homeschool highlights (weeks 3 and 4)

Did I mention I started graduate school last week? If I forget to update here for a while, just assume it's because I'm buried in homework of my own. So far it's going pretty well, but I've been at it for exactly one week and have turned in zero assignments, so it would be pretty hard for it to NOT be going well. Still, I'll take the wins where I can get them.

As for homeschool, it was a more sporadic week than most between Labor Day and me starting school. We still managed to get through the bare minimum, though, so everyone still learned some history and math at the very least. Caroline is about to start multiplication, which is my very favorite operation, so I'm excited to get to play all of the multiplication games with her. I have such fond memories of times tables in third grade.

We finished Anne of Green Gables and watched the miniseries starring Megan Follows. It brought back so many memories of my childhood, but I have to say, the book was better. I knew it would be, but I wondered if it was *really* that much better? Yes, yes it was. In fact, even Miriam got to experience the agony of watching a movie and having it skip her favorite parts. It's a hard lesson to learn, but one every other member of this family has learned at one time or another. (Even Josh, who finally had that experience with Ready Player One. It was so funny to watch him fume on the way home from the theater while the rest of us jaded readers knew what to expect.)

What we haven't been excelling at is art. I'd really like to have more art projects as part of our schooling, but I am consoling myself with the fact that both Caroline and Miriam have started folding origami in the past few weeks. It may not be structured art lessons as part of school, but there is plenty of art going around.

homeschool highlights (week 2)

When I said last week that we were really enjoying our weekly poetry readings, I meant it. What I didn't know at the time, however, is that they could get even better. It all started when Miriam wanted to read a poem. Listening to her read Shel Silverstein might be the cutest thing I experienced all week. Inspired by her contribution, Jonah and Caroline chimed in as well. By the end of the tea party, we were all in stitches while Jonah read us cat poems he found online and Caroline and Miriam read us their favorites from our family poetry compilations. I'm seeing more poem collecting in my future if I'm going to keep these kids in poems. 

We all had different favorites of the cat poems, but here are two of my favorites:

 

Sleeping with Cats
The trouble with sleeping with cats

is there isn't room left for parts of me

(as the night grows).

I adjust my body in the bed, comfort
an arm or leg in small stretches of belonging,
or feel for a cool
or warm spot for feet
(depending on the time of year);
but when I come back to a place
it isn't there.

The cat
has melted and flattened, smoothed into
my bed, all the places I have touched
taken over and he owns it all
by midnight.

 

Nudge
Nudge
Nudge nudge nudge
Nudge nudge nudge nudge nudge nudge
Nudge
Your glass just shattered on the floor.

 

                                                       MY BLOG

                                                      by caroline mays

hello today I am in school.  blog is a thing on my list. These are my things

 on my list: finish practice 2A . practices are math  put you practice the things that you learned.

 

 

 

 

 

 
soon I am going to get my own ad! so I am going to
do some extra chores so that is what i have been doing today

 

 

 

 

the mays family school rises again! (week 1)

When we moved to North Carolina, the state homeschool requirements included registering our home school. Josh was dismayed when he found out I'd registered the school under the name Mays Family School without even considering all of the creative and awesome names we could have used instead. (Sorry, kids, for ruining your chances of an Academy of Mischief diploma someday.) 

When we moved to Lincoln county and fell in love with the local elementary school, Mays Family School was closed, the school books packed up, and that was that. 

Until last week.

As I mentioned in the last post, we're homeschooling the girls for the time being, so MFS has risen again, albeit with more students this time (and one part-time student who keeps finishing his virtual school work by 11am).

We didn't take a first day of school picture, but we did have a first day of school. Here are the highlights from our first week and a half:

 -Poetry Slam Fridays: Our favorite tradition from homeschool is going strong. We make fancy treats, pout teacups of hot chocolate (or chocolate milk), and read poetry. Last Friday, we made scones. Today, we're trying our hand at crumpets. Yes, this may be the one and only use for our teacups, but I have refused to get rid of them every time we move or downsize or clean out the cupboards. I have an irrational love for these little brown, ceramic tea cups.

-Reading together: This should come as no surprise, but reading together has been my favorite part. We're currently reading Anne of Green Gables, which is even more delightful than I thought it would be.

-6am school for Jonah: Jonah is an early riser and likes to be ready for all schoolwork well in advance. One definite plus to his intensity is that when the NC education cloud froze and kicked students off all week, Jonah was already logged in or done for the day. There are advantages to starting before breakfast!

-P.E. at the park: They miss their friends, I often run out of constructive things to have them do, and we're all a little tired of the heat. All that said, we've been going to the park and riding bikes and scooters on days when we just need out of the house. 

Our goals for this next week? Get over the math slump with Caroline, find our missing library books so we can go back to the library, take at least one picture, and figure out a spelling list more than 10 minutes in advance.

back to school, 2020 edition

Like most families right now, we're cobbling together an education plan for our children this year. There are so many valid and important considerations and (as I see it) no perfect solution. What we've come up with (for now? forever?) is to send Jonah to his regular middle school, which is starting 100% online. He'll have class from 8-12 online each day and then small group work or independent assignments in the afternoon (if I understood the schedule correctly). For the girls, we were unhappy with all available options given their ages (I really don't want Miriam doing virtual 1st grade, for example, especially given the program our area is utilizing for virtual classes). As such, we've decided to unenroll them and resume homeschooling for the time being. Caroline is especially excited about the prospect because it means she won't have to wear a mask to school.* At least, she was, until we had the following exchange:

Me: So starting tomorrow, so we have time to practice before school starts Wednesday, I need you all to eat breakfast and be in my bed by 7:30 in the morning.

J: It takes me like 3 hours to finish breakfast!

Me: Well, honey, school starts at 8. So I guess you'll need to start breakfast by 5am.**

C: Ugh, that's too early!

Me: I know, but if you were going to school, you'd have to be dressed and out the door by then, so this is still not quite that bad.

C: School is NOT fun anymore.

*Caroline had to wear a mask to a doctor's appointment early in the pandemic and has never forgiven me, the nurse who gave it to her, or COVID in general. She does wear a mask when we leave the house, but we rarely leave the house. When given the option, she never leaves the house so as to avoid the offensive mask.

**Not really. He's just hungry all the time these days, so it does take him a bit longer to eat an actual breakfast than he'd like. He'd really prefer to just drink a glass of juice and wait for dinner...a sentiment I have never once experienced in my life. He definitely gets that from someone else.

those pesky tangerines

M: Mom, will you cut this tangerine for me? I tried using the apple slicer, but it just smushed everything up.
Me: Sure, dear. It's called a nectarine, though.
M: Oh, I know it's called a nectarine. The way I know it's a tangerine is because Jonah told me it's called a tangerine. I mean, nectarine!

