A Drive, a Haircut, and More of the Same

Saturday: We were mostly lazy. Luke lost his sneakers, they are somewhere in the house, but I have no idea where. He has been wearing his old sneakers which are way too small and I thought we would have to wait for all of this to end to buy him some new ones. But, I had a targeted ad from Dick's on Facebook advertising cheap sneakers. They had some nice looking Reeboks on clearance for $13, regularly $40 or $50 (I can't remember which). They even had them in big kid sizes. Which was fortunate, because Kara also needed new sneakers and she liked the style and Anna left her sneakers in her gym locker. Since we are trying to exercise, good sneakers are kind of necessary and for that price, I was all in. They offered in-store pickup, but to get the sizes I needed, I had to go to two different stores. But, I was kind of excited about that, because I haven't ventured out of our neighborhood in a month and what else have I got to do? No one wanted to come with me, but I had a very enjoyable drive. I listened to an Office Ladies Podcast and enjoyed the light traffic. The first Dick's was at the Florida Mall. It was insane driving through that parking lot, on a Saturday no less, with no other cars! Very, very surreal.

The next stop was near Fashion Square Mall, a mere 20 minutes away. I had to head straight toward downtown and it was another fun drive. I recognized the area as where my brother Kevin went to his Navy A-school a million (well, roughly 25) years ago and where Thomas and I went to get our first military i.ds. I knew they had turned it into a posh Orlando suburb, so I did a short excursion to see if I could figure out where anything was, but I couldn't. However, I came out right near a Sweet Tomatoes and library we sometimes visit. It was fun to get a better idea of where things are in conjunction with one another. Normally, I would be routed on toll roads, but traffic was so light, I got to stay on the regular streets, which was helpful in learning my way around.

I also had my first Houseparty on Saturday to celebrate Sarah's birthday. It was fun to hang out and play games and see some faces I haven't seen in a while.

Sunday: We were determined to keep the kids off of electronics. We played games, including hide-and-go-seek, read, and had a really fun morning/afternoon.

Jack taught Kara to play Axis and Allies. It went well at first, Then, Kara angrily accused Jack of cheating and wouldn't listen to his explanation.  

Luke spent time practicing shoe tying and actually had some success! Then, he finished up all his school worksheets so he could go and knock on his teacher's door. I didn't realize why he was suddenly so intent on catching up on his school work and I felt bad about bothering her on a Sunday, but she assured me it was okay. He was super excited to show her how he could tie his sneakers. She was very kind to him, however, I am going to tell Luke that from now on, we will stick to the weekdays.

Shoe tying practice.

I took a short nap and when I got up, Thomas was cleaning and organizing the pantry. It was a big job and it is so nice to have everything organized and logically arranged.

Around 3:30, I decided everyone should experience the fun of a drive. We are still under a stay-at-home order, but are allowed to leave for essentials and I decided that Dairy Queen was essential (if they are open, they must meet the definition, right?). And, since there aren't any Dairy Queens nearby, we headed to International Drive. We haven't really been on I-Drive since we moved here, at least not the super touristy end. So, it was a good "destination". We saw 3 miniature golf places and some other cool things to check out--including Wonder Works, the upside down building we are super excited to visit, especially since they have $10 tickets right now. We got our Dairy Queen and enjoyed being out of the house. One of the really weird things about the drive was going by the airport and seeing the parked planes and the hundreds of thousands (at least that is what it looked like) rental cars just filling empty spaces. Crazy! It is was also weird not seeing any planes landing or taking off.

The kids waited in the car and we delivered their treats (Anna opted to stay home).

I didn't do my daily summary and thus I don't have much recollection of what we did during the week. I know there was work, bike rides and walks. On Wednesday, I was super excited to see Governor DeSantis' announcement regarding Florida's path forward. It started at 5 and he spent the first 30 minutes talking about how great Florida is doing and how wrong all the projections were. I actually know DeSantis from my JAGC days and I have been rooting for him to do well (not that we're friends, just an acquaintance from 15 years ago). But, what I really wanted was to hear the plan. Finally, he said Florida would enter Phase I on Monday, May 4th. Retail and restaurants can reopen with 25% capacity. Practically speaking, not much will change for my family. But, I am really hopeful it goes well and we can move onto Phase II in 2-3 weeks. I am anxious to resume visits with my family. Time will tell.

For dinner, Thomas grilled steaks and I made a fruit salad and mashed potatoes. It was delicious.

A meal that was unanimously enjoyed.

