Finishing out 2020

295th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was 34F.  I woke up this morning to a very quiet street.  When I looked outside, I was greeted with white everything.

By the time I got on my layers and made it outside with my shovel, several of my neighbors were also out clearing away the snow.

Against our snow gauge:

The consistency of the snow was strange.  It was fluffy and frozen on top, but mushy and wet on the ground.  So, I wasn't slipping around as I cleared aw the snow, and the road seemed to be pretty clear as well.  Once I finished clearing the snow, I decided to make the slow trip to Sam's club to get salt for the water softener.  My first stop was the car wash though, because Billy's side and back windows were pretty dirty, and I needed all my line of sights as clear as possible.

At the carwash I found that my mom was willing to make the trip out with me, so I went to Sarah's to pick her up.  All the roads were plowed, and some were only wet, not even slushy, until I got to her neighborhood.

The trip up was uneventful, and Sam's was not as busy as usual, for a Saturday anyhow, I'm sure.  Our next stop was the new urban Meijer in downtown Lansing.  There was plenty of parking, and it was a very nice store.  I'd heard lots of good reviews of their sandwich shop online, so we split "the Lugnut" sub.  It was very good!

When I arrived home, Billy and I had to make several trips to unload all the salt that I bought.  Billy had put together the camping stove in my absence, so once the groceries were tucked away, we loaded it up with wood and even cooked up some eggs!

The stove puts out lots of heat, and I can see how it would make a tent (or any enclosed area) warm enough to be hospitable. 

For dinner we had leftovers and sandwiches.  Everyone snacked so much on the fruits and other goodies that I brought home from Sam's that I didn't make the cornbread casserole that Juliet and I assembled yesterday.

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294th day of Quarantine.

The expected high today was 32F,  which gave us a snowy rainy mix, and made the roads and sidewalks slushy and nasty.  Then tonight, they will freeze over. = (

For a late breakfast I turned the leftover bread from yesterday into French Toast!  It was quite good! 

For the afternoon and evening, I put out a charcuterie spread.  I also made some cornbread muffins, but they weren't nearly as good as the last round.  I must have used the other mix last time.

Emily was not a fan of my cornbread muffins.

Today felt like a good day to do a pantry clean out!  I threw out half a dozen expired things, and placed a few things that I hadn't even open in the pile to see if my mom or sister could use.  Once I finished that, it felt so good, I cleaned out the bathroom closet next!  I threw out bags of expired creams and medication, and managed a small box of things to send to the thrift store.

My resolution this year is to learn how to do something new every week.  This week was how to make a plastic bag rope, without using any tools.  It was a really easy start, and hopefully by the end of the year, I will know 52 new useful skills!

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293rd day of Quarantine.

32F was the expected high.  We got a little snow, but it must have been on the 'frozen' side of 32F because it didn't melt on the ground and just stayed powdery.

I finished my "winter break" to do list today!  The final item was to run copies of the the math pages for WGJ, and I did it!  Grace even helped me hole punch them and get them into binders this time. = )  

We broke out the hats early, so that we could celebrate the entire day, since I had no intention of staying up until midnight.

I made up an egg and ham casserole to finish off the rest of our Christmas ham.  I'm pleased to say that we threw out very little this year (and it had all be made into other things, but we just ran out of time to eat it!)

I also baked a loaf of homemade bread today! (I had to mix it up yesterday though so that I could sit for 24 hours.)  This is something that was super popular to do in 2020, but I didn't have a big enough, oven safe pot.  Since Billy got me a dutch oven for Christmas, I have now checked a box off the popular to do in 2020 list!

For dinner we had leftovers.

New year at 9:30, but we didn't get to watch the Netflix ball drop, because I could not find it. The kids didn't complain, since they got to make lots of loud noise and drink sparkling grape juice. = )

And, now I've updated my blog every single day, for an entire year!!! #resolutioncomplete

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292nd Day of Quarantine.

38F is the expected high.

Sandwiches made to order for dinner.

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291st Day of Quarantine.

The expected high was 30F.

Today I went to the thrift store with Emily, and we met up with Avia. It was the final Tuesday of the month, which is their 50% off of everything day.  Had we not been meeting my mom, we would not have even gone in.  We were after some puzzles, since we knocked out the one yesterday in one evening!  Sadly, they only had one 300 piece puzzle, and it was the type with a single interlocking shape (versus the lovely assortment we had in yesterday's puzzle.)  We waited in line a long time to check out, and they had all three registers going.

We did come home with 3 new puzzles, which Emily, Grace and Juliet put together all in one evening!

