Days 19-21: Super Productive

This was not a restful weekend, but it was super productive. We spent the first part cleaning out the bonus room. We gave away a lot of our toddler toys, and we purged a lot of Brad and I's old treasures. We did keep a lot, though, including this gem:

 That would be the envelope from my 21st birthday card from Brad--the one that was in the box with the margarita mix that broke.

But...at the end we had a completely empty room:

 We are hoping to close up the walls and create a craft space out there. Once that was empty, we could start cleaning out Issa's room. We are still in the midst of that, but by the end of this week she should have a whole new bedroom.

We also spent a lot of the weekend laughing at Inks:

 She is absolutely the worst hider.

We are back to school this week, and the work plans are ready to go:

And we're off!

Day 18: I Broke Out the Sewing Machine

Yesterday was another crazy busy day. It started with my weekly 7 am grocery run. It's getting a bit more surreal every week. This week, they were bleaching entire carts on my way in and handing it to you. I came home in time to start work calls at 8:30 and then it was a full day of calls and paperwork!

We managed to need to wash throw pillows and our throw from the couch yesterday. Mental note: do not wash that throw with anything. I ended up having to use a straight razor to get all of the fuzz off the throw pillows:

 Brad has also decided it's time to wipe down everything that comes in the house, but I hate the idea of disposable wipes. So, we made our own reusable bleach wipes yesterday:

 By the time I finished all that, I broke out the sewing machine to finish Buddy's bed pillows:

While I had the machine out, I also made some washable face masks:

The CDC had a pattern from 100% cotton tea towels, and they were super easy to make. Brad is pretty sure that the advise to wear a mask in public is coming, and I would rather just have them ready than try to scramble.

Today, I'm taking most of the day off. I never took a spring break, and I would like one day this spring. We are going to work in earnest on the bonus room and Issa's room!

Day 17: The First Step in Issa's Room Redo

We are having a bit of a "if you give a mouse a cookie" situation around here. Since we are finding ourselves with some time on our hands, we have decided to invest some of it in some projects around the house. We are all enjoying our new workout space in the garage so much we decided to convert the unfinished bonus room above the garage into a craft space, which means some of the craft things from Issa's room can move in there, which means Issa's room is getting a redo, which means we need to clean out the bonus room so we can move those things in there, which means we made dog beds yesterday. I bet you didn't see that last one coming. 

Brad and I bought a foam topper for our bed years ago. When we got a sleep number bed a few years ago, we saved the topper in the bonus room. It takes a ton of room! We had always toyed with the idea of turning it into dog beds, but I never had time. We have been using our old couch cushions as dog beds at the foot of our bed and in Buddy's house. No more!

The kids helped me do all of the measuring and cutting:

 And Neela decided she liked it before we even got the covers on:

 We used an old sheet to show fitted sheets for them, and then topped them with blankets:

 Today, we will use the leftover edges of the foam to make a couple of pillows for Buddy's house, and then we will do some more cleaning and sorting!

Issa also has been doing more painting this week:

There us never a dull moment around here!

Day 16: A little of everything...

Yesterday felt a lot like spring break around here. After lunch, Issa decided we needed chocolate cake:

As soon as it was in the oven, the kiddos went out to the trampoline in their jammies:

I had to laugh as I pulled the cake out of the oven. I have vivid memories of Gram having to pull the last batch of cookies out of the oven when we went outside to play.

Issa had another ballet class yesterday, and she's getting used to dancing in our garage studio, which has become the most scheduled space in the house. The boys had a dojo class out there last night, too. I'm still getting up early to get my time in.

Issa and I made our next batch of cards for the VA:

The boys played Dungeons and Dragons online with some dojo friends last night. They had a blast, and it has now become a Tuesday night thing.

Issa and I played with Inks while we watching Downtown Abbey. Inks is becoming more and more playful and social, which is making all of us very happy!

Today looks to be more of the same! Issa has dance class, and I think we are starting on some projects around the house this afternoon. More to come on that one...

Day 15: But Day 1 of Spring Break

Yesterday was the first day of spring break, so the kids were very excited to see a lack of school work plans on the door. However, Issa does have a new dance training schedule:

Since we know the studio will be closed through at least April, they came up with some home classes and activities:

 Issa had her first Zoom dance class yesterday, and she wasn't overly thrilled going into it. Dancing on camera and without her friends beside her isn't ideal. That said, she came in from class with a huge smile. She said it wasn't the same, but it was good to see other people and to dance "with" them instead of completely along. It was so good to see her so happy and back doing what she loves--even if it looks a little different.

We have also seen more of my sweet girl these days:

 Inks is getting more adventurous, and she even played with toys for the first time yesterday! Issa has nicknamed her Squeakers because of her little meow, and I caught her mid-squeak yesterday:

 This morning, she even came down and laid on my feet while I did dishes!

