End of August

169th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 76F.  It was a cool morning.

After a lovely sleep in, I made my way to an estate sale on the edge of town.  They had so much to look at, I spent quite a time collecting my treasures. = )

When I returned, Billy went to Menards for some supplies for our basement door project, and grabbed lunch for us all (from three different places!)

I spent the afternoon making a prototype window mask (I don't care for it much and will need to make a new design completely.  Trying to put a window in the mask style that I've been making did not look as good as I would like.  I also put together a small package for Alex, Blake and baby John.  I feel really out of the loop when it comes to newborn stuff, is embroidery even in vogue any longer?

For dinner I cleaned out the refrigerator and reheated leftovers.

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168th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 85F.

Our nature exploration was cut a little short when the thunder started rumbling.

Juliet was our first math "review" finisher!  She worked through all of the Kindergarten material in the past 3 months, and will start 1st Grade Monday.  I bought each of them a special stuffed animal as an incentive, and she was very excited to claim hers!

After school, I needed to take the medicine box delivery to be recycled at FEDEX.  While I was up that way I went to the bank and thrift shop.  I didn't find any school books, but found a few things of interest.

For dinner we had Chick fil A, since I was in the area.

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Today is the 167th Day of Quarantine.

The high was 91F.

The tooth fairy had a rough night trying to exchange money and teeth, under the waking eyes of two watchful children.  whew.

I walked down to the farmer's market to buy some tasty treats.

For dinner we had beef with broccoli and rice.

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We are living through the 166th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today was 87F.  It was a cool morning while several storms blew through, making our drive back from Ann Arbor very rainy.

William and I were up and out the door before 6:30 to make it to his 8am dentist appointment.  They capped one of his back teeth, and then extracted the baby tooth on the top.  I didn't realize that they were removing it (they said they were going to "wiggle it" but I didn't expect the extraction.  Poor little boy was brave, but couldn't hold it together any longer once he saw me.  Sadly, we have to do it again next week for the other side.  Luckily, the appointment is a little later.

During geography, they discussed a compass, so I broke out the one that I had.  William thought it was a nifty device.

While Alice and Emily were doing science this afternoon, Alice lost a tooth!  So now, we have two teeth and only one pillow.  Talk about unlikely scenarios.

For dinner I made faijitas.  Sadly, I missed the expiration on my premade chicken by just a few days, so I ended up defrosting and cooking them from scratch. They were still pretty good, just took longer than planned.

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We are currently at 165th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today is 84F.

Regular school day, playdoh and Alice in Wonderland in the afternoon.

Emily's siblings fanned her while she practiced the piano.

For dinner we had hamburger helper and corn.

It's harder to identify the twins from their reflection alone!  This is Grace.

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Today is the 164th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today is 91F.

School went on as planned.  I worked in the afternoon on math with William, using M&Ms since the morning work was so frustrating for him.  I think it worked a bit.

Emily cleaned out her computer, and before she recycled her 200+ bearcat tickets, played in them for a while.

For dinner we had teriyaki chicken and rice.

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Today is the 163rd Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today is 88F.

Billy got most of the new basement door assembled.  I'll do the painting, and then he will do the install!!

Setting up for the week was quicker than last week, since we are using many of the same books, and I already have a (mostly) working schedule in place. = )

For dinner we had personal mini pizzas.

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later days

3rd Week of August

162nd Day of Quarantine

The high today was 88F.  It was warm during the day, but the nights still get cool.

Billy went to Lowes to pick up supplies for replacing our decrepit basement door.

For dinner Billy picked up Wendy's on his way back from Lowes.

Also, I started season 15 of Supernatural.  I'm really not ready for it to be over yet.

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161st Day of Quarantine

The high today was 87F, and it sure felt like it on our way to the DODC.

Today we finished up our last day of our first week of homeschool!  Today had two elements that we hadn't yet encountered.  The first was dictation, the second written narration.

