Quarantine life

Here are some random thoughts, having wrapped up NINE weeks of being home with my kids:

It takes me a long time to fall asleep at night, even if I'm really tired.  I think I need to meditate or do more yoga to quiet my mind.  Or maybe just eat better?  Maybe that's related.

I have no excitement about anything... because I feel like anything I'm excited about gets cancelled. Anticipation is half of the fun, so in that regard, the future looks bleak. Or at least unexciting.

I think we were all waiting for the quarantine to end so things could go back to normal, but there is no normal, so we're not re-entering a familiar world.  And there's no indication of when things will get back to normal, if ever.  When will kids be in a normal school classroom?  When will we go to Chik-fil-a to play at the playplace?  When will the kids play on soccer teams?  When will we have playdates?  Or meet at the playground with friends?  Will there even be public splash pads open this summer?  When will I not feel irresponsible for taking my kids to Target just to look around?  When will my kids be able to fill their free-time playing outside with neighborhood friends?  When can I hire a babysitter???  

My house has been repurposed in a lot of ways, because its working overtime.  We often have coloring things spread out ALL over the dining room table, which before would have made me crazy.  But since we're home so much, and the kids literally draw for 1+ hour every day, it makes sense and I've learned to live with it.  Things are generally just messier because there's more going on at home.  But the surface mess makes me want to deep clean and organize.  But I don't have the bandwidth to do much of that.  

As an introvert I feel like I rarely get alone time.  Well, I get an hour every day, when the kids' quiet time overlaps with Enzo's nap.  And it flies by way to quickly.  And I probably don't use it productively.  I try to quick clean, zone out on my phone, read my scriptures, stretch/exercise, eat, troubleshoot all the kids' problems, etc.  So I often feel my mental energy depleted.  

This experience is confirming that we're homebodies.  My kids enjoy playing outside if I make them, but there are days we entertain ourselves just fine inside and nobody is bursting to go out.  I enjoy the mental break of driving somewhere and changing scenery, but its less of a big deal than not having alone time.  My air conditioning makes being inside even more ideal. 

The biggest miracle of this quarantine is how well Mila, Siena, and Tiago play together.  They used to whine regularly about not being able to go outside to play with friends.  (A rainy day was the end of the world... "the worst day ever") but now they are mostly perfectly content with each other. They enjoy playing together.  Yes, they still fight, a lot, but they have gotten quite imaginative and play well together.  I think Tiago views the girls like peers, and they love being involved in his plans.  It's interesting to see what they do/don't play with.  (Most of our toys are untouched... but they do a lot of pretend.)  

I think my kids have enjoyed having school at home.  Probably because we don't do much and that gives them time to play more.  They don't express that they miss school (although I think initially they missed their friends, and they miss their routine and the fun centers the teacher sets up.)  Tiago would rather be home reading his own books and building Legos than at school.  And doing school from home has allowed the kids to sleep in a bit longer in the morning.  (Instead of being woken up by the alarm and then fighting to get out the door on time.) 

I always intended to teach my kids to play the piano, but we never previously prioritized it in our "after school" time, when the kids usually wanted to go out and play with friends.  It's nice to have finally taken the plunge.  The kids have the basics, and I think that's the biggest hurdle. (Well, motivating them to keep going is probably the biggest hurdle.  But I no longer have to explain what a beat is, or why notes have names, etc.)

Enzo can now take naps whenever it fits best for him, without working around a school pick-up schedule.  (Having him awake at 3 pm was the worst!)  That's been nice.

Hyrum worked in the office for the first month, with military obviously being an "essential business".  (Dallas had a mandated quarantine at the end of March, which ended May 1.)  Each day it seemed the were coming up with a new plan.  Baby steps were easier for everyone to wrap their heads around, rather than jumping right to the worst-case-scenario, which came regardless.  What the ended up doing was screening applicants before they came to the MEPS, turning away anyone who could potentially have Covid-19.  A few weeks ago (after an employee tested positive and the had to close the office for a few days) they divided the staff into two teams that rotate which weeks they work from home.  That way if someone tests positive, they can clean and have the non-exposed team back in the office ASAP.  So what they means for us.... is that Hyrum is home every other week.  He tried working from our dresser, in the kitchen, and we settled on moving the white table from the breakfast nook into the  bedroom.  We've discovered that our cell reception in the house is SO spotty so that makes conference calls nearly impossible.  It also means Hyrum is home to wake up early with Enzo. :)  (On his in-office weeks, he works 12+ hours and leaves before 5 am!)  It means I can go for a walk with the baby while the kids are playing or doing quiet time.  It means no commute.  It definitely has its perks!  (Although there are also benefits of going to work.  After the first week tele-working Hyrum commented that he missed going out and having interaction with people.  I asked what he thought I've been experiencing for 6 weeks.)  

