Two months in: COVID19

Well, its been almost two months since we have sheltered in place and stayed home. The last time the kids were inside the walls of their school was Friday, March 13th. 

It's now May 9th.

We've cleaned and sorted, organized and discarded. 

We've played and discovered, walked and biked.

Oh, and watched a lot of screens: because, well, we're bored. 

Regan got so bored she asked if she could clean the grill. 

Here's some soap, water and rags-go for it. 

The girls have had their moments, but we're watching them bond a little more everyday. And sometimes, while on a walk, they purposely walk ahead or behind so we don't hear their top secret conversations. 

Lincoln still hates online learning. His teacher sent me a note to let me know that distant learning just isn't designed for kinders. And I whole-heartedly agree. He needs his friends. He's spent 6 years interacting with playmates/school buddies. And now we're asking him to learn from a tablet. 

The other day he laid upside down, half off the couch, kicking me with his flailing legs as he tried to get comfy. And did his homework in this position. 

Whatever. 

It got done before 8pm so I called it a win. 

We taught Regan how to ride Ryan's scooter in a nearby empty parking lot. She was hesitant at the start, and by the end was going "full-rottle" (as Lincoln would say) and giggling as she cruised past us. 

You can guess what she wants next year on her 15th birthday. 

Without our weekends filled with sports and tournaments, we have checked off the boxes on so many house projects. Last weekend, Ryan put on his brave pants for me and climbed on the roof to paint the shutters above the garage. 

Side note: he doesn't know how to paint. And really has never painted anything in our home.

 I was thankful not to climb on the roof and happy he made it down safely. 

Meanwhile, the kids and I got busy pulling back rock, adding dirt and pushing the rock back in place around the house. It was labor intensive and I was happy for their eager help. 

Sidney and I painted the entire main floor (thankful for curbside pick up at Sherwin Williams so I could easily order paint without going into the store). She painted her name on the wall; we made Ryan move his work station for the afternoon and he loved us for it (can you tell?!). For the record, this work from home is not easy for us!  

We ordered long boards for the girls which has proven to be super fun for them to learn and bring along on our walks. I managed to impress Ryan will my long board abilities as I zipped through the empty parking lot as well. I've had some good teachers. 

Ryan can barely stay on it while sitting, so when he races the kids, they have to all sit. HA! 

My mom bought Regan this bownet for her last birthday, and it might have been the best gift ever. Little did we know at the time just how much use we would be getting from it. We are constantly backing the cars out of the garage so she can hit into it doing tee-work. And after taking a hit directly to the face (I covered up but still took a hit), we now take it across the street regularly and hide behind it for hitting practice. 

This line drive whizzed directly past Ryan as he jumped behind the net. 

This isolation has not been easy on the kids. They miss their friends dearly, they see them on social media hanging out with other people, but ours know we need to take this seriously.

So when they ask us to do things like an impromptu fire in the back yard, we are quick to agree.

I continue to be so proud of them for holding strong and hanging in there. 

One of Lincoln's optional assignments this week was to head to the pond next to his school and explore. He needed a break one night after I finished work so I took him on a date night bike ride and we rode to the school. 

It was so peaceful and gorgeous. I had never been back there, and had no idea it was so big. 

We explored all sorts of things, but the best was seeing TEN turtles sunning themselves on a log. His teacher's video had told us we would see 'something' if we were very quite. I seriously thought those turtles were fake, they were so still! 

Lincoln decided to run up close and prove they were real, 8 of the 10 jumped right into the pond. He is such a boy :) 

Zoom in close and you can see some of the turtles on the logs behind him before he scared them away. 

Might as well take this opportunity and teach her how to drive a vehicle too! She (and the other two kiddos) have a bigger appreciation for how mom and dad drive now. 

The most memorable part was when she tried to park between the lines and was so eager to get out and see how she had done that she forgot to put it into park before getting out. YIKES! 

