The Nitty Gritty

Wow. What a week. This morning I expressed that this week I've felt mostly numb. Wednesday night, I logged into Twitter and watched the full 8 minute video of the killing of George Floyd. It was very disturbing and upsetting. I then watched some footage of the rioting in Minneapolis and saw other horrific things. Thursday morning, I found out that Randi Allen, our family's dear friend, passed away from cancer. It was a lot to take in. I love Randi so much. I have so many fond memories of going to the beach and playing at her home with her daughter Alyson. I've known Alyson since she was four years old and I consider her more of a sister than a friend. I have a Marco Polo message saved from them from last summer when I had my surgeries. I watched it a few times when Randi was dying. Randi and I were able to text each other over the last few weeks when she started her final round of chemotherapy. I've been feeling all the feels. Gratitude for hospice and that Randi had ...

Hi family! The past two weeks we've had spirit weeks. This past week was movie spirit week. We watched a movie every night together--The Lorax, Sonic the Hedgehog, Jumanji, and Troop Zero (soooo good!). We also had a different treat each night to go with our movie. I've decided to keep planning a spirit week each Sunday to give us something to look forward to, whether we stick to it or not. This week we are going to do art week! Molding Monday (clay), Tear Art Tuesday (collage), Watercolor Wednesday, Theater Thursday (masks), and Funny Friday (comics). Don't you love the alliteration? Isaac and I concluded that we need  to work on our endurance. The trail by our house is a hilly walk so each time we came to a hill, we'd run up the hill and find ourselves huffing and puffing at the top. Our friend, Jake, says, "Welcome to 40." We went to the Sentgeorge's last night for dinner. They are so awesome. I'm grateful we have friends like them here. They ...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers and grandmothers, daughters, aunties, and sisters! I love you! It's been a good week. I love getting to zoom with my preschoolers everyday for 30 minutes. They are so cute and funny and they brighten my mornings. It's fun preparing story times for them and making craft videos (Thank you Isaac!). Isaac is done with the semester. He has to turn in his grades this week and plan for his summer course that will begin on May 18th. He's waiting to hear if he has been awarded a grant he applied for a few weeks ago. William continues to love the quarantine. He had a virtual middle school orientation on Thursday. He just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes when I asked him if he was excited. I think he'll enjoy it. The hard thing is no one knows what school will look like in the fall. My sister Caroline and sister in law Amelia who both teach outside of the US say that their schools are going to do part virtual, part ...

Hi family! We're just sailing along in the quarantine. Most days are pretty good. Some days are a down right doozy. I find the doozy days are me feeling bad about not doing enough with my kids during this time. I know it's crazy thinking, but it's just what happens in my brain. Today, I was trying to clean up our computer by going through files and came across so many old videos and pictures of the boys. It was a proud moment for me as a mom because I was able to reminisce all the fun things I've done with Will and Van over the years. In that proud moment, I also had an epiphany that I think the reason I'm struggling lately with mom guilt is because "preschool to first grade" age is my jam and I could be all kinds of creative and fun during those years. Now, my boys are growing more independent and their interests are changing. It's hard for me to watch "Amazing World of Gumball" and play video games with them. It's just not fun for me...

Hi family! Happy Easter! Welp, we've made it another week in the quarantine. This has been the hardest week for ME yet. I've had a cough for a little over a week now. I know, I know. The immediate thought is, "Does she have the coronavirus?" I asked a nurse who works at our hospital and she said I can't be tested unless I have a fever. I haven't had a fever so I've just been laying low and not going anywhere. The few times I felt energized I think I pushed myself too much because I ended up wheezing really bad and just felt exhausted. So, I've limited my exercise to gentle yoga and shorter walks. I'll be so relieved when I feel 100% again. I miss my long bike rides, walks, and indoor workouts. I find my anxiety gets worse when I'm not exercising (imagine that!).  Another thing that's been hard for me this week is the realization that my favorite job in the world, my current job teaching part time preschool, is not a very sustainable ...

Hi family! How is everyone doing? We just ended week 3 of school closure. I have to give a big shout out to Will and Van. They have been so good the last two weeks since we started "home" school. Home school for us is a little bit of structure in the morning and then video games at 3:00 pm. Our school district is not doing assignments or grading. They've given the kids online resources as part of a review rather than introduce new curriculum. It really takes the pressure off and I'm grateful they're doing it that way. I find that if I start the mornings off right and save video games for the late afternoon, we're all happier. It's been very helpful not having to rush out the door in the morning. We have time now to do Come Follow Me in the mornings and say affirmations at the breakfast table. My former colleague, Anne Marie, moved to Alaska and said we could have her trampoline. It's taken us a few months to drive over there and get it but we fin...