The year of the camp table

 If you know our family, you know we love to camp.  We have a big camper, we've taken it near and far, and I'm always looking for camping hacks.  We walk or drive through campgrounds and I'm eyeing up other people's set up - do they have a camp kitchen?  Is there an outdoor rug?  Where did they get that gadget?  Oh that's smart...we should try that.  You get the idea.  One of my biggest areas of research is how large families camp.  There's only so much storage in a camper for food and clothes...and the picnic table provided has a limited capacity for seating.  Since there's 6 of us, we're sort of on the edge of being considered a large family.  But as we grow, so do our needs....you guys, my brain has always got about 57 tabs open.  If given 5 minutes of time to 'research', I usually scroll things like pinterest or marketplace sites for ideas and supplies to solve problems or make things better.  

But this isn't about camping. 

I wish it was!  We did some camping this summer and it was nice.  We talked a lot about how if all the schools went virtual, we might hit the road and do school from the camper.  The big guy got me all excited about being near a beach or spending lots of time outside...alas.  School for our 4 kids is in person.  Which is good!!  I prefer that.  But it's a rainy day today so yeah.  Thinking about other weather.  

This post - this post is about some camping tables.  "But listen to yourself, you said it wasn't a camping post."  I know, I know - I'm getting there!  Back in early March, in case you forgot, we began hearing rumbles of this virus, right?  And there was talk of school shutting down.  Um....if you have a personality like mine, you were starting to get 'amped up' and your brain started spiraling and you felt like some doomsday preppper, constantly plotting in your head what you would need should the world shut down and access be cut off to...to...to...well, anything and everything!  Yeah.  I was doing a lot of that.  We discussed homeschooling (ack, sounds of air whooshing in and out of the brown paper bag, pupils dilating, what? I can't teach, oh wait, I am a trained teacher, ack, noooooooooooooooooooooooooo, ack!!!!) and all I knew was we needed desks.  Apparently everyone in the area had the same thought.  I am cheap and don't want to pay for desks.  Nor do I want 4 of those huge antique one room school desks either.  AFter a sleepless night or 2 (and probably scouring the usual spots) I had an epiphany!!  CAMP TABLES.  

I busted out of my 'A Beautiful Mind' corona prep cave and searched for camp tables on the shopping site named after the forest it is most likely destroying.  The best thing about camp tables is that they are smaller than card tables and they still fold up and can be stored easily!  I cannot have more random furniture added to this crazy house and yet a tv tray is too small for a computer and some space to do school work.  Enter the camp table.  I'm over here giving myself all kinds of pats on the back!!  

Last school year, the kids did 10+ weeks of school at home.  Two kids were at the camp tables, two kids at the used but perfect for us small wooden desk/tables.  Dave usually sat in his recliner.  At the end of the year, I was so happy to put the camp tables away, happy to use them for camping instead of school and oh so very hopeful we would never use them in the house again.  Of course, here we are - out of my 4 kids, we have have 5 instances of a kid being quarantined/home from school due to exposure/close contact to a positive test.  And yeah, you guessed it, since Dave has been home for weeks already, that means the camp tables came back out!  He's been using both of the wooden desks for teaching from an Elmo projector.  All in all, I think w/4 kids in school, 5 instances in 3 months isn't too bad.  (I feel bad for them though, since it means they miss out on fun stuff and extra curriculars.)  I have decided that this is the year of the camp table though.  I don't think I'll ever shake the connection to school at home.  They will always remind me of this time.  It feels weird saying that since 'this time' isn't over yet...but...I dunno.  I felt like waxing poetic about it today.  I am thankful for camp tables.  I am thankful for this memory that is 'in progress'.  May it only last a year!

Day 2 of round 2

 This is not a monthly recap kinda post.  

Our current situation is that Dave's school has gone virtual, for the first time in this academic year.  

(For context, last school year was impacted by the coronavirus.  We went virtual in March and never went back.  We started the school year in person - well, Dave's district/school chose the hybrid model while the kids' district was in person.  It's been 7 weeks of this...w/rumors of everything shutting down again soon due to a resurgence in cases and deaths in our area.)  

It's day 2 of him teaching from home.  

(My fat fingers typed teachering - and now I'm laughing at that word!)

He originally was thinking he'd have to go in to his classroom during this time.  A lot of his supplies and technology are in the classroom but he figured out a way to do this from home.

(Anyone remember Elmo projectors?  I walk by that thing in the LR and am compelled to do the voice - "Elmo loves you!  HAHA - that tickles!")

So far today, my teacher husband has checked on the students and encouraged them.  I think there was a dad joke in there somewhere too.  He asked about their profile pics, showed interest in their lives, chatted about how they were doing w/this.

Oh.  And he taught math.

