Blah, Blah, Blah & Homesick

Blah is pretty much how I am feeling these days. Work is really difficult and I am tired of it. It is even worse for Thomas. He has been in litigation for months. That is always super stressful and it is frustrating that it keeps dragging on. Being busy isn't a bad thing, but we want a good work/life balance. But, I am sure it will get better. It is definitely ebb and flow and we just happen to be in a flow right now. On the plus side, our boss is nice and working from home is still great. It would be hard to have this workload in the office. I don't know how we did it before (working a fixed schedule to ensure we were around for the kids). I know that we did and I know at some point we will have to do it again, but working from home definitely makes it a lot easier. It is so nice not having to stop what you are in the middle of because it is time to leave.

Due to the rise in Covid numbers, we are staying put more. No more theme parks for us. It is sad, but I feel like an end is in sight and we should just hunker down. Of course, Luke and Anna are going to school and Luke has sports. Yes, plural. We signed him up for flag football and assumed it would end before baseball, which is what he really wants to play, began. We were wrong. So, they will overlap for the next month. But, on the plus side, the football is an easy walk from our house and the baseball is also super close. It is at a park we frequently ride our bikes to, but we can't do that with all the baseball gear. Plus, the practices don't end until 8 and it is pitch black out. Regardless, at least his activities are convenient.

They won their first game, Luke was great on defense and scored a touchdown on offense!

Kara is still doing her ballet and acrobatics class. But, she's made enough progress that she no longer needs the level I ballet. Kara is thinking about whether she wants to add another class in its place. She is pretty casual about the whole thing and doesn't have any set goals. She just wants to get better at acro because she enjoys it, which is fine with us. I will miss the level I class. That one was from 5-6 and we had a good routine. Anna and I would drop her off, go to Goodwill and Aldi and occasionally Chick-Fil-A takeout, grab Kara and head home. An hour was the perfect amount of time, because everything is essentially in the same parking lot. The other class is later and goes for two hours, so we generally drop her off, go home, and then pick her up. But, it is nice to have one thing off the schedule.

Jack finally got to try out his new kayak. He and Thomas went out on Lake Nona. They both really enjoyed it. The airport is super close and they liked seeing the planes fly above. Thomas said you could see in the windows. They hope to go out again soon. They didn't see any alligators, although I am sure there are hundreds living in that lake.

So, the homesick part. I still miss Maryland. I am starting to feel frustrated with myself. I feel like I have found the positives in every place we've lived. But, honestly, we never had any choice before and that made it easier. We went where the Navy sent us and then to the place that offered Thomas a job. So, there was never anything to regret. We just went where we had to go and made the best of it. But, this one was my choice. We came here because I wanted to. And, all this time later, I still miss Maryland. Mostly our house, neighborhood, and friends. But, I also miss our weekend trips and all the history and cool things we did. I am not sure it is a fair comparison, since we have been under quarantine for more than half of our time here. But, this house doesn't feel like ours, and the house on Miley feels like it should still belong to us. I worry I made the wrong choice. I do like being near family (who we aren't seeing right now because of Covid) and the theme parks are fun (which we aren't visiting because of Covid). The winter weather is nice and I really like this neighborhood. I just feel a bit homesick, for a home I know I will never return to and it makes me sad. I can only imagine how Thomas feels; he never wanted to leave and at least I like it here. That is the weird part, I do like Florida and living in Orlando. There are things that annoy me, but there were things that annoyed me in Maryland. I know that no place is perfect. Maybe it is the too-small-ugly-house compared with our beautiful Maryland home? Who knows, but I hate being a glass is half empty person. I wouldn't call it depression, it's not that extreme, but it is definitely blah. I think it is a combination of Covid fatigue, the homesick feeling, and work being stressful. Hopefully, it goes away when the restrictions lift and we can live life more fully again. 

To end on a nicer note. We went to Leu Gardens and I got a picture of all the boys stopping to smell the roses. I'm not sure what the girls were doing.

