Hey there! Thanks for visiting my new Blog! I'm Michele and I'm so excited you are here!
So who am I? I am a mother of two incredible boys...our oldest is Matthew and he is 6 and our youngest Ryan is 2 years old, I am married to my wonderful husband Jason for 11 years, and we have an adorable cat named Zoey. I love music, ice cream, sports (a NY Giants and Yankees house over here), my family, being outdoors, writing, I love EVERYTHING about the summer, I am an elementary school teacher, and just recently, a stage 3 Breast Cancer SURVIVOR!!!
The past few years for my family, have been nothing short of crazy. 2014 - Matthew was born, then there was a gallbladder removal for me, followed by two miscarriages, throw in a concussion for me, then in 2018 our rainbow baby Ryan was born and our family was complete. Then the kicker...ready for it? I was on maternity leave from work when 7 months after Ryan was born I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went though months of aggressive treatments and a few surgeries and many ailments while trying to parent my kids as best as I could. And juuuuussst when I reach the other side, juuuusssst when my life was starting to get back to some kind of normalcy....boom...the world shuts down. Everything stops. We are on lockdown and quarantined.
Matthew was finishing Kindergarten, Ryan had just been enrolled in a mommy and me gym class so I could finally start to do something with him after months of lying in bed, and he had also started going to daycare twice a week so that I could have the time that I desperately needed to continue to heal from everything that I had just endured. Jason was working at his job out of the home, as he usually would be and his routine was finally getting back to somewhat normal for him as well. Things were starting to fall back into place. Then, just like that, we were all home.
At first, everything was a free for all. We had to figure out our routine. Eventually, we turned our kitchen into a classroom and Jason and I came up with a plan on how we would help Ryan, teach Matthew, and how Jason could work himself. It was quite the transition and Matthew did have a tough time in the beginning, but me being an elementary school teacher, I was able to pull out all my tricks. And soon enough, Matthew was good. We were all good. Ryan was on a schedule too, as far as playing went, and tv/ipad time, and outside time. We made it all work..... school, playing, outside time, tv time, zooming with family. We didn't miss a beat. And just like that, we were all home together and we were good.
When I was going through my cancer treatments, with the help of my support system - my husband, my parents, my sister and her family, my inlaws, other family members, all my friends, everyone helped us to ensure that our kids lives, for the most part, didn't really have to change a bit. Everything went on as normally as it could. And throughout this quarantined time, we have been doing the exact same thing. Aside from the not socializing with other kids part, these kids have it made, because, thanks to my creativity, and my husband's willingness to follow my lead (haha), we've been able to keep them busy. So I decided that maybe there are others out there who might want to read about what others have been doing, for some ideas for their own kids. And since I love to write, TheQuarantinedMama was born!
Here you'll find tips and tricks and ideas to help you during these crazy times. No judgements, no politics - just positive thoughts and a few fun ideas with some cute pics to go with.
Again, thank you for coming to read my blog. I hope you come back again soon! Subscribe for notifications on when I post next! Stay safe everyone!
TheQuarantinedMama
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