Keep Chuggin' Along

We're well into Work From Home, School From Home, Facemasks Everywhere mode.

It has become so normal to see facemasks on everyone that when we're watching TV, I'm surprised to see people not wearing them. Before we walk out the door from home - do you have a mask? Maybe we have an extra in the car. With really no end in sight. The school district just announced students will stay home "until further notice." The teachers are doing "daily check-ins" where students are supposed to put happy or sad faces into a chart or something - is this supposed to be how they take care of the kids' emotional health? Jumping jacks in the bedroom for gym class. These are strange times.

We've gotten into a new groove. No Scouts and no Skating but we've got other stuff now. I go for a walk every day after work and sometimes a kid or two will join me. Archer's got a job that gets him out of the house. Shelly and Eli are D&D gaming with some other kids. David has started repainting the inside of our house, one section at a time. Grandma & Grandpa show up with lunch for the kids every once in awhile, a nice diversion from the school schedule. More family time, for better or for worse, more family time. So much family time.

First Day in a New World

 

Here we go again! First day of school, everyone's taller than the year before, now we've got kids in 11th, 8th and 4th grade, they've got new teachers and new schedules.... And no one's going back to the schools. No one's getting on the bus, excited to see their friends again and nervous about the whole thing starting up for a brand new school year. Everything's online. After almost six months out of school, we're going back remotely. We've got all the hardware and software and this morning at 8:00 all of my kids started up the new school year. No backpacks, lunch boxes or shoes. Wear your jammies to school every day if you want. This is a whole new world of way to do stuff. Here we go!!

P.S. Dear Shelly, thanks for making breakfast for us this morning! Archer, thanks for helping E get his equipment up and running. And E? Thanks for getting up on time even though I didn't come to wake you up!

Back to the Real World

After being home for more than two months, working on a little card table with a view out the window, I'll be going back to work in the office next week. This has been stressful and wonderful and so very strange. Everyone wears face masks at the grocery store now and when I don't have one on, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Everyone stands in the checkout line at a distance and when someone stands only two feet away from me I feel like they're crowding me and doing something wrong. When Shelly and I dropped off groceries for Grandma Sue we chatted but kept our distance. No hugs anymore. And I'm so very grateful that I live in this home with four other people who can never get enough hugs and high fives and cuddles. And sad for those who don't have that.

We're all done with school for the school year - I declared that we'd be done because the endless worksheets and writing assignments just don't seem worth the anxiety they're causing. We wrapped it up a week early and Eli and Shelly played made-up games outside to pretend it was Field Day and came back in sweaty and exhausted and smiling. Archer took his final exam for his last math class at 2:00 this morning and now we're officially done. And as the kids wrap up school and I go back to the office, it seems things are finally starting to get back to normal, a little bit.

I'm going to miss the bird, squirrel, bunny watching out my window. I'm going to miss the stream of non-stop hugs all day long. I'm going to miss wearing slippers while I work. But I'm really looking forward to the kids getting their summer adventures started, and getting back to the office with my colleagues so I can chat with them throughout the day, instead of working alone and seeing their faces only once a week on a video call. Somehow I feel like a vacation is ending, even though I've been working this whole time. At the same time, vacation is just beginning for the kids. And the grandparents are already making plans for some fun!

Here's to recognizing what we have, hoping things get closer to "normal" soon, and looking forward to what's to come!

Homeschool: Art Class

Draw what you see,  take 28 seconds or 28 minutes, ready, go!

After much study and careful consideration of the balance of the piece, Eli captured the flowers' chaos quite nicely.

Hand crafted with Shelly's special reserve pencils, saved for personal projects.

Let's be honest, the plant looks like it's on its last leg.

So detailed and carefully crafted, beautiful!

See? Doesn't have to take long at all! Cranked out in a few seconds between work emails.

 That sums up Art Class, we'll see what tomorrow's homeschool day brings 🙂

The Great Freeze of 2019

Well. Winter has arrived. A weekend or two ago, I promised Eli that I'd take him sledding to enjoy the Big Snow that we'd just gotten. We went, loved flying down the hills and had so many laughs together, I loved it! Hiking up the hill, trying to hit each other on the way down, tipping over and rolling through the snow, coming home to hot chocolate, what's not to love?? (Timeline - Sledding on Jan 20. Two major snowfalls in the few days preceding that.)

