Here are the silver linings that I have found thus far:
- Watching a nation come together to protect our health and safety -- decisions are never too extreme if safety is the #1 priority
- Being able to help our parents the way they have helped us for many years
- Family bonding
- Hearing about all of the tweets and Facebook posts of people inspiring each other to be better
- People going out of their way to use kindness and generosity rather than hate and envy.
- Experiencing a new way of teaching
- A school district going above and beyond to take care of their employees and students
- Seeing my students' excitement with their new way of learning
- Seeing my own kids' excitement with their new way of learning
- The endless gratitude I have for technology and being able to connect with my students while being so far away for so long.
With these times also comes some areas for ironing -- with a hot iron...a very, very, very hot iron with lots of water. The most difficult conversation has been trying to explain to the kids WHY.
- Why can't I go and get gummies at the store?
- Why can't we just go and look around?
- Why can't I hang out with my friends?
- Why can't I go here...or go there...or go ANYWHERE???
The answer is simple to say but hard for them to understand, especially when you are dealing with a teenage brain. "It's not about YOU."
It's about NOT contributing to the spread. There's a reason we are all in this drastic of a situation. Let's not make it worse or last longer than what it needs to.
The kids get it...for about two days, and then they are back asking WHY again. *sigh*
Anyhow, I have thoroughly been enjoying creating a daily schedule for the kids that focuses on schoolwork and housework. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the project completion timeline so far. Here's a little recap of the last week:
Making Videos
My girls have been lifesavers in that they are so motivating, helpful, creative, and patient. They have been helping me create videos for my students to keep it fresh and entertaining. The videos have slowly progressed, getting better and better with time (and with my comfortability with making videos!). I am definitely taking the videos down when school starts again, but this has been a great way to share and embed communication with my kids. Here is one of many that we made so far:
Choppin' Trees and Hauling Branches
Getting instructions from Dad:
Fixing Barn Doors
Building a Chicken Coop
The Doritos Challenge
This is a challenge we've been meaning to try for a while now. Because I am a bargain shopper and love to find the best deals, the family tends to give me a hard time when I buy off-brand items, and I LOVE off-brand items. So the continued argument is whether off-brand tastes the same as on-brand. In the first of many challenges to come, we first experiment with Doritos and Clancy's Nacho Cheese Chips.
The term for off-brand in our family is Rotz (instead of Ritz).
First up is Brock. Can he tell the difference?
Yep. He was able to identify Rotz every time.
Sophie is next up. Will she be able to tell?
Yep. She identified Rotz every time. This is not looking good for my case.
We have one more competitor. There's still hope for my argument.
It's Ella's turn. Will she be able to tell?
Yep. Every. Time. 😞
No worries! I won't give up. I have faith in my off-brands. Until next time...may the Rotz be with you.
Boba
Corona Virus!
Ella made a Gorsh Mickey for Brock. Now that's love.
Butterscotch Brownies
Although it looks like a wonderful, happy picture, Sophie was beyond frustrated with her sister for photobombing.
#sisterlife
Picture Perfect Dessert
Boogie has been hard at work taking care of the goats. Wherever they go, she is right there with them.
Cleaning the nesting house:
Paint with Water
One of my all-time favorite things to do when I was younger!
He approves:
Apricot Tree Buds
Extreme Frisbee Golf
Frisbee in a "Snake Bush"
Ella: "Can someone get it for me?"
Ella slowly gained the confidence to make a quick grab.
She approached the frisbee slowly. Then, out of nowhere...
She had her sister grab it.
Sophie's Gymnastics Bar
Digging Gone Wrong
Supervising from a Distance
She was able to drop her leg completely in the hole!
The girls made vanilla cupcakes not realizing that we didn't have the ingredients for buttercream frosting. They were able to piece together a meringue frosting. Quite creative!
The roof of the Chicken Shed is good for many things -- sunbathing and...
Sleeping
Ella came down with a case of the nasties that lasted a couple of days. Although she was super sick, she was still super cute.
Hair Curling Tutorials by Mom
Bathtub Supervisor
Recipe Organization
The girls have been loving the extra time to cook and bake. We have been trying to get Brock in the kitchen, but he kindly refuses; therefore, I have resorted to putting "cooking with Mom" on his chore list for the day. 😁 Today he made homemade fried French fries and homemade mozzarella sticks. Meanwhile, Sophie's open-faced hamburgers were DELICIOUS!
A lot of the conversations in the house start with "I saw this video on tiktok...".
Well I guess she saw this video on tiktok or a Snapchat where they put lipstick on their face to look like clown make-up. But what she didn't know was that what she put on her face was NOT lipstick.
It was lip STAIN!
Online articles recommended that she use a toothbrush, sugar, honey, and coconut oil. After an hour of trying these items, she decided to add sprinkles for a finishing effect.
Sophie Burning Fields
