Week 4

How has it been a month of this new normal?  In many ways it feels like years and years and in other ways, it feels like this new adventure just began.  It truly is an adventure.  An adventure in figuring out how to navigate a new lifestyle surrounded by each other constantly.  A new adventure of figuring out to how clean our home hourly.  A new adventure in figuring out online school for everyone with enough devices at the right time and enough space that everyone can hear their own zoom lessons.  A new adventure in how to work out without my amazing barre classes and my running buddies.   The new adventures haven't been without tears or struggles, but we are figuring it out with a lot of laughter and bonding time. 

Yesterday was Easter, and we figured out a way to celebrate it in a new way.  Not only the pandemic, but the snowy weather left our traditions needing to be switched up.  Typically my parents host a big easter brunch with a egg hunt color coded for each grandchild.  That obviously didn't happen.  What did happen was the easter bunny set up an indoor scavenger hunt for the kids with many eggs filled with candy to share and color coded eggs filled with hints to find individual gifts.   The smiles on the kids faces, the joy as they ran around the house hunting for eggs was unchanged from any other year.    So different and yet the same in many ways.

Each week as I look back at the photos I have taken (and I don't come close to taking pictures of everything we do), I am reminded of all we have, of all I am grateful for and of how much fun we have had despite this challenging and different situation.  

The boys each have a lot more responsibility around our home.  They have to unload the dishwasher each morning, the big kids do their own laundry (and have for several months), but this weekend, we added a lesson in cleaning your own bathroom and now that is their responsibility once a week.  

I also have taken on a lot more responsibility, setting up a schedule for everyone (eating, school time, cleaning time, screen time etc).  I've had to figure out how to give each kid enough attention and help each kid with their individual needs.  I have had to research topics I have previously left to teachers.  And our amazing housekeepers that we love and miss so much are no longer helping with the deep cleaning, leaving that to all of us.  

Brian has had to figure out how to work amongst the chaos.  He's stepped up his time in the kitchen, helping make many of our dinners (if not solely by himself).  He helps the kids with tech issues (not my strong suit).  

But our days of driving a bus around town picking up and dropping off kids has come to a halt.  I don't miss that part of my old life, at all.  There were days I spent hours in the car driving the same loop over and over again.  While most of that time has quickly been filled with other necessities at home, I have also managed to squeeze in more reading for myself.  Another thing, I am so grateful for.  

 B is so into science and last week on a nice day we learned about gravity.  Above was gravity painting (planned for a warm day we could do this outside).

 Always Legos.  Always. 

 Ads doing the dishes one evening.

 Rainbow alphabet.

 Easter egg dying failure.

 LT made sesame beef tacos one night for dinner.

 So many extra snuggles for each other right now.

 The first smores of the season!

 Daily trampoline time (weather permitting).

 Easter morning.

We also had two pretty good family dance parties with Just Dance, read a lot of books, practiced piano, watched Monsters Inc, played Pictionary, drew a lot (mostly dragons and knights this week), talked to grandparents almost daily (Ads gave some drawing lessons), watched CNN 10 everyday, had a few zoom meetings with friends and tried not to take on the weight of the world.