Today (Thursday), something major happened. Jack. Got. A. Haircut! His hair was a bit out of control. His sisters constantly begged him to get it cut, which may be why he resisted for so long. But, it finally reached a point where he could no longer stand it. I first attacked him with scissors, just for fun, as we knew Thomas would use the clippers. I am not good. After the haircut, Anna and I went on a walk and we called Elizabeth to wish her a happy birthday. We face-timed for about 45 minutes and it was so good to chat.

He has incredibly thick hair, I am sure it was uncomfortable. 

After my hack job with the scissors.

A refreshing buzz cut.

And, a few other photos from the week. Luke has been super interested in educational songs on YouTube. He loves anything with the planets and another one that goes through states and countries and names capitals. He will listen while he does his other work and sing along (loudly).

He also did this kids Mario themed workout a couple of times during the week.

A random picture of Anna hard at work.

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. 

Covid-19. One month in.

I can't believe it's been one month! This morning, Thomas went upstairs to the kids' rooms and Luke asked him if we were going somewhere. Thomas responded that yes, we were going to rope drop Small World at Disney World. The older kids knew he was kidding, but Luke wasn't so sure. When Thomas told him he was just joking, Luke was happy--he didn't want to go anywhere. My kids have become fully acclimated to staying home all day every day. Ugh! Well, we do leave the house for the occasional car ride or to go for walks or bike rides, but we haven't been anywhere in a month. No theme park, no playground, no visit with family, no restaurant, no Target or Walmart. How can they be okay with this??? I will admit that staying home hasn't been nearly as constricting as I expected, but I still can't wait to get back into the world! Hopefully, I will be able to drag someone with me when the time comes.

So, this week. For me, work was better. One of the more senior attorneys has volunteered to help me through my difficult actions. It has been so helpful to have someone to directly contact for guidance. Work is still busy, but not overwhelming now. Our organization has actually had an increase in productivity since telework began. I think it would be awesome if we could keep teleworking, even when this is all over with. Maybe not everyday, but once or twice a week would be amazing!

For the kids, Luke was a little better, but it is still a struggle to have him get everything done. Kara seems to be doing really well. She has some projects to do and I think her teachers are trying to do the same type of lessons they would have if they were in school. They have not posted any grades, so I actually have no idea if she is getting everything done, but I think she is. Unfortunately, Anna is struggling, but improving, at least in some classes. Jack is doing really well, except for Spanish--his Achilles heel this year.

Thomas and I have been a little more productive. We actually did some deep cleaning. And, we took on a big project--the garage! It will be nice if at the end of this, we can look around and see some visual evidence of all this time spent at home.

I didn't get a picture of the garage beforehand, but it was a disaster. We never really unpacked it.

So much better, we can even fit a car!

One sad story about cleaning the garage. Luke has been asking to switch to a booster seat and we told him when he was six we would make the break. When we were cleaning the garage, we had to do a dump run. I decided to throw his car seat in, it is fairly close to its expiration and not really fit to give away. It was a last minute decision and I didn't think much about it. Then, as I was leaving the dump, I realized that I didn't say goodbye. Luke has sat in that thing for at least 5 years (I think he had a different one as a newborn, but this has been it for a long time). And, I didn't get a last picture, I didn't pay it the proper respect it earned. I went through all my pictures from the last year and couldn't find a single one. Maybe it is stupid, but I feel pretty sad about it.

We haven't done any family workouts this week, but we have made sure to get in some physical activity every day. Anna and I have gone for walks most nights, which I've really enjoyed. All of us have been taking advantage of the pool. Most days it has been really hot. March was the hottest March since 1907! I feel like it has been one broken heat record after the other since we got here. But, at least we can use the pool.

Yesterday, the Governor announced that schools would be closed through the end of the year. Kara is a little sad to miss all the end-of-year 5th grade events. She is the only one who would rather be in school. Luke likes school, but he likes wearing his pajamas all day even more. I think Jack and Anna are pretty indifferent, but Jack likes having lots more time to do electronics. We may have a hard time breaking him of the habit when we get back into a normal routine. Regardless, I think closing schools is the right call. I don't know how or when this is going to end, but at least I know that for the next 6 weeks or so, we will be doing the same thing.

And, this week's random pictures. I finally realized why I have so many pictures of Luke, but not the other kids. It's because he constantly asks me to take pictures and videos of him. The other kids don't ask and I usually don't think of it.

Luke also enjoys practicing his roller skates.

Sheet pan dinners have become a regular staple in our house. 

Luke played Jenga by himself one night. He was so impressed with himself, he took a picture of the tower after each move.

Random Info

My friend Alecia did a blog with some "random info" about herself. It was fun to read and she challenged her friends to do the same. This is mine.

