep in her "big girl bed."  She actually has done awesome and for some of the nights has actually slept past her normal wake-up time-- probably because she's more comfortable in the big bed.  Removing the pack-and-play gave us more room, but it was still crowded.  I moved out a smaller piece of furniture this weekend and relocated it to the living room.  I tend to stick more with the minimalist approach in my main living areas of the house, but sometimes this makes it look like we're moving since there's so much empty space.  So I knew adding a small piece of furniture to the living room wouldn't be terrible.  I also rearranged some of the pieces in Avery's room so it didn't look like things were totally crammed in there.  Avery's bed doesn't have a headboard or foot board and we had kind of been using two bed rails as a side rail and as a foot board when the bed was on it's frame.  However, in the fall we let my mom borrow the bed frame, and she said she'd hang onto it for us until we asked for it back, so we've just had the box spring and mattress on the floor.  This means that the bed isn't very raised off the ground, so we didn't really need to have a bed rail at the foot of the bed.  We moved that bed rail to the head of the bed because there's an outlet right at one of the pillows and I have a lamp and a diffuser plugged into that outlet and didn't want little two-year-old fingers to find it and play with it.  So we transferred the bed rail to the head of the bed to act as a head-board.  We kept the side-rail in place to act like the side of the crib and pack-and-play-- since she's used to having some barrier at her side.  The room looks so much bigger with just moving the spare piece of furniture and the bed rails!

After this project, we rewarded ourselves with drive-through lunches (Cook-Out for us and McDonald's for the kids-- their choice).  We  planned to attempt naps after lunch, but Avery took hers while we were in the car, so it kind of defeated the purpose of the rest of us getting to rest.  We hung around the house the rest of the day and played outside for a bit.  We were told to expect bad weather on Easter, so we started preparing for bad weather by closing up the sand-box and making sure items on the deck were secure.

I bought little Easter treats for the kids several weeks ago at Target and hid them in the garage until Saturday night.  I ordered one extra gift for each of them from Amazon, and I really didn't intend for those gifts to come by Easter but they did, so I hid those in the garage too. I don't really have Easter baskets for them, so I just separated out the treats on the couch.  Michael got a Pokemon plush toy, Noah got a battery-operated garbage truck that makes noise and has lights, and Avery got some new outfits for her baby doll.  All three kids got bubbles, a kite, sunglasses, and a chalk roller with stencils.  Overall, it was very simple but very sweet.

On Easter morning, I woke up and attended our "drive up" Sonrise Service. Aaron & the kids were awake before I left but we figured it would be torture for Avery to see the slide from inside the van and not be able to get out and play on it so Aaron stayed home with them.  Our service was well attended- 8 cars.  

Afterwards, I came home to a breakfast of "Sister Schubert's sausage rolls" and coffee. We watched our church sermon on Facebook Live at 10:00. I made a lunch of tomato soup & grilled cheese, then we all took naps. 

I made homemade brownies in the afternoon and Aaron pressure cooked a whole chicken for dinner. He marinated it in teriyaki sauce and we paired it with rice and peas and carrots. We watched Onward a couple more times. All three kids and Aaron & myself really like it! Later, we read a fantastic Easter book for children called "The Garden, The Curtain & The Cross." It explains the Easter story SO well and the pictures are beautiful. 

This Easter sure looks different from the past. We prepared more for severe weather  for overnight, so I had the hall bathroom stocked with our helmets, shoes, diabetes supplies, and leather belts to strap the kids to the toilet if necessary (since it's bolted to the floor). We will try to conduct an Easter egg hunt in our own backyard one afternoon this week in between school work at home. I will also attempt to take nice photos of the kids outside. Avery was given some pretty Easter dresses as hand-me-downs, so I'd like to photograph her in them. 

We're taking it one day at a time and that's really all anyone can do. 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

A Summary of our Strange New Times

This post is designed to give me something concrete to look back upon years from now and remember how odd these days really were.

-Alabama stay home order is now extended to April 30th
-Gas prices are $1.67
-School builds are closed, so students must do online/homeschool.
-Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.
-Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
-Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. (including clothing retailers and salons). 
-Restaurants closed (can utilize curb-side pick-up or drive-through.  Governor encourages us to support restaurants in this way)
-Daycare centers closed unless the children have parents who are essential workers.  This mass daycare closure means several hundred parents have to skip out on going to work because they must stay home with their children
-Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
-Entire sports seasons cancelled.
-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
-Weddings, graduations, proms, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
-No funerals.
-No masses, churches are closed.(FB live church,drive-up Easter Sonrise Service)
-No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, 10 or more, now no gatherings.
-Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
-Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers. (people make cotton masks)
-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
-Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.
-Shelves are bare.
-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
-Fines are established for breaking the rules in some places (curfews established) $500 fine
-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
-Press conferences daily from the President and the governors. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
-Government incentives to stay home.