Next - the cold. Wind Chill of 20 below and guess what? School was CANCELLED. Snow day! Actually, technically Freeze Day! Or whatever. They're off of school on Friday. (Timeline - Cold on Jan. 28) The kids stayed home, the parents went to work.

Did I mention - David left for CANADA on Thursday? (That's Jan. 27 for those of us keeping track.) Who goes NORTH in January? We're not fans of winter. And David went to Canada. Colder? It's practically the edge of the world. Anyway, we're at work, the kids are home loving the weather that cancelled school. The weather people predict snow and cold and we're Wisconsinites so we roll our eyes. We complain about how the grocery stores are mobbed by everyone who thinks they'll be snowed in for the next 2 weeks so they'd better stock up now.We participate in the mobbing by stopping at the store for "just a couple essentials."

On Sunday we heeded the call of the local homeless shelter that's asked for extra food and blankets due to the increased number of people needing shelter. As we got to the shelter we join a line of people going into the building, everyone carrying bags stuffed with food, blankets, hats and gloves. I look around amazed at our community's response to the call for help. We get inside and see one of the gentlemen who runs the shelter standing there with wide eyes and a look of awe of his face. He's dumbfounded at the response. He tells us to just pile our things "over there." In the pile of bags of food, bedding, everything they asked for.

I walked out hoping the kids saw how one family can help another. Or how a community can come together to do something wonderful when we join together. Or how we should recognize the blessings that we have in our lives and never take them for granted. We have a warm home with a furnace that works and a fridge and cupboards that are fully stocked with food. We are so blessed.

Sunday night the call came. No school Monday - Snow Day! Archer asked if I wanted him to clear off the driveway in the morning and I accepted the offer. They were saying 8-10 inches of snow was on the way and they weren't wrong. Monday morning (Jan. 28, in the timeline...) we were greeted with a driveway filled with snow. As I started getting ready for work, I heard the snowblower start, then quit. I heard it start and die again a couple more times. Last week it seemed to work just fine, but now? I finished getting ready for work. I went outside to find Archer shoveling the snow. He apologized but also told me he was only going to do half - the left half, the half that needed to be cleared for me to get the van out. We shoveled together, I called my boss to inform him that my street still hadn't been plowed and I didn't know when I'd be able to leave the house. There was a wall of 10 inches of snow at the end of my driveway. Archer called Bampa to ask for advice about the snowblower and through a series of questions, trying again, and more questions, we finally figured it out. The auger was frozen with ice surrounding it. The chute was blocked by a solid chunk of ice. It would have to be thawed out before we could use it again, and there was only colder weather in the future. And that was when the Story was revealed to me.

Archer finally told me. The last time it snowed (Jan. 18th-ish?) he had offered to clear off the driveway, and when I got home, it was BEAUTIFULLY cleared. Even the sidewalk. Even around the mailbox. Not a speck of snow out of place. I bragged to everyone what a great job he had done. I paid him a big fat $20 bill for his wonderful work. I was the proudest mom you've ever seen. And when it came time to snowblow the driveway again, it turns out the snowblower hadn't been cleared out from the last time.  We stood in the garage trying to chip away at the ice with a stick, after we'd already shoveled the left half of the driveway together and the plow came and filled it all in again and we had shoveled more. And we were chipping away at the ice in the snowblower. And he finally couldn't take it anymore, and he confessed. He wasn't the one who had cleared the driveway last week, but he'd been told to take the money and not tell Mom anything about it. And he hadn't cleaned out the snowblower, or whatever. And when I heard this whole story all I could do was laugh. Only a perfect storm of record snowfall and record cold and someone doing a favor for someone else that turned into another kind of problem of frozen blocks of ice inside the equipment... Only then could this whole story have come out about Archer accepting payment for a job he didn't do and who would have even guessed? I laughed, and called Bampa to let him know the details of the kerfuffle and later called Shelly to tell her to take a hairdryer out to the garage to thaw out the snowblower. She said it took her an hour and a half. And now we're back in business

