Oh boy, in trying to literally keep up with an actual school curriculum I have managed to include; Music- Piano Practice // PE- Playing Outside // Technology – IPads // Language Arts, Math and more, but one subject was a little left behind, ART!
So here are some free and low-cost ways to keep your kid’s creativity flowing during this extended time at home when they do actually need to get some work done.
As a stay-at-home Mom, I had the luxury of being able to choose to stay home with my children over my career. A choice, that is not for everyone. Prior to having kids I was a high school history teacher. I eventually got my masters in counseling which led to a position as a high school guidance counselor.
My Legacy
Deciding to pick my children over my career was not an easy choice. I was blissfully unaware that the loss of my “identity” would be a part of my journey deciding to stay at home. In the first few years of motherhood, I found peace in knowing that my identity and legacy was going to be how I parented my beautiful children. While I continue to be fulfilled by this, their full time school schedule opened up more time to do me!
Suddenly I found myself in a crossroad, I went from being a full time mom while they were babies, to a part time mom while they were away at school. It’s impossible for the kids to not always be top of mind, but I now had the opportunity to consider my own creative outlet, like our blog. After careful consideration of the bigger picture (lifestyle, finances, etc.) my husband and I decided me staying home was the best option. Most days I’m grateful for the opportunity to be home, but I would be lying if I said there were days that I wished I used the wealth of knowledge I gained in my academic career becoming a teacher and counselor.
Currently Craving:
The Takeaway
Learning to be OK with my life journey has taken some time. I know that it will continue to evolve as I get older. The flip-flopping of my desire to go back to work versus feeling blessed to be at home feels so much a part of my daily emotional roller coaster. As I write this, I find it empowering to remind myself, and those around me, that OUR journey is special and unique. You don’t need to fit your life into a specific check box of either working mom or stay at home mom. Doing “you” in whatever capacity allows you to be the best version of yourself, and in turn the best version of a partner and mother.
We named our first furry baby, Peanut. To be honest, before he arrived I had put him on a one week trial….if it didn’t work out, we were going to send him back. Peanut was born in Texas and arrived via American Airlines where we met for the first time. He was 8 weeks old. Tiny, like a Peanut, with white curly hair. He was terrified. When I reached for him I immediately panicked because I didn’t know what to do next. Once I got hold of him from the back of his crate, he curled into the palm of my hand and calmed the nerves we both had and we both immediately felt a sense of relief. It was clear, I was consumed with so much love for this little animal. It hit me in that moment that we had just become family. It didn’t take more than 5 minutes for me to make my decision that he was staying with us forever!
Most valuable lesson as a dog owner:
Unconditional love. Peanut gave me the gift of friendship with no strings attached. He grew to love me and my husband as his furry parents and we loved him as our furry baby. He journeyed with us through two pregnancies and babies and accepted and protected our kids with every bone in his body. We tragically lost Peanut to a coyote attack shortly after his 7th birthday and it felt just as tragic as the loss of any family member. There were days Peanut and I were besties and days we were frenemies, but we were family. In his absence I learned that he taught me to be more kind, more compassionate and more forgiving.
Today we have Coco another adorable maltipoo. He is everything Peanut was and continues to be for us. While having a dog can sometimes feel like work, there isn’t a moment that goes by that I’m not reminded of Peanut and how his legacy serves as a reminder to not take the human and dog relationship for granted. I can definitely say I am a better person because of my furry babies and will be forever indebted to my dogs for the lessons they teach me everyday!
Your chick,
Sonia
Chick Picks:
There are so many versions of this sweatshirt! The one I am wearing is linked here | A slightly higher end version of it is linked here | Revolve has a distressed version here | Jeans are linked here | Booties are sold out, but I have linked something similar here |Check out the necklace that we all have here see it on me here
When you take a trip with your sister for Spring Break it is a Chick Trip and Family Trip all mixed into one! This year, we set our sights on some southern charm and headed to Charleston, South Carolina. We loaded up our mini’s (all four of them) and pulled off a fun and memorable trip complete with loads of laughs!
What to do:
Carriage ride:
A great way to get your bearings for this quaint city is to take a carriage tour. We hopped over to Palmetto Carriage Works for a ride through Charleston‘s historical district. We absolutely loved our guide, Jim. He was knowledgeable, relevant, and funny! We would highly recommend starting your trip to Charleston with this tour to understand fun spots to visit. As women and as bloggers, we found the story about the Grimke sisters who were early advocates for abolition and women’s rights to be pertinent and interesting. It was a refreshing reminder of women in history and a great teachable moment for our young children! The streets of Charleston are lined with historical homes that make the city truly a place to visit! We got lucky with a morning ride so it wasn’t too hot or too cold.
