I’ve been thinking about writing this post since the day you passed, but every time I start, my eyes fill up with tears and I start to cry. I miss you so much, bestie. I miss our group line chats with the gals. I miss texting you all day long, while working. I miss our lunches… You were our sister, the sister I never had. You took care of everyone and made each one of us feel so special, even though you were battling cancer in the last few years of your life. You were really one of a kind. Thank you for your special friendship and for all the memories. You taught me how to be a better person.
You had the biggest heart, Bubbles. Happy Birthday in heaven!! I love you.
Week 12 of quarantine starts tomorrow. The coronavirus has not “gone away” or “disappeared” like our president would like us to believe. Businesses are beginning to open even though the numbers continue to rise. We are nowhere near controlling the virus in this country. I, personally, do not want to contract this virus even though most “healthy” people recover. One of my co-workers has been fighting the virus for about 3 weeks now. He’s been in and out of the hospital. I hope he recovers soon.
Is it me or do people seem to be more relaxed these days about the virus? Some businesses are slowly being allowed to open. There’s more traffic on the freeways. People aren’t diligently wearing masks and are not taking measures to social distance. It is not “normal” practice for us to do these things, but it is the “new normal” in this day and age. I do what I need to do for my family and I. This chart is what I plan to follow for awhile, until this country gets a handle on this virus.
We will continue to quarantine, until who knows when. But with everything that has been happening in the world, I feel like home is the safest place to be. Currently, there are people protesting in Los Angeles in an area where I grew up. Black Lives Matter. YES IT DOES! I don’t know what I can do. PEOPLE – LIFE IS PRECIOUS! ENJOY THE TIME YOU HAVE ON THIS EARTH. I’ve experienced racism first hand. Luckily, it has not been violent. It’s been subtle and blatant.
This protest is so reminiscent of the LA Riots back in 1992. The best thing to do at that time was to stay at home. People are angry at the police. It hasn’t changed that much. Now, everything can be recorded on our cell phones. We are seeing everything now.
We’re at the end of week 7 in quarantine. It’s May, my favorite month of the year. But this year is different. The coronavirus is kicking our behinds. We are nowhere near winning this war against Covid-19. Although we are still under quarantine orders, there seems to be more traffic on the freeways, more people on the streets, more shoppers at the grocery stores… This pandemic is nowhere near over. I don’t think we’ve reached our peak yet. The numbers today are greater than they have ever been. We are over a million cases.
One of my best friends is battling cancer. I gave her a ride to her doctor’s office. Even though I don’t think we are Covid-19 positive, there is a chance I could be asymptomatic. I just don’t know and I certainly don’t want to pass the virus to anyone especially someone I love. My mom gave me an N95 mask that I’ve been wearing to the grocery stores and during this trip. We practiced social distancing in the car. I sat in the driver’s seat with my mask on and she sat in the back seat passenger’s side with her mask on. Normally, we’d give each other hugs and she’d sit shotgun and we’d go on our way. But this time, it was different. We chatted, but it wasn’t the same. The virus got to us. The virus changed us. Our life now is the new normal.
So, it’s almost the end of week 2 of quarantine and we still haven’t set up a schedule. I think kids need some sort of schedule, but it just hasn’t been possible. I haven’t been feeling my best… I blame hormonal changes in your 40s. I have been planning things in my head for days now, but have not implemented a single thing. My mind has been consumed by this pandemic and how it’s affecting our everyday lives and it looks like as of today, the US is leading in the number of cases of Coronavirus.
I hope people take this pandemic seriously and stay at home. I know it’s hard. Mykids are going crazy not being able to go to school, play sports, go to birthday parties, etc. I’m going nutty. I can’t figure out when I should actually work and when I should be a mother… I feel like I’m working overtime on both ends. I miss my alone time the most, but it’s this little sacrifice that will help end this pandemic.
As for me, I’ve been doing a lot of window shopping online. Looks like there are a lot of great deals right now at Old Navy. Everything is 50% off. Lately, their jeans have been my go to jeans. Comfy and stylish for someone my age. These are my fave.
Also, Target and Ulta are having their beauty sales. I have enough make up, but there are some great deals on these sites. I may have to take a second look to see if I want anything.
I miss going out and shopping. Although I really do have enough, I miss seeing all the new products in the marketplace.
There are a few benefits to this working from home thing. Spending time with my family is the best part of this quarantine. The kids are growing up so fast, I feel as if I’ve missed something because I’m a full-time working mom. I spend 40 hours a week working at my job. My daily commute is about an hour round trip. Each day I take an hour lunch break. That’s basically a 10 hour day away from home. I’m a homebody. I like being at home and doing my own thing.
With this mandatory work from home situation, I’ve had to adjust to a new schedule, because the kids are here 24/7. My “dream” of working from home didn’t include kids being home all the time. Also, I never thought we’d ever be homeschooling. Honestly, I don’t have time to do my job and “teach” my 4 kids at the same time. It’s basically a 5 person job.
