Reading on a rainy afternoon. This has been a tough week. Homeschooling has become a pretty regular routine, but between trying to finishing packing our house out and trying to keep some semblance of a schedule it’s been trying at times. J keeps trying to unpack what I’ve packed in his room (LEGO creations on shelves, pictures put back up), and so we’ve been doing our best to make sure he’s got space to put his favorite things out at my parents who we are staying with while our new house is being completed. I think we will all breathe a huge sigh of relief and say a lot of prayers of gratitude once we are moved out completely and our current house is closed on and sold. This will definitely be our last move for a very, very long time. And now here are some of our favorites of the week!

This is why the boys want a dog.

Light filled home.

Kitchen inspiration.

The boys were as excited about this baguette baker as I was, so it’s definitely on my birthday list.

Vanilla apricot granola bars.

Reading through 1-3 John in my morning Bible Study.

Summer straw tote..I could use it to hold magazines since I’m not going anywhere.

When I dyed my roots this past week, J told me that the shampoo that I used that came with smelled like lovely lavender. So now, I feel like I need to buy it.

Finally, perfect summer sweater.

Another week down! I’m officially done with the Spring semester of my classes, and I’m busy working on making edits to online courses for the summer and fall. I introduced J to Operation Neptune which I found on a DOS game site. He loved it and it’s been great for identifying different math skills he’s mastered, and ones he needs to work on. We also made rainbows this week to put in the windows, and learned about maps, cause and effect, and a particularly exciting lesson on squirrels.

Drawing videos by J’s current favorite author.

My favorite Sunday work-out is a five minute warm-up (10 each of inchworms, plank lunges, reverse snow angels, and hand release push ups, cycle through until timer is done), then I do a burpee challenge, and then end with a ten minute yoga cool down.

Mickey Mouse beignets.

Baby otters!

Double chocolate chip cookie in a skillet.

Selecting the perfect window treatments.

Sparkling sassyfras strawberry tea.

And finally, picking the perfect couch.

Another week down…now we’ve been home for six weeks. The boys have hit a pretty steady stride with schoolwork at home, Thursday is usually our toughest day. J typically gets pretty done at that point and so it takes a lot of effort to move through the work with him. We are still going through the Disney Behind the Scenes videos, and the boys did a drawing of Llama Llama Red Pajama online with their art teacher. My classes are in finals and so I’m monitoring those, and steadily overhauling multiple courses to go online only for the Fall. It’s a weird world. Here are some of our favorites of the week (plus two things I purchased from the Sephora sale after my last post):

Frozen s’mores.

Week of outfits.

Sweatpants, but make it fashion.

Banh mi lettuce wraps.

Bible study of the next two weeks.

Hey Brad, how’s the weather?

I added Bumble and Bumble Thermal Protection Mist and It Cosmetics CC cream to my Sephora sale purchases.

Reading Living Forever Chic at night and the Tattooist of Auschwitz during the day.

Finally, tips for decorating your house like a pro.

We have now been home with the boys for over a month, some days it feels much longer than that, other times it feels hard to believe we are in the middle of April. The boys hit a stride with their online learning this week, and so we are keeping the same schedule as last week with just a few additions. They are still working their way through Disney Imagineering YouTube videos during breakfast time, and we signed up for a free Mystery Science membership. And besides busily adding to cart for The Sephora sale, here are some of our favorites of the week!

Bookmarking rug ideas because I’ve got to buy at least three-four new rugs when we move.

An egg dish to make for breakfast one weekend.

Self care planner to write down work our routines and other notes.

Halal style chicken and rice.

Beverly Cleary was one of my most beloved authors growing-up and I love seeing J read all her books (especially Henry Huggins) with the excitement I did.

The blanket I just ordered for J to hopefully help with his sleep at night.

If you’re going to make a grilled cheese, make a Disney grilled cheese.

A new draw together for us to watch.

And finally, this is the sports broadcasting we need right now.

