Unloading Today (or the last day of federally mandated social distancing)

Today is the last day of the federally mandated social distancing. Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine is planning to extend the stay-at-home order but will phase it out. Essentially, it's not life as normal starting tomorrow but a gradual going back to where we were before the pandemic. 

I feel really fortunate that J is able to work from home even though his work isn't essential. Aside from Hulk missing school or (being able to go anywhere) it has been life as normal for us. I know people who are very serious about the social distancing and I've seen people golfing, playing soccer, or otherwise not distancing at all. We have a friend with a daughter who is a senior in high school, he took to social media to blast the shut down and argue that high school seniors should be allowed to celebrate with each other. He has since taken the post down (I am assuming due to the negative feedback he received).

A few days ago I was listening to a Q&A with a pediatrician and child psychologist and they were discussing how young babies need to be interacted with because it enhances neurological development. So then I felt like a horrible parent because Teddy gets very little one on one time with me. But I have noticed that when I do sit down to play with him, while he loves interacting with me, he's only interested for a few minutes before he wants to start crawling around and exploring. He'll go anywhere and get into anything he can.   

Little Viking Girl has several stuffed animals and two actual baby dolls that she considers her babies. But she'll have a different favorite each day - she doesn't try to take care of all of them at once. It is really sweet to watch her interact with her baby. The only really frustrating part is when she puts things out for her baby and if I try to move them she gets upset. Yesterday, she set up a play area for her baby in the middle of my bedroom. She also really likes cooking for us in her play kitchen, especially when she herself is hungry and I am taking too long getting food ready. Today, instead of using her play utensils she pulled out our metal forks, knives, and spoons to play with. Which was fine. Later she decided she wanted to make a mess (seriously, she came up to me and said, "mommy mess?" to ask if she could make one). Of course, she then had to clean up the mess. Hulk is very tidy and likes order. If you deviate from the plan or what is expected, he gets very upset. If you were to look up "oldest child stereotypes" that's Hulk. J and I can be strict and demanding but we're not overprotective and I like to think that we have the same expectations for Viking Girl. Hulk loves order and while he often expects me to do things for him, he likes the feeling of responsibility and when I thank him for helping. Viking Girl will leave things sporadically around the house. If she's done with an item she'll put it on a table, chair, floor, what ever thing is closest to her and then walk off. With her, I have to teach her to put things away and monitor her after I have asked her to do something otherwise she'll just walk away. With Hulk, it comes naturally. Viking Girl does have more stamina, she'll complain because she doesn't want to do something but that's the extent of her complaining. Hulk will complain that I am making him work and that "it's too hard." Last week, we were cleaning out the garden beds in preparation to put in our starters. And by "we" I mean me and Hulk. We had been working on the garden beds for maybe 15 minutes when Hulk asked if he could go inside to play legos.

Me: We're almost done, I would like you to help finish.

Hulk: *commences whining* But I've been outside for ten hours!

Me: You are good at exaggerating. That will serve you well when it comes time to write resumes. 

Hulk: *sits down to pout*

Me: Come on buddy (I then outlined what we needed to do to finish).

Hulk: *continues to whine*

Me: I am such a good mom because I am teaching you to work hard.

When Hulk was a baby and toddler I tried giving him more gender neutral toys. I remember one time, we were in a store and Hulk was interested in a doll house (he was probably between 18 months and 2 years old at the time). A lady behind me said, "He's a boy! Boys don't play with dolls." My mom has even said to Hulk, "Boys don't wear dresses." Disregarding the cultural and historical inaccuracies of my mom's statement, Hulk has never really been interested in dolls or other stereotypical girls' toys. Viking Girl, despite being sandwiched in-between two boys is. We bathe the kids together, she knows there's a physical difference between her brothers and her. Randomly during the day she'll start telling me about how her brothers have a penis but she doesn't. There have been a few times that Hulk has told me that he wishes he were a girl. To which I tell him that it's great to be a boy because you can pee standing up. Yesterday, for the first time, Viking Girl told me that she wanted to be a boy. I told her that she is strong and we need more strong women in the world.

Today, Hulk's school lesson was over rabbits. We have a few different friends with rabbits as pets and Hulk is jealous. But I believe that he's jealous over the novelty of a pet rabbit because he does not interact very much with our dog or cat. I also believe that if we were to get him a pet rabbit it would actually be my pet rabbit because I would be the one making sure it was properly taken care of. So that's not going to happen.

Hulk's piano lesson today was particularly rough. Teddy was crying and Viking Girl was offended that she couldn't play the piano at the same time as Hulk (she is his shadow in most everything). Hulk was not taking his piano lesson seriously and kept composing. Typically, I encourage this but at that moment it felt like he was being selfish because he knew he had my attention while at the piano but his other siblings needed my attention too. I have often had the thought that if we had the money I would love to hire a piano teacher for him but then I remember that even if we had a teacher I would be the one that made sure he practiced. So it doesn't seem worth it to pay someone $$ so I don't have to fight with him for one day out of the week when in actuality I would probably have to fight with him to go to the lesson. In the end his lesson was cut short and Viking Girl took a plethora of pictures on my phone because I gave it to her (to take pictures) so I could more quickly finish with Hulk.