-Government provides stimulus check to those making less than $65K per year.  ($1,200 per adult.  $500 per child) (Good time to invest in the stock market if you can).
-Barely anyone on the roads.
-People wearing masks and gloves outside.
-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work. (Grocery stores are open, so grocery store employees are considered essential and must report to work.)
-Medical field workers / Veterinary field workers / others who work with the public are afraid to go home to their families.
-People put construction paper hearts in their windows with the names of family members who still must report to work during this time. 
-People hang teddy bears in their windows so kids can have a "bear hunt" and have something to look at while they drive by with their families since kids can't actually get out of the car or go anywhere
-At some hospital parking lots, citizens and police flash their headlights so medical workers know that they are supported and being prayed for
-People who have to go to the hospital cannot bring in family members.  Sometimes this also means women must give birth without their partner, and other adults undergo surgeries without family member support.  Minors are allowed to have one or two parents attend with them, but must wear masks. 
-Vacation rental companies are offering full refunds to patrons who purchased rental packages because they know that travel bans are in place and no one can actually get to the rentals anyway
-Beaches are closed-- even private beaches that abut up to individual properties
-Some landlords waive rent, and others are mandated not to evict
-Insulin is capped so that people with diabetes can afford medication

This is the Covid-19 Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.


***
This is not meant to further scare anyone.  It is meant as a reminder to me of how much we've walked through. 

A Day in Photos

On Wednesday of this week, I took pictures throughout our day to somewhat show a daily routine.  I'm not really making the kids stick to a strict schedule of "do math from this time to this time, then do history, etc." I let them have their normal early-morning routine of watching a show while eating breakfast and kind of bum around for a bit.  This was how we functioned during regular school days also.  My kids are all early risers (will this ever change?!?) and it was very out of the norm for me to have to wake anyone up to get ready for school, but even if I had to do that, we would all be up by 6:30.  My kids are still waking up right around 6:00 so I'm letting them have their slow start to their day and I don't make them to any type of school work until 8:00-- just as it would be if we were in regular school. 

Since home-schooling takes less time than going to regular school since we can cut out lots of the major time takers (transitions between classes, structured break and lunchtimes, going at the pace of the last one done, etc.) elementary aged kids can really get their school work done in 2 hours or less. 
We do our school work in the morning, eat lunch, then attempt to watch some type of non-fiction show (nature shows are our favorites) while Avery naps.  Some days though, let's just be real-- I make everyone take a nap instead.  The boys' school is so on top of their game, and they had resources divided up by grade level on their website starting the first week we were out for "extended Spring Break" before finding out that we'd really be out the rest of the school year.  I printed off the resources (mainly they're topic lists) and we've been working through those.  Next week, their teachers will have some Zoom calls (video calls) with them and will also assign a steadier  schoolwork load.  I still anticipate being finished with school in less than 2 hours' time.

But for this week, this is how our typical days are played out.

I try to get in at least one cup of coffee before we get rolling.  If I drink my coffee at the table, I peruse two of my favorite copies of HGTV magazine.  I had the subscription last year, but gave all but two of my magazines to my mother-in-law for her to put on her coffee table.  I saved out these two because they're my favorites of the bunch. 

I also try to prep the work that I want the boys to work on for the day.  I'll write down a sentence or create some basic math problems for them on these legal pads.  They each have one and it's kind of nice for them to have their own. Yes, the paper is pink but it was given to me by a friend so I'm not complaining and I'm certainly not going to waste it. 

We made some "Hearts for Workers" to hang up in our window to show our support for those who have to continue working during this time like my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and father-in-law.
Avery thought cutting looked like such fun, so I let her cut our scrap sheets of paper while she sits next to me at the table.

Here's a typical view of the living room during these slow mornings.

When I finish prepping what school work they'll need to do that day, I go to the living room and try to read while finishing my coffee.  I got this book on sale from Lifeway.com and I intended to read it on my spring break vacation.  I'm really glad I bought it because our libraries are closed and I'd be extra super bored if I didn't have something to be reading. To be honest, the book is kind of slow.  I bought two other books at the same time, but I don't want to dive into those until I finish this one.  So I'll press through.

I retreated to my room to do a little laundry and clothes sorting while the boys worked on school things and Avery watched a show.

When Noah was doing his math work, he used pennies to help him with addition and subtraction.  Avery felt that she needed pennies too for her "home erk" and she worked on counting while Michael did his spelling test.

We took a break outside for about 30 minutes.  It was surprisingly cold on this day!  55 degrees outside around 8:30 in the morning!  We've easily hit 70+ degrees on other mornings by that time.

At 9:30, we loaded up and went to the elementary school to wait in a carline to receive free lunches.  They do this twice a week and we go twice a week because it helps us get out of the house, the boys have a chance to wave at their teachers, and it makes them feel excited to have a "special lunch."

We have eaten lunch under the table twice now because it's a free activity that the kids really love!
Avery is being a "snowman" at lunch.

Noah is being a walrus.

After lunch, we have some unstructured time where we can play or color or watch a show (we did "Schoolhouse Rock" on this day).  This gets us in the frame of mind to be winding down for a nap or for quiet time. 

This day, the boys took naps in their room and I had a moment of quiet in the living room while eating a Mississippi Mud Brownie. Sometimes, just these little breaks mid-day give me the boost I need to press on in a better attitude. 

During snacktime, I stepped away for a few minutes to work on lesson planning and returned to find Avery's orange all over the floor.

At least she was happy to clean it up!

I took this up-close shot of the TV to show that perspective changes everything. 

Here's the actual view. 

While playing outside in the afternoon, the boys told me the door handle was loose.  I didn't think too much of it until I actually touched the door knob and it came off in my hands!

After Aaron came home, he carried Avery around on his shoulders after all the kids had baths.  She liked her view of what the world would look like if she were tall!

After this point, I kind of forgot to take any more pictures.  I had a Zoom call that night with my Bible Study group, and I did some more lesson planning before watching a few episodes of Longmire on Netflix with Aaron.

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba