COVID Log: A Work Week Summary

I am trying a new format. I am going to write what we do each day, but still not publish until the end of the week. Let's see how it goes.

Monday: Thomas couldn't sleep last night. He was up coughing and congested. COVID-19? Most likely allergies from being outside a lot this weekend, but we'll keep an eye on things. I checked into work at 6 and worked until 8:15. Then, Anna and I went on a 30-minute walk. We enjoyed a very pleasant walk, but when I got home, Luke was mad! He wanted to go on the walk too! So, I took him out on his own adventure. We went to a pocket park and almost walked right into a nest of angry hornets. They flew angrily about, but fortunately, we did not get stung. We played at a different pocket park for about 15 minutes. We did Simon Says, Red Light/Green Light, and then had a contest to see who could do the most jumping jacks. I did 50, but Luke did 53. By now, I had been checked out of work for about an hour, so I needed to go home. But, it was a lot of fun and I think one evening or morning this week I will make everyone come out and do some old school games.

Around 11, we had a Walmart pick-up. Walmart is right near a school where they hand out free lunches for kids. We went and the kids got their lunches (chicken nuggets). Then, we headed to Walmart. The line for the pick-up was pretty long, but we hoped it would move quickly. There were probably around 15 cars in front of us. Thomas got in line and I ran into the store for a few things that they were supposedly out of. The store wasn't very crowded and almost everyone (myself included) was wearing a mask. I was able to get everything on my list (weird, right?) and got back to the car where Thomas was still waiting in the pick-up line. After almost 40 minutes, they finally brought out our groceries. I could have done all the shopping in that time. We have been using a different Walmart with much better luck, so we will go back to them next time. The whole point is to avoid going in, but when they are supposedly out of so many items, it can't be avoided. It was my first time entering a store in weeks. I think they just aren't doing substitutions like they normally do, which is unfortunate. But, I appreciate all the people working so I showed nothing but a cheerful, thankful attitude.

Tuesday: It was an uneventful day. Kara disappeared right after lunch and we didn't see her again until dinner. She was wrapped up in a book--The Whizz Bang Chocolate Shop. For his writing, Luke had to write a letter to a classmate. His teacher e-mailed me a picture of a letter that another student (who is apparently ahead on the work schedule) had written to Luke. His teacher said the boy who wrote it started the year speaking zero English (only Russian).  Luke and he became friends and often played together at recess, despite the language barrier. And, by Spring Break, the boy was speaking more and more English. She said that Luke was a great friend to him. It was sweet.

Andrii's letter. I wish I had taken a picture of what Luke wrote back.

Thomas still isn't feeling great. He has chills and is a bit achy. But, no more cough and no temperature. He was supposed to grill for dinner, but I ended up making one of my favorites--crunchy turkey tacos. You mix cilantro, poblano peppers, salsa and seasonings in with the turkey meat and it is so so good. All the kids eat it, which is surprising based on the ingredients, but somehow it works. Now, we are catching up on the Masked Singer.

Wednesday: It was another uneventful day. Thomas is feeling better. Everyone got their work done. I made a checklist for Anna of all the assignments she needs to catch up on and Thomas spent a lot of time working with her. It made for a long workday for everyone as he still had to do his own work. I had a long day as well including several hours of phone calls. Thomas grilled barbecue chicken for dinner and we made tropichop bowls (mimicked after one of our favorite dishes at Pollo Tropical). It is chicken mixed with mashed potatoes and corn.

We had ice cream delivered from Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream. It was delicious and something we spent the day looking forward to. It's the little things. Thomas and Anna went on a bike ride and we ended the night watching Ever After.

Thursday: Last night, I woke up from a dead sleep unable to breathe. It has happened a few times over the years and I have determined it is a type of nighttime acid reflux. It is the scariest, most uncomfortable feeling. Basically, the acid in my stomach comes up the esophagus and I wake up choking and gasping for air. It hadn't happened in about 8 months, so I kind of forgot about it, but now I will have trouble sleeping again because I will be afraid of it happening again. It stinks and I was tired all day.

We all did our work. Around 2, I took Kara to her friend, Sophia's house. It is Sophia's birthday and Kara ordered some gifts off Amazon. We delivered the gifts and wrote a sidewalk chalk message. The girls visited from 6 feet apart for a bit. We came home and I did more work and then went swimming with Kara, Luke, and Anna. We played Marco Polo and raced. It was fun (even if Kara beat me--yikes!).

Friends from afar

Another sheet pan dinner. We didn't have potatoes, so we used gnocchi

Friday: I was looking forward to a slow day at work, as Fridays generally are. But, for some reason the work just piled in. It was disappointing and I didn't get it all done, which will weigh heavy on me this weekend; I feel like next week is going to stressful. The kids got most of their work done, Luke still isn't quite feeling it, but I talked to his teacher and she told me that his math and reading are already at the mid-end of 1st grade level (they do an adaptive program). She said she wasn't worried about him, and I took that to mean that we can phone it in a bit. We are still making him do work, but some days it isn't worth the battle. They did a rainforest science unit this week that he really liked, so he at least did that every day.

We went to Jeremiah's Italian Ice for a Friday treat. They had it set up for social distancing with little squares taped to the ground 6 feet apart. We had the kids wait in the car and delivered it to them. And, it was delicious! In other good news, Anna caught up on all her work. As a reward, we let her choose the movie and she picked Justice League. It was a rainy day, so no swimming, walks or bike rides. But, we really need the rain, so no one is complaining. It's not like we have anywhere to go :)

Thomas teased the kids with this getup, those are swim goggles if you couldn't tell :)

Everyone on a device <sigh>, some working, some goofing off. I fear we are creating bad habits.