2021 :: week 5

 

2021 :: week 4

January 17

Our schedule was a little different on Sunday because we had Stake Conference. Tony had fewer meetings, but they were all later in the day than usual. Will chose to "make a treat to share" for one of his Sunday activities. Because we were waiting for his Covid test results we decide to just share the treats with each other at home. I continued to check the patient portal once an hour in the hopes that we would learn our fate.

January 18

Monday morning I was shocked when I checked Will's test results and learned that he tested positive for Covid! Because his throat was no longer sore and it had been days since he complained of a headache, I assumed it was just a minor virus. I talked with a nurse from the pediatrician's office, then went through my planner and called or texted everyone Will might have been in contact with last week. Thankfully there weren't very many people to notify. We learned that Will's "Day Zero" was the first day he was symptomatic, Wednesday 1/13. He has to stay quarantined until 1/23, then can return to "normal" activities Sunday 1/24. The rest of us have to stay quarantined until that time, then our "Day Zero" becomes 1/24 unless we become symptomatic and/or test positive for Covid. 

January 19

The adaptability and creativity of kids is amazing! Will knew he couldn't play basketball with Curran so they opted to play "PIG" across the street, mirroring where the other was shooting from. Then they took it to the next level and decided to spell out C-O-V-I-D instead of P-I-G. Yes, Will is on day six of his quarantine and was feeling well enough to play basketball on our driveway for over and hour. We feel extremely blessed that he appears to have had a very mild case. Anthony and I got tested for Covid at the County Health Department early Tuesday morning and spent the day overanalyzing every ache, pain and minor discomfort. 

January 20

After some back and forth with our pediatrician and school nurse I decided to take Will and Lauren to get them tested for Covid on Wednesday. If they have it and are asymptomatic, knowing this sooner rather than later will expedite their re-entry into the world. As of Monday our pediatrician's office began offering the rapid PCR test and we found out within minutes that Lauren and Elliott DID in fact also test positive for Covid-19. That evening we found out that both Tony and I tested negative. We are very perplexed by all of this, but very grateful to be confused and not suffering the way we know so many that face this disease have been.

January 21

Will and Lauren's teachers have been so amazing this week. Both put together packets with their work for them and have found ways to include them in their classrooms. It has made a world of difference for the kids because it adds some structure to their day and gives them a social outlet. I have been super annoyed with our district and all the money it has spent on apple products, etc. However, in this "umprecendented" year the ipads have made life so much easier.

January 22

By Friday word had gotten out that we were quarantining at home due to Covid and we were the happy recipients of many thoughtful gestures of kindness. I like to think of myself as someone who is thoughtful, but I was blown away by the number of people who have reached out to us and the various services they offered. 

January 23

Since we are stuck at home I decided it was time to tackle a much procrastinated home project--painting Miles' room. It was formerly Lauren's room, and when we painted it back in 2012 we painted it a purply blue. I loved how it looked for her room, but for two boys (we will be moving Elliott in shortly) I wanted something a little more neutral. We painted it Sherwin Williams Big Chill at 50%. 
 

2021 :: week 3

 

January 10

A few weeks ago we had a brainstorming session to come up with "Sunday activities" for the kids to do. Inspired by the A.P Sunday School videos on YouTube one of the ideas the kids came up with was building scripture scenes out of Lego. Will and Elliott built the Smith Family Farmhouse and Sacred Grove. 

January 11

I would estimate that Miles makes me do a double-take at least twice a day. Whether he is wobbling backwards at the top of the stairs, sitting precariously on the edge of the couch or climbing anything that has a foothold he is constantly making me nervous. He seems to have no fear and to genuinely enjoy climbing things.

January 12

When you are blessed with a sunny day and temperatures in the mid-50s in January, you spend as much time outside as possible. That is exactly what we did on Tuesday, starting with a walk and playtime at the park with the little boys. After naptime we met up with Kendall at Santa Marta. We met the big kids at Bluejacket after school and played for another hour before heading home. Most of the kids besides Miles played outside until dinnertime. 