So where were we on the timeline? Tuesday, I guess, Jan. 28. It is going to be just as cold as it was on Friday, but school is now IN SESSION. I look at the forecast and see that at the time the kids will be getting off the buses, there will be a wind chill of 30 below. I make a decision that I've never done before. I keep ALL THREE kids home from school. I will not have them walking 2 or 3 blocks in weather that can cause frostbite in five minutes. So they stay home. I give them assignments and warnings and leave them to the warm cozies of home while classmates are off to school. As far as I can tell, none of them changed out of their jammies all day. When I got home and walked from the garage to the mailbox and back, my nose and fingers were already staring to hurt and I know I made the right decision to keep them home and order them, "DO NOT go outside today." No one talked about anything but the weather all day long at work. And this afternoon, I received a call from the school district. No school Wednesday. Wind chill will be 50-55 below zero tomorrow afternoon. The last time it was this cold in WI was 35 years ago, too long ago for even me (the old mom of the group) to remember it. I've never heard of weather this cold. (I looked it up. The last time it was this cold in WI was 1984. I definitely don't remember that.)

So I'm declaring it. This is The Major Freeze of 2019. Someday when I'm old and grey and rocking in my rocking chair, I'll be telling of The Great Freeze of 2019 when we had three major snowstorms in a week and four days of 50 below zero the very next week and it'll only be the very slightest of exaggerations. (We really did have three major snowfalls in seven days. Only one day of 50 below zero. So far.)

In the meantime, I'm waiting for the 41 degree heatwave they say is coming this weekend, hopefully that'll melt the mountain of snow in front of my front door so we can welcome a visitor or two again sometime soon.

P.S. Did I mention? This whole time, David has been in Halifax. When I look at the map, I feel like he's on the edge of the world. He's farther east even than Maine. I know it's irrational, but sometimes I have this weird feeling that he's going to fall off the edge of the earth. And it's warmer there, even though it's north of here. Twenty Three Degrees Fahrenheit. With the perspective of 55 below, 23 above feels like a luxury, practically beach weather. Just don't fall off the edge when you're visiting the beach in that balmy 23 degree weather that you've got over there, David. Come home soon, join us! I heard today that it's colder here than in Antarctica, and that's a once in a lifetime chance, to say you've been somewhere colder than Antarctica!

Zoo Trip

I have been lucky enough to visit the Milwaukee Zoo with each of my kids as they finished up kindergarden. This year it was Eli’s turn, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to join him and some friends as we visited their favorite animals and enjoyed a train ride around the grounds. As always, chapperoning this type of trip is all about counting heads every thirty seconds and trying not to panic every single time the count comes up short, because it definitely happens at least twelve times in the four hours that we’re there. Someone’s always running too far ahead, or lagging behind, or standing just behind you and they don’t get counted. And yet, still, I’ve never lost a kid and we’ve all come away happy that we had a day out of the classroom/office and enjoyed the sunshine.

Elijah Graham, you’ve passed another milestone and you’re just that much closer to being a First Grader, bring it on!

Winding Down

Only 10 school days left and the kids keep reminding me how close they are to vacation. (Eli just read that sentence to me after I wrote it. He's become a READER!)

The projects have started coming home, clearing out their artwork stashes at school and filling up their folders. Here's a little view of the latest from JLS. Sorry Shelly, I only have 1 of yours, the rest belongs to E.

Enjoy!

Notes

Some stuff from school, and also from your heart, thanks for sharing, Eli!

JLS International Festival 2017

For the second year, JLS has hosted a festival that takes us around the world and home again in just a few short hours. Each classroom studies a country and then puts their findings on display in the hallways throughout the school. Parents cook traditional foods from places around the world and bring them to share. Groups perform cultural dances and music in the gym and library.

JLS has an international focus that comes into everything they do. I love how they encourage families to share their heritage with the students at the school, and it broadens the kids' view of the world. They are never in a tiny bubble of "my family, my city," everything is stretched to the bigger view. Our heritage, where we come from, and how we fit into the world with everything we do.

When we arrived at school we walked under a gateway inviting us to "Travel the World" and were handed passports to stamp at every country we visited.

Elijah's class packed their suitcases and boarded a plane to Spain. He told me that he got to try churros while studying Spain. I didn't hear much else about Spain, but it sounds like they had a fun trip.

Shelly's class studied the Philippines. We had a nice chat about that last week when she told me about the Chocolate Hills. What a strange feature of the landscape there! After we visited her classroom's display she told me which part of the information she had researched. Unfortunately, she was then absent for two days and didn't have a chance to update the display before Thursday night's event. So the population density of the Philippines wasn't exactly accurate. But it was still a very nice presentation, and E stamped another country on his passport.

