Day 45: Our Evan

All quarantine, I have been hounding Evan about turning lights off when he leaves a room. It's my pet-peeve. Tuesday, I finally declared that I was going to start taking a lightbulb from his room everytime I had to turn a light off behind him. Yesterday. 2:00 pm:

 His face when I actually unscrewed a lightbulb was hysterical. And...I have not had to turn off a single light since.

It was also his night to make dinner last night! He chose street corn nachos, and it was his first attempt at cutting corn off the cob:

 They turned out well:

About once a week we make nachos, and we just eat them right off the platter. It's a fun family dinner and makes a lot less dishes for me to do. Win win!

Day 44: The Bees of Togetherness

When this whole thing began, we were out taking a family walk, and Evan was irritating his sister as only a little brother can. Brad flicked him on the back of the head and said it was a bee. It provoked a good laugh and stopped the irritation. Well...now it's a thing.

Against my better judgement, the three other members of my family now flick each other when they are beeing annoying and say it was a bee of togetherness. I have nightmares of this escalating into some kind of war, but so far it still results in laughter and an end to the annoyance.

Last night, however, Evan was aggravating Issa again, and she proclaimed that the bees of togetherness may need to swarm. We all were crying we were laughing so hard, but I'm sensing this could potentially end badly...

Day 43: A Virtual Site Visit

Before all this craziness started, I was asked to serve as a program reviewer for one of the national accreditation boards for teacher education. I am thrilled to serve, but this little virus has complicated things.

Before we were all staying home, I was supposed to visit the campus for two days to talk with people and see evidences. Unfortunately, that visit is now virtual, which means I spent 11 hours yesterday on Zoom doing interviews and focus groups. I have another 11 today. I might fall over.

Meanwhile, the kids are doing school, and Brad is doing work. We were all able to have dinner together last night, and I promptly fell asleep afterwards.

One more day. I can do it...

Days 40-42: A Lot of Snuggle and a Little Social

We had another lovely weekend. We found out Friday that the schools will remain closed this year, and this is our new normal until June. I think it zapped a lot out of us, and we needed some time to regroup this weekend. We spent a lot of it doing nothing. There was much snuggling and netflix binging. Even Inks got the memo:

 My sweet baby loves being under the blankets, and she has learned to crawl all the way under and then crawl back out to sleep like a person. Too cute.

We also made homemade hibachi Saturday night! Brad did all of the cooking on the grill, and it tasted just like Kanki! Evan has decided it will be his birthday dinner as well!

The big highlight, though, was we did a driveway birthday for Issa's friend, Trevor:

 He turned 15 yesterday and was pretty bummed his party is indefinitely post-poned. Issa made him a sign, and we stood in the driveway to talk for a little over an hour. His mother is lovely, and we all agreed one picture wouldn't hurt anybody.

We are all set for this week:

I have a crazy work week, but we can do it!

Day 39: Lots of Kitchen Time

Thursdays are baking days, and yesterday we decided to make gluten-free nutter butters. This was bar-none the strangest dough I have ever worked with. It was pretty sandy, and it really didn't come together until you rolled it. We also did not have a peanut cookie cutter, so we made flowers:

 Both kids were all about the baking yesterday:

 Despite my concerns, the cookies baked beautifully:

 And they really do taste like nutter butters:

 Daddy was most pleased.

It was also Issa's night to cook:

 She made ham, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was delicious!

While we were all in the kitchen, Buddy decided Dad needed loves:

He is such a doof, but we sure do love him.

Day 38: We Got Crafty

Back at the very beginning of quarantine, we ordered some gem painting kits online. When I bought them, at a very good price, I had no idea they were coming from China. Our craft kits spent some quality time quarantined in customs. Originally, the plan was to use these as a spring break activity. They arrived yesterday, so now they are a fun late afternoons after school and work activity!

The kids and I each got two kits. Evan started with his arctic fox kit:

 We are very impressed by these little kits! They are basically gem by numbers, and they came with a very hand little stick to pick up and place the gems:

 Issa is doing cherry blossoms:

 I'm working on a mandala:

We will keep updating the progress, but I have a feeling these are going to take us a while!

