We had a pretty enjoyable weekend under lock-down. On Saturday, Dave and Ajax spent a lot of time playing with Lego and putting together his new sets. Ajax received calls from friends wishing him happy birthday and played video games with friends (remotely and I’m not sure how).
Noomi and I accepted The Getty Museum’s Artwork Challenge by selecting pieces of art and recreating them. We had a ton of fun and when we were done Noomi turned some of the boxes into flying robots.
We rounded our Saturday night off with pizza and a movie (Escape from New York).
On Sunday, I went grocery shopping and Dave took the kids and dog hiking. I tried to buy enough to last us two weeks. The news is reporting that next week will be the height of the pandemic. Of course, that’s from the White House. The Michigan Governor is saying we’re still five weeks from our peak. There is a complete lack of a cohesive Federal response or plan in addressing this crisis that it is bone chilling. So because I feel our federal government is worthless, I’m going to split the difference and say we’re about two and a half weeks from our peak.
Today when the kids took Husk for a walk in the woods he cut his foot and Dave had to take him to the Vet. He received a few staples and a cone and antibiotics. He is unhappy to say the least. He also bled all over my house.
Today Ajax turned 11! We officially have a tween! This is one awesome kid and we are so fortunate to have him in our life. He is smart, witty, and sensitive. He is an avid reader, lightening fast with math, and has terrible handwriting. We’re working on it, but he just doesn’t care to write, lol.
We started with sprinkle pancakes. The kids rode bikes as we were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. Although Dave and I had to work, because we’re on lockdown, it meant we all got to spend the day together!
Ajax requested homemade burgers for dinner and a chocolate Oreo cake and we complied. We video conferences everyone in to sing happy birthday and watch Ajax open his presents!
We made the best of the situation and I think Ajax had a great birthday. We will certainly never forget Ajax’s birth under Cornavirus lockdown.
On the pandemic update we also learned yesterday that the kids will not be returning to school. The Governor has requested a disaster declaration to extend until June and she’s cancelled school for the rest of the year.
It is completely unknown if Districts will engage in online learning, if they’ll start early, or what our 2020/2021 year will look like. The kids are bummed they won’t get to finish out the school year. Both were doing outstanding in their respective classes with awesome teachers and great friends. We’re holding on, but this virus sucks.
On Saturday I went into Okemos grocery shopping. There are much fewer people out given the social distancing rules and Governor’s stay at home order. One person per household appears to be going out and the rest are staying home.
Quantity limits are still in place, folks still appear to be hoarding, and areas of shelves were completely bare (rice, dried beans, canned goods, dry pasta, TP, cleaning products).
Every few minutes the music in the store would stop and they would play a prerecorded CDC message/warning about the Coronavirus (“stay 6 feet away… wash your hands for 20 seconds…”).
In various places throughout the store there were large black X’s on the floor directing people where to stand so that people were not too close to one another.
I’m not gonna lie. It was a bit stressful. You began to feel a slight panic like you definitely should not be out and you should get home as quickly as possible.
The rest of our Saturday was quiet. We had thunderstorms on/off all day. We ordered dinner from a local Williamston restaurant (trying to do our part since restaurants may only do carryout). We watched a movie and played Monopoly. I even bought a 300 pc puzzle… and I generally had puzzles.
Today the kids made waffles for breakfast. We have normal weekend chores. I’m making sausage-lentil soup for dinner. It’s still raining. You can trick yourself into thinking it’s a typical Sunday but then you remember that it isn’t. The Governor is supposed to make the announcement next week whether kids will be returning to school or if school is simply done for the year. Dave and I are trying to make plans for what this would mean as childcare and summer camps would also be closed or limited. What a strange strange time.
Ajax said the highlight of his day was doing three consecutive loops around the neighborhoods in about 30 minutes. He said he’s going to try for four next and keep building from there. We say awesome goal buddy. Noomi’s currently in bed but I’m going to guess that her favorite part of the day was getting a letter from her friend, Cora, who just moved into our neighborhood. The neighborhood kids have been exchanging letters and putting them into each other’s mailboxes. Everyone has gotten a kick out of it.
