This week has been a roller coaster. Some days I think we’re killing it, have it down and may even be thriving. Then other days I’m chugging coffee and yelling at the dogs before 8am and my patience is just gone and I want to quit before we’ve even started the day.

Some ways we’re succeeding is by using the big girls planners well. I sit down on Sunday nights and lay out all their work for them day by day and then we know what is supposed to be done and on which day. I’ve only had to text a teacher once to ask “which day should we be on again?” so I count that as a win.

J dresses up basically every day. She’s found these “treasures” and is keeping them in a mini m&m container on her desk. Sara the puppy is constantly by her side. J is so responsible for her and so good with animals! Over and over I hear her little voice, “unacceptable Sara!” and it gives me a chuckle.

We finally got to start working on our extra things from our special teachers, one of J’s teachers is teaching them about adjectives and asked them to describe something for him to draw! J picked this flower pot.
We’ve also started giving the big girls more responsibilities, like making breakfast and lunch. J loves sandwiches.

Hands were the focal point of a lot of our week. Washing them, putting lotion on them, painting their nails.

We get SO MUCH milk from picking up lunch. It’s amazing and such a blessing. I’ve never in my life said “yeah! grab a milk!” more.

There are some downsides to this entire thing. All of us have had spurts of just plain upset-ness. Stress from not being able to do the things we want to wears down on us all. We’re learning different ways to cope with those feelings. This face is on J about 10% of the time, and it breaks my momma heart to see her sad like this. This day she ate outside by herself because she just wanted some alone time.

Distance learning is getting better! If it weren’t for the whole “never see your friends or teachers” thing, I think K would be down for it. She gets her work done before 11am every day and is out the door to play, just like Ida B.

We learned money and time last week, it took a bit, but I think she’s got it!

I realize more and more how blessed we are to be in the school district we are in with the teachers we have. J’s teacher just had a baby and is still doing zoom meetings with the kids so that they have some normalcy! K’s teacher ends every zoom telling them they are smart, kind and important and is always willing to do whatever she can to help. We are so so lucky to have these people care about our kids so much.

One challenge in our household has been that we don’t have access to wifi or internet out here. Outside of slow satellite options, it’s simply not available. So the girls are using my work laptop that is connected to the verizon network for their zoom meetings. This has been a great solution for my work, because we’re a generally low tech family. Needing to use it for 3/4 kids plus my work has proven challenging. luckily their teachers are only doing zoom for about 30 minutes a day, and so far the scheduling has worked out ok for K and J. E’s preschool is doing zoom meetings and E misses her teachers so much, but we haven’t been able to make it happen yet. Maybe this week. I’ll keep trying.

These images I took because I really just want to remember the reality of this time. I feel like Josh and I are on our phones all day. Me working with brides to try to change plans and him texting with people trying to get our original plans finished. Both of us checking the news to see if something has changed because we have to be able to be ahead of any gathering limit that may occur. Then also, just connecting with the friends that we usually see once a week, or me with my family that keeps me grounded and sane. Lots of phone time, but also lots of family time. We’ve gotten really close to our neighbors through this, we share a field and they are just awesome people who have been a blessing to us. Josh and Mark stand out at the barn and talk at least once a day, and they both encourage each other to start new projects that neither of them have time for.

Even though it took me until Wendesday night to finish this blog for Monday, I’m still so thankful that I decided to put my camera on the island and capture these memories. I challenge you to do the same! Remember how you were feeling, and give yourself a creative outlet. I’d love to see them!

J does smile an awful lot though. Our kids are awesome. I’m glad we’ve got them!

Until next week, maybe! Be safe, be kind and know you are loved!