M: The reason I just keep saying tangerine is because it just blurts out of my mouth and is easier to say than tangeri—... I mean, nectarine!

overheard this morning

Miriam (to Josh): Hola!
Josh: Hola! Como estas?
Miriam: Wow, you know a LOT of Spanish!

writer's block (June edition)

So even though March, April, and May were stressful in their own ways, does it seem like June has just gotten ugly? I'm having a hard time figuring out what I want to say. Most of my talking and processing has been done offline. I miss the days of the internet being full of funny memes and people/groups lending support to people stuck at home. Now it seems like everyone wants to have a capital D Discussion but no one has time to actually listen to each other. So I'm spending much less time online and much more time in my garden and with my kids.

That said, I came across a quote (in a book about first alien contact, weirdly enough) that keeps coming back to me:

"It's so much harder to actually define yourself and work to imagine the best possible future than it is to tear down others' ideas."

I like that. Fear and anger are valid and have their place, but what I want to see is a serious conversation about what we want for our city, state, country, world when it comes to whatever the hot topic of the day is. What do you want our teachers and our schools to have? What do we expect of parents and families when it comes to their kids' educations and what is in the best interest of everyone to have available for all children? What is the role of the police and what isn't? What are we okay giving up in terms of privacy or convenience for public health and what protections do we want to see in place to preserve those things?

When you're ready to have those conversations, let me know. I have some ideas.

Until then, I'll be watching old movies with my kids and trying to get past this writer's block so I can document the great things about June so far: Miriam's birthday, visits from family, and the most delicious peach jam.

Days 69 & 70 (the eighth "weekend")

Well, the rain is back again.

In other news, we've changed our chore routine (gripping updates here, I know) and I discovered TWO volunteer tomatillo plants. I've done my best to transplant them, but the jury is still out on whether or not they will survive the move. If they do, this should be my best tomatillo year yet and we'll be bottling green salsa all summer. If not, I'm giving up on tomatillos altogether, since I keep getting tiny little fruits and not much else.*

Josh and I also took advantage of the sun (while it lasted) and worked on the front garden bed. Maybe one more solid day of work and it should be ready for soil. Sometimes we get busy listing all the things we want to fix about the house (we have big dreams) and it starts to get overwhelming. But then I think back to what we've already done and I feel pretty pleased with our first stint into home ownership.

*The internet said I either need more plants or to plant them closer together, so if 5 plants relatively close together isn't enough to get a decent crop, the internet was either wrong or I'm not willing to make the necessary commitment to grow them.

Day 68

On Aunt Teri's last Friday night visit, we did find calf liver (after calling 5 different stores) and managed to make liver and onions that were decent enough for everyone but Caroline and Miriam to enjoy. They both tried exactly one bite and then politely declined to have any more.

The rain stopped sometime in the afternoon, so we all emerged cautiously to see if we would be able to go outside at last. It felt so nice to be outside again!

After dinner, Josh and I celebrated North Carolina entering Phase 2 of its reopening by visiting Rob & Shanté. It was fitting, seeing as they were the last people we saw before the stay-at-home order. We stayed out waaaaay too late, but it was so nice to be together.

Now that the week is coming to an end, Josh is preparing to teach online again for the summer and I'm gearing up for my last class before grad school: linear algebra.

Day 67

It has rained almost 4 inches in the past 3 days. We're about to float away* and all going just a little bit stir crazy. Send help!

*Not really. Our house is at the top of a hill. Seriously, though, there are puddles all over the yard, which is saying quite a bit since the ground can actually absorb quite a bit.

Day 66

Today's adventure was looking for calf liver, which is apparently harder to find than I thought it would be. What I did find plenty of was livermush. What is livermush? Here's what the Wikipedias say: "a Southern United States pork food product prepared using pig liver, parts of pig heads, cornmeal and spices. It is a regional cuisine that is common in Western North Carolina, and is typically consumed as a breakfast and lunch food. It has been suggested that livermush derives from scrapple. By law in North Carolina, the product must consist of at least 30% pig liver. Several festivals exist in North Carolina that are dedicated to the food."

We're trying to pull off liver and onions for dinner tonight, but I might throw in some livermush just so I can say we've tried it. We've been here in Western North Carolina for almost 5 years now (5 years!!).

I have one more place to try before I bite the bullet and drive into the butcher shop. Fortunately, my sweet mama made me a mask that I can tie so there are no ear elastics bumping the ear bar of my glasses.

Day 65: what we're watching

I can't pick a favorite SGN, so here's the one I watched this morning (time to make some pierogi):



Then, to lighten up the mood in case you're crying (I can't be the only one that cries during these), some humor:



Finally, I will be introducing my children to The Three Musketeers today, so I have a big bowl of popcorn to pop. This will be a trip back to high school for me, and I can't wait!

Day 64, Miriam style.

Me: Oh, Miriam, your dress is caught in your shorts.
M: Oh yeah, that happens all the time at school.
Me: Ok, so you can fix it?
M: Oh yes. It happens every time I go to the bathroom, so you don't have to worry. I'm used to it.

---

Miriam: Mom! Dr. Faucilier said "hashtag." Do you know that word? Well I made up a song.
Miriam (singing): Hashtag with Faucilier! Hashtag with Faucilier!
Me: Mm-hmmm, that's nice dear.
Miriam: Jonah says it's not really a thing like that, so I just decided it's a new word. It means playing tag with hashes. Hashes are like pets or something.

---

(From her journal): My name is Miriam and I am five years old. There's this new disease called the coronavirus so everyone is stuck at home. My sister is writing this because I don't have very good handwriting and, well, I'm just in kindergarten.

---

Last night, Miriam cried herself to sleep because she can never manage to wake up before Jonah. I told her to wait a few years and try again. I also suggested she have Caroline wake them both up in the morning. "No," she wailed. "Caroline always sleeps in SO LATE!"*

*Caroline gets up around 7:30, but for my early birds Miriam and Jonah, that is SO LATE.

Days 62 & 63 (the seventh "weekend")

And maybe the last weekend? At least of daily posts. NC might be transitioning to more or less open (with severe crowd size restrictions) at the end of this next week, though we are in no rush to hurry out into public just yet.

For the most part, things feel fairly normal now that school has ended. We are home a bit more than usual, but both Josh and I are homebodies anyway. We don't eat out much and soccer season would have been over by now anyway. With the exception of church activities, our lives would be more or less the same as they are now any given summer...except they aren't. What we'd like to do is be making plans to go see family in Arizona or head to the beach or making arrangements for a fall break trip. Instead, we sit on our hands and wait. It's especially tough when there are time-sensitive visits (sick family, children's birthdays, graduations that won't come around again) and we feel like loading up and heading west is a bad idea because we'd just be bringing potential illness along. That's when this whole thing feels oppressive, especially for a planner like me. But as I said, it's more or less normal most days now that the stress of an online semester is over for all of us.

After celebrating Jonah's birthday, we had a busy work weekend. The front garden bed is coming along nicely and the twice-a-week lawn mowings have begun. That one sentence right there encompasses at least 6 hours of work.