When we arrived at our hotel, our rooms weren’t ready. In an attempt to kill some time we drove over to Patriots Point and BOY are we glad we did (literally a 12 minute drive from the historic downtown area)! We walked over to the USS Yorktown and toured the ship. Tickets were $22 for adults and $14 for kids. Definitely worth it! The boat was easy to navigate with tours that are clearly marked (audio tours are also available)! We were traveling with 4 young kids who all found the ship’s many rooms fascinating. Aboard the ship you see where crew ate, slept and lived life while on board. The top of the ship was lined with fighter jets from both the navy and marines!
This is an awesome stop for both kids and adults! We went on a simulator that showed what it would be like as a pilot of a fighter jet, this helped jump start the kids imagination when we made our way to see the jets in real life (tickets were $6 per person). I would allow about 3-4 hours to check out the ship. Next door is Fort Sumter, of you plan to do both you would be looking at a full day outing depending on the ages in your group.
Sullivan Island : Lighthouse and Beach
We had planned to stop at Sullivan Island during our planning for the trip. I should warn that we went in the month of April for Spring break and the weather didn’t quite hold up for the beach. We made a stop over at the lighthouse which we could only see as we walked past it. Not the most picturesque lighthouse, but something to see nonetheless. Just past the lighthouse was a boardwalk to the beach. The kids loved collecting shells while we basked in the spring sun. It wasn’t quite warm enough to get in the water, so keep that in mind when planning a visit in the Spring months. A quick mention, if you have young kids and your hopes of spending a day at the beach get ruined, there is a park with playgrounds just up the road that was a savior for us!
What to eat:
Basil
Situated right off King Street in Charleston Basil is a Thai restaurant that has absolutely delicious food! With a blend of vegetarians and non-vegetarians in our group this was a sure bet for dinner. Most dishes can be substituted for tofu. In general we are regulars to Thai food, but I must say the food here stood out! Their Pad Ke Mow is a must try! My kids love Panang curry…unfortunately Basil didn’t offer this but had Massuman curry which was a perfect substitution! If you like Thai, you’ll love Basil.
Basic Kitchen
While shopping with the kids, we were looking for a lunch spot. Upon a recommendation we ended up at Basic Kitchen. This place was gorgeous! It had a light and airy feel and was clean and well staffed. They offered a good selection for the kids menu which made the kids…and us happy! We tried the bbq tempeh, cauliflower wings and avocado toast…all three were so good! This is a must stop for good clean and vegetarian eats!
What a fun Mexican restaurant! You can’t miss it off the main road once you get onto Sullivan Island. This place offered both indoor and outdoor seating, we sat indoor since it was a tad on the chilly side the day we went. They offer an extensive menu of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. It wasn’t like most Mexican restaurants with the standard quesadillas and burritos. They had an array of salads and bowl options as well! Come on, as people who love spicy food, they even had a hot sauce bar…my favorite was the blue agave sriracha..made in Austin, of course! Over lunch we noshed on guacamole and chips, and even sipped on some Paloma’s….we even spotted a celebrity from the show Southern Charm…Austen! I would definitely recommend this place. Of course, you know the chicks at ChicksAndSalsa can’t pass up a food spot for some “chips” and salsa!
Where to stay (or not):
Hyatt Place
We waited until the last minute to book our trip so we had very few options for hotels. We ended up at the Hyatt Place which we didn’t love. When we pulled up they were not very helpful. There was no one to help with our bags or even greet us. We helped ourselves to unloading our luggage onto the cart and then again upstairs…. this made for a terrible first impression! The room easily fit 6 of us, we had two double beds and a pull out sofa bed. The pool was indoor and decently kept, the kids liked that the water was heated so they enjoyed their time! Our room stay included breakfast…we thought this would be a good perk, but the food was just OK and the dining area was very crowded.
We were grateful to have something to start to the day, but truthfully we preferred to have breakfast out of the hotel. Overall, we are grateful to have had a place to stay, but would not recommend the Hyatt place, especially if you are big on service!
All in all, the city is so unique and distinct from the Chicago and Atlanta landscape that we are used to! We loved driving on the beautiful bridges, being by the water, shopping on King Street, and of course eating in Charleston!
Another one for the books, check out our other travel posts here!
