It’s currently been about 45 days in self isolation during the Covid19 crisis. For some, it’s been a bit of a vacation… time off work, at home with your spouse, Netflix marathons, home renovation projects, sounds like a dream. For those of us with kids, there’s no vacation about it. In fact, it’s much more difficult than normal stay-at-home mom life without the zoo days, museum trips, outings, adventures to break up the monotony of just being at home all the time. And of course, I’m missing my days off while Giulian spends time at Grandma’s house. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful for the extra time with Nick and Giulian, but gosh 45 days in a row stuck at home can feel like groundhog day.

There are a few things that have been keeping our sanity in tact. These five things have been essential each and every day for our mental, physical and emotional well being during self isolation. I hope you find them helpful and if you’re not already doing each thing I’d suggest giving it a shot!

Taking Daily Walks

Walking daily has been a life saver. I find when I’m super irritable and my patience is low, the best thing I can do is take a walk and get some fresh air. On the days it snowed here in Denver and we couldn’t walk, I found it affected my mood so much. If you’re not much of a walker some other ideas to get fresh air might be reading a book on your front porch, having a backyard picnic, or do some gardening. Something that’s been bringing us joy on our walks is the hidden painted rocks! Have you heard of this? It’s adorable. People are painting rocks and hiding them all over, when you find one you can take it. To keep the fun going you can paint more rocks and hide them throughout your neighborhood. Giulian gets way more excited for walks if he knows we will be on the hunt for colorful rocks. Yesterday we found one with a flower on it, and one painted as a ladybug. What a fun way for the community to come together during this strange time.

Getting Quality Sleep

It’s not news that getting quality sleep can help with your sanity, but during this time I find it more important than ever. Especially if you’re a parent and need to keep up with those energetic kids all day, every day, on repeat! If I haven’t slept well, the next day I’ll find it harder to focus, my patience is low and I’m just moodier gal. Nobody wants to be trapped in a house with a moody mommy, so do your best to catch some solid z’s each night. Unfortunately that can be easier said than done. There’s so much uncertainty and fear in the world right now, and it’s causing a lot of people to have anxiety and also affecting sleep quality. I’ve absolutely experienced this, waking up in the middle of the night thinking of ten new things to question right now in regards to the economy and world health.

A great option to help you get some better sleep during this stressful season is this amazing product called Slumber CBN. The product is a new all natural product that is derived from CBN, found in hemp. They use organically grown hemp, it’s a Colorado based company and I love that these products contain no THC, are vegan and non-GMO. I’m sure you all have heard about CBD, it’s becoming more and more popular. CBD is similar to CBN, but it isn’t known for producing a sleepy, sedative effect. CBD is more commonly used for those trying to relieve physical pain, inflammation, and anxiety. So if you’re looking for a natural sleep aid option, CBN is a great choice. You can find out more about this product HERE. I hope it helps you if you’ve been struggling to get quality sleep during this worrisome season we are all in. For 10% off use the code dgreco .

Use Music To Change Your Mood

Music can make you feel a certain way in an instant, it’s one of the quickest ways to change your emotional state in my opinion. If I’m feeling anxious, some good worship music can do the trick. If I’m feeling exhausted, I need some “pump me up” music to get my energy up. If I’m sad, a little Happy by Pharrell will do the trick. Whatever emotion you’re feeling a bit of music might help make you feel better. It’s a simple yet effective way we’ve stayed positive and sane while in quarantine.

If you have young kids and they like to party like our son does, have some dance parties. It’s been a really good way to burn some energy and change the mood in our house. Who doesn’t love getting down to some 80s tunes in these strange times we live in? Turn on your favorite tunes and dance like no one is watching, even though the neighbors probably are watching.

New activities and crafts

This has been a life saver. If you have kids then you know they need constant entertainment and that can be exhausting. Parents are missing the days we can burn our kids energy playing at the playground, or taking them to the zoo, reading time at the library, Chick-fil-A play place, a museum, playdates, etc. Trying to keep each day fresh with a few new things to do or learn can really help keep the kids happy which of course keeps the parents happy. I wrote a list of 100 activity ideas to do with your kids during quarantine, check it out it might spark ideas!

Keep Old Habits & Routines

A sense of normalcy has been bring us peace during this time. When so much of your normal structure is thrown off because of things out of your control, it’s nice to keep habits and routines that you can control to help things feel a bit normal and add structure to your days. This is one thing I’ve been totally thrown off with. Nick has been home more than he used to be so I am always trying to schedule my days around us spending time with him, my mom hasn’t been taking Giulian on Mondays and Wednesdays so I’m unable to get the same amount of work in and schedule my days the way they were before. We’ve been working out almost every day, and although we don’t seem to be getting any fitter (thanks to quarantine snacking), it does help us feel better physically and mentally. We’ve been trying to keep as many of our good habits and routines the same, like our morning routine, Giulian’s nap-time schedule, working out and taking walks.

Overall this quarantine season is one that we will remember for our entire lives. At the end of all this we will have either spent our time wisely or unwisely. I hope some of these tips help make your time at home more enjoyable and also more productive. We will all get through this and life will be back to normal, but in the meantime I think it’s important to make the best of our situation.

I hope you all are staying safe during this season. Thank you so much for reading, please drop more ideas below in the comments. I’d love to hear what’s helping you stay sane during quarantine. Mamas, cheers to you with a big ‘ol glass of wine!

*This post is sponsored by Slumber CBN, all opinions are my own.