I have a fantastic volunteer tomato* that is growing in–of all places–the chicken run.I've been watching this bad boy since he was just a little sprout peeking out in the middle of a cinder block. Flowers popped up on the tomato this weekend, so I'm eager to see what kind of tomato it is. I might have also found some wild blackberries in the forest**, so we're all waiting on pins and needles to see if we have any berries in our forest.

*We had volunteer tomatoes last year, but they were all the least favorite variety of the year before. If it turns out that this tomato is also a white cherry tomato, I'll be happy to let the chickens eat it. No one cared for the tomatoes last time (or the time before), even if the plants were incredibly prolific.

**I thought so last year when the vines were in bloom, but no berries ever showed up so I assumed we had wild roses (something called a Carolina rose maybe?). But then there are definitely baby berries this year, so did I miss them this year or did they get eaten by wildlife or am I wrong yet again?

Day 61

On Day 61 of hunkering down at home, we celebrated this kid turning 12:

As is the family tradition, he got to pick the meals for the week. We are currently working our way through these fine selections:

1. baked salmon
2. spaghetti
3. cobb salad
4. fish tacos
5. green chile
6. shrimp cocktail
7. chicken pot pie

After insisting he didn't want any cake at all, I accepted the challenge and started showing him pictures of all the cakes I could think of that didn't have buttercream frosting (he's never been a big fan of traditional birthday cake). He settled on a pineapple upside down cake—my first since high school. It was so good!

Then he spent the evening playing Zelda and hanging out with his aunt Teri. It may not have been the birthday he had in mind a few months ago, but I think he had a great day. I hope so, because he's a great kid.

Day 60

Thursday. One more day until the big day, but also the day I keep thinking it's Friday all day long. Dates are weird when you don't leave the house.

Anyway, to round out the memory lane, years 10-11 (since we don't have a 12 yet!):

Year 10: This school year was much better because he went in knowing what to expect on day 1. He wasn't as emotional about promotion (I think they call it bridging here?) to middle school as many of his friends, probably because he was only at Union for a grade and a half, but he was still looking so dang grown up! He and Vex solidified their best friendship and he started turning into a class clown. Who would have thought?

Year 11: Middle school! Is it even fair to come up with a favorite memory of the year that is still happening? Let's just say having an 11-year-old is just about as fun as when he was 4, though for different reasons. He is a ton of help around the house, capable of thoughtful discussion, and overall my right-hand man. He loved running more than I thought he would, and it turns out he's pretty good at it, too:

[Picture forthcoming, as somehow the cross country picture broke Blogger.]

Day 59

Years 7-9 of The Boy Child (We're getting close!):

Year 7: Goodbye again, Arizona. Hello, North Carolina! One of the great joys of Jonah's life when we moved to North Carolina was how easy it was to find a stick when you needed one (hard to do in a manicured community in the desert). We missed our friends and family in Arizona, but we loved the big yard. Here he is racing Uncle Jerry's tractor:

Year 8: Ah, sweet Jonah. This picture from his baptism is one of my favorites (even if Miriam says she doesn't even recognize Josh without his beard). His piano skills had just about passed mine by this point, and we added a sister to our homeschool days. Somewhere between Year 4 and Year 8, he stopped being my sidekick and turned into a big kid.

Year 9: My boy started school in year 9. He loved Union, but the transition was not always an easy one. He had a fantastic teacher and class (hand picked by the principal including the class with the shortest boys so Jonah wouldn't feel too short), but it took a while to figure out how he was supposed to interact with boys who just wanted to be gross at lunch and punch and hit their friends.

Day 58

The Week of Jonah's Birthday, Day 2: Years 4-6

(We bring you this installment of Quarantine News/Jonah Adoration a few days late because on the actual Day 58, I was neck-deep in Differential Equations.)

Year 4: I know you're not supposed to have favorite children, but I'm allowed to have favorite ages of children, right? Four-year-old Jonah was something special, let me tell you. He was old enough to hang out with and laugh with and the first glimpse we really got of what older Jonah would be like.

Year 5: This year, we moved back to Arizona and began our homeschooling adventure together. The first time he and I went to the grocery store, he put his hands up to shade his eyes and wailed about the sun and how it was SO BRIGHT. Then we got in the car and he thought he would die from the heat. Yes, son, this is what summer feels like without trees to shade you or humidity to cushion/suffocate you.

Year 6: We may not have stayed long in Arizona, but we lived it up while we were there. Jonah's Lego skills really took off and he and I hit our stride with the homeschool thing (sort of), so here is a picture from one and a memory from the other.

The memory: "Today, we were talking about ancient Egypt. Jonah wanted to see a picture of some things we were discussing, so we looked up drawings and such online. When he couldn't find a real picture of what he wanted, he got frustrated.

"There are no pictures of it, honey," I said. "Cameras didn't exist yet."

He teared up and cried, "But you don't know anything!""

Day 57

The Week of Jonah's Birthday, Day 1:

Birthday Week is a big deal around here, especially when one's oldest child is turning 12 and won't even get to spend a minute of it with his friends. TWELVE! In honor of his birthday, I present a favorite picture/video and memory from his first 3 years:

Year 1: I was just telling my mom that the summer we lived on the ASU Polytechnic campus was so hot and miserable that all my memories are equally hot and miserable. Well they must not ALL be miserable memories, because seeing this picture reminds me of all the walks Josh and I took with baby Jonah to the little neighborhood park so he could eat grass and roll around in the wood chips. We spent most of every day just following him around and laughing at everything he did. I remember people warning me that having a baby would change my life (no more sleep, no more vacations, so much money...) but no one mentioned how HILARIOUS it would be. Kids are so funny!



Year 2: Case in point on the funny kids: this is my favorite video of little Jonah. He spent HOURS sitting at that window announcing the color and size of all vehicles coming in and out of the apartment complex parking lot: http://thefamilymays.blogspot.com/2010/02/video-proof.html

Year 3: And then somehow, he was a big kid living in Alabama already. This picture is proof that he really favored his Uncle Quintin as a toddler (we think he looks more like Brandon now). I remember that we spent so many hours at the various Tuscaloosa parks, but I'd forgotten how fluffy and blonde his hair was.

Days 55 & 56 (the sixth "weekend")

The state of North Carolina entered stage 1 of a 3-stage reopening this weekend. We're still laying low (mostly because we can) while we wait to see how the state handles this change. There are actually only a few things I'm eager to get back to doing until everything is all the way back to normal (whatever that means anyway):

I'd like to go out to eat in a restaurant where we sit and visit. Josh and I eat out very rarely, but when we do, it's an event. I also have a good friend getting ready to move that I'd love to eat with sitting in a restaurant where someone refills my ice water while we talk and laugh.

I'd like to go to IKEA for a few dishes (actually lids to some dishes, if we're being specific). Even better if my youngest children can play in Småland, but that's negotiable).

