Week #5

What are we on? Week #5.... It was the kids spring break and we didn't have to do school work which was so nice! We did have a couple theme days where we "visited" China, Mexico and Alaska. We learned new things, tried new foods and built some too. Some days are fun and some days are hard, it's the Coronacoaster and I'm just here for the ride! We had some crazy weather this week with a mix of warm and really cold weather and a huge tree in our neighborhood was blown down! The kids took a ride in the car and watched a new movie, it was like a "drive around movie" but they loved it and nobody screamed for a few hours! 

The kids loved chatting with Uncle Kevin about China and one night we did a family game night and had a blast! This social distancing is just so weird and emotionally exhausting! I am loving the time we are getting together and the opportunity to slow down but I miss people and traveling! 

      

        

       

Bring on Week #6, technology is good...  Life is good! 

Week #4

Well to be honest, I had to pull out my calendar and check the dates for this blog because I didn't know what we did in week #4. The days are all running together and as I write this we are on week #6 of this life and no end in sight for us in New Jersey. Here in Jersey we are getting hit really hard by Covid-19 or "CoRONAvirus" as Finley likes to call it. We have many cases, I don't really know how many because I don't watch the news anymore. 
I would have never guessed a few weeks ago that words like "social distancing", "stay at home orders, "flattening the curve" would be part of daily life and that our kids would comment on people being too close together when they are watching a TV show. 
We finished another week of school and we are not doing well with it. The kids don't want to do the work, I don't want to spend all day fighting with them and it feels like so much time on the computers. I know the teachers are working so hard and we appreciate all they are doing and the kids miss them so much! But real life with 4 kids at home, virtual schooling is just not my jam! 

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This week ended with Easter Sunday and the kids were all up at 5 A.M. ready to run downstairs for mediocre Easter baskets. We ended up taking a family nap before noon and then spent the rest of the afternoon outside together. Quinn made us a cake for dessert. She loves cooking and wants to be on Master Chef Junior so very bad. 

 

Christmas Pajamas on Easter is about the most Quarantine thing ever. 

Reid is obsessed with buses and the Easter Bunny nailed it for this kid, he misses the buses coming past the door several times each day. 

      

We are now required to wear a mask when we go to the grocery and when we enter any public area. It seems so unreal that this is now life. 

The Easter Bunny drove through the hood and Reid LOVED it, he screamed about it all day. 

  

I am so ready to have drinks with friends again, I miss friends! 

I scored a great deal on used Nerf Guns and the kids have had so much fun shooting everybody. Reid yells "I shoot Mommy!" and then cracks up! He loves "LELO" and wants to do anything that Leo does. 

Most days by time Dave gets home from work I am just hanging on for dear life. This nonstop kids with no break and no friends can be so exhausting!! 

 

We ventured to the local winery for some Sangria this weekend, you know to support local businesses. We drove to two different Chick-fil-as because the first one was closed and had a picnic in the back of the car. I had to also go to Chipotle because Quinn doesn't like Chick-Fil-a!!!?!? But will destroy a chicken bowl from Chipotle?! It felt weird leaving base (we had not left base for over 4 weeks) and to be honest it made me so anxious, I don't think we will be leaving base again for a bit. 

The Easter Bunny was at the winery but the kids were all terrified of him. 

More Portal time with Grandma, it is Reid's most favorite thing to do and he gives me serious attitude and yells "I CALL MAMAW!" if I won't let him call her. 

 

Charlie wants to be outside with the kids all the time and this day I didn't feel like having him out front so he sat at the window and watched them. He is the best boy, Finley and Charlie have such a sweet relationship and she always makes sure his food and water bowls are full. 

Reid helps me with my workouts. 

This dinner was really hard. Dave is at work A LOT lately and Reid was crying all dinner "I want daddy." We are ready for a family vacation when this is all over, even if that vacation is in our backyard!!! 

We have to walk our trash to the dumpster (or drive it) but lately walking the trash to the dumpster has become a highlight of our weeks! Again, Reid never wears pants. I hope when life returns to normal we start accepting that some people just don't want to wear pants! 