January 13

I have been working on our 2020 photo book and feeling bad that I don't have as many pictures of Miles. Now that the older kids are in school and he is down to one nap (😭) a day the tables have turned and I have more pictures of him than anyone else. I stopped trying to force two naps after Thanksgiving and he has been much more pleasant with one later nap. We do a lot of reading together, especially when  Elliott is at school and it is just the two of us. 

January 14

The big kids are so helpful with Miles during the "witching hour." He just doesn't understand why he can't help me cook dinner yet. I would consider letting him "help" if he would actually try to help. Instead he stands underfoot and grabs items out of our pantry, leaving them on the ground for me to trip over. 

January 15

Friday morning we awoke to a light dusting of snow on the ground. Will reported a sore throat while we were eating dinner Thursday, and after consulting with the school nurse we kept him home and took him in to get tested for strep and COVID. He tested negative for strep, so we are quarantined at home until we get the results. The doctor thinks it is unlikely and that they have seen several patients with viral colds. Lauren was given the okay to go to school because we haven't had any "known contact" with COVID. If Will tests positive she will have to stay home for two weeks. More than anyone else in the family she is desperately praying that his test results come back negative.

January 16

We spent a quiet Saturday at home relaxing, playing games, using the sauna, and watching season two of the Mandalorian. The doctor's office told us there was a slim chance Will's test results would be posted within 24 hours, so I checked the patient portal at least once an hour to no avail. I spent a few hours organizing photos and backing them up on my external hard drive. I made salmon soup for dinner and Anthony and I listened to the adult session of Stake Conference. It felt like we were in a snow globe, with the wind blowing the previously fallen snow around. 

2021 :: week 2

January 3

With the start of the new year our assigned church time has moved from 9am to noon. With that comes the change of meeting times for Anthony. Last year the bishopric would meet at 6am, then he would alternate between meeting with the Ward Council at 7am on the 1st and 3rd Sundays and the RS Pres and EQ Pres on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. Now all the times are pushed back three hours. It is nice for him to get a bit more sleep, but mornings feel a little more lonely again. I appreciate it when some of his meetings take place while I am still sleeping. 

January 4

Monday was the beginning of the end of vacation mode. Anthony had to work and Elliott had preschool. Will and Lauren had one last day off before school resumed and they did a lot of playing. In the afternoon they used an empty 5 gallon bucket to make the building blocks of a fort. Unfortunately enough of the snow had melted they had trouble making solid walls. Regardless they were determined to work on it as long as they could. When it got dark they brought out glow sticks I had recently purchased at Costco to aid help them see. If you look closely in the background of the picture you can see a green light inside the house. That is Miles playing with his glowstick inside. 

January 5

Elliott go this cool flying helicopter from Nana and Papa for Christmas. You charge it for about and hour and then it can fly for 5-10 mintues. It has a bunch of sensors on it and you can guide it up, down, left, right, etc. by moving your hands close to it. It is especially fun for the kids to play with it in our front room and entry when it is dark out. 

January 6

Miles still loves to read. I caught him reading on the couch after picking the big kids up from school Wednesday afternoon. Even though he officially "talking" yet, he is making more consonant sounds and his voice goes up and down mimicking speech. He has also started pointing at the words on the page and moving his hand across like he has seen Elliott and me do when we read together.

January 7

Our appetites for Kansas City history were whetted on the gangster tour last week and this week some of the requested library books arrived. On Thursday evening we watched a documentary about Nell Donnelly called A Stitch in Time. We first learned about Nell Donnelly on the gangster tour because she was kidnapped for a large ransom during the 1930s. Her neighbor, baby daddy and eventual husband, former-Senator James A. Reed, leveraged his knowledge about the KC mafia to enlist their help to get her back unharmed. Nell made her mark on history because she was an incredibly successful dress designer, manufacturer and entrepreneur. Nelly Don, the company she created was the largest dress manufacturer in the United States for fifty years. She was a true visionary (employing assembly line procedures in production), treated her employees with generosity and produced quality and reasonably priced dresses. I cannot believe the first time I heard about this remarkable woman was as an aside on the gangster tour!