I want to have dinner with friends or take my kids to play at the park without worrying about whether or not we're infecting the people we love who are at highest risk.

As much as I appreciate our library's efforts to keep getting people books in a safe manner, I miss browsing at the library! Since bookstores are now set to reopen (at limited capacity), I'm eagerly awaiting the time when the library will do the same, especially since we have a brand new library going in down the road.

Other than that, I can't think of anything I'm desperate to do! Yes, I could probably use a haircut, but I've been known to put that off for months for no reason other than laziness. We have been talking about taking the children to Disney World, but honestly, I don't mind an excuse not to worry about those plans right now. I will miss attending live events if those are on hold for the fall, but I can wait as long as I can watch them at home. Frankly, I prefer to watch close football games alone, and I rarely spring for the good seats when we go see plays at this point anyway.

It was also Mother's Day this weekend and the children were adorable in their love for me. I got one of two annual hugs from Jonah (he also offers to give me a hug on my birthday) and they all played games with me all morning. Add in the fact that my plants survived the freak frost and I had a nap and it was a perfect day!

Day 54

To celebrate (?) Friday night, Josh and I took a long walk after dinner. It ended up being a longer walk than we anticipated since we thought we'd try a new loop that turned out to be more windy than we both thought.

Either way, we were rewarded by a beautiful sunset* and some peace and quiet.

Also, I finished my Calculus final, so that's one class down!

*At this point, it's been pretty well established that quick cell phone photos of sunsets never do the scene justice. And yet, I can't stop myself from trying.

Day 53

Without warning today, I felt better. Was it the weather? Was it the walk I took after dinner? Was it finishing up my last stats assignment? It may have been all of those things, but I think it was smaller details too: Caroline noticing my stress and coming to give me a hug and ask how she can help; Jonah's constant willingness to help with his sisters, with dinner, in the yard; a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream for lunch...

Yes, all of those things were great, but I think it really might have been the plants my friend Marian gave me for my greenhouse room in Animal Crossing. Mock if you want, but this is my happy place after a long afternoon of homework:

Day 52

I learned a new mathematical symbol today. That is all you need to know about how my day is going.

Day 51

I got a Roll Tide at the dump today. I was feeling pretty good about it since my Alabama sweatshirt has the University seal (as opposed to a giant A or Alabama that would be easier for a less passionate fan to spot) until I remembered that I was driving Josh's truck that has both an Alabama front license plate and a back sticker. Roll Tide anyway, random dude.

Day 50

50? Day 50?! This is the week of videos, apparently. Now that Doodles with Mo have ended (they ended some time ago, but we were running a bit behind), we've taken to entertaining ourselves with Some Good News, SEC Shorts, and Tier Zoo. North Carolina is targeting this weekend for the first phase of our tiered reopening. With the exception of a few more retail shops (bookstores and clothing outlets, mostly) opening at 50% capacity, there won't be much of a change. The biggest change is that gatherings of 10 or fewer are acceptable outdoors, so you'd better believe there will be some kids that finally get to see someone other than me!

Days 48 & 49 (the fifth "weekend")

In my never-ending effort to add to our flock of chickens this year, I drove to South Carolina for 5 new chickens Saturday. I might be crazy, but I blame end-of-semester stress for everything. I also discovered a new favorite sandwich bread recipe that uses a little over a cup of my sourdough discard (the recipe calls for making a new starter, but I've just been using my discard), which is always welcome.

I also made baguettes and am planning on some homemade donuts this week because what else am I supposed to do other than bake and garden? And since my garden won't be actually producing anything* for at least a month, I have to come up with my own projects while I wait.

*I have my first baby tomato! It was sighted today. It will be a yellow pear, so not enough for more than one single bite, but a first tomato is always worth celebrating.

Day 47

Friday is always a good day because Friday is Aunt Teri day! This Friday, Josh and I also ventured out for some construction supplies (along with the entire county, judging by the traffic and parking lot at Lowe's). I can't really blame them since I was there myself, but if we have to stay locked down all summer because we all couldn't control ourselves, I will be quite vexed.*

*I empathize more and more with Mrs. Bennett and her nerves the longer this stay-at-home order lasts.

Day 46

Miriam: Mom? If you found a genie, what would your wishes be?
Me: Well, I would definitely wish for the ability to teleport so I could travel all over the world.
Miriam: You don't even have to wish all three if that's your only wish.
Me: No, I'm sure I can come up with more.
Miriam: Remember what the rules are: 1. No making people fall in love. 2. No bringing people back from the dead. 3. No wishing for more wishes.
Me: Yes, that's right.
Miriam: I know what mine would be!
Me: Oh yeah?
Miriam: My first wish would be to BREAK THOSE RULES! Then, once that wish is done, I could wish for more wishes!!

Day 45

As promised, here are before and after pictures of the front garden beds. Now it's should be clear why my schoolwork is suffering somewhat. Keep in mind that these after pictures will be quite different as plants start growing and I figure out what to plant where long term. For the time being, these are extra garden plants that may or may not thrive with the partly shady conditions of the front beds.

These pictures are from the online listing before we bought the house:

And here is the front bed now without those terrible* hedges:

*To be fair, they were well-trimmed, flowering hedges, so another owner might have loved them. Terrible is only my opinion of hedges in general after spending two years digging up root balls, not a comment on these particular hedges.

Day 44

Today was another outside day: yard work, strawberry picking (along with what felt like the entire state of North Carolina, but the cashier wore a mask and the fields were big enough that we weren't within 20 feet of anyone else, let alone 6), and running around with the sole survivor, Eddis.

 

Caroline picked almost 2 gallons of strawberries all by herself in the time it took Miriam and me to pick the other gallon. She was unstoppable!

Jonah, who was in mourning for the chickens since we lost Pig all those weeks ago, has finally warmed up to the cause of keeping Eddis company. They've been having a great time. Jonah carries her around and talks to her and Eddis rewards him by pooping on him every time.

Tomorrow, I will go back to school work (I hope?), but today my brain is fried.

I also would like to add that I have not purchased toilet paper for almost 2 months because I didn't need any and I was doing my best to avoid the panic buying. Now that it's time to start thinking about getting some, there had better be some on the shelf for people like me who did not hoard the paper, people!

Day 43

Day 43 was actually yesterday. That wouldn't normally matter since days are meaningless except it was a significant day in the Mays household. Yesterday was the 9-year anniversary of our tornado!

What's strange about the day is that although I saw the commemorative posts online from many Alabama friends, I spent the entire day thinking it was Monday, May 4. It was not a day spent in contemplation or even reminiscing like most April 27ths are for me, but the anniversary happened nonetheless.

(And a very happy birthday to Finn, as well! He's lucky he has such a memorable birthday since I can barely remember my own siblings' birthdays.)

