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!

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.

Grocery Shopping During Covid

Since school was cancelled and working from home started on March 16th, the only place I've shopped is the grocery store, gasp!!!  One would think that it would provide a feeling of normalcy but truthfully it has proven to the the exact opposite.

While at home, it can be boring and feel like the movie Groundhog Day, but at the grocery store you are faced with a constant reminder of the pandemic taking place all around the world.  From the signs, to the masks, to the plexi glass in front of the cashier, everything is a reminder that life is far from normal.

During the first week of shutdown, people were going crazy stock piling every thing. One of the most sought after items was toilet paper. WTF, how many times are people planning to go to the bathroom?  I feel like with the lack of vegetables I will be going LESS than usual, Ha!  Hand Sanitizer, Lysol wipes, bleach, paper towel, yeast, baking powder, flour, and sugar were among other products that were literally sold out for weeks.

Even James went on a little bit of a panic shopping trip in the days leading up to March 16 buying all sorts of canned goods to get us through what was to come in the next few weeks, which is now turning into months.

To be honest, we haven't touched many of James' covid food, chunky soup and Zoodles... Gross!

I was so so happy to find baking powder and jarred jalapenos on my THIRD week trip to the grocery store!

A few other interesting tid bits about grocery shopping these days.

I started out shopping at Sobeys where they recently started making you bring your own bags or pay dearly for sh$tty paper ones.  I forget my bags the first time, the second time I remembered and as I put them on the conveyor belt I got yelled at because apparently since the last time I had been there  bringing your own bags was no longer the thing to do, because, you know, germs.

Seriously I can't keep up with the new rules.

Ten day later I chose to go to Safeway after my bad experience over the bags I was over Sobeys.  New this week, they have added arrows to the ground to indicate directions which I didn't notice and then got yelled at as I entered the FIRST aisle.  Seriously, can I not go the grocery store with out getting scolded?  Seriously?

The worst part is that I am not usually a grocery shopper at all.  Since Click and Collect at Superstore started 3 years ago I haven't gone into a grocery store for more than a few items.  Pick up and delivery services have been so overwhelmed that I've avoided it thus far.  If there was going to be 15 substitutions,  I'd rather just pick them out myself.  This week I did my first click and collect order since this whole pandemic started.....

And it was awesome!

First, you have to book up to 2 weeks in advance now to get a pick up window, then wait.  I picked the earliest slot in the day since I had heard that some people were waiting hours for their groceries.  I also packed a book, expecting the worst. I pulled up 5 min into my assigned time, AFTER having received the email that my groceries were ready, and I was only the second car there. I waited less than 10 min popped my trunk open and in the groceries went!  She was pleasant and I was so happy to not go in the store.

Yes, I was short a few items but in a grocery order of over $400, that is to be expected.  There was nothing they didn't have that I couldn't live without until the next grocery run, in 2 weeks.

Now that I am back on the click and collect train, I don't have to worry about the arrows on the ground or the grouchy people in the store these days!  I was so happy that it went well and happily booked my next pick up.

Personally, I'd rather stay in my car than go to the grocery store where it is a constant reminder of the state the world is in....

With that being said, eating in and at the dining table has been one of my favorite outcomes of Covid.

Self Care Tips

This extrovert was a little worried when this all began.  You want me to stay at home and not see anyone for week?  Months?  This could be interesting.  Well, it turns out that this extrovert may be a little more invroverted than she thought.  Six weeks in and I'm still thriving.  There are many things that have helped save my sanity.

1.  Zoom, House Party, Face Time

I can't get enough of connecting with my friends online.  Some of them, like my Saskatoon friends, I see more now than I did before.  I don't know how I would be surviving with out technology.  From face timing to text, we are so lucky to live in a society were you can instantly connect with people across the city or the country!

2. Exercise

I have truely stepped up my exercise game.  We bought a Peloton bike last summer and the App has kept me sane.  I started doing Yoga almost immediately.  It was something I always wanted to do but never had the time because, honestly, I don't really like it.  Not only that, I've added boot camps, strength, and tons of stretching to my weekly schedule.  I almost feel like I don't need the gym anymore, I've figured out how to get what I need from home workouts and I'm enjoying it so much!

