Hello Thursday, normally early release Thursday for the kids.
Last night the husband came in from work late, yes Happy Anniversary to us. In addition to being late, he had a box. As of last night he will be working at home and he will be on call. For the most part the "on call" should have very little impact on him. I took the news with mixed feelings. Yay he will be here should I need his help, and Really? As the night wore on I realized that this would mean even less free time for me to do as I please. It also will be a great time to work on our communication and parenting skills. Hopefully we both survive this.
I mentally prepared myself to the be the first one up, as is normal on any days off he has whether kids are in school or not. So this morning I hit the floor at 6:30, just seconds before his phone began ringing. As I am preparing to get a shower, he comes in to tell me it is 100% accountability via video chat. It was rather interesting watching him call his soldiers while sitting in the bed shirtless and slowly coming awake. Secretly I was glad this happened, so that he would be forced out of bed and it would not just be me going about the morning routine.
Once breakfast was over and cleared away, my sweet husband actually washed the skillets. Honestly though I think he did this to prove that he can wash skillets better than me. Shortly after, we had four computers on and all of us sitting around the table trying to get into the groove. Naturally we missed a video chat. This one was for my daughter. My husband's laptop wouldn't support Google Meet, mine wouldn't connect to the internet, the work computer wouldn't connect to Google. It all ended well, just before I blew a fuse. I will be honest, my voice began to get higher and the stress levels were rising. I rushed around the table to turn on my diffuser and then sarcastically, my husband states that the missing diffuser was really the issue. He begins to lecture about me getting everyone all worked up and causing him undue stress and the scaring the kids.
I ignored him and got my daughter set up to Google meet her teacher. My son began doing his work and endless Google meets. I think he was on that platform for upwards of 2 hours, though not consecutively. Guess what still isn't completed? Google slide project will be completed momentarily.
The kids worked hard, the husband, well I am not really sure what he was doing. He did do a little assisting with math or trouble shooting. I was able to do the scanning and printing of worksheets and signed forms for the kids. It is really more like I am mom, teacher, cook, maid, and secretary. My life is slowly becoming dominated my the kids and I am sure the husband before long.
Lunch break, my daughter asked if we could bike over to the school because it was pretty outside. I quickly agree and because there was a tiny chill in the air, my husband tried to say that we needed to ride in the car. Finally we pulled out the bikes and took the quick ride up to the school and back. Hubby and I ended up eating the school lunch and making the kids something else.
After lunch we got back to it. My poor son is working as hard as can be, but it really feels like he is treading water with little progress. I found out today that one of the things my daughter did yesterday, was supposed to be spread out over a few days. She made great progress on the math platform. By 1:30 it was really time to let her go. She was all worked out. I sent my son outside after his last Google meet, and here in just a bit we will knock out that project.
It is really nice watching the kids and husband play outside while I sit in the shade writing this. I look forward to our walk later and cooking dinner with the husband.
Please continue to pray for all those affected by the Coronavirus. Pray hard, the world needs it.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
The Chronicals of a Not So Ordinary Mom: The Great Escape
It is another Wednesday, another hump day to mark the passage of a week. A long week at that.
A fun fact, on this day eleven years ago I married my tall, dark and handsome husband. If you have read any of my previous posts, then you know our story. But if you haven't I'll just say we have certainly traveled down a winding road and ascended and descended a few fairly good sized hill. We have survived through the bad and seen the good on the other side. This year hubby is once again in the same zip code that I am in, but he is working late. Lucky him to be attached to the only Brigade at our location that is mission essential. I am finally sitting down to type this out after eating dinner alone with the kids.
The morning started off a little rough. My daughter just could not focus. The more I pushed and tried to engage her, the more distracted and upset she became. As for my son, my husband started him off with Google slides. Five minutes into the project we have tears. He couldn't tell us why he was crying only that we were not doing the slides the right way. He was not communicating with us and once we worked past the lack of communication issue it was smooth sailing. By tomorrow that project should be a thing of the past. One of the teachers that works with both my kids at their respective schools called for a video chat today. It was refreshing to catch up with her and to have someone that listened to my difficulties and challenges and offered up solid advice. Away we went to get the kids lunch and they loved the sandwiches. Finally I had a few minutes to scan several sheets of homework and get them turned into the Google classrooms.
Just before we began after lunch work I put both of our Chihuahuas on their leashes and asked my son to take them outside. My oldest son called and then I sat down with my daughter to get her started. Once I had her writing colorful sentences, I decided to check my FB. As I am scrolling through I see a lost dog picture in my neighborhood, I started to keep scrolling, but then I realized it was my dog. But wait I hadn't taken any pictures of him today, and why is he outside on the leash? Slowly I look up from my phone and over to the couch where I see one Chihuahua. My little girl dog has been a little more restless than normal. I look at my son who is sitting across from me focusing on his school work. "Where is Javier?" He looks up clueless or guilty, I am not really sure. And suddenly my daughter is shouting that her brother let him go when she asked him to look at a caterpillar on the trampoline. He is still trying to maintain his innocence. I am at a loss as I look at him and implore him to explain to me how on earth he goes outside with two dogs and returns with only one. How could he not tell me. He just shrugs "I don't know" "I was distracted" I frantically comment on the picture and send a DM, but I am beginning to realize that thirty minutes has passed and this person might have taken him somewhere as a lost pet. Then I notice that this person has a mutual friend. I call our mutual friend nearly in tears because my sweet Javier is gone. Shortly after our call she sends me the pick up address which is thankfully almost in view of my house. As I start to walk down the road I see a lady with a small animal carrier coaxing an animal out of it. I call "Javi" and instantly he is running to me. The lady and I chat a minute and I explain how this happened. My sweet Javi tends to be a wanderer especially if the kids are outside. Today he took advantage of a dropped leash and went on a stroll only to be apprehended almost in sight of home. The lady said that she was about to take him into the vet to be chipped, and this would have meant doggie jail for him. The rest of the afternoon he stayed on the couch and kept one eye on me at all times. I am so thankful that this had a happy ending. I am also wary of trusting my kids to take the dogs out.
We wrapped up school around 1:30 today. It turned into a beautiful Spring Day and I just could not see keeping the kids inside working on homework. The rest of the afternoon was spent outside with a the kids and a neighbor and her kids enjoying the sunshine. I am becoming accustomed to this new reality. It is not my favorite reality, but what matters most is that my kids are happy and healthy. My oldest is volunteering as a fireman with the rescue squad in our home county in TN. Unfortunately my sister will be unemployed by next week, I have a cousin who is also unemployed and here before long my son might also be unemployed. Let us all join together in prayer for all of those that are being negatively impacted by this situation. Please be with the Military Members whose movements are frozen for 60 days. This will include those set to leave for or return from a deployment.
God Bless!
A fun fact, on this day eleven years ago I married my tall, dark and handsome husband. If you have read any of my previous posts, then you know our story. But if you haven't I'll just say we have certainly traveled down a winding road and ascended and descended a few fairly good sized hill. We have survived through the bad and seen the good on the other side. This year hubby is once again in the same zip code that I am in, but he is working late. Lucky him to be attached to the only Brigade at our location that is mission essential. I am finally sitting down to type this out after eating dinner alone with the kids.
