March 30th, Essential Trips Only: Day 17; Day 11 of School at Home

The expected high today was only 43F.  It was cloudy and cold all day, with a decent wind, so it felt much colder.

My day started poorly with standing water in my dishwasher.  I called the warranty company, and they were able to send the tech out between one and five, today. what?what?

The kids got quite a bit of their work done before 10am, when I set William up on his Zoom call with his class.

I headed out the door to run the recycling by Sarah's and grab the groceries. Kroger was not nearly as busy as it's been, and I was there at the pick up with only one other car.

After that, I dropped some elastic from my stash in a bin at the high school. (They requested donations for the 3D masks they are printing for doctors and nurses.)  I also dropped a small load at the food bank.

I made it back to get the twins logged in with their friends at noon.  Juliet kept trying to chat with her BFF and was so sad that the call ended before they had time to chat.

For lunch the kids made some sandwiches and I fried up some yellow squash. yum!

Not long after the groceries were put away, the repair man came.  The pump was broken. = (  He had a spare one on him, and by the time he left it was up and running!  Yay repair guy!

I messaged back and forth with Kennedy's mom, so she and Juliet were able to zoom until my phone was about dead! = )  It was so cute, they were showing one another all of their special 'treasures.'  Next time I will try to set her up on the gypsy again.

Emily wanted to go on a bike ride, so the two of us made a path around town.  It was a chilly day, but we have enough hills that we were plenty warmed up by the time we made it home.

For dinner we had tacos, since they had tortillas this week (but no bread for us.)

Billy's Anniversary gift arrived.  It was so apropos for this year, I couldn't resist!

Tonight we got word that it is very likely that the kids will not return to school (it is still not official, but everything is pointing that way.)  They will all "move up" next fall with no conclusion to this year. = (

I am struggling with so many emotions.  Right now, I'm just feeling robbed.  I'm so sad that my 'golden' year ended so abruptly, and that Alice will never be in elementary again.  Alice didn't get her send off, or fourth grade trip to the wildlife center.  Emily missed out on a week long field trip to the capital to learn all about Michigan history, and she will never be able to make that up.  William will not get to finish his year with the.best.teacher.  And my twins, well, once again they will not get to finish a school year with their sweet, wonderful teacher. I will never have a kindergartner again.  There was no move up day or chance to say goodbye.

I'm sad about missed opportunity, but still applaud the leadership doing what's best for the majority of the population.

Tomorrow is Emily's Grand Rapids appointment, but it's not until the afternoon, so we should have a normal morning.

later days

January 27th

Today was another cold, grey day.  The anticipated high was 35F, but my car read 36F at one point. ; )  We didn't' have much wind or any precipitation which made it bearable.

My mom came with me to make my grocery circuit: recycling @ sarah's, gas, aldi, Meijer.

Paczki is back in stores, I am soooooo excited!  Today I picked a cheese filling.  My favorite is lemon, I'll probably get it next time.  Or maybe Bavarian cream.

I was on a bit of a time crunch today, so I dropped her off, and headed to get Grace's glasses taped, again.  It took a while, because she actually completely replaced the earpieces.  Her glasses should be coming in any day now.

For lunch I had half a Paczki, half an avocado and a slice of swiss cheese. = )

Today it was my turn for the dentist.  It was just a cleaning, but it was at 12:30, so that I could finish my shopping, but not be anywhere near the end of the school day, in case things took longer than anticipated.

When  I went to pick up my dear ones from school, I saw two of the 4th graders chatting.  I thought to  myself, wow, they are so tall, I guess they are practically 5th graders... Then I recognized Alice (she had only the hood of her coat on, so I didn't recognize her sooner.) oh boy.

For dinner we finished the leftovers (the Chinese food  just lasts for forever!) and William got to enjoy one more BBQ sandwich.

Emily, Juliet and I all made our lunches for tomorrow. I'll need one, since I'm subbing an all day job tomorrow.

later days

Alice visits the Michigan State Capitol

Last month the 4th graders visited the Michigan Capitol.  There was not enough space on the bus, so chaperones were requested to meet them onsite.  It's only a 20 minute drive to downtown, so I beat the bus there, since I left straight from morning drop off.