I tried doing all 5 of them on dictation at the same time, and it was awful. There was whining and when I would work with the big girls the little ones were noisy, and next week we will try something different.

It was so much sweeter then, when we did written narration.  I called them in one at a time for narration, and they picked a variety of books.  Even Grace, who gives me minimal oral narration each time she is picked filled up 2 pages about King Alfred and the Cakes. Since today was the first time, I wrote the big girls as well (they had to have a number of sentences greater than or equal to their grade.)  We will work toward them writing their own, but the podcast I listened to recommended starting with oral and working our way up.

At the end of our school day, we walked down to the DODC by the kids' old school for our nature study.  We were looking for "mini beasts."  We saw butterflies and lady bugs and ants and on the way back Alice even found a myriapod!

For dinner we had a microwave Chicken Fettucine Alfredo kit & bueno nachos

And we watched the end of Kim Possible.  We also watched the cartoon movie (which should have followed the end of season three.)  And we watched the live action movie.  It was exciting, as the voice actor for the cartoon made an appearance! Also, the actor who played the grandmother in this was the mother from the Torkelsons, one of my favorite childhood shows.

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160th Day of Quarantine - Alice's 11th Birthday!

The expected high today is 84F.

We are still finding our rhythm and tweaking our school schedule, but now have a good idea as to how it will look each day.

In honor of Alice's birthday (and so that she could spend max time on her new Sims 4 game) we bent the "no electronics until 4pm rule, and they were able to get on right after we finished reading chapter three of Alice in Wonderland.

Billy walked down to the farmer's market and bought some rice and chicken for dinner (from the Thai restaurant.) It was very good.

We sang and ate birthday cake for dessert.

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Today is the 159th day of Quarantine.

The high today was 77F.

The most exciting thing that my children learned from our poet study today was that Shakespeare had twins (Hamlet and Judith.)

Alice and Emily were filling out a map as part of their geography.  I was happy to have a map that Sarah made up (of Canada, none-the-less) to show them what they can strive for.

We had to leave for Ann Arbor around 1, so I left Emily in charge of making Alice's cake.  She did a great job, and apparently Alice was excited about the custom "topper" that I ordered of her Roblox character. = )  Emily "painted" it with acrylic paint markers, and it looks a lot like her old avatar (I saw her changing the avatar on her account 2 days after I ordered it...)

The drive was fairly uneventful, other than several patches of construction.  We waited in the parking lot for a bit, and the kids all caught a quick nap en route.  They have finished some of the inside construction, and taken down walls so it is now a very different path than we used to take.  There was no one at reception when we arrived, and we were scolded for not 'checking in' by the nurse.  ugh.  We ended up waiting for about 20 minutes which is a really long time, considering they no longer even play movies!  (I totally get the toys being picked up, but you would think that a movie on in the waiting room would be virus proof?)

Grace and Juliet both received excellent reports.  Grace even has a few wiggly teeth on the bottom! William's getting in some permanent teeth, and they already have issues.  The problem is the same on both sides, so we will be making 2 more trips for them to cap his teeth until they are fully in place. Once they are fully exposed then they will put on a more permanent solution to protect them.  Not the best news, but not unexpected, and the primary reason we make the drive to go to a specialty clinic for them.

Since the appointment wasn't until 3, we didn't get to leave until after 5 heading home.  Traffic in Ann Arbor was awful (couldn't even make a right turn thanks to the back up.) We also came to a complete stop on 23 as we approached 96 a couple of times.  Nothing too bad.

However, when we rolled into town at 6:15ish, and were due to stop at Wendy's to procure dinner, the line was all the way to the edge of the parking lot, which would have had me stopped out in the main lanes.  I opted to run home, drop off the kids, and then went to a different Wendy's.  They were busy, and slow, but at least I didn't have whiny, hungry children with me.  With all of that, we didn't end up eating until about 7, which is really late for us.