The morning started off a little rough. My daughter just could not focus. The more I pushed and tried to engage her, the more distracted and upset she became. As for my son, my husband started him off with Google slides. Five minutes into the project we have tears. He couldn't tell us why he was crying only that we were not doing the slides the right way. He was not communicating with us and once we worked past the lack of communication issue it was smooth sailing. By tomorrow that project should be a thing of the past. One of the teachers that works with both my kids at their respective schools called for a video chat today. It was refreshing to catch up with her and to have someone that listened to my difficulties and challenges and offered up solid advice. Away we went to get the kids lunch and they loved the sandwiches. Finally I had a few minutes to scan several sheets of homework and get them turned into the Google classrooms.
Just before we began after lunch work I put both of our Chihuahuas on their leashes and asked my son to take them outside. My oldest son called and then I sat down with my daughter to get her started. Once I had her writing colorful sentences, I decided to check my FB. As I am scrolling through I see a lost dog picture in my neighborhood, I started to keep scrolling, but then I realized it was my dog. But wait I hadn't taken any pictures of him today, and why is he outside on the leash? Slowly I look up from my phone and over to the couch where I see one Chihuahua. My little girl dog has been a little more restless than normal. I look at my son who is sitting across from me focusing on his school work. "Where is Javier?" He looks up clueless or guilty, I am not really sure. And suddenly my daughter is shouting that her brother let him go when she asked him to look at a caterpillar on the trampoline. He is still trying to maintain his innocence. I am at a loss as I look at him and implore him to explain to me how on earth he goes outside with two dogs and returns with only one. How could he not tell me. He just shrugs "I don't know" "I was distracted" I frantically comment on the picture and send a DM, but I am beginning to realize that thirty minutes has passed and this person might have taken him somewhere as a lost pet. Then I notice that this person has a mutual friend. I call our mutual friend nearly in tears because my sweet Javier is gone. Shortly after our call she sends me the pick up address which is thankfully almost in view of my house. As I start to walk down the road I see a lady with a small animal carrier coaxing an animal out of it. I call "Javi" and instantly he is running to me. The lady and I chat a minute and I explain how this happened. My sweet Javi tends to be a wanderer especially if the kids are outside. Today he took advantage of a dropped leash and went on a stroll only to be apprehended almost in sight of home. The lady said that she was about to take him into the vet to be chipped, and this would have meant doggie jail for him. The rest of the afternoon he stayed on the couch and kept one eye on me at all times. I am so thankful that this had a happy ending. I am also wary of trusting my kids to take the dogs out.
We wrapped up school around 1:30 today. It turned into a beautiful Spring Day and I just could not see keeping the kids inside working on homework. The rest of the afternoon was spent outside with a the kids and a neighbor and her kids enjoying the sunshine. I am becoming accustomed to this new reality. It is not my favorite reality, but what matters most is that my kids are happy and healthy. My oldest is volunteering as a fireman with the rescue squad in our home county in TN. Unfortunately my sister will be unemployed by next week, I have a cousin who is also unemployed and here before long my son might also be unemployed. Let us all join together in prayer for all of those that are being negatively impacted by this situation. Please be with the Military Members whose movements are frozen for 60 days. This will include those set to leave for or return from a deployment.
God Bless!
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
The Chronicals of a Not So Ordinary Mom: Progress
Tuesday, hmm that sounds boring. In theory I would be counting down the days until next week. Next week is supposed to be our Spring Break. So for right now that means absolutely nothing. It does lighten my workload, but I will still need the kids to catch up on school work that we haven't done. This includes a Living History Poster Board, math exercises, and reading out loud.
Started off good, no dramatics, very little opposition to the work. My son's school called and we worked out a viable schedule. My daughter's meet group made me realize that we had only started on the surface concerning her school work.
Currently I am sitting at the kitchen table between my two kids. I am listening to my daughter do a math exercise on Google Meet with a teacher. My son is pretending that he knows how to write a story. This story is like plain white bread. I have been assisting him with ideas and punctuation and paragraph set up. Overall these two kids have been working hard. Lunch time had to be adjusted a bit to accommodate Google Meets. I am counting down the minutes until we reach a stopping point. I am also hoping that our stopping point allows me enough time to catch up on one show. Just one show, that is all that I really want.
My kids were not as impressed with the school lunch today. My son ate all the chicken nuggets that were between both meals and I made my daughter a peanut butter and Jelly.
Last night my family went on a small neighborhood walk. Our post is doing a Teddy Bear hunt, and were able to see two Teddy Bears. This made my kids so happy. Once we got home they each found a Teddy Bear to put outside. We also drew pretty pictures on our sidewalk for passer byes to see. While we were out we had to pass a playground. Let me tell you that this looked. like a first day of warm weather neighborhood meetup. We walked around the area and were equally surprised that so many people were in one place and all of the kids were playing on the playground equipment. It is equally sad that right now you look at such a scene and think to yourself how reckless this is. Just one month ago we were all flocking to the playgrounds to savor the warm sunshine and the feeling of belonging to a community.
I am not what is considered a millennial as I was born in the late 70s, so this is not my time to shine. I am okay with secluding myself inside my house to regroup, but at some point I will need human interaction again. Right now, this is not possible. I have not been inside of a grocery store since last Friday. I am sure I will have to go soon as we are creeping ever closer to no milk and avocado. Going to the park on Sunday was when I rounded the corner to more caution. I want life to return to normal, whatever that new normal would be. I miss my two PTO board activities and friendships. I miss afternoon pick up at my daughter's school. In the end, I know I am doing what is best for my family. My husband must still go to work, and that in itself continues to put us in a moderate risk area, so this is what we need to do. Never mind that my sister and my dad think that all of this social distancing is for the birds.
In my own home I have played around with conspiracy theories, but honestly, who hasn't? Even before this current crazy, the last four years have been led by the crazy and unpredictable who love to vent all the Nation's problems on social media and sprinkle that with hate and just all around bully mentality. I pray for simpler times, but I guess that is exactly what every generation has done. Imaging that we are experiencing the roaring 20's. Not like the 1920s, but an entirely new version of social and political unrest with a crazy virus to keep it exciting. Even in the 1920,s into the 30's hate and racisms were profound and here we are again. I am a patterns person and that makes me often presume or make conclusions in a particular way.
Ya'll stay strong and keep doing you :)
Started off good, no dramatics, very little opposition to the work. My son's school called and we worked out a viable schedule. My daughter's meet group made me realize that we had only started on the surface concerning her school work.
Currently I am sitting at the kitchen table between my two kids. I am listening to my daughter do a math exercise on Google Meet with a teacher. My son is pretending that he knows how to write a story. This story is like plain white bread. I have been assisting him with ideas and punctuation and paragraph set up. Overall these two kids have been working hard. Lunch time had to be adjusted a bit to accommodate Google Meets. I am counting down the minutes until we reach a stopping point. I am also hoping that our stopping point allows me enough time to catch up on one show. Just one show, that is all that I really want.
My kids were not as impressed with the school lunch today. My son ate all the chicken nuggets that were between both meals and I made my daughter a peanut butter and Jelly.
