Cabin Fever Has Set In!

Cabin Fever Has Set In!

Cabin Fever has set in.

Everyone is cranky, and nobody can get along for any longer than ten minutes, so it seems.

Moods are shifty, tension is high, and I have felt completely helpless to solve any problem in my household, period.

Dishes are piled everywhere. Laundry (both clean and dirty) has found its way out of place and in every room.

If I were to take a trash bag through the house with me today, I would fill it as I walk from my bedroom to my kitchen. Maybe not with trash alone, but with everything that is in my way, underfoot, and things that I am tired of looking at where they do not belong! And the trash, of course.

We’ve had rain. Thunderstorms. Tornado warnings. And more rain.

It got warm and sunny, and then it got cold and cloudy. Mother Nature is still trying to figure out if she really wants spring to fully be here yet.

And the Cabin Fever continues…

Last Friday was that “Amazing Day” we had and yet, starting that very night, at bedtime after everyone was supposed to be settled and, in their beds, sleeping, mayhem began.

The babies didn’t sleep well that night. Fussy and restless, we were all awake nearly the entire night.

Saturday morning, I crawled out of my bed exhausted and ready for coffee.

The coffee didn’t help. And THAT was a first!

Apparently, the boys had stayed awake nearly all night as well, and were only asleep when the sun came up Saturday morning. I was too focused on the babies to realize they were all up, too. Besides Levi. He kept checking on me and the twins.

Bless his little heart!!

I spent the majority of the weekend dealing with fussy babies, dishes, laundry, mess all over the place leftover from the baby cave-man party of five boy children the day before, and tracks of mud and dirt from the front door of my house to the bathroom, where showers were taken and muddy clothes dropped all around.

My nerves were shot when the boys decided they could finally rise from their little places of sweet sleep and rest. Getting anyone to participate in ANY productive activity was like dragging them to school on a Monday, any given week!

And then, real Monday happened.

And it happened all over the place! All week!

Weather complications kept children indoors much of the time, causing further tensions and some excessive arguments and outbursts, and pressure on my already snapping strings!

And then, the miraculous happened!

Electronics were taken away from the older boys, instructions given for two options: productive work around the house and yard with me, or, exiting the house and participating in fun and games TOGETHER outside.

Of course, they chose the latter of the options.

And it worked!

We went for a walk one day, worked outside on some small things another day, and I got more things done inside while they were out from under my feet on the rest of the time! It was great!

We had the ups and downs, of course, but progress was made! I feel like we are back on track! Dinners together in the evening (instead of random snack foods munched on around the house in our own spaces), actual conversations without arguments and drama, and, of course, my seeds are growing and making me smile more and more each day!

The kids still keep me up half the night, but I have coffee.

There’s still sibling drama, but I have coffee.

We still struggle with some things like, schoolwork, certain chores, and fighting during certain video games, but I have coffee.

I have sat up late at night with fussy babies, or just fussy myself… but I have coffee!

Coffee isn’t the only thing that has kept me going through this little Cabin Fever situation, thankfully! We have worked through some of our issues and come so some solutions together.

Setting timers, making lists, taking breaks, and just having our “personal time” away from each other, even in this tiny house, we have been able to survive Cabin Fever amazingly!

Annnnnd, now that I have things moving in order in the right direction, I get to apply some new things into our schedule and routine!

I am excited, the boys are kind of excited, and I know it is going to be a great turning point for us in this “Social Distance” life!

Cabin Fever is still a thing, but it’s not as bad as it was at the beginning of the week! That is enough for me!

Now…

To keep things going in the right direction.

Wish me luck? Haha!

Nah… we are going to do great! And I can’t wait to share the other things we will have going on, and the ideas I have!

There will be written work done, some photo opportunities, videos and audios, and just a lot of things to share from my little family to yours.

