Ah, it’s Monday and we’re back at work. As much as we can be, anyway, while schooling the children and preparing SO MANY SNACKS.

I snapped this image this morning in between “encouraging” Ezra to work a bit more on his art project, cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast and making a mental to-do list for my own company.

These two clowns are nothing if not entertaining through all of the madness. I’m so glad we have Hazel to keep things interesting in these days (and days and days and days) at home.

Otherwise… today was ok. The good news is that I can come up with to-do lists for DAYS on things to improve my own site and my own business. The bad news is that none of these things pay the bills (yet).

While family sessions will be completely possible from 6-10 feet away using a zoom lens this spring and summer as we venture outside, I do have concerns that we won’t be allowed to do them depending on the spread of the virus etc and the shelter in place orders that are coming down around us. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I’m trying to stay positive and think about the effects I can have with what I can do with this skill set in the meantime.

How about you guys? Are you slammed with work? Getting creative on what’s next? I’d love to hear about your own coping mechanisms!

While we have very scheduled out days M-F so that mom and dad can get some sort of work done (calls, meetings, writing, etc), the weekends we left as a family free-for-all. And it was splendid.

We stayed in our pajamas past noon, we made slow, leisurely breakfasts, we did loads of puzzles, read books, and even went for a drive. At dinner, Jamie was cutting up onion, celery and carrots with a knife and I pointed out how much faster it would be with the food processor. His response was, “But what else am I going to do with my time?”

In all honesty, this is the silver lining of this whole lock down. The time. The slowness. It’s phenomenal.

Anyway, here are some photos of our activities today. The puzzle up top that’s solved? I need you to know that *I* was the one who solved it.

But don’t Sunday evenings feel weird now? Like, I’m not figuring out my clothes for Monday or the week ahead. I’m not packing lunches. I’m not dreading X, Y or Z at the office (but let’s be real — I’ve been avoiding that feeling for the last 6 years since I started my own business). But you get what I mean. Sunday night dread isn’t really a thing so much now… or is it?

Also, I sent out a note to our block saying we would throw some puzzles on the front porch and if others wanted to bring by their own puzzles we could do an exchange — which was SO GREAT for today! I love my neighborhood. I love how my city has stepped up. I think my Governor is doing a bang up job. I’m just really happy that locally things are great. Because nationally? It’s a total shitshow. And we all know who to blame.

I created a 13-min tutorial yesterday on how to get better photos of your pets and kids at home on your mobile devices. Because of this, I had to (gasp) shower! And put on lipstick! Which, to be honest, felt good.

I sent the tutorial out to everyone in my newsletter today as a little “Hi! I see you! Here’s something fun to learn.” And if you’re not on my newsletter list, you should be. And if you want to email me and admit it, I’m happy to send you the link to the lesson. No hard feelings! (Also the photos above are from that tutorial.)

Ok, but enough about that. Today was better.

I got in a really good, really hard workout, we had a slow and leisurely breakfast, there were a lot of legos, a walk with the dogs, a new TV program that we all enjoyed and after bedtime Jamie and I had a few drinks with friends over the internet (thank you Zoom).

We are now trying to figure out online grocery ordering and if we want to go with shipt or instacart. We have plenty of food to last us at least another week, but we are low on milk and a handful of other fresh fruits and veggies would be nice. And chocolate. Have I mentioned how I am missing my dark chocolate?

If you have a favorite service or tips, please share them with me. So far it looks like Kowalksi’s via shipt offers the most selection (by which I mean my favorite yogurt). Thanks!

And yes, we are doing delivery because I am forcing my family to a strict quarantine for at least 14 days. To us, that means no face-to-face contact with other people. The three of us have been fighting headaches, congestion and mild fevers on and off, and while I’m 98% certain it’s allergies, I’m not taking a single chance of getting anyone else sick with this madness. Call me crazy, I’m good with it.

Since Ezra had a cold last week, we are technically on day NINE of our social distancing and day six of our actual quarantine (zero human contact due to household fevers that were brief and easy).

The emotional exhaustion is real, y’all. This week I’ve been showing you photos of different “class times,” but I can tell I’m going to need to get far more creative for next week. The good news about this quarantine is that Ezra is in fact practicing piano for 15 minutes every single day, which was not exactly happening before.

Also, Ezra has declared that Fridays are “pajama day” at “school” and, let’s be real, since I haven’t done my hair or makeup all week this feels hilarious to me, but whatever makes the kid giddy, ya know?

And tonight, in celebration of surviving the work week, we are ordering curbside pickup from The Kenwood — one of our very favorite spots in town. If you live in SW Minneapolis, I highly suggest it. Our second choice is Naviyas, which is always phenomenal.

And lastly, there is a very special place in hell for these assholes. I cannot contain my rage, but need to because of the child in the house. And related: You can order wine with your pickup at The Kenwood. And ice cream.

In some ways, we are adjusting. Everyone is getting better at the daily schedule — as evidence by I have not been asked 10 times today when we can watch TV. The dogs are eagerly on board with the daily family walk, and that part of life is smoothing out.

However, it takes a lot of energy and creativity to run a pre school, and I am exhausted. Sure, I can do this. Sure, I am loving all the added time with my sweet kid. But it is still hard. I do not have the time to dedicate right now to the work that moves me the most, and that is hard. It would be easier if we knew this was 2 weeks. That would be fine! But the stories of 18 months or schools closing until next fall have me a bit stressed out.

I’m also trying to keep the spirits up of my sweet kiddo who confessed to me early this morning while snuggling under the covers that he misses his playdates and his friends. That he wishes the virus would have never happened. I know buddy. Me too.