Last night my family went on a small neighborhood walk. Our post is doing a Teddy Bear hunt, and were able to see two Teddy Bears. This made my kids so happy. Once we got home they each found a Teddy Bear to put outside. We also drew pretty pictures on our sidewalk for passer byes to see. While we were out we had to pass a playground. Let me tell you that this looked. like a first day of warm weather neighborhood meetup. We walked around the area and were equally surprised that so many people were in one place and all of the kids were playing on the playground equipment. It is equally sad that right now you look at such a scene and think to yourself how reckless this is. Just one month ago we were all flocking to the playgrounds to savor the warm sunshine and the feeling of belonging to a community.
I am not what is considered a millennial as I was born in the late 70s, so this is not my time to shine. I am okay with secluding myself inside my house to regroup, but at some point I will need human interaction again. Right now, this is not possible. I have not been inside of a grocery store since last Friday. I am sure I will have to go soon as we are creeping ever closer to no milk and avocado. Going to the park on Sunday was when I rounded the corner to more caution. I want life to return to normal, whatever that new normal would be. I miss my two PTO board activities and friendships. I miss afternoon pick up at my daughter's school. In the end, I know I am doing what is best for my family. My husband must still go to work, and that in itself continues to put us in a moderate risk area, so this is what we need to do. Never mind that my sister and my dad think that all of this social distancing is for the birds.
In my own home I have played around with conspiracy theories, but honestly, who hasn't? Even before this current crazy, the last four years have been led by the crazy and unpredictable who love to vent all the Nation's problems on social media and sprinkle that with hate and just all around bully mentality. I pray for simpler times, but I guess that is exactly what every generation has done. Imaging that we are experiencing the roaring 20's. Not like the 1920s, but an entirely new version of social and political unrest with a crazy virus to keep it exciting. Even in the 1920,s into the 30's hate and racisms were profound and here we are again. I am a patterns person and that makes me often presume or make conclusions in a particular way.
Ya'll stay strong and keep doing you :)
Chronicals of a Not so Ordinary Mom: Monday Again
Monday
Not a bad Monday considering how most Monday's go.
I got out of bed just a little later than my customary 6:30, try 6:42a.m. Jumped in the shower, ever mindful of the sleeping household. Grabbed a cup of focus tea and turned on the News. Not much in new, but still interesting statistics. I personally blame both the Republicans and the Democrats for the current state of things. I feel that if there wasn't so much bickering between the two parties they might actually accomplish something. I am sad because I feel like the election this year will not be fair as no one can really get out and vote in the primaries. Ah, but that is not really the point of all of this.
I managed to get breakfast started and everyone awake by 8, though not all feet were on the floor. Today my husband was home from work and he was able to convince our angry princess to show up to breakfast. His presence in the house managed to keep everything on a grouchy but productive spin. The husband and I toggled between computers and kids. I think that my husband finally saw and understood why I get so stressed out. The kids and the two of us worked hard until 11. For me it was a lot of printing and organizing what needed to be done and in what order. For the husband it was attempting to get my son to interact with him and to respond to direct questions. They also worked on handwriting. The big Social Studies project shouldn't be too hard to put together. Today my daughter worked on a lot of math. She had her first Google Meet and she did well. Great participation and she was good at answering the Math questions. If only she would to that for us.
After a full day of watching my son tread water, I sent an email to his teachers to let them know something had to give. He is struggling with the navigation between the two learning platforms and with the time frames given for the work. This transition has been hard for him as he is out of routine. That is not an easy thing for him. I figure by the end of the week, he will be in a routine and then it is Spring break.
Virtual Spirit week for both kids. Daughter was crazy socks and my son was PJs. This was a lot of fun.
We have had several great days of family time in the house together. I expect some will not be so great. I do miss my afternoon quiet time and getting to watch my shows. That has not happened in over a week. I have increased my junk food intake. I am trying not to, but stress for me equals eating as I am no longer a smoker. I am pretty sure when my daughter returns to school they are going to be sad that she knows how to carry and borrow in Math class. I do not understand those crazy blocks or whatever they are using. Why reinvent the wheel?
Tonight's dinner is going to be an easy one. Our meat situation is just about down to large packages of chicken breast and a few varieties of fish.
Again I implore everyone to stick to your own house, walks around the neighborhood, skipping the playgrounds and keeping a great social distance.
Stay safe and be blessed!
Not a bad Monday considering how most Monday's go.
I got out of bed just a little later than my customary 6:30, try 6:42a.m. Jumped in the shower, ever mindful of the sleeping household. Grabbed a cup of focus tea and turned on the News. Not much in new, but still interesting statistics. I personally blame both the Republicans and the Democrats for the current state of things. I feel that if there wasn't so much bickering between the two parties they might actually accomplish something. I am sad because I feel like the election this year will not be fair as no one can really get out and vote in the primaries. Ah, but that is not really the point of all of this.
I managed to get breakfast started and everyone awake by 8, though not all feet were on the floor. Today my husband was home from work and he was able to convince our angry princess to show up to breakfast. His presence in the house managed to keep everything on a grouchy but productive spin. The husband and I toggled between computers and kids. I think that my husband finally saw and understood why I get so stressed out. The kids and the two of us worked hard until 11. For me it was a lot of printing and organizing what needed to be done and in what order. For the husband it was attempting to get my son to interact with him and to respond to direct questions. They also worked on handwriting. The big Social Studies project shouldn't be too hard to put together. Today my daughter worked on a lot of math. She had her first Google Meet and she did well. Great participation and she was good at answering the Math questions. If only she would to that for us.
After a full day of watching my son tread water, I sent an email to his teachers to let them know something had to give. He is struggling with the navigation between the two learning platforms and with the time frames given for the work. This transition has been hard for him as he is out of routine. That is not an easy thing for him. I figure by the end of the week, he will be in a routine and then it is Spring break.
Virtual Spirit week for both kids. Daughter was crazy socks and my son was PJs. This was a lot of fun.
We have had several great days of family time in the house together. I expect some will not be so great. I do miss my afternoon quiet time and getting to watch my shows. That has not happened in over a week. I have increased my junk food intake. I am trying not to, but stress for me equals eating as I am no longer a smoker. I am pretty sure when my daughter returns to school they are going to be sad that she knows how to carry and borrow in Math class. I do not understand those crazy blocks or whatever they are using. Why reinvent the wheel?
Tonight's dinner is going to be an easy one. Our meat situation is just about down to large packages of chicken breast and a few varieties of fish.
Again I implore everyone to stick to your own house, walks around the neighborhood, skipping the playgrounds and keeping a great social distance.
Stay safe and be blessed!
Monday, March 23, 2020
Chronicals of a Not so Ordinary Mom: The weekend
Saturday lazy day. All well made productive stay in the house plans have been canceled, well accept for accountability calls that roll in at 8a.m. sharp.
No news stations for this household today. Talked to the Dad, he is not staying in as much as he should, but he is using the time out to assist others. Netflix and Hulu will keep us company and the trampoline outside will watch the kids. Oh, wait, I will look out the window at the occasionally.
A note on how we spent our Friday night. It was a true eye opening experience. My hard working husband has truly been feeling under the weather with horrible pounding headaches and a numbness in one of his legs. Lack of energy and a near fainting episode with the feeling of floating. After visiting sick call the medic advised an appointment on Monday but the ER immediately. What a scary prospect. The pros and cons were weighed over dinner and finally the decision was made to go.
