Quarantine

 This week was not the norm for us. Matt had his second COVID shot this week on the same day that I went into quarantine. The pandemic has been going on for a straight year and this is the first time that we've had a serious worry. G had a close contact quarantine last fall but we quarantined as a family because he'd already been around us. This case was different. I had an interview with a legislator. I had messaged him earlier and let him know that I would be running late - he in turn said he was running late. Our meeting started 17 to 20 minutes late. We dove into the topics I had and suddenly he looked at his phone commenting on a number that kept calling him. It was his results of his rapid COVID test. He got a positive result. We had been sitting across the table from each other for 18-20 minutes. I was so mad at myself as I even had my mask sitting there but had had a juice and a banana while waiting. 

The rest of the week drug - Matt took it head on being the sole provider of the kids - including swimming lessons, pick up and drop off, meals, baths, wake-up and putting to bed. I won't lie that I have joked about some time off and getting away but this was harder than I thought because we are a team together. 

We did tell the kids that I was "working" but unfortunately that didn't work out the best as they asked to see my room - and wouldn't let it go. I even tried to change the subject or avoided the question. 

Matt took them out and kept them occupied. He's never been one that wants to stay in. Even took them to check out a campsite and have a picnic. I will find out next week if I did contract the virus or not. I'm a bit nervous and shouldn't google any symptoms!

EER: Mom - can you read what this paper says?
ALR: Point me at the paper.
EER: How about now?
ALR: No, I can only still see the ceiling, I can't see the words.
EER points at the words she wants read.
ALR: I can see your finger, Eleanor, but I can't see the words.
EER twists camera off the paper.
ALR: Oh, Eleanor, I love you.
EER: I love you too, Mom, can you read it now.
ALR: No, I can only see your face!

Update: As of Monday - I took a rapid test on Monday and got my first negative. I'll test again on Wednesday to see if I can rejoin society. 

Leprechaun trap, Ft Lincoln Hike, Shot 1

Spring is here!! Not just because the calendar says it or not because the kids must be learning about it in school but because we can feel it. The weather has been amazing. We've been walking, bike riding, strollers, it feels good to let them out into the wilderness!

It's been a crazy week, I will admit, I'm ready for swim lessons to be over not because they aren't good for the kids - they love it. Look forward to it each week but because it's so much juggling. Here's how it goes - I leave work early, grab E. We head to the Aquatic Center - change and she has her swim lessons. They last 30 minutes. She gets out - I get her back into normal clothes, Grady usually shows about this time with Matt and Ains. I get him into swim clothes. Matt takes the girls and heads home to finalize supper. Grady starts his 30 minute lesson. He finishes, we change back and we go home to have supper that the others are just about finished up with. We clean up. Do baths to get the chlorine off, read books, and go to bed. For the bigs - swim nights tend to be easy sleep nights. Ains is another story. BUT we are coming down to the final weeks of swimming. E has been working hard. G needs to work a bit harder at following directions. He's fully invested in the splashing and jumping and getting wet and his kicking is a bit overzealous BUT he's a bit of a disruption. sigh. 

Was St. Patrick's this week. E was mystified by it. They must have talked about Leprechauns at preschool and how to capture them. She enlisted/forced Grady's help and they worked on a "trap" at home. Made me smile to see how she's using her ingenuity. 

I also got my first COVID vaccine shot on St. Patrick's Day. This topic, along with so many things specific to the pandemic have been controversial. People have picked sides and held their lines. It was interesting as I drove into the Event Center that I realized I'd lost count of how many times I'd done this. Something that seemed so foreign and severe last year is now commonplace to go through the mouse loop, enter the vendor garage, drive through the floor, have the test/shot/etc done, and then drive out the front side. We'd been tested so many times that way, we got our flu shot that way, and there I was again. It felt historic in a sense - it felt serene. The mood was surprisingly light among the national guard and health teams. It didn't hurt at all. Felt like a tiny little step towards a world that seemed so far away.

On Saturday, we headed out to Fort Lincoln - first trip of the season. It was good weather. The only thing was that when we got there, the road up to the block houses was closed. We decided to take the bikes out and walk up. This was a fool's move as it's practically straight up! What were we thinking. I took Ains in the stroller who for the majority of the way informed me how thirsty she was. E and G attempted to bring their bikes up. G gave up before E but Matt ended up carrying both. I'm not sure what was easier that walk straight up or Matt's decision to offroad the way down. We went to the earth lodges too and around the path a bit. Ains thought she wanted to walk but at one point just decided to start crawling - she'd had enough of the "hike." G wasn't totally convinced either but I did tell him to keep going as there were snacks in the pick up. He cleared the top of the hill and started a sharp decline down - he began to wobble a bit and Matt grabbed him. A car watched the whole thing and began to chuckle. I almost had a heart attack.

We got home and played a bit in the backyard - even looked at the garden beds and dug them up a bit.

Ains did take a slide to the face on that night at the part - gave herself a heck of a shiner and cut underneath her eye. She took it fairly well. 

ALR: Well, let's head back.
MJR: I figured we'd just cut here down the hill.
ALR: Um, what.
MJR: If we cut down here it will put us just off the back of where we left the pick up.
ALR: We don't have an offroad stroller.
MJR: Any stroller can be an offroad stroller if it goes off the road.
7 minutes later ALR is struggling and about has the stroller tipping.
MJR: Are you okay.
ALR: No! You could help me!
MJR: Hold on, let me get a picture.
ALR: Some things shouldn't be memorized in a photograph opportunity.

Zoo, Ribs, Artistic expression

 Swimming, Sunshine, Good Weather. 