My mom sent us home with a pot of New England boiled Dinner that she made with the ham bone from Christmas dinner.  Everyone enjoyed it, once they got over the cabbage smell. I even had a second helping, since it's been years since I've had it. 

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290th Day of Quarantine.

The expected high today was 32F.

Emily, Grace and I went to two different thrift shops today. We made a donation at our first stop, then bought some books, a puzzle, and a few toys at the second.  Our final stop of the day was menards to get some cedar blocks.

Juliet was very excited to work on the puzzle, so we spent some time working on in, before our "watch party" with Aunt Wanda.  She sent us a very cool Nutcracker popcorn tin that was a music box!  Then, at 7, we logged into Amazon and watched the Nutcracker ballet, while we chatted with her off to the side!

William wasn't terribly interested in the ballet, but did come over to enjoy the popcorn.

After the show, we finished the puzzle!  It turns out that it was one piece short. = (  So, we marked it on the box so that the next person will know.

Coming home so close to our watch time, all I managed to do was throw together some leftover ham and other cold cuts for dinner with some sliced up fruits and veggies.

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289th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was a dry 38F.

After online church, I ran the recycling over to Sarah's, but was noisy enough that it upset Seven and I woke her up anyhow. My next stop was getting gas and groceries.

Avia came over after her church service ended (and I wouldn't have run by the recycling if I'd known that!)  She played a long round of Uno with Emily, Grace and Juliet.

I knocked out my sewing project that was on my to do list.  Sarah requested a new (larger) Aggie dog collar for Seven.  It didn't take me long once I sat down and worked on it.

We had oven heated pizza for dinner,

I watched a couple of Christmas movies, despite Christmas having passed: Noelle and Godmothered.  Both were really cute.

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later days

May 8th, 56th Day of Quarantine, 33rd Day of School at Home

The expected high today is 42F.  Soooooooooo tirrrrrrrrrrrred of beiiiiiiiiiiiing coooooooooooooold.

The kids had to get dressed today so that I could take a video to send to JLC for a mother's day something or rather.

I made a long Sam's run.  The kids worked on their school work in my absence.

For dinner Emily helped me make pizza and Bueno nachos, so that we could enjoy them while we watched Kim Possible.

later days

March 23rd, Day 10 of Flattening the Curve, School at home day 6

The expected high today 44F, but there was snow on the ground when we awoke. = (  I had planned a trip to sam's and place and order with Kroger to supplement missing items, so I was extra disappointed about the added obstacle of slippery roads.

I was out the door before 8 though, so I had time to run the recycling to Sarah's (and drop mail in the post box.)  Thankfully the snow was only on the grass and was already starting to melt.

I paid the big girls $5 each to help Grace (Alice) and Juliet (Emily) finish their school work, and an extra dollar to help William if he needed it.

I was the 5th person in line, at 8:30.  Once they opened at 9, they only allowed 30 shoppers in at a time.  Items were limited to one* per person, which is tough for me, since there are so many of us to feed, but I managed what I could.  They had almost everything on my list, except for chocolate syrup, tortillas, our favorite chicken bites and milk.  (It probably helped that I had shopped online first to see what they already had marked as "out."  They were really low on potatoes, frozen meat, deli meat, rice, peanut butter and soap.

As I was leaving the lady asked if I were "stocking up," and I actually responded, out loud: "no, I have five kids, this is a typical week."

Way back when, when the twins and I would shop, they would have to hold things in their laps because I didn't have a spot for everything in the cart.  Then, once they started the 'shop online' option, I was all about it and my life became so much easier!  It is tiring to do it old school! ; ) Thankfully I was still able to log in and use the 'scan and go' feature of their app, so I did not have to stand in line to check out (or touch any of the registers/card machines.)

The snow was quickly melting as I dropped off a few things with Jessica, and headed to pick up my Kroger order.  There were lots of people in the pick up slots again (4-5 this time) and the poor guy was bringing out loads alone.

My final stop was to take a few items to the food bank at the Presbyterian church in Holt, then it was home to unpack all the groceries.  I wore gloves for the majority of my expenditure, and it just feels so weird.

The kids were mostly finished with their school work (except for William) and they had done an excellent job of keeping the counters cleared for groceries.

Billy called for take out at Charlie's, and went to get it while I finished tucking away all the groceries. I was happy to not have to stress about feeding everyone while all surfaces were covered in groceries.

After lunch it was time for outside recess (again) and the kids were building snow structures.

And now, (just after 3pm) the snow is mostly melted, except where the kids compacted it.