Another Week, Wildlife Drive, and my View on Recent World Events

First, another Anna orthodontics update. We made the decision to try the Herbst. We found a local orthodontist, just 2 minutes from her school. We had them take off her braces and officially notified her former orthodontist. Then we brought her to her dentist for a cleaning. Anna told her about the saga (I wasn't allowed back) and when Anna was done, she came out and told me she disagreed with our course of action! She said she had the exact same issues and she really thought Anna needed to have her top premolars removed for the Herbst to work. She asked us to get one more opinion from an orthodontist she respects. Ugh!!! Every time we think we're done... But, we decided to get the last opinion. To recap: Orlando ortho, opinion #1 (jaw surgery); Surgeon, opinion #2 (remove all premolars and wisdom teeth then surgery); South FL ortho, opinion #3 (forsus); Orlando ortho 2, opinion #4 (Herbst); Dentist, opinion #5 (remove teeth + Herbst); and finally Orlando Ortho 3 for opinion #6. So many opinions! The latest orthodontist is about 20 minutes away. We did the consult and she suggested the same course of action as the one next to Anna's school (opinion #3). But, we liked her a little better. So, we decided to go with her, even though it isn't as convenient. I signed the contract today, they did Anna's molds and she will get the device on February 15th. I am so ready to have this treatment underway! 

Today is MLK Jr day. We found an awesome activity, perfect for social distancing. It was a nature drive along Lake Apopka. And, it was pretty amazing. We saw 22 alligators, and a million birds. It is an 11 mile drive.  The speed limit is 10mph and there are a couple of places to park and walk around. In total, we spent about 2 hours there. We enjoyed rolling our windows down and listening to the sounds of the many birds and keeping track of the alligators. Supposedly there are other animals, like bobcats, raccoons, coyotes, opossums, etc. But, we didn't see any this visit. We brought a picnic lunch, but didn't find a good place to eat at lunchtime, so we ended up eating in our car, then going to Dairy Queen for dessert. 

I think this was my favorite, the heron (I think), cardinal (I think) and alligator. Can you find them all?

I took this picture with no zoom, that is how close the alligator was and this was at the point where we were out walking (we kept Luke close by).

Now zoomed in a bit to show his size.

Sweet lovebirds.

Jack with Lake Apopka in the background.

It was a fun morning and I want us to try and visit in every season to see how it changes. It is kind of nice that we let our Disney passes expire. Otherwise, there is a good chance we would have just gone there instead of venturing out and trying something new. Or, maybe not. We haven't been to any theme parks since mid-December. The numbers in Florida have been really high the past few weeks, but we are finally beginning to see things level out a bit. I am hoping that maybe sometime next month we can start venturing out more. It seems silly to take risks now when we are so close to a vaccine and it can be hard for me to judge what risks are worth it. We let Anna go to school and Kara has friends that she plays with, as does Luke. But, there is a lot we are avoiding. It will be so nice when life gets back to normal.

In other news, Luke and I read Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was a fun read and we liked sitting down together. After we finished, we watched both movies. We really enjoyed both versions. If I had to choose, I would pick the newer one, as it more closely followed the book. But, it is a close call. 

The Vivint people came by this week. They started their spiel with, "I'm not hear to sell you anything" and mentioned how more people would be coming through the neighborhood in a couple of weeks. I am not sure if there was an intentional disconnect or I missed something, but I invited them in because I wanted more information. I told them up front that I was not interested in buying anything today and they responded with, "we wouldn't expect you to." I thought I was gathering data and I am interested in more home security. But, I can't make a decision like that on the fly. And, somehow we reached a point where they were asking for my social security number to schedule an installation?!?!?! Apparently me not buying anything today to them meant that I would pay later. They were super hard-selling and making me feel guilty, as though I had intentionally mislead them. It was very awkward and uncomfortable. Thomas was in the garage working on something (smartly avoiding all of this) and I finally had to go get him to tell them to leave. It was that bad. I also realized that I had provided a tremendous amount of personal information during our super long encounter. They asked a lot of personal questions and I stupidly answered them (trying to be polite and trying to get them out the door). Things like how many kids we have and their ages and where I work. The whole thing was really bothersome and I am still kicking myself for letting them in in the first place. Lesson learned!

