Hey friends! My husband and I have remained relatively calm throughout this quarantine by reminding ourselves “we are all in this together”. From the fears about the economy, everyone’s health, and now managing a home school classroom – there’s a lot of new things racing around my brain the last few weeks.

I wanted to share a few things that have helped make our days a bit easier.

GETTING DRESSED

This can be a struggle. I have both day and night loungewear so this weekend I went from day to night pajama type pieces. Week days are different. EVERYONE in my family thrives on routine so we ALL get dressed in the morning. There are days we opt for more comfy outfits but we have also shown the kids that we still “dress up” as well. Did you catch my husband on my Instagram stories this morning in a shirt and tie?

To keep as much normalcy and routine in the day getting dressed is worth the effort in my opinion. Even if you change back into loungewear during your afternoon break, I feel like the morning is more productive when I put in 10 minutes to throw on a touch of makeup and a decent outfit.

Set Up A Work Station

Maybe you don’t want to invest in a long-term home office but that doesn’t mean you can’t set up a work station. Somewhere quite where you can spread out you work and have some focus.

While I love to work from my kitchen when my kids are at school that’s not today’s reality. Not only are my kids home but we were in the middle of a kitchen renovation when Connecticut shut down last week so I have 2 contractors still in my house everyday trying to get appliances and plumbing back up and running.

In the meantime we have been working from the dining room table and trying to set up a longer term work space as well. Our house has a designated “office” room with doors and a built in desk so we have been getting that together as quickly as we can.

Make A Schedule

Last week we were typing up a daily schedule for the kids and posting it in the kitchen but I purchased this reusable hanging schedule on Amazon. This lets everyone anticipate what’s coming next so there isn’t room for wandering around unproductive roads with too much free time. For my kids – too much free time turns into boredom which shows up as whining.

THAT SAID – we are in survival mode and aren’t trained teachers. So give yourself some grace. While we value structure we are just trying to keep their gears grinding more than putting academic pressure on them or ourselves. Mac’s school sent some sort of online classroom today but we haven’t been able to get it working yet.

Take Breaks!

For lunch, to beat a mental block, to exercise – don’t let the day get away from you. Make time to take care of yourself too!

Plan Some FUN!!!!

Date night? Game Night? I had a ZOOM call happy hour with girlfriends this weekend. Whatever it is – this time can be lonely so make an effort not to isolate yourself. ATTITUDE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ORDEAL AND AN ADVENTURE.

My friend just attended an online baby shower and I know some of you are considered “essential” employees so you are still out of the house working so I wanted to include this gorgeous dress from Ann Taylor. It’s a classic, flattering silhouette and it’s ON SALE 50% OFF WITH FREE SHIPPING!

I hope you all are well. Try to remember with every tragedy there are hidden blessings. I think when life gets “busier” again there will be parts of us that miss these slow days at home so try to make the most of them. I’m praying for everyone’s health.