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. 

This. is. hard

The week is half over. Which is heavenly because it has been a trying week. 

I hope we can someday look back at this time and remember more than just the tough times, because man has it been hard. 

It's one thing to be quarantined. 

It's another to be working from home doing a job that is meant to be inside the walls of the hospital.

It's another to be sharing WiFi and work space with 3 kids and your husband.  

It's another to be teaching kindergarten. 

All this with no end in sight. 

This. Is. Hard. 

Our WiFi can't keep up with the demand. After spending an hour on hold, only to argue with the tech lady about internet speeds, I gave up. 

But a download speed of less than 1 when it should hoover 40-100 is just not cutting it. 

I can constantly be heard yelling: "One device!" which means everyone gets to browse on only one device at a time. 

None of this multi-tasking business. 

I really wish Lincoln's requirements included only these academic goals. 

Because we've mastered them ten times over.

 But using the Seesaw app, and all of the apps within apps has my head spinning most days. 

Core classes, specialists, optional versus required. 

Twenty-two assignments in his inbox, all of which need us to sit beside him and ensure he understands what to do (because half the time we can't find the instructions buried within a link to the left, a click to the right). 

This. Is. Hard. 

This picture below is how Lincoln feels about Distant Learning. 

He hates it.
Every single second. 

Each morning, we beg and bribe for him to start the learning and stay on task. 

But learning off his iPad is boring to him. 

And because we are working full-time demanding jobs, we don't have time to allow for 15 minute transitions, more begging and another 10 minutes of transition. 

Sometimes we tag team: one starts and the other helps him finish. 

On a good day, he wraps it up in an hour or two. 

Other days (like today), we're still trying to get to the assignments at 5pm. 

I thank my lucky stars that the girls have done such a wonderful job at starting and completing their learning each day. 

This. Is. Hard. 

I saw this from a friend today. 

And I have to remind myself to do the best we can.

Let go of some of the pressure (on all of us).   

Tonight when we snuggled into bed, and he grabbed a book eager to read to me, I realized that learning doesn't have to happen on a Seesaw app or a link provided by the school. Those connections, those snuggles, the gaining confidence to read under flashlight are what I hope he remembers from these hard times. 

Taking a deep breath, and we'll try again tomorrow. 

Life during the pandemic

I want to be able to look back on this time in our lives and remember what life was like.

Social distancing

Schools moved to online "distant learning"

Parents moved their offices to home

Grocery store shelves went bare (que hoarding!)

Toilet paper, paper towels and Clorox wipes flew off the shelves

A few photos to capture this strange time.

Lots and lots and lots of screen time, including fun apps for kids to have chats with kids and family members all while different face filters create all sorts of giggles.

Game night. Pretty much any  night of the week. Our kids have learned card games, new board games, puzzles, and more.

All gyms closed, and so I dug out any workout/exercise items we had laying around. Lincoln took it upon himself to open "Lincoln's gym". We workout daily.

Memes like the one below flooded social media.

I liked this one

We cleaned out the garage, and pulled out all of the toys we haven't used in forever. Stilts and a pogo stick to name a few!

Lincoln face timed me, and laughed himself silly with these filters :)

While it might have been the nicest April on record so far, there is no softball practicing allowed. I liked this meme on a softball group facebook page I follow.

Jimmy Fallon (and any late night talk show host), moved filming of their shows to their homes. This show in particular makes me laugh, because his kiddos often come into the view of the camera and it reminds me of how it feels for all of us trying to work from home with kids underfoot.



Did I mention we are having a LOT of screen time?

But at least they are huddled in front of the warm fire together :)

We are giving ourselves grace on this whole screen time. They're (fairly) happy and frankly, just trying to figure this all out themselves too.

We can't really do a lot of home "projects" because that would entail going to the store to buy necessary items. But we are cleaning out drawers and closets.

I finished Lincoln's baby book (better late that never!) and in the process, cleaned out a drawer holding all of these expired epi-pens.

There's a lot of expired money sitting right there.

We're contemplating getting a dog (like so many other families right now). We're stuck at home, it's the perfect time. Ryan has nicknamed our fake dog "Covid" already; ….for the record, he's not on board with this idea.

 At all.

However, a month ago our neighbors brought home this adorable pup.

She found a hole in the fence and comes over daily for a visit and to burn off some energy.

The kids adore her, and so do we :)



I taught Regan how to play Yahtzee.

And then beat the pants off her :) HA!

The first official "stay at home" request looked something like this.

Although we had been staying at home two weeks prior to the start of this.

Doing our part. Fully expecting this to be extended beyond 4/10.

Some of my teams started Zoom meetings.

never had I heard of such a platform for meetings, but we all quickly learned to talk fast because there is a 40 minute limit and we are used to 60 minute meetings!

(and yes, I'm sitting outside on this particular meeting, because Ryan and I share the quiet space indoors for meetings. And he beat me to it during this meeting, so I went to the next option for some quiet: outside)

More of Lincoln having conversations with family, this time Grandma Jan. He made her laugh so hard with these dancing bear filters.

Distant learning with Lincoln is a lot of hands on help. The girls take care of it on their own, and for that we are thankful!

