Week 10-Quarantine

I would definitely not know what week it was if I wasn't writing this blog! But here we are, Week 10 of no school.  That has been the main constant these last 9 weeks, the closing of the schools, because just two weeks ago we were approved for Phase 1 in our county.  What that means is that we can have gatherings of 25 people or less if we practice social distancing.  It also means that some businesses can open, such as restaurants, hair salons, etc.. They must comply with the Governor's regulations to open, but many have already been approved.  What this also means for some people is that play dates, and more of our "normal" activities can resume.  What I'm realizing is that I don't know what this change means for us. I've started to let the kids bike in the street with the neighborhood kids, but there were a couple times this week when we were outside, and it didn't feel right to be out so we went back in. I can't tell if trusting my instinct is because I've become so conditioned to act in a certain way, or because it really is keeping us safer not to venture out.  Maybe a little of both.

The Legos made their return! They come out every couple months, the kids play with them for a while, then they go away:).

Kate's card for Papa Bill.  It's kind of cute and kind of sad that it says Happy Covid 19 Birthday! 

Bill's birthday

The pigs are huge!

I like that Kate and Grace were playing nicely together this week! They had a rough week together the week before with lots of fighting and name calling so we had to have an intervention of sorts.  Here's hoping it can stay positive!  😬

Beach time! I felt super fortunate to head to the beach over the weekend! It was so amazing to have a change of scene!

Leo was really excited to sail a little boat he found:).

Week 9- Leo's Birthday!

The week started out rainy and cold, and it made it hard to motivate myself or my kids to do anything! We had a slow start, but then it ended with a huge high on Friday with the arrival of chicks and Leo's birthday party! 

Distance learning. . . the kids did do some work during the week:).

Chicks are a hot commodity around here, and two of the feed stores closest to us were out of them last week! One was done for the season, but the other one has a system where you call first thing on Monday mornings and can order up to 3, and they come in sometime on Friday.   Our neighbor has chicks and said she would call as well, to make it a total of 6 for us!  I got a call from my neighbor, Annette, early Friday morning telling me that the chicks in! Her daughter picked them up and brought over all 6 with a tub we borrowed from them and everything we needed to get it started!

The rest of the day we were busy getting ready for Leo's third birthday party! It was the first time we have had people over since the quarantine. It was just Pat's family, but with Carrie and Bobby's kids there, it definitely felt like a party! 

 I wanted to take a picture with Leo and his cake before we took it outside to sing.  Kate and Grace helped me make it! He wanted a digger cake, so we sterilized his machines and put them on cellophane on top! 

Then we had his birthday proper the next day, where he had fun opening presents throughout the day! 

Week 8-Quarantine

It was such a beautiful week!  I'm starting week nine with lots of clouds and rain, it makes me realize that I'm a fair weather quaranteener:).  I'm much happier probably all the time when the sun is shining, but especially these days when it means that the kids are outside more! So as I look back on the pictures of Week 8, I appreciate that we had beautiful, warm weather! And gorgeous nights! We have a fire about once/year, and each time we do it, I think, we should do this more often:). 

I'm trying to have the kids be more active, therefore a game of kickball at night! Hard to get through a game in our household without someone having a fit about something, but it was still great to get out!

We've been having crepes once/week, which has been fun!

There was an awesome night when all five kids were having so much fun outside together playing capture the flag! I love when that happens:).

I don't take a lot of pics of them doing schoolwork, but they actually do do some work:).

The sandbox and trampoline continue to be great entertainment:).

I had an awesome Mother's Day! I got up, went for a run, and came back to a surprise brunch planned from the Wavery, and a big bouquet of peonies that the kids and Pat has picked for free! And Pat got the ingredients for mamosas, which we saved that for later in the day, which was so fun! 

After brunch, Pat and I got clicklist, then went for a drive with our coffees.  I can't remember the last time Pat and I had coffee together! Partly, because he doesn't drink a lot of coffee:). Then I rounded up the kids to go on a hike to the shrines.  It was nice and cool there on a hot day!

Week 7-Will's Birthday!

Will's birthday was definitely the highlight of week 7!  It was so fun to have something different to look forward to! He had a few friends stop by to wish him a happy birthday and each time we heard the doorbell ring or saw someone pull up, it was so exciting! And the girls helped me plan to have the police department and fire truck drive by with their lights on, which is something they now do around here for birthdays:).  It was a super fun day, and topped off with a treasure hunt at Maureen and Bill's! 

Another fun part of having his birthday during the week was that I was more relaxed about their schoolwork.  For example,we got to Friday and I realized that Kate hadn't completed any of her Bingo boards, which are optional but I usually make them do them.  It was kind of freeing to let up on everything for the week! 

They always choose their menu for the day; he chose eggs and a cinnamon roll from Bamford Bakery for breakfast, french toast for lunch, and Dominos for dinner. 

We had a fun morning opening presents! 

I don't know what Leo did, but everyone was dying laughing! Lots of excitement opening Grandma's gifts:). 

New shirt and lollypops for everyone from Grandma. . .

My friend Mindy and her kids and Will's friends Matthew, Brady and Nolan, Max, and Jack stopped by to wish him a happy birthday! 

Matthew's card was awesome!

Maureen and Kelly made a really fun treasure hunt for the kids, and they found Will's gifts at the end of it!

Other activities during the week. . . .

We got free sand and made a sand pit, which provided a lot of entertainment for the kids!

Annie and Leo running around in the yard.  I feel grateful that we have been stuck at our house at such a beautiful time of the year!

The girls switched their rooms around. . .

Kate got a bag of all her school supplies from her school, and set up an area to do her work.  If only this would have lasted longer than 10 minutes the whole week:).