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.

Sunday at home

 Our Sundays have become very laid back the past few weekends. We started off with quiet reading. We turn on some praise and worship music and let the kids pick a book.

 We have made a big breakfast before we go to our worship service. The kids have loved having pancakes together.

 Then we move to our living room and worship together with our church family online.

 This is clearly less than ideal, but we are also thankful that we have the ability to continue hearing God's word preached and be able to worship. Our church leadership has made the hard call to not meet corporately while we are practicing social distancing. This is so hard, and we can't wait to be back with our church family in person. We are thankful for a church that will make hard calls.

 After church I decided to try something new. I made homemade yogurt in the instant pot. It was super easy, and it turned out great. It did take for ever, but hey, we're quarantined so we have nothing but time.

 Speaking of things that take forever we started a puzzle as a family. It has been fun to just leave out and work on while we are listening to music or audio books.

We also decided to start The Hobbit and LOTR movies with the kids. They are truly not my thing, but the kids loved the first movie.

 The extra family time has been a sweet bonus of this crazy time. We have slowed way down, snuggled more, and ate well. That is a big silver lining.

I think the slowing down and staying home has been a good chance to love my family through giving them back my time. I have baked a lot more. We've had baked oatmeal, homemade bread, brownies, banana bread, cookies, and so much more. I want to make sure that when we look back at the quarantine we don't forget all the special family time we have had.

Covid Karaoke

We are trying to have as much fun at home while we are stuck here. Our friends asked us to join them in making a silly lip sync video. Here is what we came up with! Guns and Ships from our favorite musical Hamilton.


https://youtu.be/mUiBhW5h4VE

Stay home

This is going to be a long next few weeks. Every afternoon at 2 Governor Mike Dewine holds a live press conference. Each day we have watched as he has shut something else down. We knew it was likely coming, but yesterday, Sunday March 22, Dr. Amy Acton signed a health order to "Stay at Home". This is the wording Ohio is choosing instead of "Shelter in Place". This is for our family where things change big. While we haven't been going out or doing any of our typical activities, Dan has been able to go to work up to this point. We are thankful that as of now he will be able to continue to work from home, but it will change a lot for our at home schedule.

The stay at home order goes into effect this evening. Tomorrow all non essential businesses are not operating. Our neighborhood looks like a ghost town. It is eerie. To drive down a popular area where the coffee shop is typically full, restaurants are busy, and businesses are full of people, and it is empty and still. It is unsettling and not normal. Today as I walked my block people avoided one another. Neighbors didn't leave their yard. Kids weren't allowed outside. There is a distinct difference from two days ago.

The numbers of infected people are steadily growing. The testing is too slow. The hospitals are ill prepared. The feeling of fear for health and economy are growing. There is a general feeling of optimistic concern looming over my corner of the world. We are optimistic that this will end. We are sure that our God is bigger than any virus or pandemic. But that doesn't stop the questions and concerns of how long? How long will we be seperated from our loved ones, friends, school, church, jobs. How long can our economy hold when it is halted? How long can we stave off sickness by staying home? Not knowing is hard. We have been in the not knowing many times before and God has always been faithful to hold us and remind us of His goodness.

While the world seems uncertain I am trying to keep our home steady. We have done school, chores, and played as we usually do. We have done extra art projects, made some new recipes, and had family movie nights.

What's on the Menu

What we ate this week:

Monday:
Breakfast- Egg sandwiches
Lunch- grilled cheese, apple slices, carrots, chips
Dinner- Baked chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes, salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast-yogurt and granola
Lunch-Mac and cheese and hot dogs
Dinner- Sausage and cabbage with potatoes and salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast- cereal
Lunch- PBJ, orange slices, peppers, chips
Dinner- Breakfast for Dinner

Thursday:
Breakfast-yogurt and granola
Lunch- leftovers
Dinner- Homemade pizza

Friday:
Breakfast- waffles
Lunch- chicken nuggets, veggies, mac and cheese
Dinner- Take out Indian food

Saturday:
Breakfast- Cereal
Lunch- fish sticks, veggies, chips
Dinner- Balsamic chicken, roasted potatoes, salad

Sunday:
Breakfast- baked oatmeal
Lunch- chicken noodle soup
Dinner- Lazy lasagna


Snacks:

Banana bread
orange slices
string cheese
pretzels
animal crackers
popcorn

Quarantine Day 7

We made it through day 7. Today we did art and science. We studied our solar system and did oil pastel galaxies.

We also painted sloths with acrylic paint. It was fun to take a break from our typical subjects and enjoy some relaxing art. We had finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The kids are loving audio books.

We had some bad storms last night. On top of a pandemic we also got flash floods. Thankfully we did not have any flooding in our home, but we know many friends who had basement floods. We did get a good amount of sunshine though. So we made sure to get outside and get some fresh air and vitamin D. Amelia decided to take her cat out to the trampoline. I think the kids may have enjoyed it more than the cat.

We took a few minutes to do hair this afternoon. We are trying to maintain some of our normal even if we aren't going anywhere. 

We ordered take out tonight. We had a Just Dance Competition, sang and danced for fun, and played games. We are enjoying all the fun family time. We are missing our friends and our routine activities.