William took a short nap, and Emily and Alice made chocolate milkshakes for everyone. = )

I pulled out our DVD/CD tub to catalog.  I cleaned out a (very) few titles that I no longer feel the need to keep.  Going through the videos is a little like going through a time capsule though.  I kept listing of titles to get rid of that are "Billy's movies" until he caught on and took exception to it. = )

For dinner we had corndogs, carrots and leftovers (for me.)  William did finally finish his list around 6.  Hopefully tomorrow he will get back into the grove we found at the end of last week!

later days

P.S.  I was able to buy 5 of the Easter Egg sets to gift the kids from Enisi and Edudi, which made me happy. = )

February 17th

The expected high today was 37F.  It was windy enough that it didn't feel anywhere near that warm.

Avia came over this morning to help get everyone ready around 8:30.  We were heading out the door just after nine.  Our first stop was Sam's club for grocieries.

Once we left the store we headed to the movie theater to see Frozen 2.  Since it has been out for almost 2 months, they had to pose by the sonic advertisement instead. = )

Everyone enjoyed the movie.  And Avia and I even got to see the part that we missed when the power blinked out last year!

After the movie we went to pick up Sarah so that she could straighten out her library card situation.  I was going to run in with her, while Avia waited in the car, but the kid all wanted to come in too!  We told the kids 30 minutes, but once Sarah had everything straightened out, she decided to walk home.  Since my mom and I both had a book in hand, we stayed until 3/5 kids were ready to go.  Which was around an hour and a half after we arrived.

At home it was time to unload the groceries* in a brigade bucket style.  Everyone whined about the cold, but we got it knocked out.  Then Avia left and I put away the groceries and started dinner.   We had rotisserie chicken and potatoes, and Billy got to use one of his new Valentine sauces!

later days

*I do enjoy the delayed timing of unloading groceries during a northern winter.  It's the only thing about winter that I appreciate, so I try to really soak it up.

January 20th

Today the expected high was 25F.  It was bitterly cold all day long. Our thermostat is set to a low 63F during weekdays (since it's usually just me and I'm not usually home) and it kept kicking on! = 0  The unheated mudroom has frost formed on the windows.

I got up with Billy this morning, so I had almost an hour to myself before the kids woke up!  While I was out shoveling the snow that fell overnight, they were getting ready and knocking out their piano practice time.

I finished around 9 am, and from that point on it was a rush to try to get out the door.  Michigan doesn't do early, so if you can make it anywhere before 10, there are fewer people and it is just a more enjoyable experience. = )  Sadly, we were loaded and had just passed the village limit when Grace reminded me that we were going to take in her glasses, and they were still hanging on our door. = (

So, 20 minutes behind schedule we arrived at sam's right at 10am.  There was no wait for gas, and inside wasn't too bad.  The longer we were there though, the worse it became.  Grace whined the entire way through the store because I wouldn't let her ride in the baby seat.  The other four were wonderful!

They brought quarters for the gumball machine and I treated everyone to their very own soda.  This is one of their favorite things about Sam's.  Alice was a tremendous help in pushing carts and unloading the groceries into the car.  She also put away the flatbed for me.

We stopped by the bank, then the eyeglasses shop.  Grace's glasses were still under warranty, so she's getting a new pair and her old ones are taped up for the time being.

At home we had a bucket brigade going to unload the car, since I did not clear the driveway by the mudroom.  It took very little time, and soon we were all inside warming up.  Emily helped me put things away inside.

For lunch we ate the rotisserie chicken the kids picked out. = )

Emily and Grace brave the cold and played in the backyard for about an hour!  They had plenty of snow to traipse through. = )

The afternoon flew by, but I did finish the ties on Grace & Juliet's capes. They are loving them so far.  Grace keeps saying "I'm a wizard!"  They also enjoy spinning in them and fluttering the sides like wings.

When taking Grace's picture, I realized that she didn't have her glasses.  When  I asked her where they were, she said her jacket pocket.  Sadly, they were no longer there.  So, the two of us went out to find them in the yard, in the dark.  Luckily, we were able to trace their tracks from earlier and found them within the first minute.

 
Cold glasses!

For dinner we had some chicken and cheese tacos, with oranges.

It was a pleasant day, and I'm at least a little rested before we head back to the normal routine tomorrow.

later days

January 6th

It was a bright and sunny, but cold day.  The anticipated high was 39F.

We were only one minute behind schedule pulling out of the driveway this morning!  Not too shabby after a very relaxed two week break from our regular schedule.

I checked the mail, possibly for the first time this year.  Then went to the bank and then to Sam's.  I was running quite early, as I had already pumped my gas and was pulling up to pick up my internet order and it wasn't even yet 9!

