Here in Alaska we are coming out of quarantine life and things have somewhat returned to “normal:” almost all stores are back open, we have been attending church again, our training groups are back training together, and we have been seeing other people in small groups outdoors whenever possible. However, there is a mask mandate right now, so we wear masks anytime we go into buildings; many people are still working from home; we aren’t doing as many play dates; and we aren’t having large groups of people over to our house. (So far we’ve only had my in-laws and one other friend over.) But since this blog is also a digital diary for me, I wanted to document what quarantine was like for our family since it was such a pivotal part of our year (and life for that matter)!
In many ways quarantine was very similar to normal life for us. I still had the two boys to watch all day, every day, so I didn’t find myself with an endless amount of extra time like a lot of people. The two biggest differences was that Craig started working from home (although it took a while) and Cullen had to take a break from preschool for a few months. He is back to his two days a week, which is nice for me because it allows me to get some more work done like this blog post.
Running
Going into quarantine, my running was really starting to pick up. During March, April, and the first half of May I was logging a lot of miles and feeling really good. However, everything came to a screeching halt on Mother’s Day when I aggravated my Achilles. It took almost two months to heal, but for the past two weeks it has finally been feeling 100%!
Work
My coaching business has really picked up this past couple of months, which is exciting to be helping more people. I am fortunate that I can fit work in around when the baby is sleeping, while Cullen is playing, in the evenings, or on the weekends. It allows me to stay home with the boys, so it is worth the trade-off.
I stopped working at Skinny Raven Sports (the local running store) when they closed for the “hunker down” order here in Alaska. Since their reopening, I have only been picking up shifts here and there around our family’s schedule.
I’ve continued to do my best to write blog posts, post on Instagram, work on my Beautycounter business, and upload my outfit photos to Like to Know It.
Family
It has been so nice to spend extra time with Craig especially. He is still working from home and will be for the foreseeable future. On his breaks during the work day, he is able to play with the boys, give me a break, or help out around the house which I appreciate so much. If he ever goes back to working in the office all day, I am really going to miss it.
The Boys
Overall, the boys have loved having each other around all day. Cullen is obsessed with Bjorn, and Bjorn lights up when he sees Cullen.
Of course there were days (especially at the beginning) when we stayed in pajamas way too long and had a bit too much screen time, but in general we were good about getting ready every day and keeping the screen time to a minimum. This picture makes me laugh a little. This was one of the first times Bjorn saw the TV on (since we rarely use it), so he was pretty enthralled.
Luckily Cullen did fine staying home all day, every day. He definitely missed going to preschool, but he did okay without it too. Once the restrictions relaxed a little, he did start going back to preschool at the beginning of June. When we was home (and still on the days he doesn’t go to preschool), I try to do some school work with him. He particularly loves geography, math, and learning about animals right now.
On Fridays, I usually tried to do a fun field trip for Cullen to get him out-and-about especially once the weather got warmer. We would often hike and spend some time outdoors since the trails are endless here in our backyard.
Food
I didn’t have the luxury of extra time to experiment making sourdough bread or make an extravagant meals, but we did order out more than we ever have (which was only a handful of times). Ha!
For the most part though, we have stuck to our normal meals. If anything, Craig has been cooking more for us–often making breakfast for me while out running, so it is ready when I get back. And we’ve had more family dinners in the evenings since I have been coaching less and there are less activities happening in general.
We did make this easy, fun snack tray a few times for afternoon snacks or small meals.
In many ways I really enjoyed quarantine. It was nice for Bjorn’s naps because when he was taking three naps a day, it is hard to get out and do anything between those naps anyhow. Plus, we’ve discovered he is not a car napper as I think I’ve conditioned him to only sleep in his crib. Having Craig around all day has been nice too–and especially nice because we haven’t driven each other crazy. (It does mean more dishes for me and spending more time picking up the house though.) I am glad that quarantine happened as the weather was turning nice because it made it easier and nicer to get outdoors, which was definitely good for us all!
Of course it has been a bummer not to have races to run this summer, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t have been able to run many of them because of my Achilles injury. Our first in-person, modified race is this next weekend, and I plan to run the Hightail Quarter Marathon as a workout. It won’t be the same to run it as a race, but doing a workout with others around seems more enjoyable than by myself.
I’m off to do my workout for today–a 7 mile run with 3 miles of 2 minutes “on,” 2 minutes “off.” Here’s to hoping I can’t hit the super fast splits my coach likes to write for me. 🙂
