Quarantine Life

 What a strange time we live in! Ever since this pandemic started we have been quarantined and not allowed to physically visit or play with anyone else. Everything besides the "essential services" have been closed, which means no school or places to go play. The kids' teachers have been sending activities and worksheets for them to do, and Deacon is to go on zoom to have circle time with his teachers and class each day. Whenever I go grocery shopping or on walks, we must social distance, so stay 2m away from anyone else. 

It has been beyond hard! Well, the first couple of weeks weren't so bad because it was nice to not have to wake up early for school and I had lots of fresh ideas of fun things to do with the kids. Jeff started working from home and so he could be around here and there if I needed him. But it didn't take long for this to get very very old. I miss my time to myself. I miss the gym, having my separate time with each of my kids. I miss hearing about the fun things the kids did at school or with friends and not having to create all the fun. I miss babysitters and going out to restaurants with Jeff. I miss feeling anything but exhausted and unprepared for yet another day of the exact same thing of kids whining and being bored. I miss hanging out with people in real life and not having to worry about staying 2m away. I miss going to the zoo or even a park with the kids! I'm writing all of this because I think it's important to write down my true feelings even if they may not all be positive. It's been tough! I absolutely love my kids, but I don't think any parent is meant to be stuck in a house with them 24/7 with no help allowed. Of course Jeff is a great help, but he works full time still, and is also as exhausted as I am.

I have my bad days, and I think that's okay. However, it's also very important to look at the positives in life. I have been so blessed to have these amazing kids in my life and they are really good kids! We are all healthy and that's amazing. We have awesome family and friends who we can still talk to on devices or from a distance, and we have had many wonderful people (especially grandparents) drop off treats or activities at our door. It could be worse - I could be sending my husband off to war. My husband still has a job and is still making money through this. There's really so many things that make me realize how lucky we are. Also, focusing on my kids and helping them learn what they might learn at school has shown me how I can be more involved in their learning in the future and it's bonded us and been fun (when Leo isn't destroying everything...). I've been more creative. I've worked out using the 21 day fix work out videos even more than usual. Jeff has experimented with some baking. I've been cooking lots but we decided to order food in every Saturday and that has been something really special to look forward to!

Anyways, I've taken lots of pictures of some of the things we've been up to. First off, some mask pictures to remember this time! How cute are these masks my mom made? And some wrestling pics of the kiddos!

 For the first while it was pretty cold outside and Spring took a long time to come. We tried to get out in our snow clothes and play each day, but we had to come up with a lot of indoor activities as well! We had a glow stick party one night where we danced and did the limbo, and the kids also bathed with glow sticks. The kids did puzzles, cosmic yoga, indoor picnics, crafts, hide and seek, and some gym games like long jump and hitting balloons with rackets. One day I covered the table with paper so they could write and draw all over it. I'm trying to get Deacon to hold his marker the right way, and he did it really well that day. We also made a spider web that the kids had to get through, which they thought was pretty cool. 

 One night we set up the tent in our basement and the kids slept in it. We roasted marshmallows on our little fire thing that Kellie gave us and had smores. We turned on the fire on the TV too and each of us took turns telling stories that we made up. Eyeballs became a funny inside joke for our family because of it! We sat in the dark with flashlights. It was a fun family time together, and the kids slept really good that night, even though I was worried they might get scared in our basement. 

 For General Conference in April, we ate german pancakes for breakfast with fruit and bacon. That's kind of become tradition! I also made cinnamon buns for the first time ever and they turned out really good! Conference was a celebration of Joseph Smith's first vision that happened 200 years ago. It was also unique because of the virus, there was no audience for the prophets and they gave their talks in a smaller room with only those speaking distanced beside them. The tabernacle choir did not sing, but they played older recorded songs for the sessions. They also announced a new proclamation about the restoration and did a hosanna shout. 

The first picture here is how Jeff and I have felt these pass few months!! Haha. I wouldn't have wanted to go through this with anyone else though, and I'm really grateful for him and all that he has done to keep our family afloat. I couldn't have made it through without him. We've tried to do some date nights after the kids are in bed in our home, and we also love to sneak out for walks around the pond after they're in bed.

 When it finally started feeling like Spring, that was a bit of a turning point and things started to get better! We could at least go outside and play. Feeling the sun in our faces felt great! We took off the training wheels of Deacon's spiderman bike and he learned to ride it so quickly. It was something like his second attempt that he just took off. It took him a couple of days to learn how to start and break, but I was amazed at how well and fast he learned! He was riding over curbs and bumps in no time. Deacon has always been very determined when it comes to anything physical. Ever since he was little he never wanted me to help him with his shoes or getting dressed. It drove me nuts because it took a long time, but I admire that determination and it was so fun to see him learn to ride his bike so quickly because of it. The strider bike got passed down to Leo and he is actually pretty good at keeping that thing up and walking around with it. I guess I only took videos of Deacon and no pictures, so here's a pic of him covered in marker instead. He came in my room like this at 10pm one night. Just the thing you wanna see at that time...at least it was washable. The older kids have been staying up so late!

