March 16th, Day 3 of Quarantine, Day1 of School at Home

The highest I saw today was 43F, it was cold but not very windy.  We did get an afternoon rain shower though.

After brushing hair and teeth, the kids were eating breakfast and hard at work before their usual school day would have even started.

The schedule helped, no one was asking me what else they had to do.  Timers are something we're going to have to work at.  I had several questions of "how long do you think I've been doing [this task]." lololololol (like I know.)  They'll get better though. And I only had to email the teachers once or twice!

Billy went in this morning, picked up his essential office supplies (computer, reference guide, etc.) and was home before 10.  He's now working from home too!

William had very itchy eyes this morning, and since both Billy and I had taken allergy medicine over the weekend, I gave him some allergy remedy.  It made his work slow, and transitioning painfully slow. He didn't finish his work until after dinner.

At noon I prepared to leave.  My chores were to run the recycling by Sarah's (she had a box of milk duds ready for me), pick up my Kroger click-list order (they were the busiest I've ever seen 5/6 slots filled!,) and go to my eye appointment (that I thankfully didn't have to drag the children to!)  I was gone just over 2 hours, and when I arrived home William was napping, poor boy. = (

For dinner we had crock-pot chicken in red wine with penne.  It was a big hit with everyone except for Billy.

After dinner Grace, Juliet and I watched about half of the Cincinnati Zoo's Hippo livestream (as a replay.)

Tomorrow we will hopefully all be better prepared. I've made a few adjustments to my schedule and now we've logged into each of the apps the kids are using once. = )

Thankfully the big girls' dentist appointment tomorrow has been rescheduled to a later date, so we don't have to venture out again until Monday (my next grocery run.)

later days

Edited 3/17/20:
I reviewed my Kroger order last night, and the only things that we were not able to get were strawberries = ( and a loaf of bread (thankfully we had some left from last week.)

March 9th

Today the high was 58F.  It was a little windy and a little rainy, but not brutal.

After dropping off my dear ones, I picked my mom up for my weekly grocery run to Meijer and Aldi.

She had a short list of errands to complete before I dropped her off at the airport (she treated me to Subway for lunch, and we ate it outside of security.)

From there I rushed home to put away the groceries and then collect the twins from school, since all three of the big ones had maker's club after school!

The twins made it through piano practice and most of their homework before we went back to collect the big kids.

Alice, after a year and a half of practicing, finally decided to test out of her multiplication flashcards!  The challenge was to answer 86 flashcards (0x0-12x12, in random order) in less than 5 minutes.  She knocked it out with 16 seconds to spare! = )

I scheduled the twins' birthday party online, and they are excited!  It's now less than a month away. = )

For dinner we had a crockpot beans & beef with some dinner rolls.

later days

P.S. We also have a date scheduled to meet with the neurologist for Emily: March 31st, in Grand Rapids.

Around the House this time of Year

We are almost to November, and I still feel like we "just started" school.  We have been busy.  These are pictures to remind me what my "golden year*" looked like.

A pretty sunset.

I finished the game, Detective, that Billy bought me for my birthday last year.  It had been a while since we had played, so I went back through every case, took new notes, and categorized the cards.  I did figure out who did it, and in time!  However, there was an unfortunate typo that sent us straight to the end of the game, so it put a substantial damper on my victory.  = (

Alice made another recipe from a library cookbook: Monkey Pudding!

Emily also joined the cookbook 'club' and made a chocolate chip pizza (but not on the same night as Alice.)

William regularly gives me a run for my money, but sometimes he is so unexpectedly wonderful, I know he will be a great man one day.  He was wiping off his bike seat before school, so I told him to just toss the rag onto the stairs in the mudroom, and I would take care of it later.

When I went out in the mud room later, I saw that not only had he put it in the mud room, but he hung it up to dry on the mitten drying line. <3

Emily wanted to bring a 'healthier' treat for her class.  The recipe called for peanut butter, but to avoid the potential allergen, we used caramel.  On round one, we tried melting our own (it didn't work very well.)  Round two we used a caramel dip.  It also didn't work very well. = (  They were super cute until they slid apart!

Grace practicing the piano with her froggy while William plays a 'coding' game.

Emily woke up early on picture day so that we could do something 'special' to her hair.   You couldn't see it in the pictures, but she felt beautiful anyhow. = )

William accidentally spilled some apple juice on his homework, so he had to read his story on the inside drying line.  Luckily his math was all done!

Grace and Molly.

Every package is bigger from Sam's, but I found the disparity between the actual size of the muffins (L- Sams, R- Kroger) interesting.  They are the same brand.

The kids regularly request "magic" tricks from Billy.  He's found some pretty good ones lately.

My dishwasher is drying again!  It took four technician visits from two repair companies, but look at the beautiful steam!

We had a chance to host the Mitterlings for some Gumbo and games.  Carter (one of their twins) was quite the celebrity to my poor, baby deprived, children.

It's been a fun fall, now I'm just hoping that winter will treat us as well.

later days

*This is the first and final year that all 5 of my children will be at the same school.  One pick up time, all the field trips are staggered, I see all of their teachers multiple times a week.  My golden year.