Okay, my thoughts on current affairs. First, I am appalled by the Republican Party (with a few exceptions, like Mitt Romney, Paul Mitchell, and Larry Hogan). I have been a registered Republican since I was 18. But, I am changing my affiliation to Independent. I know both parties have (significant) problems, but I feel like the Republicans especially have towed their party line at the expense of what is right or moral. I am not saying it couldn't happen with the Democrats, but since they weren't the ones in power, it wasn't (at least this time). The claims of election fraud and the continued cries that the Democrats stole the election were my final straw. I find it beyond ridiculous. The campaign filed over 60 lawsuits. That is a lot of different judges, many Republican, some Trump appointees, that had the opportunity to hear the "evidence" and it just wasn't there. Yet, they publicly claimed otherwise. I read some of the courtroom transcripts and there truly wasn't any factual support for the claims they made, yet they still mislead the public with false allegations. Some changed their tune after the Capitol riot; for example, I saw Mitch McConnell on tv saying that Trump was alleging thousands of cases of voter fraud and he asked them to show him evidence of just 10 and they couldn't do it. But, for me, it was too little too late. As a lawyer, a public servant, and really just a human being who loves her country, I am deeply embarrassed by this behavior. The amount of discord in this country is terrible and I believe it has flown from the top down. And, I am just done. There is a lot more I could say, but I think that is enough to memorialize my feelings on post-election politics. 

I am praying that things get better with Biden. I don't agree with many of his policy positions, but at least I believe he is a decent human being, which frankly is enough for me right now. 

And, to end on a happier note, some pictures of kids in trees:

Can you find her in this one?

More Anna Orthodontia

After we were told Anna needed jaw surgery, we paused for a bit and then met with the oral surgeon. After that visit, we did more research. I really wish I had done more research immediately after jaw surgery was suggested, but I believed the orthodontist that there were no other options (other than removing teeth). I thought about getting a second opinion, but procrastinated. Ugh, a full six months wasted!  Of course, we also didn't realize how much time was of the essence. Anyway, after meeting with the surgeon, I finally began to look for options to avoid surgery and learned about the MEAW technique. It seemed like it was mostly for kids with an underbite, while Anna has an overbite. But, I thought it might be worth having a consultation, particularly since it is marketed as a way to avoid jaw surgery. The closest practitioner was in South Florida, 189 miles away; we were able to get an appointment over Christmas break. In short, he felt like it was excessive to tell a 13-year old she needs jaw surgery. He didn't believe the MEAW technique would work for her, but suggested we try another type of device called the Forsus. He stated that he believed she would have success and would be surprised if it didn't work for her.

That device is much more common than the MEAW technique, so he told us there was no need to drive to him if we could find someone closer. After researching orthodontists in our area, we found one who seemed promising (offers devices, close by, excellent reviews). We had that appointment today. He was very nice and straight-forward. He believes the likelihood of success is essentially a coin-flip. And, rather than the Forsus, he suggested a Herbst, which is a similar device. She would have her current braces taken off, wear the Herbst device for 12-15 months and then braces again. So, she would be around 16 before all was said and done (probably closer to 18 if the device doesn't work and we have to add in a surgery before round two of braces). And, since she got her braces at the age of 11, and before that wore a retainer, it kind of stinks. Well, not kind of, it really stinks. 

The doctor said, without saying or, maybe I am projecting, that her overbite is really severe (that he did directly say, the next part is where I may be projecting) and that this should have been done in the first place. Now that I know more about orthodontia than any non-health professional should, I definitely agree. It is easy to play Monday morning quarterback, but I really don't know why we didn't do this in the first place, either in Maryland or here? Obviously, I am not an orthodontist, so I accept there is likely something I don't know. But, I wish we had started with someone who had offered some alternatives or discussed the severity of the overbite and what it meant for her future treatment. Because she has likely stopped growing, her options for success are much lower now than they would have been at age 9, 10, 11 or 12. And, she had her first orthodontist visit at the age of 7! So much wasted time (and money)!