The kids did their scheduled activities of journaling, math, typing, a little online learning, and reading. We squeezed in a few walks with Husker who is now passed out for the night.
I had to run up to the office for the rest of my supplies and now have a near full set up in our bedroom. We’re making this work from home thing work. We’re making this homeschooling thing work. Heck we’re trying to make it all work.
Oh the U.S. has now exceeded China in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, making it number one in the world, with over 85,000 cases. The state is shut down until April 13th, but I’d be surprised if the “shelter in place” order is lifted at that time. I’m hopeful, but the numbers don’t look good.
A bit of the disaster that is our house right now.
Our day today under lockdown started with Dave and I having coffee and checking the news and numbers (which is how we start each morning). The reality is that the number of confirmed cases is rising significantly, the death toll is increasing, and some metro-Detroit hospitals are nearing capacity. Medical professionals don’t have the materials they need and ventilators are desperately needed.
We’re trying to balance what information we share with the kids so that they understand why we are all home now, why they can’t play with their friends, but at the same time we don’t want to panic them.
For their journal time today I had the kids write about their feelings being home. Both kids reflected generally positive thoughts, they like being home overall. I hope in ten years from now they only remember our family dinners and game nights and goofiness.
I’ve loosened up quite a bit with our schedule. The schedule is really more to help keep our days organized, keep the kids from turning into video game zombies and killing each other, and allow Dave and I to still work.
Some highlights include our continued work on learning cursive. Both kids are progressing well. They’ve been doing a lot of reading and math practice. They both don’t mind math. Noomi is learning to count money and tell time. Ajax is reviewing fractions. Both kids also enjoy practicing typing.
During dinner tonight we played Munchkin and then after the kids did my Crossfit workout with me. Noomi was a machine and outran us all. Husker couldn’t figure out what we were doing but he loved being outside and running with us. In their free time Ajax has been enjoying MineCraft and reading. Noomi has been constructing a robot and forts throughout the house (she is the messy one of the family).
Sorry this post is so disorganized. I have more pictures but they aren’t uploading properly so they’ll have to wait.
Before I dive into our current situation I’d like to back up a bit. I stopped blogging after the holidays because life just got pretty darn busy around here. The kids were doing well in school, Dave was on the WSF Board and active, we had PTSA activities and events, Girl Scouts, school events, work, and I finally joined my local Crossfit gym. The topics of conversation revolved around normal family activities, dinners and playdates, and other local things. We were getting a bit warmer weather so we were outside a bit more and itching for spring.
Some winter highlights (Jan – Feb) included, the Daddy daughter dance opt out. Instead Noomi choose to go to Art Unlimited and ice cream. We bought Noomi a new bike. She picked out a blue mountain bike. Ajax was in his play (Peter Pan) and had a small role onstage in the pirate band. He did great! We did some cookie booths and delivered cookies across the state.
Throughout this period we’d hear news stories about a virus slamming Wuhan Province and spreading throughout China. The WHO began issuing warnings and the CDC was trying to get information about it. In early March the news and people began noticing that the virus, now known as the Coronavirus (or COVID 19) had spread to several other countries with devastating effects. The number of confirmed cases was rising worldwide and so were the deaths. Hospitals were at capacity and people were dying for lack of ventilators. I must admit I was willfully ignoring all the evidence.
On Thursday, March 12th, the news seemed to exploded and the Coronavirius was touching many of the states (apparently the first cases to hit the US were in January in Seattle, but I don’t remember hearing much about it or not being remotely concerned about it). People’s anxiety went from a zero that morning (not worried at all) and by Thursday night the country was at an eleven. Folks immediately began hoarding supplies and cleared stores of toilet paper. I got up on Friday, March 13th, and went to my 5 am workout. By the time I got home I had several emails and text messages – the Governor closed all schools from March 16 – April 3rd (then spring break from April 6 – 10). We were told to “social distance.” Then in the course of an hour, the kids went from having a full day of school to a half day. By the time I got to the office businesses were organizing their workforce to work remotely. Both Dave and my offices went remote almost immediately.