Days 41 & 42 (the fourth "weekend")

Sad day. Something got into what we thought was a secure chicken run and devoured 3 of the 4 remaining chicks. Poor Eddis is now the sole survivor.

The children were sad but seem to have bounced back pretty quickly (the chickens were no longer cuddly and cute, so they were not nearly as lovable, I guess), but I am really taking this one hard, probably because the kids had so much fun with their babies. This is why you should never name/love/look at livestock!

Meanwhile, Caroline, Jonah, and Miriam are planning a funeral.

------

The funeral was both very sweet and very funny. I don't know why I was so upset this morning, but I guess I just needed a funeral to feel better. We all shared our heartfelt and also hilarious eulogies, Miriam immediately started speaking during the moment of silence (of course she did), and then I took a long nap. Considering the difficulty in getting baby chicks right now (something I expect to change quite a bit in a few months), Eddis may just be an only child for a while. Chickens don't generally like to be alone, so we'll see how that goes.

Day 40

Yard work: better than school work.

(This should be my new motto since my yard is looking really nice these days and my schoolwork has been abandoned.)

(This will not work next week when I have 5 separate deadlines, so I hope all the vitamin D will help me think better.)

Day 39

Today, I went for a drive. I needed to leave, so I did. I drove to Charlotte to pick something up (no contact, of course!) and brought home pizza for lunch. After lunch, I took a nap. After the kids were in bed, we watched the NFL draft...not so much because either of us care about the NFL but because it's been so long since there were live spots to watch. I learned I'm apparently a Miami fan now and tonight I should figure out which other team I'm cheering for when Jalen gets drafted. All in all, not a bad day for a nameless Thursday that I couldn't even remember the date.

Day 38

An ode to Animal Crossing:

Oh, Animal Crossing, how we love thee!
When we consider how our skepticism almost kept us apart,
We shudder.
What a delightful distraction you have proven to be,
Mindless but pleasant.
Happy growing.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a video game that many people were quite excited for (but that we knew nothing about). Josh had a student tell us months ago that we definitely wanted to buy the game for our children, but we went back and forth for a while. Frankly, it looked dumb.

But after three separate friends with children that we trust purchased and loved the game, we decided to jump on the bandwagon as well and it has been very fun! Here are some highlights:

-My favorite part is two parts: growing things (surprised?) and sending surprise gifts to my children.
-We have each decorated our house in the manner of our own choosing, and Caroline's has no furniture at all. It is wall-to-wall animal cages as she collects species from all over the island. Our island has a gigantic museum dedicated to the collection of animals, but she is determined to have her own version as well.
-Visiting Uncle Quintin's island always gives us ideas and inspiration because he is at least a week further along than we are. One look at his mustachioed character and Charlotte's pink explosion house and we were hooked.

I even found a to-do list on the coffee table downstairs:

[picture coming soon]

The only sad part is having to share! I'm staying up much later than normal to work on my own house since the game is generally being used in the afternoon/evening after the children finish their school and chores. Lucky for me that I'm the boss and can do just that!

Day 37

This morning, we woke up to the sound of a beautiful bird call that neither of us recognized. We are not expert birders* here in North Carolina, but we were both fairly certain we had either never heard the call before or had never heard it so clearly.

Josh ended up identifying the bird as a Northern bobwhite (or just bobwhite quail, depending on where you are) and it started the whole day off right.

In other news, here's our happy list and sad list for the recent week:

Happy things:
-Some Good News with John Krazinki never fails to make me smile (and usually cry)
-Jonah's birthday is in less than one month! 12! How?!
-I only have one more chapter in each math class, so every assignment I complete feels like checking something off for the last time.
-My peach trees are covered in little fuzzy fruits and we might even get to try a Shiro plum this year if all goes well!

Less happy things:
-We've been running behind on our Doodles with Mo, so imagine our shock when we logged on for an early April doodle and discovered it was the last one! We really miss our daily doodle, but nothing else that we've tried has quite scratched that itch.
-I may lose a tomatillo to frost. If so, I need to find another one or my existing tomatillo will be no good (as they are not self-pollinating). This is more difficult than you might think considering the combination of restrictions on shopping and the rarity of tomatillos as a garden plant around these parts. In fact, just typing this sentence makes me think I might brave a trip to my favorite socially-distant nursery for a tomatillo and one of their famous sungold tomato plants.

Day 36

Caroline: I'd like to marry a rapper when I grow up.
Me & Jonah: What?!
Caroline (with the laugh): Not a candy wrapper! I mean someone that sings really really fast.
Jonah: Yeah, we know. We didn't think you meant a candy wrapper!

Days 34 & 35 (the third "weekend")

Attention everyone: I am one assignment from being caught up in my classes! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, especially since Kaitlyn reminded me that I've already been accepted to my graduate program next fall, so all I have to do is pass these classes with a C.*

And now, some highlights from the weekend:

We have been holding church at home for the past 6 weeks or so. Every week is different, but overall, it has been a really wonderful experience. There have been moments where I have felt closer to God than usual and moments where everything fell apart and we wondered what in the world we were even trying to accomplish. Most weeks, though, the truth is somewhere in the middle with relative highs and lows but no absolute maximums/minimums.** Yesterday was closer to the wonderful than the disaster, with my favorite sound of the weekend being Jonah snickering to himself at the piano when he missed a note playing a song. Miriam conducted our music (a work in progress, but enthusiastically done), and I got to play my uke a little more. It's been much too long!

And a quote:

Jonah: Mom! There is a BOWL and a SPOON in the bathtub!
me (laughing): Oh yeah, I know.
Jonah: Were you taking a bath and EATING ICE CREAM?
me (laughing even more): No! Miriam was pretend cooking in the bath!
Jonah (also laughing): Oh. Well that is something you would do.
me: Actually, yes, that gives me a great idea for later.


*Weirdly, reminding myself that I don't need to earn an A has me even more determined to do so, without the pressure.

Day 33

Our last day of spring break (last school day, anyway) was, like every other day, a little bit wonderful and a little bit chaotic.

On the negative side:
-Miriam was overly tired (all week, really) and that ended in a multi-hour screaming fit that taxed the patience of all involved and had her parents wondering if we'd somehow ruined her forever.
-I got absolutely no schoolwork done, leaving my wondering if I'd somehow ruined my academic career forever.
-It frosted overnight (again!), leaving us wondering if we'd killed off the tomatoes forever. (Are you noticing the trend?)
-There was some intra-sibling strife about the Animal Planet island.

On the positive side:
-Caroline and Grandma played games aplenty.
-All three children laughed and laughed with Aunt Teri.
-I had a virtual chat with some lifelong friends, resulting in me laughing, venting, and staying up much too late. I can't wait to do it again!
-Josh ended up joining the AP island, taught us a few new tricks, and gave us all someone to complain about (thus diffusing some of the frustration between siblings).