I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I also wanted 5 kids. I ended up with 4 and I think I am not very suited for a large family. I constantly struggle to be patient, although I think I am getting better. Once most of them were in school, I realized that I missed working and feeling independent. I am happy with this choice and think it was the best one for my family, although I still feel guilty sometimes.

Whenever I think of my biggest accomplishments, the weirdest one, of which I am very proud, is that I never paid to take a test in college. I think I've actually written about this before, but, in my college you took all tests at a testing center. A professor would give you a few days to take it and then there would be late days where you would have to pay a fee. The testing center was entirely funded by these fees. I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would pay to take a test and vowed to never do it and I never did.

Along those same lines, I am not really a procrastinator. I like to get things over with. I also have a little mantra I think whenever I have a deadline. I have been saying it at least since high school, it is, "don't worry, you always get things done, this time will be no different." Maybe because of this, I generally feel like things are within my control and I rarely feel stressed out.

I have always been an "early to bed, early to rise" person. I like to go to bed around 9:30/10 and get up around 6. Even on weekends. I am not rigid about it, but it is my preferred sleep timeline. I really like the early mornings when everyone else is sleeping and I have a quiet house to myself.

My mom died just a few months after my first children were born. I miss her everyday and really regret that I never got to know here while I was a mom. She was everything I strive to be as a parent and I wish I could tell her that.

I always start the day with an empty dishwasher. We run it at night and it always gets emptied first thing in the morning. I can't stand having dishes sitting around, even in the sink. I assigned each of my kids a cup color because I needed to know who was responsible for not putting their cups in the dishwasher and I wanted to limit the number of cups sitting around during the day.

I don't like things. I hate spending money on stuff, which can be challenging for some of my family members who may view me as frugal (ahem, a certain preteen girl). But, I would much rather spend money on vacations and experiences. I am constantly planning our next trip, well, except now.

Similarly, I don't really like to be home. I like to be out doing stuff (not work, I am pretty lazy when it comes to housework or home projects). This one is a struggle because all the males in my house are the opposite. Although, I will say that now that I have gotten used to it, being home all the time isn't as bad as I thought and maybe I will be happy to do more of it when given the choice.

I can't think of a most embarrassing moment. But, I hate it when I am asked to introduce myself to a group and say something interesting (this happens way more often than an adult should expect). Even when given notice, I can't think of anything. It is embarrassing to me that I don't have any exceptional stories or experiences to share. I lack special talents and I've never done anything that is amazing or overly interesting (not even a most embarrassing one!). Unfortunately, I can think of a few shameful moments, things that I truly regret, but those are not suitable for a room full of strangers.

One last sentiment--I love this blog. I love going back and seeing the memories. I am thankful to Sarah and Debby for talking about blogging all those years ago and encouraging me to join the world of bloggers. Just yesterday, I was reading through memories from 2015 and I am so glad I can just go back 5 years and know exactly what we were doing. I started it in 2011 and I wish I had done it earlier.

Week 4, Happy Easter

We have now been self-distancing for 4 weeks. This week passed much like the 3 before. Although, distance learning was a little bit tougher. Luke doesn't want to do it and it is a daily struggle to make him sit down and do all his assigned work. And, yesterday I looked at Skyward, the online system to view grades, and saw a number of missed assignments for the older kids. It is really hard for us to stay on top of them, plus work a full time job from home. I know I have griped about this in previous posts, but it is not getting easier. For Luke, they have gradually added more work and thus more of a time commitment. For the older kids, seeing that they are missing assignments means we have to be more diligent in making sure everything is getting done. And, they sometimes require help. But, we both have to work every day. It is a huge challenge. Well, some days it is a huge challenge and some days is a minor inconvenience.

They closed the track at the school, so we had to modify our workout plan. This week, we rode our bikes to the park, jogged one mile, did a short sprint (about 20 seconds) and then rode home. Kara, Luke, Thomas and I went 4 days. Jack and Anna joined in on a couple of those days. The other days, we still tried to get in some form of physical activity. The girls, Luke and I made up a synchronized swimming routine. We completely lack any semblance of gracefulness, so we have joked that it is the Country Bears version of synchronized swimming. We laugh a lot and had a good time coming up with our routine. I imagine we will keep adding to it throughout the summer.

The Easter Bunny drove through the neighborhood yesterday. It was cute. Luke and I went for a short walk and there were tons of people sitting on their porches waiting. I talked to a couple more neighbors, from a socially acceptable distance, which was nice. They also encouraged people to make sidewalk bunny trails in front of their houses. We took another walk today and tried out several. They were pretty fun and some were very creative. I do appreciate living in a very walkable/rideable neighborhood.

