Week 6 - Can't think of a new and exciting title

Sunday - Well we are starting our 6th week or 35th day and it is starting to really wear on me mentally. I'm tired of trying to come up with ways to motivate Mia to get her work done quickly and not make it take all day and to get them off their screens and outside. I don't mind the no sports or other events to go to. We all miss friends. I just can't make my kids to piano lessons right now. I can't have the fight and one more thing to stay on top of so I just ask that they play for fun each day. We are starting to get on each others nerves even more quickly. Sunday morning especially when I asked James and Emma to prepare something to share out of the Friend and New Era. Emma totally freaked out and whined about how she just didn't know how. James just got it done. In the end they both did great and both lessons tied in nicely with each other and with the Come Follow Me lesson. After church and lunch we got outside for a walk around Bountiful Lake (pond). There were more people there than I expected but we walked around the pond on the path doing our best to keep away from everyone. It was a nice break from the house.

That evening I was able to go see Grandpa Moore and say goodbye. Since Mia's test came back positive for strep and we know it's not Covid-19 we thought it safe for me to visit with a mask on. I also didn't touch anyone but Grandpa. Mom and Dad picked me up and Daniel was with them. He had flown in the night before just to see Grandpa. He also wore a mask the whole time. He has been treating patients at the hospital with the virus so he took precautions. It was hard to Grandpa in pain. This was the most he'd been uncomfortable so Daniel asked some questions and suggested they call hospice and see about up-ing his morphine. There is no reason for him to be in pain at this point. He is so stubborn and strong that he keeps asking for his pants and shoes because he wants to get out of bed. He'd find a way to do it if he could. He has also mentioned some visitors from the other side of the veil. Not sure who but I hope he gets to see his first wife and two sons who passed away at age 6 soon. Grandma is holding up well considering but she is exhausted and not getting much sleep. Thankful for Aunt Peggy and now cousin Sheila who are so close and can help.

 Mia's Onward movie inspired van.

Toby waiting for Dad to drop some bacon and for someone to throw his toy. 

Church with stuffed animals.

A few of things we learned from Mosiah 4.

Monday - After school work we came outside to enjoy the nice weather. Quinn and I read and the kids bounced. They told me to take video because they were going to do something so funny it would win us the prize on America's Funniest Videos. I'll let you be the judge. 

Tuesday - Mia made a nest to sit in while she did her school work. Things are going better this week for her. Her teacher made some adjustments and changed up the assignments a bit so I'm no longer begging her to just power through and get it done. Yeah! I got James and Mia outside with me today for my walk after my workout. It was so nice. Emma said no way and was still doing her work. She is having trouble falling asleep at a decent time still so she sleeps in every morning and gets a later start. But her teachers have adjusted the 6th graders work load and things are going better for her too.

After Quinn finished work he got the kids outside for a silly string war and some baseball.

               

               

               

Wednesday - I headed to Walmart first thing to avoid crowds. James desperately needed new shoes. His toes were starting to poke out the top they were so so small and worn out. Thankfully I found some and they fit. I bought two sizes and the bigger size fit Emma and she liked them so win win for me I don't have to return anything. Her shoes were pretty worn too. School work took a bit longer because I wasn't home to help Mia and keep Emma on track but once we finished I continued working on my puzzle and the kids watched some Mickey Mouse cartoons. I picked up a fun outdoor pack full of bubbles from Walmart so I sent the kids outside to play while I went for a late walk with a friend - all while staying 6 feet apart from each other. Thankful we live in a neighborhood where we can walk in the street and be fine.

                 

 Mia being silly and my Lake Tahoe 1000 piece puzzle.

                 

Bubble fun!

I left my phone home on my walk and this is just one of the many videos I found on it.

Thursday - It must not have been very memorable because these are the only two pictures I got. I know we were tired and not in very good moods. We are all getting a bit tired of this and can't wait to go back to normal. James got to play Jeopardy for part of his school work. It was all about weather, since Quinn went into the office that day he had to play against me and he totally won.