Here is Lincoln's teacher "reading" to the class. He giggled and smiled when he heard her voice. It was almost like she was right there in the room. Sadly, by day 3 of story-time, he was over it. It's just not as much fun when we aren't at school. Hang in there buddy.

Passing time with "art" class: dyeing Easter eggs.

More screen time.

Silver lining, she's hanging out with us a little  more :)

The problem with not driving your vehicles very often....the batteries tend to die.

Seriously, Ryan's truck died TWICE in one week because we didn't start it every day.

Fine. you win.

We now make a point to start it daily.

These are some strange times. Scary times. 

Hang in there folks! Stay safe! 

WFH

WFH-work from home

It's a new term I've used a lot in the last several months. One that has been fairly uncommon in my language because it's hard to WFH when you work in a hospital. I have had the opportunity to spend most Fridays over the last couple of years officing out of my home, but never did I imagine I would move my entire work space home. 

But then again, never did I imagine much of what is happening right now. We are living in unprecedented times.
It's scary, it's unpredictable. 

It's unbelievable. 

And it's hard. 

My mom as well as a friend's dear mom both recently sent me handmade masks to bring in on my last day of work to donate. Allina asked the community and then received many amazing donations of masks. 

Some of my coworkers then spent countless hours helping sort as well as assembling face shields as we prepare for these most challenging times.  

My last day inside the walls of the hospital, I was issued a face mask. It's terrifying and sad and emotional and exhausting. 

It was then decided, in an effort to preserve those precious masks, to move myself and most of my team to our homes. 

It is not ideal. 

But nothing is ideal right now. 

I left my beautiful office (and dual monitors!), my amazing office-mates, the comfort of work, seeing my patients face to face and working side by side with doctors, nurses, therapists and the rest of the rehab team. 

Instead, my revised "sit to stand" desk (aka the kitchen island) now holds my tiny laptop and I have never felt more disconnected from my patients and families. 

We have spent hours upon hours this week helping to troubleshoot IT problems, submit tickets for new apps/access, and learning a new-normal. 

I'm a pro at blocking my cell number during outbound calls. 

We zoom meetings. 

I'm "connected" in a whole different way. 

No one knows how long this will last. 

And while I (and my whole family) feels safer to have me WFH, 

I'm optimistic that some day, we will get back to our old routines. 

For now, 

I've traded my typical lunch workout at the hospital gym, 

for walks around the block with my new "coworkers"....my family :) 

Stay safe everyone. 

Hanging in there-COVID 19

We, like the rest of the world, are doing our best to stay healthy and avoid catching this terrible COVID19 virus. We greet text messages and emails with a "we're hanging in there" reply. But what does that really look like?....

Our lives these days are dramatically different than the usual. We have now "sheltered in our home" for the last 12 days. By recommendation of the Governor, but not ordered until today. That means exactly as it sounds. We leave only for a walk in nature, or around the block (and again and again and again), or for me to go to the grocery store. I do still have to go to the hospital, so Ryan suggests I take one for the team and also do our grocery shopping since I'm already more exposed. My shopping trips are very limited. I'm in/out as fast as possible, grabbing our supplies, then wiping them down with a bleach wipe before putting them into our cupboards. Is that overboard?, I hope we never have to find out.

What else does it look like....

School from home....we haven't formally started distant learning (this week is spring break in our district). We had a few attendance/check in days, and we have all of our packets and chromebooks and websites ready to go for the official start. However, Lincoln is in Kindergarten, and needs a lot more guidance than his sisters. So his learning will look different. And I've opted to take spring break as an opportunity to start some of his assignments, a little learning everyday. And always reading. Thank goodness we have our own library of books, workbooks and flash cards.

Plus, I've memorized his matrix learning grid and instead of sitting down to do "school", we incorporate it into everyday activities. One lesson was "teach a parent a song from school". Both sisters helped a little on this one, as he (with their leading), taught us the school song. It was a blast from the past as Regan tried to remember her elementary school song lyrics. But so much fun :)

The pantry is fully stocked with snacks, though they are not asking for snacks all day long. This surprises me. We do, however, eat every meal together, which is a huge change for our busy family. This also means we run the dishwasher everyday!
With the weather still chilly, we still go outside for walks in the neighborhood. Or bike riding. We also still have a lot more fires in the fireplace. The kiddos ask for one daily, but with our wood supply dwindling, we are spreading them out to every few days. And sometimes I use it as a method for my cinnamon rolls to rise :)

Our kids are getting a lot of screen time. It's not all they do, but they do a lot of it. With two parents working, it keeps them quiet when we are on calls or trying to meet a deadline. BUT, we are also doing non-screen activities like play-dou, puzzles, painting, etc. Our most favorite activity, however, is when the neighbors use social distancing and put their new puppy into our backyard so everyone (puppy and our humans) burn off some much needed energy. It's a win for everyone!

We also have a plethora of softball paraphernalia and so practicing, albeit much different than anyone prefers, is still a possibility. We can pitch and hit into the bownet, we can practice grounders against the rebound net, we use chalk to create the training "ladder" for agility.

But it's not as motivating when we aren't amongst our peers. We miss our friends. We miss our routine. We miss softball and dance and volleyball and yes, even school. And so there are tears and tantrums, sass and anger. We're trying hard, we're doing our part, and will continue to "shelter at home" until this is all over.