Kids Lately

[These are all pictures I've taken of the kids in their church clothes, from last August through December.]

It has been months (or over a year?) since I've written anything about what the kids are up to. I have a few notes I've written down about funny things they've said.   

First, I can't believe how big they are.  We never use a stroller anymore.  (Well, except random occasions like Sea World.)  They go play by themselves in the front yards with neighborhood kids.  I don't even have a pack of wipes in my car.  

They often play nicely together.  On a good morning, they wake up, eat breakfast, and then spend an hour (or more) playing pretend around the house.  They don't play with toys very often, but they're always making up games and scenarios to act out.  A favorite is turning pillows into a hot tub, or ninjas or police and bad guys.  I'm glad they're all at a similar age where that kind of pretending is fun.  Another activity they like to do together is Legos on the table in Tiago's room.  Along with play comes plenty of fighting.  Sometimes the girls really annoy Tiago and things explode.  Sometimes the girls want what the other one has and things explode.  Those aren't the best mornings.   

So a few random things the kids have said that I wrote down:

When we went to Colombia, and Tiago was on the first airplane looking out the window at the clouds, he said, "It's like we're above blue cotton candy!  This is pretty scary."

For the longest time, Tiago called Darth Vader "Dark Vader".  He's never seen Star Wars, but is obsessed with it.  He has checked out several library books and learned many character names. 

Speaking of Star Wars, the kids were talking about Yoda and Siena started saying, "Sen-yoda" (sounding almost identical to señora) and the kids would laugh and laugh. 

When Tiago was practicing reading, he started saying the "ch" sound.  He said, "Is that like the word "Truck?"  It caught me off guard, but sure enough, the way he said truck sounded just like "chruk".

We listen to a lot of kid music these days.  One favorite is the song "We are the Dinosaurs".  I don't know which kid said it (maybe Tiago?), but one of them said, "Mom, turn off this song.  It makes me dance and I don't want to dance."

Mila is very agreeable and usually responds, "Of course" when you ask her to do something.

The kids call slip-on shoes "slippery shoes". 

Tiago calls question marks "mystery marks", which has also rubbed off on the girls. 

The bishop of our ward lives nearby.  One day we saw them drive by in their car.  I asked Tiago who we saw drive by and he said, "The captain of the church." 

To ask for things, Mila says, "Please I have..."  For example, "Please I have more candy?"

In the mornings, Mila and Siena will usually play in their room for 20-40 minutes playing together nicely.  I heard them wake up one morning and Siena yelled Mila's name. Mila responded, "I'm tired. Leave me alone."  Siena ignored her and started telling her about her dream, which involved cousins and a cat.  Mila jumped right in and helped her tell an elaborate story.  They keep a basket of stuffed animals in their room that they bring into their bed each morning to play with together.  In contrast, Tiago jumps right out of bed when he wakes up and runs into our room.  Fortunately, he sleeps in a little longer.  

All 3 kids are in Primary now, and love it.  The girls had no hesitations moving from Nursery to Primary and were excited to see some of the big kids they know (including Tiago!).  I remember Tiago being so shy to be in front of the other kids, but the girls are unphased.  When they were asked to say a prayer and recite a scripture, they were excited to get up in front. 

Tiago is an excellent reader.  He's at the point where he can open any book and try to read parts of it.  He'll lay in bed at night looking at books, and he reads words along with looking at pictures.  He ran into our room one night, about 20 minutes after Hyrum put him in bed, and said, "Papa, you have to look at this."  One of his books talked about different aircrafts, and he found one called Columbia.  I'm not sure what he'll learn in Kindergarten next year, but it's nice to see him excited about learning, and he'll even read books to his sisters sometimes.  

Mila and Siena also love books, but they just sit and look at pictures.  Sometimes I'll catch Siena 'reading' to herself by making up a story that matches pictures.  At any given time, we have 40-70 library books checked out.  The girls have about 30 minutes of "independent reading time" every afternoon while Tiago is in school.

The thing that drives me most crazy about the kids at this stage is their poor eating habits.  They are picky eaters, and when they ask for something for breakfast, they often say, "Nevermind.  I don't want that, I want something else."  Or they'll be starving but can't think of a single thing they want.  Or they'll love eating meatballs for dinner one night, and if I serve it a few weeks later they think it's the grossest food ever.  Such confusing creatures.  One of these days I need to get a handle on meals, but today is not that day. 

