Friday, April 17, 2020

TGIF

TGIF, even though the weekends don't feel all that different from any other day of that week. But at least we won't be juggling work and caring for Paul! We decided to keep him home with us until the end of the Stay at Home order on May 4th. So that's 7 weeks of working from home while watching Paul. Good times. 

The book I'm reading is The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis. This is the 4th book I've ready by this author. Her books are set in a prominent building in NYC - the building is almost a character in the novel. This one is about the Chelsea Hotel and is about 2 women who work in the theater industry during the 1950s. This was the McCarthy era so the theater industry is under scrutiny for involvement in communism. It's been a fast, enjoyable read. 

The high of my week was going for stroller walks when the weather warmed up later in the week. I had to really dig for a high honestly... life just feels the same day after day after day!

The low of my week was the weather. We had all that snow on Easter Sunday and then snow flurries, cold temps, and high winds on Monday and Tuesday. It was the pits. I live for time outdoors but it's tough to take Paul on a long walk when it's blustery and cold out there. So we did not leave the house Sunday-Tuesday... We saw this cool bird on our walk yesterday. Having a toddler really makes me focus on my surroundings as Paul is always looking for ducks so I look out for them, too, and ended up seeing this bird instead! My friend Jeanie let me know it's a heron! She sees lots of wildlife on her walks, so I sent her a photo and she let me know what it was. Thanks, Jeanie!




A recipe I made was chicken tacos in the instant pot using this recipe. Tacos show up almost weekly on our meal plan! 


For workouts I went for walks and did a strength training workout on Sunday. My motivation for working out besides long walks has been pretty non-existent. :/ I just feel so tired between working and caring for Paul!

The best money spent was on Paul's favorite brand of granola bars (Annie's). We haven't been able to find them during the COVID-19 crisis but I scored some when putting a Target order in for in-store pick-up. In general, we've had a hard time finding Annie's products - I guess everyone's kids like her mac & cheese and other products! 

My plans this weekend include not much. Because who has plans anymore? One thing I'm excited about is finding a spot in our yard for the slide we ordered for Paul! With playgrounds closed for the forseeable future we decided to order one. My parents had given Paul an amazon gift card for his birthday for summer toys so this seemed like the perfect way to use it. Hopefully Paul loves the slide. He is obsessed with playing outside so I think he is going to love it! Our backyard slopes since we are on a hill, but hopefully we can find a flat enough area for the slide. We could put it in our front yard, but I'd prefer to put it in the backyard which is fenced in. Other than that, I'm excited for the spring weather that is arriving - hopefully for good! We plan to do some grilling!

Bonus Paul Photos

Phil built a little fort for Paul in our living room. He's enjoying having a new place to line up/play with his little people and other animal figures.




How are you holding up? What have you been cooking lately?

11 comments:

Jeanie said...

The Chelsea Girls sounds like a book I'd like. Thanks for the recommendation. I couldn't agree more on the weather. And it has to be extra hard with a toddler. Molly said much the same -- she just wants it to be nice. It's snowing now and a couple of inches are expected today so I think you may have to wait a bit.

Have a good weekend, though. Do you think you will want to go back to work full time in the office? I'm not sure Molly does!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

The weather has been awful alll dang week. Hitting the 40s today with possible sun so I am hoping to get outside again. Adeline LOVES to go outside. Anthony actually took both girls outside last night for about 10 minutes and I was alone in the house and it was glorious. But it was COLD.

Grateful Kae said...

I am with you on the weather. In Wisconsin here, so probably pretty similar weather though we haven't had any significant snow, thank goodness. Just cold temps and windy. My boys keep asking, isn't it April? Isn't it spring? Why is it so cold?? I informed them this IS spring in the midwest, dear children. :/ Our stay home order just got extended to May 26th!! Argh.

Gracie said...

Love his little living room fort. Kids are so creative! I can't say my cooking has been super amazing lately. We keep having unexpected grocery shortages, so I have to make last-minute menu changes while in the store. I did a jasmine rice bowl with fish, red peppers, scallions, garlic, jalepeno, and lime in a coconut milk curry sauce that was good... but that's pretty basic for us. Oh, and a nice pasta with yogurt, mint, and beef sauce. It was supposed to be lamb but the lamb prices were outrageous!

Stephany said...

I wish you lots of luck staying home and trying to work with a toddler! I don't know how parents with young children are managing that - no wonder you are so exhausted! You're doing great, just keep reminding yourself of that. <3

I haven't been cooking much, to be honest. I'm just not motivated to cook, which you'd think would be the opposite since I'm at home 24/7 now. But I just have no inclination to cook at the end of the day. Meh.

Eva said...

It IS exhausting to be home with kids 24/7 and work at the same time, so you an allow yourself some grace there! After a couple of weeks of this, I'm starting to feel completely exhausted. I often catch op on work related stuff in the evenings after my kids go to bed, which means even less time to recharge. In the words of my ten year old son: Coronavirus sucks. Hang in there!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Here's what is going to happen. April is going to be crummy. But in exchange, we are going to get out from under this SIP order and our summers are going to be flipping glorious! There is going to be nice weather and the hiking and grilling at the lake is going to be better than it ever has. So there you go. We just have to get through this month for now.

We are restricted until May 3 but I would not be surprised if it gets extended. And starting today, anyone who goes out is supposed to be wearing a mask and all people still working (essential) are supposed to be wearing masks. I have a feeling it's a harbinger of what is to come even after they relax the guidelines. But to be honest, if I can go see my parents or take a walk with a friend, I will wear a mask, gloves, helmet, body condom, I don't care, bring it on.

Keep your chin up; this is going to be one of those years that we talk about with our grand kids (or my friend's grand kids) and they will make fun of us old fogeys who are always reminiscing about that year that we were quarantined.

Amber said...

So glad you guys splurged and got Paul the slide, I bet he will get a lot of use out of it!! We spend a lot of time in our backyard in the summer, plus the summers here are so short, that I really enjoy having lots of outside toys for Olivia.

Tonight I had a bagel and cream cheese for supper haha. We seem to alternate between Eric cooking extravagant meals (like pasta from scratch) and scrounging up all the leftovers / random things from the back of the fridge!

Marlys said...

Kids love forts! It's fun to see pictures of him as we can't see in person! I'm thankful for facetime and zoom these days

San said...

Oh, I am sure the slide will be used a lot. Great investment when you're stuck at home with a toddler (now, if the weather would warm up already, right?)

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

It got cold here for a little bit too, but now it is back to being gorgeous! Yesterday was like a warm summer day, and I had the most beautiful walk around the lake. I have been walking every day that it is nice, and also drumming for about an hour a day, practicing Spanish for about an hour a day, working from home, which is weird, but working ... and I've been reading a lot. I hate the reason we are having to stay home, but I do like the lessened mental load and the slower pace of life.

We have been cooking a lot of plant-based meals, and I will definitely share some of those on my blog. Last night we had kimchi potatoes, tahini spinach, and lemon roasted broccoli. It was a really satisfying meal.