This morning (Easter), Kara and Luke had a surprise for us--they created a scavenger hunt! Luke drew the first clue and Kara hid Lego pieces with each answer along with another clue. When we reached the end, the adults had to use their pieces to build an Easter basket and the kids had to build a bunny and his carrot. It was very creative and we had a lot of fun racing through the house figuring out the clues.

The kids' clues and finished product.

We chatted with our family, swam, and made an Easter cake. We also talked about what Easter symbolizes. It was a nice day. Although, I was sad we couldn't spend it with more family. We have a giant ham to eat all by ourselves! The whole reason we moved to Florida was to spend more time with them and here we all are--sitting separately in our houses. But, I know that this will pass soon. Well, hopefully soon!

Easter Cake

Random picture of our tree swing getting some use. I didn't feel like putting my shoes on, so I took it through the screen. :)

Lego Master Challenges

For four days in a row, we have had an afternoon Lego Challenge. We enjoy watching the Lego Masters competition, so we decided to give a home version a try.

Kara especially loves any type of competition and we have thousands of Legos, so it is a good fit for the family. We typically give them 1.5-2 hours, depending on when we start, and it has been great for keeping them occupied and away from the screens. And, I have actually taken pictures!

Our first theme was "quarantine." We only gave them an hour, which was not enough time. On the show, they generally have 10+ hours, but our sweet spot appears to be just under two. We declared Luke the winner in the 5-7 category and Kara the winner in the overall category. Kara did a scene with a mermaid in quarantine and Luke did a house and car.

My favorite part was she had the slides roped off :)

Day 2's theme was Monsters. I  am actually not quite sure what Luke did. But, Kara did a Rapunzel-like tower being attacked, which was great. Jack built something with K'Nex that was cool, but I didn't get a picture and he only spent about 20 minutes on it. We declared Kara the winner in a close match and told Luke that we felt his time was coming and not to give up. For the prize, Kara got to choose the family movie and picked the Princess Bride (all participants get something, I think this day it was a juice box).

Day 3 was Party. Anna decided to join in, but apparently Luke kept taking her Legos, so they decided to work together. Luke and Anna did a Polar Bear Party and Kara did a Bunny Birthday. They were both really cute. But, Luke and Anna were the victors. Luke's prize was also choosing the family movie. He decided on Coco.

The polar bear with the hat was a super cute surprise

I loved the carrot car and sculpted bunny

Today's theme is the "the most bricks". They are upstairs building as I write. I am not a huge fan of being forced to pick a winner, but other than that, I love the challenges and hope the kids don't get tired of them anytime soon.

Star Wars Rankings

As promised--the Star Wars rankings. I am pretty confident that absolutely no one has been eagerly anticipating this post. Of course, now that I think about, does anyone ever eagerly anticipate any of my posts???

Thomas, Jack, Kara and I each ranked all the movies independently. Then, I added up our rankings and divided by 4 to determine final placement. The master Wilson ranking is as follows:

1. Rogue One
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Rise of Skywalker
5. The Last Jedi
6. Solo
7. A New Hope
8. The Phantom Menace
9. The Force Awakens
10. Attack of the Clones
11. Revenge of the Sith

I think Kara and my rankings are more character-driven while Jack and Thomas are more plot-focused. In a funny twist, me and Kara had the same #1 (The Last Jedi), which came in dead last for both Jack and Thomas, giving it an overall placement of #4. Jack claims that our "love of The Last Jedi proves just how shallow" our understanding is of the Star Wars Universe. His #1 was Return of the Jedi. Thomas' was The Empire Strikes Back.

Rogue One was in the top 3 for me, Jack and Thomas and ranked fourth for Kara, which is how it earned the overall number 1 spot. Kara and I both really disliked the first three movies (IMO Anakin is the worst character ever and the love story between him and Queen Amidala is so unbelievable that it skews everything else). However, I will say that I really liked Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi, but it was not enough to overcome my dislike of Anakin.

I appreciated the slower pace of the originals, it was easier to know where they were and what was going on, I feel like in the newer movies, they are always on their way to someplace else and I am never quite sure of where, why or how. However, I found the characters a little less likeable than in the newest 3. I really liked Finn, Rey and Luke. Although, I hated that the Emperor came back, that made no sense. But, whatever, none of it really makes any sense.

Luke's favorite was Return of the Jedi. He watched some of them, but not enough to earn the ability to participate in the rankings. Anna did not want to watch at all, she is not a fan (although, I am not sure how you determine you are not a fan if you don't watch them?).

Other movie night choices include: The Princess Bride, Cool Runnings, Onward, Aladdin (live action), Frozen 2, That Thing You Do, and The Muppets (2014 version). We have now spent approximately 12000 hours watching movies.