But, here we are. It is going to cost us around $6000, because we have exhausted our insurance, to try this route. And, there is only a 50/50 chance of success. So, why not just do the surgery, which has a 80%+ chance of success? I don't know, it just doesn't seem right. Surgery carries major risk and it seems very extreme at her age. I don't have a lot of confidence that the Herbst will make much of a difference, but at least we will know that we tried the least invasive method first. And, we had decided to wait until she was older for the surgery, so we might as well fill the time by trying something less drastic. Maybe it will at least save her from having to get the premolars removed.

We go on Monday to get her braces removed. Then, she will have a few weeks to enjoy the feeling of no braces before we get the Herbst put on. Anna is in for a long road ahead. Hopefully, there is a beautiful smile at the end of it!

2020: A Year in Review

I can almost look back with nostalgia at 2020. January through early March was really great. Then, things got crazy. Our work conference was cancelled, as was our Spring Break trip to South Carolina. Work and School were put into a "temporary" virtual/telework status. I am not sure how I would have felt if I  had known that temporary status was going to last the entire year (well, except for Luke). I can recall being overwhelmed by the unknowns and I think it was almost helpful to believe that everything could return to normal in a reasonable amount of time. Although, even then, I never really understood how that would be possible without a vaccine or some amazing treatments. Now, we have the vaccine, but getting the doses and having it administered is another unknown. But, I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am still really scared of getting Covid. I try and be rationale, but I am still scared. 

But, there has been a lot of good in 2020. Jack and Anna became teenagers! We spent a ton of time together. We played games, went on bike rides, did puzzles and many outdoor activities. I am hoping that Thomas and I will get to telework much more often, even after everyone is vaccinated. Some of the kids may want to switch to full time virtual school, an option that Florida offers. It would be great to continue what was good and learn from what was difficult.

What we are most looking forward to in 2021:

Thomas: getting the world back to normal

Kori: taking a vacation

Anna: things going back to normal with the vaccine and a new President

Jack: having a new President

Kara: WandaVision and all the Marvel movies

Luke: spending time with my family

And, as tradition dictates, the annual summary of the kids:

Anna has really matured this year. She loved playing basketball and showed a lot of improvement. She also enjoys bike rides and goes on multiple rides every day. Her grades suffered when we went to virtual learning, but we are hoping she will do better when she returns this semester. She is smart and kind and has a great sense of humor. She is able to laugh at herself and is not easily offended. She enjoys creating hairstyles and playing Minecraft. My three words for Anna are nice, positive, and thoughtful. Thomas said: nice, maturing, and caring. When she grows up she wants to work for the government.

Kara has done well in school. Change is often difficult for her, so 2020 was an exercise in patience. She was helpful in watching Luke this summer and is a responsible babysitter. She has discovered a love of different types of music and knows all about what is on the radio. She enjoys watching YouTube and has favorite YouTubers. She also enjoys super hero (Marvel) movies. She constantly wears a hooded sweatshirt, with the hood up, no small feat in hot, humid, Florida. In September, she started ballet and acrobatics, which so far she enjoys. My three words for Kara are smart, moody and determined. Thomas said defiant, motivated, and stubborn. She wants to be an anesthesiologist when she grows up.

Jack has also matured this year. He is 5'9, much taller than me. He grew about 7 inches this year!  He still loves reading and discovered a new author--Brandon Sanderson, who writes epic fantasy. Jack still enjoys Lord of the Rings, video games, and history. He also likes flying kites and is super excited to try out his new kayak. He has done okay in school, and is really smart, but is not super motivated. He is a sweet kid who is easy to parent and I am thankful for his (generally) calm presence. My three words for Jack are sweet, respectful, and interesting. Thomas chose inquisitive, conscientious, and introverted. Jack would like to be a professor.

Luke is thriving in first grade. He is very smart and scored in the 99th percentile on his latest round of standardized tests. He reads on a 4th grade level, but doesn't love reading yet. He got a new series, The Bad Guys, for Christmas which he is enjoying. He loves to play outside and is very social. He enjoyed playing soccer and is looking forward to trying flag football. He loves playing board games, current favorites are Love Letters, Throw Throw Burrito, and Minions Life. Unfortunately, he gets frustrated easily (at himself). He also still enjoys video games. My three words for Luke are: loving, athletic, and sensitive. Thomas said sweet, whiny and smart. Luke wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.