We weren't exactly sure what the hospital protocol was, but we knew most likely we would have to take him, drop him and go from there. We loaded the kids in the car and once we arrived we went into the lobby to be greeted by the nursing staff and security guards. All of the personnel were wearing gloves and masks. SCARY! They questioned us as to who was being seen and said the kids had to go. No one under 18 unless they are sick. WOW! Hubby tells them he is feeling off and when he said headaches so bad they cause nausea, I honestly thought I heard the air leave the room and everyone draw back with eyes wide in unison. I was forced to return to the car with the kids and no parting touch. We waited nearly an hour before he called to say he was in a room and they felt it was not so serious. So the prospect was wait in the car with the kids for an indeterminate time or return to Post, that is almost a 30 minute drive. I decided to call our attached neighbor and ask her if I could leave my kids with her for just a bit. Without hesitation she said yes. Upon knocking on her door, I am met by her anxious husband who grills me on my health, the kids, my husband. Honestly I was surprised, but then I really wasn't it. He said to me that I would ask the same and I knew in that instant that I would not. My southern roots are so deep that I knew I would swoop any kids in need into my house without a moment's pause. I would be like the lady on this show I watched who died trying to protect a little girl who was already infected, but she didn't know that until after it was too late. I am thankful for their caution and their agreement to watch my kids. In hindsight I know I should never have put them in that position. In the e nd it was determined that my husband does in fact have migraines and that he is okay. It also took nearly four hours for the hospital to come to this decision. As a caution when I was about to enter his hospital room, they made me put on a protective covering, mask and gloves. All were grossly uncomfortable. Once we returned home we took off our shoes, sprayed them down. Tossed all jackets and clothing into the laundry and showered.
Going forward we will just stay home. No take out, No store until we really need to go. We will not invite others in, we will not go into other's homes. We will also avoid playgrounds and stick to open air places where we keep our distance from others.
I know people say that is called panic and being sheep, but how do you know who is right? How do you know which way the dice will fall? So I urge each person reading this to do what is best for your family and do not judge how others react.
We spent Saturday in PJs all day. The kids went outside to jump on trampoline. We made our own Subway type sandwiches and just ourselves relax and unwind.
On Sunday we made a mistake. In the moment it seemed like a good idea. We went to the Bernheim Forest to see the Giants. Unfortunately, it appeared like everyone else in our part of Kentucky had the same idea. Thankfully it was a colder day. Once we followed the long line of cars and parked, we decided to avoid the groups of people. This meant that we would not be seeing giants up front. My 40 year old bladder was not cooperating and I needed to pee. The restroom was not crowded and I got out of there quickly. We did not walk around the beautiful pond or on the cute bridges. We walked through the pine trees. We skirted the popular paths and play areas or statues of art. We found a secluded trail and only passed three families on this trail. Each time I pushed my kids into the shrubbery and instructed them to face the trees. We found an out of the way area to eat our lunch. Then we headed back to the car and home where everyone showered immediately.
My family will not be doing this again. I will share my experience so that others know that this was not a wise choice. That my decision to push this family outing was reckless. Reckless not only to my family but to all others who were at that park.
It is hard to shelter in place. It is hard to avoid places that bring joy or relaxation. It is important to find new ways to enjoy the emergence of Spring. We must be proactive in curbing this nasty virus.
God Bless!
No news stations for this household today. Talked to the Dad, he is not staying in as much as he should, but he is using the time out to assist others. Netflix and Hulu will keep us company and the trampoline outside will watch the kids. Oh, wait, I will look out the window at the occasionally.
A note on how we spent our Friday night. It was a true eye opening experience. My hard working husband has truly been feeling under the weather with horrible pounding headaches and a numbness in one of his legs. Lack of energy and a near fainting episode with the feeling of floating. After visiting sick call the medic advised an appointment on Monday but the ER immediately. What a scary prospect. The pros and cons were weighed over dinner and finally the decision was made to go.
We weren't exactly sure what the hospital protocol was, but we knew most likely we would have to take him, drop him and go from there. We loaded the kids in the car and once we arrived we went into the lobby to be greeted by the nursing staff and security guards. All of the personnel were wearing gloves and masks. SCARY! They questioned us as to who was being seen and said the kids had to go. No one under 18 unless they are sick. WOW! Hubby tells them he is feeling off and when he said headaches so bad they cause nausea, I honestly thought I heard the air leave the room and everyone draw back with eyes wide in unison. I was forced to return to the car with the kids and no parting touch. We waited nearly an hour before he called to say he was in a room and they felt it was not so serious. So the prospect was wait in the car with the kids for an indeterminate time or return to Post, that is almost a 30 minute drive. I decided to call our attached neighbor and ask her if I could leave my kids with her for just a bit. Without hesitation she said yes. Upon knocking on her door, I am met by her anxious husband who grills me on my health, the kids, my husband. Honestly I was surprised, but then I really wasn't it. He said to me that I would ask the same and I knew in that instant that I would not. My southern roots are so deep that I knew I would swoop any kids in need into my house without a moment's pause. I would be like the lady on this show I watched who died trying to protect a little girl who was already infected, but she didn't know that until after it was too late. I am thankful for their caution and their agreement to watch my kids. In hindsight I know I should never have put them in that position. In the e nd it was determined that my husband does in fact have migraines and that he is okay. It also took nearly four hours for the hospital to come to this decision. As a caution when I was about to enter his hospital room, they made me put on a protective covering, mask and gloves. All were grossly uncomfortable. Once we returned home we took off our shoes, sprayed them down. Tossed all jackets and clothing into the laundry and showered.
Going forward we will just stay home. No take out, No store until we really need to go. We will not invite others in, we will not go into other's homes. We will also avoid playgrounds and stick to open air places where we keep our distance from others.
I know people say that is called panic and being sheep, but how do you know who is right? How do you know which way the dice will fall? So I urge each person reading this to do what is best for your family and do not judge how others react.
We spent Saturday in PJs all day. The kids went outside to jump on trampoline. We made our own Subway type sandwiches and just ourselves relax and unwind.
On Sunday we made a mistake. In the moment it seemed like a good idea. We went to the Bernheim Forest to see the Giants. Unfortunately, it appeared like everyone else in our part of Kentucky had the same idea. Thankfully it was a colder day. Once we followed the long line of cars and parked, we decided to avoid the groups of people. This meant that we would not be seeing giants up front. My 40 year old bladder was not cooperating and I needed to pee. The restroom was not crowded and I got out of there quickly. We did not walk around the beautiful pond or on the cute bridges. We walked through the pine trees. We skirted the popular paths and play areas or statues of art. We found a secluded trail and only passed three families on this trail. Each time I pushed my kids into the shrubbery and instructed them to face the trees. We found an out of the way area to eat our lunch. Then we headed back to the car and home where everyone showered immediately.
My family will not be doing this again. I will share my experience so that others know that this was not a wise choice. That my decision to push this family outing was reckless. Reckless not only to my family but to all others who were at that park.
It is hard to shelter in place. It is hard to avoid places that bring joy or relaxation. It is important to find new ways to enjoy the emergence of Spring. We must be proactive in curbing this nasty virus.
