March 17th
- I have decided to try write everyday while the Coronavirus is
effecting us here. Our lives have
completely changed. We are living one
day at a time. When looking at the
calendar, the day really does matter since not much is going on. This is so different from our normal life.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day.
The kids built leprechaun traps yesterday. They were excited to see if
they trapped the leprechaun this morning. Unfortunately they did not. Sydney
went deep into her drawer and found a St.Patrick’s shirt from last year and
wore that. I am not in the St. Patrick’s
mood.
Brian is worried and planning worst case scenarios. I am more a one day at a time person. I think we are prepared however no one really
knows if we are prepared enough or not.
The kids have been doing a lego challenge every day. They have also started watching Mo Willems and the drawing class he’s offering daily. Sydney did some yoga. I took the kids on a 2.5 mile bike ride around our neighborhood. It’s in the upper 30’s today so a bit chilly but we needed to do something. Austin finished his first book (Geronimo Stilton) while being off school. I go and pick up their school work on Wednesday. School starts back at home on Thursday.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting since
Brian and I will both be working at home with the kids home. Overall Austin and Sydney are doing well
given the situation but they are bored. And we are not allowing them to watch
TV and play video games all day.
March 20th-So much for writing everyday. Yesterday Austin and Sydney started school
online. It’s definitely different. They were excited in the morning to wake up
and figure out their assignments. It’s work in progress so they are gradually
easing into school online. Austin
started with a religion quiz, read a chapter in a book, answered questions, and
did some math worksheets. Sydney had worksheets and poetry. Honestly I was overwhelmed yesterday with
working from home and starting the kids off to school. I have to understand that they are just kids
and adjusting to all of this. I have a lot of work to do at work so it’s
challenging. I am hoping to adjust and next week will be better. I am so
grateful that I work part time. Brian is working from home now too. He’s super busy like usual so he’s not able
to help much with the kids. It’s amazing what the teachers have done with the new online
school. Austin’s teacher has them making videos which Austin made one with
Tinkercad and 3D printing. He was busy
most of the day.
We have been going on bike rides in the evening. It’s good exercise for them and us. It’s still so weird to go from being busy all
the time to nothing to do. All activity places are closed. Only stores are open. We don’t let the kids go to stores
anymore. Luckily today was in the 60’s
so they played outside a lot. Austin and
Sydney are still doing their lego challenges everyday. They are also enjoying Mo Willems art class
everyday. I am very thankful for them.
It’s hard not to stress about when is our lives going to be back to normal. I hope it’s in a few weeks not months or years. I went grocery shopping today around 2pm and the shelves were empty. They had some stuff and I was trying to get weekly groceries. I got almost everything we needed but it ‘scary to see the shelves so bare. Brian had me stock up on groceries weeks ago but we are still trying to weekly shop like normal. Just because we don’t know what is going to happen.
March 24th- Brian and I worked a lot in the
upstairs bathroom remodeling it. I painted it (not sure why I thought yucky
green was a good color 10+ years ago).
It’s now a pretty blue. Brian sanded the cabinet and I painted that a
gray color. Brian put in a new counter-top and faucet. It looks so much
better. We are getting new hardware and
towel racks soon.
The weather has been cool and rainy. The kids haven’t been
outside much. They are busy with their
school work. The are enjoying the Mo Willems art class everyday. They have been playing games, doing puzzles,
and making their store downstairs. They are also enjoying cooking. Brian got
out the bread machine. Austin and Sydney
love the banana bread in it. They have
enjoyed making jello too.
The amount of dishes I do these days are crazy. It seems like it’s nonstop eating and
cleaning up. Not that we are eating much but it’s just the meals and snacks. We
don’t eat lunch everyday but it still seems like a lot.
I am hoping the weather gets nicer soon so we can be
outside. Austin and Sydney love to ride their bikes and be outside. As we continue to wait and see what is going
to happen. Right now, New York City is the hardest hit area in the US. Italy is
also a mess right now too.
March28th – I worked the last 3 days. Luckily it wasn’t too bad with homing
schooling the kids and working. Austin
does school work from about 8am to 12-1pm.
