Mother's Day

Mother's Day during quarantine meant that I couldn't enjoy my usual favorite dining experience at Pappadeaux seafood restaurant, at least not like I normally enjoy it when I get to pick a favorite spot to dine in. Instead, we decided to take a longer drive to the Galleria area and pick up some greasy Mexican food to-go at my all-time favorite spot for breakfast tacos. It's a fast food spot called Chachos that I used to enjoy long ago when I was much younger and lived much closer to that area. I think most people love Chachos for their 24/7 service of margaritas and Mexican favorites - especially after a long night of drinking and partying, ha! Clearly that's not why I love it. They really do make the absolute best breakfast tacos, night or day, and the other favorites like chips and queso never disappoint either.

After the 30-40 minute drive to Chachos, we ordered our food from the drive-thru and ate our "picnic" in Jeff's truck in the empty parking lot. The kids were happy - can't go wrong with chicken quesadillas - and Jeff and I devoured the yummy breakfast tacos. They hit the spot! It was a totally random but fun excursion on yet another day where we would've been stuck indoors.

I should also mention that I managed to fix my hair and makeup and actually put on "hard pants" (a.k.a. jeans) for the first time in weeks for our Mother's Day Chachos outing. With all of that work (haha), we made sure to snap a few front porch pics to mark the occasion.

Quarantine Pool Playdates

As the weeks and months wore on with our local quarantine (lockdown?), we admittedly were "over it" and began relaxing our self-imposed restrictions. We still kept close to home, but the kids were longing for some social interaction and the newly finished pool was calling their name. Recently, we had two new families move in across the street from us and they both have daughters around Kaitlynn's age. Once we all agreed that swimming and enjoying the outdoors was an acceptable quarantine activity for us, the girls began coming over frequently to swim. Connor was also able to invite a friend over here and there. It was our "slow launch" back from total isolation, and we were so thankful to finally enjoy some normalcy again.

Random Days of Quarantine

As the loooong quarantine days of isolation loomed ahead, each day at home seemed to bleed into the next. Over and over again, like Groundhog Day. I began to notice the same patterns in our daily schedule, one of which the way the kids would greet us each morning when they woke up. I was usually downstairs in the living room when one and then the next kid would emerge from their bedrooms with bedheads and sleepy voices. The funny thing I began to notice is that each kid would do the exact same thing - come to the balcony (usually with their blankets) and look down to let us know they were awake. Day after day, week after week. It made me smile and so I took some photos to remember.

There were many discussions in our house about heading out during quarantine for various errands and wondering whether we should wear a mask or not. At that point, masks were very hard to locate and purchase. Connor had some little cloth bandanna from camp, and he also was given a custom mask to match his baseball uniform. Those were the only "masks" we had until we were able to buy some medical masks once the stores restocked. It was always an adventure leaving the house and wondering what might be in stock (or not) as retailers tried to keep up.

We mostly just stuck close to home and tried to find various ways to entertain ourselves. It didn't take Connor long to polish off his GIANT bag of Mike and Ike's candy from his birthday, and then we did some baking to replenish the stash of treats. Sugar seemed to be one of the main bright spots for us at home, ha!

Another bright spot during quarantine was the official graduation - though anticlimactic - of Connor from Junior High and Kaitlynn from Elementary school. The schools tried their hardest to mark the occasions in various special ways, but the drive-thru "celebration" ended up being pretty disappointing for Connor and then Kaitlynn just skipped hers. But at least she got a cool yard sign to commemorate the event!

Connor's Teen Bedroom

After completing the updates for Kaitlynn's bedroom a few weeks earlier, it was time to move on to Connor's. I had been contemplating how to decorate his room for a while, and he was no help when I asked him for ideas. The only request he made was to have some color-changing LED lights installed. Somewhere along the way, he also decided that he wanted to be surprised with a room reveal like we had done for Kaitlynn. Normally Connor is NOT a fan of surprises, but I later found out that he opted to be kept in the dark about his room so that he wouldn't have to help with the painting or decor installation. Stinker!

I was really stumped with what to do for his room, but we started with his existing Houston Texans bedding, a coat of red paint on a couple of walls (thank you, Jeff!), and some printed wall photos of my favorite sports images from his years of football, baseball, and basketball. I found a few fun decor items here and there, like a glass lamp that we filled with baseballs and some cool wood and metal shelves that matched his existing bed. Jeff installed the LED lighting on the ceiling to trim out the painted walls, and then we began filling in the decor with some existing sports items and some memorable photos of friends and family. Jeff even painted a wall in Connor's adjoining bathroom along with a picture hanger that we used to display some sports medals. The room slowly but surely came together, and we all loved the finished result. It truly looked and felt like a cozy teen hangout, complete with some additional seating and a ladder desk for a small workspace.

When it was finally time for the surprise reveal, we couldn't wait for Connor to see his new room. To be honest, I wasn't sure how much of a surprise the room would be, simply because we had used the same color scheme and Houston Texans decor for many years. But with the many personal touches and new items here and there, I was really hoping he would love it. I videotaped his response and took some pictures as well.

Drum roll...he LOVED it! He was shocked at how the room had been transformed, and even I had to admit that it looked quite different from before. He was all smiles as he took it all in, and he kept noticing new little things here and there all around the room. His favorite part, of course, was having the LED lights and finding out that he could program them through his Alexa device. He also loved the little plaque at his desk that says, "I'm kind of a big deal." (It had Connor written all over it, ha!) Other favorites included his new baseball lamp and the wall-mounted metal rings to hold his game balls that he has collected through the years.

Another successful bedroom project in the books! It was so rewarding to see him soak it all in, and it soon began to sink in for me that this is likely the last bedroom he will enjoy before he flies the coop in a few short years. Ouch.

Pool Fun

After a ton of chemicals and a helpful tutorial from our pool builder, we finally began to see our new pool in all of its glory. The crystal blue water and fountains add such ambiance to the backyard, and Jeff is enjoying his new outdoor grill and patio as well. Of course, we are a long way from "finished" because the next phase of landscaping is just beginning. But here's to the beginning of our next chapter with fun in the sun in our own backyard!