Friday - School work, dog training, got the kids out for a bike ride on a beautiful day. Then they walked over to Grandma Lavenders for a treat and a little chat with her through her screen door. And I got about 30 minutes of peace and quiet. Each week James has gotten a letter from his primary teachers with a nice thought about this weeks Come Follow Me lesson and a spotlight on one of the kids in their class. This week was all about James. Then there is also an activity like a crossword puzzle, word search or recipe to make. He also got chalk shaped liked eggs on the week of Easter. They are the best teachers! This week it was a recipe for Secret Service Banana Bread. It said to add your own secret ingredient and then deliver one of the loaves to someone. So we did! James made the bread with my help and add peanut butter chips as his secret ingredient then we delivered it to his piano teacher along with and extra box of chalk for her girls. Then that night for our scripture study we talked about a mighty change of heart.

            

                 

Saturday - I was signed up for the South Davis Rec Center Recycle 5k race but since we can't run in big groups it was changed to a virtual 5k where we just run on our own and submit our time. I have not been running but all my walking must have helped because I was able to keep up with my friend and we got a great time. I spent several hours cleaning and Quinn did yard work. The kids played video games Legos. Mia did play outside with Barbies and I got my puzzle done. That night we picked up dinner and ate it at a park. I told the kids to pick a spot and they chose one in the trees. The park had an amphitheater so the kids put on a show. It was so nice to do something different!

Balancing on a stump.

Mia found the best stick ever!

Playing in the trees.

Week 5 - Our new normal

Monday - This is our new normal -  Mia and James were up and working on school work right on time but Emma was still snoozing away. James is still working on weather for science and was excited to build a weather vane. He really enjoys science. He is also reading the book Hatchet and liking that. I remember my Mom reading it to me at about his age and how I really liked it too. Emma is reading The Giver and since it's not about dragons she is just putting up with it. Mia is required to listen to a different book each day and they are read by actors with some animation of the pictures on the pages. All have to answers questions about the book after so they are forced to pay attention and really think about it. After school work, my workout and lunch we drove up to Great Grandma and Grandpa Zundel's house. Grandma Van Bibber was there and she brought the bouncy house for the kids to play on. We spent the afternoon social distancing in their backyard. It was so nice to be out of the house. Emma also tried to get the kite up in the arm but the wind was not consistent enough. After dinner and scriptures Mia and I had a dance party. She thought it was funny when I started to copy all her dance moves. We ended our evening with playing our new game.

Quinn's office is just a bit messy.

Emma still in bed.

James testing his weather vane.

Mia moved from the table to under a blanket for her school work.

Tuesday the kids made me pretend to welcome them to our school and show them all the rooms and give them name tags to wear as if they just started at a new school. So we did our usual of school work in the morning. I also try to have them play the piano everyday but they can play for fun. Whatever they want. They been learning some of the simplified primary songs. That afternoon the kids played with play-dough before being allowed back on electronics or t.v. That night we had some fun though. I borrowed a fire pit and we had a fire in the backyard. It was a bit chilly in the beginning but after a bit was quiet nice. We read scriptures around the fire and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Later our backdoor neighbors who have a son named Ben that is James best friend invited us to join an activity. Ben came out and stood on his swing set. He had a crown on, a microphone and a spotlight. He read some of King Benjamin's speech. His family got chairs and sat in a row listening. We peeked over the fence and listen too. 

Mia's unicorn

Mia was upset because she wanted to sit in the wagon (I only made James move for the picture).

Wednesday - I felt like this was an emotionally hard day for me. Monday evening we found out that the kids would not be going back to school but would finish out the year at home. I though I had prepared myself for that but it was still hard to hear. I was also hoping we could just cancel the last month of school all together but nope. We also received the news that Grandpa Moore was starting to decline rapidly and that we should come say goodbye. The kids had a rough morning of not wanting to do their school work properly and Quinn had to come up stairs and help. Thank goodness he was working from home that day because we needed it. Every time I thought I could step away from the kids for a few minutes to get myself cleaned up, make my bed or get dressed one of them was knocking on the door asking for something.