It was another gorgeous day yesterday. I mowed for the first time in the morning, and then I spent a chunk of the afternoon sipping tea and reading on the front porch:

 Generally, the kids were sloths all day--aside from Issa's dance class. Since we can't really do anything big for spring break, we have removed all screen limits, and they soaked that up yesterday. Everyone needs a day or two like that.

After dinner, though, we went on a family walk around the neighborhood. These two took a field hockey ball that mysteriously appeared at our house to bounce back and forth:

 Issa is not a ball-sport kind of girl:

 We all laughed so hard at them playing this little game, and it was so lovely to enjoy the fresh air.

When we got home, the kids showered and then we played several hands of spades. Just to add to the spring break vibe, though, Daddy made garlic knots at 8:30:

They were amazing.

This week won't be our traditional kind of spring break, but we are enjoying it none the less!

Days 12-14: Another Quiet Weekend

We had another quiet weekend around here, which I think is the norm for the next couple of months, but we did have some exciting moments! Both kids finished all of their schoolwork for week 2:

 Issa had a Zoom call with her math class Friday, which was a nice opportunity for her to see some friends and reconnect with her teacher. They will both have more of those Zoom classes in the coming weeks.

 They are thrilled this is spring break and they have a week off!

Saturday, Issa's dance Company also had a Zoom hangout:

 They will be doing Zoom classes starting this week, and she was excited to see everyone, although they realized that is a few too many people on one call.

I've also started making myself afternoon tea again:

 After I finish all of the have-tos for the day, it's a nice little respite in the middle of the afternoon.

We are also thrilled to be supporting one of our favorite CSAs again. Humble Umble usually doesn't deliver this time of year, but since the farmers' markets closed, they started early. We were beyond thrilled by our salad Saturday night:

 And their bouquets always make me so happy:

Last night, we went to see Mom and Shannon, and we taught the kids how to play Spades! They caught on really quickly and are already asking to play again today.

The only bummer of the weekend was discovering all of our local trails have closed. Although the state Shelter in Place order allows walking outdoors, they are closing trails that have been too crowded to be safe. We have found a couple of smaller trails not too far away, so we are hoping to do some exploring this week!

Day 11: What a day...

Yesterday, I had work calls from 9-3. It was a zoo. Brad was on and off calls, and both kids were amazing about running to bring me questions about schoolwork in between calls. By the time late afternoon rolled around, though, I was toast. I just couldn't with the cooking. So, we ordered our first family meal from Antonia's:

 It was alfredo pasta with broccoli and grilled chicken, a lovely tossed salad, and a life-changing nutella mousse. Since they knew Brad had celiac, they swapped a brulee for our bread. It was so good, and it was lovely to not have to cook.

After dinner, Neela came in with a flower petal on her nose:

How cute is that?

The boys and I started watching a new show while Issa face-timed a movie with Trevor. It was a lovely end to a crazy day! One more day of crazy until the weekend!

Day 10: Another Set of Cards

My work week has been way more hectic this week, but we are all still hanging in! Issa is enjoying a quiet end to her week because she worked ahead at the beginning of the week. As soon as I finished work yesterday, she and I made our next batch of cards for the VA Hospital:

 We have a whole series of ideas for cards, and we are genuinely enjoying giving back in this way!

Buddy is also enjoying having us around:

If you can't see, he is actually using a throw pillow to cushion his head. I think the kids had worn him out!

Day 9: Thankful for This Space

Before all this craziness began, Brad created this amazing space in our garage:

For eight weeks now, I have been starting my days out here doing a workout. I don't know if you can see, but after my first month we even bought a little set of hand weights to add to the space. 

Issa has been doing stretching, strength training, and yoga out here since the studio closed. Yesterday, Evan and Brad did their live stream dojo workout on the mats.

The kids have spent a ton of time playing out there, too.

Having this extra room in our house where we can move safely has been a real sanity saver for us--especially on rainy days like today and yesterday. It's another small blessing we are counting during this crazy time.

Day 8: Well...That was weird.

We are really trying to not go anywhere, but yesterday Leo needed crickets, so I had to go to Petco. I went as soon as they opened and found six foot squares taped off outside the door. They were only letting one shopped in at a time, and there was no browsing. Go in. Get what you need. Get out. I told them I needed crickets and I literally just walked to the counter, picked them up, paid, and was out. I spent more time waiting in my box outside that I did inside. I appreciate the safety measures, but it was really surreal.

School went really well yesterday, though. Evan's school is doing a virtual spirit week this week. Each day they post a specific picture so they can see all their friends. Yesterday was reading day:

 In another bizarre turn of events, the governor announced schools would be closed until May 15. Issa was not sad:

She is really enjoying doing her work at her own pace when and where she wants. Yesterday, she finished her electives, math, and science for the week. At the rate she is going, she may finish her schoolwork today and have the rest of the week free. Whatever works.

