Easter

 Easter this year: 

Cool kids in their sunglasses, egg hunts, in all a good and not-too sugar-fueled day. We got to do two egg hunts, one here at the house and a second one at Nana and Grand Joe's. 

Sadly, it ended with the news of the second guinea pig dying. Piggie Pig, later know as Disco Steve, passed away. He was recently relocated to their Dad's apartment when I broke my hand and couldn't take care of him. Chris had to come and dig a hole as I realized that I couldn't do that with a healing hand. Vivian decorated his headstone and he was quickly buried as I realized I had a new sitter starting the next day and couldn't quite leave a dead pet for her to help bury.

In the Kitchen

 The kids went away with Chris and came back with a freshly laid egg. Which I didn't know about right away. When I discovered it (Vivian tearing into the kitchen at top speed, yelling, "it's cracked! I think it's hatching!"), we set up a spot for it, where I can keep an eye on it.

After a few texts to my brother who has actually raised chickens, it's doubtful it will hatch. Which is fine, since I really don't need a chicken, or duck, or goose, because they are all possibilities. 

The unclear part is what happened to the eggs that Lanie and Sam had, but I don't think they ever even made it to the car, so I'm not worry about them.

Clogged Toilets and Divorce

So Chris and I are getting divorced. It's been a long time coming, accelerated in some ways like everything probably, by Covid and the quarantine. Obviously it's not where I want to be, or how I want my kids to be raised, and is not an easy conclusion to come to, but here we are.

It's been a hard year and I'm now going at it solo, at least for the time being. Emotions have been running high, the kids are all handling things differently, between personalities and ages. Being in a place where they can only socialize minimally has made it more isolating and a lot more challenging. Sam has his friends more, as they are older and local, and independent in different ways. Vivian switched schools in September, to be in person as oppose to mostly remonte, and it has been a lot of changes for a little girl. Lanie is steadfast but needs reassurance and is figuring it out. She told me yesterday I couldn't have anymore birthdays because she needed me to never die (but that's a secret). 

We've all, meaning the kids, myself, and three animals, been plugging along trying to maintain. Mostly things seems reasonable and calm, and then all hell breaks loose. We've done lots of meltdowns, some hiding, a minor sledding accident, losing my keys, losing a kid here and there, even managed to poke Vivian's eye with the Christmas tree while taking it down. Or when Santa tried to enter Vivian's window on Christmas Eve, when a wild windstorm actually blew the top sash down, and I didn't notice for 3 days. Even after Vivian wouldn't sleep in her room because it was "too rattlely." We've done vet appointments, kid infections, and lots of corresponding with teachers. Mostly they've been super awesome at clogging toilets. Like every few days. Because really, I guess it's not a good bathroom experience unless you clog a toilet. Just for the record, baking soda and vinegar are purportedly helpful in breaking down human feces, but a plunger is really just more effective and efficient. The amount of toilet paper is also starting to get rationed, because I am also no longer pulling wads out.

 It's been a ride.

Thankfully my parents and sister have been around for emergencies and non-emergencies alike. For continuity, normalcy, and always food, and for the children, and some home repairs.

Basically what I've come to conclude is that this experience is kind of like a clogged toilet. Unpredictable and messy and really crappy. It's also taught me how amazing my kids and family are.  And how the children are little human beings who need their family in whatever shape or form that is, and how our blessings come in many ways. 

Morning Reading

I love moments like these. Especially now, because I get five minutes to think and breathe.

Sam reading to his sisters and apparently also the dog.

Murder Hornet

Still quarantining for the most part and there was a huge bee or hornet in our kitchen right around the time we started hearing about Murder Hornets on the news. So naturally the kids left me to fend for myself. Every once in a while they would come by to ask if I had "gotten it yet?" 

Masks

All the masks. Viv likes to make them.

Costumes Again

A hopping bunny with a helmet in case she falls.

Bills Man costume, he decorated his shirt the other day when I wasn't paying attention.

FaceTimeing their grandparents after breakfast.

Backyard

We removed a tree from our backyard, prior to putting a patio in. Our friend transplanted it to her house.

Since we are still home, the kids are running out of things to do. Since they recently built wooden boats with their grandfather, they decided to flood the hole and sail their boats.

 

And Vivian only fell in once. Hours of entertainment. Lanie mostly sat in a chair to the side and had a picnic. 

Boston walk

Boston is still very, very empty right now. There is very little open. We took a walk near the New England Aquarium, the seals are visible from the exterior, and the Greenway was empty, and Fanueil Hall. Parking is abundant!

Visiting the seals.

New Addition

We had a new addition to our family a few weeks ago, a little Snowshoe kitten who we named Mika. She is settling in well after 48 hours of more or less hiding, with the kids constantly trying to "help her." Now she is very assertive and let's Jack know her place if she doesn't want to play. She is also, so far, tolerant of the kids and particularly Lanie who likes to carry her around.
It seemed like a good time to get a cat as we are home all the time pretty much.

More and more is closed around us, so options are few and far between, quite literally, for getting out and about.

Her favorite place to sleep is the kitchen drawer, which I know,
but still makes me jump every time I open it.

Puddles

I can take them absolutely anywhere, but the best part is inevitably a large, muddy puddle. Yet, Vivian will fall in, no matter what, every time. Then she cries and says, "why is it always me?"

Yesterday we went to get in the car and they all had mud splashes up their backs to their necks.

A parking lot from going walking in Waltham. All they wanted to do was finish walking in the woods to return here.

At Fresh Pond Reservoir wading in puddles.

School Closed

So then we got this news and we cried, even though we know it's the right thing, and even though we knew it was coming. Sam is going to middle school next year, so he misses the end of elementary school. But, we're all healthy and learning in our own ways.

Press Conference

Virtual Learning

One of my fifty+ messages with my own students trying to get them into the correct assignments. Hours and hours time spent trying to get them up and running and to attend regularly. 

Virtual learning is a challenge in so many ways, for my students and my own kids. It's not as engaging and getting kids to stay in one place and pay attention is so difficult. I spend a lot of time returning Lanie to circle time, and reminding Vivian to pay attention to her teacher, and telling Sam to not end early.

Jack likes circle time more than all the other kids.

Circle time without Lanie or Jack.

Me setting up multiple learning sites across several devices back in March. This was for the children's school. This is why there will be a huge gap in learning when we return to school, people who don't have devices, whose parent's can't log them in, or can't run them on certain devices or platforms. 

Jack at circle time by himself.

Lanie returned to circle time (again), this time with a snack/bribe.

Vivian and Jack at first grade lesson time. 

My favorite moment of last week was Vivian's teacher getting dropped from her own classroom meeting and the explosion of "where is the teacher?" from the first graders. Someone immediately started playing the piano and the kids were yelling, "who is playing the piano? I can't see!" So that when she logged back in it was chaos.