April 9th, 27th Day of Quarantine, Day 7 of Spring Break

The expected high today was 44F.  This was miserably cold after our 2 days of lovely sunshine.  The weather was all over the place today.  Showers kept passing through, of rain, snow, hail and graupel!

Emily was the first one awake this morning, but as the twins woke up we sang happy birthday.  I had Emily help them open the matching dresses first, so that they could wear them the whole day!  Then, I asked if they wanted to eat their birthday cake, for breakfast?  It was a unanimous yes. = )

The inside of Alice's cake design!

We opened presents right after cake, and they had a good time opening them (and so did the bigger kids.)

They spent a lot of time at the table enjoying the new toys. = )

Aunt Rocky called over with a new gift for them too, a Disney+ subscription!

First pick: Frozen II.

I spent the movie time making masks for the remaining members of our family who were without, plus one for Sarah, and one to mail to a friend.

I forgot to take a 'finished' picture, and I'd already sealed off the one for the mail. I had to pull out the rest of them from where they will live for a while.

Grace and Juliet each took a turn Zooming with their friends (two separate calls, of course. lol)  

For dinner, we were going to eat take out from the Ice Cream Shop, but when I got online to look up their menu, I found that they closed at 3pm today, and will be closing up for the next few weeks. = (

So, plan B, I went up to Wendy's and everyone got a frosty instead of ice cream.  It didn't meet with the ideal in my head, but the twins didn't seem to mind. = )

I watched 3 or 4 episodes of Kim Possible with Grace, and now the kids are watching the original Frozen.

Hopefully the twins had a great day, they were asking when they get to have their party (which we still do not have any sort of timeline on.)

And the weather for the next 10 days looks just miserably cold.  I'm really ready to be warm again.

later days

March 13th, Corona Virus

The highest temperature my car registered today was 43F.  It was so windy I ended up with trash(mail) from my friend's spilled can across the village!

Last night, right before bed, Governor Whitmer announced that all school K-12 would be closed starting Monday.  I could not rest, trying to plan what the coming weeks would look like for my crew.

When I did sleep it was quite restless. I waited until the kids were dressed before telling them what was coming.  I let them know we would have a regular schedule and that this was not a 'break' just a taste of  homeschooling. = )

I met briefly with Emily's teacher, since Emily was leaving with her friend I wanted her to be in the loop.  She also let me know what time the girl's mom was bringing snack, since my phone was withholding messages again.  Obviously I don't' need to know anything important....

After leaving the school, I had to wait for a second shipment of medicine, since Billy's was delayed from needing a prescription renewal.  They called me the day before the shipment was out to discuss Juliet's but didn't realize that Billy's was part of the same order.  So, I had to wait for two shipments this week.  Luckily, I had pulled the cooler from the first one as a prop for Alice's bit in the talent show, so I hadn't already run the recycling to FedEx.  Since the talent show is currently on ice, I put the box back together and loaded them both into my car for recycling.

I finally had the time to fry up all the hamburger meat that I'd bought on Tuesday, so it went into the freezer, then I was off to fit in last minute chores before picking up my children.

Carl's was the busiest I had ever seen it.  I didn't have my choice of parking spots and stood in line behind 2 people (and three lanes were open!)  I was still in and out in less than 20 minutes, and they were super well stocked.

From there I met with Sarah, she'd bought me some lunch (from Panera) and beer (to weather this out.)  After leaving her house, I went to FedEx to drop off two boxes.  Aldi was in my plan, but after seeing 0 spots available in the parking lot, I quickly abandoned that expenditure.

When I made it home I put away all of my collected items, then it was up to the school to meet with the parent of Emily's friend, to solidify the plans. = )  I caught her in the parking lot, which was lucky for me!

I'd received a notice that they needed help with packets and various prep at the school.  Since they are sanitizing, everything was going home, being packed away and taken down.  It was a lot like summer break prep, with a lot less celebrating and far less time.

I stayed until the end of the day and said goodbye to the teachers and students for at least the next four weeks.  Poor William was outwardly the most distraught, but I think all of them were a little sad.  Except for Emily who didn't leave with us and was off to a party. = )

At home I found a container to keep our work in, and made up a schedule to follow, but now having the actual work from the teachers, I need to revamp it.

We continued to the ice cream shop for dinner as planned.  It opened last week and we hadn't been yet, so I promised the kids we would go Friday.  I kept that promise, but it will probably be our last outing (aside from doctors and groceries) for a while. = (

As of right now, Billy is still going in on Monday, and I have my eye appointment.

We completely cancelled our 13th anniversary trip to Detroit.  We got our money back for the hotel, and most likely will for the hockey tickets and concert.  The escape room is likely the only monetary loss we will take.

I also called to cancel the twins' birthday party.  We'll have to move it to the end of may, or possibly even later depending on how long things are closed.  I told Grace and Juliet we would still celebrate here and they would still have gifts and cake and singing. = )

They've locally closed down many public spaces like the library, zoo and museum.  State-wide no more than 250 are allowed to assemble in one space.

So, our life is about 30% upset right now, the school closing hitting us the hardest, and not knowing when Avia will be able to return a close second.  The grocery stores are still open, so Click List will be my new normal for a while.

later days