Day 32

I *was* caught up in 2 classes (out of 3). I was just assigned FOUR new assignments in the class I caught up in yesterday. Boy howdy, I'm off to do some schoolwork!

Josh and I went on a date tonight. It seemed like a silly idea at first, but just driving out to dinner and sitting in the parking lot talking was fabulous. I'm rather fond of that guy, and even though we've been together almost every waking moment for the last month (and sleeping moments, too), it was still nice to be out together without computers or phones or homework.

In other news, we've started playing Animal Crossing on the Switch. I resisted buying it because I didn't want to share my island with the whole family, but I have been assured by multiple other families that it can be done peacefully. There were tears tonight, but I think we can manage to share the tiny space. I hope? The tears weren't mine since I'm the only one who can play at 10:00 at night. Mwahaha!

Day 31

Each day feels like it last about 2 weeks. Some parts of today were fantastic and others felt oppressive, but they all happened in the same day and none of them were anything worth writing about. For example, I worked outside in the garden and loved it. Miriam cried and I immediately spiraled down into wondering if we've ruined her somehow. Then dinner was delicious and I remembered how much I love just sitting around with my family. But then I had a terrible headache and was sure nothing would ever get better. I did very little schoolwork today, although I did get caught up in 1 more class (1 more to go!)...albeit the class that I was only about 10 minutes behind in. I'm counting it anyway!

And the children? They're running wild like they should during all spring breaks should. Jonah is writing a book, Caroline is learning to play jacks, and Miriam has been seen sprinting through the yard with a blanket tied around her waist to simulate a long, flowing ball gown.

Day 30

I am now caught up in one out of three classes...at least until tomorrow at 8am when we move on to the next section. Here we go, people! Last month of the semester!

Teri came over today and with Mom's help, we (mostly they, since I was doing homework) dug up the rest of the root balls in the front garden bed. When I think of it, I'll post a picture of what the house looked like when we bought it vs. what it looks like now. Good riddance, hideous bushes!

Day 29

The kids are on spring break, which under normal circumstances would mean I was trying to fill the week with as many activities as possible that we don't usually have time to do: puzzles, reading, playing games, watching movies, going on hikes, etc. With the exception of hikes, we've been doing plenty of all of the above, so spring break is going to be my chance to focus on school work. They may rot their brains with television this week* but at least I will be caught up on my work.

We survived the crazy weather of Sunday night-Monday morning unscathed. We didn't even lose a tree or power! I was reminded how fascinating weather is, however, and decided to add weather modeling to my list of things I want to learn how to do once I'm a stats guru.

*They did not today. It took until dinner time to get their chores done (for various reasons), so Day 1 wasn't even a brain rot day!

Days 27 & 28 (the third "weekend")

A few things I have been enjoying this Easter weekend:

1. The Reese's Pieces 2/3 of my children aren't sure they like. What's that? You want to give Mommy more of the candy she pretty much lived on in college? Okay!

2. Andrea Bocelli's solo concert from Milan. I knew it would be spectacular, but I didn't know it would hit me quite so forcefully. I especially enjoy watching the organist and wondering what is going through each of their minds. When I've sung in particularly meaningful situations, there's definitely a mental trick to allowing myself to feel enough of the spirit of the moment to convey that emotion but not enough to derail me and make me cry. I would not fault him for a voice break, but so far there have been none.

3. The return of warmth, even if we are stuck inside watching it rain, rain, rain.

4. Pictures of empty cities.

5. Watching Miriam search for eggs. Don't get me wrong, I had fun hiding eggs and enjoyed watching all the children search for eggs, but Miriam spent last night (glow-in-the-dark eggs) and this morning running around the yard yelling, "Wow! I found one! I found another one! Wow!" How can you not just love that?

Day 26

This morning we woke up to a blustery wind and a desire to turn on the heater for the first time in two weeks. We know the weather will warm back up next week, but it will be a cold, wet, and windy weekend until then.

On this, the first day of the children's spring break, I have them doing chores while I attempt to catch up on school work. Later today, we'll work in the garden (Good Friday is the traditional planting day around these parts) and make some hot cross buns (without the dried fruit, most likely, since my assistant will be Caroline). I've long counted on our church congregation, play groups, and school to help my children celebrate holidays so we can focus on a simple celebration at home,* but this year will be different. It's up to me to mark Easter in a meaningful way...so hot cross buns it is!

The cold weather has me dreaming of just a few days ago when it was warm and I took this picture:

Come back to me, warmth!


*We didn't do our own egg hunt until a few years ago. The kids pretty much assumed that only happened the day before Easter at the park. Whoops!

Day 25

Jonah has been joining me for computer work most days.I like seeing what he's working on, he enjoys having an audience when he's being funny, and he is suitably impressed with my math homework, so it's a win-win-win.

Then he tried to be goofy while I was documenting today's work session and he deleted his slide. Serves him right for being so funny! We both laughed for 10 minutes and I remembered that THIS is the best part of being home day after day.

Day 24

A better day, if not a perfect one. We finished our first homeschool read aloud (Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr*), which feels like a success for me!

Little Pig died in the night, so it was a bit of a sad day around our house. Despite that tragedy, everyone went to bed with our work done and feeling a bit better than we had the night before.

 *It was cute. It wasn't my favorite book we've read, but it was heartwarming and funny enough that I would heartily recommend it to the 7-10 set (though Miriam stuck around just fine) and Miriam asked if there was a sequel or a movie, so she must have liked it! For the next book, I'll try to find something a little more on Jonah's level (while still a fit for his sisters).

Day 23

Quarantine today: I attended an online class and did 3 (yes, THREE!) math problems while overseeing school for the younger two and fielding five separate crises:

1: "I can't find the pen I want." 
2: "Someone is using my eraser without ASKING." 
3: "Everything is so messy around here. There is nowhere to put the food away in the fridge because everything is in the wrong place and there are DISHES IN THE SINK."
4: "..." (That silence was accompanied by an eye roll and a sigh that I dare ask for a pencil case* to be put away.)
5. "I CAN'T go to the bathroom before I eat because I am STARVING!"

I have not assigned names to each crisis because my children are of an age where they enjoy reading about their cute antics and do not appreciate their low moments broadcast online. While I do my best to respect that, I need a little virtual therapy here since Josh is locked in our room working. 

Can't we all just calm down a little and be patient with the woman trying to hold it all together? While I didn't find the pen in question, I did find a fun marker that did the trick. I restored the eraser to its rightful owner and I had food on the table after the offensive bathroom trip. The fridge isn't organized and the dishes aren't done yet because I'm writing this, but it will be before another soul steps foot in the kitchen to see it. As for the pencil case? There was nothing to do about that one but pretend I didn't see the eye roll. I can't beg for grace if I'm not willing to give it!

*It's apparently a pencil BOX and cannot be called by any other name, thankyouverymuch.

Day 22

Garden Day 3.0! After school, I treated myself to time planting in the garden. Weeding is not nearly as fun as planting, but I did a little bit of that too. Just a little bit, though, because I have much less patience for weeding.