As far as personalities go, Mila and Siena are getting much more distinct.  Mila is extremely talkative.  If she is at a playground and wants to play with kids, she marches up to them and says, "I'm Mila" then launches into a 2-minute monologue of whatever's on her mind.  She tells strangers random things like who Tiago's pre-k teacher is, and what she dressed up as for Halloween.  I don't know where she gets it from!  Siena also has moments of being talkative, but is usually happy to stay quiet.  Occasionally she'll come inside, while everyone is outside playing with friends, to just sit on the sofa and look at books.  And she usually doesn't want to be bothered. 

For the most part, all my kids love 'playing with friends.'  If we go to an empty playground they're bored in 5 minutes.  If we go to a playground with other kids they're entertained for hours. 

During bedtime the girls have graduated to having their door open.  We told them if they stayed in bed they could leave it open, and they've never tried to come out.  They sometimes lay in bed talking for 45 minutes, but Hyrum is pretty quick to go tell them it's time to sleep. 

Tiago doesn't come into our room at night as much as he used to when he was 3 and 4, but it still happens occasionally (like twice a month?)  Hyrum is wrapped around Tiago's finger, and almost always gets up to bring him to the bathroom or take him to bed (or let him sleep with us.) Sometimes I wake up for it all, sometimes I don't. 

All three kids are enjoying school.  Tiago is thriving in Pre-K.  His teacher is fantastic, and tells us how much Tiago adds to the classroom--both by advanced academics but also by just being helpful and inclusive.  The girls are loving Joy School twice a week, and have really come to identify the other 3 kids as their best friends.  (Even though they started the year saying one was NOT their friend and was angry at them.)  They're big time chatter boxes at school and if we had any family secrets, the other moms would learn about them quickly. 

Tiago continues to be such a rule follower.  That sets a good tone for Mila and Siena, who watch everything he does like a hawk.  Mila shares everything--even the clothes off her back--with Siena.  She likes to see other people happy.  And Siena is inwardly content, marching to the beat of her own drum.  When she's tired at bedtime, she hurries Hyrum along in the book so he'll finish faster. 

They each bring such unique traits to the family, and 99% of the time, we're enjoying this 'bigger kid' stage!

Random things from Aug-Dec 2018

I did a horrible job of keeping up with our pictures last year.  I've rounded up pictures that I want to remember, and I'm dumping them all in one place.  Then 2018 will be done with!

August

Texas summers are hooooooot.  So before school started we spent our days looking for places to stay cool.  (Unfortunately our house's AC doesn't get all that cold.)  We spent a day at the trampoline park, explored an indoor playground, another place with big blow-up things called CooCoos, and a big jungle gym/climbing place with a zillion kids from summer camps crowding it up.  I think the trampoline park was the biggest hit. 

Tiago went to his pre-K open house.  His school is only a 4 minute walk, and he started the year with a pretty good foundation of letters/numbers and knowing reading basics.  I guess there are benefits to repeating pre-K twice!  He walked right into the classroom confidently because he knew just what to expect. 

I had to laugh when I saw this picture, because it just as easily could've been taken this past week.  (It's the toy aisle of Target.)  We go there ALL the time.  My kids know they can get a free cookie from the bakery, so whenever we have nothing going on they ask to go to Target.  Then they want to spend an hour looking at toys. 

One Sunday afternoon we acted out the story of Samuel the Lamanite.  (We were trying to work our way through some popular scripture stories.) The kids loved dressing up like Samuel and having Nerf "arrows" shot at them.  After going through it at least a dozen times, they had the details down perfectly.

We bought a new sofa!  Which was great, because I was really getting tired of looking at sofas in every store around.  I saw this one at Costco, but there was only 1 in stock.  As soon as Hyrum got home from work I sent him to check it out, pretty sure I wanted to buy it.  He agreed, and had to bring it home in two loads because it didn't all fit.  He picked up the second box about 30 seconds before the store closed.  (It's 20 minutes away).  It was quite the evening, but such a relief to be done with it.  Our old sofa sat in the corner of the family room for several months, waiting for me to get motivated to sell it.  

Friends that live around the corner have a swimming pool.  They invited people to swim every Wednesday, and afterwards the kids loved swinging in their front yard. 

September
The first weekend in September I was in Waco with my sisters, so Hyrum took the kids on a little adventure, and one of their stops was the Dallas temple.  (I think their first time seeing it.)

