The Worry Woo Monsters is an award-winning series of children’s books and plush dolls written and illustrated by Andi Green. Created to promote healthy emotional awareness, this line of SEL {Social Emotional Learning} books is in over 1,000 schools worldwide teaching children how to embrace and express difficult emotions in a positive way.
For Andi, however, art quickly became her outlet as a child when she personified the “monsters” in her head into lovable characters, which empowered her to open up and share these characters with others. So, during this quarantine, Andi encourages parents to get creative with their children during her Draw-A-Woo tutorials and Facebook Live book readings. She’s also sharing with us how she is staying healthy {aka sane} now that she’s suddenly juggling three careers — a teacher {homeschooling her kids}, a children’s book writer/illustrator, and CEO of her very own publishing company, Monsters In My Head. Here is her at-home self-care routine.
How do you stay healthy and not go stir-crazy during a quarantine?
Having two kids, ages three and a half and six, the stir-crazy part can be challenging. But we are making it work. To keep healthy, both physically and mentally, I try to run in the early morning and walk both my dogs before the day begins. Because schools are closed I am also the PE teacher so we’ve been doing a lot of jumping jacks, obstacle courses, and dance parties. The stir-crazy part, that’s a whole other can of worms. I try and remind myself this is temporary and for the greater good, but it can definitely creep up on me.
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What have you been eating? Do you have any recipes to share?
I’ve been trying to keep us on a similar schedule as we always have been. I love to make soups, so we have had more soup than usual. I’m also making lunches in the same containers that the kids usually take to school with their snacks all prepared so they feel like they have some sort of normalcy. And we have a lot of leftover dark chocolate chips and vegan marshmallows so we’ve made our favorite banana bread and Rice Krispie treats.
My favorite website for recipes is here. I love to play around with this blueberry banana spelt muffins. A recipe to share is vegan Rice Krispies {this makes a lot!}:
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- 1/4 cup {56g} of vegan butter
- 10.5oz {300g} of vegan marshmallows 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 6 cups {210g} of Brown Rice Krispies
How do you destress during the hysteria?
I draw, run, or walk. I’ve always run during stressful times so I have to push myself to wake up and resume a normal early schedule. I also find drawing with my kids really therapeutic. When we are all in a good rhythm together it makes everything better. They are anxious so I want to make sure they have ways to destress. Finding a balance between “school” and home can be hard. Some days we play more, some days we work more. The goal is to make sure the worries they have don’t put them in a tailspin. We talk a lot about how we are feeling. I am a huge advocate of addressing feelings head-on…no surprise there.
What product do you admit to stockpiling?
Frozen berries, my favorite soup spice by Seitenbacher and sweet and hot jalapeños! When I read it.. it looks so funny.
Are there any online exercises you recommend?
I don’t go online for exercise for myself, but the kids and I do a lot of GoNoodle.
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What have you been able to creatively recreate from your daily routine at home?
I really haven’t been able to recreate my daily routine. With the kids home I have to manage my expectations. If I can get some work done… awesome… if I can get out there and run… even better.
I have started some new routines I am excited about. I’ve been doing Facebook Live readings of my books and Draw-A-Woo sessions. Social media has always been hard for me, so being in lockdown has forced me to change my normal habits and learn some new things.
What are your favorite local businesses you can’t wait to reopen and are currently supporting from afar?
There are too many places!
Keep up with Andi at @theworrywoos!
Know of a self-care or wellness guru that should be featured? Email us at hello@hobokengirl.com!