Here is how quarantine has been going, according to the me and the children (Josh is busy working, so we'll see if we can get his answers later):

What do you miss most about school?
J: Seeing other people, specifically my friends, but really anybody.
C: Seeing all of my classmates there and Ms. Hoyle.
M: Seeing all of my classmates.
Me: My stats class and the in-class discussion especially.

What is the best part about school at home?
J: Uhhhh....you can do your work whenever. You basically make your own schedule.
C: Doodling!
M: The best part is that we can stay with our family and that we're safe from the coronavirus.
Me: The only good thing about school at home for me is that I spend less on gas. Having my kids do school at home has lots of positives, especially more time for reading together.

What is something good that happened this week?
J: Well we didn't get baby chicks this week (Caroline: Yes we did! Jonah: No, that was last week), but we went outside with our baby chicks.
C: Hmmm...I watched Onward.
M: I'm thinking. That we stayed with our family.
Me: I played outside in the pretty warm spring.

What have you learned since being stuck at home?
J: That I like bread pudding and I'm lactose intolerant.* Also, I learned the most famous celebrity in the whole world, who is so successful and famous, is having a birthday soon. I made him a card!
C: That being stuck at home is boring.
M: I have learned what homeschool is like!
Me: I do not want to work from home.


*He is not. He just says this to annoy me. 

Days 20 & 21 (the third "weekend")

Saturday was the day of the chicken. I spent most of the day outside planting my garden (did I mention yet in the past 10 seconds that spring is my favorite season?) and the children spent the day outside with their baby chicks.

The highlight of the day was watching one of the chicks (Forest?) find a worm. She snagged that worm in her beak and ran as fast as she could away from the other chicks. The worm was much too large for her to eat, so all she did was carry it around, but she was NOT letting anyone else get near her treasure.

On Sunday, we got all cleaned up for virtual church, followed immediately by the children changing clothes and heading back out to nap in the sun with their chicks. We'll see what happens when they reach that awkward teenage stage with funky feathers and when they're too fast to easily catch, but so far, the chickens are getting plenty of love.

I've been feeling a bit disordered mentally (maybe because I'm jumping back and forth between so many roles and doing none of them particularly well?), so our church conference was a welcome break. I'm feeling more optimistic and energized, plus the weather should be nice all week!

Day 19

When I went to bed Thursday night, I was planning on sleeping in until 7:30 until I rolled out of bed for my 8:00 calculus class (online, of course). As much as I wanted to wake up early and drive down to Renfrow Hardware for chickens and plants, I told myself to wait until next Friday so they would have worked out the kinks in their system and I would have a better chance of avoiding a crazy crowd.* I *really* wanted to go because I wanted my baby chickens NOW (and they're quite a popular commodity these days), but I was being so mature in my decision to wait.

Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler had other plans. Around 5:30, she decided to move from sleeping near my feet to sleeping (and purring) on my neck. "If it's after 5 and early enough to get to Renfrow before they open," I told myself, "I'll go. If not, I won't." Sure enough, the timing worked out perfectly. I was the third person in a line that ended up stretching around the block (one person every 6 feet, of course). When it was my turn to step up to the counter (separated from the employee by two tables and a plexiglass screen), I gave my chicken and plant order, paid, and collected my chicks. From there, I walked over to the greenhouse and picked up my plants. It was well organized and quick. Multiple times, employees thanked me for supporting their business whereas I was feeling like the grateful one that they were still open and had found a way to help all the gardeners and chicken farmers in our area while still observing the state-mandated restrictions.

Determined to raise friendly chickens, the children have divvied them up and named them. Somehow, Jonah convinced his sister that he should get 4 of the 6. Considering the fact that he does most of the work, I don't mind.

Barring any hawk, cat, raccoon, possum, or snake interference, we're adding the following to our flock:
Eddis
Forest
Pig
Pigeon
Blacky (short for Blackbird)
Lemon

*A crowd in that there were lots of people eager for chickens. Not a crowd in that there was little interaction and at least 6 feet between each person.

Day 18

I've noticed a trend: most of the really good days we have at home are warm ones and most of the oppressive ones are cold and/or rainy. Turns out spring is still my favorite season whether anyone goes to school or work. I love seeing the trees leaf out and planting my garden. I REALLY love planting my garden.

If I love planting my garden, my children love running over to Grandma's house to do school over there. It might be because they love their grandmother or it might be because she gives them snacks. We may never know what is the real reason (we absolutely know the real reason!).

Day 17

A few quotes* to describe today:

Miriam: I bet the teachers really miss us.
Me: I bet they do, too! They wouldn't be teachers if they didn't want to be around kids!
Caroline: I bet they even miss the ones who get in trouble.
Me: Honestly, I think you're right.
Caroline: But what if we all got in trouble the very first day back? They probably wouldn't like that.

Jonah: I would sleep outside in the grass if it meant I could sleep with Vex.

Miriam: Let's go get my hair dyed today!
Me: Well all hair salons are closed right now.
Miriam: Oh, right. Just like dentists offices are closed.
Me: Yep.
Miriam: Because of the corona virus.
Me: That's right.
Miriam: I kind of wish we did have the corona virus so we could stay home, but I kind of wish we didn't. I can't get my hair dyed. I can't get my ears pierced. I can't even go to the DENTIST!

Jonah: All I want for my birthday this year is to go to SCHOOL!

Miriam: Can you take me to Target today to buy a new notebook?
Me: Nope. We're not going anywhere unless we have to, like for food.
Miriam: Oh, right. Because of the [imagine the sound of an eye roll with her voice] coronavirus. 
Miriam (The next morning): Mom, can you take me to Ohio tomorrow?
Me: ....

*Remember when I said it's hard to follow the exact same routine every day? Well when I committed to writing a brief description of each day in quarantine, I didn't quite grasp how many days it would be.

Day 16

I call today "recalibration day." When the schools cancelled class, I assumed the original two-week hiatus would be extended at least another two weeks. Using that, I planned what I wanted to cover and how I wanted our days to go (schoolwise and others). I ran to the grocery store for some extra chocolate chips and frozen vegetables so we could stretch our food a little longer in case there wouldn't be any trips to the store for three weeks or so. I was rather proud of myself with the organization, honestly.

And now here I am, facing the prospect of an additional six weeks of this new normal and it's time to recalibrate my plan. It is one thing to know children probably won't be going back to school this year and another thing entirely to wrap my mind around what that looks like for us.

Here are some updates I'm considering making:

1. Focus more on a weekly schedule than a daily one. This worked well for us when we homeschooled the first time, and giving ourselves the freedom to stop school early or dive into a project on any particular day is very freeing. As much as we love Doodles with Mo, that means we've been doodling a few times a week instead of every day, for example, with good results all around.

