What's Getting Me Through Quarantine (Days 1-10)

• Chocolate chips & peanut butter
• My new gratitude journal
• Good books
• Writing letters to loved ones
• Puzzles
• Having my teacher husband home with us
• Diamond dot art (have you tried it yet???)
• Homeschooling: our emotions unit; this history read aloud & Prodigy for math
• Organizing all.the.things
• Facetime & phone calls with family & friends
• My 5:00am quiet time 
• Social media, especially my Bookstagram friends like her & her & her
• Evening walks with Josh & Grady

I have not left my house to run errands (except to sit in the car while we pick up the kids school lunches- the kids are required to be present, and they hand them to us through the car window) since March 15th.  That's ten days of being home, in quarantine.  I told Josh that at first I was surprised at how well I was handling it all, especially considering my worst type of anxiety is health anxiety.  (I'm looking at you, Coronavirus)

But then I thought about it some more, and realized, we used to do this for nine months at a time.  We would fly (in August) into our village in Alaska (where Josh taught elementary school) and be away from friends & family until mid-May.  My entire life would happen within the four walls of our home, barring an occasional visit to the post office or co-op (local "store" that was like a glorified, overpriced gas station).  Thankfully we also had friends there, a handful of fellow teachers whom we could spend time with, but most of our living happened in our home. (I'm looking at you, -30 degree weather)

One thing I am doing that is helping (a lot) with my sanity is waking up before the kids.  I spend that time doing whatever I want.  Sometimes I just scroll my phone.  But mostly I am reading or journaling, and, per the advice of my newest library book (The Stress Solution) I am saying a mantra, out loud, for two minutes. At first it felt kind of weird, but YOU GUYS when the kids start fighting and the twins are brawling over a Lego piece while Carly lays on the floor crying because I won't let her have a bag of chips for breakfast, my mantra pops right into my head and reminds me that "I am calm and in control." It is like legit magic. Highly recommend.

For homeschooling the kids, I am using the anxiety workbook a friend's counselor recommended for my kids' anxiety. It's called "What to do when you worry too much", was less than $10 on Amazon, and is SUPER easy to work with, including the kids in each lesson with drawings and discussions.  I am LOVING it.  We're also enjoying reading The History of the World by Susan Wise Bauer out loud each day.  It's the story of the world, with tons of fascinating history facts, but written in story form, so it keeps the kids' interest. We're doing Prodigy for math, and that is saving my life because my kids think they are playing a game (similar to Zelda, maybe?) with quests, but they are really doing math! Win/win!

Having my teacher husband home is, of course, also making homeschooling easier.  He is in charge of doing Science (we use Mystery Doug) and Kahoots (a competition the boys love to do) as well as running a Storyline Online while I shower.

In addition to school, I am aiming to do (at least) one thing each day that stays done (like, not dishes & laundry), and that has mainly been organizing, room by room, closet by closet. I just tackle one small thing each day.  Every single person in the house has commented on the junk drawer since I organized it last week. (It was really bad! hah!) I'm also staying busy with reading, a new sea shell puzzle and the diamond dot art the boys and I are trying to finish for Wyatt's bedroom.  (He got it for Christmas from my mom- it's been a team effort all the way!)

I shared on Instagram yesterday that before we all got stuck in our houses, I stopped by Barnes & Noble (oh how I miss you Barnes & Noble) in Vancouver and happened to pick up a gratitude journal for $8.  It has spots to write three things you're grateful for daily, and it's been a really great way for me to look for the silver lining among this craziness.  I have never been so grateful for social media as I have been in the last week and a half.  Checking on my friends, laughing at Covid19 memes (truly the best medicine) and cheering everyone to carry on has buoyed my spirit.  I also hit 500 followers on Instagram which feels exciting!

Three things I'm grateful for right now:

• A warm cup of coffee in my hand
• Sunny weather for my kids to play in
• That I get to be stuck with my favorite people

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Around Here: Week 48

{November 24-December 1st}

Bowling... with my parents when they came to town after spending Thanksgiving with them at my sister's house.  The kids had so much fun and so did all the adults. Who knew bowling could entertain all the age brackets!  Thank you, Nanny & Papa!

Dancing... with Carly who is seriously loving music more everyday.  She loves to listen, sing and dance.  It's precious.

Celebrating... Carly turning 22 months old on the 24th.  I can't believe that in two short months she will be an official toddler.  No more baby. Wahhhhh!

Purchasing... a new Christmas rug at Big Lots for only $10.  It makes me ridiculously happy for that price.

Making... our marriage a priority with a little game night and big plans for date night. We love Rummikub and it's just what we needed to reconnect and remember to laugh together, not just survive the chaos.

Watching... Jack struggle with anxiety about his body and the health of his siblings.  I ended up reaching out to his school counselor because honestly, I struggle with the same thing and don't think I'm the best person to walk him through those emotions. His counselor is amazing and she said actually because of my experience I could be a great resource for him.  Together we came up with some things we agree he needs in his "toolbox".  Since then, I've been trying to catch Jack worrying and walk him through how he can better handle his feelings of concern. I'm hoping to do a more in depth post on this soon.

Laughing... at Carly's new cheese face!  It's so terrible, I love it.

Dealing... with four sick kids, on rotation.  I had one kid or another home sick every day this week except Friday.  Wyatt's sickness started the week before Thanksgiving, and we wrapped up this week with each twin coming down with it, and slowly recovering.  I am so over runny noses & coughing!

Relishing... the way Carly says, "I love you" ("I lou you") as we tuck her in each night.  It melts my heart.

Seeing... the doctor Thursday with Wyatt to make sure I was treating his cough the best way possible.  He had been sick, then well, then sick again, so I was worried.  The doctor told me a better way to do his nebulizer treatments and that his lungs sounded clear.  He just needed time to heal.

Canceling... date night and instead visitng the ER on Friday night. (Ironically the Red Box movie we rented but never watched was The Big Sick. Ha!)  Wyatt got out of school Friday and was coughing pretty good.  Honestly, the cough never stopped. He coughed for six hours, unable to fall asleep at bedtime because of it, when I finally said enough was enough and took him to the ER.  They diagnosed him with Reactive Airway Disease (like asthma after a cold, which we've known he had for a long time) and an upper respiratory infection.  He did two intense nebulizer treatments there, but nothing stopped his cough, and they sent us home.  His stats were all acceptable and we figured he just needed time for the virus to be eliminated from his body.  (Turns out, things were about to take a turn for the worse, but more on that in the next weekly update)

Writing... in my Five -Minute Journal every morning before the house wakes up, and every evening before dropping off to sleep.  I can feel it impacting my parenting most of all because each evening it asks how you could make the next day better, and each morning it asks how you can make that day awesome.  It's helping me be very conscious about my choices, my days and how I spend my time.

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(Posting today, I am one week behind. 

"Around Here: Week 49" should follow shortly)