A lot of parents, myself included, have been expecting a lot out of our kids' teachers.  I have said that if 'they' don't step it up this year...not gonna lie, I went through and rated the job my kids' teachers did last year.  I am willing to give grace for all that though, b/c no one expected what was coming!  No one was ready.  This year?  I admit to being a lot harsher.  So far the kids haven't gone virtual but I know the teachers are preparing for it.  I have said (out loud!) that I expect my kids to be engaged all day, not just given busywork assignments that take 10 minutes (or 3 hours, depending on the skill and knowledge of technology of the kid/kid and parents...!!).  Some teachers last year taught class from home just like they would at school.  Some did not.  I am working on stepping my expectations back, just in case my kids go virtual, trying to get my mindset on some middle ground.  Having the big guy home, teaching in the LR, right behind me - helps.  I see all the hoops set out by admin, I see the old school tech he is jerry-rigging up to teach from home so he can be all things to all people at the same dang time, I see/hear how he cares for his students and their mental health first but their education a close second, I take note of how he feels lonely w/just me and the dog here...he misses his kids.  He wonders out loud why some of them haven't been 'seen' in a while.  We go for walks and talk about all this.  I should say that I force him to get outside to walk the dog and me.  Yes I need to be walked.  We never regret the fresh air and tiny amounts of vitamin D we can glean here in the frozen tundra.  I push him to take us on walks.  Sort of a bass-ackward motivation, saying I'm doing it for him (I am!) but really I'm doing it for me too.  

Anyway - I just wanted to document this...this stage...I wanted to say how proud I am of Dave.  Not that he needs me to say that.  But he's the rock of this family, keeping the boat upright and even when it dips, he's the guy handing out life vests and holding us up above the high water.  

Now, just for some humor...I wonder if Dave has thought of this?  Her shower is really clean...she must live alone!!  

2020 Months 6-7-8

I am combining these 3 summer months for various reasons.  I would love to get caught up!  Our summer fun options were limited/restricted thanks to the virus anyway...so since we didn't get in a lot of camping last summer, that was this summer's top goal.  The challenge was accepted and achieved!!

They weren't messing around when they built these fire pits!

June - no 8th grade graduation ceremony (thumbs down) but we were able to order a yard sign to celebrate the graduate's accomplishment!  We came home one day to find it had been delivered (thumbs up)!  After school was out we packed up the camper and headed up north to see family.  Cousins had crazy good fun and it felt good to be OUT and 'off the ranch'.  And yes, the cake in the photo says "Happy Everything" - we were celebrating graduation, birthdays, anniversaries, summer, and actually finally being able to get together after a long lockdown! 

The graduate and the everything cake

July - so many fireworks and festivals had been canceled (thumbs down) but the big racetrack by us hosted the largest fireworks show in the state - someone said all the nearby counties pooled their money to make it the best (BIG THUMBS UP)!  It was the longest show I've seen - except maybe the Disney one - but seriously, my kids were thrilled to stay up (I've not really allowed much of that) and by the end of it they were yawning...then it was back up north for more family time!  We went tubing, relaxed and ate well.  We extended this trip too...Back when we were first married, Dave took me to the Lake of the Clouds.  He raved all about it and hyped it up a lot!!  We got there and it was so foggy, you could barely see your hand.  Well - twenty plus years later we all got up there on a gorgeous day to see the spectacular view!  

So pretty!

Next we dipped our toes in the almost-always-freezing Lake Superior to find that it was luke warm!!!  If we had allotted more time, I would have gone swimming in it.  Me.  The always cold person would have gone swimming in Lake Superior.  Seriously.   It was warm!!  

From one great lake to the next, we came home and swam in our lake w/friends who were camping in our yard.  Again, had lots of fun and ate well!  Then, the last 2 days of July were...unexpected...

We headed west to be w/family, tugging the boat behind us.  (Cue ominous music...)

Before.....

The ol' boat was all prepped and ready for some Mississippi River exploring with family.  Had a great first day out...

We were eating breakfast the next morning when a marina employee called to say the boat had sunk.  ???  (record scratch noise!)  ALL the thumbs in the world were down for that one!!  No evidence as to why.  A crane on a barge was hired to get it up from the bottom.  Engine not salvageable but otherwise appearing in perfect condition.  I was like, "2020 strikes again!"  

....After...or should it say during?

Ah well, I love telling stories so it makes for a good story right?  Ok maybe not good, but interesting, intriguing and unique.  We spent the rest of the days w/family playing minute to win it games and eating food.  Also a theme of the summer.  My weight loss from the beginning of the year has been found!  I'm back in my Polish pear shape!  