The crazy part of this situation is we have to make food all the time. I’m not sure if it’s because the kids are home, but they’re hungry all the time. “Mommy, I’m hungry” is something I hear constantly. I love making food for them, but I’ve realized I can’t focus on my job when I’m being a mom. So, being at home with the kids, having to still work, I’ve really let myself go. Sigh…
But I want to change things. I want to look at the bright side. This is only temporary. We can “flatten the curve” by staying home. Like I said, I get to spend time with these kids. They’re growing up so fast, I may never have this chance again. I’ve been able to throw in some laundry throughout the day. We’ll never be caught up with laundry because there are so many of us, but it’s more manageable. I’m able to do projects that I’ve been putting off since 2016… like clean the dining room table. LOL. My husband has not seen the table clean in years. I’m able to really look at all the things we own and PURGE!! I’ve accumulated so many things from my previous job that I’ve never really had the time to purge. Maybe, I can hold giveaways for some of this stuff because I really don’t need any of this stuff. I want to make room for all the things that really matter to us and get rid of the CRAP!
I know there are people who are still out and about during this time, but everyone needs to take this virus seriously. I’ve talked to people who think the virus is not a big deal… All I know is, we, the world, has never had to deal with this COVID-19 before and countries are shutting down. Do we need the whole world to shut down before we take action? This is not just a political fight, it’s a GLOBAL fight.
So, we’re officially on lockdown. We cannot leave our house unless we need food or supplies for at least 1 month. We knew this was coming and we have been doing a bit of hoarding to prepare for this, but I’m worried we may not have enough.
We do have all of the essentials, but we are a family of six and I hadn’t realized how much my kids eat in a day. I knew they ate in school, but here it’s a free for all. The kitchen is always open. Plus, all six of us using the bathroom… yikes!
On the bright side, I have been able to spend time with my kids which I haven’t been able to do because I’ve been working and we always have plans on the weekend that divides our time with each other. I’ll be honest though, it has been rough and a lot of getting use to. We’re a household of 6 in a 2 bath, 3 bedroom house. It’s me and my hubby, 13 year old Mr. C., 10 year old Bakey, 7 year old Little Lady and 5 year old Girlfriend.
It’s funny because back in 2003, the first day of spring was the day my hubby proposed. Now, it will be remembered for this crazy virus. I hope the world recovers from all of this. Or maybe the world is trying to heal itself?
Tomorrow starts a new life for us. I will be working from home. All 4 kids will be “homeschooled” since the entire school district has closed due to the coronavirus also known as COVID-19. We have had to stock up on essential toiletries and food. Although we’ve been preparing for a possible self -quarantine for weeks, I feel as if we don’t have enough. It’s only been a few days and it looks like we’re running out of food. My kids are always hungry. They’re just normal growing kids with kid appetites.
This is unknown territory for us and I’ve decided to go back to blogging to keep my sanity. It’s been raining and we haven’t really gone out. We had a break in the rain today, so the kids were able to play in the backyard for a bit.
This Washington Post article really spells it out for me. Although the virus seems to be tame compared to other viruses, I don’t want to have to worry about us all getting sick at the same time.
A lot of time has passed since my last post. I’ve been living life. Trying to enjoy moments with my hubby, my bookends and my middles. It’s been difficult because it feels as though there is not enough time. “Work” gets in the way. I’ve realized that I may need to change my priorities to make time for what’s important.
Mr. C is now 11. Bakey is 8 and will be 9 in August. The Little Lady is 6 and my Girlfriend is 3. Time sure does fly.
In 2 weeks, I’ll hopefully be in bed sooner than midnight, so that I can wake up early to get ready to go back to work. TWO WEEKS. I am ready and not ready to go back to the grind. I have definitely bonded with my baby and it seems as if we’re finally getting the hang of things. I pretty much know her different cries, her schedule. It was quite a struggle in the beginning, but now, we’ve got it down. I still don’t think we, mothers, have enough time off of work to care for our babies. We really need more time, at least a year. Or at least work part time from home. Maybe, telecommute. Something more that allows mothers to be there for her young children and not be penalized for it. There should be more options for new mothers especially those who are not high paying executives who can afford the best for their children. You know what I mean… sigh.
I’ll leave you with my heart for today. Nature. The clouds were unbelievable on the 405 today and the traffic wasn’t bad either.
It’s 2015 and I never got around to saying Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s already February. Life is just flying by. I’m still on maternity/family bonding leave and only have a little over a month left with my “Little Luv-Luv.” She’s acquired a new nickname as she’s gotten a bit older. Life with four kids has been a challenge. The real challenge is how I handle certain situations. My Mister has been great at pointing out my response/reactions to things. I really need to get a grip and act like the adult. I forget that the kids are 8, 5, 2… sigh. I’m the parent, the adult and I really need to let “it” go, yes, just like the Frozen song.
So, starting now, I’m holding myself accountable for my actions. I’m going to do my best to not yell and overreact to little things. I mean they really are little things. How much trouble can these kids get into?
I’ve been reading some great blog posts over at Toca Boca. I posted a few articles on my Facebook wall. Check them out if you get a chance.
One of my favorite posts is this post about kids and playtime.
I think we own almost all the apps Toca Boca has to offer. I heart their products. They’re fantastic!
pammi hearts 