Needless to say, we need some more lessons :) 

We will get through this, I'm confident. We're holding onto hope that soon we will be able to loosen the reigns a little, see family and friends, and start to define a new normal. 

Until then, we will continue to explore and enjoy our time together. 

Paw Patrol "be there on the double"

And now that you too are singing the theme song....you're welcome :) HA! 

I had the opportunity to take Lincoln to Paw Patrol Live this weekend, as part of his Christmas gift. I wasn't sure what to expect, I mean, I had seen Sesame Street Live as well as oodles of ____ on Ice performances. But I was puzzled about this show. Maybe it's because to me, Paw Patrol is still a pretty new cartoon. But I also wondered how they would animate these dogs. 

Our girls never watched this show; and even during dance carpool today, Regan's friend gave me a look  like I was speaking Greek and finally replied "that must be a new cartoon cuz I've never heard of them"! 

Well, Lincoln and I sat through a 90 minute performance of those giant stuffed Paw Patrol puppets, and he loved every minute of it. Oh the things we do for our children! He was so worried it was going to be over (long before it was) and kept asking after each song if it was over. He just wanted more! I'll be honest, I had more fun watching him than watching the show. But isn't that how it always goes? 

He wants to go back, I suggested he bring Ryan....who would probably rather poke his eyeballs out with toothpicks than watch that show ;) 

But like I told Ryan "you're not 4, so you aren't going to love it!". 

Until next time Paw Patrol! 

Post-Christmas wrap up

I noticed quite a few pictures hanging out on my phone that are certainly blog worthy. Let's be real, if I had more time to devote to this, I would put all our photos on this website! Just kidding. Sort of. 

Regan received this old-school toy in a new-age version: the pins! Only hers lights up. My brother had one of these bad boys when we were growing up. I always loved playing with it. So when Lincoln and I got it equipped with batteries, I couldn't help but giggle at this "sculpture" one of us created. 

Ryan gave me the most wonderful drawing for Christmas. Seriously, I like the hand-drawn picture almost more than the actual gift itself! *almost* It was pretty sweet to see him put some effort into this gift. And for the record, I love my new car starter too. My dad would be proud...even as adults, he always gave us a "toy" for Christmas. Usually it was something completely ridiculous like a small flying airplane or something. I think he'd approve of this "toy"! 

Regan was asked on a whim to play on a softball team for a tournament (which ended up being played in the middle of our work week instead of a weekend....that was a big snafu!). While she takes clinics and lessons throughout the winter, she was taken off-guard to be in the middle of a dome at 11pm playing ball one night. We spent our time just trying to stay warm in said "dome" while trying to look on the bright side: it was like a date! 

It's safe to say that Lincoln has gotten creative in his play. Poor Paw Patrols were eaten by his dinosaurs! And he came up with this idea all on his own! Giggling all the while. 

Pretty safe to say that we had a great holiday break, enjoying whatever life has to send our way. 

a morning date with the girls

The kids don't get a whole lot of one on one time with either of us (or two on one unless Lincoln is one of them). During my week off, they asked to go to the bakery. Not the bakery hidden inside a grocery store. Nope, they wanted the real deal bakery. 

Well, when your youngest has an allergy to milk, egg and peanut, going into a bakery is not advised. Sadly, their request had to wait for the weekend. 

But I think you can see by their faces, that it was worth the wait! 

Regan had wanted a bear claw but apparently so did everyone else that morning and they were clear out. So she settled for this giant, big-as-her-head donut! Thankfully she stopped and didn't finish the entire thing :) And our chocolate lover Sidney was thrilled with her choice!
I stuck with coffee :) 

Yippee for a morning date! 

Like riding a bike

Today, Ryan and I went on a date. I suggested we go skiing. When I told Ryan's brother what we were doing, his reply was "Ryan skies?". I literally laughed out loud reading the text. 

Quite honestly, neither of us have skied in 14+ years. 

But today we did just that. As we filled out the rental forms, explaining to the young man behind the counter that "no, this isn't our first time. it's just been a while". He smiled and said, "so you just decided to give it a whirl after 15 years?"