August - I had the crazy idea to put all 3 boys in one room*, which meant measuring, moving furniture, adding a rod for hanging clothes above dressers on one wall, and that led to us wanting to get new carpet in the room we had just emptied.  That led to us thinking about the crummy carpet in the hall.  And down the stairs.  So why not replace it all?  A project we hadn't thought of doing yet, but it seemed logical at the time!  We also cheered at a Milkmen baseball game, camped some more, kayaked on the Crystal River and ate ice cream.  Get ready to be move jealous - we celebrated Eastgus!  (Easter in August, for those that don't follow my linguistic gymnastics.)  I made that word up but it's 2020 - lots of things are made up!  I think of it sort of like Christmas in July.  Maybe it's a new holiday we should add to our calendar?  The kids wouldn't complain about eating fancy brunch, dying eggs and singing Up From the Grave on any given Sunday, so why not?  We also added a few cloth face coverings to our collection since the plan was to go back to school, in person, 5 days a week, wearing a mask or 2 each day.  Family and friends made some for us, I found some on etsy, a lady in a nearby burg (aka a sewing wizard who works on the largest flag in the world nearby) sells masks from her porch stand, some local girls were making them and donating the money to the Children's Hospital...and so on.  We now have a varied collection.  The goal was that each person would take 2 every day - so they could switch to a clean dry one at lunch.  I have no idea if that's recommended practices, I just thought it would be good to have a fresh one half way through the day.  It seems like a lot of masks, but then when they are all 'dirty', it seems like a lot to wash!  (Side note - anyone else feel a weird connection to their grandma or ancestor/family member who used to wash nylons in the tub every night, hanging them to dry while she slept?  I stand there washing, rinsing and hanging and I feel like a classy 40s housewife or maybe like a pioneer woman who only has 2 decent frocks.  It's a strange sensation.  Please say yes you have those feelings too - I know I'm an odd duck in many ways, but surely you thought of that too?!  I digress...)

Overall, the summer was pretty normal.  Not long enough, yet full of good food and family.  We didn't tackle any new house projects, really, aside from the carpet.  We didn't go on any large, epic vacations.  I think we were sort of mentally exhausted from they way the school year ended.  But as I do every change of season, I have started mentally making a list for fall.  There is no doubt in my mind that the rest of this year will contain a few more bumps and let downs, but my mind keeps churning out ways to take those lemons and make something - anything! - out of them!  

Stopping to see the sunflower fields...not my fault if it was next to a creamery that sold ice cream...

*Crazy ideas are usually byproducts of my restless, anxiety filled nights.  This is no exception.  For the record, the room the boys are in is the exact same size as the 'master' in this house.  Right now the empty room is the music room.  I love hearing Moses create music in there!!  He has the loop station, keyboard, drums, and mic set up.  But...there is also room for 2 more beds in there.  I'm just saying.  And much like 22 years ago, Dave is listening.  So...yeah.  We'll see where this goes.  Maybe I'm trying to push back on 2020 and write our own chapter of crazy!

Just hit preview on this post and realized I did not follow the Do-Read-Learn-Be template I wanted to keep for the year of 2020.  Let's count this whole post as the Do portion, shall we?  I'm not gonna like, I didn't do much reading, but I am matriculating my way through Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria.  As for learning, again, not much.  Um...I learned about how to pull a boat up from the bottom of a marina?  Go ahead and laugh, I did!  I learned that I miss my family.  I learned that so many people are resilient and 'tough cookies', but that even still, checking on them is important.  Over the summer months, I focused on accepting and processing.  I tried to take it one day at a time (so hard for me!!) and not get worked up about what was coming (the uncertainty of school starting).  I'm not good at that but it's a practice I tried to cultivate over the summer.  I think it turned out okay, because here we are - ready for fall!  

2020 - Month 5

I'm getting caught up people!  

The month of May found us with new hairstyles...  

...big plans...

 

...and new housemates!! 

I couldn't take it anymore.  I had to cut Moses' hair!  I knew my hair was getting long too, but I tested to see if it would work in a ponytail.  NOPE.  So I tried pigtails!  Is 40+ too old for that hairstyle?  No need to answer, I decided it is!  I couldn't resist taking a silly pic of it though!  Mo's hair turned out ok.  He wants it long these days but it needed a trim.  How do beauticians cut hair while having both the comb and scissors in their hand??  "Hold this", I kept saying.  "Gimme that."  Then, "Hold this."  We laughed!!  Funny story - well, I have to back up a bit for it to make sense.  (Are you surprised that I am not writing this in a 'straight line'?  I love telling stories but chronology and continuity are foreign concepts to me!)  Well!  We had just adopted a mama cat and 2 kittens a few days before.  In trying to give mama some water and food in her cage, she bolted.  I felt terrible.  She ran in the woods so fast!!  The next day we were on the deck, cutting Moses' hair and I heard the mama!!  She ran right across the deck, only a few feet from us!  So we set the babies outside, trying to see if she'd come back to feed them.  After 3 chilly nights and her only coming to sniff them, we decided to bring them in for good.  We had been bottle feeding them during the day but I didn't want to leave them outside in freezing temps.  Anyway - we still hear a cat in the woods every now and then!!  The cats are outside now, so who knows?!  Maybe they'll meet up w/their mama when they get bigger and go hunting!  

