Hello, Friday [March 13, 2020]

I had planned to share a post with a few new-to-me favorite products today, but it feels pretty disingenuous to ask you to shop. Maybe I’ll get that scheduled for next week or maybe I’ll hold off on that for the foreseeable future. Either way, why don’t we just do a brain dump post today instead?

I’ve been missing this space so much (I know I say that pretty much every time I post) and I come up with lists of things I want to write about, but it’s really hard to find the time. Between my obligations for the Birmingham Mom’s Blog and keeping my kids alive, I’m struggling to post more than once a week. I’m not sure you’ll get any award winning content any time soon, but I am trying.

Josh was traveling for work at the beginning of this week. We were both hoping the trip would be cancelled because of the pandemic, but that didn’t happen and we made the most of it. After church on Sunday, we tried to soak up as much daddy time as we could before his flight. It was a beautiful day outside — finally!! — so we put on our boots and walked around for a bit. Polly is so funny about the sun shining in her face and was constantly trying to shield her face. It has been quite awhile since we saw the sun, so I can understand her confusion.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sophie’s school hosted parents for Instructional Night. Different grades had different things going on and the book fair was open for parents to shop with their kids (no, thank you). Sophie took us around to show off some art work and we got to enjoy a Poetry Cafe, thanks to the fourth grade. They had the cutest stage set up with spotlights, served snacks for the parents, and asked us to snap our fingers instead of clap. Sophie shared a lovely free verse poem she wrote about my great aunt, that you can check out on Instagram.

I mentioned last week that Ella was getting excited for cheer tryouts yesterday. She cheered for the first time this past year and loved it. She was the captain of our Junior Varsity team, which has traditionally been a middle school squad. This year, they opened the Varsity squad to rising eighth graders (this is pretty easy to do, since we have a shared middle and high school campus), to allow for a larger team that could compete in the spring. She has been so nervous about making the upper squad, but her mama knew she had nothing to worry about! They posted results last night and our girl gets to cheer at the high school games next year and she is beside herself. The best silver lining is that our cousin Molly is a senior this year and the change in rules is the only reason they’ll get to cheer together. We are all so thrilled to watch them on the same field.

I went to the grocery store after work yesterday and it was madness. We had already stocked our pantry (Josh asked me double our pantry items a few weeks ago, so we had that mostly under control already.), so I was just buying regular weekly groceries, but I had to make so many substitutions because of what was in stock. It was crazy to see which things people were buying (My Aldi had very little bread, hardly any bottled water, and the meat selection was pretty slim.) and which things they thought they could do without. It took me three stores to find toilet paper (Amazon cancelled my Subscribe & Save order because of the shortage) and I was trying not to complain about the frustration of it all. I read this tweet last night and it really sums up my feelings about the state of the world right now. I’m concerned about a lot of things and trying to have a positive outlook, while also knowing that this is going to be a major public health and financial crisis for many people we know. I can’t believe this is actually happening in our life time.

P.S. If you aren’t following Erin Moon on Instagram, you are completely missing out. I subscribe to her Friday newsletter and today’s is filled with COVID-19 adjacent things that are brilliant. She said all the things I wish I could.

I’m about to share a few affiliate links, so be aware of that before you click around!

How about we end on a very light note? I bought a bag from Parker Clay back in November (It was actually a birthday gift from Josh and my parents.) and it has been one of my favorite recent purchases. I had been debating a tote from Madewell, but I love the mission of Parker Clay so much and they had something very similar. I have been happily carrying it every single day and keep forgetting to tell you about it. The patina is lovely and looks better every day and I love that everything fits so perfectly inside. The bags are not inexpensive, but if you’ve already been looking for a beautiful leather bag, then I highly recommend checking them out. They are having a sample sale this weekend (50% off while supplies last!) and there are so many pretty things available.

Kristin is married to her high-school sweetheart and the mother to two daughters. Professional by day and creative by night, she is a family lifestyle blogger who writes about faith, family, and fitting it all into a busy schedule. At Taz + Belly, you’ll find healthy recipes, children’s party ideas, tutorials, DIY projects, and more. Click Here to Read More About Kristin