I went to my friends house to do our workout. We got one minute into and I turned to her and said I'm not feeling it today. I just feel like crying and she said oh good because I'm not either so we went for a walk even though it was a bit cold and it rained a bit. This helped so much! So that afternoon Emma and James watched a movie. I visited with my friends on zoom about our week and what we are studying in Come Follow Me. This always helps to know I'm not alone in my struggles with my kids and that all of us are finding it harder to study on our own with our kids home full time now.

Mia had been reading books on the couch but then fell asleep which is very unusual for her. I thought it was just too many nights staying later that normal catching up to her but when she woke up her face was all red. Turns out she was running a fever - 104! She said nothing hurt and that she was just a bit tired. So we gave her some Tylenol and just watched her for the next few days. Needless to say I did not take very many pictures today. But enjoy the video of Toby freaking out when Quinn covered up his face.

Mia asleep on the couch under her blanket.

Everyone reading their e-books.

Watching the finale of Lego Masters!

Thursday Quinn went into the office for work and school. The kids did school work. Mia was still running a fever but feeling fine otherwise. That afternoon I called and talked to Grandma Moore letting her know I would not be able to visit and say goodbye to Grandpa in person because of Mia's fever. I didn't want to take a chance and spread anything especially if it was Covid-19. She seemed to be in good spirits but I was having a hard time with it.

I called Mia's doctor's office too and was told no need to bring her in or get her tested yet unless she starts presenting other symptoms. I am now doing my workouts alone just in case and it is not fun and so much harder to push though but hopefully can go back after Mia's fever is gone. We also did a little painting and then had fun trying to catch popcorn in our mouths. That night we watched the movie A Little Princess. Quinn took his final that night for school and is very happy the semester is over. He has gone 5 semester straight and is very ready for a break this summer. That night Carly held a video chat and announced she is having identical twin girls! So exciting!!

 

Mia taking a break from school work to build a giant kingdom.

Quinn with his well earned treat after taking his final exam.

Friday - Mia still had a fever all day but it was not as high. School work was lighter today and the sun was out, yeah! James had to sing all of his songs about Utah as part of his school work today. This is one of my favorite program so I'm so sad we don't get to watch him do it with all of the 4th grade. But it was fun to hear him sing along with all the songs. Then James and I made zucchini bread. After lunch the kids begged to play outside instead of going on a walk with me. I agreed because I needed some alone time! That night we watched a stage version of Phantom of the Opera. It was free on YouTube for 48 hours. Emma really wanted to stay up late and watch the whole thing. I agreed but it back fired as she woke me up around 12:30 am (just after I fell asleep) freaking out saying she kept thinking about the way the phantom looked at the end. Quinn decided it would be easier to just trade her places and he went down to her bed. Emma climbed in bed with me and thankfully fell asleep pretty fast.

 Mia had a zoom call with her teacher and classmates.

Playing and singing at the piano with Mia.

Toby waiting for dropped popcorn.

Saturday I got morning snuggles on the couch with Mia and James while we watched Onward. Emma and Quinn got to sleep in. Mia's temperature was finally almost back to normal but I noticed her tonsils were big and white so we headed to the doctor's office that morning. It was nice and quiet there. You stay in your car till they are ready to bring you to a room. They tested her for strep. The 5 minute test came back negative but will let us know how the 24 hour one goes. (It came back positive so she is now on antibiotics, and it's nice to know that it's not covid-19)

We worked in the yard that afternoon. Quinn mowed and then put down some kind of bug poison around all of our trees. The kids and I cleaned out all 5 window wells and cleaned the windows. Now Quinn will be able to see out his new office windows in the basement. Then we got out the bounce house we brought home and let Grandma Lavender come over to watch the kids play. We sat in the backyard in the sun 6 feet away and chatted. It was hard for sweet Mia to remember not to get too close. Hopefully we can do this more if the weather would just stay warm.

Morning snuggles.

Silly pictures while waiting for the doctor.

 Mia is becoming a great reader! We practiced while waiting to see the doctor.

Proof that the girls don't trust me to brush their hair anymore. I'm not soft like Dad is.