Tag: Life as I know it

9 times. Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

Sound familiar? Yeah, here, too. I’m running out of catchy intros for these weekly updates. I haven’t blogged this much in years! So please bear with me – this one might be a little dry. Sorry, life is happening right now.

I did hear a rumor that we may not be going back to school as usual in the fall, at least not for the first semester. I’m sorry, WHAT DID YOU SAY??? I’m all for staying home, riding this thing out, keeping my family safe, yadda, yadda, but I was so hopeful that the kids would get to go back to our beloved school, sit in class with the teachers they adore and the friends they miss, and learn in a normal setting again. For as well as they are all doing here (thank heavens!!), this is not normal. I think Ryan would be back at work by then, though, so that would make things much easier. We love having him home, but the anxiety of having to keep the twins quiet, under control, and generally not destroying everything as they usually do while he’s on calls and in meetings all day long while the big 3 are in school half the day is getting a little… Tedious? Irksome? What’s a nice way of saying HARD?

But. It’s all just rumors right now. I also heard that the state Supreme Court struck down the Safer at Home order as unconstitutional. I’m sorry, what? We’re 9 weeks in and you’re just deciding this now? Seriously, what the hell is going on here? Has everyone lost their damn minds? See, I told you I was running out of my stunning wit and charm here. Emotions are coming to the surface, and I’m trying so very hard to keep everything under control. I succeed most of the time, but then there are those days like my birthday. Please read back a week for the details. 😉

I did have a fantastic birthday after my mind melt, though, and a truly wonderful, celebratory weekend since Mother’s Day was in there, too. We took a really long walk all together on Saturday for the first time in forever, then I enjoyed some delicious birthday bubbly from a friend and neighbor. Plus, Ryan let me sleep in both days, made me breakfasts and coffee, corralled the twins, generally did a lot of the things that I am primarily in charge of most days when it comes to the kids. So all became right with the world again. Then I got some devastating news from a dear friend a few days later that made me question the higher powers, but she and I decided there is a different underlying plan in action. Time and the universe have interesting ways of working things out sometimes.

If anyone is new here still, well what the hell, dude? Where have you been?? Kidding. Here’s the recap so you can pretend you know what I’m talking about:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8

Woah, that list is getting long! Let’s get going on the next one…

May 11, 2020

• Monday virtual class meetings for everyone, always a high point of the week
• Ryan had to go into the office for a bit, which allowed me time to FINALLY deep clean the couch and living room rugs with the professional cleaner. Hallelujah! It’s the little things, people. I have fully recognized and accepted the fact that messes and clutter are my triggers, so getting a deep clean like this completed that has been needed for literally months makes me happy. Yeah, I know most of you don’t get that, but I just don’t care. 😉
• Lana showed me the drawing and description she made of me on the computer last week for Mother’s Day – I loved it!
• Della had an assignment for which she needed to use measuring cups, so she wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies. Umm, yes you may!
• Lana wore her “comfy clothes” and declared she wanted to do yoga for an hour each day after she’s done with school. Absolutely, my love, great plan. (I never want to crush a child’s spirit, but that definitely won’t last, ha!)
• I found another little ghost in the house, just like I did when Della was a baby (click this link to read about that one). This time, his name is Nat. 😀
• A new bag tonight, one with a special place in my heart. It’s for Lana’s stick family! I used the indoor/outdoor canvas fabric I had leftover from the monster diaper bag project I made when I was pregnant with Morrison, so she chose which colors she wanted and I made it happen. I was tired of them lying all over the dining room table. 😉

May 12, 2020

• We were out of frozen pancakes for breakfast, which the twins love and everyone wanted, so I suggested cereal or frozen waffles or anything else that involved minimal effort on my part. Not good enough. Della made everyone pancakes before the 8:00 school start time! I’m loving this. Her enthusiasm for cooking and baking is stronger at age 9 than it has ever been in me. Keep it up, sweet girl!
• 2 bags made today! Who am I?? I made 1 during naps and 1 after the twins went to bed. So industrious of me. Actually, I just had them in mind for 2 people and wanted to get them off my list and into the mail while I had the chance. These are fabrics I’ve had since my first round of sewing years ago, I’ve always loved them, and I hope the recipients for whom I chose them do, too!
• Every spring, the rabbits are determined to destroy my beloved tulips. This year, I decided to rescue the fallen soldiers instead of just cursing all the vermin. It actually added a nice little bouquet to my table garden collection.

May 13, 2020

• Oh man, did Lana get in trouble today. My poor, sweet baby girl. I busted her for some inappropriate YouTube viewing, and I have never seen her so upset. You can read the full description of it on her page on here, The Life of L, because I don’t feel like typing it all out again. But I think the lesson was learned, and when I went back tonight and watched all of the videos she saw, there was nothing in them that crossed a major, scarring line. THANK FUCKING GOD!!! I’m not ready for that level of parenting just yet, thankyouverymuch.

May 14, 2020

• I finally decided what to do with the long garden I created last summer in the back yard next door. I originally thought wildflowers, but had zero luck with the seeds I planted last year. Then the thought of trying them again wasn’t really doing it for me this year. I toyed with the idea of hydrangeas, but I had bad luck with one of those in the front garden years ago. I already have lilacs in the front and lots of peonies in both back gardens, so I didn’t really want more of those. One of my good friends has a great gardening skill set and she recommended rhododendrons for the acidic soil under the pine tree back there, so I gave those a whirl. I got 2 of those, 1 for each end, that will have pink/lavender flowers (already bloomed for this year); 5 Karl Foerster feather reed grasses for the back row; 4 sedum plants for the front row; and I transplanted the last peony bush that was leftover in the vegetable garden area to the near front corner of the garden, because I felt like that end was more spread out than the other end once I got everything in the ground. Now I just need to mulch it and hope everything takes!
• It was warm and humid today, so all 5 ran around the big back yard like banshees before dinner. They needed that.