This is a time that will make history. We have no idea how long this will last or what the world will look like when it is over. My hope is that our kids will look back on this time as a time full of sweet family memories. I hope they will not think of the hard that comes with this time, but the fun that we had together while stuck in our home.

Just another day

Another day of Corona quarantine. In Ohio the governor is taking severe measures to keep this virus from spreading. For us that means lots of at home time. We are finding a routine in our "new normal". We have enjoyed sleeping in and doing school at a more relaxed pace. It has rained today so we had to find some creative ways to get fresh air. I had the kids go out and ride their bikes around the block in between showers. I was able to get out for a walk which helps tremendously.

We are trying to use the food we have on had. The grocery stores have been crazy. The shelves are empty. They have reduced hours,  and some stores are only letting a specific number of people in at a time. So, I made sure to cut up all the produce in our fridge. I'm trying keep inventory on what we have and make sure we are wasting as little as possible.

Today we played games. The kids have been doing a great job getting along. They worked together on a Lego challenge.

We made homemade pizza for dinner. We face timed with friends and played "Harry Potter" would you rather.We let the big kids stay up late and spend some extra time together.

We are missing our people, but the forced rest has been a blessing. We are taking the slower pace as a gift. 

Date night Disco style

I figure with all this free time I may as well catch the blog up on all the fun things we have been up to pre quarantine. One thing we started this year is a date night club. We have a few friends who committed to getting together once a month to do a fun date night. This month we did a murder mystery party disco style. It was a lot of fun. We did fondue and listened to 70's music. I'm so glad we got it in before we were asked to stay home.

 

This I know

I'm not sure exactly how to quantify the days of this quarantine, but they shut down public schools on Friday March 13. We stopped leaving the house on Saturday. So, for us this is day 5. Five days of staying at home may not seem like much, but for us it has been very different. We have felt less stress of where we need to go, but I also feel like the unknowns of how long keep tugging the back of my mind.

So, I stick with what I do know.

I know that I serve a good, faithful loving God. He is not surprised by any of this. He is using this to keep my focus and trust in him. He has graciously provided for all of our needs even in unknowns. He goes before and behind me and I shall not fear. I posted Philippians 4:6 today on the wall in our office. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.Good words to focus on.  

I know we won't go hungry. There is panic about food and supplies. We are ok. We have not hoarded food, but we are eating well. We are eating fresh, healthy meals. It is a challenge to keep boys full, but we are making it. I have been preparing for this type of thing for years. It is a fun challenge to see what creativity I can have in the kitchen.

 We have been adding protein powder to as many things we can think of. It seems to help keep the kids full longer.











I know how to school at home. Even though our big boys have started attending public school, school at home is still our norm. I love having all my kiddos home and with me. We know how to have a relaxed schedule and we are enjoying all the fun free resources the internet has to offer. This is a much harder transition for some. I am thankful that we are prepared and even excited for this part of quarantine.

I know this can't last forever. While it may feel like it. This too shall pass. I hope that when my kids remember this time in history they will look back not at how scary the world was, but how loved they were. What a gift we had in a pause from our crazy scheduled American life. A time to focus on God, family, and taking care of our community. This will not be short. It will feel like forever, but it will end.

I am so thankful for the way my kids have gotten along. That has been a gift. I'm thankful for the extra family time. We continue to have extra rest and slower pace. We are choosing to see the blessing in all this instead of just the hard. 

Quarantine

Well, friends it has been YEARS since I have blogged on here. But I think now that we are confined to our homes for an unknown time, if for nothing other than my own benefit I will be trying to log how our family copes with the Covid 19 quarantine.

In some ways we are keeping to business as usual. We still have school time, chores, meals, and family time. What is different is that we are alone. We have lost our ability to meet in groups of more than ten. For a family of six that limits a lot. We are extroverts. We love people. So this part is hard.

But here is what we are doing to keep up morale and enjoy the gift of a clear calendar.

All the free resources on the internet. 
There are so many fun free classes and courses available right now.
We have doodled with Mo Willems.
We have done watercolor with an art studio.
We are learning a new dance.
We have learned about the hippo at the zoo.
We have watched Josh Gad read us a story.
We have done the Lego challenge.

We go outside!
Outside is still not off limits.
The kids have played with each other well.
They have gone on bike rides, played basketball, jumped on the trampoline, walked our block.


I'm prioritizing my sanity.
I need my house to be picked up. I feel better in a clean house so I make it a priority to keep it clean.
I am making my kids have quiet time. I need a few mins to be able to read, rest, write, or just be. I make sure the kiddos have time to do the same.
I'm writing, I'm going for walks, I'm reading the Bible, I'm cooking healthy meals.
I'm planning what I can. I have a menu plan. I have a school plan. I'm starting a spring cleaning list.


We are thankful for the blessings of quarantine. 
We are getting great family time.
We are playing board games, watching movies, making yummy meals, making crafts, and all around enjoying time to relax.
We are reading more. So often we just don't have time to read, and we are thankful for the time to catch up.
We are sleeping. We can sleep in! We are staying in our jammies longer.
The kids are doing a great job of getting along and helping to keep us sane.
We are healthy! What a blessing!