Elijah had talked about looking forward to trying new foods, but when we made our way to the gym, the line was extremely long for the food samples and we decided to go out for dinner instead. I told him we'd get something new from the grocery store the next time we went shopping, and that settled it. We were all hungry and ready to go.

Eli and Shelly get to experience the typical elementary school stuff at JLS, but as we left the school on Thursday night, I told them how incredibly fortunate we are to have a treasure like JLS in our community. What a wonderful place for them to learn and grow.

Eli the Author

Eli regularly brings home new books, this time around he was kind enough to read it to me. Enjoy!

P.S. A little side story. Several years ago David told me a story about when he was in elementary school (I can't remember what grade or what teacher). Whenever his teacher would read a story to the class, she would say "A Great Story by Wonderful Author" and the whole class would say together, "Thank you Wonderful Author!". David liked this and said we should carry on the tradition with our kids. So when I read to our kids, I say it also. "Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss". For the LONGEST time, Eli would get annoyed by this. Then he would get REALLY irritated, then it escalated to him shouting "Oh no, don't say it! Don't say it!" and I'd be laughing and he'd be climbing on me trying to put his hands over my mouth but I'd always somehow manage to say it and then finally, one day... One day he just joined in. And I'd say, "Hello Ninja by N. D. Wilson, illustrated by Forrest Dickison" and he would say "Thank you N. D. Wilson, thank you Forrest Dickison." And now that's our tradition. And that's why I said "Thank you Elijah Graham Fortier", because that's how it was done when David was a kid, and that's how we do things today.

JLS In the News

Shelly and Eli's school celebrates International Day of Peace with songs and pinwheels. Shelly's been doing this since first grade and this is Eli's first year. It's fun to watch how their pinwheel designs evolve over time. This year, rain brought the whole celebration inside. And this year, Shelly was in the front row for the photographer, you can spot her in the gray shirt with the American flag on it.

Bonus Pic - E wasn't in the newspaper but he was in the crowd too...

Homework?

Shelly is at ballet class. I promised myself I'd run on Thursday nights while she's in class. Instead of keeping my promise to myself, I've started visiting Starbucks. Tonight I brought the boys and promised them treats if they would do their homework. Everyone was happy to comply. Its been our first "happy to comply" homework night this year. Ahh.... Warm chai, smiling children, doesn't get any better.

P.S. "Happy to comply" homework night only lasted till the hot chocolate ran out. Then it became like any other night, "comply grudgingly" homework night. Tally Ho, I'm happy with my warm chai.

Go, Dog, Go! Go, Eli, Go!

There's a book I read when I was a kid, maybe around Eli's age, I remember where I was when I read it to my dad. Red Fish, Blue Fish. I remember feeling so proud that it was the first book I'd ever read all the way through all by myself. I realize now that I may have heard that book read to me a hundred times before I read it to him, and perhaps I couldn't even read but I was just following the pictures on the page to know what to say. But that proud feeling has stayed with me. Now I get to share that feeling with my son.

Last night Eli kept asking when I would read him a book, and could we please read Go Dog Go? When we finally sat down and I started reading, I was happily surprised to have him take over. It took us a very long time, but we made our way through the entire book with Eli reading more than I expected him to. We had a combination of guessing, getting clues from the pictures and slowly sounding things out, but we did it, HE did it! He read it!

We read it again tonight and I was reminded of what it feels like to watch the world begin to open up to a child as they begin to decode those letters on the page. The secret code, the key to all that knowledge, and the door is starting to open up to him. Watch out world, here he comes!

 

Back to the Grind - Back to School

I had a wonderful seven years of staying home with the kids. For five of those years I was blessed with a job where I worked from home. This afforded me a great amount of freedom to attend field trips, go to the beach, take naps... I didn't really take naps. Seriously. I didn't wear my pajamas all day either.

 We decided that once ALL the kids were in school full time, I'd go back to work full time. Knowing that it would take some time, and I wanted to start full time in the fall, I started looking in January. By April, an opportunity that I couldn't turn down presented itself and I started my new job on May 2. That day marked the beginning of a big transition for our entire family, one we're still working out. 

Grandma and Grandpa stepped in to help with Eli chauffeur duties, getting him to school for the last six weeks of his 4K year. They created an epic Camp Snoopy Summer for the kids. Someday I'd like to write more about that.