Over that first weekend we tried to wrap our head around the sudden changes. People and kids continued to interact. Our kids played with the neighbors. No one was really social distancing and many were continuing their normal activities. All the while the numbers and deaths continued to climb in the United States.
On Monday, March 16th, the Governor closed all bars, nie-in restaurants, gyms, etc. By March 18th, large auto manufacturers were closing down and unemployment rates began climbing. On March 21st, the Governor shut down more businesses to reduce large numbers of people in one place in close contact (salons included). On March 23rd, the Governor issued a “shelter in place order” (similar to many other states). The order is for at least the next three weeks. Individuals may only leave their home or place of residence under very limited circumstances. Non-essential businesses are ordered to close and all workers that can must be remote.
So that brings us to today, March 24th. Currently the US is ranked 3rd in the world for active COVID 19 cases with the death count rising. Hospitals in metro-Detroit are near capacity and Michigan has over 1,300 current cases.
We are into our second week of everyone being home. Dave and I are trying to work and home school/occupy the kids all at once. Husker loves having all his people home. And it is overall, incredibly stressful and a lot of unknowns and uncertainty. The kids miss school and their friends. Ajax is bummed he won’t get a birthday party with everyone. I’ve been the only one going to the store and shopping and tensions are high and shelves are cleared. Most items have limits and for some reason toilet paper is the thing folks are hoarding the most.
I’ll share more about our days and schedules later. For now I just wanted to document what’s been happening. We keep wandering around the house saying, I just can’t believe this. You can’t help checking stats and numbers and the news. The President is a complete moron and we made the mistake of checking our retirement accounts.
This year when we attended the Foundation’s breakfast with Santa Ajax appeared too cool to have his picture taken. I guess at 10 it was bound to happen. I, however, insisted on a family picture and Ajax acted like he was going to die. Dave and I found it hilarious.
This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. Family and dogs alike had a lot of fun and ate a lot of food. Noomi made place settings for everyone and helped me with all the shopping.
We then traveled over to Allegan for the Indish family celebration. We exchanged gifts, ate, and then went to The Union in Kalamazoo to decorate gingerbread houses. Afterwards we explored Bronson park which was decorated for the holidays.
Christmas Eve was spent at our house with the Valentines. We exchanged gifts, ate way too much food, and had a great evening. The kids got in their Christmas PJs and put out cookies for Santa.
Christmas morning was a rough 6 am in our household lol. This year each kid received four gifts. Something they wanted, something to read, something to wear, and something they need. They also got one special gift from Santa and stockings of course. After opening gifts we ate our homemade cinnamon rolls and then headed into Dearborn Heights to visit family.
We made it home around 2 pm and promptly changed back into pajamas, warmed up all the leftovers and relaxed for the rest of our holiday.
In the time between Christmas and News Years, everyone sort of loses track of time. I did work on Friday and Noomi came with me. She set up in the third office and “worked” as well. I took her out to lunch and we had an incredibly lovely day in the office.
Today was a quiet day as well. The kid played outside a bit with neighbors and then, because it was crazy windy and rainy, the kids ended up at our house to play.
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and I cannot believe 2019 has come to a close. My dad always told me time would fly and goodness he was right.
Oh, I should also add that Ajax had his 5th grade wax museum and he was Charles Darwin. He wrote a paper, memorized a little speech, and made a poster board. Dave and I both took the day off to attend and he did great! Noomi has been busy with her Girl Scout Troop. They decorated a tree at a historic school house in town and we are now headed into Cookie Season. Oh we also did yoga with goats.
Our big family vacation to Disney is complete and as much as we enjoyed it I think it is definitely a one and done! We got home last night and we all crashed around 7 pm and slept for 12-13 hours. Even the dog was exhausted and he didn’t even leave the state.