The 'big plans' were many and varied.  We had started the goal of hiking all of the Ice Age Trail awhile ago, but as the weather got better this month, we thought we could step it up and get more done than predicted for this year!  Thanks quarantine!  Other plans we thought we could tackle were things like major home renovation and major yard updates.  The first one we tackled was a garden update!  I used to have a handful of square garden boxes that we moved here from our old house.  The wood was rotting in many places and we had already busted up 2-3 in years past.  I wanted to gain some of that growing space back and get the wood shored up or replaced.  Dave had other ideas!  We started planning something using cinder blocks...I pushed back.  Do you know how heavy those things are??  Yeah, they don't rot, but who is lifting all of those??  The girl w/the bad shoulder would be of no help in that situation!!  In the end, corrugated steel roofing panels in a wood frame won out.  So far so good!!!  I've got lots of plants in, but in true Mel fashion I have found that I switched out pumpkins and watermelon and put them in the wrong place.  So we'll see if we get some frankenmelons or goofy gourds!  

Oh man, I just realized that I should have put that all into my fancy pants DO - READ - LEARN - BE thing....and here I am just stream of consciousness/storytelling babbling...hold on...I'll fix it...

DO - We have been raising kitties, building mega swingsets, drying wild ramps, hiking the IAT, playing games while it rained and rained and rained and rained enough to raise the lake level the highest it's EVER been in recorded history, and building out a new garden.

 

READ - this month I read a chapter book out loud to the whole family at meal times.  (I'm a teacher and storyteller, stuff like that is my jam!). The book I read was Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper.  I will not spoil it but seriously. click the link, go read the description.  There's even a plot twist they don't mention!  I CRIED while reading it!!  You will too, I don't care who you are or how emotionally even keeled you are.  It was insanely good.  It's probably a lower middle school level book, but when even the 8th grader was begging me to read the next chapter, I knew it was good.  So even though this wasn't specifically a book I read for me, I still believe I am better for reading it.  

LEARN - I learned a lot about raising baby kitties!!  Did you know that they cannot relieve themselves without help until a certain age?  Yeah, Dave got that job!  Also this month, we learned a lot about people's political viewpoints, without even asking them.  (Snark, yes, sometimes I lay it on thicker than others.)  Honestly, between the racial tensions and opinions about the virus, there was suddenly a lot of vocal people around me.  I tried hard to listen and be respectful.  Both issues of race and the virus affect me obviously, especially when it comes to my family and school.  I know I don't agree w/every person in my 'bubble'...and sometimes people think I fit into a certain category that I might not.  I may not shout the loudest (IMO that's not respectful or worth it - it hasn't changed anyone's mind in my experience) nor may I fight every battle in front of me (I just can't...), but I am passionate about certain things and I will continue to learn from various sides and sources.

BE - I think this month I focused on being busy or occupied.  I mean, I struggled being stuck at home so much.  Having new kitties, reading to the fam, making a few new meals, the garden etc...it was sort of like a restart button, trying to distract myself and think about something 'new' so as not to get dragged further down by the circumstances.  I also think I was ready to be DONE w/school and move onto summer plans!  I know I wasn't alone in that!

2020 Months 3 and 4 (they were sort of a blur anyway!)

Dear blog I haphazardly write in....Thanks for receiving all my rants about online school.  I'm sorry I have mistreated you!  You are not my therapist!  No one is, at the moment, but maybe I should say everyone that gets the pleasure of my company these days is sort of my therapist!  I have been so lucky to see friends here and there lately - I always feel bad, like I'm talking their ear off....anyway, I'm getting a few minutes to write here now so I thought I'd try to get caught up.  My goal this year was to use the Do, Read, Learn and Be prompts each month.  Welp!  I missed months 3 and 4.  I probably would have missed some along the way in a 'normal' year but surprise!  Sequestration has messed w/me.  I'm fighting back though by posting it - better late than never.