I have big hopes for 2021. But, most of all, as I say every year, my biggest wish is that on January 1, 2022, we are all together, happy, and healthy.

2020 "Newsletter"

A month-by-month recap of 2020:

January: One of our favorite families was with us to start 2020! The Wills and Wilsons went to SeaWorld, Gatorland, and the beach and had a great visit. Jack competed in a spelling bee. The girls and I committed to volunteering once a month for the entire year. And, I ended the month with a fun Harry Potter filled girls’ weekend with some Maryland friends. What a great start to what is sure to be an awesome year! There is some weird virus in Asia. But, whatever.

February: Kara turned 11. We went to St Augustine, Disney World, Busch Gardens, and a couple of Tigers baseball games. Another great month in the books. I sure love this year! That weird virus is spreading a bit, but we here in the US are fine. I signed up the older kids for their first ever sleep away camp. They can’t wait for August! Party on 2020!

 March: Another birthday month. Luke turned 6! We had an awesome Spring Break trip planned to South Carolina, where we were going to surprise the kids by meeting up with some Maryland friends (I didn’t realize how many friends we had in the Old Line State). But, we are going into “lockdown.” That virus made its way to the US. Thomas and I have started working from home and the kids are not returning to school for now. All the theme parks have shut down and the place we volunteered is closed. We have been enjoying swimming, bike rides and board games. We are starting to run a bit low on toilet paper and I used my last Clorox wipe yesterday, but I am sure the stores will have that back in stock soon. Everything still looks fine(ish). We can handle this lockdown for a few weeks.

April: Okay, things are a bit weird. There does not appear to be an end to this lockdown. Online school is kind of awful, I have not seen my family in a while (our main purpose in moving to Florida) and our house feels really small. On the plus side, Thomas and I like working from home. Surely, this will all be over by summer?

May: I miss restaurants and malls. We have spent hours entertaining ourselves building Jenga sculptures and making slow motion videos of bowling them down. There have been Lego challenges, more swimming and bike rides.  On the plus side, we have started ordering takeout. We even took our first out of town day trip and finally saw the Tilleys. We went to an amazing Gulf coast beach and kept our distance from everyone there. Kara had a drive-through, socially distanced graduation from elementary school. And, we had a visit with Kim’s family! Sea World is reopening. It seems as though things are getting back to normal. Just need to hold out for a few more weeks. I was able to find toilet paper, but those Clorox wipes continue to elude me.

June: Things are continuing to look a bit brighter. We are visiting with select people like my sister and her family but keeping our circle small. It looks like the kids are probably going to be home for the month of June. They cancelled the sleepover camp. The kids are disappointed, but I am so glad we are almost done with this virus. Disney is reopening! Surely by Fall everyone will be back in school and life will return to normal.

July: Okay, things took a turn for the worse. Cases in Florida have multiplied every day for weeks. Hospitals are full. We are taking our family back into lockdown mode. We are paying the older kids to babysit Luke, which is working out fairly well. Have I mentioned how small our house is? As to the future, even the Magic 8 ball is coming up blank. Oh, Thomas and I had birthdays. We got older. Yippee.

 August: School is back in session. We got to choose online or in person. The county encouraged all those who could, to choose the online option. We are keeping the older kids home, but Luke has got to go. He is very happy to be back in school and his teacher is amazing. We are venturing out again. We wear our masks without complaint and I finally found some Clorox wipes!

September: Another month. Whatever. We are hearing some weird noises in our soffits and occasionally the attic. Not sure what that is all about.  Oh, we bought passes to Universal Studios. I guess it is not all bad. We are still enjoying doing stuff outside.

October: Jack and Anna are now teenagers. Jack grew 7 inches this year and is taller than I am! We are going out a little more, but still not to restaurants, malls or movie theaters. We like visiting the quieter theme parks and are fans of the forced spacing. It is nice not to have strangers bumping into us in lines. Halloween looked a little different, but we still trick-or-treated, we just didn’t ring any doorbells. Jack’s baby costume was a huge hit and the neighborhood decorations were amazing.

