April 15th, 33rd Day of Quarantine, 17th Day of School at Home

The expected high today was 36F.  But there was snow on the ground this morning, and it snowed almost the entire day.  I don't know if it actually reached 36, but at one point Billy bumped up the heat because it was just too cold inside. = (

This morning the twins and William had back to back Zoom meetings.  So, the twins were on the laptop and William got my phone.

I thought that this week would be one where I didn't have to go anywhere (since I went to Sam's on Friday) but our MOPS leaders made us goody backs for tomorrow's meeting, so I made the short trip to grab my bag off of a porch.  Inside was a photo challenge, so that made for an exciting afternoon. = )  They gave us some props to use, and other challenges using things around the house.

Sitting out on a snowy, freezing porch with my umbrella (prop) stuck in a piece of pineapple on the rim of my cranberry juice.

The art recreations was totally on my radar already, but I was so excited to have a double reason to make it happen.  I picked Van Gogh's The Potato Eaters, because there were five people in the painting.

Alice helped me with my origami cat.

I also made two more hats to send to Diem, since my first one hadn't yet arrived.  The seam binding is the time consuming part, since I am making it from the material.  I should just use what I've got, but it looks so much better when it matches completely!

And, while all the accessories were out, Emily had some fun.

Wearing all the accessories:

And Grace spent an hour or so making necklace art:

For dinner we had chicken and noodle alfredo (with a bunch of add-ins.)  Billy was a big fan, the kids not so much.

We had a crafty, creative afternoon and it made today go much faster than yesterday!

later days

Even More Snow Days!

It feels like we've been out of school more than in school this February!  Normally, I feel like we are limping along, barely making it to the next break, but our first spring break is upon us, and we are well rested already!   We will have to make up at least one day at the end of the year, which is not too bad considering we've been out of school for 10 days, though I'm not looking forward to it.  

One of the storms blowing in.  It was cold!

I helped my mom clean out a closet at her church, that I'm pretty sure hadn't been cleaned & sorted in 40 years. For my efforts I got first dibs from the donate pile, and picked out some fun vintage fabric!

However, when I went to add it to my current stash, the lid of my fabric trunk wouldn't shut, so it was time to konmari my fabric.  I kept most of what I had, but got rid of prints that we'd outgrown, or special pieces that I couldn't think of a project I'd ever seen that would call for them.  I purged more than I added, so now my trunk closes easily each time I open it!

I set out some fabric that I'd saved to make a purse for my sister, and decided that should we have another snow day, that would be my project.

The weather did not fail to produce another snow day, so after our morning routines, I sewed.

I made a bowtie for William to match his sisters' Easter dresses.

And finished my sister's purse.  It is a lovely upholstery fabric, but some of the seams were a bit thick for my needle and I ended up breaking one. = (  It was totally worth it though.

My children played dress up (notice the bag of outgoing fabric in the background?)

And played with some craft beads, also from the closet, that I picked out for a MOPS craft later this year. = )

I had to reschedule the little one's dentist appointment a second time! At least now it is planned for April, so hopefully we will be all done with the snow by then.

Here's to some warmer weather, which is certainly on the way? soon, please?

later days

Everything Else

My final post of the day, all of the other pictures from my phone that didn't fit anywhere else. = )

The Sam's club near us closed down.  I went back a handful of times to see the stages of it closing, and it was sad, and crazy, and sad.

 

If I already posted about this in the blog (I don't think I did) it is really a very upsetting event for my weekly schedule.  Having to go clear to the other side of town to do my major shopping every week is not a possibility, so I'm having to rework all of my tendencies, in the middle of winter. = /

The kids really like the giant icicles.

Alice's friend Willow came to spend the night.  Everyone really enjoyed having her here. = )

There was a lot of dressing up the entire time!

The snow went away for just a few days, and it was a welcome change for my little ones to go out an play, even though it was still cold!

The twins write with opposite hands. G-J

But they make me feel very loved. G-J

The puppy was getting a makeover from the twins. = ) J-G

Emily went on a field trip to the hospital.  She thought it was pretty fun. = )

Alice did chores for me and Aunt Rocky, so that she could buy her new prized possession.

