Quarantine Week 5: It's Getting Rough Over Here

Today's blog is being written with noise cancelling headphones on.  It's been that kind of a weekend.  Quarantine is getting rough.  One child has a pulled-muscle-type-injury but will not listen to our untrained, yet sound, logical, medical advice to rest said injury.  Then said child whines about said injury all weekend long.  Another child currently has a throat clearing tic that is driving me batty.  I know they cannot control it.  I know the advice has always been to ignore it.  It'll go away.  But being together 24/7 for five weeks now, I'm going a little crazy listening to it.  Another child wants to only do things with Todd and I "privately." Meaning they do not want to share space/time/oxygen with their siblings when playing a card game or sitting on the same couch or eating in a certain chair with Todd and I.  It's madness.  My head hurts.  We have a minimum of another two weeks to go.  God help us all.  I've thought about taking a few days off of school because sometimes that helps, but I don't think that's solution when in quarantine.  We don't need more idle hours in our day.

Besides all that fun, CC is finishing up this week.  Josiah will have to do his Faces of History paper.  Last year we scrambled for a last minute costume, so this year we actually bought it months ago.  Yay for that.  He's written his paper, but now has to edit it to be in first person for the presentation.  He speaks in character, without revealing all his life's details, so that the other kids can guess who he is.  Getting into character is pretty much Josiah's favorite thing to do, so he's really looking forward to it.  In science we had to build a catapult.  They had fun with it, but have not tested it out nearly as much as I had expected.  I think we're all in a brain lull at the moment.  This week we're supposed to work on an egg drop using a coffee filter, rubber bands, and popsicle sticks.  I am highly unmotivated to work on this project.  We may put it off for a few weeks til our heads are back in the game.  Plus, ultimately, we're supposed to use a real egg to see if it works and who wants to waste essential food at a time like this?

Henry completed 3rd grade math this week.  The end of book tests are always twice as long as the usual ones.  Henry started off well, but then lost it when he got to subtraction.  I don't know how to do it.  Whine. Whine. Whine. Whine.  Really?  I can show you page after page after page in your math book that you CAN do subtraction.  Quite well actually.  It was a downward spiral from there.  He completed the test and got a 90% which all things considered was fine.  However, he was capable of doing better.  We actually have a sign in our school room with a Lou Holtz quote, "Ability is what you are capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it."  When Henry was losing it with his test we sat down and went over that quote.  I told him he was most definitely capable of doing the work.  We both knew he knew how to do it.  He even had the motivation - to finish the test.  But he didn't have the attitude.  That's usually the issue around here.  Attitude.  I'm looking forward to their teenage years.

Since the Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems ended, Josiah has been on the hunt for a new drawing website.  He found one that he really likes and the guy teaches them how to draw superheroes very realistically.  Both boys have been watching him and drawing a lot.  Their outcomes have been impressive.  This has been a helpful activity to pass the time. They can sit there for well over an hour drawing.

The kids still have their fort outside.  They have added seven bed sheets to the mix and created lots of "rooms."  They really enjoyed playing in it.  This weekend it rained, however, so a fort popped up in the dining room.  I understand the desire to get in a small quiet space with one's self.

It's been good to have the rain because Todd ordered grass plugs for our lawn.  The HOA only allows a certain type of grass to be planted.  Ironically the grass does not come in seed form, only sod form.  Todd found these sod "plugs" which he planted around the bare patches in the yard.  It's a very hair-plug-for-men looking project, but we've had good results with them.  We had some beautiful weather earlier in the week - cool and breezy and we took advantage by playing outside a lot.  All three amaryllis bloomed this past week as well, but I only got a picture of the last remaining bloom.

Today our church service was about loving our neighbor.  Our literal neighbor, not just the generic neighbor as in anyone we meet.  Our pastor challenged us to make a concerted effort to contact at least one neighbor and try to get to know them.  In his cul-de-sac, his wife sent all the neighbors notes that they should exchange phone numbers in case anyone needed anything during this time of quarantine.  Then one evening they all got lawn chairs and sat outside for hours chatting (at an appropriate, approved distance).  I appreciate the challenge.  My current comfort zone is anywhere devoid of sound, so we'll see how this plays out.

Josiah's rendition of "love thy neighbor."

Caroline, Josiah, and I worked on notes for all the kids in Caroline's CC class today.  Just little notes hoping they have a good summer since we haven't (and won't) see them for quite some time.  Both Josiah and Caroline had lots of ideas for the artwork.  Josiah drew the top row of cards, Caroline the bottom.  Caroline and I are going to deliver them this week - a doorstep drop-and-run type thing.  It should be fun.  It'll get us out in the car and away from the house for a while.
Here's to finishing well this week!  We're going to need lots of prayer.

My favorite meme of the week.