COVID-19 Diaries Week 9

Day 57 May 9 - I have decided that this will be my last week of the detailed diaries because Friday is the kids' last day of school and they'd be home with me thereafter even without a pandemic and because our state will be 90% back open by the end of this week.  There's a new normal descending on our lives and I am sure it will be featured in our family blog in ways other than the Covid-19 diaries.  We set a record for coldest temp on May 9 today at 28 degrees.

The new normal

Day 58 May 10 - It's Mother's Day and many of you know that I would gladly skip all holidays because they are the hardest days of the year for my kids and rarely feel anything but stressful.  Today was no different.  I appreciated the gifts and cards and take out dinner, but would have traded it all for three little humans who didn't feel out of sync from the pressures of the holiday.

Day 59 May 11 - A very regular day of school work and house work and "work work."

Artwork by Ella

Day 60 May 12 - We got our first CSA local farm box today. Among other yummy veggies, it included three kinds of fresh greens that made for a fragrant and delicious dinner salad.

Day 61 May 13 - I forgot to type my note at the end of the day and now I already don't recall yesterday's happenings which I guess means this was not a memorable day.  Sometime this week though we learned that Craig will continue to work from home until at last July 6.

Day 62 May 14 - Finally a warm day again, so we let the kids go to town with the sprinkler after their school work was complete. Spring lunches and dinners are so good.

Day 63 May 15 - Today was the last day of third grade for my virtual twins.  We had an art day to keep it light and fun.  I went to Lowes to pick some plants/seeds for my garden after the last frosts of the season passed earlier in the week.  Our neighbor brought a basket of freshly harvested greens which turned into a yummy lunch salad.  And we got pizza for dinner to celebrate the end of the school year.

Fashion design by Emilia

COVID-19 Diaries Week 8

Day 50 May 2 - 50 days at home and other than on foot for walks, I have been out of the house only one single time and I don't remember for what purpose.  Sometimes I wonder what it will feel like for me when I do step into a community setting again.  Today was a gorgeous day with some hours spent poolside, barbecue, and all the winter coats getting washed and put away.  Our front door baby birds were gone from the nest this morning, off into the world.

Day 51 May 3 - Torrential rains and it never really got light out all day.  We cleaned the house and spent the afternoon reading, lazing, and watching TV.  Ella and I started on the old PBS series Colonial House.

Day 52 May 4 - We have a new bird's nest under our patio roof.  Another three babies and one just hatched.  We enjoyed the sunshine today and took the kids on a walk/bike ride - Emilia was so thrilled to be allowed to ride her bike outside of our street and she rode for well over a mile.

Day 53 May 5 - Our weather has been so variable lately and it's confusing the kids, I think.  One day they can swim and the next day they need jackets.  Today we did school and had a surprise to the girls 6 feet apart visit with Ella's BFF.

Day 54 May 6 - Nothing special to report except that Craig drove and got me some of the Krispy Kreme limited time offer lime donuts.  They are good, but these donuts were much smaller than usual, so...

Day 55 May 7 - A no school day for the two littles due to many work commitments by the parents.  Weather was great, so outside time was helpful and plentiful.  I made muffins to eat now and cinnamon rolls to freeze until Sunday and then a bread in the bread machine because we weren't going to make it to the store today after all.  And Craig hurt his ankle on the trampoline.

Day 56 May 8 - With much effort, we got the school work done today and Craig hobbled through the store to get our groceries.  I cooked ahead all the weekend's meals and then deep cleaned the kitchen including polishing the cabinets.  I don't plan to do much more than microwave for the next 48 hours.  Don't nobody else mess with this spic and span kitchen.

Covid-19 Diaries Week 7

Day 43 April 25 - It was a bad day.  The end.

Day 44 April 26 - A rainy day, a clean-up day, a buttermilk pancake day.  Nothing much happened in these four walls.

Day 45 April 27 - We had another music day for school today and after just a few times listening, Emilia was able to hum the familar notes of Fuer Elise.  We also used molds and kinetic sand to make in miniature some of the world's famous buildings, talked a little about them, and then looked up the corresponding countries on the world map.  Weather was lovely, so lots of backyard time, too.  Our governor announced today the first phases of the state's re-opening, but urges all for whom it is possible to continue to shelter-at-home and follow all social distancing guidelines.

Day 46 April 28 -  With temps near 80 degrees today, the girls took the season's first plunge into the pool.  We also got a lot of school work completed and baked blondies and jumped on the trampoline several times.

Day 47 April 29 - Much cooler today with rain plus multiple work commitments for Craig and me, so it was a no school day. Curry for dinner (yes, we love curry) and a lot of preteen 'tude and messes everywhere - so really, not much new.

Day 48 April 30 - We had a really productive day with home school and also with our jobs as well as did laundry and freshly cleaned the master bath.  I am feeling pretty accomplished today.  A Stay Safe Order was implemented until May 29 which still restricts what we can do despite some of the economy opening up over the next four days.

Day 49 May 1 - Happy May Day!  Emilia's epic IEP meeting finally came to an end today, but another meeting regarding compensatory education is scheduled.  Our district just announced that they will be ending the school year four days early on May 15, so that means we only have 10 more days of mandatory schooling to complete with Rex and Emilia and then I will be able to focus on goals and skills that we consider most meaningful for them in the coming months.

This and that from Week 7:

*Our preteen is struggling.
*Our youngest is learning at a much faster rate than we have seen in the parts of this school year that were actually spent at school.
*Our middle kiddo is immensely content.