Covid Fashion

The place I was most excited to see open (other than Winners!) was the orthodontist.  Grady lost 4 tth during quarantine and his trays were not connecting properly.  When his tray actually snapped in half I knew he needed to get in asap.  I emailed at 8pm on a Sunday night and she emailed back and we were into see her the very next morning.

They had very strict office protocols and this was the first time that Grady and I had to wear masks.  As you can see from the photo below, my mask was not working for me.

I had problems with my glasses fogging up so I finally just took them off.  I've heard that if you tuck the mask under the glasses that it help, but as you can see, it didn't help me.  

When the orthodontist opened the door I found myself pulling at the mask because I actually couldn't breathe. She asked if I wanted to wait in the waiting room for him, but I wanted to rip the mask right off my face so I chose to wait in the hall.  

Grady, on the other hand, liked his mask so much that he wore it the whole ride home despite me reminding him that he could take it off.

Since I had such a terrible time with my first mask I started looking into homemade one and I found these sock masks.  For the bargain price of $15 I got 10 pairs of fancy socks from amazon and made 20 masks for the kids and I. I'm not gonna lie, I think they look pretty darn good.  The nose is in the heel so it is more roomy and not as hard to breath.

Though I haven't had a chance to wear one out yet, I have a stash of them in my purse just in case!  

#maskssuck

Keeping Fit at Home

This is one area that I'm thriving.

With all this extra time I've had the time to try so many new exercises and have remained very active.  More active then I've ever been.  I've never been so happy to have my Peloton bike and the app that comes with it.  It totally changed the way I've exercised over the past 2+ months.

Pre-Pandemic, my goal was to go exercise 3 days a week.  That included mostly cardio, a mix of running and the stair mill (which is the stair climbing machine and not the little stepper) and one strength class a week. It was enough to get by, it was routine, and looking back, it was quite boring. I can't go back to that again.

Now, I have an exercise schedule, typical A type personality over here, that gives me a lot of variety and keeps me motivated.  I don't have to think about what I will do that day because it is written right in front of me

Monday - Spin

Tuesday - Boot Camp

Wednesday - Walk

Thursday - Run

Friday - Walk

Saturday - Run or Spin

Sunday - Yoga

There is even yoga on my schedule, YOGA!  The Peloton app offers yoga and since we already have the app it is like yoga for free.  Kind of.  I've never like it but I've always thought it would be good for my body, especially as I get older and tighter.  One thing I love about all Peloton classes is that you do classes as short as 10 min.  So I started with 10 min beginner classes.  I realized what I didn't like about yoga is that I never knew what was coming next, I didn't know the poses so I was constantly straining my neck looking around to see what pose we were doing. After 15 beginner classes I've finally moved to the intermediate classes where the pace is a little faster and way less boring.  I've graduated to 20 min classes but I can't bring myself to do 30.  I now like yoga, but it is not love. Yet.

The other class I'm loving on the Peloton app is the Boot Camp classes. It is a mix of running and strength.  You hop on and off the treadmills in intervals that last no longer than 15 minutes.  I tried the 30 minute class first and it was too short.  Yes, I said it, too short! The 45 minutes class is the perfect length for a great workout that I don't dread.  I'm almost ready to move to 60 minutes even.  Currently is my fave workout of the week.  This week James even joined me except he biked while I ran.  What I love about it is that historically when I hop on the treadmill I set it at the same speed and run an easy run while I watch TV.  The class does intervals and hills and help me totally engage and push myself out of my comfort zone.  I actually look forward to this class every week.

I'm starting to sound like an infomercial.

Moving on to running.

  

We were scheduled to run the Seawheeze half marathon in August, but since it was cancelled, I'm deeming this my recovery year.  I'm going to push myself to run a fast 10k and maybe even do a few 15k runs.  I love running around the resevoir, it gives me that feeling of satisfaction of finishing something that is hard for me. I'd love to have that feeling at least once this summer. Biking around it just isn't the same.

Now let me give a shout out to my apple watch.  I am currently on a 40 day move streak. What does that mean you ask?  It means that I have burned at least 500 'activity' calories each of those 40 days.  It has been really motivating that I want to keep the streak going.  In all honesty, having a dog has helped.  We have lots of extra walks that we would otherwise not go on.  They may be short and slow but they all add up.  The apple watch also offers monthly challenges, the April one was moving 248 km during the month and the May one is burning 22,400 active calories in the month.  It is nice to have something to work towards. I hit the April goal and I am well on my way to crushing May as well. Is is going to be a sad sad day when the streak comes to an end.

I could seriously talk exercise all day. I've really been enjoying my new routine and don't think I'm actually going to be going back to the gym when it opens. I enjoy my home workouts and I actually wonder how many people will feel the same as me.  How will gyms change?  Will they continue to offer online classes?  Will the gyms be busy?  I guess only time will tell.

In the meantime you will see me on the Peloton app while obsessing about my apple watch!

