Hi all! This will be my last update before I start school. So it better be a good one.

Saturday Aaron and I got some yard work done. I dug rocks out while he mowed the lawn. In the picture below you can see how many rocks are left. Those were all along the side of the house and down the side of the driveway. We’re getting to be almost done. The picture below that demonstrates how we’re cleaning the rocks.

Sunday was a difficult day here: we were struggling with M’s eating again. Now he’s given up hot dogs as one of his staple foods, meaning milk, Chicken McNuggets, and pork chops as his only complete proteins. And since he doesn’t get the latter two on a daily basis, we’re relying mainly on milk. Because his eating is getting more and more picky, and the occupational therapist said she thought we needed to address a psychological block first, we’re back to therapy starting in early June. Anyway, point is, on Sunday we didn’t get to have family day because we were in a battle with M over a hot dog. We ended up “winning” for once, as he finally ate it, but it made for a difficult morning.

Monday, I took the kids to the park. IL showed that he’s capable of riding the little toad (and of swinging himself on a swing). I wish my videos worked so you could see him swinging himself!

D and M got gigantic cookies. M’s is still sitting in the kitchen, getting hard and useless. D finished hers in one go. She can really pack in the sweets when she’s allowed to. I imagine part of that is that we don’t allow her to eat sweets most of the time, so when she’s allowed junk food, so when she’s allowed junk food she goes overboard.

The rest of the week was mostly uneventful. We had a small scare with M getting GI problems on Wednesday – and that (along with every other symptom in the books) can be a symptom of COVID-19. Luckily, the problems only lasted a day, and I decided that he probably doesn’t have COVID and I can still see my parents.

Aaron finished reading the first Fablehaven book to us:

I’m still currently listening to Wolf Hall, Blood Rites, and reading Sorcerer of the North:

Currently watching Supernatural Season 9 with Aaron, Once Upon a Time Season 1 with D and Aaron, and Troll Hunters Season 1 with M and Aaron.

Hi everyone! I have good/bad news! Governor Walz announced yesterday that the stay-at-home order will be lifted as of May 18. So, great, we can leave our homes, but there may be a brand new peak in COVID-19 cases about 4-6 weeks from now. I’m eager to get back to some semblance of normal, though, and maybe I’m wrong about it being a bad idea.

So, it’s been a couple of weeks since I last updated you. On the Sunday following my last update, the family went for a walk in a nearby park, followed by ice cream and a picnic in our back yard. The walk was for M’s wolf rank in Cub Scouts. He did a fantastic job of not complaining. He wants to be an Eagle Scout one day – even after I explained to him that you actually have to hike and camp quite a bit to be an Eagle Scout. He insists that he will become an Eagle Scout, and then never take another hike again. IL did a fantastic job of walking for at least a quarter mile. In fact, he ran for a good part of that. And managed to mostly stay on the path.

I got a spinkled cone for Aaron. I thought it was pretty funny.

D got the biggest scoop of ice cream – I got child’s for IL, “like it” for me and Aaron, and D ordered “love it.” She didn’t finish.

M doesn’t like ice cream.

And here’s the picnic. I’m not sure what Aaron was doing in this shot.

Later that week, dad took IL for a trip to the park in a wagon. It was a good trip for the first half, but IL refused to stay seated for the second half, and I had to carry him all the way up the hill to my parents’ house.

D and M had a lovely trip with their mom to visit their Grandparents in Wisconsin. They built a birdhouse that I’ll get pictures of when we hang it. (We need to find a good spot for it, and put a hook in the tree.) They are doing wonderfully in their homeschooling, and are handling the stress of the pandemic so well. I’m proud of them.

On Mother’s Day, I gave dad and IL haircuts, and Aaron razed M’s head, but mom wouldn’t let me near her. We had a lovely roast for dinner though.

