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Last time I wrote I didn’t realize how long we’d be staying in or how limited our outdoor activities would be — our local parks and walking trails are closed. And I was only mothering one little person — we added another at the end of March! Mixing quarantine and postpartum hormones is really not recommended (just ask my husband). I haven’t been coping super well and I’m really leaning into my go-to shutdown tactic for dealing with my rollercoaster-ing emotions. My word of the year for 2020 is FLEX and boy oh boy am I feeling the need to be flexible. Nothing exacerbates a two-year-old's disinterest in sleeping through the night on his own like not getting enough physical activity during the day coupled with jealousy toward a newborn. Just writing this sentence forces me to repeat FLEX, FLEX, FLEX in my head.
I have been telling myself that we will look back on this time with so many different feelings and I do want to remember my headspace as well as the few good practices that are keeping me going. So my Just 3 Things this month may seem odd, but hopefully they help me recall this time with some semblance of fondness and give you some things to try for yourself.
I have been telling myself that we will look back on this time with so many different feelings and I do want to remember my headspace as well as the few good practices that are keeping me going. So my Just 3 Things this month may seem odd, but hopefully they help me recall this time with some semblance of fondness and give you some things to try for yourself.
- Complete a Passive Cleaning Activity - Few things feel better than getting something done/clean without any effort. So, if you have a washing machine or dishwasher, throw a cup of vinegar in and run a cleaning/rinse cycle to freshen up your appliance. I just did this to our washing machine and it eliminated a lurking funky smell. Big win for the day!
- Bake a 1-Bowl Recipe - Instagram is loaded up with stories about intensive baking operations (I’m looking at you sourdough-starting friends, jk, just jealous). My brain and kitchen capacities are not there, but my kiddo throws a daily tantrum about wanting something to go into the KitchenAid. “Mix, mix, MIX” is the refrain, so much so that yesterday we made whipped potatoes for dinner in the mixer just to stop the madness. If you want to lower the stakes and skill levels, I recommend these Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (ahem) Muffins and Peanut Butter Bread (topped with jelly or chocolate syrup).
- Find Easy Ways to Generate Accountability - I’ve adjusted our menu whiteboard (mentioned in Just 3 Things No. 5) to include things we need to get done too. This really plays into my love of checking things off a list and adds the perk that this list lives in front of my face all day! Plus, I’ve made a Quarantine 2020 photo album in Google Photos. I’m just sliding photos into it that capture what is actually happening in our house right now — imagine lots of pictures of Luke watching crazy amounts of tv in funny sitting positions.
Just 3 More (Musical) Things
- If you have kids, can we please try to replace Baby Shark with this jam for kitchen dancing?!
- Here are some weird personal recommendations from my Labor + Delivery playlist, which has become my daily pandemic soundtrack.
- On Saturday nights our family listens to Big Town Blues on Pittsburgh’s WYEP (we use the TuneIn skill on Alexa). Again a bit weird, but it takes the decision making out of what we are going to enjoy for the evening. And anything that eliminates a decision is a positive in my book.
