Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day. It has been a sweet day around here. I got a shower, did my hair, and my make up! I wore jeans (a rare thing in quarantine). We had brunch, we facetimed my mom and grandma, and then Dan's parents. It wasn't the same as being together, but it was good to see their faces. We watched church online and spent the day with some friends who are like family. We grilled out and ate some delicious homemade brownies. I was given some shoes I had been wanting and some plants for our yard. We played games and listened to music while dancing in the kitchen. I didn't do the dishes and didn't have to handle any of the discipline.

Being a mom is the best job in the world. It is the thing I always wanted. I have loved babies since I could say the word baby. I wanted a gaggle of kids. I don't think I could ever comprehend the depth of emotion motherhood could bring until I experienced it. I was blessed to become a mom at a young age. I have had children grow in my womb. I have lost a child. I have waited for a child. I have loved a child who only called me mommy for a short time. I have felt joy, terror, pain, fulfillment, loss, and had so much fun.

Motherhood is messy. I have been covered in bodily fluid, cleaned Vaseline out of sheet and off walls, cut gum out of hair, done more loads of laundry than I can count. Motherhood is sticky floors and messy faces. It is paint and school projects. It is angry outbursts from a preteen. It is long talks and sibling fights. It is complicated relationships with birth moms that are not quickly explained.  It is being ok with awkward moments in public when a child throws a tantrum and you have to carry them out of there surf board style.

This mom gig is pretty much the best. These people I made are making me a much better human. They bring me to my knees daily and keep me humble. They push me to be better. They are turning into really fun young adults. I love each day with them. I am so blessed this Mother's day and every day to be their mom.

Baby girl turns 9

 How do you celebrate a birthday while staying at home? You ask a friend to make a special cake for the birthday girl.

 She got to make her own birthday pancakes, which she loved.

 She requested steak and mashed potatoes for her birthday dinner. She asked for roller blades and has been out on them every day.

 We let her open all her gifts that evening. We also went for a hike, and some friends dropped off a homemade gift. Overall, she had a great day. We are excited for next year when life might be back to our normal, but I think we did okay with our socially distant birthday.

Easter weekend in quarantine

The weekend before Easter we did lots of fun family activities. We wrote encouraging messages with sidewalk chalk.

We made our annual Easter birds nest with Peeps. This is one of the kids favorite traditions.

Getting ready for Easter we had to do our quarantine haircuts. I cut all of the men's hair. Dan was a little nervous. It had been years since he let me cut his hair, but it turned out fine.

The teenager is loving all the animal snuggles. We rarely see him without this Comfy on. Oh, the outfits of middle schoolers.

Of course, we had to dye eggs.

Even though Easter morning was very different this year we tried to keep some traditions. We dressed up and watched our church service online. We made had appetizers we love, had a big dinner, and made a fun bunny cake.

 We have been hitting up lots of parks lately. We made a trip to Ceasar's Creek. We found fossils, we played in the creek, and we hiked. My hope is that when this is all over our kids will emerge with some great memories of family fun.

Date night in

   

I'm trying to remember all the little things we did to keep life as normal as possible during this time. We did a date night in and tried a fun youtube art tutorial. While we are not making anything museum worthy, it was fun to try something new.

One month down

Well, we've officially been "staying home" for a month. Schools have been closed, trips have been canceled, life as we knew it is just...different. Our new normal is still hard. We are missing our friends. We miss our church family. We miss the ability to plan.

I have seen some people posting lists. I thought I'd try.
What the Chinese virus took from us:

The rest of the school year for our home school co op
So many special events for our eighth grader
Our soccer season
The big boys first track season
A trip to visit family in Arizona
Date night with friends
Easter with friends.
Spring retreat with our youth group
Our trip to St. Louis that was a Christmas gift
Easter egg hunts


BUT

The Chinese virus has given us:

More family time
A calmer schedule
Extra sleep
Time to try new recipes
A chance to home school all the kids again
A reminder that even when things are uncertain and tough God is still good!

Day 11: Staying home

Day 11 was Tuesday. We have found that getting outside is vital for us. It was still chilly, but not raining so we went to one of our local metro parks. The fresh air and exercise did us well!

There are hints of spring and sunshine everywhere. We loved finding flowers and tree buds all around.

 We are still getting school done. We have enjoyed working on puzzles while we do our history and science read alouds. We have also been re listening to the Harry Potter series. We are on book 3 now. I have a feeling we will finish the series before the quarantine is done.

 We've been loving all the free classes online. We have been watching animals at the zoo, art classes, and read alouds from authors or celebrities. We are trying to write lots of pictures and notes for our family to share our fun. 

 We have watched a few more family movies. We watched Mom's Night Out. We laughed, ate popcorn and brownies, and cuddled in our jammies.

Because we miss our friends we are trying to get creative. We have played jackbox via zoom. It was fun, but we will be thrilled to spend time in person again.