DO: March - In the 2 weeks before school went online there was wrestling and life was really starting to get busy.  Two boys on the middle school team, their younger brother having practices too.  At the same time, there were extra DI practices.  DI regionals were scheduled for March 14 and I was starting to wonder how I was going to keep track of everything, keep people fed and get them to the right place at the right time.  I was stressing.  And then...DI was canceled.  Three days later school was called off.  I went from one frying pan to the other - all my stress shifted...A few months earlier, we had planned out a spring break trip to the south, the Gulf Coast, during the last week of March, leaving on the 20th.  We prayed, fretted and probably sweated a little once the whole virus thing blew up.  We were not sure we were still going to go, even up to until the week before.  However, we made the decision to go forward with our plans.  We shared a beach house w/my best friend and his family.  It was insanely relaxing!!  That was a great way to rest up before the 'storm' that was going on in our lives when we got back home.  So yeah, I guess March was eventful...April on the other hand...Real talk - mostly we did a lot of online school and laundry.   I think I already posted about hiking in the IAT and other little things that happened.  Happy little things!  

READ: More real talk - I didn't pick up my book once in April.  I probably read for a few minutes on Spring Break.  I just picked it up again the other day but that wasn't in months 3 or 4.  The lockdown hasn't helped - the library extended the due dates for all their materials!  I didn't feel the rush to turn it in - HA!  I did buy another book though, that I hope to read soon.  

LEARN: Oof.  I learned a lot of new technology...there are so many educational platforms out there and I feel like I have sampled them all.  Can't wait to cancel my subscriptions!  The coolest thing I have learned about is the way they help each other.  "Yeah, uh, sorry kid I have no idea how this program works..."  (Cue some other kid volunteering to teach me how to do it...)

BE: Pretty sure I spent most of months 3 and 4 being crabby.  I can't lie about it - I was sullen, depressed and frustrated.  I sulked.  I felt lousy.  I knew I needed to get up each day and attempt to start school on a good note, but I didn't want to face a bunch of screens and try to interpret the assignments.  Don't get me wrong, the teachers are rocking this.  I'm not.  I have an amazing husband who often would get the day started all while being on a meet or zoom.  I finally figured out a routine that worked for all of us though!  Those months were hard for so many reasons.  We're past that now...so I promise I will 'be' something different in the next month!

Sequestered 2020: It's not all bad, weekend update

It occurred to me that my poor blog has become a place I simply rant about the stupidity of online school, where I am to deliver a cobbled together curriculum I have not created.  I promise all my posts on the sequestered theme will not be about that!  So - today!  I wanted to come here and point out things that fall into the category of 'it's not all bad'.  I will cultivate my optimistic side (do I have one?  *looks under arm, tries to see back in mirror*)...let's see if that part of me grows! I also miss the photos, so there will be some of that too!

IAT badge

First of all - we are doing some laughing here.  We like each other =)  It's nice to spend evenings playing ball together in the yard, talking at all the meals and being silly together.  This weekend was amazing - no technology and no screens!  

We will!!  

Yesterday we hiked over 6 miles on the IAT.  I'm out of shape!!  But it felt oh so good to out, doing what we would normally do on a spring weekend!  Not only that, but I think I forgot about all the quarantine stuff for a few hours.  

Tired puppy after a long hike!

The teenager and I hate online school!!

We bought stamps and have already written a few notes to people.  On Saturday we participated in a worldwide/online 'jump around' party...(For those of you that don't know about this tradition... read about it here!  Dave and I were at the game where the tradition started.)  Anyway, today is another day of distance learning from home and I needed to find a way to make the day fun.  It would have been the NCAA men's basketball championship tonight.  According to the BPI, the Badgers would have won!  I saw championship t-shirts for sale and laughed!  This is the time we are living in...things are happening virtually, in theory, and we're making shirts like we always do!  I might buy one, but for today, I am pretending that they would have played Duke (my favorite!) and the Devils would have been underdogs, so I put my #32 jersey on and decided to cheer for the underdogs.  

She's still tired today!

We've been playing a bunch of games in sequestration too.  I've been keeping a list!  We might need to borrow some games from friends to change it up when we get sick of our usual ones.  So far there's been a lot of Catan since we just picked up some different versions.  No complaints!  I set up the board randomly so it's always different.  With the new versions we've been trying out some different board setups for Seafarers.  WHOA - it's been interesting!  We even did the one where the tiles are added after you reach that part of the board, sort of a mystery board.  Good stuff!  See, I can put out a non-ranting post!  Tomorrow is national coffee cake day so I am planning a bakery visit.  You should too.  

