Today’s installment of social distancing included an egg hunt with my parents while we all worked really hard to stay six feet apart. We were really successful, I’m happy to say. Even the six-year-old did his part.
I miss people.
It wasn’t a particularly nice day but some outdoor time was definitely needed. I’m sure you understand. I’m really ready for warmer temps amidst all this social isolation. Maybe after Sunday’s snowstorm we can officially move on to spring. Fingers crossed.
This is what I spent a good portion of my day doing. Who would have thought, right? We each picked out our own fabric from my craft room remnant stock.
For the record, the boys are not excited about the idea of having to wear these for real. Luckily, they’ve only left the house once since March 17 (and I think my total is three). Chances are they won’t be sporting them very often.
Here’s the pattern I used, in case you’re interested.
We’ve got time on our hands and seeds left over from last year so we’re going to get started on our garden early by trying to get some seedlings growing. Today’s work? Prep our containers. Tomorrow’s task? Let the planting begin.
I’ll keep you posted on progress.
Our big guy turned eight today. That’s right. Eight.
Eight years ago our lives changed forever as we welcomed this little (now bigger) nugget into our arms. I had no idea what the future held at that point (nor do I now), but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
It was a different day than we would have expected a month ago, but it was a good day, nonetheless. Chris stayed home from work and we enjoyed spending the time as a family spoiling sweet Chase.
I’ve always loved spring but somehow it feels even more important and needed this year. I’m ready to see color popping up all over, warmer temps, and the smell of new life in the air. I’m definitely ready.
We had planned to have Chase’s birthday party today. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had other plans for our little gathering. Ugh. We did the best we could under the circumstances, though, and opted for some quality family time (which is about the only certainty in life right now) and a virtual Mario Kart party with a few of his good friends.
Our plan had been to have a small group of people over for some video-gaming and some IRL (in real life) gaming as well where we would get inspiration from video games but compete in real life. Fun, right? Well, we ended up doing the IRL portion of the party with our family and did the video-gaming virtually with a supplemental FaceTime call so everyone could chat during the races. It worked out shockingly well, actually. The kids had a total blast and listening to their trash talk and small talk was about as adorable as you can imagine.
We also introduced the boys (and myself) to Pokemon Go today. It appears to be the exact melding of IRL and gaming. As you might imagine, the boys are obsessed already. I’m a little worried about what this will mean for all of our family walks in the future.
All in all, it was a really good day. Sad, but good. I think our soon-to-be eight-year-old is feeling all the love from afar. We’re all just doing the best we can…and that has to be enough right now.
It makes sense that the most elaborate pretend play set up (with no less than 200 pieces, roughly) found a home in the kitchen—between the fridge, oven, and sink—right? I’ve been working on my flexibility and acrobatic moves trying to avoid disturbing all of the houses and meeting places.
This set up has kept them entertained and happy for 2.5 days, though. I’ll take it.
This is what almost eight looks like…in case you’re wondering. I just love this nugget so much.
I’ve been on a bit of a baking kick during our time in social isolation—and no one around here is complaining about it. Last week the boys and I decided on a new recipe: Homemade Oreos. They were AMAZING. I really love Oreos. Honestly, we all do in this house. The homemade version isn’t exactly the same (obviously), but, man, they do the job of filling that Oreo-shaped hole in my life (which seems to constantly need refilling).
Almost just as amazing…can you believe I had ALL of the ingredients on hand? Sometimes I really impress myself.
So this happened today. I set up a crazy apparatus as an iPad stand so the boys could participate in virtual piano lessons. Just another social isolation first to add to the list.
The lessons went well. The boys were good sports and their teacher is so talented and sweet. Another new normal.
I spent a chunk of yesterday picking up sticks around our yard. That’s what you do when you’re quarantined, right? After a lovely (but slightly cold) bike ride this morning, we came home and started a backyard campfire to take care of some of the sticks. Also, there were s’mores.
I wouldn’t say this is a normal 11am-on-a-Saturday activity for us, but what’s “normal” anymore anyway?
It got up to 60 degrees today and we busted out for a nice (and appropriately isolated) springtime stroll around the neighborhood. I’d say we were walking for about 30-40 minutes and the boys held hands the entire time (with no encouragement from me, mind you). It was incredibly adorable.
I don’t love chalk. I actually really really don’t like it. It’s such a mess, you know?
The sun was shining. We had just returned from a bike ride. I was feeling generous. We got out the chalk and tried out the new taping mosaic chalk trend that’s been going around. The results were pretty fantastic, actually. And then we watched a lot of people walk by our house and admire all of our hard work. It was totally worth the mess (and it was a total mess). But I still really don’t like chalk.
Quiet time has become a very important part of our days as we navigate in this new isolated world. Thank goodness the boys seem to need the down time as much as I do. And the sunshine even kept us company today. That was a really lovely surprise.
Day five of homeschooling was another success. I have to admit [quietly] that I am enjoying this little experiment (most of the time). I think the boys are at the perfect age for this crazy, chaotic situation. As I said to a friend today, the boys are little enough that school doesn’t have to be super intense and overwhelming (for me as well as them). They remain each others’ best friends and can play happily for long periods of time. But they’re also old enough that they can function independently a lot and I can still work/get a breather in the midst of all the anxiety and stress that comes with trying to keep our lives moving along.
And truly, the boys have been total champs. They seem to really like our homeschooling schedule and are troopers for whatever I come up with for the day. Of course, they’re missing their friends and would probably pick regular school in a second, but we’re really hanging in there just fine.
I totally recognize how lucky I am.
*The photos above are from today’s science lesson about friction. This little Climbing Creature was super fun to make and both boys enjoyed the whole process. I think they even learned a little something!*
I posted a coconut muffin recipe on the blog awhile back (almost 1000 days ago, actually), and that one still holds up if you want a sugar-free option. This new recipe, is just so so good, though. It totally makes up for the added sugar. They’re like having cupcakes for breakfast. :)
*Side note: I follow this recipe exactly but I do add one teaspoon of almond extract. I love almond extract.
We completed quarantine puzzle #1 tonight. Stay tuned for how many we knock out through all of this.
The boys decided to shoot this video today. Technically, I held the camera but the concept is entirely theirs and they wrote “the script”. Get excited…this is just the beginning for this duo. They’ve promised additional seasons.
The boy have been working hard around here. I taught them about bar graphs. They’ll definitely thank me for this.
small city | BIG DAYS
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