Captain’s log: Week 1 of “blended learning” is done. A is taking longer on his assignments than we expected, J is taking less time and we are having to supplement his to extend the time. I’m still getting up at 5:30 every morning to do my daily Bible Study, check my email, and grade for an hour before the boys get up. Things at home feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day, each day is fairly similar to the next, while there is a lot of chaos going on in the world around us. Today is Gold Friday, which means only some work in the morning, and watching a movie in the afternoon. Some of the boys’ favorites of the week have been Disney Behind the Scenes, Mystery Doug Science, Henry Huggins books, and The Ranger’s Apprentice series. And here are my favorites of the week!

Learning art history at home.

Make-up routine for when I have Zoom meetings.

Decorating built-ins.

Narrowing your focus.

Homemade croissants because, why not?

Home office ideas.

Layered Mexican lasagna.

Finally, a tribute to home.

We are at the point that we have to check what day it is because we tend to lose track because while everyday seems to bring new and unsettling information, our day to day tends to be relatively the same. Next week the boys go into full online learning and I work towards completing my last month of the semester fully online. With that I’m working on a new schedule to try to figure out how to make all the pieces work. This week the boys and I have been working through an art themes course, we took a virtual field trip of the Winchester Mystery House, J has been working on Khan Academy’s What is a Sentence for review, they’ve been playing lots of tennis on the driveway, and I’ve been virtually working out in my garage. So before we get to creating new schedules, here are some of our favorites of the week!

Good news media.

Garlic ramen similar to the recipe I got from my sister!

Love this bundle from one of our favorite local shops.

Ina Garten makes you the perfect quarantine Cosmopolitan.

Loungewear outfits because that and exercise clothes are literally all I’m wearing right now.

Eight step make-up for Zoom meeting days.

Kind of the perfect ice cream for right now.

Distance learning with the Smithsonian.

And finally, a cozy new line from Target.

Week 2 of social distancing is coming to a close. We got news yesterday that the boys will have to do online schooling for the remainder of the year, and so I spent a majority of today trying to wrap my brain around the idea that we’ll be homeschooling for the rest of the school year. And I’m also teaching online for the rest of the year, so coordinating schedules is going to be interesting. The boys’ favorites at home learning this week have been Khan Academy: Intro to JavaScript, Mo Willems Lunch Doodles,  The Cincinnati Zoo’s live animal experience, story time with their teachers on YouTube, Typing Club, and their new books:

And finally here are some of my favorites of the week:

Social distancing examples from David Rose.

My hairstyle of the week, with a messy bun at the back.

Dessert for the weekend.

J every time he sees a wasp outside right now.

How to stop overthinking, because that’s all I’ve been doing right now.

List of reading ideas.

Finally, the ultimate comfort dinner.

Week 1 of social distancing is at an end. I’m modifying our daily schedule a bit for next week after seeing how this week went. The boys’ favorites of at home learning this week have be Mo Willems Lunch Time Doodles, The Cincinnati Zoo’s live Animal Experience, Khan Academy math, and Khan Academy Imagineering in a Box, and story time with all their school teachers on Facebook. Oh and timed fact sheets. In between running a home school, teleworking, and just trying to keep from going completely stir crazy over the next three weeks, we are ready for the weekend. To do what I don’t know. Maybe we’ll camp in the backyard! Here are some of our favorites of the week and I’m linking up with the blogs listed above!

Best new books for Spring.

Chocolate piper mint steamer to make with my new teas.

Comfortable working from home clothes.

Virtual museum tours. We will be taking one of these this weekend.

The power of positivity.

Texas chicken chowder is on our dinner list.

Training your brain to avoid distraction.

Sculptures of cascading rainbow numbers.

Online art clubs.

A prayer for the weekend.

Watching Joanna Gaines make cookies while updating my online course.

Yoga practice to do with boys.

Swish!

Favorite current candle.

Corner chair set-up.

In my cart at Anthropologie.

A retelling of the story of me saying I could play tennis in high school to get out of study hall. Spoiler alert, I still can’t play tennis.

Detroit style pan pizza.

Perfect spring outfit.

Bathroom organizing made simple.

Sweet potato salad.

A powerful lesson in self-awareness.

Tricks for parting your hair.