Sydney school work takes less time right now. She gets her stuff done fairly well. Austin
had his first spelling test online this week. It was cool for the teacher to do
a live session and the kids to take a test. Austin’s teacher has been
fantastic.
Brian works in the spare bedroom all day. It’s crazy on how
many meeting he has everyday. He can
help with some school work but not much. Things have not slowed down for Brian
at all at work. The only thing is he
doesn’t have that long commute.
Today is Saturday. The weekends are usually busy but not
anymore. It was warm and rainy. The kids
played the Switch and watched some TV. They both video conference some of
their friends. Sydney and her friend made a pinata on the video call. It was
cool. Austin played video games.
Brian and the neighbor next door built the kids a tree fort that they requested. It took a few evenings but that is now up and the kids like that. We are social distancing however we do allow the kids to play with each other. None of the kids go anywhere else. Austin and Sydney have not left the house in over 10 days. They play outside and go on bike rides in our neighborhood but we don’t allow them in any stores. I go grocery shopping once a week and Brian goes to Home Depot if needed for the bathroom project (he tries to limit the trips).
April 3 (Friday)-
This has been an emotional week for me. I found out on Monday that my
job is preparing us to go back into bedside nursing in an emergency. I knew it was coming but hearing it and
thinking about everything is exhausting. I had to order scrubs to wear. At first, I thought I may have to work full
time however so far it appears I will be able to work part time.
It’s hard because Brian works so much and the kids have so
much school work to do. It’s nice the
school is keeping them so busy but difficult on days that I work. Everything goes much smoother when I am off
and can help with school work. This week we have been doing school work from
8:30am to 2:30pm with a half hour lunch break.
Austin finished reading Jake Drake book.
He had an English, Social Studies, and Spelling test this week. Sydney
also had a spelling test. Sydney had a
little bit more work than last week which is good to keep busy.
April 8th (Wednesday) – I am on vacation this
week. We were supposed to leave for Japan tomorrow. I am sad we are not going
but happy we are safe at home. This is the first time ever that I am on
vacation and not going anywhere.
Austin and Sydney have school this week. It seems a bit
lighter than usual probably because spring break is coming. The weather has been nice in the 60’s so they
have been playing outside a lot. Brian
is digging up a pipe to help with drainage. They have been helping with that a
little bit. They have mostly been getting muddy.
The amount of laundry from mud is crazy. However it beats just watching TV. Also the
amount a dishes is crazy. We have not
had one carry out meal since this has started. So three meals a day plus snacks
we eat at home. That makes for a lot of
dishes.
Last night, Austin made pancakes and crepes for dinner. He
likes to cook. I usually don’t let him
make pancakes often because of the mess he makes of the stove. However when
there is nothing else to do, I don’t have a problem cleaning the stove. I went for a walk myself last night. It was nice to just chill a bit. We are at 26
days of all of us being home. I am
trying to embrace it but some alone time is welcomed too.
The weather is colder so not as much playing outside. The high is in the low 40’s. The kids still like playing in their dirt
store. They also like to ride bikes on their chalk drawn rodes. They are sad the Mo Williems daily art shows are over. I
told them I would find something new but they are not as interested. Sydney made a rainbow out of legos today.
Austin and Sydney have been playing VR and the switch. They are also enjoying the TV show Just add
Magic. They are also starting to work on
the COVID 19 Time Capsule. They get a
little bored at times but all and all it’s been okay.
On Easter morning, Austin was up early but he waited in his
room until 7am as instructed. He woke me
up first then we got Brian up. Then he got Sydney up. Austin remembered that the Easter bunny
always hides the baskets in the playroom. The found it quickly. Sydney got a Nintendo Switch that she has
been wanting (but all stores are sold out) so she could play Minecraft with
Austin. Austin got 2 switch games and a
new case to put all his games in. They got some candy and a egg that a bunny or
chick comes out. They are excited to see
what it is. They both want a bunny.
They went outside and found all the plastic Easter eggs
throughout the front and backyard. They got a lot of them. Then they came inside
and played the switch. They had fun. We
also took a bike ride as a family. Brian
and Austin fixed Austin’s bike tire before we went.