2. Pick a few extra skills/topics I'd like each child to master while we're home. I have no doubt their teachers will get them back on track if we miss anything, but there are some things they just don't have time for at school. We're going to learn our states and capitals, for example, and maybe finish the illustrated Periodic Table Jonah and I started three years ago.

3. Set new, more flexible goals for myself: First, get *something* done in each class each day, even if it is only one problem. Second, get outside everyday. I know, it sounds like I've just given up on anything productive at all, but I tend to either spend hours on homework (to the detriment of everything else) or to put it off defiantly until it can't be put off any longer. This is a lifelong habit, so we'll see if I can try the one-small-bite-at-a-time approach for the first time in my life.

Day 15

Monday, we picked up new work packets for Caroline & Miriam and dropped off the work they completed last week. The teachers themselves passed out packets, so they encouraged students to come during the hour their grade level teachers would be passing out work. Because of the way the times were scheduled, I drove Caroline and Miriam together right at the end of the kindergarten time slot and the beginning of the second grade hour. The girls were so excited to see their teachers, even if all they did was hand work packets through the car windows.

We're doing really well all things considered, but I may have teared up a bit driving up through the pickup line. The teachers were outside ringing bells and other music room instruments while they danced to music that was playing. The front of the school was decorated with "We Miss You" signs. I really love our school. I hadn't realized how much I missed it until we were there waving hello to our hardworking teachers!

Days 13 & 14 (the second "weekend")

Caroline made a King Cobra. It was perfect weather again. My new glasses arrived. Pretty much everything was wonderful!

By Sunday night, however, perfect had swung back on the pendulum to "if we don't get some space from each other we will all snap," so clearly we're working in chunks of a few hours instead of a few days when it comes to mood. I was neck-deep in Calculus work, Caroline wasn't feeling well and was taking it out on Miriam, Jonah smashed his finger, and my dinner was completely unsatisfying. Some days are like that, though, even in Australia.

Day 12

Ah, Friday was a much better day. I had less homework to do, to start, which allowed me to be more present. Then, Aunt Teri came over (which is always a joy) and Josh and I left the house! All we did was pick up dinner, but it was fun to be out and to be together. The weather was perfect, so we all spent as much time outside (dogs included) as we could.

The weather has lured me into a false sense of spring, even though our usual last freeze date is somewhere toward the end of April. I went ahead and planted the jalapeño tree and a few tomatoes with optimism, knowing that I will definitely need to cover them and may need to replace them altogether (except the jalapeño tree, of course, which is not so easily replaced).

Day 11

This was today:

We return to our regular-scheduled quarantine programming as soon as I get caught up on this backlog of school work that is supposed to be happening at the same time as home-schooling, house cleaning, children nurturing, and surface sanitizing.

Day 10

It did not get better. Caroline spent most of Tuesday night awake and in pain. One virtual doctor's visit later (and my, did that young doctor look tired) and we were armed with a prescription and a course of action. Josh sent me to bed around 2 and did the overnight watch and 8am doctor's visit with Caroline.

Grandparents everywhere, you can stop worrying now. By the time she got back from the doctor and had a few doses of her antibiotic, Caroline was feeling much better.

It did mean that yesterday was pretty much wasted on Josh and me, but the kids did manage to get some schoolwork done (Caroline excluded, of course) and we cut the grass. Today (Day 11) will need to be "Kim's Day of All Schoolwork" as I have a test in Calculus and two other math assignments due (not to mention an online stats class that meets in the middle of the day), but by the end of it, we will have survived two weeks of working and schooling from home without Josh losing his job, my grades suffering too badly, or the kids' brains rotting to mush. Success!

Day 9

Super Bounce (TM) was a huge success. Yes, the game ended in tears, but only after we'd played four or five rounds, so there were many more laughs before the sad ending. Lunch Doodles with Mo have really picked up steam as they've gone on. We are also fairly certain his wife is doing the filming. There was some question early on and Jonah and I have been trying to suss out clues ever since.

The first day of my new self-imposed regimen went well: school/games with the kids until lunch and my own homework in the afternoon with the only news checking happening between lunch and my own school time. By the end of the day, my eyes still hurt from all the screens (this virtual learning is no joke), but it didn't set in until after dinner. I took a brief walk before the rain really started coming down and I'm calling today a success.

Caroline has a painful sore and bump on her knee that we are really hoping will clear up so we don't have to brave medical care right now, but we'll check it again in the morning and make a decision then. It seemed like it was getting better until today; it was bothering her more this afternoon than it has been recently and is looking rather gnarly.

In lighter news, Josh just asked me if we have plans Thursday at 5pm (he's planning an online study session, I think). We both looked over at the calendar and then laughed. We have no plans at all for the next 2 months, so I think 5pm on Thursday should work.

Day 8

The hardest part about being home all the time is that when the kids are tired or fighting or not feeling well, sending them to their rooms is no different than just any other day. Usually, I assume they're feeling worn down from being too busy or not being home enough, but since neither of those apply these days, I've been sending them outside instead. Today, of course, is cold and rainy, so kicking grumpy children outside is less appealing than it was a few days ago.

Fortunately, all three girls in the house (myself included) took long naps this afternoon. Hopefully that will reset us all and we can start tomorrow with the vim and vigor we had last week. Jonah, in the meantime, enjoyed distance learning with his dog. Vexorg is going to be very well educated by the time we end this period of social distancing.

Days 6-7 (aka the 1st "weekend")

Yesterday, Jonah was bothered by my plans for the day because he didn't want to spend his Saturday like that...never mind that pretty much every day is Saturday right now.

On the real Saturday, Miriam made breakfast for everyone. Caroline and Jonah did not want her breakfast (sad day for them), so she ate Caroline's and I ate Jonah's. Sure, the bread wasn't toasted so the butter just sat on top and the cinnamon sugar was just dumped in the middle, but there was plenty of both and the table was set carefully with individual notes wishing us a fabulous day. It doesn't get much better than that!

Fake church (as the girls call it) was very meaningful today, even if it only lasted about 20 minutes (especially because it only last 20 minutes?). Jonah was so proud of the sacrament tray he rigged up and we discovered that it's hard to find a version of How Great Thou Art to sing along with (too many fancy solos and not enough even timing).

I'm feeling a little bit weird, probably because I haven't been outside much, so starting tonight, the after-dinner walk is making an appearance. Spring is blooming all around us, even if it only 48 outside today, so there should be plenty to see and enjoy.

Day 5

We've had our first shortage: dishwasher detergent. I've got about a week's worth of soap left before I'll be washing dishes by hand. I can't decide which is worse: washing dishes by hand or waiting in line to go inside the store. I'm thinking I'll wash dishes by hand!

I'm finding myself spending a lot more time calling people than normal, but not as much time reading as I thought. Apparently I need less quiet distraction and more interpersonal interaction. The children are happy and productive. Josh is plugging along on his classes. It's just me who seems daunted by the prospect of summer vacation starting mid-March.