or Lockin, or quarantine, or isolation. So many names for what is happening right now. The term I have heard the most that I want to adopt comes from my favourite podcast The High Low, and it's "The Panny-D". (And they are also name Pandora and Dolly, so it's a double-barreled name!)
Here are just some random thoughts and observations from the last month:
~what in the world am I going to do with all these Ocado grocery sacks now that they are no longer collecting them and I have to do one HUGE grocery order every week as we are all 5 eating all 3 meals a day at home. Not to mention all the coffee, beer, and snacks consumed. As well as all the baking. Alison has deemed Wednesdays to be baking as a science lesson.
~I feel more relaxed, but I sometimes think I should feel more stressed. I think most of that stems from the fact that I don't have to be anywhere at a certain time, or get the kids anywhere at a certain time.
~The kids are obsessed with Roblox. Like they could probably play it for 10 hours straight without even using the toilet. Thank goodness school is back in session so they are not doing it quite as often.
~"Modern Family" is funny. And the kids enjoy it. I am usually the only member of my family laughing out loud, but Drew does giggle every once in a while.
~Drew says he wants to go to Turkey because there is no coronavirus cases there. I am not sure where he heard or saw that, but's is just funny and so not true
~Lauren is definitely a teenager! She sleeps SO much and her room is a disaster area.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
It's Official
3 more weeks of lockdown, as announced by Dominic Raab, who has been deputised to act on behalf of Boris Johnson to act as Prime Minister. All of the journalists keep asking the same question in different ways "What is going to happen after the lockdown is over?" And the answer is always the same "We can't say yet what it will look like because we are looking at the science to make decisions about the steps after the three week period has passed." They should be asking about testing and PPE and things like that.
So that means at least 3 more weeks of WFH and home schooling. My guess is that the schools may go back in the beginning of June, which would mean the kids would have their last term of school, which would be good for all of them. The kids were really excited for lockdown at the beginning, but now they are all saying that they can't wait to go back to school. Lauren I think is missing her independence of getting herself to and from school and seeing her friends, and Alison is just missing her friends. I think Drew doesn't mind the homeschool so much, but he is missing his friends as well.
As far as Brad WFH, I think it may extend out even longer because they have gotten accustomed to working from home. The kids have been very respectful of his use of the reception room for calls and such, which is good.
I am going to think optimistically about the adjustment back to school and normal routine next week. This weekend, we will set out a time table for Drew and Alison for next week, and I will let Lauren continue to get on with her timetable. Hopefully she will PE this time. Lauren has taken up residence in Alison's room for the last two weeks, as well as Reni. That will have to come to an end tonight so that it will feel more like normal routine. They tried to get Drew to have a sleepover as well, but he wasn't have any of that craziness!!!
So that means at least 3 more weeks of WFH and home schooling. My guess is that the schools may go back in the beginning of June, which would mean the kids would have their last term of school, which would be good for all of them. The kids were really excited for lockdown at the beginning, but now they are all saying that they can't wait to go back to school. Lauren I think is missing her independence of getting herself to and from school and seeing her friends, and Alison is just missing her friends. I think Drew doesn't mind the homeschool so much, but he is missing his friends as well.
As far as Brad WFH, I think it may extend out even longer because they have gotten accustomed to working from home. The kids have been very respectful of his use of the reception room for calls and such, which is good.
I am going to think optimistically about the adjustment back to school and normal routine next week. This weekend, we will set out a time table for Drew and Alison for next week, and I will let Lauren continue to get on with her timetable. Hopefully she will PE this time. Lauren has taken up residence in Alison's room for the last two weeks, as well as Reni. That will have to come to an end tonight so that it will feel more like normal routine. They tried to get Drew to have a sleepover as well, but he wasn't have any of that craziness!!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Easter Break
So today is the last day of Easter Break for Brad. He took the last 5 days off, which was really nice! We obviously didn't leave the house, but we did have some fun playing games, watching movies and hanging out!
Alison has perfected her standing back tuck, Drew has rediscovered "Cars" and Lauren is organizing the "AMA" (Adopt Me Awards) with a friend she has made through playing Roblox. Her IBF (Internet Best Friend, I guess it's the modern day pen pal.)
We also watched "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Ralph Breaks the Internet," both of which were very entertaining, well thought out and creative in terms of how the inside of a video game looks.
We had a great time playing Scattergories and the girls have discovered Words with Friends.
The weather was absolutely glorious!!! Really warm and sunny, so we were able to spend a lot of time outside and had all the doors open on the patio.
Brad and I also joined Alison in her gymnastics conditioning and it is REALLY hard! I was sore for about three days after I did it with her. I have so much respect for her determination and ability to do way more press-ups than I could ever dream of doing. And her abs are so amazingly steel-like.
Tik Tok continues to take over life as we know it. The funniest thing in my opinion is when Brad and I know a song, the girls are so surprised. There are some old songs making a comeback on Tik Tok.
The grocery items that are now really hard to find are flour and brown sugar!!! I was hoping to make a carrot cake for Easter, but couldn't get brown sugar. We almost had a complete disaster last Saturday, as we ran out of coffee!!!! The horror, that would be absolutely terrible. So I spent about 30 minutes going to three different shops before I was able to procure 2 bags of coffee in advance of my grocery delivery. I discovered that the corner shop/news agents only sell the freeze dried coffee that doesn't really cut it.