For dinner, I made a little turkey with stuffing and
cranberry sauce. Austin likes that. Then we had a bonfire outside. The kids
played together nicely together. It was just the four of us. We even played the bear game for a bit. A
family favorite. Austin and Sydney
convinced Brian to have a movie in the back yard. It worked out but it was cooler than I liked
and plus it was raining. I ended up inside.
I am not a big movie person and being outside in wet and cold is not my
things. Everyone else had fun though.
It was sad not being in Japan like we were supposed to be. But
we made the most of it given the situation.
Brian and I are sad because we know we may not be able to travel for a
long time. There’s so many unknowns right now.
Today is Monday and Austin and Sydney are on spring
break. I am nervous about spring break
since there’s not much to do. However Brian and I came up with a list of things
for the kids to do. They need to practice their typing for 45 minutes. They need to read for 45 minutes. They need
to work on their COVID19 journal and time capsule. They can watch a new movie
everyday while on spring break. Then
they can have some time for video games. The weather isn’t supposed to be that
nice this week unfortunately. We will
see. So far so good.
Saturday April 18th- Well we made it though
spring break. The weather was cold and
snowy. And there really much do to but we made the best of it. We went on some bike rides (it was cold). The
kids had fun drawing train tracks with chalk on the driveway. We baked cookies
and bread. We played board games and dominos.
Austin and Sydney played Minecraft together on the switch. They watched
movies. All and all, it was a good week
given the situation.
We all miss our friends and family. We would love to get
back to normal however that appears that won’t be happening anytime soon. The governor announced it will start
reopening Ohio on May 1 slowly. Not sure how that is going to work but still
not going to be normal. There is no
word what will be happening with schools but I can’t imagine that they will be
going back this school year. I am okay with that. However I really hope we can
do something this summer.
Sydney has molluscum and one of the bumps became
infected. We saw a physician online
since don’t want to go out due to COVID19.
She was prescribed an antibiotic.
It was interesting to do a online visit but it was simple.
Our school did a online meeting with 3rd grade
parents on Friday night. It was nice to see all the parents. It’s so weird because we used to see them
almost everyday. Now we haven’t seen
them in over a month.
Tuesday April 21st – I went to basic RN refresher
course yesterday for work. Since there is a possibility that I would be
deployed to the bedside, it was recommended we take this course. I was nervous
about it but it was fine. I learned some things. Hopefully it won’t get that bad for me to be
deployed but so many unknowns right now.
Brian had the kids all afternoon. They decided to build a
swimming pool with a tarp over our fire pit.
And they went swimming (more liked played in the water). It was only
55-60 degrees outside. Austin and Sydney
know that would have never happened if I was home.
The kids were back from spring break on Monday. It was nice
to get back into a bit of a routine and kids doing school work all morning
long. They don’t seem to mind the school
work too much. Sydney works mostly in her room. Austin is downstairs and I help
him a lot. Sydney doesn’t have as much to do.
I went grocery shopping this morning. It’s depressing going
to the store wearing making sure you social distance. Like everyone, I just want my normal life
back. However, I understand and support why everything is shut down. Some
states are starting to open back up and that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Nervously waiting to see what happens.
On Sunday, the weather was cold and rainy. It was so depressing. Austin had some
enrichment homework to finish. He was being difficult and pushing Brian’s
buttons. Sydney and I did
housework. Sydney learned how to do
laundry. We also cleaned the floor.
On Monday I watched the governors press conference. The hospitals, doctor offices, and dentists
are going to slowly open. Businesses can
open next Monday with strict rules like wearing mask. Stores will be allowed to
open up the following week. At first, it
was going to be required to wear mask in the store and now it’s just strongly recommended. Again the whole thing just makes me sad.
Austin and Sydney have been spending as much time outside as
possible. They like to ride their bikes in the driveway with roads and train
tracks. They are also building wood
animals. Austin made dog with a leash the I walked down the driveway. They are creative. They watch the show Androids now on
Prime. But that is really the only TV
they get. They haven’t played the switch much either this week.
They only have a few more weeks of school. Then what? I am
not sure how we are going to pass the time.
But I am sure we will figure it out. This doesn’t seem to be ending any
time soon.