May 15, 2020

• Pretty easy school day for the kids, so we were done early in the day.
• The weather was gorgeous, so I went for a very warm run.
• I moved 2 of the new plants I put in yesterday a little to make my new garden look more evenly spaced to me, so now I’m really happy with it. I have mulch being delivered tomorrow, then it’ll be complete!

Week 8. And my birthday is this week on May 8. Coincidental somehow? I’m not a huge believer in God, per se, but I definitely believe that there is a force much bigger than us ruling the cosmos. I don’t send thoughts and prayers, I send love and good juju. So perhaps these 8s are a cosmic sign of something this week. Or not, we shall see.

It felt like summer this past weekend, with 2 days of 70s and sunshine. It was glorious. Then the temperature dropped 30 degrees in a snap Sunday evening, and we’re back to “spring” in Wisconsin. It was great while it lasted, my gardens are starting to look beautiful, and I just hope they survive these dreary temps again until we can get back to a consistent spring vibe. Oh, and Morrison has discovered Super Mario Brothers. Great, another video game addiction.

The recap, you say? Happy to oblige:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7

May 4, 2020

• May the fourth be with you. So corny. Monday meetings for all the kids today, which I know they look forward to every week. Poor Lana was all nervous because we couldn’t get into her meeting at the right time, but it turns out her teacher was just busy preparing lessons and totally lost track of time. I understand that for sure! So they simply hopped on a half hour later, and she’s giving them a bonus meeting tomorrow morning, too. How fun!
• It’s teacher appreciation week, so they each made a card for their teacher that I photographed and emailed out today. They also all wore their respective teacher’s favorite color to the class meetings today. I so wish they could hug them in person instead, but hopefully these help brighten their days, too.
• Della pulled out her second tooth in a week, #13. The Tooth Fairy comes again already!
• Morrison has taken to saying he doesn’t like himself because of his eyelashes lately. The only reason he came up with that is because Ryan told them he cut off his eyelashes when he was a kid because he was sick of his mom’s friends always saying how they loved his long eyelashes. Ugh. So finally I’d had enough of the nonsense and said ok, what is it exactly that you’d rather look like? He said he wanted double eyebrows instead (what?!?), so I said fine, I’ll give you double eyebrows, and I’m pretty sure you’ll then realize you are perfect just the way you are. He did. 😉
• I made my second makeup bag tonight, and it did turn out a little better than the first one. They are a bigger pain in the butt to make than I expected, though, so I’m not sure how many more I’ll get to.

May 5, 2020

• Happy Cinco de Mayo! Man, could I go for some margaritas right now…
• The twins absolutely love doing all of Morrison’s counting songs after his morning meeting videos. I said they’ll be pros by the time they get to K4!
• I totally screwed up and forgot all about Lana’s bonus video class meeting today. I felt so bad! She was so excited to get to see her teacher again and even wore her red outfit again today, which is her teacher’s favorite color. She was so gracious, though, and told me it was ok, it was really for the kids who didn’t get to see her yesterday, and she did get to see her already. My sweet, sweet baby girl, thank you!
• We got a second (and last!) round of dirt delivered today – 2 yards of compost to go on top of all the topsoil we already spread. I can’t wait to have a yard of grass again!
• I found another twin tulip, this time in my garden around the front lamppost. I’ve never seen these before, and now 2 have come up in my gardens this spring – awesome!

May 6, 2020

• Beautiful day today, so I took the kids for a long walk after lunch to be out of the house during an important video meeting Ryan had.
• Ryan spread all the compost while we were gone this afternoon so we’re ready for seed.

May 7, 2020

• Last day of 40 for me, woof
• Another really busy day for Ryan, so I took the kids on another post-lunch walk. The twins slept more during it today than yesterday, but hopefully they can nap back in their beds tomorrow.
• Tomorrow night is supposed to be cold enough for frost, so I took some pictures of my gardens today in case they perish. I sure hope not – I’ve worked so hard on my favorite tulips!
• Now Lana pulled out a tooth today! #7 for her. The Tooth Fairy apparently can’t leave!