Day 37: Much Better

Yesterday was a lovely reset for me. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours:

 It was such a beautiful affirmation of where I am in life right now.

We also started a second puzzle, and we got smart this time! Inks likes to play with puzzle pieces, so we put a sheet over our last puzzle. Now Inks has learned playing in sheets is fun. So...enter the fitted sheet:

Our puzzle escaped unharmed!

On a related note, Brad has started calling Inks Jinx. She is ornery, as evidenced by the fact that we found her on one of Evan's ceiling fan blades this morning.

Everyone is settled into school and work this morning, so all is right in the world!

Day 36: Was Brutal

I had to go to campus yesterday.

When I left in mid-March, I never expected that I would be teaching my summer classes online from my home. I brought what I needed for the end of the semester, but I had to go back yesterday to pick up my summer materials.

We have gates on campus, and they are generally open during the day. Now, though, they are closed, and the guard house is fully operational. I had to stop on the way in to show my campus ID and be checked in. As I drove through the gate, all I saw was emptiness. Spring is absolutely gorgeous on campus, but there were no students out taking pictures of the blooms. No one was walking to class. My car was the only one I saw.

I walked into my building and turned the lights on at 10:15. The classrooms are locked up tight. There were no student messages on my board or flyers pinned to the cork board. It was silent.

I gathered what I needed and was leaving again in less than an hour. I turned the lights off at 11.

As I was leaving, the chapel bells were ringing the hour, and it literally echoed across our empty campus. And I broke.

I love the energy of a college campus. I love looking out my window and seeing students. I love listening to their chatter in the hallways. I love having them leave random notes on my board and stop in with big ideas. It shouldn't be so quiet.

I am missing my students so much it hurts right now. This is always a time of launching seniors and listening to big summer plans. I'm still talking with them online or via email, but it's just not the same.

I cannot wait to see our campus full of life again, and I cannot wait to hear all that chatter in the hallway again.

Days 33-35: Very Productive Weekend

This was a very productive weekend around our house! Brad and Issa finished the redo of her room. The biggest product was handing her black hole decal:

 Since she has popcorn ceilings, they had to mount it to a piece of plexiglass, but it looks so cool in her reading corner:

 They also finished her cork tile wall:

 She is so thrilled with how her room came out, and now we can't get her out of her room.

We also decided that each kid is going to take a turn making dinner from a recipe every week. This time seems like an ideal window to build their culinary skills. Evan went first this weekend with veggie roll-ups:

 He thought he was big stuff using the food processor, and I loved the finished results:

 Not everyone else was so enamored with the meal, but it happens.

The biggest accomplishment was finishing our puzzle:

 We also had some quality time with the pets. Frosty has decided that water tastes better out of the dog bowl:

 Neela is trying to decide how she feels about this. The biggest project with them, though, was baths:

 I took no pictures of the process, but we now have two clean dogs with trimmed nails.

We all set up for the week:

Now we just have to do all of the things.

Day 32: On Thursdays We Bake

Yesterday was a pretty typical Thursday around here. My day started with my weekly Thursday at 7 am trip to the grocery. I am there right when they open. Things are stocked, and people are sane. I had some special items to get this week. Our neighborhood organized a thank you for those who are first responders on the front lines of this pandemic. They entered their names into a form, and the rest of us entered ours in another. One of the neighbors matched us up so we could leave a thank you treat on the responders front porch:

 The kids had a good time delivering it, and it's nice to be able to do something little to help and say thank you.

Issa and I have also decided we will try a new baking experience every Thursday. Yesterday, she wanted to try her first layer cake! We have been looking for a good gluten-free completely from scratch cake. We have some good boxes, but we finally found a from scratch recipe! The secret: arrow root! Issa has become a really good baker:

 She decided the cake needed a chocolate chip garnish:

 And Evan arrived just in time to help with that part:

 She was pretty proud of her finished project:

And it was absolutely delicious!