Snow Days

In the past 2 weeks, we've had 6 snow days!  That means that my children have spent the majority of the school week home.  The weather has been awful, so I'm thankful that we didn't have to get out in the mess of snow, ice and "deadly cold!"

Emily went out the first day, after lots of snow had come down. she made a happy snowman  = )

We then got more snow.

And it got colder

And even colder.

On this particular day we did not get above 0 degrees F.

And then, it warmed right back up.  On Friday, the kids had school, and wanted to go back out to play after school.

Then, over the weekend we had warm temperatures into the 50s!

Monday, the weather started back up.  Emily made a little snowman out of the moderate snow we had. = )

The first day, I gave them a pass, and William was excited. = )

Emily had time to make her valentine box and address her valentines.

During the really cold days we hung out upstairs because it was warmer (since heat rises.)

Extra time each day allowed for some hot, fresh breakfasts.

 I even caught wind of a little exercise we could do at home!

But each day they don't go to school, I've been adding back in normal routines.  So today, they read and practiced the piano and did homework packets or flashcards.   They are not fans for having to work on snow days, but after the whining ended and they finished their tasks, they had lots of time to play.

On this day, they pulled out the legos and played for a long time. = )

Today they've been on their computers most of their free time, but the day is still young. = )

I'll end this post with an impressive, cold sunset.

later days

Day in and day out

In the mornings, we are in rush mode to get the twins out the door to wait for the bus.  Most mornings, you'll see them eating breakfast, regardless of what it is, out on the driveway.

Some mornings the big kids join us.  And sometimes we even get to wait with daddy!

For spirit week, Emily dressed up each day, but the only ones I remembered to grab shots of were mis-matched day and college day.

Most mornings we do the kiss and go line, but since I've been substituting up at their school, I'll park and walk up with them.

My very first day of subbing, the final few minutes of the day, I was bitten by a student. (thankfully, not in any of my children's classes.)

We took a family trip up to an arcade that had bowling and bumper cars and laser tag.  It was a good time.  The twins were too short to ride the bumper cars, so they pouted and pined over them for the remainder of the day.  So, we will have to go back, when they are a little taller. = )

On Fridays the twins have homework, and they are so excited to do it (like the big kids!)  = )

I bought a Belgian waffle maker, and they are way better than eggo. = )

It's been flickering cooler weather for a month or two now, so tea has become a favorite around here. Today was the first day of really miserable cold.  Winter has begun. = (

Grace and her hello kitty  bunny were sleepy.

William noticed that the light on the floor was just like 'seven' (Aunt Rocky's dog.)

Over the weekend we played a ton of games!  The scooby doo game, battle ship, monopoly jr, candyland, several card games, and even a few rounds of blood rage. = )

And, after almost two months, and two mechanic shops, I got my car back! It feels so nice to drive it again.

So, the very first thing he did was replace the spark plugs and one of the piston heads (?)  that didn't solve the misfire issue, so he went further into the engine.  I had a broken tooth on my timing belt, so he replaced that, but it still was not the issue.  My sensors were not picking up on whatever the issue was, so he kept running mechanical diagnostics on it.  He consulted colleagues, the internet, all with no revelations. Finally, I asked him to bring it into a dealership, and see if they could diagnose it.  Within a couple of days we learned that my car does not care for the brand of spark plug he'd put in it all those weeks ago.  ugh.  Once he replaced them it was good to go.

Upon picking up my car (just in time for our grand rapids trip) I dropped off the van, since it had some issues.  He's replaced the water pump, serpentinite belt, and tie rods.  Since we just dropped 3K on the expedition, we did the bare minimum on the van for now.

And, a check engine light came in on my car.  He read the code.  Apparently my catalytic converter is (possibly) on it's way out, or at least the efficiency is reading as low.  The performance of my car is not currently affected, but it is now on the list of things to do. But I'm not willing to let go of my car again just yet.

With the cold approaching, footed pajamas have become the favorite around here.  Mostly among the older kids.  William loves them, but it makes shot nights a little tougher. = /

The day before my mom left, I accidentally poured my ground beef grease into a sink without a catch. = 0  Despite the low quantity, it was enough to completely block my drain (I'm guessing there were other things, and that this was just the last straw.)  My mom brought over chemicals, but even allowing it to sit over night it was not draining.

The next day I went to lows to get plungers and stronger chemicals, but was still unable to get it unclogged.  As these things go, Sarah was also having trouble with her drain, so we couldn't even bring dishes over to her house to run them through the dishwasher.

She took half a day off work to fight her drain and won! So, next she came over to our house with her tools and victory and unclogged my drain as well! = )

So, the other day when I made bacon, 4 layers went under the can...I'm not taking any chances. = )

On their breaks, I require the kids to read for 20 minutes each day before they turn on their electronics.  They get double time if they read to the twins.  Now that William has some sight words under his belt, he was reading to the twins. = )  He's a good reader, and an awesome big brother.

Having this week off for fall break has been nice.  It's been a little stay home and a little go go go.  But, my mom flew in yesterday, and we are so glad she's back. = )

Just like the rest of the year, October is flying by, so hopefully we can soak up a little more fall fun this weekend!

later days