May 8, 2020

• Happy birthday to me! #41. I’ve always loved my birthday, even as an adult and even though we can’t celebrate with anyone this year. I even painted my toenails last night for the first time since last fall to get ready for it. 😀 It started off awesome – Della snuck in and decorated my room before I woke up; she made me a delicious breakfast of a raisin bagel topped with peanut butter, my go-to meal since I can eat it standing and walking around the house 😉 ; all 3 big kids were dressed beautifully – the girls in dresses and Morrison in a very handsome sweater/pants combo; Ryan made me a pot of coffee (even though he used decaf 😉 ); all the big kids made me fantastic books and pictures; Lana made me a garland of snowflakes, which I hung in the dining room; they all got finished with school really early. It was wonderful! Then all hell broke loose, courtesy of the twins, as usual. Ryan was on another call for work, they wouldn’t shut up and were being naughty messing around in the big kids’ room, I put them in their beds for their “time out” spot, and I utterly lost it. I started sobbing and literally hid in the basement pantry, just letting it all pour out. I gave zero shits about being too loud for Ryan’s call. I was holing myself up in a back corner of the basement with no lights on, for fuck’s sake. I think I freaked him and the big kids out because he immediately came down to comfort me and the kids were really quiet when I finally came up, but too bad. I can only take so long of trying to be everything for everyone, I guess. Too bad it all came crashing down on my birthday, of all days. But he put his work on hold so I could go for a run shortly thereafter, which I always need to keep my sanity intact. Then I redid the border of the vegetable garden in the back when I got done with that, which I’ve wanted to do forever. And Ryan and the kids made a hilarious “Honk, It’s Mamma’s B-day!” sign and hung it on the front tree while I was running. Too bad today is freezing cold and windy so it kept blowing down, but after this morning it is definitely the thought that counts. I might put it back up tomorrow, though, because approximately zero cars drove by before I brought it in so it didn’t blow completely away!
• Snow flurries this morning. What the heck?! I’m used to snow in April now, but never on my birthday before!
• Friends were supposed to come over for drinks tonight, but since it’s so cold today, we’re postponing that until hopefully tomorrow. **ETA: Ryan surprised me again this year! He invited a bunch of friends over to our yard for a surprise cheers and cupcakes this afternoon. It was so much fun!!**
• Della pulled out another tooth this morning – #14! What the heck?! Am I not giving these kids enough calcium to keep their teeth in their heads?? Oh wow, and I’m 41 today – palindromes!
• Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mothers out there this Sunday. We are pretty damn amazing.

Here we are, week 7 of this thing. Do I really think it’ll end on May 26? No. Should it? No. Too many people are still acting stupidly, selfishly, and irresponsibly for this to even begin to be over. No infection or death rates have leveled off, erego, I really don’t see an end in sight. I can foresee some restrictions lifting sometime this summer, although we found out yesterday that a lot of our summer rec department programs are already cancelled for this year. I REALLY hope the kids get to go back to school in the fall, but that won’t be the end of it. Will they have to go to school wearing masks? Will the teachers all have to wear masks? For how long? It’s just mind-boggling to think that this may be a permanent new reality, not just a temporary one.

The kids have been going nowhere during all of this, so getting in the car seems oddly foreign. I took the girls in for their monthly lice checks this past weekend, and I only discovered how stir crazy they had gotten once we got in the car and their bizarre conversations began. You’d think they’d never seen the light of day. The only reason I took them is because I know lice was going around right when school shut down, and our good friends just had it. We actually had their last checks on that very first Friday when school closed and they were clear, but I will be forever paranoid about it now that they’ve had it once. Thankfully they were both still clear, though, so now we won’t have to go back until school starts up again someday.

I took Morrison with me to pick up lunch on Monday for his Star Student day, and he also said how weird it felt being in the car since it’d been so long. All 3 of them wore masks, too, when we went out, which they also thought was so strange. I couldn’t agree more, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep them safe. Let’s hope we all stay as healthy as we’ve been so far. I can’t fathom losing anyone to this.

So. Here is the ever-growing recap for those just joining us:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6

April 27, 2020

• It’s Morrison’s Star Student day! He made a smiley face with his pancakes for a good breakfast to start the day, then he couldn’t wait for their online class meeting to get to answer his classmates’ questions. He got to talk to quite a few friends, including all the teachers, and I think it was almost more fun and special because we got to do it all at home together than when we go to the classroom for it. Then he chose Qdoba for his “restaurant” lunch, and that was a hit all around. He got to play outside, watch Ryan play Cuphead, play Temple Run on his tablet, and generally do everything fun that he wanted all day. I hope it was as special for him as possible. He seemed very happy and even told me he loved me out of the blue at lunch. Man, do I love that kid!
• I got a new sewing pattern done last night – a makeup bag with vinyl coating on the lining and exterior bottom. I just used an iron-on vinyl to coat my chosen fabrics, which was really easy, but turning it out with the vinyl coating made it look a little more crinkly than I was envisioning. Oh well, it’s still fully functional, and I love the new zipper I got for it. I’ll keep trying, because it could be awesome if I do it just right.
• Tonight I made another one of the 2-zipper pouches, and it’s my best and favorite one yet. Perfect timing, because it’s finally one for me! 😉

April 28, 2020

April 29, 2020

• Today was something special with the boys, so just before lunch I blew up a new choo-choo train ball pit Ryan got the other day. All 5 absolutely loved it, of course, and they started playing “rain” with the balls on top of the pit. It was great! Then, by the end of the day after naps, the boys couldn’t handle it anymore without a particular level of crazy, so Ryan deflated it. Ah well, fun while it lasted. Poor Morrison has been so stir crazy without being able to play outside with all the rainy weather we’re having, and he keeps getting in trouble for not listening. I feel horrible and try to be as gentle as possible because I know he’s more emotional right now than the girls, but man oh man.
• Another new 2-zipper pouch tonight. I love these new fabrics I’ve gotten!

April 30, 2020

• Della pulled out her own tooth first thing this morning! She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when I woke up, and I thought what in the world? Here she had just yanked out #12!
• I actually sewed another pouch during the twins’ nap this afternoon. I told the big 3 I just needed that chunk of time to be quiet and by myself so I could get this 1 thing done, so they weren’t allowed to talk to me or ask me anything, ha! Fortunately the sun finally came out during that time, so they were all outside for the rest of the day. Ryan even took all 5 on a nice long walk before dinner.
• Norwex party with friends on Zoom tonight – fun!

May 1, 2020

• May – my favorite month! The sun was out again today so I got in a run, and this weekend is supposed to be almost 70. It’s actually starting to feel like spring again.
• Morrison filled a little bear backpack he made with a bunch of random stuff right before lunch and declared he was going to Colorado. Of course Avit wanted to go, too.