Day 31: We Got Fancy

For her English class, Issa has been reading Anne of Green Gables, which is one of my very favorite books. She started to read it a couple of years ago, but she wasn't a fan. Thankfully, this time she fell in love with Anne Shirley. My work here is done.

Yesterday, she finished her final project for it, a game:

 We spent part of the afternoon playing the game, and then we celebrated with a tea party for dinner! I even broke out the good china. We served cucumber sandwiches with edible flower garnish:

 Deviled eggs--Evan's request:

 And bacon-wrapped asparagus:

Evan was very relieved I didn't make everyone dress up, too:

 Brad and I decided to make it a Royal Tea with some prosecco:

I added a little lavender syrup to mine after we finished eating, and it was the perfect dessert for me. Everyone else had chocolates, and Issa and Dad had coffee foams:

These have become quite a thing around here. You whip instant coffee, sugar, and hot water and then float it over almond milk. It's shockingly good!

Today is much less fancy, but it was fun for a day.

Day 30: Simple Pleasures

Yesterday was a day when we took a little time to just enjoy the simple things. Evan and I started a puzzle:

 We got the edge finished in no time, but I think it's going to be quite the puzzle:

 I took some time to read on the front porch, and I was quite amused to look up and see this:

 Issa has rekindled her love of sidewalk chalk:

 The boys had two great dojo classes, and Issa and I participated in her studio's spirit challenge. Parents had to recreate one of the child's on-stage looks. I think I nailed Ursula:

Today is cold and rainy, so we are snuggling in for another productive day of school and work!

Day 29: The One with the Bizarre Start

Yesterday morning, Brad woke me up two minutes before my alarm: we had a tornado warning.

Being from the midwest, we don't get overly worked up about these things. It was super stormy and windy, so we weren't too concerned. That said, we now have a routine. Brad stands at the window; I watch the local news. By 6:15, Brad decided it was time to empty the cupboard under the stairs and wake the kids. By 6:40, all four of us plus the two dogs were in the closet. Once WRAL specifically says our neighborhood, we go to the closet until the all clear. So there were stood.

We got the all clear at 7 and wandered out to start our day. The kids played a game of UNO Flip before school started. I started digging out of my inbox because I actually took the weekend off. Brad started his day a little earlier than usual.

It was a blustery day all day yesterday, but the sun came out and we were able to take our evening walk. We also took the opportunity to sort and reorganize our little cupboard under the stairs, which is never a bad thing.

Today is off to a much more typical start, and I'll take that.

Days 26-28: Happy Easter!

Although this Easter was certainly very different, it was also lovely. 

We started Saturday with out egg coloring!

 This year, we actually Zoomed with all of my cousins for the decorating. We all used to go to Grandma's to color when we were little, and it was fun to all be back together. Even Brad got in on the decorating this year:

 He made his egg a little robot suit:

 Issa made egg tutus:

 It was fun to see everyone's eggs on screen:

After the egg coloring, we enjoyed a Greek feast that Shannon and Mom prepared. I really think it was the best falafel I've ever had in my life.

Sunday morning, Buddy arrived with cute bunny garland for our mantel:

 We went to Mom's again, where the Bunny had visited:

 The favorite basket treat were these logic puzzles:

 Before brunch and church online, we headed outside to get some Easter photos. My two goofballs shoved huge pieces of monkey bread in their mouths on the way out the door:

 But we did get some great pics:

 After egg bake, we watch the service from the National Cathedral:

 Bishop Curry's message about "It's Easter Anyway" was exactly what I needed to hear yesterday.

After church, Nana and Aunt Shannon surprised up with a second egg hunt upstairs:

 Grandma Luzny used to hide the little Hershey eggs, and they continued that tradition. It's more of a grown-up egg hunt, and I think it will be making a comeback next year. This year they played nice; next year, I have a feeling the old tricks of unwrapping eggs and using tacky-tuff to hide them at odd angles will be back!

We spent the afternoon doing a puzzle and just being. The Wooden Nickel delivered a killer ham dinner, and we ended our day with a new card game that the Bunny left.

It was a very different Easter, but I wouldn't have traded a minute!

Now, the school schedule is up for the week:

Here we go!