It was also shot night, so once I unloaded, got everyone fed, I made up shots, then toothbrushes.  It was a hurried bedtime, but everyone got to hear a little bit of whatever story they like, then quick kisses.  Unexpectedly, the three little ones did go to sleep, so Billy and I were able to set up Alice's balloon décor uninterrupted.

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Today was the 158th day of Quarantine.

The high was a very cool 77F.

We started off the morning going out to find a "dew orb" that we read about in the big girls' recitation exercise by Shakespeare.

After some whining during math, and general slowness transitioning between subjects, we finished off the evening with chapter 2 of Alice in Wonderland and playdoh play.  The big girls told me that they really enjoyed it, since they don't get to play with playdoh at school anymore. = )

For dinner we had Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes.

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We are looking at the 157th day of Quarantine.

Today the high was 82F.

It was the first day of school!

Billy had a late doctor's appointment and brought back Arby's for dinner.

Billy and I went for a short walk after dinner, a very short walk since the kids stayed home.  Hopefully we will be able to make it a little longer next time.  = )

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Today was the 156th day of Quarantine.

The high today was 81F with a very cool start to the day.

I woke up a little earlier so that I could clean up all of the paint supplies before online church.  The kids worked on their packets and watched the video from Avia's church.

After church I rushed out the door to run the recycling by Sarah's and go pick up my grocery order.  I stumbled on a garage sale after I left Sarah's and bought a few small Christmas gifts for my crew.

The Kroger gas station had small lines when I arrived, so I picked up my groceries first.  This worked out in my favor, since the lines were going by the time I had my groceries. = )

After putting away the groceries, I listened to a few outstanding podcasts from A Delectable Feast about narration and "things."  I planned on shucking the corn while doing this, but ended up with a few cute, albeit messy, helpers. = )

Once the corn was cooking, it was time for baths, then making dinner.  For dinner we had chili cheesed dogs and corn on the cob.

After dinner, Billy helped me measure and mark for the pictures to go back up on the wall.

There are still blemishes and it is not perfect, but I'm glad that there are no longer medium & giant holes in the wall!  This will make being in the room for hours a day so much better!  = )

later days

Alice Answers Her Birthday Survey: 11-years-old

So, I missed out, and Alice did not answer her survey in August, or even in 2020. It is currently March of 2021. I discussed it with Alice, and we decided that late is better than never. I will be posting it to August of 2020, so that I can find in to link up next year, but rest assured that it was not written until March of 2021

I am  11  years old.

My favorite color is: pink
The coolest person on earth is:Mutti, ✨daddy, ✨twins, ✨William..✨. and ✨E ✨M ✨I ✨L ✨Y✨

The thing I do best is: Sleep
If I could change my name, it would be: alasuar
My favorite toy is: my catz
When I grow up, I want to be: A gaurdian elf
I like to watch: Anything i can
My favorite song is: Thunder by imagine dragons
My favorite book is: If cats ruled the world
3 words to describe me are: Rawr, ogalibo, flipfloptummydrop
When I was little, I used to: be like: NO SLEEP NEIN NEIN
My favorite season is: Winter 100%
The food I like most is: Shrimp
One food I really don't like is: Whatever mutti makes because apprently thats what she wants me to say
My best friend is: ✨willow, and adurey!✨

For my birthday I want to: Have a pet axolotl
My best memory is: Being born

So, there you have it, answers from an 11.5 year old.

later days

You can check out her 10 year old answers here.

Alice's 11th Birthday!

Today, Alice turned 11 years old!  I am still trying to wrap my head around it.

I do feel like I personally got lucky this year (yep, I said it) because Alice is home with me, and in Texas 5th grade is a part of elementary school, so I don't have to consider her a middle schooler*!

We took a few pictures last night, as her final night as a 10 year old!

And then new pictures this morning, as a brand new 11 year old!  She picked ice cream for breakfast, so that's what everyone got.

Opening up gifts before 'school.'  From us she got a cat hoodie, roblox gift cards, and Billy installed Sim 4 + cats and dogs on her computer. = )  She liked her cards from Avia and Emily, and prized her squishy cat from Avia all morning.