As we found out last Thursday, we will not be going back to school for the remainder of this school year, and our safer at home order has been extended until May 26. I was hopeful that maybe we’d get those first 2 weeks of June in to get to see teachers again, clean out the kids’ supplies that they had to leave behind, and do all the fun end-of-year things – Spring Sing, school campout day, field trips, giving our garden peonies to the teachers like we always do, that last walk to school on the final day and pictures with everyone, etc. It’s just so completely bizarre how this school year is ending. There’s no closure whatsoever.

I feel especially bad for those students who are in an ending year at a school, but, to be perfectly honest, I feel so sad for Morrison. K4 is just the happiest, most fun preparatory grade possible, and they just got robbed of a third of it getting to be with their teachers and classmates. I’m sorry, but in absolutely no other grade will these kids get as many hugs and blatant, outright encouragement and love as they do in K4. Yes, every teacher at Cumberland that we’ve experienced so far has genuinely loved her and his students, but K4 is something special. And his teacher combo this year hands down cannot be beat. Period. So it truly breaks my heart that he won’t get to see them again in person as their K4 student. I’m just so happy that I picked him up in line every morning when he wanted to be held while waiting for the teachers to come down those stairs and out the doors to greet the classes. Every day I thought oh come on, again?? But every day I then instantly thought you know what, this will end one of these days, and who knows if today is that day. Little did I know that day was going to come way earlier than I could have ever expected. So at least I got those little moments of K4 time in with him while I could. And I wanted to be the helper in his room one more time, but thankfully I was able to be in there once earlier in the year. These little things are what I cherish most.

So. Here we go into week 2 of VLT. The kids are all still really enjoying it, but I know Morrison especially gets bored easily. He loves all the lessons and videos and activities they get each day, but once he’s done with everything and his sisters are still sitting at the table working on their assignments for a couple more hours, his little body gets antsy. I do let him go outside and play whenever he wants when that happens, but of course he adores his big sisters and always wants to play with them. He is very good, though, about going outside and playing with the twins. And so far they’ve all done a great job making sure those 2 stay only in the backyards. I take no chances letting any of them play out front, because they still aren’t that attentive about getting out of people’s way when they pass by on the sidewalk.

I asked the big 3 last night how they felt about not being able to go back to school and having to be home all the time. They said it wasn’t that bad and they like doing school online, but Della said she does miss seeing everyone. I asked if there was anything they felt was bad about all of this, and they said no, it’s fine for them. Morrison of course said he has a bad thing, he gets bored, but see above. I’m making a very conscious effort to ensure they know it’s completely ok and normal to feel very weird and mixed up and even sad about this whole situation. It’s something none of us have ever had to deal with, and I can only imagine what it’s like being a kid right now: All of a sudden your teachers tell you you won’t be coming back to school for a little while, which probably feels like an exciting surprise vacation break, then after a certain point you get bored because you can’t go see your friends or play with anyone outside but your siblings (at least these kids have plenty of those!), it’s hard to understand that you can’t just go see and hug family like you always do, we can’t just go places anymore, you kind of get used to me giving you mini-lessons at home on topics that are new and different from what you usually do at school, then suddenly you have to sit at a computer all morning and do real school lessons but at home. Shit. I’d get antsy and all mixed up, too. So I feel very strongly that I need to keep an eye on their emotions more than anything right now. They really are doing an excellent job adapting through all this with basically no push-back at all, so I make sure to tell them how proud we are of them and how great they’re doing.

This past Sunday almost all the teachers put on a parade and drove up and down every street in the Cumberland neighborhoods with their horns honking and cars decorated with signs for all the students, which was simply the most amazing, wonderful, heartwarming thing right now. We and they definitely needed it, as brief as that face time was. I cried as every single car went by, whether we knew that particular teacher or not! I had to hold Nat in one arm because he decided that then was a good time to become a screming terror, but I waved as mightily as I could with the other one. But due to that and my tears, this was the only picture I got. I really hope they do it again, because I’ll make sure we have some good signs and decorations out next time. The kids didn’t want to make signs or wave their pom-poms for some reason.

And a couple more pictures from this weekend, just because – a block “Welcome Spring” decorating contest and homemade pretzels.

Ok. After all that, here’s the weekly recap for any newcomers:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

April 20, 2020

• Absolutely gorgeous weather today, so they all got out to play after their online class meetings
• All they want to do in their free time right now is play games and color on their tablets, so after doing such a good job with this VLT, I let them. I know they deserve and kind of need the brainless downtime. As such, many days end looking like the last picture of them here.
• Remember those old hobbies I mentioned that I was trying to pick up again last week? I actually made time to get to them this past weekend! I had already tickled the ivories when my sheet music arrived last week, then I finally got the courage to bust out my sewing machine again. Yes, sewing. Doesn’t sound like me, does it? Believe it or not, I can actually make some pretty cool stuff. I kind of swore it off after the last project I made, which was just over 5 years ago, but it was a hard, time-consuming beast. All the things I’m doing now are little projects that I used to love making and are relatively quick to pull together. The little bag with 2 zippers is a pattern that I learned almost 6 years ago and loved – when I was making these back then, I made one for pretty much everyone but myself and always wanted one, so that’s one big reason why I’m trying to get back into it. I also made myself a little sewing cart this time that is infinitely handier than having to dig into the front closet every time I want to get to the machine, so that simple little change makes a world of difference in my motivation level. The little bags with 1 zipper are from another pattern I fould all those years ago and just never got to, so here it comes! I’ve found a ton of fabric that I love, so I’m stockpiling it in the hopes that I can make a bunch of these little things and enjoy it again. I have a new pattern I found, too, that I’m anxious to try. We’ll see how that one turns out.

