I'm back

 I am back at it. It's been many years since I last blogged and I have decided that it's time to begin again. It only took another baby, a dog, and a pandemic to get me back at it. So hello again! A lot has changed in my life since the last time I wrote. I've been married for 10 years to Hector. I now have three wonderful kids. Desmond who is now 7, Luca who is 5, and Alessandra who will be two in August. We also added a puppy to the mix, named Roux. Needless to say, my house is messy, loud, crazy, but fun.  

  

I would describe myself as a wife, mommy, teacher, and pretty awesome friend! Two years ago I made a big decision to go on leave from teaching after ten years to become a stay at home mom.  I teach in Maryland now, not in DC. I knew I was entering a new territory but I had no clue how different my life would be. Not only had I added a new child to my life but now I was at home with two of my kids all day, 24 hours a day. Without a doubt the hardest adjustment of my life for sure. But rest assure, that I think it has been one of the best decisions of my life. 

People immediately assume that all I do is watch TV, sit around, cook, and laundry. If only... wishful thinking. SAHM ( Stay at home moms) aren't just sitting on the couch all day, watching their favorite show, and eating junk food. TV watching only occurs if you have kids taking a nap ( all at the same time). Realistically we are stuck at home with little versions of ourselves!  Can you imagine only talking to a little child all day, every day for 2 years? I mean as a teacher I talked to children everyday but I also had adults in my life to chat with. So this was a big change. As SAHMs we are constantly coming up with ideas to entertain our kids, going on play dates, playing outside, and somehow feeding the family, cleaning the house, and doing loads and loads of laundry. You won't believe how much laundry we do a week in this house!  Luckily the teacher in me got me through the day.  I have really enjoyed being home with Alessandra and Luca.  Its not all smiles and sunshine but the good moments are what makes it worthwhile. I have made some great friends along the way as well. That's one thing you MUST have if you decide to be at home. You need a group of supportive moms behind you. That way you can do playdates, lunch dates, and MNO ( Moms Night Out) . That is really how I survived two years. 

I had planned to return after two years but at the last minute took another year. I wasn't ready to go back. Fortunately, I think I made a great decision since we are currently going through a pandemic. I still can't believe its really happening.  I don't know about you but I am over it. I miss my people. My family and friends.  Now I feel like I am stuck in the movie Groundhog day. Every day is the same. Stuck at home. I've tried my best to keep busy and entertain the kids. But honestly it can be hard. I am sure lots of people are feeling this way and I know its the new normal.  

From the moment the school closed, I decided immediately that I needed to put on my teacher hat on and just begin teaching my boys. My gut was telling me that school was going to be out for the rest of the year. I came up with a schedule and adjusted as I saw fit. Themes for the week was a must in order to keep everyone entertained. I looked all over the internet for ideas, including Pinterest, Instagram influencers, friends, my past teaching experience, and Teachers pay teacher. Which if you haven't checked out you must! The kids would show me what they were interested in and I used that as my tool to come up with ideas. For example,  Luca was all of a sudden scared of bees and I had a week full of learning about bees. He now loves them and doesn't cry so thats a win! This kept everyone entertained and happy until distant learning began. Won't open that can until later. 

The one thing I've learned during this pandemic is that you need to find ways to self care and ways to motivate yourself to do something each day . This is why I began making masks. I saw a high school friend making them and she inspired me to try it. I needed to find an outlet. Needed to find something that was mine and only mine at home. I started off by just making it for my family and really quickly learned that many people needed them. People started donating fabric and money to help me make masks. I've been in awe of everyones generosity. I know so many great people.  I haven't been selling them just donating and giving to people who need them. I've donated to local families, nurses, doctors, teachers, friends, HoCo Health Department, the Columbia Care group, and people all over the country who have reached out. I am close to 500 masks. Which is unbelievable because I had not sewn in decades. I will  have to find time write more about this journey in another post. 

One of the biggest reasons I decided to write again was because people were constantly asking me to share all the activities I did with my kids. People asked if I blogged and I always answered with " I used to".   So I thought that I would put it all in once place for people to look up and possibly try out themselves. So be ready for some kid fun!  I hope you enjoy and get to do some fun activities.