But it all ended in a dance party. Silver linings?
Now to just delete my budding photographer's work from my phone.

A Glimpse of Our Quarantine Life

Our calendar week starts off with Sunday. We do church at home. I print programs the night before for the kids to color on while J gives a short talk. We sing songs, take the sacrament, and practice sharing our testimonies. After, I give a primary lesson and try to teach children's songs to Hulk and Little Viking Girl while J cleans up the sacrament and puts Teddy Bear down for a nap. Then it's lunch and nap time for our Viking. When she gets up we will then start video conferencing our parents and siblings or go outside. It's probably my favorite day of the week.

During the week my mornings are taken up with homeschooling Hulk and Viking Girl. Sometimes Hulk will have a Zoom conference with his class. His school sends out an online material packet that I then translate into Spanish before giving to Hulk (because I believe life should be hard). Half of the week computer games are added to his learning curriculum, the other half of the week I try to add special activities. The special we are currently working on relates around volcanoes. We kind of stumbled into it. I had planned to teach him about acids and bases (just the basics *badum tsss*) but that started a conversation of how you could mix vinegar and baking soda to make your own volcano. So of course he wanted to make a volcano. We then made a volcano using a yogurt cup, a paper plate, and a newspaper that J had brought home from his office, flour, and water. He was very involved in the process and after it dried he painted it himself. We then went outside and I let the kids use up the last of my vinegar. They had a blast. Since we spent the last two weeks doing that I figure this week we'll learn how actual volcanos work (magma, lava, tectonic plates, all that jazz). 

In the afternoons, rain or shine, I have the kids spend time outside. We are blessed with a big yard. What we do each day varies, we will: walk around the neighborhood, play golf in the backyard, shoot bow and arrows, play with water, swing, or I will try and get some yard work done which then prompts Hulk and Viking Girl to come up with a list of complaints and needs ranging from "he's looking at me" to "push me in the swing". I have started calling my grandparents twice a week. I like to think it helps them because they are living on their own and much more isolated and it's good for me because then I get to socialize with someone outside of my house. I also try to call my sister-in-law once a week. She's fluent in Spanish and it gives me and the kids an opportunity to practice (she is really sweet to let us practice on her).

Little Viking Girl hates that we have kept her home and has taken to living in her swimsuit. 

Teddy Bear's top four teeth are coming in ALL AT THE SAME TIME. But he's been super great about it; aside from one day when he had a low fever he has not been fussy at all. He has also learned how to pull himself to a standing position. Which I think is incredible considering he doesn't know how to properly crawl. (He can crawl but it's this belly-flop type crawl that's all upper body and very little leg movement.) 

Because Teddy can pull himself up, J and Hulk lowered the bottom of Teddy's crib so that he won't fall out. 

We have found a good rhythm and are handling the quarantine life. I do miss taking the kids places (Viking Girl misses going places) and Hulk misses his friends but we have adapted well.

My First Quarantine Breakdown

I finally did it.
I finally had a break down.

Which resulted in me pulling together all of the kids' books (and we have a lot) to organize them by genre, author, reading level, educational content, and language. I really wish we had more Spanish books. *any family members reading this looking for gift ideas for the kids?*

It took up our hallway. And when I say "all of the kids' books" I don't actually mean all of them. I didn't go through the board books. Those are still safely shelved in Teddy Bear's room.

Not pictured: books on the other side of the hallway

I am one of those people that firmly believes that you can never have too many quality kids' books. Unless you have three copies of Green Eggs and Ham. Then it's time to downsize. (That book is my personal Hydra.) Some of our books are duplicates because we have one in English and one in Spanish. One book, The Rainbow Fish, we have in English, Spanish, and then a third copy in BOTH English and Spanish. You know, for those moments that we can't seem to make up our mind.

I then went through the kids' toys and craft bins and threw several things out.

I hate clutter and the longer I am in my house the more clutter I see.

Tomorrow I am reorganizing the office desk even though J is the one that uses it and not me.

and ... I NEED TO DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN WASH DISHES AND READ ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS.

My brain is slowly atrophying.

Quarantine: Checking In

We've been super busy social distancing. It's really hard work for my family.
Just kidding.

I am doing fine. I decided that since I was social distancing I may as well actually social distance and stopped using facebook/instagram/blog/youtube until after Easter (three weeks of missing out on memes on facebook). The world could have ended and unless it was reported on CNN or BBC I would have had no idea.

Hulk loves that we don't ever go anywhere. I usually have to drag him places (but he's super happy once we get there).

Little Viking Girl hates that we don't ever go anywhere. This last week she's decided to live in her swimsuit and keeps asking me to take her to the pool.
1. Aside from visiting Great- grandparents, I have only taken her to a pool once in her life.
2. We're social distancing.
3. It's 40 degrees outside, put your clothes back on!

Teddy Bear hasn't noticed a difference (that I can tell). He has become much more mobile and is very adept at finding Link's food and water bowls no matter where I hide them or how I try to blockade him. Today he had a fever of 101 degrees F but I think that's because ALL FOUR of his top teeth are coming in at the same time. Aside from wanting extra cuddles he's been a champ about it.

J is loving the work at home aspect.

And that has been our lives the past few weeks.

More updates to follow.

Maybe.