April 21, 2020

• We had 5 yards of topsoil delivered today to level out the back yard and replant all the grass, and the whole time it was dumping out the dirt, the kids were watching from their bedroom window chanting, “We want poop! We want poop!” They said it looked like the truck was pooping. Because of course they did.
• I enjoyed a baby napping on me for the first time in a very long time, one of my absolute favorite things as a mother. Will it be the last time?
• Della got both of the twins ready for bed tonight by herself, teeth brushing, diaper changing, and all. Wahoo!! Freedom!

April 22, 2020

• Happy Earth Day! We were going to do our annual walk this afternoon to pick up trash, but the weather was garbage and I knew I had to work outside while the babies napped, so we’ll do it this weekend instead.
• Backyard reno got underway, and I cannot wait until we have a regular, grass-covered yard again. I’ve been planning out my cocktail seating area for a couple summers now. I got done what you see in these pictures, then Ryan worked a bunch more after me – added more dirt to that back area, dug out a bunch of small roots still left from when we took down the tree last summer, leveled around the tree area, wheeled in more dirt for the tree area. Hopefully we’ll actually get that mound fully moved into the yard before the weekend.
• Della baked us a delicious salted caramel lava cake for dessert tonight. I was going to do it because it’s the easiest thing possible – one of those cakes in a bag where all you do is pour it into the pan – but she loves to bake, so I said have at it! It was delicious, and she was proud.
• I got another pouch sewed tonight, this time for Lana. I got this bundle of really cute fabrics called “Under the Canopy,” which is full of fun little jungle animals and bright designs, and I immediately thought of her with the sloths. And of course she picked snakes and worms for the lining fabric. 😀

April 23, 2020

• Today was supposed to be Lana’s class field trip to a nature preserve that I was actually going to get to chaperone. And last Friday was supposed to be Della’s big 4th grade–wide all-day field trip to Madison that I was also going to be lucky enough to chaperone, which we obviously missed, too. These are the things I miss most about not having physical school anymore this year. All the fun, in-person things to which nothing else can compare.
• Morrison gets to be Star Student next week! Tomorrow we’re making a little video of him to submit to his teacher, who will send it out to the class to watch over the weekend, then he gets to present during their class meeting on Monday and answer any questions his classmates have for him. It won’t be anything like his sisters’ Star Student days where they took in decorated posters and grandmas and aunts got to come and we went out to a fun lunch afterward, but we’ll still make it as special as possible for him. I came up with a fun way to present his poster stuff since we don’t have any posterboard, and he gets to request whatever lunch he wants on Monday that we can get via curbside pickup. I think it’s going to be Qdoba – yum!
• We had another reading session today with Auntie Mer and cousins, and their costumes did not disappoint yet again! So of course these knuckleheads had to dig up their best response – yes, that is underwear on their heads. I read a book back this time, and all I could come up with was Ryan’s double-brat foam hat. Dressing up in costume is not my forte, ha!
• The weather was cold and rainy today so we didn’t get any more dirt spread, but the kids did have a little outdoor P.E. time – tamping down what we’ve already laid. The big 3 went out and just walked around the back yard to flatten out the dirt, so Ryan and I don’t have to tamp it before laying more. Nothing like free child labor.
• Today I made Della’s little zipper pouch. She loved it!

April 24, 2020

• Morrison was bouncing-off-the-walls excited to do his Star Student video all day today, but Ryan had a call during the twins’ nap this afternoon so we had to wait all day until after they went to bed tonight and were fully asleep. But he did so great!! I cut out all the stars this morning, and the girls helped him decorate them and write all the intro words. Since we don’t have any posterboard, he taped all the stars on the dining room wall under all of our family pictures, so he could show all the members of our family and his stars with favorites, personal info, etc., all in one spot. It actually worked out great, and he had so much fun!! I’m so thankful he still gets to have this special piece of K4 even when we’re not at school.
• I finished spreading the dirt in the back yard and stomped it all down. Yes, it looks like a yard of just dirt right now, but it’s finally level! The finished product of this project will be so wonderful.

So. We have officially been shut down/quarantining/social distancing for a full month now, and this is our first week of Virtual Learning Time (VLT) through our school district. It has been over 2 weeks since I have been in a store (although I did go through the Taco Bell drive-thru this past weekend, hopefully that minimal contact did no harm), and we’re all still so far so good with no COVID-19 symptoms.

Since the big 3 now have lessons given to them directly by their teachers each weekday morning, I’m off the hook for lesson planning! It also means I won’t have so much to list out each day, but I’ll still update here with notes and pictures and stuff, just to keep track of this time.

I know it’s only day 2 of VLT, but it’s going great for us so far. Yes, it’s difficult to keep the twins out of our hair while I’m trying to help all 3 at the table command center all morning, each on their own computer with their own set of lessons and own amount of time it takes to finish them all, but I’m doing it. I’m not only being especially mindful to be more patient with the kids but also with myself. This is so different than regular life for all of us, I just have to keep reminding myself that they all have weird feelings about this, too, that they can’t always communicate. That’s my job – to realize that, figure it out, and help them through, without it seeming too different than any other day. Smooth waters.

