New Decor

I'm not sure it's what we had in mind when we renovated our kitchen, but these days we've adopted a look we call 'Coronavirus Chic'.  It consists of several laptops and a printer for school/work from home,  a stack of Zombie Goldfish books to keep Everett busy, and the pièces de résistance... a can of Lysol and a tub of sanitizing wipes....


I particularly love how the relentless string of charger cords brings out the marbling in the quartz....

We Made It

I was trying to think about how to describe how I feel after a week of being at home, working and helping the kids do distance learning.  Basically, every day starts with checking the news to make sure I'm still going to die from COVID-19.  Then, I throw in several calls, some 5th grade math, and then a few hours of driveway sports battles with Everett.  Once I'm sore from head to toe and he lets me come back inside, we eat dinner, get our showers, check the news for one last splash of anxiety, and then I do this.....

(Olive is standing in, since she's much cuter than I am)

.....Imagine how bad I'd be if Meggan wasn't taking on 95% of the schooling and housework (while also working full time).... 

Day 1

Today was the first day of distance learning for the kids and third day of remote working for us.  Once you combine those two things, you get a really difficult day.  I think teachers are great and deserve all the credit in the world.  That said, I'd like to see any of them try it while having 3 conference calls, a training session, and a boatload of spreadsheets to work on while they teach. 

When Life Hands You Lemons...

When life hands you lemons....make lemon cookies?  The creativity of small business owners during this social distancing period continues to amaze me.  A sweets shop near us sold kits and offered online video instructions for a fun afternoon of cookie decorating...

 

The decorators hard at work...

Lemonade stands, lemon wedges, and pitchers of lemonade.  Amelia's are on the left and Everett's are on the right.  They wanted to make it a competition, but we decided we're all winners when it comes to cookies...

Home School

The kids have been on Spring Break this week.  We’ve spent the week going on some pretty cool trips. We’ve gone to the back yard, the front yard, and for our big vacation, the mailbox. That said, we haven’t done a second of school work. I think it is starting to show.  When we asked Everett if he could name his five senses, he struggled to come up with any and then finally said .... “I got one ... the sense ... of humor!”

If only she could talk

I'm not sure what Olive is trying to tell me. Could it possibly be that she'd like a bite of my Chick Fil A? Naaaaah....

Trippin'

Amelia and I went on our annual daddy-daughter trip this weekend.  As I do with Everett, Amelia and I find a hotel, a few fun things to do, several things to eat, and we party.  This night was a special one for me.  Leading up to it, multiple people told me this is probably the last time she'll want to do it.  Prior to that, I was dumb enough to assume we'd do it at least until she went off to college. Sure, the trips would change, but we'd still go.  Given this newfound realization, I tried to really cherish each moment of our trip....

Ready to hit the road...

 Giant lips deserve kisses too....

 Stuffing her face with a loaf of buttered bread, fried macaroni and cheese balls, and a coke....

....that said, my favorite part of the trip was the end when Amelia said "thank you for taking me on these trips. I hope we always do it"

Stunt Dog

I learned two things about Olive and trampolines today. 1) She actually likes to get on it and have a little bounce in her step.  2) It generates enough static electricity to make her ear hair stand straight out and give a nice shock when she comes over and licks you.

Short Order

There are many things I don't like about Amelia getting older....her learning how to help cook breakfast is not one of them ....

Escapee

When you have to wear a baby onesie because you're freezing from being shaved in Winter and you won't stop licking your wound, apparently even cute little puppies can look like escaped hospital patients...