Grafton – Oak
We have reached the stage of quarantine where Kaitlyn is not only dressing herself but also Ben. The best part is that they are both wearing Ben’s clothes. That’s right my daughter is actually in a 2T vest and 24 month jeans. She’s so excited to have discovered an entire new closet she can use.
It’s been more than a little weird since the world shutdown. For the most part, the kids have handled it pretty well. The two weeks of no school would have felt more like a vacation if we had been able to go somewhere and do something. Instead Wade was working long hours on a new job and we were stuck inside with limited options. The kids have played, read, watched, and baked till they are quite bored. I think they are more than ready for some form of school. Here’s hoping that is figured out sooner rather than later. Here’s a snapshot into our day.
I found this while scrolling through Instagram an thought it summed up the world today quite nicely:
Kaitlyn wanted to cook – so of course we did. She still loves all things pink so we decided on a strawberry cake. I’m pretty sure Kaitlyn was most excited about decorating the cake, but she went through all the steps of making the cake, waiting for it to cook, and then waiting for it to cool. Then I let her go crazy with frosting and sprinkles.
The feeling of uncertainty makes the day to day more difficult. As of right now, there are no daily plans from the schools (that will be changing). Some parents have created their own curriculums, some are entertaining their kids with crafts all day, some are hands off completely, and some let their kids play electronics all day. At our house, we’ve tried to do a combination of everything, but nobody is very interested or cooperative – except Ben and sometimes Kaitlyn.
I’m not sure there is a “typical” or “normal” anymore, but here’s a little peak into our day. We were a little thrown when it snowed (and stuck), but we just went with the fact that this is the craziest spring ever.
We started the day with Cinnamon Toast made in the oven, but somehow I lost track of time and managed to burn several pieces. While I was cooking breakfast, Kaitlyn and Ben created an obstacle course in the kitchen.
Then everyone got dressed or rather, dressed up for a little pretend cooking. Kaitlyn had a virtual playdate with her Kindergarten class. Everyone got their playdough and they played and chatted. It was adorable! After that, I logged the kids on to “Lunch doodles with Mo Willems.” Alex and Kaitlyn really enjoyed it but Teague and Ben quickly grew bored and ventured outside for a walk.
I had a really easy time potty training my first three kids. In retrospect, I should have known that meant Ben would be a bear. We tried potty training and it did not go as quickly or as smoothly as with the other kids (3 days and done with the others). It has dragged and dragged. We took our road trip and Ben did amazing – no accidents!! Then we’ve been home a couple of weeks and he’s had nothing but constant accidents. I’m about to throw in the towel and go back to diapers – something I swore I would never do once I started potty training. However, I am sick of doing laundry.
Kaitlyn spent the day playing with Ben – which is fairly rare. Normally Kaitlyn and Teague are the two to pair off. Kaitlyn discovered that not only can she wear Ben’s clothes, but he is pretty agreeable to being dressed up in various outfits. After playing with a human doll all morning, she was so excited to entertain him when he woke up from his nap by reading him books in his room. It was quite adorable.
Wade started a new job very recently and it has been stressful for him to learn everything about a new job/new company while figuring out working from home with the rest of the world. We are thankful he has a home office!
The kids are definitely bored of being home with nothing to do. They are missing their friends and their normal activities. The colder weather makes it a little unpleasant to be outside, but we are trying. Here’s hoping a routine with school will come soon.
Here’s a snapshot of what our Friday contained…
One of my favorite types of movies and tv shows to watch is zombie themed. Normally I wait till the kids are in bed, but every once in a while, I get sucked into a tv show and want to finish an episode or season. I watch it during the kids’ iPad time/naptime with the volume on low. The kids know what I am doing and that they aren’t allowed to see these types of shows. On the rare instance I have a few minutes left in an episode, I just ask them to stay out of the room till it is over. Kaitlyn cracked me up today. She wanted to walk through the room but knew she wasn’t supposed to see my show – she took me very literally.
Teague’s actual birthday is the 21st, but we are leaving tomorrow for a big road trip. We wanted to be able to celebrate all day long so we are celebrating today! Teague turns 9 this year! We started the day with donuts and candles. Then he opened a big gift (an electric scooter) before Wade had to leave for work. The cold didn’t deter him at all from testing it out. He picked out his own cake – as he did last year – and we all loved the Oreo concoction. I think one of his favorite gifts may have been his very own stash of Ritz crackers.
After being up all night, the kids were still full of energy the next morning. They had donuts and then created some game of costumes and lots of running around outside. They were nice enough to let Teague and Kaitlyn join in the fun. The parents picked up by 10. Alex was asleep in his bed by 10:30. I got a text from one of the mother’s. They had a day of activities and her son slept through them all. (She had planned for it – thankfully!)
Alex asked for a sleepover for his birthday this year and we were able to successfully coordinate the schedules of his two friends. We started the night with a trip to the grocery store and everyone picked a few of their favorite treats. Then the boys had pizza and cake. The treats and video games lasted ALL night long. Wade and I can verify because our room is directly underneath the third floor couch/playroom.
Ben was showing some early signs of being ready for potty training so I decided to give it a try. My other kids were all 28 months and Ben seemed on track to actually be ready a little earlier. The others were really simple and took a few days and we were done. Ben has thrown me for a loop. He definitely understands the concept but cooperates at his discretion. He definitely is not potty trained in just a few days, but has enough success that I don’t want to quite give up yet….
We have never had children with neat handwriting. At first we thought it was because Alex was a lefty. Then we thought it might be because Teague had trouble with depth perception (his eye doctor said this was not the case). Finally we chalked it up to having boys. Now we have Kaitlyn. She had no interest in learning her letters or writing until this year. Suddenly we began to see papers come home and they were neat and easy to read. Wade and I both complimented her on her neat handwriting and commented on how much neater her handwriting was than her brothers’ (trying to prompt some improvement in theirs). Suddenly she presented us with this:
I have to admit that I have trouble thinking of Pepper as a good dog – especially when I am comparing her to Madison. Pepper is a fine dog. I have no issues with her. But Madison will always be the best dog and I wasn’t quite ready for a dog when we added Pepper to our family. Thankfully there is lots of love in our house and she is a fine addition. She is also really good with family members (not so much anyone else), and especially Ben.
Sunday mornings are not overly chaotic at our house. Thankfully we are early risers and therefore, most of us are ready well before church begins. That usually leads to some downtime before walking out the door. Today I found two playing on Alexa and one reading. There was also a child missing. That child likes to procrastinate in the strangest ways so he rarely appears fully dressed on time.