Sequestered 2020: online school AGAIN

Here it is people!  The second installment about online school!  I know you are all waiting with bated breath (what a weird phrase*) to hear how today went.  Well, you're in luck because wonders never cease and I am not too tired to hop on here and tell you the tale...
Yesterday was a dumpster fire.  Today that fire smoldered.  It was still there, but it died down.  A little.  There was a gamut of emotions today.  For example, Dave had to leave the room to join a meeting while we soldiered on in the living room/school room central.  Five minutes later we were treated to a symphony of shouts, shrill shrieks, screams, squeals and squawks**.  No I am not exaggerating!!!  Apparently internet/technology was amuck/amok (you choose!) and so was Dave.  I offered to help but...I wound up laughing and giggling uncontrollably from the other room.  I'm sorry, babe, but seeing you spit hot words of anger is so rare - I forget what that looks like/sounds like!!  Other emotions to make an appearance today were things like overwhelmed, ambivalence, anger, joy, and um....poutyness?  Is that a word?  Spell check says no.  Sullenness?  You get it, I'm sure you do b/c all of you are stuck at home too.  See that's why I'm writing this.  I need something to do that I like that maybe just maybe will makes us feel a little more connected.  People, send me a letter.  Email me.  Call.  Video chat if that's your thing.  I am pretty much a people person and this is ridiculous.  My days are going to be marked by a feeling of helplessness...I'm trying not to think of it in such a depressing manner, but I can't help my kids w/everything, I can't help my hubby w/the stupid internet and I can't help other people I love since I am stuck here!!!  But - I can try to stay connected....right now I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day for 'me' time or time to stay connected but I think it will get better.  I hope to schedule some time - I have a friend who literally makes appointments to talk to people.  I need to do that.  An appointment would help b/c then I wouldn't just say "let's do it" and forget but really do it!  Ok, this story about our day got off the track there, but that's ok.  There probably is no track now.  Whenever something seems off or out of the ordinary let's just yell CORONAVIRUS!  I got off track.  CORONAVIRUS!  I used to say 'squirrel' as a way to explain my ADD tendencies, but hey, we're blaming the virus for a lot right now, so why not?  Ok, back to the story.  We borrowed another friend's daughter's school lunch gimmick at the end of the day today.  It's called pits and peaks.  We went around the table and said one pit (low point of day) and one peak (high point of day).  I started crying when Mo told his peak.  He said it was looking out the window while doing school and seeing the sun and how it moved through the clouds and all the nature outside.  *gulp* First - I busted butt to get an area of school set up.  I chose to put it by the big windows b/c if it were me, stuck staring at a screen in the same room when I had been used to going around different parts of school, I would want to be by a window.  I loved my college classes where I could sit by a window.  I am an outside girl.  I love nature and I love our property out here.  I picked that for them b/c I hoped it would make them feel like they were part of the outside even when they were in.  It made me feel good that Mo liked it and that I actually did something that helped someone!  On the other hand though, it made me feel bad that this is happening to my kids.  I wish I could take it all away!!!  Sure, skip school, go play, that's better for all of us anyway....only we can't.  There's this list of work for your classes...ARG - I have said it more than once - Mom doesn't want to do this either.  At least we get to be together.  We had a few more laughs tonight when we played a family game - Franklin was overreacting when he started to lose, well, maybe he didn't feel like it was overreacting!  He made these faces....we all got the giggles...then Dad kept missing a turn b/c the direction was changed right before it got to him, so he started to over-exaggerate and overreact!  This felt like a really really long day but overall it was a good one.  Not all kids got all their work done but I am over it.  We're doing the best we can.  At one point during the day I ran out to get supplies for a craft.  I need to do something each day for me.  I get so mad and emotional about the difficulty of all of this.  My brain gets stuck and if I don't shift gears...well, I don't know but I'd rather not find out.  So - we're going to make a snuffle mat for the dog!  And maybe some Easter crafts.  More on that in another post - that will probably be more interesting than my rant of the day!  Hopefully you read all this and it was like a hug from me, b/c I miss those too!!  

*Side note that it is not spelled 'baited' as I had previously and erroneously thought.  Bated breath is a phrase that means to hold one's breath due to suspense, trepidation or fear. Bated breath is a phrase first mentioned in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The word bated is an abbreviation of the word abated, meaning to lessen in severity or amount.  The more you know...

**How is it that I spelled that word 'sqwuak'?  I have been spending waaaaay too much time sounding out words w/my kids!!  Can I just go back to my babysitting job??  Please??  I miss baby talk, patty cake and cheering when a tower is knocked over.  Seriously.  Brain.  FRIED.   It will get easier though!  We get a bunch more chances to practice this whole school at home thing!  TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY!!