Aaron has been keeping himself and my nephew J busy digging up rocks on the side of the house. Apparently, the people who flipped the house before he bought it had a rockbed there, and they just dumped dirt over it and seeded grass. So now all the rocks are coming to the surface, and the grass is all dying. So digging out the rocks is the first step to home improvements this summer. I’d share a picture, but J won’t let me close with a camera, and it feels like cheating to sneak a photo. Maybe I can convince him for next week.

I have been keeping myself busy preparing for a scrapbook the kids are going to make for a SURPRISE present for their mom over the summer. So far, I have spent hours preparing, and I have only managed to transfer all photos into dated-by-year folders, and then weed through pictures from 2011. lol. I’m afraid I won’t be ready by the time summer rolls around! Do you think the kids will be able to keep this a secret from their mom? I’m skeptical, but we’ll see. Here’s my favorite picture for their mom’s scrapbook so far.

I am also busy homeschooling the kids, helping out mom and dad, keeping the house clean (actually successfully), and working 4 hours a week as a respite worker for a friend.

Mom and dad are doing as well as you’d expect. Mom had a little incident this week where dad called an ambulance, but the paramedics decided she was safe to leave at home, so that’s good. Dad and mom are disappointed that they are “unwelcome” at church when it opens next week. Archbishop Hebda has sent out a letter saying that people over the age of 65 are “strongly urged” not to go to church.

As far as reading goes, I’m listening to Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and Blood Rites, by Jim Butcher. I’m reading Sorcerer of the North, by John Flanagan.

Hi everyone! Still no progress on stopping by blogs. I promise I WILL do that in the next couple of days. Things are just so crazy around here because I’m wearing so many hats.

This week was pretty good. As you can see from the picture of IL and dad, it’s been beautiful weather. IL learned to eat with a spoon AND a fork, and one of the three molars that has been coming in has finally sprouted all the way. So, yay, less pain for him. Of course, he stabbed himself in the face with the fork after I took that picture, but it went well until then.

Otherwise, lots has been going on. I registered and dropped several courses over the week, trying to decide the best one based on all the variables (what courses are needed for various colleges, which college is my first choice, how many courses should I take at once, and will school actually be in person by summer session). I finally chose a CNA class. My thought is, I need a CNA license to get into one of the colleges, and I might as well get one in case I want to pick up a job as a CNA, to make some extra money to pay for tuition and house improvements over the next year. I’m gambling on school being in-person by June. A nice thing about this class compared to the other classes is that it doesn’t start until later, so it doesn’t overlap with homeschooling.

M and D have been doing great with their homeschooling. They don’t have school Monday (and didn’t on Friday) by executive order of the governor. Also, from now on school is catch-up-and-attendance-only on Fridays for the rest of the year. They’re looking forward to that since they’ve had no trouble keeping up on school activities.

M desperately needs a haircut – but he won’t let me cut it and claims that he doesn’t want to grow it long. I’m afraid he only has so many options. D is looking forward to her summer activities and to be able to go to the park again, so hopefully everything is a go. I’m skeptical about her resident Girl Scout camp, but have had no news. Hopefully I didn’t accidentally delete news. I get SO much junk mail from the Girl Scouts.

The governor has extended the shelter-at-home order which was supposed to end on May 4th. Now it goes till the 18th, and can be extended again. So no park for another couple of weeks.

Another thing Aaron and I have been hemming and hawing about for the past week is what yard work to complete and how to complete it. We want to improve our yard, but we only have so much money, so what are our priorities and should we do it ourselves or hire a professional. We have several trees we need removed from our yard. Despite Aaron’s willingness to do it himself, we have decided to pay to have a professional do it. I really think that’s best. We decided to have the trees plucked from the ground by their roots. That is more expensive than chopping down and stump grinding, but there are several benefits that we have decided are worth the extra money. That means we don’t have money to rebuild the retaining wall, so we’ll have to do that next year. This year, we also plan on reseeding our lawn, digging out the rocks that are embedded in the dirt on the side of the house, and refreshing the beds in the front. I’m hoping I can get my 16yo nephew J to help out a bunch, but he gets a bit flaky (like many teens) about answering my texts, despite his claims that he really wants the work.