 November: Biden won! Remember those strange noises we heard? Squirrels infiltrated our attics and roof. The surprisingly clever animals established nests in multiple areas and sought to drive us out with their scratching and running noises. After paying $1500 in eviction fees, we were able to reclaim our home. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a smaller group than in years’ past. Kara started a ballet and acrobatics class. Anna decided to try basketball and Luke has loved learning soccer. We enjoyed our first (outdoor, socially distanced) visit with my Dad and Maggie since March. The vaccines are looking promising. I think this time, there really is an end in sight. Our new normal feels pretty normal.  Is that sad? I can’t tell anymore.

 December: The year is coming to a close. It has been a roller coaster of emotions. We managed to have some good times and somehow stayed healthy. We have played a lot of games, gone on countless bike rides, annoyed each other with karaoke and tried to find positives wherever we can. We miss our weekend adventures, but being isolated in Orlando is not so bad (at least for 5/6 of us).  We still got to spend lots of time with people we love. We have a lot to be thankful for!  We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope to see many of you in 2021!

 

Love,

Thomas, Kori, Anna, Jack, Kara, and Luke

Week After Christmas

The weekend after Christmas was fun. Marta, Frank, Elizabeth and Travis (Elizabeth's fiancé) visited us on the 26th. We had Chinese food for dinner and played one of our new games--Guesstures. 

Elizabeth helped Luke get set up.

On the 27th, we went to Night of a Million Lights at the Give Kids the World Village. It was the place where we were supposed to volunteer once a month in 2020. It was pretty pricey for our family (around $150), but I knew the money went to a good cause and it was nice to show the boys around the village. The lights were beautifully done and we spent about 2.5 hours walking around. Normally, they would have families staying there, so it is only in the rarest of circumstances that they can open to the public. They had to postpone 6000 visits during their closure! They plan on reopening on January 17th to a very small number of families. I hope it goes well and more kids can have their wishes granted.

There were lots of fun photo opportunities

The rest of week passed in an uneventful manner. Thomas worked all week, including New Year's Eve. We had our traditional cheese fondue for dinner, which everyone likes. Although, Luke doesn't eat the cheese, he just makes a plate of the dipping items. 

We talked about our favorite parts of the year and our hopes for 2021. Luke's favorite part of the year was Christmas. Thomas enjoyed all the telework. Anna said playing basketball. Jack said staying home. For Kara it was Thanksgiving. I was thinking more specifically about a favorite memory and I chose our day at Busch Gardens. 

We did not intend to stay up until midnight. Thomas has done it in the past with kids who were interested, but it was generally a low key affair, where the kids still went upstairs and read or hung out in their rooms until 10 or 11. Well, I think that is what they did, I can't remember the last time I stayed up on New Year's Eve. But, this year, all the kids were interested and we decided to just do it. We weren't prepared, we had no special snacks, party poppers, decorations, etc. But, it turned out to be a really fun night. 

We watched the Fox special with Joel McHale and Ken Jeong. Or, at least part of it. We would mute it and periodically play games. We played Throw Throw Burrito, which is Luke's new favorite. We also played "Just One", which was really fun. It is a collaborative game, so there is no winning or losing. A player puts up a card, but can't see the word on it. The other players have to write a single word as clues. But, if two players write the same word, then they are cancelled out. For example, one word was "mask". I wrote face, Luke wrote disguise and Thomas, Kara, and Jack all wrote Covid. So, Anna had to try and guess with just the hints of face and disguise. Unfortunately, she missed it. You play with 13 cards and see how many you can get. We ended up with 6. Not bad for our first time. Luke was able to guess "forest" based on oxygen, fire, Deku, camping and Voldemort. Everyone enjoyed the game. Our last game was Guesstures, which is a charades type game. We did girls against boys. Anna and Kara were amazing! They are good guessers and clue givers. Everyone did well and it was close, but thanks to Anna and Kara, the girls were victorious. We had a great time with all the games.

I was too busy playing to take pictures, but then Jack was just so funny. This is relax.

This is pucker.

Time went by quickly. At midnight, we counted down and then ran outside to see some of the fireworks people were setting off. There were some pretty big ones that were close by and it felt festive. I would even be willing to do it again.