Things from “Quarantine Life Survival Kits and Guides”, written by me, to “Bedtime stories: told by the children, not read from a book” which is self-explanatory, and “Cabin Fever Recovery” because that is the one that I needed the most, and I know there are plenty of people out there now who need that as well!

I am looking forward to the next post, and I hope that you are too!

Much Love!

Becca

Quarantine Life Has Amazing Days

Quarantine Life Has Amazing Days

It was Friday evening, as I sat and pondered my day…

Of all the things I wanted to do this day, I did barely any.

And it has been the best day ever!

It started out like most of my days, quarantine or not, and I expected the same as I have had every day for a while now.

Coffee

Shower

Food

Baby Care

Dishes/Laundry

Cleaning

Kids Schoolwork

More Cleaning

And today I was hoping to add some furniture moving and organizing as well.

And then my sister called…

For those who don’t know, my sister is a firefighter in our county. Here, when the tones drop, everyone who is able responds to the call.

Today has been exceptionally windy, and amazingly warm! When my sister called to tell me they had a fire, I told the boys she was bringing “the cousins” and Micah lit up immediately shouting, “YES!! Finally! It’s about time!” And we all felt his words in our souls!

We have been in this “social distance” order for some days now, going on two weeks. Everyone has cabin fever something fierce!

Half of the time we have been secluded in our own homes, unable to attend church, go shopping as a family, go to the park, or anything else recreational outside of our property line, it has also been raining… a lot.

Today was sunny, warm, windy, and just amazing!

My sister dropped off her kids and we set ourselves to the glorious task of playing outside!

Oh, the sound of pure joy!

Children running, laughing, playing, squealing, and having a great time. The dog barking and running with them. The chickens making their chicken noises and running away from everyone with their crazy antics.

I put the twins in their double stroller for their first afternoon in the sunlight.

They had a blast!

We strolled around the yards (mine and the grandparents next door) with them, showing them all the fun things that they will be getting themselves into in the coming months, and watching their little faces light up as they took in the sights.

Everyone spent most of the afternoon outdoors and it was a total blast!

Titus got a sunburn, his first of the season.

We had quality time with a couple of kiddos we don’t get as much time with as we would all like.

My grandparents were able to enjoy all of our littles in one place, at the same time, and seeing the smiles on their faces was well worth every moment of lost sleep.

Yes, lost sleep.

The twins did NOT nap that afternoon, and I didn’t get the sleep I was hoping for either.

But it was perfect, and I was fine with it all.

I got to watch a group of boys run and play, shout and laugh, scream and squeal, and even get a little spooked at weird insects and creepy, crawly things they found in the yard.

My nephews are probably the most energetic toddlers I have ever had the privilege of knowing since Micah was that little! On a normal day, I probably would have been exhausted having everyone together as long as we were together, because my poor sister had TWO fire calls, back to back, but we were starving for some connection with other human beings, in person, and this was that answer to prayer!

I don’t even remember small details about the day, at all. I don’t remember what we did for supper. I don’t remember exactly how long the boys were here. I only remember the feeling.

Pure Joy!

Absolute happiness at finally having an outlet for all the kids, mine and my sister’s, and for myself!

After they left to go back to their home, we all settled inside our house and rested for the remainder of the evening and for bed that night.

I sat and thought about the day and looked over at my list of things I had hoped to get done. The list didn’t matter to me anymore. I was satisfied with the day, the results of the day, and the smiles on everyone’s faces at the end of the day.

The list could wait. There are plenty more days in this “social distance” timeline, and I was not in a rush this day to pile all my “to-do’s” into a single day for everyone to worry about with me.

Now, as nature would have it, I am certain my next post will be about the restlessness, fighting, tension, and crazy in my household. Because I cannot seem to have an “amazing day” post without some sort of insanity following close behind!

But tonight, I don’t mind. Why? Because…

This was an amazing day.

And, although I know there will be rough days ahead, there will be more amazing days as well.

Remember the little things!

Much Love!

Becca