God Bless!
Friday, March 20, 2020
Chronicals of a Not so Ordinary Mom: Day 5 breakdown
I started our day bad.
Guilt is washing over me because I completely broke down before 8a.m. I nearly cried. I did a lot of yelling. Most of this was directed at my undeserving husband. He is such a calm individual. I love him for the rational way he looks at things. Even with his offers of help, I was still so upset. I was resistant to his help. I had it in my mind that I absolutely must go to the store this morning and that was adding to the crazy. I even threatened to just walk out and head home to TN. The crazy inside my head is trying to bust out. I am loosing any sense of sanity that I might have had. I struggle with change. I struggle with computers and anything computer related. I already walk a thin line between sanity and insanity and this is pushing me over the edge. I was so upset that my husband kept telling me to control myself. He is so right. But how am I supposed to control myself when these emotions are boiling over and making me crazy? My awesome husband once again talked me down with his calm demeanor and took one of our children to work with him. I know how hard he works. I know how stressful his job is and I know that for the next little bit his work load will increase. Somehow this awesome man gets up everyday and does his absolute best to be positive and put a positive spin on things. For me to let crazy out of the bag, it is completely unfair to him and to my children.
Now I am off to work on a Google slide project with my sweet son, wish me luck!
Morning class with my son went okay. Either the school is not teaching him how to research or he is not paying attention. We did the beginning research for his project that is coming up. Watching this child attempt to type by pecking at the keyboard is excruciating! Thankfully not as many emails today. I think we actually made progress. I hope we actually made progress anyway.
Worked with the kids in the afternoon. My son did the rest of his work and my daughter did several online videos.
Took my son to Aldis to stock up on baking, sandwich and veggie supplies, then a much needed Starbucks run. Once we arrived at the PX and walked through the door we were greeted by a Solider asking if we had a fever, had been sick, been around anyone sick or traveled where there were active cases. After the questions our hands were squirted with hand sanitizer. I found the cleaning supply section and was greeted by what I am sure is the scariest employee they could find to monitor those aisles. Not much for intimidation and being followed aisle to aisle I decided to head on over to pick up my daughter and get the kids lunch at the school.
We are now taking the afternoon off and enjoying the nice fresh air outside.
Ya'll keep your heads up. It is true we need to let the crazy out of the bag from time to time. Unfortunately that is an ugly process.
Guilt is washing over me because I completely broke down before 8a.m. I nearly cried. I did a lot of yelling. Most of this was directed at my undeserving husband. He is such a calm individual. I love him for the rational way he looks at things. Even with his offers of help, I was still so upset. I was resistant to his help. I had it in my mind that I absolutely must go to the store this morning and that was adding to the crazy. I even threatened to just walk out and head home to TN. The crazy inside my head is trying to bust out. I am loosing any sense of sanity that I might have had. I struggle with change. I struggle with computers and anything computer related. I already walk a thin line between sanity and insanity and this is pushing me over the edge. I was so upset that my husband kept telling me to control myself. He is so right. But how am I supposed to control myself when these emotions are boiling over and making me crazy? My awesome husband once again talked me down with his calm demeanor and took one of our children to work with him. I know how hard he works. I know how stressful his job is and I know that for the next little bit his work load will increase. Somehow this awesome man gets up everyday and does his absolute best to be positive and put a positive spin on things. For me to let crazy out of the bag, it is completely unfair to him and to my children.
Now I am off to work on a Google slide project with my sweet son, wish me luck!
Morning class with my son went okay. Either the school is not teaching him how to research or he is not paying attention. We did the beginning research for his project that is coming up. Watching this child attempt to type by pecking at the keyboard is excruciating! Thankfully not as many emails today. I think we actually made progress. I hope we actually made progress anyway.
Worked with the kids in the afternoon. My son did the rest of his work and my daughter did several online videos.
Took my son to Aldis to stock up on baking, sandwich and veggie supplies, then a much needed Starbucks run. Once we arrived at the PX and walked through the door we were greeted by a Solider asking if we had a fever, had been sick, been around anyone sick or traveled where there were active cases. After the questions our hands were squirted with hand sanitizer. I found the cleaning supply section and was greeted by what I am sure is the scariest employee they could find to monitor those aisles. Not much for intimidation and being followed aisle to aisle I decided to head on over to pick up my daughter and get the kids lunch at the school.
We are now taking the afternoon off and enjoying the nice fresh air outside.
Ya'll keep your heads up. It is true we need to let the crazy out of the bag from time to time. Unfortunately that is an ugly process.
Chronicals of a Not so Ordinary Mom: Day 4 Online learning
Thursday, you have not been so kind to me
Hurray! Online learning was official for my son today. The school district went live with their learning platform.
Can you say Confusing as Hell? It really shows that I am not computer savvy. All day I have been heard to say "Go back there, push that one, how do I go back to the other page? where is your email?" It has been a nightmare. I have called the school twice in near tears to calmly rage against the injustice of it all and they have been fabulous and outstanding. I also want to add that a child with special needs is not exactly cut out for all of this. I swear every five minutes he gets an email saying this has changed, this doesn't apply but this does. I know he is as lost as I am. I finally have what I think is a fairly concrete schedule, and I created him a little calendar with the virtual class times. I also gave him a folder with import paperwork we pulled off the Google Classroom site.
Now my poor little daughter. She is trying hard to work for me. But I am continually ask her to hold on, let me check on your brother. Where were we? I tried to make math a little fun. We used her multipliers and construction paper. She has been a real trooper with all the chaos.
I even managed to fit in a Zoom session with my Bible Study class. In all honesty this caused as much of a distraction as everything else. To begin with I had to download the zoom app, then figure out how to join, and finally how to mute myself. It was distracting to myself and my kids. I was hoping to listen while I assisted them, but that was far from the reality.
I still need to clean my house and do some laundry. I am thinking most of that will happen on the weekend. The kids will be pretty bummed about it, but we don't have much choice. Plus each one has a project that they will need to work on over the weekend.
Things to be thankful for today: I only have two little kids and only one of those is in a more in depth grade. My dogs are happy, my family is happy for the most part and healthy. We do have internet and we are getting a few things completed.
I won't lie and say that I did not loose my skittles, because I did a lot. I screamed into the air at the horrendous lack of understanding I have of all things computer. I railed at the nonstop stream of emails and text messages from the school and the post. I nearly cried when I could not get zoom to work or to find the link for my son's second Google meet. We did miss one because somehow in all of the time I was working with my daughter, and trying to read mails, and possibly checking FB I missed the email or link or whatever with the time of day.
I am extremely thankful that the school is offering free lunches. This gives us a chance to get out of the house go get food and never leave the car. Unfortunately I have to schedule time to get milk as we are nearing the end of a gallon. Tonight we will have an easy soup, this is something that will become a leftover and hopefully tomorrow will be much better.
We ended the day on a sour note. I let my stress at the situation guide my mood and when my stubborn 7 year old refused to cooperate, well I lost it. It was an ugly bout of screaming and many bad words. I felt awful after, and nothing can repair the damage caused by my instability. The truth of the matter is, I walk a fine line between sanity and insanity.