Ryan is obviously still working from home, but even he’s recognized that we all have to shift a little with VLT starting. He can’t be constantly yelling across the house for me to keep them all quiet anymore, and I’ve noticed these past 2 days that he’s actually going in the bedrooms for his calls, where it’s quieter. And magically, he seems much less crabby. He was even extraordinarily helpful yesterday when they all had their weekly in-person class meetings on their learning platforms (D and M at the same time to boot), helping keep the twins away from the ones who were meeting and helping L with her computer while I got a chance to ride the bike downstairs during naps.

Like I said, I know this process is in its infancy here, but I’m determined to keep steering us this well. I know all the kids were happy to see and talk to their teachers and friends yesterday, and my heart swelled to watch their excitement during the video sessions. Morrison especially loves making videos on his learning platform, sending them to his teachers, and always telling them how much he loves them. And they always respond, which makes them all feel so special.

I’ll throw in a couple pictures from Easter, since it technically started this week off, and I actually got a picture of all 5 Goonies smiling! It must’ve been a cosmic miracle, since the twins’ behavior quickly deteriorated from there. 😀 I was able to watch the Andrea Bocelli concert live streamed from the empty Duomo in Milan, though, which was spectacular and brought me to tears.

Here are the links to the past 4 weeks if you’d like to recap:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4

April 13, 2020

• Every morning will now start with lessons for the day given to the kids by their teachers in their respective online learning platforms. They include social studies, reading, science, writing, math, P.E., art, music, guidance, and maybe Spanish. They get videos with mini-lessons from their teachers, other videos to watch, audio books to follow along with, then numerous activities to complete that correspond to each lesson. One really nice thing is that the teachers from both the girls’ grades are collaborating with all the other teachers from those grades to give the lessons. So they get to learn from all the teachers now, not just their own. They were both excited to see this.
• They all have half-hour, in-person video meetings with their classes on Mondays, which are awesome. This week they all got to talk about fun things they’ve been doing so far at home while we’ve been away from school.
• Ryan taught Della how to brown ground beef with an onion and seasoning, so she can start helping get dinners going. She loves it!

April 14, 2020

• Happy 414 day! That’s Milwaukee’s area code, for those of you not in the know. 😉
• Della chooses a couple of her squishies to be her school friends during her lessons now. They sit next to her on the table or windowsill, and it’s so cute! I’ll try to get a picture of her bunch tomorrow.
• Even though it’s cold and windy today (with an early evening mini-blizzard?!), I sent all the kids outside after the twins’ naps for some outdoor activity. I can tell they’re all getting a little cabin feverish. M got really sad this morning after I asked him to be quiet and calm down for the eleventy billionth time, so we talked through it and I said whenever you start feeling all wound up and silly or sad inside because of all this just tell me – you can go outside and run around for as long as you need. So he did! But they still needed to go out again this afternoon! He’s definitely the most emotional of the bunch, and I try to remember that before I get upset with him.
• Della helped make a side for dinner again. Broccoli and cheese Rice A Roni – her favorite!
• I’ve decided to try to get back into an old hobby. Why? No, I suddenly have no extra time, but I just felt like it. I’m trying to polish my long-dormant skills on a couple things, actually. So stay tuned for those… I also finally started reading a book I’ve been dying to get to, while I ride the exercise bike. And the angels sang Hallelujah!

April 15, 2020

• It was freezing outside today after our mini-snow last night, but the boys especially wanted to go out and play. So after Morrison’s ending P.E. lesson, I sent the 3 of them out into the backyards. Yes, alone, but they did a great job all staying back there until I could come out. M got helmets on the twins and everything so they could scooter around. He loves them so much!
• Lana came out after a few minutes and wanted to stay with the boys as I went inside. She taught Nat how to put his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.
• After lunch, Lana asked if Morrison could skip his nap so they could continue their game of squishies and Funko Pops. She was having a great big sister day. 🙂
• Snakes & Ladders and Ramen Fury tonight

April 16, 2020

• Lavender in the diffuser this morning for good brain waves
• Morrison was the helper today! When they’re in school, the helper gets to do things like turn on/off the lights, do the weather and calendar, choose songs, etc. So his teachers sent out an email asking what the kids miss most about school and what counting song they want when they’re the helper – M said he misses being the helper and chose the Star Wars counting song.
• We got word that school is officially closed for the remainder of this 2019-2020 school year, so VLT will continue.
• The sun was out, yet still chilly, but Ryan assembled the new swing for the kids anyway. It’s in the back corner of our back back yard, under a big pine tree, so it’ll be nice and shaded in the summer heat. It is already a huge hit!
• I played the first long song that I was really, really good at as a kid for the first time in what feels like a century. I was still actually not bad!
• All About Me books

April 17, 2020

Here we are, week 4 of our coronavirus shutdown/quarantine. It’s been almost 2 full weeks since I was in a store, so hopefully I’m not carrying it and as-yet unknowingly contaminating us all. Ryan has gone out more often than I have, so fingers crossed that he’s still well also. The kids have shown zero symptoms whatsoever, so I’m holding out hope that we’re all staying safe. I do wipe down all the doorknobs whenever one of us gets back from a public place and the car after Ryan goes anywhere.

Next week begins our virtual learning for the big 3 through school, so this week will be lighter on the lessons. They’ve already started getting some practice lessons on their respective classroom platforms a couple times a week, so that’s good enough for me. I’m going to have them playing outside a lot this week in preparation for a couple solid hours a day of school work starting Monday. Our good friend Mr. Hand gave them a bag of foam balls last week, so they’ve all been having a blast playing with those outside for P.E. classes.