I finished one book this week – the audiobook for Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. It was pretty fantastic. I’m going to listen to Blood Rites (the 6th Dresden book) next. Still working on reading Sorcerer of the North (the 5th Ranger’s Apprentice book) as my “real” reading, but I’ll be moving slowly on that once school starts.

Hi Everyone! Thanks to everyone who’s still stopping by my blog despite my absence from the comments section and other blogs. I really hope that this week will be different, and I’ll get around to everyone! I hope everyone who celebrates had a good Easter. This is my favorite picture from Easter – with IL stealing some of D’s candy. She never knew the difference. Easter was fantastic. We searched for eggs in the basement, painted eggs, ate candy, and had a delicious ham dinner. It snowed on Easter, so D made a snowman.

The next Sunday, we had our (hopefully traditional) family game day. Here, we’re pictured playing Settlers of Catan. I won. But that’s because M let me – Aaron was going to win on his next turn, anyway.

The weather has taken a turn for the better, and we’re so excited for the quarantine to end so that we can go to the playground again! Look at him walking around outside in short sleeves and bare feet!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely couple of weeks! I’m finally starting to get back on track with the pandemic. I’m hoping this weekend (or immediately after Easter) I’ll be able to catch up on comments and your blogs! Here’s a picture of the kids homeschooling. I’ve finally gotten to pace with this. I had a cold for a few days last week, and M only PRETENDED to log on and do his work! So I spent this week playing catch-up. He’s really excited to be all caught up and to have shorter days going forward. Homeschooling was a bit of a pain at first because M required constant vigilance, but he’s actually starting to learn to be more independent now. Today I was able to fold and put away laundry while he was working!

I’m afraid I was naughty and took the kids to the playground right before Minnesota got it’s shelter-at-home order. I got scolded by my Facebook friends, but the kids (and my dad) really enjoyed themselves and I don’t regret living dangerously.

This is from my ER visit. Took a picture because I’d never been all alone in an ER before. How lonely! They don’t even let you have visitors! Though I understand why. I was in the ER because of my gallbladder, though, not anything to do with the pandemic. I still have the gallbladder, and it has subsequently stopped bothering me, so I’m not too worried about it.

IL has learned to get past all three of our baby gates, so Aaron and I will be doing a massive overhaul of upstairs of the house this weekend to get it ready for an enterprising (and very strong) toddler. The kids will be seeing their mom on Saturday, which excites them. Then we’ll be having dinner with my parents on Easter. Yes, we’re supposed to stay away from “large” groups, but I figure since we’re all part of the same infection circle, there’s no harm. I’m taking care of my parents, as usual, so they’re already exposed to me and the kids.

I completed two books in the last two weeks. Yay! Goodbye reading slump! Both were good books, though I rather enjoyed Five Midnights better. I will try to get reviews out this week.

Currently listening to Tuesdays at the Castle for D and M’s virtual book club with their cousins. And I’m reading Wolf Hall and Sorcerer of the North.

Hi all! Sorry about the long absence! I guess everyone else is as busy and stressed out as I am! Part of my problem is also that I usually post blog entries from my phone, but I can’t seem to get the comments to work from my phone, so I need to find a time when the baby isn’t around to pull on the plug of my computer.

Oh, so much has happened since the last time I wrote. Not even sure where to begin, but I’ll try a journal in pictures.

Well, obviously this happened. That’s the toilet paper aisle. But I’m sure you’ve all seen the same thing yourselves, so that’s not news. Just rest assured that no one in our family has yet caught COVID 19. Mayor Walz suggests that 40-80% of Minnesotans are expected to get it in the end, which makes me worry for my elderly parents – especially since dad eschews the idea of social distancing. There is a shelter-in-place order for two weeks starting this Friday. The kids are with their mom until then, because they won’t be able to see her while we’re stuck at home. I started “homeschooling” them on Monday, and they really seem to enjoy it. So far, I’ve had some math work on the computer, watched a documentary in the morning had them read Who Was books and their new virtual book club book Tuesdays at the Castle. I am going to move D to reading the children’s version of I am Malala once I get them back from their mom. I am a little wary of telling her to read books about atrocities, but it’s a good learning experience. I’ll probably keep M up with the Who Was books with a dash of I Survived books (which are fiction, but still educational).

