Don't Cancel Your (Friday) Favorites

I'm coming to you today to encourage you.

Don't cancel your favorite things!  I know lots of things are different right now due to COVID and many things are getting cancelled or postponed.  However, you can still do special things with your friends and family if you get a little creative.

These are some things we've been doing to still bring JOY to our days in 2020.

1 // Making delicious meals at home

I've been spending more time meal prepping, planning and serving my family.  I have made more complicated/time consuming recipes and my family has really seemed to appreciate it.  I am enjoying going the extra mile to make our meals really yummy.  Good food makes me happy!

I have two really fun meals to tell you about -

Build Your Own Salad Bar @ Home

I LOVE a good salad bar and, sadly, many are just not open yet.  Bummer!  I got the idea to make one for my family and let everyone build their own.  It was such a good meal.  The adults made big salads, the kids made plates of all their favorite salad toppings keeping them separate and we all enjoyed homemade bread with it.  I chopped up enough ingredients to have leftover salads for lunch the next few days.

Restaurant Style Nachos @ Home

We have yet to eat out at a restaurant with the kids so we are trying to get creative in our fun meals at home.  Nachos are always a good idea in my book.  I did the same base layer for everyone - meat and cheese on chips.  Put them in a hot oven for 5 minutes to melt all the cheese and then customized the toppings for each person.  Kevin on the left, me in the middle and kids on the right.  I love corn.  He does not.  I made pico, sauteed peppers and onions, black beans, jalapenos, lettuce and salsa.  They were SO good.  We all licked our plates.  I could happily put nachos on the menu every week.  Sour cream, guac, black olives, green onions, etc would all be good toppings to add into the mix.

2 // Getting Outside

We are hiking, playing outside, golfing, walking, biking and meeting friends at the park.  I know that not everyone feels comfortable meeting up with people right now, but if you are ready for it, I know it'll be a highlight of your week.

We have plans to go apple picking, head to a pumpkin patch, visit local parks and hike this Fall.  If you head out to these spots during they week they are less crowded.  If your usual spots have reduced hours or are not opening for the season, get creative, and find somewhere else to go.  Our apple orchard got a really late frost killing much of their apple crop.  They're only opening on the weekends so we are keeping that option open and also researched several other orchards within an hour of our house.

3 // Making the ordinary feel special

We've started doing slumber parties once a week where the kids camp out in our room.

Movie nights with family friendly movies.  

Date nights at home where we watch a show and eat a dessert together most nights.  

We're currently watching and LOVING Longmire.  

Take out dinner picnics.  

Bonfires & s'mores.  

We go on walks after dinner.  

We rearranged our bonus room into a school room giving each kid a desk to work at on days they're doing school at home.  

We've let the kids pick where to get takeout from and what to put on the menu for the week.

4 // Connecting with Others

Talk to your neighbors.  Reach out to friends.  See family.  See friends.  It's so important to stay connected.  I've met up and distanced with friends just fine.  I've also texted to check in with friends, invited them to do something and some say yes and other say they're not quite ready yet.  That's okay!  The whole point is just to stay connected with your favorite people.

 

5 // Volunteering

I always look forward to volunteering at my kid's schools, but many schools have strict rules about no visitors this year.  That definitely impacts classroom volunteers, room moms, teachers and students.  I've had to get creative to find ways to still be helpful to Olive's teacher.  I keep in close contact and found out that snacks are super helpful right now.  I've sent in some individual packages of treats and am sending in popsicles next week.  I've also offered to do any prep projects that can be done from home.  I also plan to see how I can help from a distance when holidays start rolling around.

 

6// Self Care

Are you taking good care of yourself?  It's so hard right now, but I want to encourage you to make the appointments, go to the well checks and keep close tabs on your own health.  I went to the dentist earlier this week.  Have an asthma/allergy check in coming up soon.  I also made sure all the kids had their well checks that were postponed in the spring done before school started.  All those little health check ins are so important.  Along with exercise, real food, good sleep, activities that you love and all the things that bring you joy.

Hope you have a great weekend!

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