God Bless Y'all and may you succeed in all that you do
Hurray! Online learning was official for my son today. The school district went live with their learning platform.
Can you say Confusing as Hell? It really shows that I am not computer savvy. All day I have been heard to say "Go back there, push that one, how do I go back to the other page? where is your email?" It has been a nightmare. I have called the school twice in near tears to calmly rage against the injustice of it all and they have been fabulous and outstanding. I also want to add that a child with special needs is not exactly cut out for all of this. I swear every five minutes he gets an email saying this has changed, this doesn't apply but this does. I know he is as lost as I am. I finally have what I think is a fairly concrete schedule, and I created him a little calendar with the virtual class times. I also gave him a folder with import paperwork we pulled off the Google Classroom site.
Now my poor little daughter. She is trying hard to work for me. But I am continually ask her to hold on, let me check on your brother. Where were we? I tried to make math a little fun. We used her multipliers and construction paper. She has been a real trooper with all the chaos.
I even managed to fit in a Zoom session with my Bible Study class. In all honesty this caused as much of a distraction as everything else. To begin with I had to download the zoom app, then figure out how to join, and finally how to mute myself. It was distracting to myself and my kids. I was hoping to listen while I assisted them, but that was far from the reality.
I still need to clean my house and do some laundry. I am thinking most of that will happen on the weekend. The kids will be pretty bummed about it, but we don't have much choice. Plus each one has a project that they will need to work on over the weekend.
Things to be thankful for today: I only have two little kids and only one of those is in a more in depth grade. My dogs are happy, my family is happy for the most part and healthy. We do have internet and we are getting a few things completed.
I won't lie and say that I did not loose my skittles, because I did a lot. I screamed into the air at the horrendous lack of understanding I have of all things computer. I railed at the nonstop stream of emails and text messages from the school and the post. I nearly cried when I could not get zoom to work or to find the link for my son's second Google meet. We did miss one because somehow in all of the time I was working with my daughter, and trying to read mails, and possibly checking FB I missed the email or link or whatever with the time of day.
I am extremely thankful that the school is offering free lunches. This gives us a chance to get out of the house go get food and never leave the car. Unfortunately I have to schedule time to get milk as we are nearing the end of a gallon. Tonight we will have an easy soup, this is something that will become a leftover and hopefully tomorrow will be much better.
We ended the day on a sour note. I let my stress at the situation guide my mood and when my stubborn 7 year old refused to cooperate, well I lost it. It was an ugly bout of screaming and many bad words. I felt awful after, and nothing can repair the damage caused by my instability. The truth of the matter is, I walk a fine line between sanity and insanity.
God Bless Y'all and may you succeed in all that you do
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
The Chronicals of a Not So Ordinary Mom: Day 3
For a Wednesday it wasn't half bad. My daughter dubbed today Wacky Wednesday due to the rain that was intermittent and then heavier on one side of the post than the other. A few minutes later it was sunny, but not for long.
My husband once again helped our daughter accomplish much of her morning math problems. We have one week's worth done. That for me is a huge success!. I feel fairly confident that my son is ready to go for his online school. For the most part it is set up and ready to go.
Today's only mishap was a schedule miscommunication with the husband. He mistakenly thought I would just be at home. Unfortunately, I had to drop off the hearing aide boots to my son's school at just about the same time the husband wanted us to see him reenlist. He got the time changed. I let the kids have a teeny bit of free time and just when I am combing everyone's hair, I receive a call from my husband asking me to buy a dozen donuts on the way. We begin the mad dash scramble out the door and to the donut place. Naturally the donut place had no donuts. I ran next doo to the gas station and bought donuts. The reenlistment went well, and I was beyond proud of my husband.
My husband decided to reenlist during a time when the world is chaos. We are in a grey area right now and still he made this decision. I am extremely proud of all he has accomplished and all that he has yet to accomplish.
I decided to actually brave the commissary today. To park my van, get the kids and walk inside. We did it too. We were only able to buy two packages of chicken. This was okay for me as I only wanted something small to eat when things at my house are far from this new normal. Because you see, while the world is grinding to a halt, many parts of our existence are not grinding to a halt. The kids and I must still watch my husband get dressed, eat with us, and drive off to his place of duty. I took a few brief moments to explain to my kids that their Dad is sort of on stand by because he might be called upon to go away. We don't know. It is how it always is. This is something we have grown used to. We watch the rest of the world struggle with canceled plans, disrupted vacations, and so much more. We not in sympathy and realize that our already complicated lives might get just a little more complicated.
The schools on post were handing out sack lunches. Since we were out, I took the kids to get theirs. What a blessing when we looked inside to see enough food to share with my husband. So we went back to his work and sat in chairs around his desk and ate a sandwich. Now I painted this as a pretty picture, but let me just tell you the reality. The reality is that after the commissary on the way to the school my son began to meltdown. He thrives on routine and for him home is supposed to be his down time. At the point we got the food he really wanted to go home, but my daughter really wanted to share with her Dad. So as we are driving across post my son is in the back whining. I mean almost dog howling whining. He was in tears by the time we arrived and he stood away from all of us sulking. He couldn't talk without tears. He was done. My heart breaks for him because I know how hard this transition is for him. I know that he will thrive on getting to stay home, but the having to do school work will bring him down.
Overall it was a truly good day. I did have a headache for most of it. I also tried to distance myself a bit more from fb and text messages. I posted on my fb that from 8 until 2:30 that I am unavailable for phone calls and text messages will be answered as I can. I need to focus on the school work. I need to focus on my mental health and that of my kids. I cannot control what is going on outside of my doors, but I can control what is going on inside of my house. I will also not be making any trips out during that time frame. I am hoping the weather turns nice again and we can walk our little Chihuahuas or ride our bikes.
Be blessed and know that hump day is done.
My husband once again helped our daughter accomplish much of her morning math problems. We have one week's worth done. That for me is a huge success!. I feel fairly confident that my son is ready to go for his online school. For the most part it is set up and ready to go.
Today's only mishap was a schedule miscommunication with the husband. He mistakenly thought I would just be at home. Unfortunately, I had to drop off the hearing aide boots to my son's school at just about the same time the husband wanted us to see him reenlist. He got the time changed. I let the kids have a teeny bit of free time and just when I am combing everyone's hair, I receive a call from my husband asking me to buy a dozen donuts on the way. We begin the mad dash scramble out the door and to the donut place. Naturally the donut place had no donuts. I ran next doo to the gas station and bought donuts. The reenlistment went well, and I was beyond proud of my husband.
My husband decided to reenlist during a time when the world is chaos. We are in a grey area right now and still he made this decision. I am extremely proud of all he has accomplished and all that he has yet to accomplish.
I decided to actually brave the commissary today. To park my van, get the kids and walk inside. We did it too. We were only able to buy two packages of chicken. This was okay for me as I only wanted something small to eat when things at my house are far from this new normal. Because you see, while the world is grinding to a halt, many parts of our existence are not grinding to a halt. The kids and I must still watch my husband get dressed, eat with us, and drive off to his place of duty. I took a few brief moments to explain to my kids that their Dad is sort of on stand by because he might be called upon to go away. We don't know. It is how it always is. This is something we have grown used to. We watch the rest of the world struggle with canceled plans, disrupted vacations, and so much more. We not in sympathy and realize that our already complicated lives might get just a little more complicated.
