Vacation

With so many schools closing early because of the pandemic, it is worth mentioning that Robby has had little interruption to his academic program. Because he goes to a cyber school his classes have been proceeding as normal. With the exception of a few science experiments that he couldn't complete because we could not get to the store for the materials, the pandemic has had no impact on his academics. 

I am incredibly proud of how hard Robby has been working on his classwork. With Scott being home full-time, the house is full of distractions and opportunities to procrastinate. Instead of slacking, Robby has double downed on his classwork, working at an accelerated pace to finish 8th grade early. I am quite certain that I would not have been as dedicated at his age.

Robby is already done with History, completing the course with a 99.76% for the year. He should be finished with Science by the middle of next week, and he is on pace to knock English off the list about a week later. He only has a test and final in Algebra before that course is completed for the year. It will be nice when he is done with school so that he can join his Daddy on "summer vacation" early.

Although the first few weeks were anxiety riddled, Scott is easing into his newfound hiatus from work. He continues to check in with his students on a regular basis, but since academics are "optional," so far no students have volunteered. I suspect he may have a handful of students who take advantage of the opportunity, but I highly doubt that he will be overrun with requests.

It is hard to believe that the boys are essentially on summer vacation in April!

Different Kind of Holiday

Like everybody else, our Easter was different this year. I didn't get to go visit my Mom, and the boys missed their annual Easter Bunny visit and egg hunts. Despite our efforts to keep the holiday light and fun, at times I felt overwhelmed by isolation. Knowing that there was camaraderie in our collective experiences definitely helped push me through my narrow little world.

Even though our Easter was different and the boys definitely missed their Nana, we ended up having a nice holiday. We opted to create a completely different Easter experience this year because we knew that we couldn't emulate tradition. Thankfully the weather cooperated, allowing us some beautiful temperatures and sunny skies throughout the weekend.

On Saturday night Robby helped me stage a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt for Timmy. Our little egg hunt was delighted! He grabbed his basket, put on his shoes and took off running through the yard to collect each colorful glowing egg. Seeing his enthusiasm for this novel twist on a familiar activity was the perfect beginning for our holiday celebrations.

The Easter Bunny came on Saturday night, surprising both boys with some new summer toys. (Our Bunny has always provided summer toys in lieu of candy for Easter.) Timmy received a new whistle (I don't know what the Bunny was thinking) and a cool new skateboard swing. He spent the majority of his day swinging and blowing his whistle.

Robby received a new glow-in-the-dark battle game, which he can't wait to use this summer with his cousins. He also received a new sling shot game which was a lot of fun. He spent most of his day riding his bike and playing with his new sling shot game.

We spent the majority of the day outside, playing and riding bikes through the neighborhood. Easter Dinner filled me with sadness because I was missing my extended family. As long as I was busy I was okay, which is why I was happy to spend the day playing outside.  Sometimes avoidance is a beautiful thing!

Windy

The wind was blowing with such force that we had to stay inside for most of the day.  The boys and I were able to escape on our bikes for a brief trek in the morning, but we abandoned our ride early because of the strong winds. Instead we opted to watch the raining twigs from the safety of our living room. 

Although Timmy pleaded to play outside, dodging falling branches and nuts in a quest for fresh air didn't feel like a strong trade-off. (It is also a really bad time to go to the ER should one of us become injured by flying debris.) Instead I opened some windows and transformed our living areas into an obstacle course. Decided to up the excitement level, he completed the course wearing his roller skates. 

It feels foreign to me that Easter is this weekend. With the country on lock down, celebrating feels unnatural. I'm going to do my best to get into the holiday spirit, but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. Maybe this is a situation where I just need to fake it until I feel it?

Egg Hunt

Yesterday was bright, warm and sunny, allowing us to spend the majority of the afternoon outside. Days spent playing outside always pass quickly. Social distancing at home is so much easier when we can roam through the yard, play in the stream and ride bikes through the neighborhood. 

Last night the boys colored some Easter Egg coloring pages.  This morning Robby is going to ride his bike throughout the neighborhood and tape the eggs to poles, signs, random trees etc.. Our goal is to have eggs "hidden" throughout the neighborhood. In essence, we are hosting a neighborhood wide Easter egg hunt- social distancing version. 

This year we won't have our photo with the Easter Bunny, and coloring eggs feels like a waste of eggs instead of a fun activity. I thought that the coloring sheets might be the best solution for all of our Easter woes. At the very least, it is a good way to spend a few hours.

Tired

Our days are definitely starting to run together. Like everybody else, I feel like we are living a weird version of Groundhog Day. Everyday feels the same, and there doesn't seem to be new experiences or adventures on the immediate horizon.

Even though we are at home, I am trying my best to keep the kids both entertained and happy. Robby has been relatively low-maintenance. Between his classwork and playing online games with school friends, his has not complained about being home. Timmy, on the other hand, is a completely different story.

Timmy misses playing with friends, and he wants to go to the playground. We've tried to explain that we need to stay at home because of the "bad germs," but I know that he doesn't really understand. He wants to visit his Nana and his cousins, go to playgrounds and hang out with buddies. As much as I try, I am a poor substitute for a playmate.  

Between working and occupying Timmy, my time is completely taxed. I'm tired, and I want to escape. Unfortunately that isn't an option right now. 

Ugh. Quarantine stinks!

Mud Monster

The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday. Although I hate the reasons for our pandemic mandated house arrest, yesterday I did not mind staying home and just playing in the yard. I was able to disconnect from the constant stream of bad news and concentrate on having fun with my little family.

Robby and Scott went on a long bike ride while Timmy and I went to conquer the stream. My little adventurer loved splashing in the water, trotting through the mud and trying to catch fish. Although he promised that he wouldn't get dirty, he failed miserably at keeping his word. Of course, he claimed that it wasn't his fault because, and this is a quote, "the mud was muddier than he thought."

By the time he was done splashing and playing he looked like the mud monster. His smile was broad and his giggles resonated throughout the yard. For him, splashing in the stream and playing in the mud was the greatest adventure ever! 

Like I had done with his brother nearly a decade ago, I stripped Timmy down at the front door and directed him to the bathroom. He took a daytime bath (another great novelty) and changed into a clean set of clothes while his muddy attire was thrown into our washer. By the time he was cleaned up Robby and Scott returned from their long ride.  

We topped off the day with a dinner prepared over our fire pit and a few rousing games of ping pong. All in all, it was a great day.  Hopefully we will have more favorable weather days in the coming weeks because playing outside all day certainly helps calm my pandemic anxiety.

 

Making Masks

Since the CDC recommended that everybody wear a mask when in public, Scott and I decided it was time to get out my sewing machine. I don't have a lot of fabric stowed around the house, but I did have a quilt top that was pieced together years ago which had never been turned into a blanket. Since I had no plans for the quilt, we took it apart to use the fabric for our masks. 

After several trials and some frustration getting the sewing machine to function properly, our family assembly line started to crank out colorful face masks. Robby and Scott cut the fabric according to the pattern while I worked on the sewing machine. It was definitely a team effort, but we managed to turn the quilt into 16 colorful face masks. 

To increase the protection, we took apart a virus blocking furnace filter and included a piece inside the pocket of each mask. I know that the protection is not medical grade, but it is definitely better than nothing. While we still don't have plans to break our quarantine by going into public, it is nice to know that we have masks if we need them.