Week 15.

Day 100.  

It has been one hundred days since things hit the fan and the world shut down.  

My mind has trouble grasping the scope of everything that has happened and how things have changed.  

I'm grateful every day that we've gotten through this unscathed.  

There are many people in our parish that do not qualify for government assistance.  We've been doing what we can to provide for them.  Folks need food, but other things that are equally essential and more expensive are needed, too.  Diapers and period products are in high demand.  Caroline and I have been trolling Walmart.com to find the best prices on pads and tampons.  We were spending so much time on it that the boys were intrigued.  After an anatomy & physiology lesson (Sam was HORRIFIED, the other boys rolled with it), we decided that every woman deserves good products to manage her period and providing those & diapers would be our family focus.  

Now, when I'm ordering things off WalMart, at least one of the boys comes up to me and asks, "You're getting the good stuff for them, right?" 

We're doing everything we can to raise good men.  

We finished up with the Zoom dance classes and virtual recital this week.  A new session of Zoom and in-person classes starts in a couple weeks.  There will also be 1-2 week long theatre camps for each kid for a few hours each day.  

How do I feel about the kids being inside doing theatre?  

It skeeves me out a little...but they'll be masked, will maintain distance, have access to hand sanitizer and there will only be 9 kids in each class.  

So while I'm anxious about it...looking at the risks and evaluating them...I think this is a low risk as we can make a higher risk activity that the kids love and miss keenly.  

We got the rest of the pre-recital pictures taken and also found out Caroline won an award for Student Achievement in the Teens.  She's excited about it, but with it being our first year at this studio, she's not exactly sure what it's all about.  

We are so proud of the kids.  

A cross country move, a new studio, new teachers, learning, persevering, adapting, kicking butt and taking names.   

We've been trying new foods with our time at home.  I found a random can of sweetened condensed milk in the basement and simmered it in water for 3 hours...and VOILA!

Caramel.  

OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.  

So good.  

So good, in fact, that the only thing left was an empty can in the fridge the next morning.  

We also got ourselves some water buffalo to grill at the farmer's market in Leesburg, VA.  

Water buffalo beats bison for eating on any day of the week and twice on Sundays.  

Dang.  

On the way home we had to listen to our favorite Adrian Cronouer clip from "Good Morning Vietnam".  

Included in the trials and tribulation of attending Mass at home...

1-Kitty participation

2-Running commentary from the kids ("Wow - My favorite deacon got an Apocalypse Beard.  Cool").  

We're not quite ready to get all of us to Mass on Sunday yet.  65 people in tiny St Timothy is a lot, even if it is at half capacity.  It does weight on me that if we go to Mass as a family, that we're 10% of the congregation and that prevents other people from attending.  

So we did get to a weekday Mass this week.  Only 20 people...and it was wonderful.  

We are all so very grateful to be back.  

I do think we'll continue to do a daily Mass once a week that's much less crowded. 

One of the most wonderful things about Walkersville is our community.  Sam was sent a Half Birthday card by one of the ladies in our parish that we would see all the time at daily Mass before the pandemic.  

It made him feel SO special.  

Again.  I am so very grateful.  

Tseitle has taken to lounging in the bathroom sink.  When I got face-to-face with her, I got the look.  

Pretty sure this is Kitty Resting B!tch Face.  

Happy Birthday to Pops.  

We had the potential for so much weather to roll through this week and it all went around us.  Clouds were lowering at one point, which freaked Nate out...but other than some wind...nothing.  

Here's to an uneventful Week 15

In the Midst of Week 14

We're getting into the routine of school, play and Zoom Dance.  

Just in time for dance to end...but hopefully we can establish a new routine once dancing starts up again.  The Zoom style classes will continue for the summer, at least.  

Safety-wise, I think it's possible to some in person dance classes with MUCH smaller classes and masks, but I'm thinking that theatre programs might be tough.  

We don't even have a plan for Vacation Bible School or summer theatre camps. 

We'll have to see.  

So much waiting and seeing.  

This is a lesson in patience and letting go.  Especially for the person that likes to have everything planned out with multiple contingencies.  #anxietyforthewin.  

Patience Sucks.  

With the extra down time, protests, riots, political debate and laws being passed, I'm trying to take this as a time to examine my prejudices - to make myself a more open, thoughtful person.  

The more I look, the more deeply ingrained tendencies I find I have.  

It's pretty bad.  

I'm doing my best to work through them...establish where they come from and why...but...I'm feeling decently miserable for having them in the first place.  

So that's that.  

We're actually getting in a groove with school.  