The parking was closer to the hall of Justice, which is where they were finishing their trip.  I took a picture before I met up with the class.

I'm not sure what this system warns of, but I'm glad it didn't go off while I was walking by.

Does the capitol building look familiar? Probably because the architect, Elijah Meyers, designed both buildings.

The floor they were sitting on is translucent, so people below could see their shadows. = )

The stars at the top are painted with gold and platinum paint.

Inside the governor's office.

We passed through the rotunda several times.

The representative from our county was there to give us a tour of the floor (otherwise we would have just been able to peek in from the door.)

The light panels had each state represented, if they said why I didn't catch it.

The Senate was meeting while we were there, so we didn't get too close as part of the tour.

The ladies painted represent 8 virtues, but I don't know which ones.

In the former Supreme Court room.

In the new Supreme Court Room.  The lady in the background is the Michigan Chief Supreme Court Justice, and Alice is sitting in her seat.  She was the one that gave us a few details about the legal system in Michigan.

It was a fun, informative trip.  I learned quite a bit about the state we currently live in.  I was really glad it was indoors (for the most part.)  I hope Alice remembers it fondly too.

later days

later days

Fun Run

This year, the PTO held the fun run in the fall to raise funds for the remainder of this year (instead of the following year.)

Each grade level has a shirt color, so I have a rainbow of children. = )

Parent volunteers were asked to "chalk the walk" before the run started.  I ran out of space in my square.  oops.

They came out by grade level.  And the weather was a little more accommodating than last year.  It sprinkled on us just a few times. = )

It was a fun way to spend the morning, and the kids raised some good money for their school!

later days

Back to School

Gearing up for school slowly helps the summer last a little bit longer, and a few weeks before school started we went shoe shopping!  I already can't recall why Grace is pouting here.

Another school year preparation was to practice loading up with backpacks in tow.  The goal was for everyone to be loaded and buckled in under 3 minutes, 3 consecutive times.  They blew it out of the water: round one was 42 seconds, round two 49 seconds, and round three was 43 seconds!

The reward was a trip to the ice cream shop.  Avia came with us to celebrate. = )

The Monday before school started we attended meet the teacher night.  The twins were first in the kindergarten rotation, then Billy and I had to split teachers, since we had 3 to attend and only 2 sessions as options.  They called the kids out to the playground while the parents sat in the informational sessions.  We had a little bit of a hiccough when Billy went out with the kids.  But it all worked out. = )

Kindergarten had a "soft start" this year, where they had kids tentatively placed in groups, and they were able to move and shift the classes the first week.  I didn't like it.  I like being able to plan everything out.  But it all worked out, since the twins now have William's teacher, I'm completely happy.

You can see the pictures that follow our first day series here.  We always walk on day one (and I like to walk a few more than that, while traffic simmers down and I can observe potential issues as a pedestrian. = ))

It was quite foggy on day one!

On day 2, William and I were at odds the entire trip, and he almost made everyone late.  His day improved from there, but he was so whiny and uncooperative that the next morning we had to leave earlier.

At the end of the week, we stopped in at the ice cream shop one last time, thanks to part of Enisi and Edudi's birthday gift to Alice. = )  I messed up the order and Grace, Juliet and I ended up with giant cones. We were pretty sticky by the time we left.

Last day before their first holiday weekend:

William left his line to play a 'game' with the twins.  I told him to head back to his line, and then said a prayer of thanks that he is not a twin.

I found William a helmet so that he could rides his bike to/from school on days we walked.  He was quite excited.

We stopped in to play at the park across the street from the school, while the weather is still nice enough to do so.

Alice was protesting a morning picture, because I wouldn't let her wear her flip flops to school.

Emily wanted to be a "troll."  She has been fixing her own hair each morning, and loves playing with new styles. = )

And yesterday, Alice got word that she would be a safety in the afternoons, helping the younger students get to where they need to be.

It's been a great start to the school year, but my 'golden year' of having everyone in the same building is already flying by.

later days