Diving into social distancing: week 2 like...
Hah!
I joke. But in all reality, aside from Harper not going to school 3
days/week and all of us not being able to hit up the Children's Museum
or YMCA or library any day at any time, this "quarantine" situation has
just been a very extreme version of our normal daily lifestyle. I'm a
borderline introvert and the kids are definite homebodies [neither one
ever wants to get up and off to school or daycare in the morning, and on
Harper's days off school I have to all but kick her little booty out
the door if we ever want to make it anywhere before dinnertime!].
However, with all the extra down time, I can't keep myself from reading
...and reading ...and reading. While it's good to stay up-to-date, all
of this information has been a lot more anxiety-inducing than I realized
it would be. Maybe it's my career, but I can't stop entertaining
scenarios such as: What will happen to the healthcare system? Will the
hospital I work at be overwhelmed with infected patients? Will I be
pulled from the job[s] I currently have and love to work the front lines
of COVID-19 when ER and ICU nurses become exposed or exhausted? Will
there even be enough ICU beds in St. Louis, or will physicians have to
pick and choose who receives care? Will the PPE run out? Will
co-workers that I work alongside and love die? Will I bring the virus
home to Brian or the kids? The list of uncertainties goes on and on and
on, and I notice myself becoming most agitated with all of it when --
every which way we look [mostly on social media but also in real life]
-- PEOPLE ARE NOT STAYING HOME! Seriously, what in the actual #^&$???!
Come on, people. Stop being dopes. Social distancing saves lives!!!
The writing for all of this is on the wall. I honestly don't
understand. The governor put out a new statement this week, and I hope
people change their ways and follow the recommendations before it's way
too late. Graphs like this terrify me...
...and should honestly terrify everyone. Sighhhhhh, I didn't want this to head down a dark, deep rabbit hole...
...so time to shut it off, flip gears, and zoom in on the silver lining.
Let's try again.
**********
A
couple of weeks ago during our doomsday/stock-up shopping spree, we
zoomed through the baking aisle at Walmart to stock up on sugar, flour,
etc. Harper knew my birthday was coming up, so she asked me to close my
eyes as she picked out a box cake and a jar of sprinkles and tucked
them away into the bottom of the cart. As soon as we got home from the
grocery store, she unloaded the bag and hid the cake and sprinkles under
her bed where they would, of course, stay safe and secret! Fast
forward to this past Saturday, my 31st birthday! The cake was resurrected and mixed with love!
It
was a chilly day, but we bundled up and enjoyed a family walk through
the subdivision [capped off with bike rides for Brian and the girls --
he needs to buy his own bike ASAP so all 4 of us can go together!
Meanwhile, I let him borrow my bike so I can stay sedentary... ;)].
Afterwards, Brian made a special dinner as the kids excitedly prepped
the birthday cake with a handful of candles that "definitely were not
trick candles!..."
Joining
in live via FaceTime, Grammy, Papa, and Blake got to sing, "Happy
Birthday!" too! ...The candles WERE tricky ones, by the way!
We
capped off the evening with a few rounds of Old Maid. I lost the final
game fair and square; the truth hurts! #oldmaid #thisis31
However! In better
best news, quality time is my love language and having my little
family at home and all to myself [on Saturday and indefinitely] actually
made
for a pretty great birthday! Brian said this shelter-in business was my
personal gift from the governor! From Harper picking out my birthday
cake mix and sprinkles to Brian cooking breakfast AND dinner to Scarlett
initiating
the “Happy Birthday” song before helping blow out all my candles,
I adore the way my favorite humans can so easily make me feel so
special! Thanks, too, for all the virtual love from friends and
family near and far; y’all are the absolute best and know how to make a
girl feel loved!
On Sunday morning,
I sipped coffee from this super cute mug which was a birthday gift from
my very sweet next-door neighbor. She also sewed this mask for me to
take to work if worse comes to worst [but depleted PPE is a depressing
topic for another day]!
As
I was lounging, Harper was furiously searching for paper, pens,
scissors, and tape. After getting everything set up, she started asking
how to spell certain words and I realized she was making a scavenger
hunt for me. She asked if it was still my birthday [such a little
sweetie; God bless her heart!] as she searched for empty gift bags and
gifts to fill them with. Thank you, Harper, for the lovely surprise.
You're a gem!
I had to work on Monday,
so Brian kept the kids while he worked from the basement. I didn't get
many updates throughout the day, but everyone was alive and well when I
got home so I guess it went alright! On Monday night, we had a family
movie night and Harper picked Frozen 2...
...which led to Tuesday being FROZEN DAY!!! Elsa and Anna are IN 'da house!
Elsa learned about paleontologists and what tools they use ^^ before taking a break to read books with Anna...
We also had our blinds delivered that afternoon. What a huge difference they make!!!
On Wednesday,
we put together a Sprout House and "planted" the bean inside. Harper
filled out page 1 of the Plant Journal and taped the Sprout House to her
bedroom window where it would be sure to get plenty of sunlight. We
are hoping for some good results!
[I
printed a Sprout House for Scarlett, too, but she learned how to use
scissors this week and so! Hers was sawed and shredded into nearly one
hundred pieces by the time we were finished decorating Harper's. But
hey, if a $2 pair of kids' scissors and a piece of copy paper can keep
our little gal occupied for 30+ minutes on end, I'll take it!!!]
Harper
also received a packet of worksheets in the mail that my mom dug up
from her old teaching days! I was so sure when we opened the packet
that all of the math problems would be way too hard for Harper, but we
got some quarters out and started adding away. She's been LOVING
addition and definitely understands what she's doing with
counting/adding quarters. I'm so proud of her!
After
a [forced] nap, we opened a stepping stones DIY kit that Harper got
from Aunt Margy and Uncle Steve for her birthday and poured the first
stone! As soon as we set it aside in the mold to dry for 8 hours...
...the
FedEx delivery man knocked on the front door with the kids' brand new
Power Wheels!!! It took a while for Brian to put it all together, but
he finished just in time for the girls to take a joy ride before dark.
While I worked again on Thursday,
the kids were home with Brian. During one of his conference calls,
they were invited to the neighbors' driveway to make chalk art! Loved
getting this text update at work!
On Friday, we had breakfast with our rapidly-growing catepillars...
...and
then dug into some bead art! We made name bracelets for some friends
and family members and plan to mail them out soon. We hope that wearing
the bracelets will remind those we love how much we miss them during
these crazy times!
While
Harper diligently worked on creating color patterns and finding all the
letter beads needed to spell people's names, Scarlett was most
entertained by transferring beads from bowl to plate...
...and
eventually just dumping mixed beads back and forth between two bowls!
She did help me string a few beads on one bracelet but didn't have too
long of an attention span for it. :)
Phew,
this is getting long; more to come on this project ^^ as the bracelets
are delivered and we continue to make a few more each day!
Final
thoughts for this post: when
I can occasionally box off all the unknowns and anxieties [mentioned up
at the top] into a small
place in the back of my mind, I've been trying to hone in on all of the
positives
that sheltering-in has brought so far and really focus on the things and
people that matter most. I think this week's photos are really
reflective of this and how much we're enjoying all the uninterrupted
family time we've had lately! I know that we'll get through this and
will come out better and stronger on the other side. I sincerely hope
that all of you, our dear family and friends, stay sheltered-in as much
as possible during this crazy time. Your health and safety [and sanity]
are at the top of our prayer list... Please pray for us, too!
To be continued...
