Like most of you parents, I am already over this quarantine. 

Yes I love my children. Yes I'm happy I get to spend precious time with them. 

But let's be honest, I'm not that fun haha. I have struggled so much keeping my girls entertained and learning during this time of isolation. 

I know most of you are going through the same thing. I decided to make a list of fun activities that are easy and keep your kids entertained, at least for a little ;)

- have your kids go grocery shopping in the pantry and pick out dinner
- teach them how to bake your favorite dessert/family recipe
- play library and have them check out books from your personal book collection
- collect cardboard boxes and build a fort/rocket/house
- map out tape on the floor and build a race track
- teach your kids about gardening, plant some seeds in your backyard
- have a spring cleaning competition
- teach them a new sport/skill
- rearrange rooms
- make slime/cloud sand/play dough
- have a movie marathon
- have a dance party
- go for a walk and play eye spy
- blow up a balloon and tell them they can't let it touch the floor
- break out the board games
- blow bubbles
- have a sidewalk chalk art competition
- make a scavenger hunt for random things inside the house, winner gets a prize
- make an outdoor scavenger hunt
- mattress slide: slide your crib or twin mattress down the stairs (use caution)
- good ole hide and seek (Harper's favorite)
- take care of the environment, go for a walk and bring a trash bag to collect waste
- play hopscotch
- conduct some kitchen experiments
- have a blind taste test and guess what you're eating
- have a mini family olympics (who can run the fastest, jump the highest, stand on one leg the longest, hold their breath longest, etc)
- make cards to send to grandparents, aunts, and friends
- get out your camera or phone and have a photoshoot
- have kids walk down a pretend runway and model their silliest outfits
- have a pillow fight


Hopefully these can get your imagination rolling and help you entertain, teach, and have fun with all your little ones. Feel free to share these ideas with family and friends. Also let me know in the comments if you have any great ideas I missed. Also let me know if you try any of these ideas and love them!

Hailey May Kozak surprised us by coming exactly on her due date—May 6th. Harper came a week early so we anticipated that Hailey would do the same. But Hailey wanted us to know that she was in charge of when she would be coming haha. The morning of May 6th I woke up around 7am to use the bathroom. As soon as I laid back in bed at 7:07 I had my first contraction. The contractions were pretty mild: about 1 minute long and 3-5 minutes apart. I decided to labor for an hour at home to see how much I would progress. I had an inkling that this labor would be quicker than Harper’s so I was still being cautious. Harper woke up around 7:45 & Taylor got her ready to head over to our neighbors house. Before Harper left she ran into my room while I was having a contraction. “Your tummy hurts mommy?” I held back tears because she really is the most empathetic little girl. “Yes baby, mommy’s tummy hurts.” I gave her her last hug & kiss as my only baby. It was so bitter sweet. A little after 8am we headed to the hospital. On the drive over my contractions were getting a lot stronger and were about 2 minutes apart. Bad guy by Billie Elish came on the radio & it was NOT my vibe hahah. Literally made my contractions worse. Thanks Billie. As soon as we pulled up to the hospital I started playing some relaxing music on my phone. It was so helpful, highly recommend for all the expecting mamas out there. We pulled up the wrong area of the hospital (did the same thing with Harper) so we had to go on a little adventure to the labor & delivery wing. At this point my contractions were very painful and about 1 minute apart. We got to the check-in desk and Taylor stayed behind to give her my information. My mom wheeled me back and as soon as we got in the room I asked them to check me. Something that was a lot better about this labor experience was that I felt a lot more in control. I told my nurses how I wanted them to help me instead of waiting for them to guess what I needed help with. They checked me and I was at 6cm. I was starting to freak out because I was in so much pain and knew I had a while to go. At this point it was 8:35am. I was planning the whole time to have a natural unmedicated birth because I hated my experience with an epidural last time. But I was in so much pain I said never mind I want an epidural. I started crying just saying I wanted Taylor. Nothing at that check-in desk could be as important as ME IN LABOR. They grabbed Taylor and he calmed me down. I felt the need to pee so I asked to get up and go. As soon as I sat up I had a super painful contraction and decided to lay back down. When I laid back down my water started to break. I asked them to check me again and I was at 8cm. I knew right then this baby was coming out soon (no time for that epidural). I started to really focus on my breath. Literally Taylor was a life saver and kept me on track. They paged my doctor to come (he was on a run and ran to his car and drove over as fast as he could). While he was heading over I started to feel my contractions a lot lower. With each contraction more amniotic fluid would come out. I asked the nurses to check me again. I was at 9cm. My guess is that it was about 9:00am. I really started to feel the pressure to push soon after that. My doctor came running in the room dressed in full on exercise clothing (Nike should have honestly sponsored this moment). He got sanitized and I was ready to get this freaking baby out of me. My body pretty much took over from there. My contractions were pushing the baby out for me. Not going to lie it was the most painful experience I’ve ever had. I was literally screaming at the top my lungs. Taylor was trying not to laugh at my commentary because I was screaming everything I said. Literally I couldn’t control the volume of my voice hahah. The volume needed to match the pain I was in apparently haha. She was born at 9:11am. She was beautiful and pink and everything I wanted. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her tiny leg. She was also born with a little red patch in between her eyes. I think it will fade with time. Right after I had her, all the pain was completely gone. It was a crazy feeling. It was such a euphoric moment. I’m so grateful for my mom and Taylor for staying by my side and helping me through it. And for all the angel women in heaven who were cheering me on and giving me strength. 

Enjoy some horribly candid photos of me and some adorable photos of little Hailey.

Today was my last day at my first job since having Harper. I was so excited to start this job and feel like me again. I've always pictured myself as a career woman. Someone who is highly motivated and work oriented. At first, this job was a nice break from motherhood. It was only part-time so I still spent a lot of time with Harper. However, as time went on, I found myself missing so much about motherhood. I missed mornings with my baby. I missed being with her all the time. I missed all the firsts. My time with her started to become so fleeting like she was slipping from me. Time escaped me every day. And moments could not last long enough. Taylor and I have been struggling over the last few months trying to decided what we would do with Harper when he gets back in school. Essentially my entire pay check would be going to child care & having me work made less and less sense. I was relieved to be able to spend more time with Harper, but also sad to leave so many people that I love at this job. This is the first time I've ever really understood the term bittersweet. How can something you know is right still be so hard and sad? I'm going to miss all the people here who lifted me up, greeted me with smiles, filled with laughter, and saw me as something other than "mom."

I'm saying goodbye to my desk, to my keyboard, to all the papers I've filed, to all the counties I've helped, the all the binders I've completed, the office smells, feelings, sounds, and experiences. Work Carly will miss you. 

 But I'm so excited to steal back those morning snuggles, afternoon crafts, long walks, and precious moments with my little girl I'll cherish forever. 

Part of the re-branding of my blog has to do with this new transition in my life. As I return to being a stay-at-home mom, I still want to provide for my family in any way that I can. I hope you'll support me along this journey and love the content I'll be sharing with you guys. I'll be sharing more about this page and transition in the next few weeks.

xo, Carly