First Week of School

This may turn into one of those rambling blog posts, so please look away if you are not into mom ranting.  I personally am not into mom ranting either, but here I am - trying to write a follow up post to my week of being back at school and doing it, with three kids-while also working from home.

I am sure the burning question of the hour is, was this week easy?  The answer is no.  You may also want to know if anyone had fun, also no.  One child couldn't remember anything, not even the alphabet while the other cried (real tears) that he was stuck at home (he's a homebody) doing virtual learning and last but not least you have the carefree kid saying "oh my teachers haven't assigned any work today..." he is the luckiest kid on this plant, because the crying one had TONS of work to do!  Go figure.

So, this week has sucked.  I have yelled, people have cried (yes more then one-none of which was me), and my office has went from being a peaceful place to being a classroom.

It's okay though, it's just going to take some time to get into a good rhythm again.  By today, things have gotten better.  Though my patience are just shot. I am ready for a carefree weekend.  And that is exactly what is in store.

I don't know how people do it.  I just don't.  My house is a mess, I can't (or don't want to) cook anymore because I am exhausted at the end of my work/school day and I literally get ZERO moments alone, though one of my brats did say "well you get peace when you're asleep..." and he's not wrong - but still COME ON.  I am tired. I am old.  I am done.  (for the day) lol back at it on MONDAY!

xoxo, Lela

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Heat of Summer

We had a pretty rough week last week, our AC broke on Sunday & we finally got it up and running on Thursday!  It was a long-hot week.  I am sure you can appreciate having an AC in the middle of May-in Florida!  It's like basically all you've ever wanted or needed.

After a hot week, we finally were cooled off and able to do some house chores (because who wants to clean inside a house that is 90 degrees?  Olivia cleaned her room herself, and we were so proud of her we had to take a photo.....I know it's not perfect but it's darn good for a kid who hates to clean her room!

When I wasn't working I did try out my hand at some smash (with a hammer) floral art.  The first is some marigolds and the second is some parsley!  They are not perfect, but not bad for my first try!  I cannot wait to try it again on some nicer paper!

And of course, in the heat of the summer a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.....lol

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Hot at Home

This has been a hard week.  Sunday our AC took a crap, and stopped cooling the house.  In Florida, a working AC is kind of a must especially during the very hot summer months.  We had someone come out to look at it, and got some quotes just waiting now to get it fixed.  I wish it was right now, though the house is cool at the moment-I know as the sun comes up and we creep into the warm part of the day it's just going to get hotter and I will be more miserable.  Oh and the kids, they will be miserable too.

I can tell you one thing, I am not cut out for this heat at my age-makes me wonder why people move here when they get older. Maybe I wouldn't be cut out for the cold even more-I am not sure, but I would like to be cold right now that is for sure.

One of the things we've been doing is setting up fans and when we get too hot, so hot that our heads are throbbing we spray ourselves with cold mist.  It helped a lot yesterday, so hoping it will help today too!

We could pack up and go move to my moms for a few days, but we are being put through the run around every single day waiting for them to "show up", waiting for someone to "make a decision".  I am about over it and about to lose my SHIT!  Uggggg....it's already in the 80's inside the house!  Booo!

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Forty Seven

Well, tomorrow I turn 47 years old.  It's so weird to be so much closer to 50 then I am 25.  Things I've done in my life I am proud of/or happy I was able to do:

• raise my children
• travel and visit England
• be an adult when my Grandparents passed (still have one on this beautiful earth)
• being friends with my mom and adult daughter
• staying at a job for almost 30 yrs (and about to retire)
• being married for almost 10 yrs (not my first marriage obviously)
• learning to love me

Things I regret:

• Nothing.  Why bother!?  Nothing can be changed.

Things I hope to accomplish in my next 47 years:

• meet Felix and visit with my Portland family!
• buy a boat
• buy a new home
• grow a garden, not in a pot
• raise some livestock
• have a Yorkie
• ride horses with my mom
• visit the Keys, Grand Canyon, and my Grandma Haug
• spend as much time with my family as possible
• LIVE! MY! LIFE! OPEN! AND FREE!
• 
  

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Cold Tub

Olivia picked out a blow-up pool for me (her) for Mother's Day this year.  I did spend some time in it with her if I am being honest.  It's like a giant cold still hot tub (cold tub).  If the weather warms up today, I may take another dip (sit) today!

These photos are not great, but ya know-they are what they are, how great of photos can you have in the bright sun and you cannot even see what you're doing?  It does reflect our day though-which was fun!

