2020 :: week 16

April 12

Happy Easter! Even though we have not always attended church on Easter Sunday due to General Conference, it was a bit different to have our entire Easter service be at home. It rained the better part of the day so we had to postpone our annual outdoor egg hunt to Monday afternoon.

April 13

I posted this photo on my social media accounts with the following commentary: Today marks the beginning of our fifth week of social distancing. As we were getting ready for lunch Lauren complained, “I’m ready for a play date!” I can’t say I disagree with her. That being said, I am LOVING how creative and adaptable these kids are during this time of uncertainty. A few weeks ago they started watching The Masked Singer on TV. Their viewership has evolved and now they are dressing up and making their own “Masked Singer” show. Pictured here are the Princess, Rotweiller, and Batman. They are pretending to be family members and giving each other clues about their person to help the rest of us figure out who they are. In this iteration the knight (Will) was Weston and the clues he gave were “likes drawing and Pokémon.” The Rottweiler (Elliott) was himself and the clues he gave was he “loves his mom and likes to wrestle with his dad.” The princess (Lauren) was Camille and her clue was “she’s not going to let her 2 older sisters boss her around anymore.” I’m pretty sure that creativity and humor (and patience!) are what will get us through this strange time. Grateful for imaginative kids who make me laugh and keep me on my toes!

April 14

Miles is getting quite adept at climbing up the stairs. He still has a way to go on getting down himself, but thankfully he has been cautious enough not to fall.

April 15

Going for walks at least once and sometimes up to four times a day is helping me stay sane. I feel caged and find myself wanting to get out of the house as often as possible. Miles is always good for a 20 minute walk and when I stopped to smell our neighbor's lilac bush he waved at me. We have been blessed with an absolutely gorgeous spring this year. It has been my saving grace.

April 16

Lauren's teacher, Mrs. Martin, has done a great job of creating fun ways for the kids in her class to interact with each other. Last week she had them sign up in groups of 5 to tell jokes to each other and before that she had them get together in small groups for a virtual show and tell. This week she added a "directed draw" where she guided them in drawing a baseball player. Mrs. Martin has also recorded herself reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Lauren listens to that for about 20 minutes a day as well.

April 17

This week I was feeling very blah about most things. The news seems mostly gloom and doom with ever-changing rules about what we can and can't do and how long we won't be able to do them. I am more engaged in social media because I want to know what is going on with my friends as we are all distancing ourselves from each other in person but there are SO MANY OPINIONS. I told Anthony that I related to the passage in Joseph Smith History where he says "Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?" By the end of the week I knew I needed to disconnect and limit my time on social media. I focused on doing things that I enjoy and find relaxing. I spent the better part of the day Friday watching shows with Elliott, reading with my kids, and cross-stitching. And I felt so much better! Obviously I can't hide my head in the sand, but I also don't have to watch the news all day or read my facebook friends' varying opinions and posturings about what is right and wrong during the time of COVID-19. (Also, Anthony and I are watching McMillions on Hulu and would love to discuss the case with anyone else who has watched it).

April 18

This is our view every morning and night for about twenty minutes. Anthony and I take turns watering the sod we laid in our front and side yard. It is a long narrow spot with trees, and using a sprinkler ends up wasting a fair amount of water. Even though it is time consuming, watering it by hand is most effective. It is exciting to see the sod take root. The few times it has rained the grass is absorbing the water that used to rush down the side of our yard and erode the incline.