We're getting to bed early (tough in a neighborhood with lots of kids that are on summer break), getting up early and getting done with school by 2.  

The sign on the door says "School is in Session from 8-2.  We can play after 2pm".  

Most days there is a knock on the door at 2:01.  

And that is awesome.  :)

I'm so glad.  

The boys are usually light saber battling (those suckers are a good 6 feet long) and Caroline is either face timing or social distance chatting with her friends across the street.  

We're getting out to be with folks outdoors at parks more often - hoping that Moms Group from church can get some decent run around time in for these kiddos.  

And some adult-talking time for this Mama.  

Tseitle and PD's favorite place to hang out is on the bathroom vanity.  

Tseitle curls right up in the sink.  

It is SO.  STINKING.  DIFFICULT.  not to turn on the water sometimes.  

She's not a baby kitty anymore, but the name Tiny Tseitles has stuck.  

Nate and I went strawberry picking twice with a yield of 23 pounds of juicy, delicious berries.  10 pounds were inhaled within a day (!) but we have 13 pounds flash frozen and stashed away in the freezer.  

Blueberry season starts next week.  

Peach season should be imminent, as well.  I do miss our back yard peach trees.  

The kids made Jim a key lime pie.  I think the only ingredients were lime juice and sweetened condensed milk.  It was fantastic.  

Gravity-Allergic Boy got his cast off.  

He had his arm to his face on the way back from the x-rays.  He had a funny look on his face, so the x-ray tech inquired if he was okay.  "Yeah.  I'm just smelling to see how bad my stank is."  

Fantastic.  

Just Fantastic.  

We went to Almost Heaven  Harpers Ferry, WV and socially distant adventured with friends who live here and also who now live in Texas.  

Having so many of my favorite people together in one of my favorite places was wonderful.  

And I thought it was difficult to get 4 kids into a picture.  Try 12.  

"Hey, Mom!  I caught a fish!" 
Benjamin - that fish is dead.  
"Yep!  Can I bring it home?  Please? "

Nate and Sam spent much of the afternoon floating in the river looking for old pieces of brick or pottery.  We may be witnessing some underwater archaeologists in the making.  

The younger boys dug and made dams all afternoon.  

You have to dig to be an archaeologist, right?  He didn't get the memo that you don't have to dump the sand all over yourself, though.  

Some of my fellow Mamas.  These women challenge me and make me better. 
 Every.  Single.  Day.  
I'm so grateful.  

One of my Happy Views that I missed so much when we were in Oklahoma.  

We passed our homeschool review.  

Had the reply back from the district in less than 24 hours.  

Hooray for "Providing regular and thorough instruction to your children as required by the state of Maryland."  

This is as close to a paycheck as I'm getting - so I'm going relish in it for a bit...

This boy.  

His front teeth are growing in.  

The gappy grin I love so much will be gone, replaced with a handsome big-boy smile.  

I'm so excited to see who he will be...and catch myself wondering how it's possible for all of the Urchins to be Big Kids already.  14 years with Little Kids.  

On to the next Stage...

Caroline is covering the Civil War in school.  Her text spends a fair amount of time on Sharpsburg / Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation.  So we took a field trip.  

It is SO cool to hear, "Wow!  I saw this in my book!", "That's the Dunker Church!?", "Oh - I totally get how they couldn't tell what troops were where - you can't even see 50 feet ahead of you the way these hills are!" and "You can walk across Antietam Creek.  Why did Burnsides need the bridge?"

In the next couple weeks, as things re-open, hopefully we'll be able to get to more places.  

The virtual tours are good, but it's not like being there.  

Today she spent two hours learning about the 54th Massachusetts,  Ft Wagner and Shiloh / Corinth.  

I see more Adventures in our future.  

Ford's Theatre is tops on the list.  DC is going into Phase 2 of opening on Friday...I hope opening the museums are in the plans...

At the start of the Sunken Road.  

Not quite amber waves of grain, but still so pretty.  

And WHO wouldn't want facial hair as EPIC as that?!?!

Doing their best to mimic the post in the picture 

I have more to blog about, but am running short on time as the kids need this space for dance class.  

Have a great week.  :)

The End of Week 12 (I think).

Now that things are beginning to return to more of a normal, I'm pining for the days of quarantine. 
Not that I enjoyed people being sick or unemployed or suffering...I simply appreciated having all My People near me. 

State Parks are opening up and we've spent the last three weekends exploring places we haven't been before.  It's always nice to go to new places - we've conquered Annapolis Rock on the Appalachian Trail,

Patapsco State Park

and (almost died of exhaustion climbing) Sugarloaf Mountain. 

