Life Lately

Hello friends. I am going to be honest here... I am struggling a bit. My motivation level is down, my desire to get up, get dressed and do anything is low too. I find myself staying in pajamas all day and not sticking to the schedule I prepared for our family. I am in such a funk! Don't get me wrong, I feel incredibly fortunate to be safe, healthy and spending quality time with my people, but knowing we have nothing to do and nowhere to go has just made me feel sort of blah. Anyone else feeling this way? I will take blah over what those essential workers must be feeling... I truly am grateful for every single one of them. Today I wanted to pop in and share what we've been up to lately. Not a ton to share, given the times, but a few cute pics of Ella, as always.


We've been spending so much more time at home, that Ella is finally starting to really love some of her toys. I know there are other young Moms that follow me, so I wanted to share some of our favorite toys during this 'quarantine.'

Ella has been very into her fake make-up set. We got it at CVS on a last minute trip right before shit really hit the fan... Excuse my French, but really. I had already been avoiding big, crowded stores, but I could sense things were going to get worse... I wanted to grab medicine (just in case we got sick) and since we live right across from CVS, so I walked over and stockpiled both medicine and random toys that they had there.


On this day she was doing Peppa Pig's make up, haha. She asks to play with her make up set every morning by rubbing her cheek, like she's applying blush!


Another CVS find was a Mr Potato Head. Ella LOVES him and whenever she wants to play with it, she grabs her head like this picture.


It's so darn cute. She has had a blast with this toy and I am so glad I grabbed it for her.


Ella's giant Mickey Mouse from Grandpa comes EVERYWHERE with us. 


She asks for him first thing in the morning, and if we don't bring him to the living room with us, she goes back in her room and drags him out herself. She wants him to eat with her too, and even 'fed' him some of her bananas and green beans.


I was a nanny for a few years, and the family texted me that they had some books and puzzles for Ella- all clean and ready to go. They left them outside their door for us and we picked them up. Ella has been LOVING everything.


Ella's personal favorite is the Melissa & Doug Latch Board. We do this together at least 10x a day now.


Ella's Mickey Mouse tool set has been a new favorite as well... we got it at Kohls.


Ella grabs this off the shelf and keeps herself entertained with it for a while.


Her little kitchen set from Ikea has been her favorite right now too. 


She has been loving the chalkboard. She loves drawing on it and then using a wet paper towel to clean it off.
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While Ella has been loving her toys and play time, Michael and I have been enjoying cooking meals together. We have both always loved cooking and eating yummy meals at home, but I definitely think during a busy work week, we let other things take priority. Having more down time to think about meals and perfect certain recipes has been super fun.

We made a vegetable-tofu soup, inspired by our favorite Thai take out place in town.


So yummy! Lots of veggies and tofu in a chicken broth, with a ton of garlic and a bit of sesame oil. Voila!


We have been making lots of 'tacos.'


Which is basically me throwing meat, whatever random veggies I have and cilantro on a tortilla. 


I make Ella steamed potatoes a lot, and this day I had leftovers so I turned it into a smashed loaded potato.


It was actually delicious, but I would have preferred a baked potato over steamed. Going to make this again the right way later on!


Rice bowls with chicken and veggies are one of my favorites. Never underestimate the deliciousness of rice, meat and veggies in a bowl!



If you know anything about Maine, you know about the Whoopie Pie! It's the states 'favorite treat' and is soooo yummy. I was craving them BADLY but I don't think you can buy them in California??  I decided to try and make them. This was my first time making them EVER and I was nervous, but they came out surprisingly yummy.


I did a cookie butter filling, and my oh my, so tasty! 


As you can see, my attempt at heart shaped whoopies was not successful... I am going to make a whole post about these delicious treats, so don't worry, the recipe is coming!
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We've continued to take lots of family walks!

 

Sometimes Ella takes her stroller or sits in the wagon. And sometimes she likes to walk with us! I encourage her to do as much walking with us as possible, it helps her burn some energy since we really aren't able to leave the house otherwise.






My walking girl!
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My brother's birthday was on the 1st, and it makes me so sad to think this pic was taken the last time he saw Ella...


She was sooo small! I can't wait till this is all over and I can go see my family in Maine. Happy birthday Uncle Bryan!
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We've been doing crafts together and making a total mess with our sensory bins!


On this particular day it took me almost 30 minutes to vacuum up Ella's mess... :) 


What else have we been up to?
Michael and I did some deep cleaning and organizing.
I have been working on unemployment stuff...
I am almost done with my 2nd puzzle.
A few pages in my crossword book are filled in.
I have started working out from home and am sore as we speak. 
Michael has been running every single day, I have joined him a few times.
Lots of playing board games and cards.
NETFLIX is our friend!
And that's about all.

Ella has been super needy, clingy and needs my attention now more than she EVER has, so even getting a blog post done is hard. I am going to try and put some recipe posts together and maybe some home tour stuff, but I have absolutely 0 promises when those things will be done.

Love to you all, stay safe!
-Ashley & Ella 

4 comments

  1. Welcome back! I know how tough life has been lately. I personally had a mental break down each day for three weeks. Then I just snapped (crocodile tears, heavy breathing, and screaming all involved) and then after that I decided that I wasn't going to let this thing rule my life. I have decided to make my life as "normal" as possible. I am working during the week, getting plenty of rest, running errands when I need to (yes, the drive-thru coffee runs are necessary), and going on plenty of walks after work. It has been essential to staying sane and positive! Have you found anything that helps you stay sane? Also, not telling you how to feel but remember how fortunate you are to have Michael AND Ella ... I live alone in a 2 bedroom apartment with no family close by. So its been very isolating. :( Is Michael still working? In Minnesota, Dentists can still work if there is an emergent need and many dentists have been very busy! I am keeping my fingers crossed my dentist appt next month doesn't get cancelled! <3

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    1. Hi Lindsay! Thanks for reading & the comment.
      I am sorry that you are feeling lonely! I know it's hard right now and I definitely feel fortunate to have my family home with me. Michael's office is completely closed unless a life threatening emergency, same with the offices I work for. He has not had to go into work, thankfully. Dental professionals are at extremely high risk due to the aerosols produced during our work-- and that means all patients being treated in the office are at high risk as well. It is my professional opinion that no offices should be practicing at this time unless for absolute emergencies. If it were me, I would NOT be going to a dental appointment right now. Even in the absolute cleanest office, practicing all standard precautions, there is nothing that can be done with the aerosols produced during our work. Maybe reschedule during a safer time? I hope you start to feel better with everything going on!

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  2. It is good that Ella has some new toys to play with!

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  3. I haven't made whoopie pies from scratch in years.. my husband loves them but I have never been a fan despite trying all sorts of different fillings. I really should make him some.

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