3.  Getting out of Yoga Pants

Don't get me wrong, I've worn my fair share of yoga pants this month, but once or twice a week, it feels SO good to put on jeans, not to mention cute spring sneakers since the sun is finally shining!  It usually corresponds with grocery day or hair wash day.

4.  Hair and Makeup

This ties in to #3.  On the day you wear jeans, throw on a little makeup and do your hair.  I don't have on any eye makeup or lipstick here, but I did throw on some powder and lip gloss.  I really, really, really miss lipstick. Like really really miss it.

5.  Try New Things

I never do face masks. Ever.  I got this one free from Merle Norman the last time I got my brows waxed, with all this extra time on my hands I've done a face mask twice.  I've not sure I loved it but I enjoyed scaring the kids with this charcoal mask.

6. Support Local

There are so many great small business that are hurting right now.  I ordered this shirt and sneakers from Belong Lifestyle which is run by my 2 friends in Saskatoon.  It made for a great Monday mail day!

7.  Wine!

There has been a lot of wine.  The first 2 weeks I think I had a glass every night.  Now that this has moved into long term normal I've cut back.  There is just something about that first sip of wine after a day of working from home and home schooling that just tastes so good.....

These among other things have kept a smile on my face.  While I tend to struggle with anxiety, thus far, my mental health has been in tip top shape and I plan to keep it that way!

Loving Leo

This pup....

Leo has been a part of our family for almost 5 months and after that short time, I cannot imagine our family without him.

He chews our shoes, he poops on the deck, he wakes up super early, he likes to nibble on our hand, he pulls on the leash and he tries to eat food off the counter.

He is a handful.  He is a puppy.

Though he has made our lives busier, he has also made it fuller.   Full of doggy kisses, family walks, bedtime zoomies, and more.  I had no idea how much I was going to love that giant teddy bear.

The first month was hard.  To be honest, the first month I could have taken or left him.  We could barely leave the house, he pooped on the carpet and peed on each of our beds.  We were potty training him in the dead of winter and I wasn't sure I was really loving our new pet life.

Over time, it just got better.  The accidents were fewer and farther between.  There were happy greetings when we came over, longer intervals of leaving him and before I knew it, he was just a part of our lives.

Let's be honest though, James really wanted a dog and James does most of the work.  He picks up the poop, baths him, takes him to the vet, and gets him groomed.  He follows me around and lays with me on the couch after I put the kids to bed.  If you ask me I got the better end of the deal.

Through self isolation he has been a gem to have around. He forces us out of the house to get some fresh air and some exercise.  He keeps smiles on all our faces, all of the time.

Seeing the kids with Leo warms my heart every day.  The way they welcome each other when they return home, how they jump up to let Leo out when he rings the bell over and over and over and over.  How they enjoy when he lays in bed with them at night and how they can't wait to see him each morning.

My entire photo roll is filled with the dog.  A few of the kids Leo, then some more of Leo by himself.

I had no idea how having a pup was going to change my life for the better and how quickly I would fall in love with my furry friend.   He can chew all the shoes he wants and I will still love him!

Porchtraits

My friend Sherry is a landman by day and a photographer by evening and weekend.  When she asked if we were interested in a porch photo shoot for a donation to the food bank I was all in.  I didn't want it to be anything fancy, just a look into a moment in the life of self isolation.  I chose my leggings and the hunter ankle boots that I have been wearing everyday since winter just won't go away.  In 7 minutes she captured great (and natural!) smiles and gave us photos I'll remember for a lifetime.

This is our very first family photo with Leo.  He looks like rag doll teddy bear.  It is also the only photo of James' isolation mustache.

Looking at these make me smile. Though it will probably not be our favorite year of all time, it will be a year that we always remember.

#stayhome

Living through a Pandemic - Day 31

I miss blogging. 

I decided back in December that my blogging days had come to an end.  The biggest factor was time.  The kids are going to bed so late that that after they went to bed, sitting in front of the computer was the last thing I wanted to do.  I wanted to watch trash TV, read a book, or realistically, go to bed.  I was too busy and something had to give.  For me, that was blogging.