Here's a snapshot of the girls' Joy School class.  A group of moms decided to rotate pre-school between our homes, so I teach one week of the month on Tuesday/Thursday.  I think this was our first class.  I have absolutely loved not having to pay for my girls to be in school, and it's great having something built into our schedule to keep the girls busy and socializing.  Do I love teaching 3 year olds?  Meh.  I find it mentally exhausting and my girls are always very poorly behaved when they're doing school with me.  (Lots of tantrums, time-outs, etc.)  I'm glad they have such a good time at everyone else's houses. 

Hyrum's 'backson' costume.  (It's a monster from one of the Winnie the Pooh movies.)  He dresses up and chases the kids around the house while they scream.  Not my favorite game.

We spent one Saturday exploring Dallas a bit more.  We went to the Sixth Floor Museum, the building from which JFK was shot.  They've turned it into quite an expensive museum with way more details than I could ever take in with 3 kids tagging along.  But here's the view out the window onto the grassy knoll.  After, we walked to some fountains nearby and let the kids play. 

I did the Keto diet for 3-4 weeks in August/September (until I think I had a super early miscarriage and then just gave up.)  But these mushrooms from Costco were a great find.  They're really high in calories but perfect for Keto.  So good.

No idea what this is all about (maybe an FHE lesson?), but over the last few months I've caught them playing 'missionaries' together.  They put hymn books and water bottles in backpacks and run around the house.

We went to the Interurban Railway Museum in Plano.  It's along the old train line that ran North from Dallas at the beginning of the 20th century.  It's interesting to see what existing before the modern train system, and the role it played in day-to-day life (like delivering mail.) 

October
I wrote about all the Halloween things we did during the month already, but here are a few more things.  While I stayed home with Mila and Tiago decorating cookie skeletons, Hyrum took Siena on a date to the Perot Museum.  I wanted them to check it out and see if we should buy a a membership.  (Which we did.)  It's funny how Siena was begging to stay home, and have someone else go with Hyrum, but quickly realized she was having a lot more fun on their adventure than we were at home.  They even rode the train downtown. 

Another Saturday we tried to go to a pumpkin patch about 25 minutes west of Richardson, but when we got there found out it was closed due to rain/mud.  That was a disappointment!  We couldn't really find any other patches (just pumpkins set out in parking lots) so instead we explored the Nash Farm, which is a free museum showing off a historic home built in 1869.  You get to learn about the time period and how people lived, plus they still have livestock on the small farm. 

Tiago participated in the Spanish ward primary program. He did a great job memorizing his part in Spanish and said it quite confidently.  (Dios es mi Padre Celestial. El me conoce y me ama.)  They handed out these cute felt ties to all the boys to wear, and the girls each got bows. 

Hyrum celebrated his birthday, turning 37!  The kids 'helped' me make this soccer ball cake the day before, and we kept it a surprise until he got home from work.  We got him some new soccer pants, and my mom gave him a bunch of Colombian soda.  Tiago was eager to help write cards to label who the presents were from. 

We went to visit Hyrum at his office.  Last time we went he'd been busy doing ceremonies so we didn't get to see him.  This time he had us come when it wasn't so busy.  This is the room where they do the oaths of enlistment.  Pretty fancy.  The kids were excited to pick out a candy (and toy!) each at the USO. 

We attended the Hispanic Festival in a neighboring town.  There were some fun elements, like a bounce house and face painting, but it ended up being much more of a gathering of all the services available to people who are low-income or don't speak much English.  Less of a cultural celebration.

At school the kids in Tiago's class each got a coupon for a free donut.  Tiago's teacher was thoughtful and gave him two extras, for his sisters.  That made for a fun afternoon.

Here we are at Tiago's school, after eating lunch at the cafeteria.  All pre-k students in Texas have access to free breakfast and lunch.  I'm not sure the reasoning, but we definitely take advantage.  In the fall we were going at least 3x a week.  I'd pack lunch for the girls and Tiago would eat cafeteria food. 

In the fall I spent a lot of time walking in the evening while Hyrum put the kids in bed.  That was my main source of exercise, since my back couldn't quite handle higher-impact stuff.  I listened to podcasts and audio books.  Several people in my family joined in a 6-week health challenge with several goals to meet each week.  One was regular exercise.  I was excited and did some actual exercise the first few days, and then spent a week basically unable to move.  So I changed strategies.