I would like to get to the ocean in the next few weeks.  It has been a long, long time. 
Maybe even to Delaware to the Harriet Tubman National Historic Site. 
But the National Parks need to open first. 
One step at a time. 

We're keeping on with school.  Had to put a sign on the door saying THE KIDS CAN PLAY AFTER 2 because there were so many kids knocking.  Frederick County Schools bailed on the distance learning early.  School was supposed to go until the 17th.  But, so many parents complained that they ended the 5th. 
Distance Learning is hard.  REALLY hard.
Homeschool is IS much easier. 
The parents were being put in an unenviable position. 
I cannot CANNOT imagine trying to homeschool while working full time. 
It just wouldn't work.  A body can only do so much well. 
After that, it's all diminishing returns and the kids get the short end. 
If the folks end up distance learning in the fall...I hope it gets better for everyone. 
I don't know a single teacher or student that was pleased the way the last quarter went. 

With face-to-face Homeschool Reviews being switched to a portfolio submission, I've had to get everything together for each child to submit before 6.20.  I think I finished the curricula overview, materials used, testing material, written journals, art, music, health, volunteer hours and PE.  All I have to do is submit. 
Submitting homeschool portfolios is kind of like the IRS when submitting taxes...you know in your heart that you're doing everything you can to do things the correct way and provide all the needed documentation...but...if they've got it out for you, you're going to have to produce more.  The kids present SO well in face-to-face interviews, so that's what we've done.  The online portfolio is new.  And with SO much being new and different...I have found that, especially recently, I don't do new well. 
I can't imagine they'd come after anyone for this semester, seeing that there are two reviewers for 2000+ homeschoolers in Frederick County...but still. 
So here I am, living my best Homeschool Mama Life, drinking a vodka tonic while piecing together portfolio submissions...

We did decide on a curriculum next year for Caroline.  She was not excited to homeschool for high school.  She really, really,really, really, really, really wanted to go to high school.  Which we're okay with.  But, at this point, with the sh*tshow that COVID has made our schools, we ALL decided that now was not the time for that experiment. 
I think if we can get her involved more locally with friends she can see on a regular basis, that homeschool will be the best option. 
Academically, there is no doubt that homeschool is superior.  No doubt AT ALL. 
But Frederick County doesn't allow homeschool kids to participate in extracurricular activities - so essentially - that's all she'd be going to school to do.   
Until there is a COVID 19 vaccine, I can't see theatre or choir performances becoming a regular occurrence.  So homeschool it is for now. 
We'll asses further next year...But for this year it will be Oak Meadow. 
Beginning Composition, A Hero's Journey (literature), Biology, Algebra, Health, Drawing & Design, World History & Geography and Spanish. 
Fingers crossed. 
I have a lot of work to do to make tests.  But once they're made, we're good. 
So.  It's on like Donkey Kong. 

The kids got their dance costumes for their "virtual recitals".  We'll take more formal pictures next week, but these came out great.  

They're finishing up classes now and then starting new virtual classes with a different (closer) studio that may have more of the family environment that we're looking for.  

Let's get Loud!

Men in Black

Prince Consuelo Banana Hammock.
Hip Hop. 
He wants to wear this All.  The.  Time.  

Another Man in Black

Get a load of these two.  They get into character SO well.  

We did more COVID cuts.  Nate was being Nate and not sitting up straight.  I told him if he didn't sit up, then I would give him a Mohawk.  

True to Nate Form, he proceeded to lay down over the stool in the driveway.  

So Mohawk it was.  

As much as I never thought I would let a child of mine  have (let alone shave it myself) a Mohawk, it suits him.  

Sam was decidedly more cooperative.  It helps that he's still afraid I'm going to cut his ears off with the clippers.  

We did have some weather roll through after haircuts. 
OH MY GOODNESS weather here doesn't compare to weather in Oklahoma. 
It's almost boring in comparison. 
I'll take it. 

The ice cream man went through the neighborhood.  It was such a special treat for the kids.  They were SO excited. 

We got price gouged on a blow up pool from Amazon...so...we're using it for all it's worth.  

The peonies in the side yard did magnificently this year.  I go over, take a smell and feel like I'm in Meum's backyard with the brook on my right, the house on the left and the Flansburg's Antique Shop in front of me.  It's nice. 

 We also tried to replicate Bacci's pascha bread.  It turned out good for a first try.  We're putting it in the regular rotation.  It warms my heart to think of the kids making the same bread as their great-great grandmother. 

I call this my Okie Barn.  I see it most mornings when I'm walking and it just makes me smile.  

Have a great week.