One week into our new learning model and it was time for Spring Break.
Not kidding.
The kids had a week off of school.
I signed them up for an online Python coding camp to occupy their time.
I also tried to implement some sort of "Mommy School" schedule to varying degrees of success.
The weekend before Break, Katie mentioned that she had never had an eclair.
I'm not quite sure where she got the idea from. Maybe one of us mentioned it in passing? I'm not sure.
Anyways, she had her heart set on trying to make an gluten free eclair.
It turns out that making them is pretty darn easy.
Who knew?
I guess pastry chefs.
This same recipe is used to make creme puffs.
The dough is called pate choux.
You make the dough with water, butter, a little salt, GF 1-to-1 flour and eggs.
That. Is. It.
We took the dough and piped it out into eclair like shapes.
Check out the post-baked beauties.
We mixed up some home made whipped cream for the filling and made some chocolate ganache for the topping.
They weren't the most lovely of eclairs, but they sure were delicious.
Katie was very pleased with her handiwork.
Her first taste of eclair.
The first day of Spring Break, Monday, April 6th, the Governor announced the school would be cancelled for the rest of the year.
We all knew it was going to come, but it was still a major downer.
That meant that all end-of-year activities were now cancelled.
No moving-on ceremonies for my kids (who would both be moving on to new schools the following year), no end-of-year parties, no last performances of drama and no Music Man/Katie as Winthrop and no performances of Mikey with his trombone.....
Sigh.
Along with that announcement came many others that pretty much wiped out any plans that we had for summer - no camps, some camping cancelled, plans to get out of town now in jeopardy.
Again, it was anticipated, but still hard to watch our summer flushed down the toilet.
This lovely creation had been hanging around our kitchen/living room area since Christmas.
It was time to send it packing.
This could not be accomplished without checking with the artist first.
I had to promise to take a picture of it.
Huzbend took our Christmas tree out of its little pot and replanted it.
Good thing he still works out.
Speaking of working out.....
I'll just leave this here.
Random picture of a not-so-random full moon.
Along with Spring comes bunnies.
Lots and lots of bunnies.
I saw this one hanging out in our front yard.
Do you think he was trying his hand at camouflage?
Our Spring weather this year was FANTASTIC.
It was warm and sunny.
The first 20 days of April had only .04 inches of rain!
That, my friends, is literally amazing.
The problem was, we were all stuck in quarantine.
The kids made the best of it.
You know it's over 50 degrees in the Seattle area when the hose makes an appearance.
Mikey even got Katie to participate.
I guess it wasn't just the hose. They broke out our various sprinklers.
And, proceeded to shoot themselves in the butt.
Okay.
Mikey shot himself in the butt.
Or, Katie shot Mikey in the butt.
Looks cold.
This is what bored stuck at home kids do on nice days.
A good time was had by all.
Sometime in the past there was an evening where we somehow got rid of Mikey and just had Katie around.
We asked her where she wanted to eat for dinner.
She asked to eat at this local all GF restaurant.
But, when we took her there we were told that we needed reservations.
Whoops.
Fast forward to quarantine where Katie was literally begging for bacon wrapped dates from this restaurant.
We broke down and ordered delivery.
The delivery dude was very nice. He knocked and left the food on our step.
Katie was very happy.
Someone took the Stay-At-Home opportunity to fix the water wheel at the local park.
The kids were happy to see it moving again.
The day before Easter, we had a Zoom call with family.
The Easter Bunny made a surprise appearance.
We got to visit with Grandma's, cousins, an aunt and ?????
Some creepy old lady Zoom bombed our meeting.
Not one to let a weekend go by without baking something, Katie baked up an Easter cake.
It had the requisite pink shredded coconut bunny decoration on top.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Now your eyes will look upon something that has never before been seen!
The rare....
The elusive....
The shifty....
The evasive....
EASTER BUNNY.
I had super secret surprise treat for Easter.
Homemade GF Mickey waffles.
They were enjoyed by all.
Mikey ate his fill.
Katie had a few but left room for her favorite breakfast food (besides bacon)...
hash browns.
With stomachs full and energy up, it was time for egg hunting.
The Easter Bunny likes to hide eggs in varying degrees of difficulty.
