Weekend 4.25

I’ve been having a little trouble with anxiety this week. It’s not been crippling, mind you, just more of an oh heyyy hi haven’t seen you in a while, low-level kind.

The kind that likes to sneak around undetected, then suddenly come looming out at a good opportunity. REMEMBER ME?

I suppose a global pandemic would be exactly that.

I’ve been dealing with anxiety for most of my adult life. I mean…there’s a reason I gave up drinking caffeinated coffee in my 20s: it was literally making me crazy. So perhaps my current hobby, Stress-Eating Dark Chocolate by the Pound, is — and this is just a wild guess — ill-advised.

Pax had a fever last night. That alone is really nothing to worry about since the kid gets a fever whenever he’s overtired, or — I don’t know the scientific term for this — whenever it’s really inconvenient. Big meeting? Pax gets a fever. About to get on an airplane? Pax gets a fever. Global pandemic? Yup — Pax gets a fever.  

Pax’s fevers are never that high (99-100) but I’ve found that one can only argue with the school nurse so many times before they start to look like an asshole.

At least now there’s no school nurse to argue with! YES! SILVER LININGS!!!!

But since we are no longer living in a normal world, we are living in an Upside Down World, Pax’s propensity to fever is…problematic. [she stuffs dark chocolate in her mouth]

So I’ve been Googling all the fun things: Coronavirus symptoms, COVID in kids, is 99.5 a real fever, etc etc. [she stuffs in more dark chocolate]

And now he has a sore throat! With the not-really-a-fever-fever! [darrrrrk chocolaaaate]

Mike, of course, is completely unperturbed. “Babe, he’s barely been out of the house in six weeks. He’s had zero contact with anyone who isn’t us. He’s fine.”

Of course Mike would think that. Mike, with his annoying logic and his data, and his ruling out of possibilities.  

That said, Pax did just wake up from a Forced Nap with no trace of fever.

Still.  

I’ll just be over here….ordering more dark chocolate. 

It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine. 

Open-minded. I opened this J.Crew sweatshirt and thought, “UGH!!” I mean…it was neon pink. As it turns out, I look amazing in neon pink. It also happens to be the best-fitting sweatshirt I’ve ever worn so now I have the matching pink shorts. If all of this pink is making you uncomfortable…get the white. Totally worth it. (ps. special Sunday night newsletter will have a selfie with the pink sweatshirt. Subscribe here, if you’d like.)

Goes with exactly nothing. Neon pink is a tricky little beast to actually wear with stuff…so now I’m contemplating this pair of pink-ish sneakers or this pair of pink men’s sneakers. Both feel appropriately irreverent. If neither work, I’m going with the Madewell tie-dye slip-ons Linz featured in her Spring Sneakers Guide.

Speaking of white sweatsuits…I’m crushing hard on this short-sleeve sweatshirt and matching shorts. They’re part of Anthro’s 30% off event this weekend (clothes only). I also find myself eyeballing these black tie-dye joggers, but we all know tie-dye anything doesn’t stay in stock for long.

Gwen was horrified. Retailer photos often don’t do a piece justice…but Gwen swears that this Everlane jumpsuit is wayyyyyyy more flattering in real life. Which might explain the 150+ glowing reviews. She’s been living in hers.

Next-level. This chic backyard bean-bag toss game also includes (on the flip side) a way to play tic-tac-toe by throwing the bags. I think it might work for our back patio, too. The kids could throw things off the deck and down into the “board”.

For fake blondes. My roots are obscene, but the rest of my hair color has been holding up quite nicely, thanks to this Oribe shampoo. I’ve never put it to such a rigorous test before, but, well…let’s just say that my last salon appointment was literally the day AFTER the stay-at-home order was put in place. Boo. Now if anyone has an answer for those roots….

Our two most-played family games are…Anomia (it’s what we’re playing in the photo above) and Munchkin. Anomia also comes in a kid edition which I might actually pick up (the boys are at a major disadvantage when they have to name a ‘composer’ or ‘producer’ for example)…and Munchkin, while daunting at first is fun. We were able to teach Linz and her guys Munchkin via Zoom and it’s addicting. If you’re just starting out, maybe try one of the deluxe sets (choose any of these with the word ‘deluxe’ in their title). These come with a game board which isn’t necessary, but does help keep track of levels. And the themed versions will just be witty and fun.

I’m done. I had a few more articles to include about life during the pandemic…but frankly, I need a break. If I still find them as insightful next week, I’ll include.

I did, however, want to thank you guys for the overwhelming support on my last weekend post. This week was…better. I still haven’t found a good balance between my work and their school (or “unschool” or whatever we’re doing now), but our time together is so much more enjoyable.

I hope you too are starting to figure out how to keep yourselves and your loved ones sane, healthy and happy. And I wish you a bit of blue sky to gaze into this weekend.

Carry on, warriors.

xo,

S