Sequestered 2020:school at home/online day 1

(I wrote this last night...)
Nothing like disappearing for a week, right?  I didn't write because we were on spring break.  I attempted to relax and calm myself before what I would like to label as the storm.  Tomorrow we begin school...here...online...if you know me, you know I don't home school.  You know, that even though I am a trained teacher, I have zero desire to teach my children at home.  I love them and I randomly teach them many things here and there, but a structured, actually-counts-for-DPI kind of thing is not my style.  Nevertheless, here we are and many parents are in the same boat as me!  We've set up all the desks, we've charged the myriad of devices, we've put each kid's books, folders, binders, etc at their spot!  We're ready!
(Today...)
Welp!  Pride goes before the fall!  I was soooooooo noooooottttt readyyyyyy.  I didn't even know how not ready I was!!!!!  Online school today was pretty much a dumpster fire.  Rolling down a hill.  Crashing into an art exhibit or something.  I dunno.  I'm shaking my head vehemently as I type this.  First of all - the teachers are kick butt awesome!!  They have all these emails and assignments and cool tech things for my kids.  THEY (teachers) were ready.  I logged in to the first kid's stuff and there were videos and tutorials and I attempted to set that child up.  On to the next.  Same, only this kid likes to click around and push buttons during a 10 minute video, so I had to sit there and prevent that.  Third kid kept trying to mess w/their background on the home screen, not necessary, just get back into your classroom and do the task!!  Another child started up a video chat and didn't know how to hear the teacher but kept taking headphones on and off, yelling, all while the final child was attempting to use talk to text but kept getting the sibling's words in their document.  Make sense?  Yeah me neither.  I tried to watch all the videos too so I could understand just what we are doing.  I think I've got it now but in the meantime I have no idea what everyone did today!!!  Oy vey!  We muddled through half of what we should have done.  TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER.  There is nowhere to go but UP!!!!!  A lot of my kids' work requires input or assistance from me, to be sure they are staying on that task or understanding what to do.  There are 4 of them and 1 of me.  As a classroom teacher, there are usually around 30 kids, but they are mostly all on the same task.  This is 4 diff. grade levels, 75% of this class has special needs, and I am a few years behind in the tech.  FUN!  I know I am not alone in this, so many people I know are working from home AND trying to get their kid/s to do school too.  YOU ARE ALL SAINTS.  Tomorrow is a new day. 

In other news - my daffodils are coming up.  It's too wet to 'rescue' them from the leaves but hopefully I will get to do that soon.  I was happy to find some fresh veggies at the store today.  We have been set on supplies for a while now, but I was starting to fret when I saw how empty the produce section was at the store last time.  Don't come between me and my morning smoothies!  The new furniture that we received before we break is working out very well.  I hope to find a rug soon.  We are all healthy.  Aside from me feeling overwhelmed by school responisibilities today, I am so glad to be w/my people.  We start and end the day w/snuggles and there is always music.  Every person in this family is very musical.  I do play instruments but don't sing - the rest of the crew does.  Oh I sing, I mean I love to sing, but it's not good.  They are all really good singers though and it does my heart good to hear them!  On that note, I think it's time for me to blast some music and dance it out.  That's probably the best way for me to end the day!!

Sequestered 2020: part 2

Today’s news....it snowed!!  Spring break (the original one) is days away and it snowed. This is not out of the ordinary for WI, but it just felt weirder to me today. We had new furniture delivered, so that was exciting!  The kids did well playing legos together. I had a chiro appointment. I’ve decided to try and blog each day if possible. I feel like if we don’t remember at least something about these days, they’ll blend together. Today we also started a few things that will be crucial to our morning and evening routines. Baby steps to the new normal!

Sequestered 2020 part 1

School was supposed to be in session Monday and Tuesday...today is Tuesday. It was called off before the day was over yesterday. So we went for a walk at Kohler Andrae State Park, ate ice cream (drive thru) from Culvers for St Patrick’s Day and then stopped by school to pick up more supplies.

The teachers have informed us that ‘school’ doesn’t start until the 30th. Until that time we are able to play, create and use our minds in many other ways!  Mostly we are reassuring the kids and helping them relax. There’s a ‘new normal’ coming since the governor just announced that school is suspended indefinitely. There is a time for everything under the sun, and this is the time for bonding and setting the tone for our ‘home team’ to work together for awhile. Adoptive and foster families don’t operate the same way other families do...if we jump too fast and push them too hard, it will not end well. It is more important that our children have relationship skills and life skills than book skills. So here we are. Making a list of ‘yes’ activities!  Yes, you can go get muddy and build a fort in the woods!  Yes, you can haul out the art supplies!  Yes you can try to cook that!  All this uncertainty will pass - it’s a large task to keep anxieties at bay and our attitudes in check at the moment, but this is what will get us through.

