Growing UP

I am absolutely loving the spring temperatures! After working through the morning and early afternoon, I managed to unplug and spend a few hours playing outside with Hamlet. After dinner Robby and I hopped onto our bikes and we went for a long bike ride through the neighborhood. It was so nice spending time with each kiddo, unplugged from technology and just enjoying the day. 

Timmy and I spend a lot of time together, but it feels like dedicated time with Robby is dwindling. I miss hanging out with my little Koopa. Yes, I know that he is a teen now and that his spending more time with his friends and by himself is normal. But in my eyes and in my heart, he will always be my sweet little boy. 

He used to spend hours with me baking in the kitchen or walking through the woods. Now he wants to be on the computer or talking with his friends. I miss him. 

Last night, riding and talking, I was so happy to just hang out with him. Hopefully I'll be able to convince him to go on more bike rides with his old Momom. 

Egg Hunt

The weather was gorgeous, allowing us to enjoy a lot of time outside. Saturday Timmy and I spent the afternoon exploring the woods and noting all of the signs of Spring. We even made bird feeders to help the birds (and squirrels) regain some strength after the long winter. 

On Sunday we all hopped into the car and headed to an Easter egg hunt. Because of the pandemic, this year's event was different. Instead of the traditional free-for-all egg stampede, families were partitioned into their own search zones. Each "egg corral" had a total of 33 eggs, containing both puzzle pieces and word scrambles. Racing other families, the puzzle needed to be assembled and all of the word scrambles needed to be decoded in order to win the prize basket.

Once we realized the competition element of the event, our family made a plan. Timmy is a great egg hunter, so he was put on the task of collection. He brought the eggs to Scott and Robby, who worked to assemble the puzzle. I helped Timmy and then worked on the word scrambles. 

Working together, we finished the entire challenge in 18 minutes. Not only did we win the top prize, but I understand we set the record for the fastest family completion. It turns out that, when a competition is involved, we work very well together.  

Return to School!

Well, we all survived Scott's first week back to the school building. Although he has been virtually teaching all year, on Tuesday he returned to school. He is now virtually teaching from his classroom instead of from our downstairs rec room. After having him home for an entire year, the quiet that came in his absence feels odd.

While I know that Scott was sad to return to his "normal" teaching location, I have to admit that I was happy for the transition. Having him teaching only one floor below us was incredibly stressful for me. I had to be constantly cognizant of our noise levels and our activities. It is nice to be able to sing karaoke, have an impromptu dance party, allow Timmy to roller skate through the living room or work on his spelling words cheerleader style without worry. 

Even though Scott has returned to his school, his schedule is still not at its pre-pandemic levels. He will still work from home every Monday and comes home early on Fridays. Hopefully next year everything will return normal, but for now, I'm just grateful for the small changes.

 

 

No News

Despite my green bum, we had a nice St. Patrick's Day. Timmy thoroughly enjoyed sharing his leprechaun adventures and his new treasure, the gold, with his classmates. He delighted in his perceived trap success throughout the day and was eager to share his story with anybody who would listen. 

With the exception of the leprechaun gold, our celebration this year was low-key. Timmy helped me clean up the mess that was left by the mischievous leprechaun, and then we all tackled our work for the day. Even with an occasional holiday thrown into the mix, our days and weeks are running together. I am looking forward to achieving the full immunity effect of the vaccine so that I can venture beyond our four walls. 

Today it is going to rain all day, which means that we will spend another day inside. I wish I had something more exciting to report. But sometimes, especially during a pandemic, I guess no news is good news!

Leprechaun Gold

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  If you know me or have been reading this blog for any length of time, you already know that I love making holidays feel magical for my kids. When an opportunity to celebrate presents itself, I go all in. St. Patrick's Day is no exception.

Timmy meticulously crafted a leprechaun trap over the past few days. He worked with Robby to perfect his design and, when it was set last night, Timmy was certain that we would finally catch the leprechaun. Throwing myself into the activity, I found myself in the kitchen at 8:30 preparing a fresh batch of Leprechaun cookies for bait we thought that the baking smell might entice the leprechaun to visit.

Whether it was the cookies or the gold around the trap we don't know, but the leprechaun came to visit last night. He made such a mess in our living room! Pillows were thrown, chairs were turned over and toys were scattered everywhere. (We think that he must have been spooked by the cat and was trying to scurry away but we can't be certain.)

The trap was definitely activated, but the leprechaun got away. However, he did leave a small vial of gold and a scroll, commending the trap and our efforts. Needless to say, Timmy is overjoyed with his real leprechaun gold!

Can you believe that the leprechaun even made a mess in our bathroom? The water in the toilet was green, and towels were thrown all over the floor. When the toilet was flushed the water continued to flow green, so we can only assume that the leprechaun magic was really strong last night. (It was probably the cookies.)

Unfortunately, the magic helper (me) did not completely think through the toilet water scenario. I put dye in the bowl and dropped an Easter egg tablet in the tank, thinking that it would last throughout the day and would be a fun amusement. I failed to factor that the bidet draws from the same tank. 

I managed to spray my bum with bright green Easter egg dye. My bum is now bright green, and I think it will probably stay that way for a few days.  So much for my great idea!

 

 

New Liner

 After nearly a year of walking around on piecemeal scraps meticulously placed each morning to create a functional liner, yesterday I received the most amazing package in the mail. I casually mentioned to my friend that I was frustrated about my tattered liners, and my frustrations about having to schedule multiple medical appointments to obtain a simple supply. To my surprise, she had the liners I wear in the back of her closet because they didn't work for her. She immediately packed them up and shipped them to me.

If we weren't in a pandemic, going to the doctor when I'm healthy would have been an inconvenience. With Covid running rampant in our community, walking into a physician office felt like an unnecessary risk. Because I wasn't willing to put myself or my family at risk, I have made due with what I had until the infection rates began to ease. I had no idea it was going to take a year!

Slipping on the new liner felt like an absolute luxury. I no longer have to carefully fix the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. I can just slip it on and walk. Talk about feeling empowered!

They say it takes a village to raise a child. I have also come to learn that it takes a village to help an amputee maintain mobility and reach potential. I am so grateful for my village this morning.

Leprechaun Hunt

 I have come to realize that I lead a boring and uneventful pandemic life. The highlight of my weekend was going to the park on a "leprechaun hunt" with Timmy. It was nice to be outside with a purpose, and to be doing something in the community. Even though we were socially distanced and never ran into other leprechaun squads, it was nice to experience a snippet of our pre-pandemic activities. 

Despite solving all of the riddles and completing all activities, we failed in our quest to capture a leprechaun. Those little buggers are sneaky and are nearly impossible to catch. I know we were close though, because we discovered the gold that he left behind. (Timmy was delighted with his newly acquired leprechaun treasure!)

Not only did we enjoy being outside during our quest, but I managed to log nearly two-miles on our hunt. I log a lot of miles throughout my normal day, but it is rare for my steps to be consecutive for an extended period of time. Just walking through the woods, following Timmy as he ran clue to clue, was surprisingly relaxing. 

Today the weather is chilly again, so we will probably spend he most of the hours inside. School work has piled up (again), and we need to chop the to-do list down to size. Have a great day!