Enter the Coronavirus.

Photo taken on Day 1 of isolation

Now, like the rest of the world, we are working from home, schooling the kids, and have wide open calendars.  No sports, no activities, no girls nights…. Nothing.  I find myself with lots of extra time on my hands with a desire to document this time we are spending at home during the pandemic.

I wish I felt as relaxed as Leo about this whole pandemic!

Am I promising daily posts?  Certainly not.  Maybe weekly is more realistic.  I just feel like as we are forcing the kids to journal this experience, I want that same experience for myself.

I'm not going to back and tell you that in the last 3 months Cooper's team went on a playoff run only to have the season cut short, or how Grady's team lost out in the final game to go to provincials (that would have been cancelled anyway).  I'm not going to tell you about how I've grown to love my puppy with all of my heart and how I think he likes me best, much to James' dismay...

I am going to jump right into the present.  Today we are exactly 1 month or 31 days into self isolation. I'm not going to say it has been easy, but it also hasn't been as hard I thought it would have been if someone told me we were going to stay home for 31 days.

Electronic Learning

I think a big reason for our sanity is that we have a cohort family.  We have been self isolating with our neighbors.  We had a meeting at the end of Day 1 and devised a plan that worked for our families.  Mornings at our house, lunch at home, and afternoon at their house.  All 4 of us are working from home and not seeing anyone else.  Truthfully, we don’t see the adults, only the kids that run back and forth on the daily.

Even the dog wants to take part in the fun!

I feel awkward telling people about our arrangement or posting pictures, truthfully, I still don't post pictures on social media for fear of being judged.  This is what is making working from home while dealing with kids manageable.  We both get time without kids to get sh*t done and the kids still get some socialization.  We are able to entertain kids and keep them off electronics on the daily which we couldn't do as well on our own.

Proudly hung in our back window and will be until this is over.

Can I just give a shout out to my hubby who has been running the home schooling portion of our day for going on 2 weeks?  My job is less flexible than his and I am just finishing my busiest 2 weeks of the quarter and I wasn't able to devote the time or mental capacity it requires to keep 4 boys busy for 3 hours.  He's been a rockstar actually teaching them as opposed to me who is just entertaining them with board games and gym time.  At first the kids preferred him as a teacher but after two weeks they've started asking when I am going to be coming back as their teacher, apparently I am more fun!

Just call him Mr. James the science/math teacher.

Right from the start we added an agenda to outline their day.  One of my kids really needs a schedule and needs to know what is coming next.  He does a good job of keeping us on task and reminding us when it is recess time!

He comes by it honestly since I am all about schedules to.  I made one for cleaning and for exercise.  Let's start with the cleaning one.  Can I just say that this is the first time in over a decade I've been responsible for cleaning the house?  Embarrassing, I know!  I just know that I am not the person that is going to dedicate a whole day to cleaning, so I broke it up by day.  I quickly realized which chores I somewhat enjoy, laundry for instance, I don't mind it, except duvet covers, I hate those.  I also really dislike vacuuming, that should be counted as exercise because I am always sweating when it is over.  I would add that I hate cleaning bathrooms, especially since we have 4, but that is one activity I'm sharing with the kids since their bathrooms are so gross, they are boys remember….

Milestone: First bathroom cleaned

As for exercising, I've never been so excited to have a Peloton bike.  James ordered one last summer and uses it multiple times a week.  Now that we are home I use the app every single day.  I mix it up between spin, boot camp, stretch, strength, and yoga.  Yes, even yoga!  I've always wanted to do yoga but have never had the time. I actually strongly dislike it but think it would be good for my old bod.  I am starting to like it a little.  I should really do a separate post on the Peloton since I have so much I love about it. Maybe another day.  For now let me just tell you it is free for 30 days and if you have a treadmill, a few weights, or even a yoga mat, you should try it.  You really won't regret it.

Bright attire for 90s step class

Overall, my life feels like the movie Groundhog day.  Every day is essentially the same. After 31 days I feel like are adapting well but still looking forward to the day we can hug our friends and family.