Well that escalated quickly...
This explains the last month so well. In February we were hearing a lot of reports about this crazy virus attacking China and spreading across the world, I never would have imagined we'd be in the situation we are now.
Then it hit the US and people started stock piling toilet paper and food. We did stock up a little more on some essentials, but we also had a freezer full of meals (thanks to nesting and my parents gifting me a freezer meals instant pot class for Christmas to prepare for baby coming) and just some general food storage. We talked to the kids about good hand hygiene and all that. With a new baby at home during RSV and Flu season we were being careful anyway.
All of a sudden it got real. On Wednesday March 11, the NBA cancelled all their games after a Jazz player tested positive for the virus. That's when it really hit me that life was getting crazy. On Thursday we got news that the church had suspended all church meetings world-wide. I'll admit, a tiny amount of panic started to set in for me. I called my parents and asked for some reinforcements to watch my kids (I'm not taking Lila out anyway) so I could run to the store just to get fresh milk and produce and stuff in case things really shut down. I sent the kids to school on Friday, but by the end of the day I decided I was going to keep them home from school for the next few weeks regardless of what the schools decided to do. Then Friday afternoon Governor Herbert made the announcement that all schools were closed for at least two weeks, with kids learning online from home.
Honestly, on Tuesday I never would have guessed that by Friday afternoon all that would be shut down. It all happened so fast.
So here we are, in the middle of a global pandemic and being asked to incorporate "social distancing" to slow the spread of the virus. We are trying so hard to do this- no playdates with friends, only going out for groceries when absolutely necessary, and schooling at home. For extroverts like myself and my kids, this is HARD. We are really trying to make the most of it. I'm trying to enjoy the bonus time with all my kids at home. My boys are playing with each other all day long ( like they have a choice?). We are getting lots of quality family time. And the boys are being absolutely champs at doing their school work from home.
Here's what our typical day looks like now- everyone is up by about 7:00 (it not earlier). We get ready and eat breakfast and get jobs and piano done, maybe at a slower pace than normal, but we do try to be fairly efficient. Most days we go out on a long walk/bike ride around 9:00. I push Davis in the stroller and babywear Lila. The boys ride their bikes.
Then we head home for school time. The boys are fairly independent about their work. Hudson needs a little more help, Chase does his almost 100% on his own. All that he really needs from me is reminders to keep moving through his subjects. We try to be done with school by lunchtime.
Then it's lunch and naptime for Davis/Lila/Me and screen time for the boys. I decided early on to not try and win any parenting medals during this time. This is all exhausting. I'm still up with Lila several times a night. So I'm going easy on myself and they watch screens in the afternoon.
After naps we try to go outside to play. This is my favorite time of the day. When the weather is nice we are outside and I'm more and more appreciative every day of a our yard. We've been riding bikes, scooters and skateboards. The boys play basketball, tennis or baseball. They run around. Do sidewalk chalk. Play with sticks. Life feels almost normal, except that we should have extra little ones running around with them! These kids miss their friends!
And then things feel normal as we have dinner together as a family, baths, scriptures, read stories and put kids to bed. I go to bed every night exhausted, knowing that the challenges of raising four kids and not only having to be my normal mom/chef/housekeeper/story reader, but also the teacher/piano teacher/entertainer, etc. (Oh yeah, I started doing piano lessons with Hudson in the middle of all this). It has been a crazy time!
Just a whole slew of pictures of our time in quarantine!
I've been sending all three boys out to play while I'm busy with Lila or cooking or something, with explicit instructions to keep Davis in the backyard (or watch him closely in the front yard). One day I came out to find Hudson had rigged his bike lock to keep the gate closed- I was so impressed!
This cherry tree is a favorite climbing tree. Davis is always just mad he can't get up there too.
My cute kids on St. Patricks Day! We kept things simple, but Lucky the Leprechaun did come dye our milk green! We had green breakfast (green pancakes and green smoothies). We had green lunch (cucumbers, grapes and celery) with a side of Lucky Charms.
A few days after quarantine started we had an earthquake! It came at 7:00 am (Oh and Ben was in Houston at the time for work). I was nursing Lila in the rocking chair and the chair just wouldn't stop rocking. It was a little unnerving. Davis was right there in the room with me and honestly by the time I figured out we'd had an earthquake it was over- we didn't even run for safety! It woke Chase up and Hudson slept through it. I had a little talk with the boys about earthquake safety and how to get to a safe place if another one came- also with instructions if they were in the in the room with Davis or Lila to grab them and bring them to safety too.
I walked downstairs a little later to find Hudson doing his schoolwork UNDER the kitchen table, just in case another earthquake came. And Chase had his computer and was doing his schoolwork right next to where Davis was playing, so he could get Davis to safety just in case. Even though I told them extreme measures weren't necessary, they were definitely spooked. Hudson wrote in his journal that he was scared and asked if we could pray (we did). Chase never vocalized fear, but got a bad stomach ache that day. It was just really heavy- no school, adjusting to this new life of social distancing, and then an earthquake hit. It was a big week.
The next day Hudson was holding Lila while I put Davis down for a nap. I found him with Lila UNDER her changing table- in case of another quake. Oh my sweet boy! He gets anxious about stuff like this and he's a very protective big brother! He prayed for weeks after that we wouldn't have another earthquake.
During this time of homeschooling, we've tried to incorporate more fun things. I taught the boys how to make french bread- in fact they did this almost entirely themselves while I directed from a nearby chair while nursing Lila!
We did art via a YouTube video of Mo Willems teaching them to draw the beloved Pidgeon.
Nana brought us these shapes- originally planned to keep Davis distracted during school time (which they do) but the big kids play and build with them even more!
Chase asked if we could have a fancy dinner and crack open some sparkling cider! It's the little things.
We made cinnamon rolls one day! I think the boys got an appreciation of how much work they are!
On week three of quarantine it was technically our spring break. Life wasn't much different except we didn't have to do schoolwork each morning. The weather was also kind of crummy, so we just did our best with what we had to work with. We had movie nights every night. And one day we grabbed Nana and went on a hike! It felt so nice to be out in the fresh air. Davis is the best little three year old hiker ever. And Hudson said, "I haven't felt this good in years!"
This whole thing has been a huge adjustment- as if one life change wasn't enough with adding Lila to the family. There have been a lot of tender mercies during this time. Lila is such a sweet baby. I'm so thankful for her sweet temperament during this time. I'm thankful she came so early and I wasn't dealing with immediate recovery during this crazy time. I'm also so thankful that we are all healthy, that we have a beautiful, spacious home to stay in, that we have technology to help us stay connected with our family and friends.
