Sand

Nothing like quarantining to make you appreciate something so simple as new sand for the sandbox. Last year SlimJim diligently emptied the sandbox all over the yard. Leaving us with only an inch or so of seven year old sand that got rained on and snowed on and was less than desirable for playing. We finally emptied it out after all the ice melted and added new sand. Kept all the kids occupied for hours.

Into the Woods

With no less than three "walks" per day in our neighborhood, now that we can't play anywhere else, the girls were getting bored of our same two bike loops, so we ventured into the woods with the bikes. The girls are slow enough over the roots and through the twists and turns that SlimJim has no problem keeping up on his balance bike. It's a new favorite activity! Now I need an off roading push car for Mr.T. 

Just Quarantining

Other than not being able to go to playgrounds or see our friends, our day to day is pretty much the same as it was before we weren't aloud to leave our houses. So while it seems like most families we know are bored out of their minds, between school and the kids continued activities through zoom, we really don't have a lot of extra time in our day to feel bored or fill up with fun thing like learning tik tok dances. 

We've just been keeping on with the usual. Hanging around. 

The only thing that's really keeping us on our toes is the budding relationship between these two trouble makers. SlimJim is the resident daredevil and he's taken to teaching the Mr.T. the ropes.

in unidentifiable toddler babble to baby: "so let's just push all these books off the shelf here and see if we can jump all the way to the other end of the couch.

 

clear as day over the baby monitor: "Baby! No Baby! Baby, put your feet in here like this Baby!"

Grocery Shopping

Was never fun. With four kids. Which is why we signed up for a year of unlimited Walmart grocery delivery. But now, with no one wanting to leave home, there are no open time slots for Walmart delivery. Since the social distancing regulations have been put in place, we've been shopping a few times, and each time it gets crazier and crazier. First there wasn't food, then they started coraling shoppers like cattle through mazes of shopping carts. Now there are red tape lines and spots to stand on everywhere, so trying to figure out how to get to the checkout is like playing twister. The cashiers stand behind plexiglass shields, and since the CDC recommended everyone wear masks, almost everyone's face is covered. With limited operating hours, and our full schedule with our evening online classes for the kids, I decided to brave it and take them all with me to Hannaford today to buy at least two weeks worth of groceries.

They were troopers, though by the end we were all so done with groceries that its a good thing we bought five loaves of bread so we won't have to go back for two weeks!

And then I had to come home and sanitize them! How many more weeks of this??

Happy Easter!

Phew! We woke up this morning with a lawn dotted in Easter eggs, and while the kids- girls especially- have been very cognisant of Easter being about Jesus this year, I knew they were worried the bunny might not make it because of the virus. We did have a backup plan, just in case. Eggs were filled and ready to hide in the event the Easter Bunny didn't feel it safe to deliver the goods to Saratoga.

I had a very special Easter morning because the girls woke up early to make me my favorite breakfast. It was a delicious surprise!

So it was a happy but quiet Easter. We ate breakfast, opened Easter baskets, the girls sang a beautiful Easter song, we watched church with cinnamon roll brunch, watched a firetruck parade, had an egg hunt, played outside, and ate Easter dinner.

Just for giggles we took a family Easter portrait this year to remember our Easter in Social Quarantine.

A Seder Dinner

Since we will be celebrating Easter a little differently this year, we've been trying to add in some Easter activities that we might not normally do to make up for the fact that it will be a quiet holiday.

Last weekend after our online church in the living room, we set up a Palm Sunday parade with paper palms and robes of colorful scarves and everyone had a turn riding through the crowds of cheering onlookers pretending to be Jesus riding on a donkey (our toy ride on puppy).

Last night, we had a Passover dinner where we celebrated Passover in a less ritualistic manner than would be typical of a Jewish family, but with a similar menu. Each item we ate had a Jewish and Christian meaning. We found our inspiration for the meal here. The kids' favorite part was the homemade matzoh, which was just about the easiest thing to make with four kids, unless you try to do it by the Passover regulation and complete it from first combination of ingredients through baking in 18 minutes or less.

While no one was really very excited about the actual food (except Daddy), everyone tried everything and it was a fun tradition to start. Looking forward to next year!

The Fun Never Stops

It might be getting a little monotonous, this social distancing phenomenon. Some say difficult times. And I know a lot of families are struggling through. And we certainly have our moments and the days can be long.

But the kids are doing so great at not complaining and (mostly) playing well together, that I have to consider myself extremely lucky.

And who can be frustrated when you look at these adorable faces??

Even when I am out of ideas of how to keep the kids entertained, they always come up with something. Today it was running through the "sprinkler" (upturned spray nozzle) in the "really hot" (mid 60s and breezy) weather.

You couldn't have paid me to partake, but look at the fun they had.

Daddy can be a lot of fun too- he is great at thinking up silly things to do, and it has been nice that his commute home from work has been a lot shorter and we've had time to play outside in the evenings.
It was hard to top the sprinklers from this afternoon, but a double decker swing so the four kids can swing on a three-swing swing set made everyone's evening.

Social Distancing: Week 3

I think two weeks was sort of a novel experiment, with a hope that maybe we'd realize it was overdone, or it would end surprisingly soon... But at the start of the week, when the president announced we would continue in this manner through April, I think it kind of threw me into a funk. Not that I am a people person, particularly. Not that this is that stressful on us, as we are always at home, I never work, and Bob still has a job. But I see it wearing on the kids- not being able to get out of the house for fun or activities or see friends. And I see it wearing on Bob, having to work from home, and for myself- the days can get long with no place to take the kids aside from a walk or the backyard.

So we trudged through the week. We did school. We played outside. We had online dance and online Taekwondo and online music. We didn't stress about fitting in all the new extras. And we felt almost normal busy, but with a haze of discontent with the situation.

As we woke up to a rainy day with no promise of playing outside, I have to admit, I was less than thrilled.

But in the fashion of many other bloggers, I am going to turn my cranky, complainy mood around. Many people are posting about how they are thankful for what this unprecedented situation is giving them. Or about what they realize that they were too busy to see before. I am happy that so many people can see the light in a gloomy time.


I already know what many are coming to discover...

I am thankful that this is (close to) my normal every day.

That every day I get to spend the whole day with my kids.

That every day I get to teach my kids and learn from them, rather than giving that job to someone else.

That every day I get to chat with them over lunch.

That every day my kids get hours to go outside and play with each other and pretend and imagine.

That every day my kids get time to themselves, to choose whichever activities they like.

That my children already know (mostly) how to play together, get along and resolve disputes.

That when our afternoon activities come around (online or in real life), my kids aren't already burnt out from their day.

That every day we eat dinner together, even if sometimes it doesn't happen until 7.

That we (usually) really enjoy all the time we have together.


This isn't normal, and the news is uncomfortable to hear, and it doesn't feel good to be in a state of constant concern, or worry, or frustration. But in such a time, I am thankful for my supportive husband and these adorable kiddos.