Here's a peek at the action...
By about 10 minutes in, they were stumped.
This is when they start asking for clues.
Ralph does not help.
Not only does he not retrieve.
He most certainly does not retrieve plastic eggs.
Maybe....if they had cheese in them.
Katie counted her eggs one more time to be sure she found them all.
Nope.
For the first time ever, Mikey found the coveted orange carrot egg that contains the first clue in the Easter Basket Hunt.
Stilllllll searching.
"Huh?"
There was an egg hidden in our Christmas tree.
Mikey was standing RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
After about 5 minutes of searching the tree, he finally found it.
Hilarious.
Katie was STILL missing one egg.
No one could find it. Not even the Easter Bunny.
Oh well.
It would turn up eventually.
The opening of the eggs.
They were full of the standard fare: candy and Lego guys.
Let the Easter basket search BEGIN!
Do you know where this is?
A clue led them out to the shed.
That was a first.
And then upstairs.....
...and then, to the kitchen....
...and then, downstairs....
The Easter Bunny really made them work for it this year.
Mikey contemplating the last clue.
FOUND IT!
Mikey was happy with his Darth Vader's Castle Lego set.
Katie got the latest Animal Crossing game as well as.....
....A book about human anatomy.
Katie wasted no time and quickly set up her island with help from Timmy and Tommy.
The rest of the day was spent eating candy and playing video games.
Monday rolled around and it was back to school time.
One of Mikey's friends had a birthday.
Her mom got creative and still held the party virtually.
Before the party, the mom disinfected and dropped off Birthday Care Packages to the party participants. These included decorations, treats, candy, party hats and noisemakers and painting supplies.
The first part of the party was a virtual painting lesson.
Here is Mikey's finished masterpiece.
After painting, they socialized, played an online pinata game (Katie threw candy at Mikey when the pinata broke), sang 'Happy Birthday" and ate brownies/candy and then they watched a movie together (Mikey bowed out when they watched the movie).
When it came time for bed, he was just a tad bit hyper from the brownie/candy.
This is what grocery shopping looked like this month.
I thought I should document it.
I went grocery shopping on Wednesdays mornings when the kids were "in school".
I thought that would be the least crowded time.
I am actually wearing two masks with a coffee filter in between.
The Procedure
Outside the grocery store:
Don mask and gloves in the car.
Put hand sanitizer bottle in pants pocket and car keys in other pants pocket.
Put credit card/store discount car in one jacket pocket and grocery list with pen in other pocket.
Walk over to cart pick up.
A clerk sanitizes the handle of whichever cart you request.
You stand 6 feet away from the clerk.
You also stand 6 feet away from any other person that is standing there waiting to pick up a cart.
Inside the grocery store:
There are plastic barriers in front of the cashiers to protect them from potential cough/sneeze/particles from customers.
There are hanging plastic barriers behind the cashiers to protect from the customers standing behind them.
Announcements are played over the store speakers to remind customers to practice social distancing.
Markers on the floor show where to stand while waiting to check out so that you maintain 6 ft.
Aisles are one way.
There are many items in the store that have a buy limit including rice, flour/baking products, medicines, soap, paper products.
You are not allowed to use your own bags.
The store ran out of their branded paper bags (which a two months prior they had shifted to ALL paper) a month ago. They had also run out of their branded plastic bags. They are now using the cheapest "Thank You Come Again" bags ever created.
Upon exiting store:
Load groceries into the car.
As I load, I sort groceries so I can give a neighborhood grandma her bags (I pick stuff up for her).
Drop off the cart in the parking lot cart return.
Take off gloves correctly.
Sanitize hands, just to be safe.
I leave my mask on because I have to deliver groceries to grandma.
At home:
After a quick stop to drop off grandma groceries, I pull into our garage and exit the car.
I walk inside and grab a disinfectant wipe.
I wipe down the door handles of the car, the inside door handle of the drivers side, the steering wheel, the gear shaft, the ignition button, the seat belt tongue and buckle, the door handle of the door leading into the garage, my pen that I use to check off my list, my credit cards, the hand sanitizer bottle and the car keys.
I dispose of the used gloves and put my mask and jacket in the washing machine.
