Happy Monday! The lockdown continues and feels more and more normal each week. Sometimes I get worried that I am losing my desire and skill set to be able to return to our old life. Would I want to go back to getting up at 6 AM every morning, when it's still dark out and feeling exhausted all day due to lack of sleep? Do I want to go back to dealing with those lunch boxes and the countless dreaded re-usable plastic containers that have to be washed and refilled each day? Do I want to rush like a maniac every morning to get out of the house, to get four kids to three separate schools? Then, rush around again every afternoon, driving them all over the West Valley to countless activities, none of which they have even made mention of in the past 6 weeks? Should I go on? I often find myself wondering how I would feel if tomorrow, we all just went back to the ways things were, pre-COVID 19. I suppose, just as I have adjusted to this, I would adjust back to that. But it would not be without a lot of sadness and a sense of loss over what I have gained in this new life. This afternoon, on a school day, my boys spent hours building a massive fort in our family room. They had so much fun. I marveled at their creativity and felt strangely thankful for this time together, despite the circumstances that made it possible.. Never, in our old life would they be able to enjoy such an activity in the middle of a weekday. And for me, without the kids here, I never would have taken the time, on a busy Monday, to bake a cake in the middle of the day, nor pick roses from my garden in the morning. I am not saying that I could live like this forever, but I am saying that I don't think I want to go back to living like that either.
Miles and Mommy out doing our flower shopping in the garden this morning.
Trimming the roses and arranging them in vases. This is one of Miles' favorite activities. Maybe he'll become a florist rather than the dog walker he mentioned last week?
He's. pretty good, right? Just a little help from Mommy with the thorns and delicate vases.
Poor Miles, subjected to more hair torture by Catherine this morning.
Miles has not taken to homeschooling very kindly, so we find alternative ways to teach him his numbers and letters. Uno is always a favorite and he does pretty well.
The boys taking a break from their school work to help Mommy bake a banana cake.
Miles sifting the flour and Graham chopping the walnuts. Graham has gotten really good at chopping since the quarantine began.
Old Fashioned Banana Cake. You have to make this! Delicious and so easy. Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/old-fashioned-banana-cake-recipe-2102260
Graham fashioned these stylish and coordinating COVID 19 outfits for himself, Slothy and Baby Slothy. In case you hadn't noticed, all the stuffed animals in our house retain their species name with a catchy "y" added at the end, for extra cuteness.
Catherine with her Romero Britto original, for her school art class.
The fort.
The fort builders.
Miles cleaned up the entire fort mess, without prompting, by himself. Now that's a man after my own (neat-freak) heart.
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