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Week 9?

Has anyone else done any social distancing socializing?  I'll admit that we have visited my mom twice and my dad once since the pandemic and the stay at home order.  Now, we are keeping our distance from each other-no hugging or getting close-sitting outside (in the sun) but we've been around each other for a few hours now that Florida is "open".

We are heading into week 9 being at/working from & learning from home.  It has its challenges, and we have really been on a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions.  When we first were home, we were really 100% on board and thought about all the fun we'd have been at home, finally-a place we hardly get to be at.....spending sometime together, getting the house in order.

The next week, I was still sort of in euphoria.  But after that, a freaked out for a few weeks as I noticed I wasn't getting anything done at the house I wanted to-even when I wasn't working.  I couldn't figure out how to balance my time at home and my time at work-I was doing work all the time, always looking at my phone/tablet (emails).

But now that we seem to be winding the month down, I am much more at peace.

I am sure more people have felt this way too.  It's hard to be the all and everything for everyone.  But here we are mamas, doing just that right?

Mother's Day is fast approaching. I look forward to a day of being pampered lol :)

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Friday Wrap-up

Week 7 of working from home and week 6 of distance learning (homeschooling).  What are my thoughts about this week?  I have none, I am numb and feel like doing nothing but watching Lifetime and drinking wine.  I swear I am going to come out of COVID19 fatter and depressed from watching so much crap on LMN.  Oh the drama.

Let's see, Olivia finished up her second packet of work this week.  It's due on Monday, and we'll pick up her last packet that is due May 28th - and after that, she is on Summer Break!  Whoo-hoo!  I wish I could take the summer off too.  And do what you ask, who knows?  Apparently starting Monday parts of Florida will open back up, so maybe the parks will be open and we can at least do something fun when I'm not at work that doesn't just involve our back yard.

You'd think I would have embraced this more, being home since retirement is just around the corner.  And perhaps I would if I could get out and do something when I am not working or teaching, I'd like to be able to walk through the stores like I had all the time in the world, and pace down the plant isles at Lowes for hours picking the perfect plants.

Soon I know, I know the world is slowly opening back up!  Slowly!

Cute kid; being daring in the FRONT yard for a walk!

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Moody Monday

So my moody Monday post today is going to be able lazy teenage boys.  I won't call any one of the two living in my house specifically but I will give you an idea of their entire day.

Wake up late, because they stayed up late.  Lay in bed, waking up for an hour.  Come out of the room at about 12:30pm at 1pm.  Make themselves a big bowl of cereal-sometimes two.  Scratch, adjust their junk while asking you how your day is going.  Put their bowl into the sink, return to the cesspool of a bedroom.  Have to be told to do their school work, wash that fing bowl they carelessly and stupidly put into the sink and brush their teeth.

That is my life, as a mom to teenage boys who are distance learning during COVID19 in America.

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Google Eyes

So since we’ve been stuck at home, I have been trying to think of fun craft ideas for Olivia to do in a way to keep her mind active and not just on school work.  I’ll be honest, I don’t really have a ton of crafting supplies so I had to reach out to trusty Amazon to purchase a kit filled with tons and tons of things like google eyes, pipe cleaner, buttons, puffy balls, glitter and other wonderful girly things.  This was our first project, a google eye pencil pal.  

Does anyone else have any ideas on what we could make?  I’d love to hear them!

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Friday Thoughts

Fridays are a day I look forward to right now, because that is a day I can work in my office uninterrupted all day long.  Not all parties are thrilled about that idea, and I’ll admit I have a little guilt about needing this time to do my work - but I am working on not allowing others to make me 1. Feel bad about myself and my decisions and 2. I cannot be everything for everyone everyday, and I am learning to be okay with that.  I have control issues, I know.  I am working on that too, oh my gosh-so much working.

I come out of my office to find Olivia struggling to work under dads rules as a teacher.  His rules don’t really differ that much over my own, he just wants her to look over her work by herself first and see if she can figure out what steps need to be made to complete the paper.  Which is just reading the instructions.  I go over the instructions with her prior to her working on the paper.

Anyway, to sum up the week-it’s been ok.  I am ready for the weekend however. So on to it I go.  I hope you all enjoy your days off as much as I will.

 To wind down, she played a little pool.

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Weston's German Pancakes

So, I woke up this morning to a partially cleaned kitchen.  I went to bed a little early last night, so I left Weston cleaning the kitchen.  I went to sleep, knowing that when I woke up in the morning I would be upset that the kitchen wasn't cleaned to my standards.