They had some cuuuuuuute Easter dresses out, so I bought them.  Sadly, the twins were too small for the same pattern as the big girls, so theirs are similar, but a little different.  I grabbed a rotisserie chicken (which I usually eat as my lunch) and then headed to the counter to pick up my order. Lansing sometimes feels like a small town, because I ran into one of my MOPS ladies there today!

I headed to the Dollar Tree to gather more things for our party. I found a Lisa Frank calendar at the Dollar Tree that I just had to send to Chelsea. My next stop was to pick up Sarah.  She provided me with a shipping envelope for the calendar, since I was headed the post office anyhow.

It was a short trip to the dealership to reclaim Avia's car.  Then I was off to the post office.  I mailed some German books to Brian and the calendar to Chelsea, and it was still before noon!

Once I made it home, it was time to unload the groceries and put everything Sarah had given me away.

Then I worked a little on our Amazon store, and ended up having to message Haley for help.

Once all of my chores were done, I got to work on my decorations.  I was soooooooo happy with the napkins.  Hopefully Emily and I will get to work a little on the plates tomorrow.

The afternoon felt long and quiet without my children home, so I was really excited to go retrieve them from school.

Homework took a particularly long time, maybe because we were out of the habit or maybe because they were exhausted from school?

For dinner we had 'loaded' French fries to use up the last of the ham!  I thought the were pretty good, but not amazing.  The kids ate well though.  The side of oranges were a big hit though. = )

And my evening took a sad turn when I found that someone in our household has lost the riding lawnmower key!  Sarah and I were planning on taking it in tomorrow, but without the key, I can't = (

I looked on every shirt I would have possibly mowed in (the key has a safety pin on it, so that I can hook it to my shirt while I'm putting the gutters back on, picking up branches, etc.  I also checked the machine's ignition without success.  So, I cleaned out the most likely suspect's computer cabinets: William, Grace and Juliet.  No luck.  at least their cabinets are clean now. = /

Billy braved the cold and dark with me to find the replacement part number, and hopefully we've ordered the correct thing.

Here's hoping that the key comes quickly, is correct and I can get my machine looked at before I need it again!

later days

Busy Summer

I love summer! I love the sleeping in, days in nightgowns, simple meals and long hours of daylight.  However, for the past two weeks we have been living it up!  Go, go, go!

I'm happy now to say we had a ton of fun, but have a very minimal schedule this week.  So, I'm updating my blog and catching my breath before August arrives.

William enjoyed two birthday parties, we went to the Eaton County Fair,  took a trip down the river in a canoe, spied all the animals at the zoo, enjoyed a murder mystery night with some super fun people, and went to a Lugnuts game!

This is how life looks in between. #hastags

One day all of my children decided that the 'no internet connection' game on chrome was more fun than the internet, so they all pulled out their wireless cards. #weirdos

Grace loves dressing up like Masha #mashaandthebear

Shopping online, at home while my children play and pulling up to retrieve all the things we need is the best thing in the world.  #clicklistforthewin

On they way to the library we found a #dimondalerocks rock and saw more construction, this time a road roller! #bonusfun

Catching lightning bugs in the back yard #stereotypicalsummer

The three little ones had to go in for a blood draw. #nofun

Emily had picked out a balloon from the dollar tree earlier in the week, so everyone else wanted one too.  As their treat, following our trip to the lab, everyone got a balloon.  A sweet couple, a few customers in front of us bought them for the kids.  #sosweet

I'm not sure what Alice was doing here. #flamingo

How they watched Coco for the first time #notyetasingalong

They opened their first box and found all sorts of goodies, including an ice cream kit. #favoriteitem

We marked another summer bucket list item off too #icecreamforbreakfast

I took almost two days to migrate my entire library from my old computer to my new one #onlytookayeartostart

And upstairs, I have fabric cut for my next two projects, which I'm hoping to finish this week! #bloggingfirst

Right before my mom left, we took a trip to Sam's, where we had lunch.  While I shopped, they saw a movie #HotelTransylvannia3

While Alice was at her summer camp, we also celebrated Cow Appreciation Day. #chickfila

Met up with some of my favorite ladies and their littles for a playdate at the park. #goodtimes

At one point, William managed to pull the horseshoe pole out of the ground.  It is a really long pole.  I still have healing blisters from banging it back into place. #wiwium

 

 Spent time reading every morning #20minutes

Wore pants around like a hat #sillygrace

Celebrated with Avia, the day before her birthday #germanchocolatecake

And met up with one of Emily's bffs for a playdate at the school playground. Ended up with some entertainment #portapottymaintence

I'm sad to be quickly approaching the end of summer, but we still have a few fun things planned before school is back in session.

later days