The schools on post were handing out sack lunches. Since we were out, I took the kids to get theirs. What a blessing when we looked inside to see enough food to share with my husband. So we went back to his work and sat in chairs around his desk and ate a sandwich. Now I painted this as a pretty picture, but let me just tell you the reality. The reality is that after the commissary on the way to the school my son began to meltdown. He thrives on routine and for him home is supposed to be his down time. At the point we got the food he really wanted to go home, but my daughter really wanted to share with her Dad. So as we are driving across post my son is in the back whining. I mean almost dog howling whining. He was in tears by the time we arrived and he stood away from all of us sulking. He couldn't talk without tears. He was done. My heart breaks for him because I know how hard this transition is for him. I know that he will thrive on getting to stay home, but the having to do school work will bring him down.
Overall it was a truly good day. I did have a headache for most of it. I also tried to distance myself a bit more from fb and text messages. I posted on my fb that from 8 until 2:30 that I am unavailable for phone calls and text messages will be answered as I can. I need to focus on the school work. I need to focus on my mental health and that of my kids. I cannot control what is going on outside of my doors, but I can control what is going on inside of my house. I will also not be making any trips out during that time frame. I am hoping the weather turns nice again and we can walk our little Chihuahuas or ride our bikes.
Be blessed and know that hump day is done.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Chronicals of a not so Ordinary Mom: Day 2
Tuesday
I woke up by 6:15a.m. Hubby had already headed off to his morning PT. I sat in my bed counting down the minutes until I needed to be in the shower. I wanted to watch the morning news. It was the same panic as the last month.
By 7:30 the husband is coming in the door. Thankfully his car alarm alerted me to the fact the kids were still sleeping. I get my son up with very little issues. He heads out to the kitchen for his daily yogurt. Sleeping Beauty is still under the blankets despite a lamp and curtains thrown wide. I start breakfast and she stumbles into the kitchen dressed but not really awake. Somehow hubby ends up cooking his own food.
It's a new day and I am ready, well as ready as a non-homeschooling mom can be at the prospect of having kids at home all day. My husband decides he will take our son to his work. I am thankful, but secretly sad, as I was actually hoping he would take our daughter.
I need to get my son's fundraiser products ordered, and I set her up with a Spanish YouTube video session. This of course is not related to anything that her teacher sent home, I just needed her to be distracted. Two minutes into it she is board. Somehow I end up wasting nearly an hour on that and the time to retrieve my son is nearing. We Have Done Nothing! I set her down to work on her sentences with spelling words. I make her lunch, so about ten minutes later I come back and she has done two sentences out of the eight she needs to do. We somehow get the sentences done, and leave the house.
Away we go to pick up my son take him to his school and check out a Chrome book. Wow, the school has some nice computers! I find out that much of his classwork will be online. I walk out of the school feeling even more defeated.
Back home where I let the kids eat a snack and watch videos about Saint Patrick's Day. Wow, it was established in 1798! I get my daughter started on videos for one of her Google Classrooms and then figure out how to get my son's Chromebook on my network. Done, and naturally I cannot figure out how to get it to print.
I have a facebook meltdown where I basically verbally cry my eyes out to the PTO thread. I express my inability to be a teacher, to grasp common core, to be nice and I cry because I don't have enough junk food in the house to eat my feelings.
I'm still upset I only bought a chocolate bar at the gas station instead of a bottle of wine. I am thinking how nice a Jack and Coke would taste right about now. I want to quit, yet I want to succeed. I want my life back, I know I should be happy to have my kids at home around me, but then that requires effort and brain power and most days I am merely getting by.
I sense my anxiety getting higher by the minute. Impulse control is harder for me when I am stressed out. I have worked so hard since January to loose that one pound. I am lost and it will take until just about when the kids go to school again to get comfortable with where I am now.
God Bless Ya'll We made it to Tuesday!
I woke up by 6:15a.m. Hubby had already headed off to his morning PT. I sat in my bed counting down the minutes until I needed to be in the shower. I wanted to watch the morning news. It was the same panic as the last month.
By 7:30 the husband is coming in the door. Thankfully his car alarm alerted me to the fact the kids were still sleeping. I get my son up with very little issues. He heads out to the kitchen for his daily yogurt. Sleeping Beauty is still under the blankets despite a lamp and curtains thrown wide. I start breakfast and she stumbles into the kitchen dressed but not really awake. Somehow hubby ends up cooking his own food.
It's a new day and I am ready, well as ready as a non-homeschooling mom can be at the prospect of having kids at home all day. My husband decides he will take our son to his work. I am thankful, but secretly sad, as I was actually hoping he would take our daughter.
I need to get my son's fundraiser products ordered, and I set her up with a Spanish YouTube video session. This of course is not related to anything that her teacher sent home, I just needed her to be distracted. Two minutes into it she is board. Somehow I end up wasting nearly an hour on that and the time to retrieve my son is nearing. We Have Done Nothing! I set her down to work on her sentences with spelling words. I make her lunch, so about ten minutes later I come back and she has done two sentences out of the eight she needs to do. We somehow get the sentences done, and leave the house.
Away we go to pick up my son take him to his school and check out a Chrome book. Wow, the school has some nice computers! I find out that much of his classwork will be online. I walk out of the school feeling even more defeated.
Back home where I let the kids eat a snack and watch videos about Saint Patrick's Day. Wow, it was established in 1798! I get my daughter started on videos for one of her Google Classrooms and then figure out how to get my son's Chromebook on my network. Done, and naturally I cannot figure out how to get it to print.
I have a facebook meltdown where I basically verbally cry my eyes out to the PTO thread. I express my inability to be a teacher, to grasp common core, to be nice and I cry because I don't have enough junk food in the house to eat my feelings.
I'm still upset I only bought a chocolate bar at the gas station instead of a bottle of wine. I am thinking how nice a Jack and Coke would taste right about now. I want to quit, yet I want to succeed. I want my life back, I know I should be happy to have my kids at home around me, but then that requires effort and brain power and most days I am merely getting by.
I sense my anxiety getting higher by the minute. Impulse control is harder for me when I am stressed out. I have worked so hard since January to loose that one pound. I am lost and it will take until just about when the kids go to school again to get comfortable with where I am now.
God Bless Ya'll We made it to Tuesday!
Chronicals of a not so Ordinary Mom: Day 1
Monday, as if that is not bad enough, this one happens to be a three day weekend for my husband.
Of course our schedules say we will be up, dressed, beds made and breakfast done and over by 8:30 a.m.
That did not happen. I woke up closer to 9 the husband after me. We got everyone fed, and we started strong on school work, well for one kid. She made great progress on one worksheet. Somehow in all the time we spent looking over her school work, figuring out Google Classroom, and eating lunch, it was nearly go time for an appointment.
I am not quite sure what to make of Google Classroom. Yes, it is quite fascinating. I can see how it will be an added bonus. I cannot see how it fits neatly into my poster board schedule.
I will embrace the crazy of this. I will try not cry each time I open one of the three folders I received from my daughter's school.