January 8

As much as I wish he didn't, Miles enjoys taking can out of our pantry and stacking them. I am usually pretty good about keeping the cupboard doors locked, but he is lightening fast at capitalizing on the times that I forget. 

January 9

One of our 2021 goals is to plan deliberate dates with our kids each month. Tony naturally spends a lot of time with Will and Elliott because they enjoy a lot of the same pastimes--shooting hoops, playing Rocket League, watching basketball. Lauren spends a lot of time with me because we enjoy reading and crafting together. Saturday evening Anthony took Lauren to Freezing Moo to get ice cream and then they came back to our house to play a game together. 

2021 :: week 1

 

December 27

Back on December 6th we made Salmon Soup (lohikeitto) in honor of the Finnish Independence Day. Anthony posted about it on facebook and several friends have reported back to us that they have since made it as well. It is fun to share things you enjoy with the world and have others appreciate them too. Sunday evening our friend Chris stopped by with a few servings of lohikeitto to share. His son, Eli, is currently serving his mission in Finland and they connect over their mutual affinity for all things Finnish. 

December 28

For Christmas I received a foot massager. I love it and enjoy pampering myself with it most evenings. Sometimes I leave it out and the kids take advantage of it too.

December 29

Happy Birthday to Anthony! One of the perks of his job is that everyone is given a paid day off on their birthday, which meant we were able to spend the entire day together. Due to COVID we decided to keep birthday celebrations small this year, even though it was a milestone birthday. We had a family sauna session and then Tony cooked steak for dinner. It was a pretty quiet day. 

December 30

On Wednesday evening we went to my parents' house to celebrate my mom's birthdays. She wanted it to be more a celebration of all the the Crane family December birthdays. When she was young she was frequently disappointed when her birthday was overlooked due to its proximity to Christmas. She wants to make sure the next generations of December birthdays don't feel forgotten due to the busy time of year. There are now five December birthdays in the family (Henry 12/16, Will 12/17, Melanie 12/22, Tony 12/29 and Mom 12/30). We ate yummy bbq and then shared a giant Costco cake.

December 31

Anthony and I finished watching seasons 1and 2 of the Mandalorian last week. We spent several hour New Years Eve and New Years Day watching the first season with the kids. We did not stay up late to celebrate the end of 2020. Though 2020 has been full of frustration, unexpected disappointments, anxiety and adjustments we have never spent so much time together as a family. We have learned to appreciate things that we used to take for granted, use our imaginations and be okay with waiting for much longer than we would like. I think we will look back on this year and appreciate the slower pace and relatively "simple" life we had.

January 1

It started snowing in the early hours of 2021 and by lunchtime there was about four inches of snow on the ground. In the afternoon we met the Ules at the hill between the school and the Catholic church and went sledding for about two hours. It was Miles' first time sledding and he enjoyed it until he got cold. By the time we got home we were thoroughly chilled. Tony turned on the sauna and we drank hot chocolate while we waited to get in. The kids and Tony got a little crazy and decided to frolic in the snow between sauna sessions. When they were all done they laid down and did snow angels in their swim suits. It was a memorably fun way to start the new year.

January 2

Saturday afternoon Anthony and I boarded a large van at Union Station and rode through the city on the Gangster Tour. It was really fun! I knew the basics, but there was so many things I had never heard of before. We had been wanting to go for quite a awhile and finally made it happen for Anthony's birthday. We have always been interested in Kansas City history and have dabbled with learning at various times in the past. When we came home I requested several books and DVDs from the library to dig in again. I really enjoyed driving around the city and seeing the spots where events happened. The scope of the gangster tour is mostly crime, specifically mob and machine-related crime. I would love to go on a tour focused specifically on business, politics, music or race relations too.