My amazing Alice, I'm so happy that we get to celebrate with you!  I hope that this year is your best one yet! = )  You are smart, and funny and weird and such a joy to be around.

*Of course, Emily, William, Grace and Juliet are thoughts for another day.

First Day of School and Schultüten

We did it!  We had our very first day of homeschool today! As usual, getting up on morning one is really easy. = )

We had time to take first day pictures:

And for the twins to open and enjoy their schultüten! 

They decided that they wanted to use them as "unicorn horns."

4 out of 5 of my children started first grade in Michigan.  It is crazy how fast it went, and how we are now finished with that bit of tradition. = (  This is a tough year for it to be the last of anything, since it is just so out of wack.

We started at 8:30.  Most things went smoothly, but they were asking for a snack by 9:30.  There were a few tears during math (and Grace's computer decided it had to have an update today, so she worked on my machine)  but I think it went well.  Even with all the breaks and hiccoughs we were done with everything (including read aloud) by 2:30! 

They do have to wait until 4pm for screens, because that would be the earliest they'd be getting on if we were in a normal school routine.  And they have had so much screen time for the past 6 months, it was time to reign it in!

Tomorrow is a new day, and now we all have a little more experience. 

later days

You can see other schultüten posts here: Alice, Emily, William.

2nd Week of August

Today was the 155th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was supposed to be 87F.

Today I finished and submitted my grocery order.  It's weird, since Monday has been my grocery day for soooo long.  But Monday we will be doing pictures and schultueten, so I want to leave the extra time for that.

I convinced Billy to sand the wall, with his new power sander, so that I could paint it before the school year began.

I ended up making a run to home depot, because when I opened the paint we bought (the first month or so that we lived here) rust fell into the paint. = (  It wasn't nearly as packed as I would have thought, at least for a Saturday afternoon.  And on my trip there I observed that Creyts road is reopened and smooth!

Since Grace helped me tape before I left, all I had to do was wipe the wall and roll on the paint.  It didn't take long at all!

We had tacos for dinner with tomatoes from our tiny garden and lettuce from the farmer's market!

Once the day was mostly spent, I finished it off with a few episodes of Supernatural.

I added a few extra canned items and dry beans to the list for our emergency storage.  The USPS is undergoing some scary (at least according to the untrustworthy media) changes, and life is so uncertain right now.  I am trying not to worry, and I hope November 3rd can just stay a normal day and not be the beginning of the end of life as we know it.

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154th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 87F.

Alice got to say goodbye to Osage during an early playground playdate.  Juliet was the only other one awake enough to want to come, but was sad that Osage's little sister was not there to play with.  A bee spooked Alice after about thirty minutes, so we left earlier than we thought we would.

Billy went to the doctor and brought home Taco Bell for lunch.

I found an outdoor rummage sale advertised a few weeks ago, and was excited to shop as soon as Billy got home.  It's the only one I've seen this year.  Granted, I've not been driving around as much to see if there are other sales, and there are probably fewer since they would need to be held outside.

I found a couple of books from our list and some embroidery supplies for our handicrafts!  I also got a birthday present for one of my nieces and some shirts for Avia's consideration.

For dinner we had General Tso's Chicken and rice.

We finished off the day with Kim Possible and Bueno Nachos.

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153rd Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 86F.

I had everyone get up and out the door two hours earlier than Emily's dentist appointment, because my car needed an oil change.  We us a family place down in Mason, which is at least in the right direction, but a little out of the way. There was no wait at all, so we were very early for her appointment.

The Scooby Doo disk that William picked would not play, and when I inspected it, it was really roughed up!  Not scratches, but white pits or decay (?) under the plastic.  I've never seen a cd with that kind of damage.  Thankfully, optimistic Grace saved the day by bringing a Hello Kitty disk that no-one else wanted to watch.  It's amazing how quickly they went from "no" to "yes" when it was the only game in town.