Celebrating Mother’s Day

Although simple, I think this may be one of my best mothers days to date! When the kids were young, I often felt disappointed on Mother’s Day. It was just another day… The kids got up before seven there was a lot of crying, it was busy, it just didn’t feel special. But as the kids have gotten older and started making their own gifts it is a day that gets better each year.

This year, the day started with a Second Cup latte and it was the perfect gift since I haven't had a latte since the office closed 2 months ago. For less than five dollars and a quick trip to Second Cup, James made my day! Not only did he get me a latte, but he got me a large! I never buy a large, and let me tell you I enjoyed every last drop.

At first, I thought this was going to be the best part of my day, I was wrong.

We started a Mother’s Day book, more than five years ago. Every year the kids draw a picture and we post it in the same book so we can look back over the years and see prior year drawings. Grady’s entry this year nearly made my heart stop.

The drawing he did of me was amazing. Then to read what he wrote... I just have no words. I still have no words when I think about his gift. It makes me so proud of him. We’ve had our struggles, and he can be a challenge, but end of the day he is the sweetest boy, and I’m so proud to call him my son.

I love Cooper‘s drawing as well, but he is just a different kid.

He doesn’t like to hug, he isn't super emotional, but I love him just the same. And on Mother’s Day, he gave me a great big hug and kiss because he knew that’s what I wanted from him.  I can usually score a kiss first thing in the morning and at night, but no touching in between!

The rest of the day was spent doing yoga, reading, going on a very cold spring walk, and ordering my favorite pizza from Spiros. It was a simple day, but a good one.

New Talents

During isolation, many people are saying you should learn a new talent with all your extra time.  My new talent was forced.  I didn't want to do it, but eventually, James forced me to cut his hair.

Notice the isolation mustache survived the cut.  Boo.

Before:

After:

I think I did a pretty good job!  When I was young I wanted to be a hairdresser, maybe I missed my calling.

If only we could convince the boys to get their hair cut.  I swear I could braid Cooper's mullet.

Someday I'm going to take the scissors out while you sleep....

Learning from Home

Home schooling is hard.

I don't even know if you call what is happening now 'home schooling'.  We are not teachers.  The province has mandated that each student do 5 hours of a school work a week.  A WEEK.  This is not normal school. This is not normal learning.  With that being said, we are making the most of it and teaching the kids as much as we can.

Sometimes we, and by WE I mean I, teach Life Skills 101.  For example, I've taught the kids to clean the bathroom, Cooper has learned to make buns, and this week Grady will be learning to sew a slipper that Leo ripped.  This is a small list of things the kids should know how to do that we never have time to teach them since it is faster if us adults just do it and we can get to the next activity.

James, on the other hand, prefers to teach straight up Math and Science on the daily.  Can I just take a moment her and say how James is killing this whole teaching thing??  I am working in the office and I can hear him with the 4 boys in the kitchen.  Can I also say that all those learning gifts we've received over the years that got thrown in the back of the closet are coming in really handy?  So. Many. Science boxes are being dragged up from the basement and getting full use over the last 7 weeks! Not only old items for our kids childhood, but also items form James' childhood have resurfaced and have been put to good use during quarantine.

I heard this quote that really resonated with me on a particular tough day of working from home while trying to 'teach' the kids.

We are not working from home.  We are staying home during a pandemic trying to work.

These are unprecedented times and we all need to cut ourselves some slack.  This is stressful AF for everyone.  We are all doing the best we can in a less than ideal situation.  We should be high fiving each other rather than critiquing how many hours the kids are clocking on their devices.  They say we are in this together, but everyone has a different set of issues to deal with, from financial, to mental, from working to teaching.  No one really understands the next persons situation so the best course of action is to not judge. Ever.

From Day 1, our family has set up and used an agenda to keep the day flowing to minimize boredom.   Our ultimate goal is to avoid screen time during regular school hours excluding lunch.  I figure if we can do that, we are sort of winning.  Let it be known the kids are playing all the Fortnite in the after hours, HA!

Our 2 extra students arrive at our house right around 9am and that officially starts the school day.  First up is reading.  They all choose a book of their choice and read for the first 30 minutes of the day.  James has finally convinced Grady to read Harry Potter.  I think he likes it but I don't think he's addicted like James had hoped.

If James is in charge, they do a lot of science and math or they do homework assigned from their respective 'real' teachers.  If I am in charge we play a board game and the kids score a 15 minute recess.  You can guess which teacher the kids prefer…..  At noon, the kids break for lunch and head next door for the afternoon at 1pm.  This has worked great for our families and made our life a little less stressful, not to mention the kids get to interact with other kids.

While we do have a schedule, we also have 4 kids that meet with their actual teachers once a day for 'real' learning.  Grady meets with half of his class every day at a different time alternating Humanities and Math/Science by day while Cooper meets his teacher every day at 11:30 for 15-30 minutes.
Grady's teachers are nailing it.  I think a big part of that is age and the fact that each of the students in his class has an iPad provided by the school and have since Grade 4.  Part of his charter school is technology so the kids are used to finishing and submitting their assignments online.

