Well, nobody really knew what was coming in March. Except maybe the prophet! It's been a very crazy week or two. A sickness called a Corornavirus, or Covid-19 has been declared a pandemic. This virus started with lots of infected people in China and has moved to the United States and Canada now. It is spreading like wildfire, causing most businesses to shut down and people to be instructed to quarantine themselves at home, with very little if any visiting others. It is a respiratory illness, with symptoms of a common cold, but is most dangerous for older people or those with pre-existing health conditions. Myself and my kids would be just fine if we got this virus, but my parents or anyone older, and even Jeff have a higher risk. Jeff had pneumonia as a kid and has always had bad lungs. So he is a little worried about what would happen if he got it.
Anyways, this has changed life completely and is all very surreal. It seems we have always been told things like this would happen to the world in the scriptures, but it is so weird to actually be experiencing it. Today I just heard about an earthquake in Utah and locust swarming in East Africa. It seems lots is happening. I know that I will be okay no matter what happens because of the faith I have in Christ. I am so happy for my faith and everything I know to be true.
The hardest part for me right now is having to stay home with my kids and find things for them to do. I love going out and doing all the fun things with them but everything from play places, to the library, to the zoo, and even restaurants with seating have been shut down. Stores have been crazy busy as everyone is stocking up on food storage, in particular toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Those products are almost impossible to find, and even canned goods, pasta, and rice have been flying off the shelves. I made it to the store a couple of times and it was very weird to see some empty shelves. I truly believe the prophet knew what he was doing when he told us all to shift to a home based gospel study. Church has been cancelled, and we are all allowed to distribute the sacrament and encouraged to do lessons and things at home. It has been crazy! Schools are all cancelled and I am now trying to keep the kids busy without too much TV.
I think that hardest thing to think about is all the things we are missing out on. Bentley and Deacon both had the best teachers ever, and were loving and thriving in school. It is so hard to think about them missing that. I also had a trip planned to Mexico with my friends Sarah, and Jeff and I were going to Arizona next month, which may have to be cancelled as well. I'm at the time in my life where I really wanted to squeeze in all the fun I could before possible having one more baby. But, who knows with what this world is becoming! The borders are closed now, so we are hoping they will open before it is cabin time.
I'm trying to stay positive, and I honestly do feel very lucky. Jeff is working from home now, as most people are advised to do now. The markets are of course going down like crazy, but luckily he changed the way he invested not long ago, and has done better than the markets and all of his clients are happy. We still have an income and don't have to worry. The kids are safe and we get to spend more time together. We have family and friends who love and care about us.
I think this is expected to peak in the summertime and my hope is that schools will open again in September, but nobody really knows. For now, I have been playing with the kids lots. We made a leprechaun trap and almost caught a leprechaun. Instead, he left us some goodies and a surprise in the bathroom. We did lots of other St. Patrick's day crafts, and made green pancakes. We've been doing workbooks and science experiments, games, and piano. I've been working out at home and the kids have been doing kids exercise videos and outside play. Bentley tells me she's bored a lot...but we are doing our best!! This first picture is how we are all trying to stay calm...haha!
This party was such a blast to do!! I want to be clear here...I know that I don't need to do anything big for a two year old. He really doesn't know what is going on and there's no need to put work into it. But, I love the memories that come from each birthday party I do. It's the one time a year where I don't feel bad about completely spoiling my kid and making him feel extra special! Leo turning 2 was a big day for me because it's the first time I had a 2 year old and wasn't about to have another baby right away. It felt kind of weird, to be honest, but also so nice that I could feel good and focus on Leo!
He is so busy that I can't even imagine having another one! We all love his craziness though. Even when he gets in the bath with his clothes on and turns on the water, or when he climbs up the pantry shelves and spills food everywhere. What we really love though, are his cuddles he constantly gives us and his adorable giggles. We love his kisses that are like he's blowing on us and his adorable dance moves whenever any type of music comes on. Leo is a man of few words, but he is trying so hard to say things. He's a tank! He loves food, wrestling, climbing and jumping off of things. He's learned that to be noticed ahead of his other siblings he can scream really loud. Ahh Leo, we adore him. Even though he's made it a lot harder to leave the house because of my fear of losing him or having to wrestle him into his car seat, he makes me melt. That smile just gets me every time!
For his birthday we invited our family over for dinner and cake. We had pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and pickles, grilled veggies, baked beans, and watermelon. Then we had cake or cupcakes, and cookies. I had a lot of fun with this party theme! Two legit to quit, I just couldn't handle the cuteness. I bought a few decorations and shirt and hat for Leo off of Amazon and had way too much fun with it. I tried to do a little photo shoot with Leo, and he literally makes it impossible. Just will not stay still, ever! But I kind of snapped a couple decent ones. Cake time was hilarious, as Leo had no idea what to do about the candles and everyone singing and staring at him. I don't think he wanted Jeff to help blow out his candles because he literally stood there looking like he was about to cry! He just didn't know what was coming I guess. The kids loved playing with their cousins, and we loved chatting with the adults. All around it was a very fun night!
February was a pretty slow month. Leo's eye healed slowly but surely, thank goodness! We made lots of library and tumble time trips to different places. The science center was a fun outing the boys enjoyed that Renfrew took us to. Play dates and dress up became a thing. We also did a lot of skating. Aside from Bentley's skating lessons, we went a few times to the rink in our community, and Bentley had an activity with her school class skating at the Olympic Oval that I went to with her. It was fun to see her with her classmates and also her cousins Brek and Emri, because it was a K-4 field trip. Jeff and I had our usual potluck and games night with our friends, at the Snell's home this time doing Costa Vida food. Always so much fun! I also snapped some pictures of Jeff with the kids that I thought were so cute, and our favorite treat for Family night - smores! Bentley had her first big assignment for school where she had to make a poster all about her and present it to her class. It was fun to make it with her. I also love how much she loves Deacon. The notes she leaves for him are adorable.
This month we also decided to get the kids their first pet - a Beta fish! They were so excited as we went to the pet store and they got to pick out which one they wanted and name it. We call it Pete the fish. They loved seeing us set up the little tank with rocks and a flower decoration, and feeding it is a lot of fun for them. The kids are now asking what their next pet will be. I'm not a huge pet person so we'll see what happens on that!
Valentine's Day was this month and Bentley celebrated at school. We had a party to go to, but unfortunately the boys ended up with hand, foot and mouth disease. So, we cancelled all our plans that day. They were fine, it really didn't affect them too much, but we had to stay away from people for about a week. They got fevers and some spots, but it went away quick. Somehow Bentley didn't end up getting it which was nice! I did take a few pictures at home though.
That about sums up the month! Nothing too major, but we had a lot of fun and were in a good routine of things. I went to the gym lots in the evenings and Saturdays, and Jeff and I tried to do date nights and enjoy life!
