Quarantine Day 5 & 6

“I spent all day thinking I was taking pictures with my phone, only to find I had no SD card in my camera :( So this will be a mostly image less post. ”

Day 5

7:30 AM: Ignored the incessant banging from Oliver in his bedroom for as long as I could until I finally got up.

8:00 AM: He has all of a sudden become a picky eater and refuses to eat almost anything. Fruit is a pretty safe bet but he barely touched the bowl. This is not the time to waste food Ollie-Bear! Doesn’t he get it?

The rest of the kids claim they don’t want breakfast because they are in the basement watching a show. I bet their tune will change once we are in the car for our mural scavenger hunt and there will surely be shrieks of starvation I’ll have to contend with.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM: We do our mural hop of murals around Chicago! We found about 20! And there were so many more we spotted from the car and just didn’t stop for a closer look. Talk about a fun way to practice social distancing as well as learn about art, culture, and different neighborhoods!

3:30 PM: Home and the kids rush straight to the basement for the TV that they clearly sorely missed. Looks like Victorious is the amusement of choice. I clean up the main floor of the house and try and relax a smidge before dinner. Shoot, I have to go into work tonight don’t I?

The Governor of Illinois issued a state wide shutdown / “shelter in place.” It sounds pretty similar to what we have already been doing. Only essential shopping, going to essential jobs (like mine) and still allowing walks and being outside as long as you aren’t close to other people. Cool. We are already 5 days into this and handling it just fine. I hope I can still get takeout… will have to read up more on the specifics.

5:00 PM: Dinner

6:00 PM: Silly face scavenger hunt around the neighborhood.

7:00 PM: Bedtime

10:30 PM: Off to work.

11:15 PM: I guess there is a printout I need to put in my car in case I get pulled over when driving to and from work? Tp prove I am going somewhere essential? Seems overkill but better safe than sorry I guess.

Day 6

8:30 AM: Came home from work to find all the kids around the table. Tried to keep my eyes open and was failing hard.

9:00 AM: Tried to nap while the kids watched Toy Story (it’s the only movie that will hold Oliver in place). Couldn’t sleep through the incessant whining, and being smacked in the face.

1:00 PM: Got to retreat up to the bedroom and sleep for real. Did not wake up again until 8:30 PM. #thirdshiftlife

8:30 PM: Decided nighttime was as good a time as any to clean and so I cleaned and disinfected the kitchen, cleaned the playroom / basement. Separated the giant mountain of laundry. Made it to S2E04 of Westworld. #winning

Top 4 Chic Diaperbags

I know, I know. How has it taken me SO long to talk about my favorite bags when it’s practically  the name of my blog?! 

In fact, diaper bags are part of the reason why I have a blog in the first place. Why?

I am all about inspiring other parents to explore their city, or others, with their children. No matter what their age! But in order for this to be a (nearly) seamless and (mostly) stress free experience, you HAVE to have the right survivors kit. 

For me that all starts with the diaper bag. 

For one, it needs to be pretty large. I mean, I need to fit 4 kids worth of necessities. 

Secondly, it has  to be waterproof inside. I have experienced far too many spilled milk and leaky bottles. I mean, I lose bottle caps like crazy.

Thirdly, it has to be fashionable. No matter what I am wearing. I use my diaper bag every day and my outfit could be sweatpants or Loubs. Either way, I don’t want the bag to clash.  

And lastly? Just because you are a mom doesn’t mean you need to give up your Kate Spade for an ugly diaper bag. Guess what? You can have both! Premium leather, sophisticated style, resilience, etc. I promise you can have the best of both worlds with my top picks. And what’s even more? With some of these you can remove the insert and use them as regular bags and backpacks when your children outgrow them.  

1. Fawn

The Fawn Design Original Bag is just.... rad. You can wear as a backpack or a messenger bag, and the inside can be pulled out for easy cleaning. The outside and inside are made of fully wipeable faux leather. There’s a total of 12 pockets: 6 outside, 6 inside including a zipper pocket. Plus a keychain hook on the inside for your keys! 

They also make chic, leather, fanny packs which I’m positive I need in my life. 

 2.Little Unicorn 

 Every time I mention my favorite baby gifts or products I always mention this company. From their swaddles to their diaper bags, I love all of their products. This Manifest Weekender Diaper Bag was the first professional looking bag I ever found. Made with durable cotton canvas and vegan leather, this bag comes in two sizes. I have the large but there is also a petite size. The large size is perfect for long trips and lots of babies! They have many other designs as well and they are all gorgeous! And of course the inside is easy to wipe down and comes with a changing pad! 

3. Freshly Picked

 My favorite moccasin company now has amazing diaper bags! Pack up everything you need for baby in 10 pockets and a big central space, magnetic front flap, grab-and- go handle, an electronics sleeve, and straps that let you wear it three ways: as a shoulder purse, backpack, or cross-body bag! 

4. Lily Jade

 This company has quite a few different styles but I was sold on the Rosie Grey & Silver. This bag can also be worn three ways but I love it’s structured bottom so it can stand on its own! Plus my favorite color is lining the inside! The inside is so easy to wipe down and it includes a 12 pocket organizational insert with handles that I can easily pull out. Swap the baby stuff and just use as a gorgeous purse! 

PIN ME!

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

Ah yes! My favorite time of year where I get to remind as many people as possible that I get to test bodily fluids all day long and reveal our existence to the world. Medical Laboratory Science involves any and all diagnostic laboratory testing. The types of testing include typing for blood transfusions, predicting a course of antibiotics, cancer testing, cholesterol, diabetes, and the list goes on and on.  

if you thought your doctor was simultaneously seeing patients, running lab tests, and investigating your house for mold, well then you've watched too many episodes of House! ;) (But that would explain those long wait times!)

Doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, etc all contribute their piece to the puzzle and are equally important to the diagnostic process. But since I sometimes feel like we are a hidden profession, I will gladly use the celebration of Medical Laboratory Professionals Week as a platform to remind everyone that we are the ones providing your doctors and pharmacists the necessary results to get the patient their appropriate treatment. I also like to use this week to talk about parasites and bacteria without having to apologize. So there's that. 

But now that you guys have an idea of what I do everyday, what's the best way to get my kids interested in the idea? 

I love all three of my home grown organisms!

It's easy really. Science is all around us and pointing that out to small children is key in raising critical thinkers. Nothing in this world comes together fully assembled, and science explains it all. Start small and as they get older the curiosity will grow and grow. As I was doing some baking for lab week, Sebastian couldn't help but be intrigued by the whole process. His favorite part was watching the cupcakes and cookies expand in the oven. As he got more and more excited, I had to jog my memory with a quick Google search so we could talk about how the baking powder I used released carbon dioxide to help the dough / batter expand. We also discussed how each ingredient we added had a job. Structure, air, moisture, etc. 

The cutest parasites you ever did see. Cupcake toppers courtesy of etsy shop LesPopSweets

Red and white blood cells! Gross to you, interesting to me :)

Ultimately I don't care what profession my children enter into to, but appreciating science and its fundamental role in the world around us just makes for smart, well rounded people. And all I could ever ask is that I raise moral, intelligent human beings that care for their environment and for mankind.  

Typically we avoid taste testing parasites in the lab, but I'll allow it this once.

Chief Pathologist Charlotte!

Look how grateful our Doctor is for those quick results!

Happy Lab Week everyone!