Days 5-7: A Lovely Weekend

We truly had a lovely weekend around here. We are taking this social distancing really seriously. No play dates. No street parties. But we are venturing out into nature more, and we are really trying to support as many local places as we can.

Friday, we took part of our lunch break to walk the Riverwalk to our favorite ice cream place:

 Evan was super excited about the photo.

 Both kids finished their entire work plans last week:

We are so proud of the way they have adapted to this idea of school at home. If they are still rocking it by the end of this week we decided Friday can be a school pajama day.

The only people we are still seeing are Mom and Shannon, so Friday night the kids went over there for their usual Nana night. Brad and I ordered in from our favorite Italian place here in town. It's been amazing to see how our local restaurants are adapting to no in house seating. The food was fabulous, and it felt good to support local.

Saturday, when we picked up the kids, we decided to hike Occaneechee Mountain. We have always talked about doing it, and we finally just made it happen:

 It was about 2.4 miles around the loop, and the views were beautiful. We are talking about making it a weekly hike.

Saturday afternoon, Issa and I walked the neighborhood to find all of the paper flowers for the scavenger hunt. We had so much fun finding them all and then creating a sheet for families to carry around the neighborhood:

  When we were sitting on our porch, we saw some people out doing the hunt, which was so fun!

Saturday and Sunday we went to Mom's house for dinner, but the rest of the time we really just tried to relax and find cozy things to do inside. Inks is not so sure about all of the extra attention:

She wants to be around us, but sometimes she hides under the blankets.

I hauled out some half-finished craft projects. I added about an inch to a hat I'm knitting for Issa, and I hauled Evan's stocking back out:

I have made a very cozy nest in my chair in my room, and I'm setting a goal to spend more time there this week than I do checking news sites.

Week two of school started smoothly this morning. The new normal is feeling more normal, and we are looking forward to another week of being together.

Day 4: Was Hard

I promised to always keep it real in this space. We are really doing fine. We are still incredibly fortunate, but yesterday was hard.

For the first time, Evan had trouble focusing on school, which made me the bad cop. We got through it, and he actually did goo work, there was just a lot more prompting needed from me.

We got word that all of our cards were delivered yesterday at the VA. They went to the Hospice wing, who also is not allowed visitors. That broke my heart. Issa and I have now adopted them and will be sending weekly cards.

Our act of service yesterday was making joke sheets about sharks and sloths for the pediatric oncology unit at Duke. They are only allowing parents, and some kiddos that can usually come home between treatments are having to stay in the hospital because of the increased risk. They are making a joke wall. Happy to help, but I was heartbroken again.

Sunday, we had to cancel my Italy program for the summer. I've been so busy I didn't have to time to grieve that until yesterday. I've been in touch with my friends in Italy, and I am so, so sad I won't get to see them.

And work. We are through the first round of the storm, and now there is an odd stillness while we wait for updates from the state. Most of my days are filled with students. My student teachers are on break, and no one can just pop into my office. This is usually the time of year when students are popping in for all kinds of advice and to just check in. I miss them so much it hurts--truly hurts. We are facing the heart-breaking reality that graduation will likely not be our traditional format, and the idea of not hugging my seniors goodbye is just too much right now.

Yesterday, I sat on our silent front porch. No big groups of kids playing. So cars traveling home from work. I was trying to match the blooms and birds singing with this surreal rhythm of life right now, and I just couldn't. I broke.

And I needed to. I'm better today. Everyone is back on track. I'm more centered. At my core, I'm an optimist, but I'm also an empath, so big feelings hit hard and fast. I'm learning to lean in to those moments, let myself have them, and then pick up and do the next right thing. Today, that's doing school and helping draft documents. It's going to be okay.

Day 3: Daily Giving

All is still well for this family of introverts. We were made for a time such as this.

We are also doers. We don't like feeling helpless or like we can't help, so we have committed to find a way to serve every day--even if we can't leave our home. 

Yesterday, once of our neighbors who works for the VA said they had closed the hospital to visitors and asked for cards. Issa and I were on that, and Evan helped by being our runner as we planned poorly and needed supplies or whatnot:

 We made this cute spring cards:

We have been saving Grandma Bower's button collection for special projects, and I think she would love knowing that they were used for this purpose. We made 12, and we found out this morning that there are ten patients in the Hospice wing that will receive these cards. We have now committed to making them a card a week until the hospital reopens to visitors.

Brad and I did our weekly grocery shopping at 7 this morning. We were able to find everything we needed while running into virtually no one. I think this may also become part of our new normal.

We have also started  Quarantine Quote Board on the front door. I'm sure there will be some classics by the time this is over. Leave it to our crew to find the humor in any situation--I wouldn't want to be stuck with anyone but them.