This morning, just as I suspected-I got up to a 1/2 ass job kitchen cleaning.  My mom was lucky enough to text me good morning as I was snapping photos of noodles in the sink left from the night before.  She gave me some great advice, she said: "go wake him up and make him clean it properly, he shouldn't be in there sleeping in....don't go in yelling or angry-just tell him to get up and fix the problems!"  I waited until I was cooled down - and did just that.  He got up and he re-did the kitchen.

Then he made me German Pancakes.

Mom Score!

What he used:

6 Eggs
1 Cup AP Flour
1 Cup Milk
4 Tbs of Butter
1 Tsp Vanilla
Sprinkle of Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
Powdered Sugar for sprinkling on top
Syrup for pouring on top if desired

What he did:
Preheated the oven to 425, and as the oven heated he had the butter in a 9x12 pan melting.  While that was heating and melting, he mixed all the other stuff together in the stand mixer.  Once it was melted, he took the pan out and poured in the mixture-baked it for about 10 mins.  Once it was done he sprinkled lots of powdered sugar & then.....we ate it, and it was good-tasted like French toast & quiche had a cool sweet baby!

Oh and bonus, he gets culinary points for making food at home during the distance learning time.

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Friday Feelings

I have worked away from home for the past 27 years.  During that time, I have said to myself, and out loud "I cannot wait for spring break (or vacation) and I can be off work", I have said "I cannot wait for the weekend!" and I have said on Sunday "I don't want to go back to work tomorrow!"

I am sure I am not alone in this.  It's the human condition, right?  But honestly, after being "safe" at home (stuck) for over a month, I am just now realizing I got what I always wanted-without being fired.  And now I just try not to complain. I don't say out loud that I cannot wait for things to get back to normal.

I am trying to stay positive, not just for me but my co-workers as well as the kids I am now teaching at home (two of which can do their own thing) but one is only six.  It hasn't been easy, finding a new normal.  We had to throw the rules out the window and learn to work at a much slower pace-which is something I wasn't the only one struggling with.  We are on week three of distance learning and our six years old cried because she was asked to slow down-it's just not how she has been living her scholastic life for the past two years.

We have gained a lot from this experience though, even though we are still learning how to slow our roll.  I have sat outside in the sun while working on my tablet, I have started taking two breaks during my workday for 15 mins each.  I am taking a lunch break.  I have also been known to jump up and dance to get the blood flowing again after sitting for a long period of time.

I don't have to get into my car at 4:45am-and try not to hit deer on my way home from work and I don't have to jump into my 100-degree car after a long day at the office and make that over an hour drive back home either.  I don't miss that-but so much more free time.

What have we done with it?  We've painted rocks, we've cleaned rooms (closets too), we have sat outside, we have been on walks, we have grown plants, we have talked and played games, we have read books and learn new things.  We have redecorated the living, the office and even purchased a new rug (as you already know if you follow my blog).  We have cooked and baked.  We have made homemade sangria (okay only I did that).

We have not brushed our hair a lot, and sometimes I have to brush my teeth in the afternoon because I cannot remember if I did it earlier that morning. We are not wearing shoes or bras.  No makeup, unless I have to throw on some powder for a zoom meeting.  We are not worrying about making a grocery list or going to the grocery store.  And we are not staying up late.  We are not seeing our family like we used to, or visiting friends.

Teresa won't be able to visit like planned on April 30th.  I was really looking forward to her visit with Oscar.  I don't get to take the kids to the springs, the beach or go to a park for a few hours so Olivia can get some of that energy out.  I am not seeing my co-workers in person or having lunch with them.  Somethings I really miss.

Well, that's it for now-those are my feelings for the day!

Happy Friday loves!

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Spin

She is always down for me to take her outside for some practice photos if I answer her question with "yes you can spin around".....

During this particular series, my setting is not set right on my camera-so we have a lot of grain - but I was running out of light and I just wasn't focused on it, I was mostly focused on trying to use colorful straws to make a rainbow effect at the top of the photo!

I think we nailed it (the effect that is).

P.S.  here are a few more:

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Co-Worker Problems

My co-worker, hardly working.  I may have to report her to HR.

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New Rug-YES!

One of the most interesting things about being "safe at home" is that you are "bored at home" at times, and you may shop to improve your surroundings.  One thing I am slightly obsessed with is curtains, pillows, and rugs.  Yeah, it's weird I know but it's my thing.

