St. Patrick's Day

Our St. Patrick's Day celebration is far more subdued than normal. The leprechaun clearly was busy preparing for social distancing as well so he didn't have as much time for mischief. He switched out the lights for green bulbs in the kitchen this year and spilled the Lucky Charms. He also left a green pot with some rainbow tootsie rolls.

We are wearing green. And that's about it. That's okay.

This song, The Deer's Cry, gives me hope and strength. The Irish have endured a lot over the years and they all held strong to their faith.

We officially have nothing to do or anywhere to go until April 13. The good news is that we will not have to make up the days we miss. But St. Patrick's Day is a good reminder to hold on and have faith. Hopefully, 20 years from now my kids can look back on this time fondly. Hopefully, I too will look back at it fondly.

One day at a time.

Today I am praying for healthcare workers. For wisdom for the entire system. For those who have been exposed or will be exposed. For an adequate supply of equipment for them to do their jobs to the best of their ability.

Hello!

Well... we are embracing our spring break week over here. Our governor has recommended that we not go back to school until after Easter but no official word from schools has been made at this time. Rather than getting all anxious about it, we are just embracing our week off for now.

In the coming weeks, if we are home like I suspect we will be, I will come up with some more structure and order. But this is the spring break they've earned. Except we won't get to have our staycation day with a movie and other fun things.

The best we can do is simply embrace every moment as good. So for today, I'm just going to embrace the disorder and chaos of the first day of spring break. It's going to be fun! 

Prepping!

I really enjoy playing this board game but it takes on a different twist these days doesn't it? Yesterday I was the sole person in Costco who did not buy the allotted two packs of toilet paper. Mostly, because we have toilet paper. And 60 rolls is a lot. Even if you're in lockdown.

I am trying not to panic about Covid-19. The likeliness of it severely impacting my family isn't super high. But we did load up on groceries and staples so that we are well stocked should we be forced to lockdown ala Italy. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing fancy and it's completely stuff that we will eat no matter what. But getting some extra yeast so we can make bread and buying some extra chicken doesn't hurt anything.

I did online grocery ordering and pick up for one store. (My name brand store since, sometimes Aldi just isn't as good.) But for the first time, I am unsatisfied with their picks!

I ordered Key Lime LaCroix. It's one of the best LaCroix options in my opinion. And as the person buying the sparkling water, my opinion counts most in this instance.

But they gave me store brand Lime. Whomp Whomp. E for effort I guess but nope. Not the same at all. If I wanted Lime, I would have gotten Lime.

Ah well. Obviously, the flavor of sparkling water available is not the best indicator of lockdown preparedness.

I am glad it's Spring Break next week, however. It's basically a week of lockdown anyway!

The Gift of Friendship

I never could have known 2 years ago, that when I signed up for the CEW retreat that I would meet life long friends. 

We are kind of an enigma. On paper, we don't look like we'd have much in common. We have a 20 year age span. But we have faith. 

We were missing one of us due to a stomach bug. But these women fill my soul with goodness. I am forever thankful that we have each other. 

A Grand Adventure

Yesterday I took the kids on a grand adventure. Once upon a time in January Mo Willems tweeted out about the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: The Musical tour. It had been at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for a while.

I frantically checked the locations and YES! There was an Iowa performance scheduled on the tour. Sure it's over 2 hours away but this is Mo we're talking about. Wait for what? They were all sold out. And during the school days. Clearly, they scheduled performances for school groups before they even went on sale to the public. Boo.

BUT. The tour would be in Illinois 2 weeks later. It was about 2.5 hours away! And they had a Sunday show.

So I booked tickets. Husband would be on his retreat but as long as it didn't snow I would feel fine taking the kids.

Yesterday was the day. It didn't snow. Admittedly the journey was not without incident. But we made it there safely and were even able to park in a lot that was closer than I had expected to park in.

We got treats, we found our seats. And as an avid Mo Twitter follower, we were in the third row exactly center. They were great seats I am not going to lie.

It looked like this. But I follow the rules and put my phone away during the show. But it looked like this. (These are the official pictures from when it was in DC.)

And we had a grand old time! So thankful to adventure with my kids!

The Bishop

Have I mentioned to you that M really likes Bishop's pink hat? Not his awesome Bishop's hat but the underneath one? 

Well, she drew him a picture yesterday. 

She gave it to him. I think he liked it. He let her try on the pink hat. She thought that was good. Actually, she was really nervous during the whole Mass that she was going to throw up again. (She didn't. Though we did go stand outside twice. Once before Mass began, once during the psalm.) Hopefully, now that we've got a good Mass under our belts she will be fine. 

In other news, C SAT WITH US!! I am 100% using shouty capitals there because I am so excited! M and I have gone to every single school Mass this year. And he hasn't sat with us even one time. He likes to sit with his prayer buddy. It was so unusual his teacher walked him over to ask me if it was okay for him to sit with us. 

I was delighted! I ask him every week if he wants to. I told him for Mother's Day I wanted him to sit with me that week as my gift. But you know what? I think he liked sitting with us. And I sure enjoyed getting to love on him during the day. He also helped M calm down and get through it. 

After the Mass as I was telling C to go back to his class, the Bishop hooked him with his crosier to guide his little sheep back to his class. It was really funny! So nice to have a bishop who interacts with kids on their level. We've got a good one. 

Last night was also the first Lenten soup supper. It was good. Not very well attended, however. 

Today is a pretty straight forward day. I am a fan. 

Spring? Is that you?

March has brought Spring creeping in slowly. Which I am very thankful for. Yesterday the temps got to about 50, but the winds were so gusty that it felt like the mid-30s. Is that lamb or lion weather? 

I took the 3 musketeers to the park for a while. They didn't need gloves but I made them all wear hats (and I did as well) so we wouldn't get wind headaches. I was quite content to wear a hat and since they didn't take them off I assume they didn't mind either. 

I just love that rolly slide. We had one at my home park when I was growing up but it's gone now. I just have the fondest memories of it so it makes me so happy to bring the kids to this playground so they can make similar memories!

We spent plenty of time at the swings. We were probably at the park for almost an hour. I took them right after school. Which was a good choice and so much fun. Any time I can break up my days with a little trip somewhere it makes the afternoon go speedy quick! 

We have been on a Sister Act kick over here. The kids have seen both movies for family movie nights. And we have the soundtracks in the car. This is M singing and doing her own choreography in car line the other day. 

I forgot to mention how much goodness came from M being sick last Wednesday. Not only did my friends jump in to help me like the true body of Christ, and C said a Mass for us at home. BUT on Sunday a baby spit up directly into my purse. His parents were just distraught and I had so much peace. I just had so much grace to offer them and didn't think anything of it. Because that had just been me. 

I love that I could recognize all the good that came from a bad situation and that I could extend grace and kindness to that other family. God is good! 

Today's school Mass is with the Bishop and I am really hoping that it's just a normal Mass where no one does anything out of the ordinary!