Dad had cataract surgery JUST before the surgery clinic shut down for coronavirus. So he can now see out of his right eye, but not his left. I picked up my aunt (above with her husband) to watch my mom and IL while I was at the surgery clinic waiting for dad. But then they sent me home because of new policies of not letting anyone into the clinic except for patients. So I got to watch my mom and baby after all.

I shaved my head to raise money for kids with cancer. (Saint Baldrick’s Foundation.) I was hoping to do it at an event where there would be lots of people and alcohol involved, but of course that didn’t happen. So I did it quietly at my mom’s parlor as she was getting a haircut herself. Hopefully it doesn’t all grow in grey!

Sunday we had a family day. We played Uno (M’s choice), watched an episode of Bones (D’s choice – we have since then changed our family show to Psych), played Clue (my choice) and Pandemic (Aaron’s choice). It was a good day.

Yesterday, D had her virtual book club with her friends from school. They (and I) read Bridge to Terabithia. Such a sad book. I was balling for the last hour of the audiobook. But she enjoyed talking with her friends, which was great. I also set up a virtual bookclub with my cousin’s kids that both M and D can be part of. They (and I) are reading Tuesdays at the Castle. I’m also reading Wolf Hall, and Five Midnights (which I’ve been reading for a long time – reading slump, you know).

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the absence, things got a bit crazy out here! First of all, let me mention the most important thing: I will be shaving my head on March 18 for St Baldrick’s Foundation. I’m raising money to help kids with cancer. You can donate here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/1068645/2020

I think it’s been a couple of weeks since I last posted. Drama within my family due to my 16 year old nephew, J, running away from home has distracted me from posting. He is safe at home now – just where he doesn’t want to be.

My mom’s health has been declining rather rapidly in the last couple of weeks, as well. She has fallen 4 times (that I know of) since a week ago Friday. Her seizures are increasing in frequency. My dad and I started doing research into memory care units. We don’t expect to move her soon, but we want to be ready when we do.

M is doing well. I went with his class on a field trip to the Science Museum. I only lost my charges once, so I call it a successful Chaperone.

D had her third choir concert of the year. It was REALLY good. And she only looked like she was going to faint once. And she rallied well. Up there is a picture of her sitting on an ice throne in Downtown St Paul after her dress rehearsal. We also got some pictures with Charlie Brown Statues.

She had her Pinewood Derby race on Friday, but I won’t find out how it went till Sunday, when she’s back from her mom’s.

IL has an ear infection today. That’s what he looked like last night. Hopefully he’ll be better tomorrow!

Alas, reading has fallen to the wayside…but a new week full of new opportunities approaches.

Hi all! This was mostly a good week. The step-kids were with their mom over the weekend, so Aaron, IL, my friend Liz, and I had a lovely Saturday watching Doctor Who. A while back, we had to start all over again for Aaron’s sake, so we’re ALMOST to the 11th Doctor. Just two more episodes. Aaron and I also went to Buca that day, and got a ginormous brownie Sunday for his upcoming birthday (it’s not till the 19th, but we got a coupon from Buca and decided to go). Unfortunately, IL was screaming by the time the ice-cream came, so Aaron had to try to finish it on his own while I took IL out to the car.

Sunday, mom had a 12-minute seizure in church. We’re supposed to call an ambulance at 5 minutes, so of course she was hauled off by paramedics. We spent the next 4.5 hours in the ER, to discover nothing much interesting. I think it’s just the natural progression of her Alzheimer’s.