William looks so grown up these days!  Kindergarten round up is next month, and I can see him more and more as a kindergartner! = 0

There are giant snow piles in every parking lot.  This is not something they ever show in the Hollywood version of winter, so it is still surprising to me.  Understandable, and logical, but surprising.

Speaking of which, it's probably why giant stores have so much extra parking in them, it's occupied by snow piles in the north.  Oh, and all those road signs that say "pass with care" and "turn lane ends" are actually probably because you can't see the stripes on the road during this time of year here.  FYI.

My very busy Juliet:

I was super proud of William.  I helped him put 100 dots on the poster, and tape on the title, but he drew all the W's without fighting me once!  He loved the stickers too. = )

The instructions for the poster were not very clear, in fact, they were just a single line on the reminder for the 100 day food item. So, when we brought William's a day early, the other moms were a bit panicked.  I figured that I'd just overlooked the instructions in the weekly newsletter, but apparently that one line was the notice.  It all worked out though, everyone had their 100 day things the next day. = )  This time of year is so crazy for the teachers, with 100 day celebrations, valentines, count day, parent teacher conferences, and starting to look ahead to next year!

There are nights Alice is Johnny on the spot with her homework, and nights that she would rather pout against the door than to take care of it.  This was one of those times.

Avia bought Juliet a new nightgown, so she was waiting by the washer for me to clean it for her.

Did I mention that it snowed?

later days

Waiting for Christmas

Waiting for Christmas is so tough when you are a kid!  We did our best to bide our time.

I am working hard to let the kids have natural consequences for things (i.e. If you don't get your backpack out of the car, it will still be in there the next morning.) I'm such a micromanager, that it has been hard to not just grab it for them, but I'm working on it. 

On that same note, I'm also a big fan of trading off my chores for rewards.  The three big kids have been packing up their lunch each night, so that they can stay up an extra 5 minutes.*  I don't know how long this will last, but it is amazing.  I help them clean up a bit, and pick out the correct containers, but they have been doing an awesome job.**

Legos have been a big hit with the twins lately, and while Avia was here one afternoon, the big kids wanted to join in building too, before she left.

Juliet and Grace love to dress up!

Why play on your own computer, when you can just watch big sister play?

I assembled Aunt Rocky's Christmas present, and of course William wanted to play in it.  The twins wanted to help, so they put on the cover. = )

The snow had melted just a bit, but then it started to come down again.

Alice was so excited to build her airplane model, and was beyond disappointed when the paint and glue were dried out. = (  We tried soaking them in water to see if that would help, but couldn't recover them.

Billy and I made a special trip to the dollar tree while everyone was in school on Friday, and got Alice some paint, and glue.  As fate would have it, there was one small diy wooden birdhouse model right next to the paint.  So, of course, I bought it for Emily, since she lives for crafts. = )  They were quite excited to get to work.

The snow did eventually stop.

It picked back up after the morning Christmas eve service, and with no schools in session, the plow and salt trucks were scarce. So we didn't go anywhere that evening. = )

Alice was the last one awake on Christmas eve, so she wrote the note to Santa.  We have a chimney for our furnace, but no inside fireplace.  Alice was worried that santa would be scared of the dark in our basement, but I told her that he could probably tap Rudolph and his nose. Because of that, she left Rudolph the longest carrot she could find, and several shorter ones for the other reindeer. = )

Especially on Christmas eve, it is nice to slow down and reflect, instead of go go go, on what an amazing gift this season brought.

later days

*William, not yet 6, does not have any minutes, so this was 100% increase for him.  Emily has 10 minutes because she loads her own dishes into the dishwasher and now 5 more for lunch making. Alice has 10 for dishes, 2 for hanging up her own clothes, and 2 for collecting all the dirty laundry from around the house, plus her 5 for making lunch. = )

And maybe don't mention it to them, but it takes them longer than 5 minutes to make their lunch.  They just do it so cheerfully and willingly!

**Emily is to thank for this actually.  One night she made her own lunch so that I "could go to bed earlier," since I'm usually very tired in the evenings. = )  She something special, our Emily.