I’m playing a bit of catch-up on blog writing while on vacation in WI (more on that in a separate post to come). This particular blog is meant to cover May through the 4th of July more or less. I can barely remember yesterday sometimes, so let’s see what I can scratch up.
May as a whole was a lot like April, minus some of the initial pandemic fear, and plus the optimism that we would all survive to the end of the school year. I am seriously not cut out to home school my kids, or at the very least, not cut out to home school my kids while trying to work from home. I saw a meme recently that said we should stop calling it “working from home” and start calling it “living at work” and that’s honestly how it felt. After being cooped up for 6-8 weeks the boys were excited just to ride in the car, even if we were only going to the dentist. May was filled with building blanket forts, riding our bikes to the school to get lunches, and generally trying to not to kill each other during month 3 of quarantine.
At the end of May we officially had a Kindergarten graduate! Christopher got the unique experience of having a walk through/drive through graduation ceremony. Overall I think the teachers did an amazing job given the circumstances. Christopher got a graduation cap, picked up goodies from a few designated stops along the sidewalk and even got his “graduation” picture taken. He didn’t seem disappointed in the least. I doubt he remembers William’s kindergarten graduation so it was really just bittersweet for the parents who remember what’s being missed.
Memorial Day weekend it was warm enough that we finally caved in and set the pool up for the summer. It was at least a week earlier than we have set it up previous summers but being stuck at home made us looking for new exciting ways to keep busy. The first time in the kids nearly froze to death, but there were chattering teeth and smiles all around. This year is the first year Andrew has really felt comfortable going in the pool. Maybe the swimming lessons he mostly refused to participate in actually paid off. An amusing development this summer is that all of the boys are old enough to mostly get their swimming clothes on by themselves. I learned to be prepared however, because if you announce it’s time to swim in the pool there are immediately 3 naked little boys running throughout the house.
At the beginning of June, Andrew had an appointment at Primary Children’s Hospital for some dental work, therefore, he got to be the first in our family to experience COVID19 testing (rather reluctantly, as he had to be pinned down). Results were negative and we were cleared for his procedure. Our insurance actually has better coverage doing the work at the hospital as opposed to in-office because if we’re at the hospital it will cover the anesthesia and other various things. It was his first time with anesthesia and it’s nice knowing you’re in the best hands in the state. He was the cutest little patient pre-op in his gown and mask, and then woke up an angry, raging, drunk. Jason said the nurses had warned him of this happening in kids, but it sounds like his level of agitation even had the experienced nurses a bit concerned. After an afternoon of post-surgery sluggishness he was back to his regular self.
In the time since I last wrote, the boys have become more proficient in their bicycle riding. William’s training wheels quickly came off. Christopher no longer tips over completely at random (usually). Andrew has gotten up the courage to take his “big boy bike” for a spin on occasion, although he’s still happy to ride his tricycle for the most part. Being together at home full time has afforded us more time for bike riding practice, splashing in the pool, and puttering around the house, so I guess it hasn’t been all bad.
Speaking of house puttering, my June project involved painting another chunk of the unfinished basement. After my dad finished the basement family room I had decided paint would really brighten up the unfinished section and tie it all together. I had bought the paint early on in the pandemic and finally got around to painting 3 months later. It really did brighten things up a lot. The boys–who always want to help me paint–were about 5 seconds of actual help when I turned them loose on the unfinished cement wall. Don’t tell Jason, but I think I have my heart set on removing the remaining red Berber carpet as one of my next projects.
It should be noted that for the first time in my life I have managed to save a recipe from Facebook and then actually follow through on making said recipe. The resulting deliciousness is now my favorite summer treat–frozen s’mores! One night on a stroll around the block with Christopher we accidentally learned they effectively remove loose baby teeth so I guess if any parents out there of school-aged children with loose teeth need the recipe they should let me know.
June/July brought job changes for both Jason and I. We are both still with our respective companies but I got a bit of a promotion and he is now in a new role back under a former boss we both really liked. I am working with Telenotes and will still be doing transcription while also working as a Quality Assurance Assistant as part of the admin team. Having just barely survived homeschooling during a pandemic, and knowing that Jason was also job-hunting, I was very reluctant to apply. However, with a little push from my team lead, I’m certainly glad that I did! Jason had been casually job-hunting for a couple months due to some restructuring at Fidelity. Thankfully his new job paperwork was all signed just prior to our departure to WI. What a relief!
June was also significant because with our pediatrician’s blessing, we sent our boys back to daycare part time. They really need the social stimulation, learning, and time away from us that daycare provides. Thankfully we, as a household, are at low risk of any serious complications from COVID19 and our pediatrician assured us the data in kids is so far backing that up. At the beginning of June we took a calculated risk and expanded our social circle to once again include Debbie’s house. It was a little nerve-wracking to be resuming daycare while the COVID19 numbers in Utah started to really climb, however so far the only downside has been one minor cold
. Minor colds…a normal part of kids in school and daycare unless you’re in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. How we will ever figure out the difference between a normal cold and symptoms of COVID19 I still do not fully grasp. We spent most of the month of June obsessing over whether we should take our annual summer trip to WI. What ultimately happened is we quarantined as a family for a week, and I got tested for COVID19 prior to departure to make absolutely certain our daycare cold was just a cold. On the other end of our trip my parents stayed home for a week, with the exception of a masked grocery store trip, and my brother and his wife pulled their kids from daycare the week prior to our trip, essentially creating our own little bubble in which we could see each other. More on the travel adventure and vacation in the next blog.
Forth of July was a bit different this year. Most normal fireworks celebrations around the valley were canceled and our city opted to do a “stay home, stay safe” fireworks show honoring healthcare workers the weekend before the 4th. On the 4th of July we (and most of our neighbors) shot off fireworks in the street. There was no shortage of fireworks to see from our house. As a reflection of our solid bedtime routine however, our kids were asking to go to bed well before we ran out of fireworks and crashed into bed shortly after 10:00pm.
In the last 2 months we’ve opened up our bubble a little bit but we’ve also found that we’re pretty good at being socially distant. I’m better than ever at online shopping, and was super thankful when the public library started letting us schedule appointments to pick up books. It might not seem like it, but little things like being able to pick up library books or make masked trips to run errands seems like a big step towards normal from a couple months ago. Salt Lake County mandated masks at the beginning of July and I’m hopeful that our numbers will be better controlled and start to fall in the coming weeks. I’m ready to get on to the new normal. Again 3 cheers for our healthcare employees and essential workers. Keep up the excellent work!
Socially distant backyard camping.