We even took in the zoo on Saturday. IT was packed. Everybody must be ready for spring and ready to get out. We had to park next to the bison. Ains loved the llama. We took in the otters and raccoons too. What's nice about the zoo during this time of the year is the leaves haven't come in so it's very easy to find the animals for the most part. Everything was going pretty well until Grady decided to throw his 516th whiney fit. So he and I waited in the car until Matt and the girls had finished enjoying the zoo. E was so excited to tell me about the camel who was eating the wall of his pen! 

Matt smoked some ribs this past weekend too. With all the butchering that was done this winter, he had more time to practice and play. He cut the ribs out of one of the beef and seasoned and smoked it. The kids thought it was fun to chew on the big bones. 

E's been really working on reading and learning words and letters. We were driving to school one day this morning and all of a sudden she yells, LOOK!!! I didn't know what she was specifically talking about and she told me that the billboard said love. I was a bit skeptical and asked her to spell it for me - and didn't waste a second to belt out L-O-V-E. She's been watching for letters and sounding them out but she's on the springboard of taking off. She's so interested in her studies - they've done plants and seeds, continents, and Spanish. She's got some of the sign language down too for the letters she's learning. My favorite is her artwork. She produces buckets of it and prefers to cut and glue in her mediums but I like the crayon and marker pieces.

Her journal are my favorite and I get excited whenever I see them in her take home pile. Ains, especially since she got her caddy for her birthday, is excited to color too. I've always been impressed with the kids on how they hold their colors. We know at school Ains is working on cutting and I've been hesitant to give her a scissors. We've been really lucky with cut hair and whatnot and I feel that if any of my children are going to make poor decisions with a scissors it's going to be the last child. 

Farm, Side by Side, Swimming, Leg Session

 A bit of odds and ends now with Ains's birthday and butchering over. I finally got my bench seat in this past week. After a good year-end review at work last year, Matt and I decided that I would have a little work done on the house to reward myself. The entry way coming in from the garage is a cluster and as the kids get bigger, so do their shoes, and coats, and that room doesn't. So we put a bench in to put on shoes and store shoes underneath. I had our construction guy put in a shoe rack and Matt also had him put in attic access. It wasn't the best experience with the contractor BUT it's finished, it's functional, and it's amazing how the space opens up. 

Saturday and Sunday were catch-up days. Saturday we cleaned house and calmed down from the week and Sunday we headed out to the Farm. The kids were excited to see the baby calves and the weather has been so nice that I know they were bucking and moving around. I am fully aware that I am and have city children upon arriving. Eleanor smelled the farm smell and wasn't impressed by it and when I asked Grady if he wanted to see the cows, he said, no. BUT did ask if the side by side was there for rides! Ainsey didn't care much when the side by side picked up speed....she pulled her stocking cap over her face! E and G did like the haybales though! As they get older I'll be curious to watch them get more involved or vested in things, ask questions and what not. We even watched them play a bit outside... they thought they were so funny trying to move one of Grandpa's haybales!

Swimming lessons are ongoing. Depending on the day, they are doing really well. E had a rough session last year but has really gotten comfortable with her teacher and the water. G is an overzealous kicker but he was awful cute the first time that we went swimming. He and I got into the changing room and he kind of made this squeel giggle... "Mama, I'm so excited!" He has often gotten shafted or shifted out of things and for him to really enjoy and be proud of his ability to go, that made me happy. His class has a lot of boys and he and another tend to splash on the side pretty regularly. Nights after swimming tend to be good sleeping nights. 

Work has been crazy. I've been up to the capitol a few times. I've stumbled a bit on my testifying. I've had softball bills and work more on the membership information, champion pieces, and writing testimony but it's good for me to speak. Matt has got the cadence down so well... name, organization, testimony and then when the time for addressing comes, he always remembers the cadence. Dumb me forgets. I've watched hours of hearings but can't seem to remember all the pieces at play. 

EER: Grandma! I got you a Flower for your birthday!!

Birthday wrap up, present shopping

 

Ainsey's birthday has officially come and gone. Party and day all wrapped up. Her day was nice. She got flowers from Dad in the morning, had a play day with Miss Kaylyn that was beautiful, and then ended the day with some family fun. I've wanted to do something different and have felt bad that we haven't been doing things, haven't been going places, have just been trying to stay safe so I decided that we'd head to Skyzone when it opened on her day. She was a bit unsure to start but warmed up. Her favorite was to jump off the platform of the tramp into the foam pit. She'd barely clear the ledge and it made me chuckle each time. E and G had a blast. They picked it up quick and were hoping around and falling down all over the place. We picked up Ains's favorite... Big Boy complete with flying styles and gravy for supper. We ended the night with Ains opening up her final presents and some ice cream. 

Last week before her birthday party, I took E and G to the Dollar Store to pick out presents for Ainsley. I told them to pick out three things - in retrospect, I could have done two. They'd give one at the party and then on our family night, they'd give the rest. It was a bit helter skelter when we got into the store. They were like ping pong balls at first looking at everything. But eventually, we did get into the toy aisle and I'm not sure how many times I did have to ask, "Would Ainsey like this?" G was pumped about some matchbox cars and was honest with me and said, "No, I like them." I gave him some credit but reminded him that we are shopping for her. They didn't do too bad. E got her a unicorn stuffed animal, a color book, and a my little pony, G picked out a garden flower, a stuffy bunny, and a helicopter. I knew that he was in love with that helicopter but I also knew that Ains would like it so I didn't push too hard on it. They wrapped the presents and I was proud of them! They had great behavior, great conversations, manners, and cared!