Thursday, May 21, 2020

Week 9: Quarantine Blog

I'm falling a little behind here, as I forgot I didn't post last week, but when I looked back on my pictures, I realized there isn't too much to report... BUT, we did celebrate Mother's Day, enjoyed some beautiful weather, the girls did some painting and we celebrated my friend, Sara's, 40th birthday with a socially distanced driveway celebration! 
The news remains steady, with the NC numbers still going up quite a bit, but the state moving towards reopening anyway... We're planning to continue our quarantine here, but hopefully get to be outside with friends a bit more. The kids actually got out for some bike rides with friends this week, so they could still be distant, but talk "in person", and I got to take one of my walks with a friend and talk too. The world is a crazy place these days, but we're slowly taking steps here to figure out we're going to do to return to "normal" safely. Hope you are all doing the same and staying safe!
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Happy Mother's Day to all our moms, sisters, grandmas & friends out there! This is truly how it feels to be a Mom and I am blessed to have been given this job...
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Brian and the kids made me an awesome dinner of filet mignon crusted with parmesan cheese, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. The best part is that I didn't have to plan it, make it or clean it up!
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I told the kids that all I wanted were some nice notes from them... Emily even went out on a limb and shared her old valentines candy with me! It was nice to know she appreciates me, even though she doesn't eat my cooking :) My favorite part is the quote she put on there from "The Help" that we watched together a few weeks ago... I love to know we are making these memories together and they are learning something along the way:
"You is smart, you is kind, and you is important!"
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Abby wrote a heartfelt note (I told her I'd keep it to myself), and she spent hours making me a "jar of wishes"! What a thoughtful gift...
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Ben got on a conference call with his teacher and she had them draw a portrait of their Mom (although we all decided it looked a bit like a sad Little Red Riding Hood after the wolf ate her grandmother...), and write words to describe her... Apparently, I am caring, a great cook, and good at puzzles! All very true statements, buddy!
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My actual gift from Brian was a bidet! Now I can have a clean butt and save money on toilet paper that we can't find!
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Ben has been busy with learning all kind of random things, and this day, it was all about sloths... 
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It may have been highlighted on Mother's Day that I was a good cook, but it has definitely been kicked into high gear these days since we can't go out to restaurants anymore! I do feel like all I do is plan, cook and clean up meals... BUT I have been experimenting more with the sourdough starter, and this week it was cinnamon raisin bread to try!
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Ben has also been learning how to actually type since nearly all his work is on the computer these days... It's a great skill for them to have, so we'll keep practicing!
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Remember when all of this started and I had the girls make their "schedules" for the day? This was Emily's plan, followed by an ACTUAL schedule that she had to make for an assignment this week... Our intentions were good in the beginning at least!
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This meme couldn't be more true! Although around here, we still can't find toilet paper, so I don't know where the people are that don't care about it!
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I've been trying to do most of my grocery shopping online and having it delivered or picking it up, but I decided to try Trader Joe's this week since I've heard they have great social distancing rules in place... They had everything marked up where to stand, and after waiting 20 minutes outside, 6 feet apart, I was given a freshly sanitized cart and let loose in the store. I really hate shopping these days, and I find masks to be claustrophobic, so while I'll keep doing it for what I need, I'd rather stay at home and shop on my computer!
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They might have a lot of rules to follow at Trader Joe's, but at least we don't have to wear pool noodles to social distance ourselves... YET...
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I know I'm not the only one who has been getting down some days about the news and the crazy state of the world, so I think something like this can help most of us keep everything in perspective... 
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I made the girls go outside for a while one day, and they decided to set up their own art studio and unleash their creativity (with a little help from some old Bob Ross videos)... They truly have been becoming such good friends through this time of "family only"!
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Friday night, Brian, Emily & Ben spent the night in the tent in the backyard and watched some Fear Factor on the big screen! 
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I truly have the best neighbors... look what was delivered to my front porch last night! I definitely live in a place where we look out for each other... each trip to the store, someone is getting something for someone else if they happen to score the jackpot of finding coveted items in stock!
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We had some very hot days this week, and Abby & I made it a whole 30 minutes in the backyard before we got too hot and had to go back in! What will August be like?!?!?!
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We were happy to be able to celebrate Sara's 40th birthday with her, but it would have been better with a hug!
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To leave you all with some smiles, Emily has figured out that she can come out of her quarantine hideout by wearing her dinosaur costume! She was thrilled that she could even give hugs in it! She provided some wonderful dancing entertainment for the neighborhood, and we love that goofy girl for her funny, witty and charming personality!
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1 comment:

Mor-Mor said...

All I can say is you all are making wonderful memories through this very difficult time.
I loved the dinner, the dinosaur , Abbys painting and Bens Mothers Day card.
Cant wait until next weeks blog entry:)
LAMP, MOR-Mor

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