I promise on this day I only lost my skittles twice. Once was during breakfast when I was asking my son questions. I think I speak a different language than a 10 year old does, because he could not understand anything I asked. "How do you log in at school?" "Does it look like this?" "So and So said they are already working on something where is yours?" Bet you can't guess the answer that I received..... "I don't know" Ha ha you did guess it!.
The second time it was the second grade common core that got me. I see a lot of confusion when I look at the math folder. I also asked my second grader questions and she was even more confused than my son. I started to loose it. My husband stepped in and said "Don't worry guys, we all know mommy is a little crazy, don't let her scare you" He also told the dogs that he was sorry I was so scary.
I ended up in the bathroom almost in tears because I know my limits. I know I have a low tolerance for what I deem bull crap. I like to see results, I get impatient. I struggle to explain myself multiple times. Tears and I am done. I am thinking of all of the things I will need to be doing. Will there be time for me? Yes, I am so selfish!
Our appointment was a bit of a waste of time. My son will need some work done on his feet, but no surgeries can be scheduled right now. We did learn from his X Rays that he is full of poop and gas. Then we went in search of food.
Food at restaurants is only take out now. We found a taco shop in a Mexican Grocery. And wouldn't you know there was not bread or cleaning supplies to be found there either. Since we were an hour from home, we took the tacos out to our minivan, cranked up the heat and turned on the DVD player. The kids thought this was super fun. Mom and Dad thought it was okay.
It was disheartening for me. I was also deeply saddened to see all of the restaurants that are normally busy at 5pm empty. I was thinking of all the people who are going home early from these jobs, or who may not have a job until this madness ends. I was thinking of the economy. I prayed hard for all those affected by this world wide.
Stay Tuned for Tuesday's adventure!
Of course our schedules say we will be up, dressed, beds made and breakfast done and over by 8:30 a.m.
That did not happen. I woke up closer to 9 the husband after me. We got everyone fed, and we started strong on school work, well for one kid. She made great progress on one worksheet. Somehow in all the time we spent looking over her school work, figuring out Google Classroom, and eating lunch, it was nearly go time for an appointment.
I am not quite sure what to make of Google Classroom. Yes, it is quite fascinating. I can see how it will be an added bonus. I cannot see how it fits neatly into my poster board schedule.
I will embrace the crazy of this. I will try not cry each time I open one of the three folders I received from my daughter's school.
I promise on this day I only lost my skittles twice. Once was during breakfast when I was asking my son questions. I think I speak a different language than a 10 year old does, because he could not understand anything I asked. "How do you log in at school?" "Does it look like this?" "So and So said they are already working on something where is yours?" Bet you can't guess the answer that I received..... "I don't know" Ha ha you did guess it!.
The second time it was the second grade common core that got me. I see a lot of confusion when I look at the math folder. I also asked my second grader questions and she was even more confused than my son. I started to loose it. My husband stepped in and said "Don't worry guys, we all know mommy is a little crazy, don't let her scare you" He also told the dogs that he was sorry I was so scary.
I ended up in the bathroom almost in tears because I know my limits. I know I have a low tolerance for what I deem bull crap. I like to see results, I get impatient. I struggle to explain myself multiple times. Tears and I am done. I am thinking of all of the things I will need to be doing. Will there be time for me? Yes, I am so selfish!
Our appointment was a bit of a waste of time. My son will need some work done on his feet, but no surgeries can be scheduled right now. We did learn from his X Rays that he is full of poop and gas. Then we went in search of food.
Food at restaurants is only take out now. We found a taco shop in a Mexican Grocery. And wouldn't you know there was not bread or cleaning supplies to be found there either. Since we were an hour from home, we took the tacos out to our minivan, cranked up the heat and turned on the DVD player. The kids thought this was super fun. Mom and Dad thought it was okay.
It was disheartening for me. I was also deeply saddened to see all of the restaurants that are normally busy at 5pm empty. I was thinking of all the people who are going home early from these jobs, or who may not have a job until this madness ends. I was thinking of the economy. I prayed hard for all those affected by this world wide.
Stay Tuned for Tuesday's adventure!
Chronicals of a Not So Ordinary Mom: Quarintine
Let's go back a few days, a weekend's worth of days. The setting is Friday March 13, 2020.
We have all been watching the news, the ever spreading panic of the dreaded Covid-19. Toilet paper, cleaning products, and now groceries are becoming scarce. Pictures emerge of the craziness in each of the stores Around The Nation, sorry, the World.
It's bad
Most people will agree on that, but I am not here to debate how bad or over-hyped. I am here to share my daily struggles as I begin to deal with a temporary new normal.
On that normal Friday, kids are home and I am pretending the news is not blowing up with which state has cancelled school. I am pretending that I did not visit three stores only to find no toilet paper outside of the one package of 12 that I scored. I got my water, I got my food, but I did not buy stuff to feed my kids at home for an indefinite amount of time.
And FB blows up. Denial. It does not work. Emails rolling in. We Have NO SCHOOL. NONE for three weeks! THREE WEEKS! And just like that I become the home school mom I never wanted to be. The schools will send lessons home via the internet.
I slowly begin to freak out. Ever so slowly.
By Sunday reality is sinking in. I want to cry. I want to scream. I really want my husband to hug me and tell me it is a horrible dream. He does not do that. Instead he tells me to get a grip. Well not like that, more gently, but still.
I have been blessed with an amazing teacher for my second grader. She agreed to meet us on the military installation that we live on and (kids go to school on) and bring the lessons. She went all out. So organized and laminated work guides. I mean as I stood there listening to her explain what we were looking out I felt the fear sink in. I knew in that moment that I am not cut out for this next adventure.
My Amazing husband helped me work out schedules for the kids. They are realistic. They are within my range of capabilities.
We have all been watching the news, the ever spreading panic of the dreaded Covid-19. Toilet paper, cleaning products, and now groceries are becoming scarce. Pictures emerge of the craziness in each of the stores Around The Nation, sorry, the World.
It's bad
Most people will agree on that, but I am not here to debate how bad or over-hyped. I am here to share my daily struggles as I begin to deal with a temporary new normal.
On that normal Friday, kids are home and I am pretending the news is not blowing up with which state has cancelled school. I am pretending that I did not visit three stores only to find no toilet paper outside of the one package of 12 that I scored. I got my water, I got my food, but I did not buy stuff to feed my kids at home for an indefinite amount of time.
And FB blows up. Denial. It does not work. Emails rolling in. We Have NO SCHOOL. NONE for three weeks! THREE WEEKS! And just like that I become the home school mom I never wanted to be. The schools will send lessons home via the internet.
I slowly begin to freak out. Ever so slowly.
By Sunday reality is sinking in. I want to cry. I want to scream. I really want my husband to hug me and tell me it is a horrible dream. He does not do that. Instead he tells me to get a grip. Well not like that, more gently, but still.
I have been blessed with an amazing teacher for my second grader. She agreed to meet us on the military installation that we live on and (kids go to school on) and bring the lessons. She went all out. So organized and laminated work guides. I mean as I stood there listening to her explain what we were looking out I felt the fear sink in. I knew in that moment that I am not cut out for this next adventure.
My Amazing husband helped me work out schedules for the kids. They are realistic. They are within my range of capabilities.
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