Yesterday, I had a long talk with the Creative Director of the theater camp we were planning on sending D to. The director suggested that if D has shut-downs due to corrections, that maybe this year isn’t the best time to start theater camp. She suggesting bringing D in for observation to see how other kids get corrections, and that it’s ok. Then sign her up next summer. When I told D that, she began to shut down. So I told her I’d be willing to work with her, if she’d be willing to work with me, and we had a real heart-to-heart about her triggers. I haven’t seen her this motivated to work on her anxiety since I met her 2 years ago! She must REALLY want to go to camp. So, I told her I would go ahead and put in the money to reserve her seat, and D would have to prove to me that she was willing to work on her anxiety over the rest of the school year.

Today is D’s (I think) last orthodontist appointment. Yay! Soon M’s orthodontist appointments will start though. Boo! This is M’s first day of Code Ninjas. He’s REALLY excited to learn to code. Has anyone else put their kids into Code Ninjas? Experiences?

This morning I found a mud race just for women called the Mudgirl. The proceeds benefit breast cancer research. It is apparently appropriate for all ages between 7 and 78. I’m not sure how they picked those ages. I’m thinking of taking D in it – if she’s willing to be covered in mud. I’ve always wanted to do a mud run!

This coming weekend should be fun. Aaron, IL, D, M, and I are going to Cub Scout Polar Camp. We’ll be spending the nights in cabins, of course. I’ll let you know how it went next week.

Again, no progress reading. 😦

Wow, what a week! I took D to her first mindfulness yoga class, and she hated it. 🤣😂 Guess we won’t be doing that again. I thought maybe the mindfulness would help center her when she’s having an anxious moment. 🤷‍♀️

M drew a naughty, anatomically detailed picture on the fabric of a dining room chair, and I was torn between laughing and scolding him. We sent him to bed a half hour early (without night-night story), and luckily managed to get the markings off the chair. (It was in pencil.) He’s an excellent artist. Quite the attention to detail!

IL is walking around like a pro, climbing up on things, and has a slowly developing vocabulary.

Dad got his new hearing aid, and he is amazed at all the high pitched noises suddenly attacking his senses. Hopefully he’ll get used to it.

Mom is well, so are Aaron and I.

I FINALLY made a decision on the kids’ summer activities. D likes to stay busy, so (assuming she agrees to this) we will be sending her to 5 week theater day camp, 2 weeks of band session (since many soon-to-be 5th graders are picking up instruments for first time, they have a two week session in the summer to learn – she’s chosen the flute), and 1 week of Girl Scout resident camp. M will be potentially going to a week-long day camp at Code Ninjas. I have signed him up for a one day camp there in February to make sure he likes it first. He’s as excited about learning to code games as D is for all of her activities, which is rare for him. Maybe we’ve finally found an activity besides swim lessons that he’ll stick to? He’s only 7, though, so he has plenty of time to find interests.

My reading has been abysmal lately – nothing to mention there. And my weight loss has been excellent this week, despite not tracking my food. I’ve lost 9 pounds in the three weeks since I changed meds. I thought the med change would make a difference, but after more than a year of counting calories, I am shocked that I’m losing despite not making major changes in my habits. Yes, I joined Weight Watchers, but I’m still eating the same number of calories and exercising the same amount. I know the loss will plateau eventually and become hard work, but for now, I’m going to enjoy.

Hi All! Another good week here. On Friday night Aaron and I had a “date night” during which we relaxed and watched iZombie. Saturday, I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting, only to discover it was canceled due to weather. That night Aaron and I watched Supernatural. Sunday, Malcolm had his first swim lesson at level 2. Yay!

My dad got Deirdre a mani pedi on Monday, after which she went to choir rehearsal. It was a hard rehearsal for her, and the whole week seems to have been upsetting, but we don’t know why. Maybe it’s the beginning of pubescent years. 🤷‍♀️ She did have her first book club, discussing The One and Only Ivan, on Tuesday. It went splendidly. The kids had a good time discussing the book, and then a good time playing afterwards.

Wednesday, I was supposed to have my first book club, but it was canceled due to weather. As you can see from my data table, I ate a lot for dinner. Oops. Those $5 margaritas were good.

Overall, though, I did a good job this week, and hope to do better next week.

Still reading the same old books – I am moving slowly on that goal right now.