Grady's teachers are holding 1 hour sessions each day where there is actual learning taking places.  He wears headphones so I don't know exactly how the class runs, but from my perspective, I see Grady sit at his ipad for an hour actively engaged in what is going on.  He is participating, he is listening, he seems to actually be learning new concepts.Grady hands his assignments in with little to no reminders and the transition seems to be somewhat seamless.

Cooper's transition to online learning hasn't been as seamless.

I think a major contributor to the launch of his online school being less successful is the age of the kids.  They are just not ready to be responsible for their own work.  We tried the accountability approach with him and it failed.

We started out with him managing his own schooling, listening to the teacher presentation and doing his homework and submitting on his own.  All was well, until it wasn't.  I got an email from Cooper's teacher that he hadn't handed in anything all week.  After an email exchange with her where I told her we were in fact taking this seriously and her assurance that there were many kids in the same boat… we had to change our approach to Cooper's online learning.

Cooper still listens to his teacher, but instead of relying on him to tell us what his homework is we've started printing out the checklist for the week to make sure he doesn't fall behind.  Truthfully, his homework is kind of lame.  He listens to his teacher read a book out loud to them and watches a lot of videos about bugs.  Like I said, I'm not a teacher, so if this is what his teacher thinks he needs to know then Cooper will continue to do the work asked of him.

To his credit, he is only in grade 3, we shouldn't have put the same responsibility on him as we did his older brother.  Not only is he younger, but he is also a different personality that isn't as concerned with getting his work done on time.  We are in trouble with this one during the teenage years!

After almost 2 months of this new normal, we have a better handle on it. We are seeing first hand how our kids learn and what works best for them.  With that being said, I can't wait until the end of June where we take a break from online learning and start having some fun!

Cooking with Christy

I'm the first to admit I'm not the best cook. But when I have the time, I actually do enjoy it.

Enter COVID and being forced to eat at home for weeks and even James is telling me that I'm a good cook.  Okay, he told me I'm learning to cook, same same, non?

Lets do a little math, because that is my thing....  we are 50 days into isolation.  That is 150 meals eaten at home.  Actually, 149, we did order in once.  That is 49 dinners that we've planned and cooked at home.  Also, that is 50 times that my little family of 4 sat around our kitchen table and consumed dinner together as a family. We actually have a 'spot' at the table after 3 years.

You see, we are normally busy, like really busy.  The 4 of us rarely sat at the kitchen table to eat together.  If it was just the kids and I, they would sit at the counter and I would stand on the other side. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

EATING AT THE DINNER TABLE TOGETHER WAS THE BEST THING TO COME OUT OF COVID.

The kids even found meals they love.  Grady tells me his top 3 meals all the time.  If you are curious, they are Burgers, Korean Beef, and Spaghetti and meat sauce.  In that order.  Cooper is our harder kid to please, but his front runner would probably be spaghetti and white sauce.  Insert heavy sigh.  We've had spaghetti 3 times this week.  Good thing it is a family favorite.

Let's take a look at a few things we've been eating.

Homemade soup.  The kids thought it stunk but James and I enjoyed. I mostly top the healthy soup with the best toppings like cheese and bacon and pretend I'm eating something healthy.

Chicken Parm.  This was a new recipe that turned into a keeper.  Mostly with James, I can't even remember if the kids tried it.  Clearly, this was one of our first dinners in....

Baking.  Oh the baking.... We baked, Marla baked, and Marla baked some more.  We have so much baking that I'll be surprised if we don't gain the Covid-19.  Ha!  In all seriousness, we have been enjoying all sorts of sweets and trying to walk the dog enough to even it all out!

Muffins.  Grady continues to bake muffins on his own and then turn around and eat them all on his own.  He does zero clean up.

Easter.  This is my idea of Easter baking. Kids told me these cookies were the best.  Insert eye roll.

St. Patricks Day Pancakes.  You may not be able to tell, but these are green.  On day 2 of isolation we celebrated with these lame pancakes.  Can't say I didn't try.

Raw Cookie Dough.  We've made a lot of cookies and eaten a lot of dough.  I'm pretty sure that's the only reason Cooper helps bake.  We started freezing some and consuming as a lunch time desert.  Shhhh, don't tell Dad!

Pizza.  If you know me, you'll know that Pizza is hands down my fave food.  Since we aren't ordering Pizza weekly, we've been having homemade pizza.  I've been using my bread maker to make the dough and it is almost as good as Spiro's.  Almost.....

Sadly, I haven't been taking many pictures of our food.  Now I'm regretting it.  We've been using the instant pot tons and trying the odd new recipe. We've been rotating mostly beef and chicken and enjoying each and every dinner around the table. I can honestly say that I will miss breaking bread as a family when things return to normal.  With that being said, I'd like to make dining together more of a priority as we move forward and return to a modified busy schedule.