Just because…

I would love to hear some ideas of what’s keeping everyone sane and what activities are keeping your lives exciting! You can post in comments! This post is not related to the business or any of our services. It is simply for those at home following the stay-at-home order that was currently extended to May 4th, 2020 and are starting to feel overwhelmed, frustrated and possibly stressed out during these uncertain times. We are likely all in a similar situation. I’m not sure what others are doing, but as a parent of 3 toddlers all 5 and under and one on the way, I can relate to the stressed out folks out there! I am starting to get into a routine, no less stressful, but a routine nonetheless.

More to come to this blog after we return from a walk that has become pretty boring after more than 3 weeks in isolation (we started isolating prior to the first order issued)… Many thanks to the neighborhoods here in West Seattle though. Many have started to put bears on their windows, yards, porches, anywhere that can be easily spotted, for the kids to go on walks and go on a “Teddy Bear Hunt”. It’s highlighted our walks and have made them less boring.

We are back from our bear hunt, and as mentioned above, this is not a business related blog post. Because really, who has the energy for that right now? What I hope to gain from this post is a little insight of my daily life as a parent dealing with a family owned business as well as homeschooling 2 of my 3 kids, all while trying to deal with the anxiety during what has so far been a really stressful experience. A lot of my customers do get a chance to know me, as I try to go to all of my jobs while they are happening, either to meet the customer, to take pictures, or simply to see what is going on and how the job is coming along, as well as taking my kids to visit their “Tios”, or uncles – my brothers at the job. Since early March, my kids were pulled from school and I basically went into isolation with them while my husband went from work, to home, to the occasional grocery run. One of the hardest things to come to terms with was not being able to do everything I wanted to myself.

I’m not a person that likes to wait for anyone to get things done, I do what needs to be done as the situation presents itself. Luckily, between trying to balance work between school sessions, P.E., some kids napping while trying to keep the others quiet, housework as well keeping everyone fed and trying to maintain a presentable appearance for those occasional zoom meeting (because, really, who wants to be the one that looks like they rolled out of bed while on a video chat?), the stress only comes occasionally, when there is too much time to think. So, back to the original post. What is keeping everyone sane and what activities are keeping your lives exciting during this time?

For us, we had “Christmas” this weekend. Yesterday, Friday 4/05/2020, was our Christmas Eve. We had one of our favorite Friday night meals of carne asada, mashed potatoes, mexican rice, fried jalapeño peppers, and, because only during the coronavirus period would this be a good pairing with carne asada, we drank orange juice to keep up on our Vitamin C! Full disclosure, my husband followed it with some good Tequila, his favorite at this time being EL TESORO^™ AÑEJO TEQUILA! Me being pregnant, I could only watch and drool. I’m not a drinker really, but this tequila is so smooth, even a partial teetotaller like myself can taste the quality! I heard this word once and I will admit that I’ve waited for the chance to actually be able to use it! I’m very proud of myself right now. 😁

Back to the subject, and I will add that having a 2nd Christmas added holiday stress to the isolation stress, the kids had a blast! They got to make cookies for Santa and left him a plate with soft homemade chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk, and some carrots for his reindeer. And to their surprise, Santa left them leftovers, which they ate first thing this morning! Merry Christmas!!! They also put on their Christmas jammies, took pictures for the grandparents, and picked out their favorite toys that they wanted wrapped up and surprised with in the morning. And of course, not to break Christmas Eve tradition, they opened up one toy of their choosing. It was really fun! They even got surprised by the actual Santa and got a real present left behind!

This morning, they woke up bright and early and of course the 1 year old being the troublemaker, took it upon herself to rip open all the presents! The kids were good sports though. They know today is not the real Christmas, so they were not upset. But they were surprised! Especially when they saw that Santa really came. It was a fun time for everyone. My son (who goes by Michael Jordan right now because he is really into basketball) hid his Jordan shoes and that was his special gift from Santa. 🙂

I just wanted to post a fun little post for everyone to read and enjoy, and lets remember what Mr. Rogers once said. “Little by little we human beings are confronted with situations that give us more and more clues that we are not perfect. “

Happy Saturday everyone! Remember to rest and take care of yourselves! And Merry Christmas to all!!! 🎄