Life Lately

So…life lately. Our days look pretty similar around here. While the big kids are in school, I spend my day entertaining this girl. Belle is obsessed with my mom’s cat Sophie. (Sophie used to be my cat, but now lives with my mom). And Sophie usually does her best to stay away from my kids whenever they are over. They are loud and crazy and she just does not care for the chaos they create. But when it’s just Belle who is visiting, she will come out of hiding and cozy up to my girl.

And to my absolute shock, she lets Belle carry her around. It’s the cutest thing ever.

Since Belle isn’t in school, we decided it was time for her to have an activity that was just hers. So I signed her up for a dance class. She was NOT happy with me while I was getting her dressed and snapping a few photos. We figured she would either love dance, just stand there and stare at everyone, or cry. Really all three were strong possibilities.

After a costume change (because of course) she walked right into her class, no problem! And her teacher said she danced and had fun! And she wore her mask the whole time. Color me surprised. Because of covid precautions, I couldn’t stay and watch. I used to love watching Sadie dance, so it made me sort of sad I couldn’t watch Belle. She told me after: “I choose-ded the star on the floor because I like-ded it” (They had to choose a shape to stand on for social distancing purposes)

In the name of “mental health” we let Sadie have a playdate with one of her best buddies from school. The girls came over to our house to play one weekend, and then over to her buddy’s house the next. And her sweet mama snapped this pic. And goodness there is a  hole in Sadie’s pants.

Sadie really is the sweetest sister. She is so patient and kind to Belle. These two are non stop playing together from the moment they wake up until they go to sleep. Their relationship is so sweet.

This boy drives me crazy on the regular. But when he’s sweet, he’s SO sweet. He still wants to cuddle his mama. And usually decides he wants to talk about all the things when it’s bedtime. He is a good friend to his friends and a sweetheart to his teacher. He saves the naughtiness for me…and that’s okay. It’s hard being the only boy sometimes. He gets left out while his sisters play together. And they just don’t want to play the way that he does. We are hoping some playtime with friends will help him feel more like himself!

This little girl demands hot coco and a cuddle session every afternoon. I am happy to oblige.

As for me? I’m over here still rocking my side part and skinny jeans and I have no regrets. I am SO over this pandemic.  I just want my kids to be able to go to school (thankfully they have!), see their friends, and do all of their activities. I’m introverted, so staying home hasn’t been too hard for me…but it’s been SO hard to watch my kid’s mental health suffer. I’ll do anything if it means they can have a normal life. I don’t need to eat in restaurants, fly on a plane, or go to social gatherings…I just want my kids to be able to take a dance class and play indoor soccer. I know a lot of parents feel the same.