Alison has perfected her standing back tuck, Drew has rediscovered "Cars" and Lauren is organizing the "AMA" (Adopt Me Awards) with a friend she has made through playing Roblox. Her IBF (Internet Best Friend, I guess it's the modern day pen pal.)
We also watched "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Ralph Breaks the Internet," both of which were very entertaining, well thought out and creative in terms of how the inside of a video game looks.
We had a great time playing Scattergories and the girls have discovered Words with Friends.
The weather was absolutely glorious!!! Really warm and sunny, so we were able to spend a lot of time outside and had all the doors open on the patio.
Brad and I also joined Alison in her gymnastics conditioning and it is REALLY hard! I was sore for about three days after I did it with her. I have so much respect for her determination and ability to do way more press-ups than I could ever dream of doing. And her abs are so amazingly steel-like.
Tik Tok continues to take over life as we know it. The funniest thing in my opinion is when Brad and I know a song, the girls are so surprised. There are some old songs making a comeback on Tik Tok.
The grocery items that are now really hard to find are flour and brown sugar!!! I was hoping to make a carrot cake for Easter, but couldn't get brown sugar. We almost had a complete disaster last Saturday, as we ran out of coffee!!!! The horror, that would be absolutely terrible. So I spent about 30 minutes going to three different shops before I was able to procure 2 bags of coffee in advance of my grocery delivery. I discovered that the corner shop/news agents only sell the freeze dried coffee that doesn't really cut it.
Last Day of the Spring Term!!!
It is the last day of the spring term for the kids. Definitely not the way they or I thought they would be spending today. This week has been a bit different than last week. Drew was not feeling well at all, so he didn't do much work. Alison was a really hard worker on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday a bit less and yesterday she coloured a really beautiful beach scene picture and did gymnastics. We shall see what today brings. Lauren has gotten up around noon for the past 3 days. Tuesday she decided to sleep in because she has PE for the first 2 periods, fair enough. She does mostly carry on with her work and get all her assigned work completed, so I can't complain too much. She will have to get up earlier today as she has her guitar lesson at 11:30!!!
I have realised over the past two weeks that Brad works really hard, and he has a good relationship with his direct reports. And he drinks a lot of coffee! Between the two of us, we have been drinking a bag of coffee every 3-4 days. Thankfully, there hasn't been an issue with finding coffee. And we have made a couple of trips to the local grocery store to buy beer....only the essentials!!
The kids and I have really enjoyed watching "Malory Towers" on the BBC, which is a TV series based on the books by Enid Blyton (a famous British author who I have never read), but it has been deemed the "Downton Abbey for kids." The cast is spot on, and the stories are relatable to today, even though it is set in the 40s. It's interesting to hear the girls mentioning rations and wearing straw hats as part of their school uniform and wearing skirts and white button down shirts to play sport.
I have realised over the past two weeks that Brad works really hard, and he has a good relationship with his direct reports. And he drinks a lot of coffee! Between the two of us, we have been drinking a bag of coffee every 3-4 days. Thankfully, there hasn't been an issue with finding coffee. And we have made a couple of trips to the local grocery store to buy beer....only the essentials!!
The kids and I have really enjoyed watching "Malory Towers" on the BBC, which is a TV series based on the books by Enid Blyton (a famous British author who I have never read), but it has been deemed the "Downton Abbey for kids." The cast is spot on, and the stories are relatable to today, even though it is set in the 40s. It's interesting to hear the girls mentioning rations and wearing straw hats as part of their school uniform and wearing skirts and white button down shirts to play sport.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Day 8 of lockdown......I think
It's hard to remember how many days this has been our new normal. It was a bit of a gradual process actually. First it was wash your hands and stay home if you are unwell, then it was the schools are open to only vulnerable kids and kids of key workers, then it was don't go out unless you have to get essential supplies, then it was all non-essential stores are closed.
I have been out at least to go for a run everyday, I just can't not go outside and do a bit of something or else I will seriously go crazy!! And not to mention trying to find the essentials that we need. Tortillas have been the hardest food item to come by for some reason...
Alison has settled into a good routine of schoolwork. It was helpful this week for her to make up her own timetable. Drew has been really not feeling well this week, so he hasn't done much work, because he has just been too tired. Lauren is doing her own thing of course. She didn't get out of bed until 12:30 since she has PE on Tuesday mornings. I can't even begin to make her get out of bed.....
Overall, it has been going pretty well. Brad takes a lot of phone calls, so he does that in the reception room. And Lauren sits at the computer desk, and Alison, Drew and I take over the kitchen table. Thankfully I have my laptop to work on! I am very impressed with Microsoft Teams and the ease of ability to do all my work remotely. I do miss being in the office and being able to chat with everyone.
I have been out at least to go for a run everyday, I just can't not go outside and do a bit of something or else I will seriously go crazy!! And not to mention trying to find the essentials that we need. Tortillas have been the hardest food item to come by for some reason...
Alison has settled into a good routine of schoolwork. It was helpful this week for her to make up her own timetable. Drew has been really not feeling well this week, so he hasn't done much work, because he has just been too tired. Lauren is doing her own thing of course. She didn't get out of bed until 12:30 since she has PE on Tuesday mornings. I can't even begin to make her get out of bed.....
Overall, it has been going pretty well. Brad takes a lot of phone calls, so he does that in the reception room. And Lauren sits at the computer desk, and Alison, Drew and I take over the kitchen table. Thankfully I have my laptop to work on! I am very impressed with Microsoft Teams and the ease of ability to do all my work remotely. I do miss being in the office and being able to chat with everyone.
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