This morning’s main activity was a two-parter. Last night after dinner, I brought out a stack of my favorite travel magazines, mostly Afar. You know those magazines that are too lovely to recycle, but you’re never sure just what to do with them? Well now I know.

You bring out the scissors and as a family you spend an hour ooo-ing and aaah-ing over gorgeous photos and you cut out the ones that make you gasp or laugh or squeal and you put them in a basket. And the next day, you select photos, and you write your own stories about those photos. It’s a really fun activity. We each write a story (Ezra has to write two because his teacher is so mean) and we’re keeping them all in a notebook. I think I will save this notebook for the rest of my life.

One thing I’ve learned over the years working at home is that you can find Magda wherever the light is shining through. I’m trying to mimic that in these hard times.

But it’s tough.

With schools closing for the remainder of the year and talk of things being like this for 18 mos., I am so sad for my kid. When will he get to see his friends again? When can he go back to the playground? We are doing our best to keep him learning and having fun every day, but thinking about this being our life for the next year or so is incredibly depressing. I can only hope that each state’s leadership pulls through to guide people through the best that they can. I know ours has done really well so far — very hard choices, but trying their best to keep options open for low income families. The options for our leadership are so difficult in these times.

And I just want to be clear that the president I did not elect is in no way showing ANY sort of leadership and I hope karma bites him in the ass soon. But back to trying to find the light.

Some of the good that has come out of these circumstances is that we are getting truly quality family time. There’s a lot of reading and drawing and family walks and games by the fire. There’s baking and laughing and dance parties. We’re helping Ezra as he works on writing his letters and learning addition as well as just listening to music and staring off into space (something his parents excel at). In general, we’re getting lots of quiet. And we haven’t had that in a long time.

I think this time is also a great opportunity to teach about selflessness.

I woke up at 4 am today thinking about our nation, and I wrote this on Facebook. Just some food for thought.

Up all night thinking about the selfishness I keep seeing, and it's really getting me down.

+ We would all love to head to the beach/bar/gathering. But this is the time to stay isolated with our families despite our own good health so that we can protect others.

+ We would LOVE to send our kid to the playground with the groups of kids we see playing there (OMG does that sound great). But this is the time for social distancing so that we don't spread illness to those who are at risk.

+ Of course we would feel safer if we could hoard all the supplies to keep our own families fed and clean. But this is the time to only take what we need and make sure there is enough left for those with less resources.

+ We would love to vote for those who only serve our own needs, who would only make us more money and who would protect our own religious beliefs. But this is the time to think of the world as a whole and those who have less than we do.

Pull it together, America.

Well, it’s gotten real fast, eh?

Schools are officially closed here on Wednesday, but we opted to keep the kiddo home anyway. There are more than 20 confirmed cases in our county right now, and that’s concerning — especially since you can only be tested if you’ve traveled outside the country or been in contact with someone who is infected. How are we supposed to know everyone who has been infected if we cannot get the tests? Crazytown.

Today restaurants and bars are closing along with hair salons and the like. Grocery stores are changing their hours, and some are having hours specifically for the elderly and those who are the most at risk (to keep them away from the younger folks who don’t show symptoms).

I canceled my next seven shoots (kiss all that income goodbye for now!) and settled into our new “home school” schedule. We baked bread and watched nature shows for “science” and Ezra read some books on his own. We had snacks, took the dogs for a walk for “recess,” colored and drew pictures for “art class,” practiced piano and had a basement dance party before handing over the Disney Plus at 4 pm.

In between all of that, I took a few photos of the action (and the morning snowfall), worked on a personal film project that you’ll see in April, processed a few photos from last week and cooked 2 dozen cookies because today is the kiddo’s half birthday and we need something to celebrate.

Also, this bread you’re seeing is my first loaf ever! I have NEVER made bread before and was stunned at how easy it was. You, too, can make this bread by following this recipe. Enjoy!

So here we are.

Of course, we’ve been following the updates on the coronavirus continuously since last Monday. Personally, I think I refresh this website and this one maybe 15 times a day. It’s insane watching those numbers climb.

On Thursday, I was a bit nervous about sending Ezra to school since clearly the virus was in Minnesota, and since the president that I did not elect is only allowing people who have flown out of the country to be tested, I am sure there are so many more cases that are not being caught at the moment. I was going back and forth on sending him to school, and then he woke up all congested and that answered that. So he’s been home ever since.

But to say we are already getting a touch of cabin fever is putting it lightly. I was reading about how the restaurants in Europe are closing (many for good) and how those businesses and their staff aren’t making enough money right now. And after much deliberation, we opted to go out to dinner one last time on Friday.

And I’m glad we did because the restaurant was DEAD. We tipped well, ate well, brought home lots of leftovers, and have been home since then.

Ezra still has a runny nose, so we told him today that he would have to miss his friend’s seventh birthday party. He was so upset by that news — it really was heartbreaking, but I wouldn’t want a sick child at any event these days, even if it is only a mild cold.

We’ve been drawing a lot, playing games, cooking, listening to music, reading books and watching nature programs on TV. Oh, and we’ve been vacuuming. I mean, Hazel up there is so gorgeous, but man does she shed.

And speaking of Hazel, our girl has been settling in quite well. I’ve even witnessed some grooming between Magda and Hazel, and last night they were sitting on the couch with their paws touching. Adorable.

Frankly, I’m assuming that even though I’m booked solid the next few weeks that work will die down soon, and this might become more of a personal blog again. We’ll just have to see what’s in store.

In the meantime, I hope you all are staying healthy. Wash your hands and read a book. That’s the best advice I can give at this point. Maybe I’ll put together a reading list for you all later this week of my past favorites.