Yep. 

Thankfully it's like riding a bike. There is definitely some muscle memory involved and after a couple of times down the bunny hill (like the real bunny hill, the one that is only 40 feet long), we were well on our way to a day of fun! 

After a couple of hours, it started sleeting and made for some icy conditions. The fella at the lift commented that it was likely to feel like standing in front of a sand blaster. That was a perfect description. 

But we didn't let it stop us! 

Ryan discovered a 'short-cut' through a few trees, and I couldn't help but laugh as I watched him attempt the jump. He looked like a toddler learning how to walk, arms stretched out, all shaky. Here's a quick video: 

It was a FANTASTIC day and my goal is to get back out there in less than 14 years! 

Much much much thanks to Leigha for hanging out with the girls today :) Maybe next time they can come with us!?

Date day

Regan took me up on my request today for a date. We headed down the street to the local ice arena and skated our hearts out. She's doing quite well, tumbling still but figuring it out. She realized today that indoor skating is slightly more difficult because the Zamboni sure makes the ice more slippery. She complained in the beginning saying "I need more skate marks in the ice!". 

Turns out some classmates were also enjoying the day at the arena so she ditched me for a bit and went around with her pals. 

We had a great date and enjoyed some cappuccino and hot cocoa afterwards. Mmmmm! 

Here's a clip of her sailing at a decent pace: 

Thanks Regan! I love you to pieces! 

Close call to Sesame Street we go!

On Tuesday morning, I received a call from daycare. Sidney was not feeling well, complaining of headaches and a fever was brewing. She spent the afternoon on the couch, spiking fevers close to 103. A quick trip to the doctor gave us no information and therefore, no quick cure (i.e. strep or an ear infection would have given her antibiotics). So ibuprophen was her only friend. 

Thankfully, she woke up this morning feeling like her old self again. Thank goodness because she and I had a very special date planned. It was her big turn to spend a night out with mommy....a night at Sesame Street! 

She was happy as a clam as we watched all of her beloved friends take the stage while singing and dancing. 

And since she isn't one to always take 'nice' pictures, we opted for silly ones instead because we were so darn happy that she was feeling healthy again!

 Before we left home, I reminded Ryan just how outrageously priced these things can be. Not the price of tickets necessarily, but the toys, food and anything else being sold. He said "It's Sidney's day!" and told me to buy whatever she wanted. Well, she picked out a 10 inch stuffed Zoe for $17. Ouch. 

 But she's clearly in love with Zoe and I'm guessing she'll be going along to every tea party, field trip and picnic that Sidney's imagination creates in the coming days. 

Thank you for a wonderful date Sidney! I'm so glad we were able to spend the evening together! 

The sun will come out...

...tomorrow!

It started out as a dreary day today. Good thing Regan and I had tickets to a very special show at the Children's Theater.

Can you guess where we went?

First clue: An incredibly expensive souvenir named Sandy.

Delicious "A" cookie

(still not sure what we saw?)

Hopefully this gives it away

But if not......see below!

Sometimes, the fact that Regan has a toy room full of toys that rarely get playtime is a blessing. You see, Mr. EB wasn't quite sure how to fill her basket last weekend, so he left these tickets for us. At the time, she obviously didn't know just how much fun it was going to be! But she really loves the movie Annie, about as much as I did when I was a little girl, so I knew she'd love to see it in theater format. And I certainly knew how much fun I was going to have! I had hoped to find an Annie doll to go into her basket last weekend, but they're going on Amazon for $95 and Mr EB isn't that rich!

Our seats were in the 3rd row. That's close! I don't mess around when it comes to live theater; just like Ryan doesn't mess around when it comes to live music. Needless to say, we were close enough to see the actors spit. Yep, that's close. After the show, I asked Regan her favorite part...her response was "Annie's voice".
This little girl gets it; was obviously born with it. The fun and excitement of live theater and music.

Thank you Regan for such a fun day! I loved every minute of it!