For review, here are the links to our past 3 weeks:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3

All right, week 4, here we go…

April 6, 2020

• A little Seesaw class exercise for M, Google Classroom assignments for D, and Epic reading for L while I took the twins on a run
• Playing outside and painting happiness rocks that we’ll spread on a walk later this week sometime
• Ryan had to stop into work and run to the grocery store, so I got some cleaning done and the kids made lunch. He got the last pack of toilet paper! We haven’t been able to get it anywhere lately again.
• I mailed in my absentee ballot for our spring election tomorrow #saferathome
• 3-way Temple Run challenge on their tablets for the big 3 while the babies napped and I showered, but Avit decided he didn’t want to nap today after falling asleep in the stroller earlier. Booger
• Our stockpile should be complete for now so we don’t have to go to the grocery store for at least 2 weeks

April 7, 2020

• Today was the spring presidential primary here in Wisconsin, and the stupid Supreme Court overturned our governor’s last-minute attempt yesterday to postpone the in-person election. Idiots. If thousands of people get sick because they had to go to a polling place, including Ryan, I will want to move.
• D got 2 practice assignments on Google classroom to work on first thing this morning, but nothing came in for L and M. That seemed odd to me, since today and Thursday were supposed to be our designated virtual learning practice days. So they did math with fridge magnets, Dreambox, and Jack Hartmann.
• The weather became amazing today, hitting 77 by the end of the afternoon, so that was it for lessons and everyone headed outside to play.
• Lunch break, Mystery Doug Live at noon, then naps for the boys while I finished up my cleaning and laundry for the day
• L requested a walk after the boys woke up, so we took a nice long one to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon. We went over to Mr. Hand and Miss Clara’s to give them some of the happiness rocks the kids made yesterday, then L and M hid one each at school.
• More backyard play when we got home – the girls treated me and M to a delicious sushi meal while L put on a show for us
• A thunderstorm rolled in, so we quickly cleaned everything up and got inside just before it started pouring and hailing! A beautiful full rainbow came out afterward.
• Ryan got the boys a tub of little firefighters, trucks, signs, etc., because Avit absolutely loves a set of tiny construction signs they got for Christmas. I gave it to them this afternoon, and a massive game of signs/firefighters/cars/dinosaurs ensued.
• Another natural phenomenon tonight – a super pink moon. Fortunately the clouds moved out in time for us to see it rise, and it is gorgeously spectacular. It really was pink! The energy shift it is supposed to signal is definitely needed.

April 8, 2020

• Morning lessons online to start the day for all. I discovered that L and M actually did have lessons in Seesaw yesterday, but I missed them because I was waiting for emails from their teachers. Oops! So they got all caught up while D did hers for the day and I took the twins on a run.
• D did a couple exercises from her 30-day P.E. calendar
• L and M made pink moon drawings to show their art teachers
• Dinosaurs ruled again
• I drew a number line outside for L to do a jumping addition lesson
• A little outdoor play while the weather stayed nice
• School is now done for us after morning lessons are complete, since that’s how it will work once official virtual learning begins next week
• Today is our 14th anniversary, so Ryan went to the store and got a whole trimmed beef tenderloin, sparkling rosé, fixings for risotto, and a beautiful bouquet for me. We had an amazingly delicious dinner!
• An incredible sunset broke through the clouds tonight, too, just for us

April 9, 2020

• Morning lessons for all 3. They love when the teachers upload little videos so they can see them. It’ll be great when they can see their classmates, too, during their weekly Monday meetings.
• The weather today is bizarre – low 40s, windy, sun and fast clouds, and sleet/snow squalls! So it’s been a lot of indoor play (and noise! especially when Ryan’s on a call). The girls tried to go out for a bit, but that lasted mere minutes.
• More dinos!
• Art drawers revamp while the twins napped. I’ve long hated the clutter of this corner of the dining room, but the kids use it constantly so I can’t just wipe it out all together. It holds all of their art supplies under and around the piano. So I finally found a more modern, adult-looking solution for the drawers at least to replace the green, yellow, red, and blue ones you can see in the background of all the school working pictures. The fabric-covered drawers are obviously less hardy than the hard plastic ones, but I was sick of having something I took from our neighbors when they moved as such an obvious piece of furniture. They do hold a ton, though, so I moved it into the kids’ bedroom to be M’s dresser. That works perfectly.

April 10, 2020

• Today we were technically “off” school for Good Friday, so no new assignments came in. The big 3 still started the morning by logging into their classroom platforms just to make sure, though, then they each did a little reading and/or math.
• The rest of the day was just play time. Ryan hard boiled eggs to dye tomorrow, I rode the bike downstairs for a little while this morning and finally got to start my newest book on Kindle that I’ve really been looking forward to reading, and the kids caused random destruction and mayhem. You know, the ususal.

Next week begins our official Virtual Learning Time (VLT), sanctioned lessons and activities online through the school and district, so I’m not sure how much I’ll update like this anymore. I’ll probably still try to keep track of this time in quarantine/shutdown somehow, but I might not have enough to list out each day as I’ve been doing so far. Every weekday morning will start with attendance at 8:00, then 2-3 hours of schoolwork for the girls, less for Morrison, and a virtual face-to-face class meeting for a half hour each Monday for all 3. The afternoons I’ll just let them play and relax, knowing they’ll have a good chunk of learning in the mornings. I’m not their teacher, this isn’t school as they know it, and I’m not going to try to force anything. I know their teachers all have good work lined up and they’ll still get to do plenty of learning, so I’m trusting in them and leaving the big stuff in their hands now.