I then carry all the grocery bags inside and put them on the floor.
I wipe down all the groceries with disinfectant and the put the away - refrigerated items first.
When complete:
I wash my hands and then wipe down the counters, the cabinet handles and the refrigerator handles with disinfectant.
All in all, it can take up to 2 hours to grocery shop.
It is very stressful.
I hated grocery shopping before.
I hate it even more now.
To help de-stress, let's look at pretty photos of flowers from around our neighborhood!
Sigh.
Feeling better?
The kids got really good at pogo sticking.
They're so good now that it doesn't seem to be as fun because it's too easy.
Hmmph.
This mid-week of April brought with it lots of meetings for me (all on Zoom) and a Zoom discussion between our district superintendent and the district 8th graders.
She answered questions they had about the rest of the year and the transition to high school.
The superintendent also talked with 5th graders at a separate time to address their questions and concerns about missing 5th grade milestones and moving up to middle school.
Mikey also began an online chess club through his elementary school.
He didn't really like it though.
None of the kids could figure out how to use the chess program to play each other and he would get frustrated.
Spring not only brings with it bunnies, flowers and (this year only) tons of sun and 80 degree weather.....
....It also brings giant house spiders.
I am not lying.
GIANT.
Mikey continued playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends every Wednesday.
He also played, along with Katie, in a program offered by a local game store every Friday, as well.
Katie was playing with a group of friends on random week days (whenever they were available).
All that was virtual, of course.
AND THEN, Mikey wanted to play even MORE, so he had Huzbend begin an adventure for our family to play.
I think he was obsessed.
Another weekend, another treat.
This time we tried to conquer GF churros.
I got splattered with the ultra hot oil.
It hurt.
Ow.
So, our churros didn't look anything like they were supposed to.
They kinda looked like french fries.
Or turds, as Katie so charmingly pointed out.
But, hot damn, they were YUMMY!
Katie did an excellent job coating them with cinnamon sugar.
We whipped up some chocolate ganache to dip them into.
Katie now understands the allure of the world famous Disneyland churros.
Katie found this on a walk.
I was commanded to take a picture of it.
Speaking of walks, it was kinda one of the only things we did in April (and March) to get out of the house.
It was the only thing we were "allowed" to do during the Stay-at-Home orders.
Katie was good with it, she used them to put on her Fitness Log for PE.
Mikey, on the other hand, thought walks were "super boring."
He didn't come with us very frequently.
One time, he had to come.
He was assigned a PE scavenger hunt.
His outside time was usually playing one-on-one basketball versus me.
I do not like basketball. I am not good at basketball.
I really didn't put 100% into our games, instead opting for fun and conversation.
He, on the other hand, plays very rough.
Just letting you know.
He won every time we played.
As far as other exercise, Mikey and Huzbend continued to practice judo in our basement every Saturday.
Yes, she made me take a picture of this one too.
As if we needed MORE treats.
The end of April brought with it Ralph's birthday.
Even though Ralph can't eat chocolate, Katie made doggie shaped cakes for his birthday.
They came out pretty good.
Just a tad bit crumbly.
Here are the finished paw print cakes.
And, these were bones filled with frosting.
Happy 6th Birthday, Ralph!
This is how he spent the day.
Except, without his hat.
"Mommy. I do not like da hat.
If I do not look at it, it will go away."
As a special birthday surprise, he got to chew up a toilet paper roll.
One of his favorite past times.
Grandma sent us some homemade masks with an awesome Avenger print.
This is how the kids spent most of their downtime in April.
Sitting on their butts on the couch.
Most of the time watching The Simpsons or playing various video games.
To end the month, Katie did some science experiments.
First, she made a naked egg.
Using vinegar, she disintegrated the shell of the egg over a few days.
This left behind just the membrane.
Ew.
Next, she did another experiment comparing what different substances did to egg whites.
Neon Green Goggles of Science....ON!
She had her control on the upper left.
Then she added bleach, vinegar, Lysol and lemon juice to the egg whites to see what would happen.
She made her hypothesis and then observed them for a day or two for changes.
She made her hypothesis and then observed them for a day or two for changes.
SCIENCE!