Sequestered 2020: the Intro

(Written yesterday...)
One of the old definitions of to sequester is to commit to safe keeping a person or item. To quarantine someone or something means to keep isolated due to illness. We are not under quarantine, since no one is sick but now that school is called off, I consider us to be sequestered!  This is history in the making, in my opinion, so being the story teller that I am, I thought it would be interesting to document some of our thoughts and activities to look back on some day.
Quick back story, over the past month or so, much of the world has been dealing with the spread of COVID-19, better known as the CORONAVIRUS. As a nation, the U.S. watched as little by little, it spread through contact and reached us. This past week there was much speculation about whether or not towns near us (WI) would take action and begin canceling things...well they did. The governor announced the closure of all public and private schools from Mar 16-Apr 6. Some districts had already closed, some even through the 13th.  It’s the weekend and that means we have school Mon and Tues before this long break. Unless of course they cancel that too!
So far we have not joined the panic hoarders, but we did go grocery shopping. We’re trying to plan for spring break so there were some things we needed.  Guys, the veggies were gone!!  I walked into empty shelves...all I wanted was 2 zukes!!  Meat was empty, no bread - hope you kids like bagels!  It was eerie. I keep our fridge and freezer pretty full since 4 kids eat a lot, so I’m not too worried.
The other weird thing about this is planning for schoolwork. The kids can do some stuff online, but our internet is spotty, so we’ll see how that goes. Dave went to school today to try and get some things set up for his students. He’s not locked out yet!  We joked that if he couldn’t get in, it would be a sure sign that we’re not doing the next 2 days of school. As of this writing, there are 3 cases in our county. School is on for tomorrow, life will be normalish for 2 days...and then?  We roll with whatever comes!

2020 - month 2

Lightning has struck twice!!  I'm actually taking a few minutes to blog about February...

Do - February has not been very exciting...I’ve been playing in the snow, re-arranging furniture and trying to keep up with the chores! Dave has parent teacher conferences tonight and ACT testing soon. We wrapped up the basketball season with Moses and all 3 boys started the wrestling season. Destination Imagination practices are in full swing! Colleen is a magician in their skit and they have a machine that will shuffle cards. She really can't shuffle cards! It sounds like a joke in the skit, that a successful magician can't shuffle, but their idea was born out of something real. Franklin's team chose an improvisational challenge and we are all looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Ezra will be playing a principal in his skit! He was very proud to tell his principal that he is dressing like him for the part.


Read - this month I read Come Rain or Come Shine: a White Parent’s Guide to Adopting and Parenting Black Children. Truth is, I skimmed some of it. A few of the beginning parts were about adopting an infant, meeting with birth mothers and things like that. I think the book focuses more on private adoptions, so the premise was a little ‘off’ for what I was looking for. That being said, each chapter has an amazing list of resources, not just for adopting black children but anyone of a different race, a lot of which I found useful! I am thinking of compiling those into one big list and working my way through. Transracial adoption has been on my mind for a long time. Over the years we have had kids of various races in our family through foster care but in adopting, these are not just passing issues or thoughts. I have an amazon list of books similar to this...I'm happy to share this book w/anyone who is interested!

Learn - I learned Proverbs 25:28 this month! It was pretty easy, mostly b/c I had already attempted to learn this one in the past. I also learned many things about owls from Colleen. That girl soaks up all new learning and loves to share it!! Moses initiated a discussion about what would happen if the president died while in office. We looked up the succession process and discussed how usually the Prez and VP are not in the same place together. All that led us to look up things about what happened when Reagan was shot. Did you know that there were some VPs who were acting presidents for a few hours at a time, like when the presidents were in surgery? I never thought about it and although it seems like random Jeopardy trivia, it was an interesting discussion about stuff I never knew. Another thing I have been trying is stitching elastic into waistbands. So does that mean I'm learning to hand sew? Not really!!! I literally am taking a stab at trying to make clothes work for us instead of buying new or paying a tailor. It's hard to find stuff for people w/little waists!! I have a machine and have watched videos, but...so far the 3 I have tried are working.

Be - this month I focused on staying involved. Spring seems to be a time when the kids are busy but I don't do much for myself. So I signed up to do nursery at church - my favorite! The kids' behavior is sketchy during worship so I never felt comfortable leaving them w/o an adult in the row. We're at the point where I think they are getting better - I took one of them w/me to statistically cut down on the incidents. I also attended women's game night. I usually talk myself out of those - for being and ESFP, I get anxious a lot and second guess myself...it's a bad habit! Those ladies are my friends and they don't care if I dress fancy or whatever! It was fun and I need to remember to stay involved in things for myself.

And now....

***that's just what we say when we are ready to move on w/o much comment.  I'm equal parts proud of myself that I have completed 2 months of this, and still wary that I will stick with it the whole year.  Moses is a big Patriots fan and that's Coach Bill Belichek.  For you non-sports fans, you should know that he's not a very good interview, he always seems uncomfortable talking to the press and he generally does not smile.  He comes off as a grumpy troll who wants to tell everyone to get off his lawn!  This comment was in response to the media pestering him after a tough loss.  He repeated the phrase a few times...it has become our family's go to line when we are trying to move on!  We have a couple of them we love - "We talkin' bout practice", "Playoffs?", "I'm just here so I won't get fined", and "Don't you EVER talk about me!"  I love that we share these jokes between us!  And I miss football.  It's almost time for March Madness which holds me over for a while.  GO DUKE!!!