Week 11 (Last Real Week of e-Learning!)

The official "shelter in place" ends this Friday along with the last official day of e-learning. Restaurants will be allowed to open with social distancing as well as salons and other stores. Masks are commonplace for most - at least in the state of Illinois. I can't believe how many people in Michigan continue not to wear them although when we were up there this past weekend for Memorial Day, we noticed more people doing so (we assumed most were from Illinois!).

Happy Memorial Day!

We drove up to Michigan last Wednesday night to get in some e-learning up there and begin our holiday weekend a bit early. The weather was perfect. We played volleyball in our front yard, took some walks, finally finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank and had some social distancing cocktails with friends. We did not want to come home but we had a lot of work to finish at our real house that I didn't want to stretch out into all of summer. We are almost done cleaning out our house from top to bottom. We tackled the storage room and Hailey's closet when we arrived home Sunday afternoon and then again on Monday. I really hope Amvets opens soon so someone can haul away all this stuff! I'll continue to tackle some small things this week like the linen closet and a few cabinets before we embark on our last big project and that's cleaning out the garage!

We did put the kids to work too. It was hot on Monday so after bribing them with some donuts, Austen and Peyton got to work cleaning out my car. They washed the outside, vacuumed the inside and then were supposed to wipe down the interior (after all they are the ones with Hailey who make a huge mess in it). Tom gave them a specific bucket of items to use and directions for use. Let's just say things did not go according to plan. Tom checked on them. Then I checked on them. What I found was Austen sweating his butt off doing all the work while Peyton had found a can of something she wasn't supposed to use and sprayed it all over my interior without so much as wiping it down with a rag. Let's just say, Tom and I had to spend an additional amount of time trying to correct her mistakes and today my car was still spotty and I couldn't see out the windshield. She literally sprayed the interior and walked away like it was a foaming bathroom tile cleanser for the showers that would do all the work! I guess that's what you get when you ask a 10 year old to wash your car but she's still smart enough to follow directions. Since this was her second offense in less than 24 hours, Tom made her write "I will listen to my parents" 100 times in cursive. She only made it to 60 though because after 20 she cried and complained that her hand hurt so bad.

It's going to be a long summer!

Learning her lesson - I will listen to my parents

Week 10 (Only two more weeks of e-learning!)

Week 10. Somehow it seems like so much longer but then again I can't believe it's almost June. I have to say we've kept busy. We were home this weekend instead of venturing to Michigan in order to get some things done around the house. We visited some family while social distancing. I have to say Papa really needs a haircut! Hoping phase 3 where the salons can open happens soon! Actually, I already made appointments in June for me, Tom and Austen. Figuring the girls can wait a little longer after the rush.

While Saturday proved to be a beautiful day where we went for a hike and cleaned up the yard and started on a thorough cleaning of Peyton's room, yesterday was awful. Rain all day. It was a great day to clean out the basement (Tom and Austen) while Peyton and I continued to tackle her room. Now I've cleaned out a lot of spaces since the "shelter in place" began and I have to say that her room was the worst! It took us 7 hours total! I can't believe all the junk she had in there. And, if you're reading this and have any inclination of buying her anything for holidays or her birthday, she does not need one more toy or piece of junk to add to it! Only clothes or experiences or anything she can't put in her room. That was a A LOT of work and I hope never ever to do that again except when I'm moving her out totally after college!

So the most exciting thing that happened last week was Hailey finally learned how to ride a two-wheeler. I say finally but because of the pandemic she was probably the one kid of ours who learned how to ride her bike the earliest. Austen was the end of first grade because we lived in the city until almost halfway through his first grade year and Peyton gave up waiting for us and taught herself in first grade.

 So yay for the pandemic - lots of time to learn new things too!

 

Week 9 of Quarantine and Happy Mother's Day to Me!

We spent part of Week 9 and Mother's Day in Michigan this past weekend. It always seems like we're there a long time when we go. It's just enough to get us out of our everyday doldrums at home and into a nice break and change of scenery (the sunsets are amazing).