Hyrum and I have attended more than a handful of military balls in the last 10 years, some better than others.  One perk of his current job is we got to attend a really fancy one, best of all, for free.  (Normally they cost about $40 per person, though I'm sure this one cost more.)  The Sky Ball is a big fundraising event they do each year at an AA hangar at the airport.  Part of the program was to have a group of new soldiers do the enlistment oath on stage, so Hyrum helped coordinate with the recruiters and they offered tickets to him and other colleagues who wanted to attend.  The event was full of two types of people-- those of us who obviously didn't pay for our own tickets, and those who can spend thousands of dollars on silent auctions.  Some people were single-handedly donating 10-20K.  The food was awesome-- celebrity chef Robert Irvine flies in each year to run the show.  They had speakers highlighting several military-related charities, and honored all the living Purple Heart recipients.  That was quite amazing!

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November
Hyrum had a big soccer game he wanted to watch, so he let Tiago stay up late watching with him.  Unfortunately, he couldn't find a good place streaming it, so he watched a sound-less video on youtube with an audio stream coming from his phone.  I think that made Tiago lose interest, and he spent the evening reading books.  I couldn't believe he was able to just pick up these library books and read them on his own. 

A few days after Halloween we went to Target and they had a bunch of stuff on 90%-off clearance.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, we were also there the day after Halloween, and it was still only 50% off.)  Anyway, we certainly don't need any more costumes, but I bought both of these for a few bucks each and they're adorable. 

Hyrum didn't have to work on Veterans Day so we woke up and went to Dennys for free breakfast.  Then he went with Tiago to the cafeteria for lunch, and took Mila out to eat Mexican food.  That night he went by himself to a steakhouse where he got a free meal. 

I spent a good deal of time last fall trying to line up primary care doctors and dentists for everyone, then make and keep appointments.  That's one adult task I hate, and it repeats itself every few years when we move.  The kids all did great getting their teeth cleaned by the new dentist.  The office isn't quite as awesome as the last place we went, but they had stuffed animals with teeth you could brush so they enjoyed it.  Best of all, no cavities, so we don't have to return for several months.

Hyrum was dying to go camping, so we made a deal that we'd all go together for the day, and then I'd take the girls home to sleep in their own beds.  (That's generally how we've camped the last few years.)  The first state park we drove to was full, but we found a campground a bit further away with openings.  Hyrum and I managed to not have any arguments while putting up the tent (we've come a long way in that regard) and we all enjoyed camping food and a walk to the lake. 

Of course there was hot chocolate the next morning for Hyrum and Tiago. 

To lead up to Thanksgiving we added feathers to this gratitude turkey.  Tiago was into drawing elaborate pictures of stuff, some of it was completely unrelated to what he was thankful for, but it made for pretty feathers.  

 We spent Thanksgiving break in San Antonio.  Then a few days later my parents came to visit during a long layover (on their way home from Australia.)  Tiago told his teacher that his grandparents were visiting from Australia, which I think confused her. 

Tiago recieved the school pictures we bought.  Cute boy!

At the end of the month I was itching to cut all my hair off.  Maybe since the dentists and doctors had all been visited I was feeling up to the task of finding a salon.  I wanted to get it lightened, since it had been about a year.  After so many phone calls and internet research I found a lady with reasonable prices.  I thought I was getting some of my hair lightened, but it ended up being pretty much bleached blonde.  Quite a change!  It took a while to get used to it, but now I'm happy.  It wasn't as short as I was going for, but it feels so much better than having it long.  (Down a few pictures you can see the new color.)

Here we are at tithing settlement.  

December

While the girls are in Joy School, I have some one-on-one time with Tiago.  Sometimes we hang out at home (and try to fit in piano lessons), sometimes we run errands, and this particular day I took him on a date to Subway.  He thought that was special and insisted I have more than half of the cookie we bought.  He's recently started taking an art class once a week during the girls' preschool time, so that takes care of Thursday mornings for us.

When we visit the school for lunch time, we get to see artwork hanging up from Tiago's class.  His castle is the one in the top row, right above his head. 

My mom also has a weakness for cute costumes, and sent this one for my kids in the mail.  I call it the 'flamenco costume' but the girls call it the flamingo costume. 

We sent out Christmas cards (in a bit of a rush) and Tiago drew this picture to put in one of them. 

That Princess Peach wig was another Target find (for about $1).  My kids felt compelled to dress up, and then Tiago read books to them nicely. :)

Christmas came and went.  After Christmas we decided to start looking into new mattresses. We didn't buy one until the end of January, but the kids had a blast climbing all over the beds. 

On one of the days Hyrum had off work, we took the kids to the Perot Museum again.  We explored some of the different floors.  This sand box had elevation lighting. 

And to close out 2018, our New Years was pretty uneventful.  We had sparkling cider, I forgot to buy grapes (Colombians eat 12 grapes to celebrate New Years) and the kids danced around with Hyrum to some music.  The kids and I definitely didn't make it to midnight, but I think Hyrum did.