22nd May, 70th Day of Quarantine, 43rd Day of School at Home

Today the high was a lower 64F than yesterday, and it was a chilly rainy spring morning.

I pushed William through his to-do list quickly.  Thankfully Friday is a catch-up day in his class, so he only had a tiny bit of math, piano and reading to knock out before his appointment.

At his 7 year check up, he had a 7 degree spine curve, so we had to go in for his 6 month scoliosis check.

The doctors are currently seeing patients outside, to help prevent contamination.  It as sprinkling during his appointment, thankfully they could hide under the cover of the back lift gate.

So, his spine has progressed into a 9 degree curve, which is sad, so we will continue on the 6 month check pattern.  His next one will be at his 8 year check up.  With his history of bone issues, this is not something that surprises her, and we will just continue to keep an eye on it.

I did have a moment of panic when the nurse weighed him at 9lbs less than our previous visit (that's a 25% decrease in weight!)  The doctor reweighed him, this time on a level surface, and he actually gained 5lbs since his last visit just a few months ago!  This is awesome and means that the protein shakes are doing their job. = )

When we got home, William was trying to find the tree that he had seen a the doctor's office in our new field guide!

Also, I got in the first wave of books that I ordered!

I put them all on our book trolley!  Our second trolley arrived, and Juliet helped me put it together.

I unenthusiastically completed the course I had started for my Teaching certificate.  The lesson itself wasn't bad, but since I didn't get to get started on it until after noon, most of my motivation was evaporated.

I also finished the 5 day series for the introduction to the kids' homeschool in the fall.  I watched this with slightly more vigor, but should have watched it earlier in the day, since I was so spent.

For dinner we enjoyed pizza from our local place, and watched Kim Possible as a nice end of day activity.

later days

History for Sale

When we lived in England, we did not have any children.  I spent my days enjoying every novelty in Leeds that I could.  One of my activities was thrift store shopping (shocker) and it was then that I gave Agatha Christie a try.

After devouring Murder on the Orient Express, I purchased and read every used copy of her work that I could find.  When we travelled home, I continued my collection, and my mom added many of her titles to my bookshelf.

I've read every mystery novel that she wrote, as many short stories as I could find, and her autobiography (as well as a few biographies.)  She was an amazing, prolific writer. 

All of that to say, I decided to sell my collection.  Should I ever reread her work, it will be in a convenient format (like my kindle) not the TINY paperback print I read almost a decade ago.

So,  I took an inventory, snapped some pictures and posted it on ebay.  It was a week long auction that sold in the final hour.  I was sad.

But, upon boxing up, I reclaimed an entire shelf for our game collection.

This encouraged me to get a move on planning a party:

We played elefun:

Alice piloted her single player game and ended up playing for over an hour:

And we had to race to the top of the Scooby-Doo tower.

So, I traded books I had no intention of reading ever again, for precious game time with my family.  I'd say I came out ahead. = )

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I also made the tough call of getting rid of a beautiful turtle that Christin bought me when she lived with us, 20 years ago.

It was not a decision made lightly, and so I took pictures and sent her a message.  My turtle will now cycle through my digital picture fame, getting way more views than he has in a long time!

Today, at my yard sale, he went home (for a quarter) with a gentlemen who's intention was to put him out in the garden where he buried his beloved dog.  This thought makes me very happy. = )

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And, we sold a wig* today (or maybe we donated it.)  Avia has all the pictures of Emily donning it, pretending to be her twin, but I thought William wore it well too. = )

later days

*we'd bought it last summer for Emily's snowman box, but none of her snowmen ever wore it, so it had to go. = )

April: All the Other Pictures

If I take out my phone, at any point, the twins pose for me.  = )  (I don't remember what Juliet did to her nose.)

One afternoon Willow got to come home with us, because her mom had a work thing to attend.

Is it the girl or the outfit? definitely the girl. ; )

During the 25 minutes we were at speech for Grace and Juliet, the school practiced their lockdown procedure.  That meant that I was locked in a room, separate from my girls, for the duration.

Pretending to be robots.

I couldn't find any evidence that my chairs were scraping up the dining room floor, but it sure did sound like it! So, I put felt pads on all the feet, and it sounds so much nicer. = )

I don't know what was going on here:

They dressed alike so that they would look like twins.  No worries girls, it's pretty obvious, even without the matching garb.

Another "take a picture of us" moment.

Our dining table looks like a disaster zone when it's homework/snack time!

Alice brought home a library book with recipes.  It was a pokemon book:

these were supposed to be digletts?

I was leaving notes around for my mom, so that she didn't have to look back at her phone for everything.  Emily was also helping with some reminders. = )

I don't know why the twins wanted the chair upstairs, but it is a fairly substantial chair, certainly on the heavy side for them.

Grace and Juliet always enjoy helping me make muffins:

It is so nice that the big girls are at an age to put things on the grocery list! this particular time it was Emily.  It makes me smile to see their handwriting when I'm doing the shopping.

We have finally had days that not only look like they are above freezing, but feel like it too!  

The twins were "fishing" at the thrift shop.

They had little chirping baby ducks and chicks at the farm store last week.  They were just too cute!

This weekend I organized the shed, and with the help of the twins, collected all of the fallen branches from the yard, and cleaned out some of the brush that's in the far back yard.  We had the fire going almost all day yesterday.  I was also planning on power washing our decks and porch, but the power washer was not compatible with our well pump = (

The big kids went over to help Avia clean up the yard at the house Aunt Rocky is selling.

It's rummage sale season, and we happened upon one last week with lots of good finds!  It was much better than the one that we donated to, because shopping through your own donated stuff isn't much fun.

May is looking far less hectic, but just as fun!

later days

Birthday Celebration

My birthday fell on a Friday this year, so I got to celebrate on my actual birthday!

My mom's gift to me was watching the kids for the evening and next morning, so that Billy and I could go stay at the English Inn.  We'd been on a dinner date there a few weeks ago, but staying the night is even better!

We were late to our dinner reservation, since our car starters took much longer than anticipated, which put the whole day behind, and we were still working on homework when my mom arrived.

They staff was so great though, we were able to check in to our room, drop off our luggage, and still enjoy excellent service.

We intentionally ordered different dishes than our previous visit, and everything was phenomenal!

After leaving the restaurant we checked out the pub, which is well done.  It reminds me of many of the pubs in England, low ceilings, small dimensions, but fewer accents. = )

Our room had an electric fireplace, which was actually really pleasant up here!

The next morning we went to breakfast, which is a full service ordeal, and the only way you can enjoy it is by being a guest! 

We had time afterwards to pack and lounge around in our room until check out. then we did a quick, cold tour of the grounds. = )  They hold weddings here, and I can see why, it is so pretty, even in the winter time!

We came home to happy children, and Emily completed my Birthday card pile with a special book. = )

Alice made me the 3-D Tardis, Emily made me the card and book

It was a very happy celebration, and we only have to wait until Saturday to celebrate our next birthday: William's 5th!

later days

Bonus: a video of the big kids singing me happy birthday that morning