We left on Sunday, Nov 3, and returned Saturday, Nov 9. On Sunday we were up at 3 am and headed to the airport for our 8 am flight. We had a smooth flight down and then took the Magical Express to our resort- Port Orleans Riverside. Our room was ready so we dropped our stuff and then took the ferry to Disney Springs. We did some shopping, had dinner and a few treats before heading back to the room for an early bedtime.
On Monday, we explored Hollywood Studios. Everyone loved the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and exploring Galaxy’s Edge, which had storm troopers wandering around. We met Darth Vader and Chewbacca and watched a Star Wars show complete with fire and explosions. Ajax participated in the Jedi training and fought Darth Vader, but Noomi refused to do it and was content watching her brother in the show. Everyone braved Tower of Terror, but then we all crashed right before the nighttime fireworks show and decided to bounce as it started raining.
On Tuesday, we again rope dropped and explored the Magic Kingdom. We did all the traditional rides and the kids loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We rode Space Mountain, Small World, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and of course, the tea cups. The kids had pirate makeovers, we went on a treasure hunt complete with a map, and then met Capt. Jack Sparrow (Noomi’s favorite character). We stayed for the fireworks and then headed back to the room.
On Wednesday, we slept in a bit and then headed to Epcot. We did the Frozen ride, explore a bit, had breakfast in a neat rotating restaurant, and then met Baymax (the one character Ajax wanted to meet). We snacked a bit around the world, did a few more rides and then left. Everyone was pretty tired so went back to the resort to swim and rest before dinner at Ohana.
On Thursday, we were up early and went to Animal Kingdom, which everyone loved. We rode the Everest roller coaster twice, Kali river rapids, and went on a safari. We explored nature trails with gorillas and loved Flight of Passage (the flying Avatar ride in Pandora). We ate at Yak and Yeti which was my favorite meal (Ramen with pork belly) before watching a Lion King show. Pandora at night was amazing to see and we truly enjoyed exploring this park. We headed back to the resort for a late night swim and then crashed.
On Friday, we slept in and then went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, which everyone loved. The food was good and the kids got a kick out of meeting the various characters. From there we went to Disney Springs for a last bit of shopping, then back to the resort to rest/pack. That evening we went to the Christmas Party (4 pm – 1 am, though we only made it until about 11:30). We rode Space Mountain again and the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride. We watched a parade and then after that we tossed my well scheduled evening and let the kids decide what to do. The kids were obsessed with the rides and found it entertaining that we could basically walk onto all the rides with little/no wait. We did Splash Mountain back-to-back. It was raining and after riding a roller coaster we were all drenched and cold. We snacked and ate, but eventually everyone asked to leave even though we had more time left. That was just fine with Dave and I though.
On Saturday, we were up early, finished packing, had breakfast and then left for the airport.
We rolled into Williamston around 4:30 pm. Picked up pizza for dinner and our groceries from D and W. Noomi and Dave fell asleep by 7:30 pm and Ajax and I were in bed by 8 pm. Everyone slept a solid 12 hours.
Overall, we had a great trip, but I’m sure glad were home!
The week of Halloween was both terrifying and busy for Team No Judgment. The great family Torrent finally died and I got a beautiful new minivan- the stuff that dreams are made of. I love it. The timing was of course terrible as we had a bunch to do with Halloween and getting ready for Disney. We made it work though because as I mentioned the Torrent died.
Both kids Halloween parties went well at the school and were very cute. They had great days, but the weather didn’t cooperate and it was cold and rainy, and eventually turned into a snowy, icy mess. The school had their annual parade indoors and afterwards I snagged both kids and we zipped home. I made a white chicken chili for dinner and then Dave took the kids out trick or treating, while I stayed home to hand out candy with Husker. Ajax was Baymax and Noomi was the chicken from Toy Story 4.
On Friday I had the day off and finished packing us for Disney, cleaned the house, did laundry, and wrapped up last minute details.