 

Dave is working at the EOC 3 days a week and sometimes its pretty busy so he doesn't get time to leave for lunch so we have been walking lunch over to him. This is also a highlight of everybody's day. 

And I think it is appropriate to end the blog with this. I mean literally nonstop kids for weeks upon weeks and you just start caring a lot less about things that used to matter! Some kids don't wear pants, some wear the same pajamas for days in a row, sometimes we have cookies for breakfast, some days we just skip all school work but still check the box that we completed it all for the day.... we are just trying to survive over here! 

Hope everybody is staying safe and healthy and enjoying this time together! 

Being outside is good, life is good. 

Covid Week #2

We have now completed week #2 of Covid-19 "social distancing" and sometimes I feel like it will never end and other times I feel sad thinking about how it will end and they won't be home with me all the time again! It really is a strange time. I never would have thought I would be having conversations about how I can only get one thing of eggs or bread or meat at a time and that is even if the store has them in stock! It is surreal going to the store and there are empty shelves where the toilet paper and cleaning supplies should be.
Our kids are pretty young to understand what is going on but today Quinn told my mom, "Don't go to any more stores! I am scared you are going to get sick!" Leo was yelling at Reid the other day after he blew a raspberry in his face, "you are going to give me coronavirus! That is how people get coronavirus!"
My dad is currently off work as are many people and we are praying this doesn't last as long as they are thinking because we know it is financially hard for so many people. We feel really lucky that Dave is still working and that we are not having to stress about bills at this time like many other people are.
I have good days and bad days and so do the kids. Honestly it is such a mental rollercoaster. I love having the kids home and the games they are playing and the memories they are making together are really great. At the same time the pressure to get school work done and turned in on many different websites is very stressful. I also feel the pressure of doing all the other house/life things that happen on a normal day but now with everybody at home and the schoolwork it can be overwhelming. I know this is such a weird time and we will hopefully be back to normal soon so I am trying to give myself some grace and just accept what is for now.
As we approach April and the social distancing was just extended until the end of April I think it is going to be pretty hard. We had several people visiting and trips of our own planned and Spring Break and it was going to be so much FUN! Now we will be at home (which is where we should be to stay safe) but that is hard to know of all the things we should be doing with friends and family. If/when this is all over, we are going to travel ALL SUMMER!!!
Some of our highlights this week included: finding a tick on Quinn's neck (ewww! NJ is full of ticks), Quinn made Dave soup and we dropped it off at his work, the kids made dinner with their Raddish Kids kit and it was a big hit, we jumped in puddles and chatted with friends (from far away).

Yelling at the neighbors. Luckily our house faces the kids little besties so they enjoy yelling across the yard and showing each other toys. And the parents enjoy it also! We miss spending time with friends, we live in such a great neighborhood and it is sad to not get to spend time with all the people in it! 

 

It has been pretty cold and wet this weekend and we needed to get out! It was freezing but they had a great time and I have plenty of time to wash everybody's clothes when we get home. 

    

This kid is just too big! Stealing sister's stuff and hanging out in her bed. Dave and Reid both got haircuts in our bathroom this weekend because the barber shops are all closed.

 

The little kids are so lucky that Leo is a future Engineer and have had a lot of train track play. 

 

Friday night is pizza and family movie night and this week that was a picnic on the living room floor. 

 

Charlie doesn't know why the kids are home all the time but he loves the extra attention. 

 

We had some great sunshine this week and busted out the water table. 

We currently have a swing on our front walkway and with no end in sight to this type of lifestyle, I think we will just leave it there for now. 

 

Reid is always around when the kids are trying to get work done. 

   

   

Yelling at the neighbors some more. 

  

Super sugary cereal out of a plastic egg? Sure! 

  

Quinn loves talking with grandma and even got to bake some with her this week. 

   

  

We are going to make the best of this situation and pray that everybody stays healthy and that we all come out of this experience better than we were before. 

Homeschool is good-ish, life is good.