Screaming in my Cardi B voice, “Coronavirus, $#!^ is getting real!” If you haven’t seen this video of Cardi sharing her fears with her fans over the continuous spreading of COVID-19, then you need to ASAP its hilarious.
So how ‘real’ is this threat? So real, that the governor of this great state of Maryland along with the superintendent have agreed to close all public schools for two weeks. Yes, two whole freaking weeks. If you’re a working parent like myself then one of two thoughts just ran through your mind. Either one, who’s going to watch my child(ren) while I’m at work? Or two, my child(ren) are about to eat everything in sight! Am I right? It’s a well known fact that no one can empty out a refrigerator faster than kids on spring break or summer vacation. I truly believe they are petitioning to turn snacking into an olympic sport! Seriously, the thought of having my son home 24/7 for two weeks is enough to scare my tubes tied! Don’t get me wrong I love my stinker dinker to pieces but at his age, nothing is ever enough except time spent sleeping. Not food, not play-time, not… a… thing.
So here I am. Working remotely for two weeks while also trying to figure out how I’ll entertain an eight year old so that he doesn’t eat our family out of house and home in just 72 hours. Thankfully, his awesome teacher sent him home with tons of homework and we also have access to educational online platforms but these are the ‘just okay’ activities. I’m looking for something fun and creative for us both to do (and even daddy if we can trick him into it, LOL) and that’s when I remembered my DIY paint night kit.
See, a few months back I had purchased canvases, acrylic paint and brushes because I wanted my husband and I to enjoy a quiet paint night / date night at home. Well life happens and we have both been so busy that I guess I must have forgotten about it but believe me, I was too glad to have found it now! I quickly shot over to YouTube to find the easiest DIY paint night tutorial when I stumbled upon The Art Sherpa’s channel. OMG talk about gorgeous paintings! I new almost instantly this was not going to be a mommy and son paint party but rather a, “I’m painting this and you can sit over there and draw tic tac toe”. The artist’s name is Cinnamon Cooney and she has the sweetest personality. Before each painting she scribbles intentions onto her canvas and then blends it in with a damp paint brush. Now anyone that knows me, knows I’m am all about asking the universe for what you want and being ready to receive it so I loved Ms. Cinnamon straight out of the gate!
I poked around her channel for a bit until I found a painting I thought I’d be able to easily complete. Lucky for me, The Art Sherpa’s channel breaks down the skill level needed to complete each painting so I kept my butt over in the beginners section and settled on following her guide to painting the, Easy Aurora Borealis Acrylic painting. Now I know what you’re thinking…What’s Boog going to paint? Well obviously he was not interested in painting what I wanted to paint so he chose a sun and moon canvas we had laying around and also decided to freestyle on a blank canvas.
Finally, we’re ready to do this! As I transform my kitchen into a makeshift art studio, I couldn’t help but think – If any of this gets on my kitchen floor, I’ll never hear the end of it. Not wanting to convince my husband that there’s zero chance of paint ending up on the floor, I decide to place old newspapers beneath our kitchen table. Now my kitchen looks like an art studio if a parakeet decorated it. We both take our seats, I hit play on my laptop, and we begin our paintings. Fast forward about 45 min and let’s just say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder…LOL.
I’m going to blame my finished product disaster on the fact that my paint quality was crappy and I didn’t have some of the colors used in the tutorial. I really wish I had the pink color because I think it wouldn’t have look as funky. Boog on the other hand had a great time painting buildings and trees and I guess that’s really all that matters. Well, that and the fact that he hadn’t raided the snack cabinets for almost an hour!
Mama mission accomplished!
What are you doing to keep your child(ren) busy and the creative juices flowing during this mass quarantine? I’d like to know! Share down below or shoot me a message on Instagram @WithLove_Meek. I can use all the tips I can get during the next 2-3 weeks!
Until next time,
With Love,
~Meek
WithLoveMeek 