We plan to only be up there for two more days of e-learning so I had to cancel my printer delivery which keeps getting pushed back. I figure if we need one in the fall due to revisiting e-learning, I'll deal with ordering one then. I never knew how hard it could be to get a printer!

Anyway, this long weekend, we did a long walk to the beach in Holland. The beach was big and the trail was a boardwalk. Lots of paragliders and jet skiiers (with wet suits) doing tricks so the kids really enjoyed that. We definitely are getting to explore different Michigan towns on these hikes/walks. This one is about 30 minutes from South Haven and sits on the other side of Holland. We head to Holland a lot for their cute downtown, restaurants and big box stores but we'd never explored this other side. Plus, we got to see what should have been part of their annual tulip festival blooms this weekend so it was a double win!

On Sunday, Tom ordered brunch from one of my go to brunch places in Benton Harbor (about 25 minutes away). To say they were overwhelmed with the orders was an understatement. Tom ordered ours the night before for 10am and I think we got it at 11am. But, hey, all we have is time these days so we made use of the time by talking and then calling the grandmas to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. The kids made me cards (Hailey forgot hers at home since she made one during one of her Zoom calls for kindergarten so she just made me another one). They all gave me a bright orange Lulu sweatshirt and then we worked on our 1,000 piece puzzle for a bit, did some reading as a family (Anne Frank) and then we headed for a drive to explore another Michigan town - Muskegon. This one was less impressive and more industrial than really any other town we'd seen recently. Not much there to go back to although I heard they have a great park with a luge and an ice skating ribbon. We got home in time to make some dinner (Tom's make your own pizzas) and then watch American Idol before everyone (kids) headed off to bed. Austen got to stay up much later to help us almost complete the puzzle! We're almost there although it's really hard when your dog eats a bunch of the pieces!

Holland, Michigan Lighthouse

She really loves her dog!

Sadie loves all the attention;)

Week 8

Week 8. I can't believe I'm writing that or that we're entering week 7 of e-learning or that it's even May.  It's all become the new normal and we're growing accustomed to our routines. Getting lots done around the house that's for sure. I'm happy about that. That means I don't need to clean out this house again from top to bottom for at least another 10 years!

The kids said the week went by quick this past week. I think it helps to have one day of e-learning in Michigan and then four days at home to break up the full week. So far it's been working well aside from our lack of printer up there (that's taking forever to be delivered). But that means we just have to get creative (mostly with Hailey's worksheets). I've become quite the artist (with Tom's help!).

I just also bought masks for the kids and they arrived this week. They don't really go anywhere that requires one right now but I'm wondering what the future will hold and will we all be required to wear one for certain things moving forward like on airplanes or any other kind of public transportation.

Tom's putting the final touches on my workout room (only now it's everyone's workout room). Pictures coming soon. Hailey's sense of humor and personality are really starting to develop. The other day as I was working with her I said "Hailey, why are your letters so far apart today?!" "Mom," she said with a straight face, "they're supposed to be 6 feet apart - they're social distancing!" Ha! When she's not being sarcastic, she is also learning how to ride her bike. We did a lot of practicing this past week and while she only wants to practice for about 20 minutes each day, she's getting the hang of it and can pedal by herself for about 10 seconds. It won't be long now before we take some family bike rides. Tom is looking forward to not having to put her in the trailer anymore because she's just too heavy!

Peyton is well, Peyton. She's had us up all night til 4am one day and then 2am last night after repeatedly getting out of bed and telling us she can't sleep. Even with some natural sleep remedies my sister in law recommended she's just not tired. But Tom and I sure are!

Austen is Austen. If it's nice out, he's outside practicing soccer mostly or running or sometimes practicing baseball or if it's not nice outside, he's using my treadmill or lifting weights. I'm a bit surprised but he's enjoyed our family nights of watching TV or working on our 1,000 piece puzzle in Michigan that we've yet to complete. His friends are all online playing Fort Nite and he'll join them later but it doesn't occupy his whole day or even half of it. He's also enjoying watching the Chicago Bulls "Last Dance" documentary with Tom and me.

Starbucks and bike riding...what could be better?

Practicing her music because "Mom, I have music on Tuesdays and Fridays!"