Kate's Monthly Take — Archives

The days are all blending together at this point and we’re settling into some sort of new normal. The kids have surprised us with their adaptability, understanding and their willingness to continue their learnings, albeit, remotely. In their free time they’ve been reading, playing with classic LEGO bricks and making up pretend games where they act as doctors or super heroes trying to rid the world of the big bad virus.

Myself, on the other hand, often think about adapting a growth mindset during these times but for the most part have become a bit of a walking zombie and end up sleeping in my clothes most nights. Most of my time is spent planning meals, acting as tech support for the kids and all of their virtual classroom meets, thinking about but not actually folding the laundry and incessantly vacuuming. The vacuuming bit isn’t new…I always did that so at least some things haven’t changed.

Despite all this I know we’re quite privileged to be able to stay home and we will continue to do so in support of our states and country’s efforts to flatten the curve. Even if it’s quite a ways off, I am hopeful, that we will get back to where we once were and when we do life will be a little bit sweeter. In the meantime, I still have the same hopes and dreams that I did a couple of months ago - I still love books, new recipes, music, clothes, traveling and sharing it with you.

Enjoy my Monthly Take!

Kate's Monthly Take - April 2020

Mood

Some days, doing ‘the best we can’ may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn’t perfect on any front - and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else. - Mister Rogers

Currently Coveting

Self care may have gone to the wayside but it doesn’t mean that I’m not coveting a few self care items…you know to freshen up my lewk when I leave the house again. I am the worst at painting my own nails (actually, anyone’s nails) so I’m really intrigued by this Mani Bootcamp Box by Olive & June. It might just make the perfect Mother’s Day gift…because I can guarantee that we all need some pampering this year - even if it’s just some alone time doing our nails.

Currently Coveting Kids Edition

My youngest is about to turn three and is growing like a weed. With the warmer temps this weekend I have been eyeing some Spring jackets and I just can’t resist a quilted version. This blue and white floral quilted jacket makes me so happy.

Favorite Product

We made a rainbow heart on our door earlier this week and this set of Crayola pre cut construction shapes has hearts in every color and saved us so much time. I’m a fan of anything that can make me a bit more efficient and the kids love these for making collages and homemade cards. Honestly, I’m so grateful for all of the art and craft items I have been collecting over the years. They have been put to great use!

Design Pick

Have y’all heard the term “Granny Chic”? It’s most likely just a marketing design term but for me it makes me think of whimsy, color and needlepoint. I wish I had taken up embroidery or needlepoint so that I could be doing it to pass some of the time (not that I have much alone or free time) it would just be nice to work with my hands and create something. On the top of that list would be to stitch the Ecto-1 Ghostbusters car for my son. I would 100% frame it and style it on a bookshelf.

What I'm Reading

If you’re after a bit of escapism via a book, The Last Romantics has kept me engaged for the last week. The writing is incredibly fluid and the characters are captivating.

What I’m Listening To

We are listening to a lot of the Trolls World Tour Soundtrack right now. It might now always be my top pick but there are some mash ups that have been helping us all release some pent up energy.

What We're Reading the Kids

The kids are reading a lot of books these days as I’m sure yours are too! We’ve been organizing our book shelves and thankfully, uncovered some gems we had forgotten about.
- My 8 year old is focusing on a daily reading log which is mostly filled up with details about her current favorite, Mrs. Rapscot’s Girls.
- My 5 year old asks to read We Don’t Eat Our Classmates at least five times a week, he almost has all the lines memorized.
- The youngest is about to turn three and she loves Eloise. Don’t get me wrong, I love Eloise too but when someone requests it every night for a month it gets a bit old! It’s also quite long so I often try and skip a few sentences but she catches me almost every time!

What I’m Watching

I have no self control when it comes to binge watching television shows. If the show is on Netflix or Amazon I will watch an entire season in one night and stay up way too late. I’m trying to avoid this as it sets me up for little patience the next day. So I’ve been watching a few shows in real time aka watching one episode a week. Homeland, Outlander, Belgravia and World on Fire have currently been capturing my attention.

Instagram Handle

I’ve been discovering a lot of new artists this past month and Sam Sidney and her felt portraits have completely captivated me! Her take on popular musicians are some of my favorites. You can order commissions too!

Guilty Pleasure

I still love to online shop but for better or for worse there has been a lot of shopping cart abandonment these days. Sometimes putting something in my cart is just as satisfying as making that purchase.

I Need A Vacation

I have so many places I still want to travel to and it makes me sad to lose this time but if I could pick right now I think it might be want to go somewhere remote. Some sort of cabin on a lake in Canada or in Montana…someplace with a large meadow where my kids could just run around and be free and I wouldn’t have to worry about them staying 6 feet apart from other people. It sounds quite lovely right about now.

Shit My Kids Will Eat

Kid Tested & Approved - Since quarantine started we’ve been cooking up all of our favorite recipes for breakfast, dinner and in between. The kids have been wanting to get more involved in the kitchen (for better or for worse) and their favorite way to do so is by helping us bake. We just tried this new Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Food 52. These squelched all of our cravings and I might I suggest you serve with a glass of milk.

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*To read previous Monthly Take posts, please check out the Archives section of the website.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way but March 2020 will be one I never forget…the entire year for that matter but this month is the month that life as we knew it came to a halt. As a family we had so many hopes, dreams and events to look forward to this year that I fear will not come to pass (at least this year). I’m trying not to dwell on this and the uncertainty many of us feel as we have much to be grateful for and should ideally take this time to reset.

We will have new dreams now and things will get better but they will be different and it’s going to take some time and will not be without effort. In an effort to retain some normalcy and continuity in my life or maybe it’s just control… I’m attempting to still write and share my thoughts. So if this feels insensitive that is not my intention and understand that we all deal with challenges in different ways and my solace is often found within routine…so continuing on with my Monthly Take post is what I’m going to do.