Emily's appointment felt really long, and the kids were bored.  Billy had his own appointment today, or I would have happily left the crew home with him.

We got word today that Billy's company is going to start bringing people back in at the beginning of October. = (  I will miss him being here with us all the time.

And this afternoon William was treated to an end of summer ice cream treat from his first grade teacher.  We sat 6 feet apart in the park across from the ice cream shop and William got to read to her and show her how much he has improved this summer.  I am devastated that the twins are going to miss out on her next year.  Even though I know that homeschooling is the best answer for our family i find myself focusing on "what should have been" versus the reality of "how it will be."

Saying goodbye was hard for both of us.

For dinner we had quesadillas and farmers market finds (tomatoes, squash, blueberries, chips and queso.)

I organized the new books that came in, and labelled the binders that Sarah sent over.

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152nd Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 86F.

We walked down to get William a professional haircut from the barber.  Billy was only about halfway through his 2nd quarantine haircut when he just could not finish, so his hair has been looking rough for a few weeks now.

Before (grumpy boy:)

After (happy boy:)

I ironed out a few other things in my lessons for next week, then went to a different thrift store in search of book and Christmas gifts.

For dinner we had chicken and cheese flatbread sandwiches.  They were well received considering they were 'microwave' dishes.

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151st Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today is 83F.

Billy was up early again, to get blood drawn, since yesterday they skipped his turn, and I needed to get to the grocery store.  (I offered to take the kids, but he kindly went back today instead, so that we could all have a little easier of a morning.)

Before my dentist appointment, I bagged up the first 12 weeks worth of science materials!  I was impressed by the curriculum, since it had both a master list as well as cards to help group each experiment ahead of time! It only took me an hour or so, since I've been rounding up things from the master list since the spring.

My dentist appointment was short, and I headed straight to the thrift store from there.  I scored a few books from the list, and a few other books of interest.  I also bought a few things for our handiwork time in the afternoon.  I might have purchased a few more Christmas gifts and dropped them by Sarah's.  Maybe.

Then, when I arrived home, we got a brain teaser book in the mail from Aunt Wanda!

For dinner we had beef and broccoli with rice.

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150th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today is 88F.

Billy was up early, fasting and heading to get his blood drawn for an upcoming doctor's appointment.

Once he returned home, I headed out to pick up a Kroger order and then off to Sam's for another order.  Thankfully Sam's delivers many of the items that we eat, which has helped me space out my trips further.  This was probably the final trip until Avia returns, since we are starting school next Monday.

I was able to go to the dentist and have my temporary cemented back in place (for the next 24 hours.)

The afternoon was reserved for finalizing our school schedule and making sure I had every book that I needed for the entire first week ready to go.  I also made sure that I have all the links we need to videos saved on the tablet.

For dinner, Grace requested the hot dog spaghetti squid.  I told her that was fine as long as she helped me make them.  When Juliet came over to ask what we were having for dinner I told her, but then asked "where's Grace?" It turns out, Grace had gone into her room and fell asleep under her bed.  ::sigh:: But, Juliet picked up the torch and helped me make the squid for dinner. = )

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149th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today was 90F.

After online church, I disassembled our summer schedule supplies to fit them in with our school materials for next year.  The masking tape color is the child, and then I labeled them with subject.  Sarah is printing off the remaining pages, so I have 5 outstanding binders, and then I think we are ready to go.

The folders match the tape color, except for William.  His sleeves are clear, since the multipack didn't have red (only pink.)

That pile of "stuff" in the back, that's for our science!!

I still need to assemble everything for the first week, to make 100 percent sure that we are good to go.  In between doctor appointments this week, that is my goal, is to get all my materials prepared and ready to roll!

Emily, William, Grace, Juliet and I played Uno tonight.  William won.

For dinner we had soup and leftover pizza.  My mouth is really hurting me where my temporary crown is being held less than ideally in place by the denture paste.

I finished the second book in the Dresden Files

later days