This certainly has been an interesting experience, I will say that. We got to virtually see some great places that we wouldn’t have otherwise, I did have some fun activities and lessons for them, and this morning Della said she does miss her friends from being in class every day but she’s enjoying having school at home. I think we’ll all end up just fine. But stay tuned – I may have some more updates for you after all!

“Spring break” is over, so we’re back to our little lessons routine this week. Here are my posts from the past 2 weeks if you’d like to catch up:

• Week 1
• Week 2

Let’s see what this week has in store, shall we? Next week we’re supposed to start getting some trial runs for our virtual learning, which is slated to begin on April 13. That’s the day the kids were originally scheduled to go back to school, but the governor has since shut everything down until at least April 24. So who knows if they’ll get to go back at all this school year. I sure hope so! They all miss their teachers terribly. At least we’ll get to start “seeing” them a little bit pretty soon.

March 30, 2020

• Cosmic Kids yoga
• Dreambox/reading/Alphablocks while I took the babies on a run
• Home Ec – baking cookies
• Hogwarts digital escape room for D (they all started off going through it, but L and M quickly dropped out); frosting cookies for L; write around the room for M – “at” rhyming words
• Lunch for the twins
• Hangouts story time with Grandma! Plus a cameo by Grandpa and plenty of goofing around for good measure
• Lunch for the big 3, naps for the boys
• Writing then tablet time for the girls
• Mo Willems

March 31, 2020

• Math and writing – giant cards addition for M, math packet from school for L, book report and virtual pen pals with friends from school for D
• Science – mini volcanos
• P.E. – jumping like animals and running the back steps
• Lunch break
• Mo Willems birthday crown making
• Naps for the boys, reading for the girls
• Creating for our WFB Rec Dept window art contest – outer space!

April 1, 2020

• Dreambox/Jack Hartmann/reading books on Epic/pen pals slides for almost 2 hours to start the day – I took the twins on a run and got some chores done
• Lots of emails from teachers to prepare for virtual learning, which starts on April 13
• Got M set up on his class app, even though we found out later that they sent out those instructions a week early – oops!
• L and M played tennis in the back back yard
• Lunch then naps for the twins
• P.E. for the big 3 – go outside and play for as long as the sun is out. M created a “territory.” I started transplanting my dining room table garden into new pots and propagating a fuzzy panda succulent that had gotten huge!
• D got a reading and writing assignment from her teacher
• L got a sight words assignment from her teacher – pick 2-3 little activities from a list to do with a couple sight words. She chose to write 2 sight words in cursive for a handwriting lesson and draw a picture of 3 other sight words.
• More Dreambox math and Epic reading after dinner – these kids love those programs!
• I had my first virtual happy hour with girls from the block – so fun!

April 2, 2020

• We’ve started getting emails from teachers with practice lessons and tentative schedules, so I’m trying to make a point to get us started with “school” right at 8:00 like they’ll have to beginning on the 13th. This morning all 3 did reading on Epic or other assigned short stories for almost an hour.
• It was the nicest weather day yet, so at 9:00 I took all 5 for a nice long walk. The boys were all chasing each other and crashing through the house, Ryan was trying to work, and I was about to lose my mind, so out the door we went. It was great! We found as much window/door art as we could, played sidewalk chalk games, walked over to our good friends’ house (they gave us foam balls for the kids and wine for me – they are THE BEST!!!), walked by and said hello to school, then walked home our normal school route for some familiarity.
• Outdoor play time for some more exercise and fresh air (i.e., wear them out!)
• Lunch break then naps for the boys
• More reading and assignments for the girls
• More outside play after naps
• D’s first FaceTime with one of her good friends
• M and I tried to play a chicken game – Lay It or Break It
• More Epic reading all evening after dinner!

April 3, 2020

• Epic reading/Dreambox while I took the twins for a run
• Ryan went to the grocery store for what was hopefully a 2-week stockpile. I plugged the chest freezer in in the basement the other day to prepare.
• Guest reader was Auntie Mer! She surprised us with an amazing costume!! The twins pretty much destroyed story time with their noise.
• Lunch break then naps for the twins
• Back yard scavenger hunt for M, indoor and outdoor math scavenger hunt for L, decade of my life paragraph assignment for D (this is a report they started right before school got shut down – a paragraph and picture for each year of their life so far)
• P.E. outside – playing throw the ball over the garage, catch, and running around
• Music class – listening to a symphony from a link the music teacher sent today
• More Epic reading after dinner
• A drawing tutorial on TV that Lana loved
• Another Ramen Fury night; they were bonkers

A couple observations from today… This was the day I was officially ready to divorce my entire family. Apparently 3 weeks of quarantine is what it takes. Ryan started the morning crabbier than usual (I swear if I hear “I’m on the phone!” or “I’m doing work!” one more time, I’m gonna run away. I know you’re working, that’s why you’re here, duh!). The twins’ amount and volume of screaming were greater than usual. Morrison’s question count by 8:30 a.m. was higher than usual. Is there a full moon tonight or something??

But I went for my run, got a ton of groceries put away and organized, showered, finished my new and improved dining room table garden, and tried to focus on all that was right with today instead – we are able to be home together, we’re all still healthy, the twins took a 2-hour nap, the sun came out, the big kids played outside, Ryan went for a long walk to get out of the house this afternoon, and my sanity began to return. I guess I’ll keep them all. Cherish the days, right?

Check back next week for our last week before official virtual learning time from school begins. I may or may not start putting wine in my coffee mug instead of coffee. 😉