Friday May 1 -It’s May but nothing really has changed. In May, my friends and I usually call it Maycember because it’s so busy with end of school activities. Not this year. Even though, their school is doing an amazing job it’s not the same. I counted last night and we have been home now for 7 weeks. That’s a long time. However I believe we have a long way to go.
Austin has grown attached to his wooden dog he made. It goes
upstairs with him at night and down stairs in the morning. They are currently watching a Wrinkle in Time
together. Sydney is downstairs watching
Desendents 3. I have cleaned up the
house and Brian is busy at working from home.
The kids have not been doing legos much anymore. However Sydney wanted a Frozen 2 lego set
that we got her. She put it together in
a few days. Austin has been into flying
his drone again. They like to play
outside as much as possible. They are
either making things in the garage or riding their bikes. They also enjoy playing at their dirt store
in the backyard.
Saturday May 9 - Last
weekend Brian and I leveled out the yard where the pool will be going. It was a
lot of work but it should be good for the kids this summer. The weather was
beautiful last weekend. It was in the 70’s. We spent most of the weekend
outside.
It was another week of busy school. Austin is reading book
the book War with Grandpa for school. We
are enjoying the book. Austin has Math and English assignments everyday. Sydney has English and Math everyday as
well. She does most of her work
herself. The weather has been cooler this week. Austin and Sydney
haven’t been outside much. Today it even
snowed. Yes, it’s May 9th and there was snow. Next weekend is
supposed to be nice again though.
Ohio is starting to reopen again. Next week, stores will all open and personal
care places will open. We are still
planning on staying home. I go grocery
shopping once a week and Brian goes to Costco every other week. Austin had a hearing test this week.
Surprisingly to us he passed it. However he is still having difficulty
with sounds. We are looking into speech services this summer.
Also the governor announced today that non contact sports can
resume at the end of the month. It’s
possible that Sydney would be able to play softball. And Austin could maybe do tennis. Not sure exactly yet but it’s exciting that
there may be something for them to do.
Austin is having a hard time with all of this. He liked our normal life and staying home all
the time is not going well for him. Recently he’s been angry. I get it.
It’s hard. We try to take Austin
when we can to go somewhere. Like Brian
had to get the lawn mover fixed and had to drop it off. Both Brian and Austin
stayed in the car for social distancing reasons so Austin could go. Brian also took Austin to get sand for the
pool. Again staying in the car, so safe and he got to get out.
Austin also had an orthodontist appointment this week. It
went surprisingly well. Austin doesn’t
need any work done yet. We will follow
up in a year. That was great news.
Austin and Sydney only have one more week of school left. At
first, I was nervous however now I am ready for summer. Austin is going to do a
summer reading program. They will have some work to do but it won’t be as
much. Honestly I am ready for the
break.
It’s interesting because I am finally putting stuff in my
calendar again. The entire month of April there was nothing. I am adding drive
by birthday parties or school parades.
Also there are a few car and doctor appointments. It’s exciting to do something. We are still
be very cautious and not going out too much.
I am interested to see what happens with COVID 19. Ohio has
began to reopen and a lot of people are out and about. Either there is going to be a spike soon or
could it be more seasonable virus? There
is so much experts don’t know about it. We will have to wait and see.
May 28th – Thursday – Memorial day weekend was
extremely hot. We were so happy our pool
was up and ready to use. We used it a
lot over the weekend. We even took the
kids quickly to the store to get pool floats.
We of course wore masks, social distanced, and didn’t allow the kids to
touch anything. Stores are open
now. Restaurants are also open however
we wouldn’t dine in. We got pizza today.
Austin and Sydney are done with 2nd and 3rd
grade. It was a good year
considering. It would be better if they
were in school but they made the best it could be. Austin will miss his daily hangout class with
his teacher. Sydney will also miss her
classes and the work. They like to be
busy. I ordered them summer solution
books to keep their skills fresh. Austin
is also doing a summer reading class online.
He needs more practice with reading.
We still stay home most of the time. Today, Austin and I ran
to the library and dropped off some books we checked out right before things
closed down. We still have a few books from another library however they aren’t
open yet.
The nicer weather is making staying home more
manageable. We are trying to embrace
summer. Brian even set up an outdoor
movie for them tonight.