 At home church was a struggle at first, but once we figured out how best to do it and got in a good routine, it's gone a lot better. We always do the sacrament first, then talk and scripture by Bentley and Deacon, then I teach the Come Follow Me lesson to the kids, and then Leticia Christensen does a live video for singing time (which is so nice of her!). This has worked well for us so far, for the most part, and I really like teaching them about the gospel and all the stories in the Book of Mormon. Bentley is becoming such a good reader so I write down a talk for her, or she makes it herself, and just reads it to us. I think we all like to dress up too because it's the only day of the week that we do! The kids have worn pajamas a lot lately. So, we've been taking pictures of us almost every week, for proof that we can still look good!

 Nice weather brought a whole new world of things to do. We've been going on lots of walks and bike rides, and found a fun spot where there's a mini forest beside the path, and some big rocks to walk on. Also, there is a perfect hill that goes down and then up, so the kids love to ride their bikes there. We also explored down into the valley and had the kids throw rocks into the creek. See saws, bug catching, bubbles, and chalk have all been big hits. Deacon has especially enjoyed playing with worms that we find in Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's garden. They let us take some home...so gross but Deacon absolutely loves them. We have visited with them a few times, but try to do our best to stay away and practice social distancing with them. It is so hard for Leo who doesn't understand why Grandma can't pick him up! The last picture is how we blocked Leo from them. We also brought out the pool one day for the kids to swim in warm water, and Deacon filled up some water balloons, all on his own.

 I've been giving Bentley some alone time with me after the boys go to bed. I can't seem to get much of her school work or anything done during the day because Leo just whines at me and wants attention. So, we put the boys to bed and her and I read together and then she does some of her worksheets. Then, if we have some time I'll play a board game or color a picture with her. I actually really enjoy this time! She is such a fun, smart girl, and I just don't get enough time during the day to see that. I think we both really cherish this time, and it's often the times that we have the deepest conversations...as deep as it gets with a 6 year old! One day we also made these "apple donuts" together and it was a lot of fun too. She had a great time decorating them and they were really delicious. We also did a spa night and did face masks and nails together. We even made chocolate fondue to eat together. Bentley was in heaven that night and I had a lot of fun too! One of Bentley's school worksheets asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She decided on a nail technician because she thinks it's fun to do nails. She had a lot of other ideas though, including a vet or an interior decorator. Also, just a week ago she lost one of her front teeth! It was so sad for me because I love those little baby teeth, but she was really excited about it. She couldn't wait for the tooth fairy to come, and even wrote a note asking what she does with the teeth. The response is in the pictures. 

 

 Leo has grown up so much in the last few months, I can't even believe it! He started talking a lot more and copies a lot of what we say. His favorite or most common words are shoes, socks, shirt, more, open, apple, cookie, and wow. He says a lot of things though, and his voice is just the cutest thing I've ever heard! Sometimes he does this little pucker with his lips, and it honestly melts me. He also loves cooking with me and always wants to be up on the counter watching and helping. I always find an onion or potato (those are the things he can reach in the pantry) in a little pot on the stove. He really wants to cook by himself! He absolutely loves food, and has always been a good eater. Although it's hard to keep him fed enough! He loves being outside and exploring, and he loves water. He also likes to get his way, so he can be tricky if we need to leave somewhere and he isn't ready. He throws a good tantrum. He's also learned to climb out of his crib, even with the mattress on the floor. So, he's now in a big boy bed and isn't at all ready for it! He usually naps still, but it's definitely a lot harder to get him to sleep these days. Some other things I love about Leo are his dance moves and how quick he is to dance when he hears music, and his sweet cuddles and kisses. I also love how gentle he is with things when you say the word "soft." 

 Jeff's birthday came and we tried to make it as special for him as we could. Cindy made her beef stew that he loves for dinner and the kids and I baked a chocolate cake. I got the kids to make some cute crafts for Jeff, and I think he really liked Bentley's book. It was a book called "My Dad is Rad," and she drew pictures and wrote things that she liked about him, or answered other questions. It was cute because after I put it together, she did it all by herself. It was a lot of work for her, and Jeff loved reading the things she wrote and seeing her ideas of how to spell it out. After the kids went to bed Jeff and I made some mocktails together! I had two recipes ready so we made a mint lime mojito and a fruity drink cocktail. The mint lime one was so good! We squoze a bunch of limes, added some sugar and mint leaves, and then let it sit for an hour. Then we took out the leaves and added ginger ale. It was amazing! The fruit drinks were also good. Jeff appreciated my idea, it was the only thing I could think of doing at home! I'm running out of ideas!!
Mother's day was on Sunday and I had a really good day. Jeff let me sleep in while he made breakfast with the kids. Then we visited both of our parents with muffins and notes to drop off. We social distanced visited with both of them for a while and it made for a fun day! I love all the mother figures in my life, and I couldn't have asked for a better mom. I'm so grateful to be a mom to 3 healthy, beautiful kids.

 I splurged and bought the kids some roller blades. I was getting desperate for entertainment! I don't regret it one bit though. They love those things! Bentley has actually gotten very good at it, and Deacon may not be the best yet, but he sure never gives up no matter how many times he falls! We've been outside on the path, but it's also nice to have a basement to practice in.

 Well, that sums up life for the past 2ish months! We are crossing our fingers that schools will open in the fall and that we can make it to a cabin in the summer, but it's not looking good. We'll see!