What We’ve Been Up to Lately While Stuck At Home

I never imagined we would be under a shelter-in-place order in our county, where we are only supposed to go out and travel for essentials. Thanks to the highly contagious Coronavirus, we are supposed to avoid groups greater than 10 which means we mostly have to stay home.

We have kept busy though, or at least tried to because we really have nothing else to do. Genevieve was already homeschooled for Kindergarten so that hasn’t really changed, we just don’t get to visit our friends as much as we are used to. So here are a few pictures of what we have been doing lately, or at least what I have been doing with the kids.

Even though we can no longer go to Stations of the Cross, we still have been going to a park at least once a week to have lunch so the kids can get out of the house. Parks are still open under the shelter-in-place order but playgrounds have been shut down. Walking around and exploring is still allowed though so thats what we have been doing!

I cook all the time but have been trying different things than normal since I have been out of certain ingredients due to shortages at the store. I have been nearly out of flour for awhile and it has been hard to find more so thank goodness for family members who have finally been able to find some for me while they were out shopping. I have been stocked on all-purpose baking mix though and have been using that to make all kinds of new recipes. Honestly, I love the challenge of coming up with things to cook or bake with the ingredients you have on hand. Plus, Google or Pinterest are great friends for finding recipes.

Although many people are out of work, Matties Auto Repair is still open and still accepting customers since automotive repair is an essential service. We have 13+ vehicles of our own anyway that can be fixed and sold so the hubby has plenty of things to do. I am hoping some more house projects will get done while this shelter-in-place is in effect since there is a long list. Fortunately because of different places being closed and friends not working, we have gotten a few things done to the house including tearing out the kitchen ceiling which needs replacing and fixing the guest bedroom window so it no longer leaks. P.S. That is a long story haha.

We have continued our tradition of going to the park every Friday for lunch. Lately, it has been Runge Park since it is just a few miles from our house. The kids love exploring and getting out of the house.

Last Sunday was Passion Sunday and our first Sunday to have to stay home from church because there was no public Mass to attend due to the restrictions. We sanctified our Sunday by watching and following along with a live Mass. Yes, I did use my homemade woven wrap to cover up all the stickers on the record player so I wouldn’t be distracted by them and yes, that is an old t-shirt to cover up the crucifix since I do not have any purple fabric otherwise. We watched Mass, prayed the rosary, read the readings of the day, and listened to one of the conferences from our recent parish mission.

Lately, during our nightly rosary after dinner, we have also had a pet frog or toad that comes and looks in at the sliding glass door. Orginally, Gabbie was scared of it but ever since I told her to tell it “hi” she has been telling it hi and will get close to see it as long as it is on the other side of the door, haha. She kept trying to explain to me how it was breathing. Too funny.

Here we go, attempting to garden again. Like Rosie Hill from A Blog for My Mom said and what I keep hearing from other seasoned gardeners, you can read all you want and watch all the videos you want, but in the end you just have to try and see what works for you. I may have spent way too long watching Youtube videos one night and some of my potatoes starting sprouting so I ended up planting some. It is all a learning process.

We also found some seeds at Aldi a few weeks ago and planted them on St. Patrick’s Day to start at least something growing. I know that is probably super late in the season but hopefully we get something edible. The seeds have actually grown into small plants and I couldn’t be more excited about that. You gotta start somewhere, right?! Anyway, we have lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers. I also ended up using the old turtle sand box that the sand got thrown out of months ago as an extra raised bed. Will it work? No idea, but at least we are trying and the kids love helping. I am determined to have a prospering garden at some point in my life. I cannot claim to be a hippie without one, haha.

And now the kids are helping me do what I have been putting off for too long, cleaning the oven…which I better get back to now, as well as make dinner. #momlife #amiright

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And let me know what you have been doing to fill the time stuck at home!