Going back a few weeks (a month) a co-worker and I were chatting about rugs and she told me about some nice ones she got on Amazon, that didn't break the bank!  So, I looked into the brand she was telling me about-found one I liked and ordered it.  I even ordered a big one, 8x10 WHAT?

I wasn't expecting much for $120 but with Maggie's review, I was hopeful!

I wasn't disappointed, what a great rug!  I love it.  Thank you Magster!  ❤

oh and I got these awesome curtains too :)

You can get the rug here and the curtains here

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Monday Mashup!

Not many words are needed to really express the relationship that she and I have.  It is safe to say we are in this wicked world together, and we make a great team.

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Bunny Butt Pancakes

My mom text me a photo of bunny pancakes, and right away I knew Olivia and I had to make them.  Here is our version-which is almost the same as the version my mom sent me, and sadly I don’t know who to credit for this original idea.  Sorry about that.  But thanks for sharing and inspiring us to make bunny butt pancakes.  Our bunny was not amused, but my honey bunny was <3 

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Lela's Lasagna - The Recipe

Again, with the complaining about not having all the things I need to cook something.  To be fair we really never have lasagna.  I am not patient enough for the noodle boiling.  But I got some really lovely whole wheat NO BOIL noodles from DeLallo (online).  Anyway, before this gets too complicated we don't have any mozzarella.  An Internet search, three different recipes and I think I finally came up with one the family will eat.  So the mashup receipt is.....

What you’ll need:

9 No-boil whole wheat lasagna sheets
1 jar of marinara
1 pound of Italian sausage
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 egg
Fresh Basil Leaves cut into strips
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 cups of milk
3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
Sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste


What you’ll do:

Preheat that oven of yours to 350.  Get out your 9x9 casserole dish and spray it generously with some oil so nothing sticks, I find this easier for noodle retrieval and clean up.

First I  cooked the sausage, then I put in the store-bought marinara-heated to bubbly.  While all that is happening, I put in the ricotta, egg, salt & pepper to taste, oh and before I forget.....I also added some fresh basil from my window garden.  Delish-I used about 10 leaves-julienned them and set the mixture aside.

I heated the milk in the microwave for three minutes, meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, I melted the butter and added in the flour.  Let that cook for a few minutes then added in the hot milk and whisked like crazy until it was thick and bubbly.  Added in the cheese, salt & pepper-done.

Now comes the fun part.  Building the lasagna.  I first started with a ladle of the sauce mixture, then put down three sheets of pasta-side by side, then the ricotta mixture-then the hot cheese sauce & repeat-two more times.  I did have a few mozzarella balls-so I put them on top.  Cover in foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove foil, bake an additional 10 minutes.  I let this babysit for about 7 minutes before I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to eat it.

I must say, it was the best lasagna I have not only had but also made.  Billy agreed-and he would know because he loves lasagna and has had way more than me.

Okay well, I am not a professional cook, recipe maker, or blogger.  But I love food, so I am sharing this.

Lela xoxo

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Pre-Easter 2020

Well, one thing is for sure....being stuck at home for Easter just isn't the same.  Technically, it's not Easter yet-but about this time we'd be texting back and forth with family - planning a fun egg hunt with the kiddos and all the yummy food we'd be sharing together.

This year, during this pandemic, we are stuck at home (safer at home) just like everyone else in the WORLD basically.  It's hard to get supplies right now, every time we go to the grocery store they are out of basic things we are used to having easily-like eggs.  I gave up only SIX for this little experiment.  I say experiment because we didn't' have "egg dye" from the store-we used food dye that we use to color cakes and icings.  Worked perfectly though, and it's probably the same stuff just in a tablet form.  I didn't do the research on that-so don't quote me.

I used 1/2 cup of warm tap water in five different cups (wine glasses-don't judge) did about 20 drops of food coloring-and 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar.  Then we just dropped in those lovely boiled eggs and waited a few minutes.  Oh, did I mention we did one PURPLE?  We had to add two different colors to make that......that's very technical!

We are beyond pleased with our final product.....and to prove how happy we were-Olivia and I danced around the kitchen (and living room) to some Kid Rock.

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Tire-d of not Swinging

Since we’ve been stuck at home, I’ve bugged my husband to hang a tire swing for Olivia.  She loves to swing, and sometimes she loves to be outside.  Today was the day. After I got off work, I got to witness this all go down.....

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