But. Getting back to the task at hand.

I'm back to work full time. And in September the kids were back to school, all three, full time. Archer's still at JAMS, now a seventh grader. Shelly's still at JLS, now a fourth grader. And Graham switched schools from NP to JLS. He's a kindergartner and riding the bus with Shelly. There is some new independence and responsibility. There are new routines but everyone's doing their best to adjust. Here's to another great school year!!!

How Was Your Day?

Earlier this week Elijah was devastated when some classmates told him that his project was boring. Immediately I was devastated too, and defensive. I didn't do his project for him, I gave him the tools to do it himself. He drew a very nice picture. They brought fancy poster board projects with fancy lettering and blah blah blah. And they called his project boring. Punks.

Yesterday he was heartbroken again when he realized that he wouldn't have a parent attending his field trip with him. Who would he walk with him in the nature center? Tears. Not even Grandma and Grandpa? Heartbreak. In the end it worked out, he walked around with a friend and her mom, and I think he even had a good time.

This morning Archer asked if I could take him to the store this weekend to buy new gym shorts. His were stolen. Gross. We're six weeks into the school year and guess how many times I've washed those gym shorts? None. So. Someone snatched his (probably) stinky (very) crusty gym shorts. Yeah, we'll shop this weekend.

After school Archer informed me that his bike was stolen for the second time this school year. Again, six weeks in. And we're on our SECOND stolen bike story?? Both times its been returned, so far so good, I guess.

This evening I received a phone message just as an FYI - the principal fell and hit his head today and as a precaution was transported to the hospital by ambulance. School counselors are available for students who need to talk (why?).

Archer says someone told him that a sixth grader punched Mr. Principal in the head. Let the rumor mill begin.

Mr. Principal is expendable, there are like EIGHT principals at that school. Mr. Assistant Principal was seen throwing Mr. Principal through the window. He was heard saying, "There's only one true principal!" It was all orchestrated by the custodian who will be paid overtime while he replaces the broken window.

No, Mr. Principal was seen chasing the bike thieves...

No, Mr. Principal was seen riding away on Archer's bike while shouting, "I'm outa here! Freedom at last!!"

Shelly's holding out on School Stories for now, but I'm sure any minute she'll spill the beans on all the exciting news from her week. And while we wait, Archer is baking cinnamon bites that he learned how to make at school. This school thing is finally paying off, he's BAKING!

2015 Year in Review

Exactly one year ago today, I planned to run the Lighthouse Run. I did not know that I would follow it with the Half Marathon just a few weeks later. One year ago I thought that I would probably spend a few miles running with Dad. I had no idea it would total over 200 miles by the year's end. I didn't think that my miles with kids by my side on their bikes would total 50. (Don't tell them the number, they'll probably complain about how far they had to go. In the heat. Up hill both ways...) I didn't think I'd be the crazy person running laps in the parking lot in the dark in the middle of winter while we were at ballet class. I never imagined that my son would join the cross country team after listening to his grandpa and mom obsesss over running for months and months.

This year I saw many things I didn't expect. The running was a big part of it, but also...

Archer finished up six years at his elementary school. He started middle school. This was a huge one for him. Switching classes, locker, gym uniform, a whole new category of classes, a whole new group of kids. I was nervous for him, he was nervous, but here we are - everything is fine.

Shelly chose to continue with ballet, but took a break from it over the summer and spent a couple weeks in art classes and soccer camp. The art classes were something completely new to her, but by the second day she was already telling me not to walk in with her. She's GOT this!

Eli finished his 3K school and then started in a new school in the fall for 4K. He now rides the bus. He's met some great new friends. He's adjusted SO well and continues to surprise me with everything he knows. Plus. Now he RIDES A BIKE! This will make our upcoming summer runs/rides SO much better. Right? Cause what could POSSIBLY go wrong?

David worked on some computer programming/building projects with the kids. They like to talk about the robots they're going to build someday. What? I never imagined that would be a thing in my house. But there it is. Go for it!

So. What does 2016 bring? Who knows. I can't even guess. I know this - I'll be training for a Sprint Triathlon with my friend Mary. I hope I'll get to put in miles out on the road with her, my kids and Dad. I want to smile more, and complain less. And beyond all of that, I just really can't guess. I'm looking forward to the adventure!

I Think I Need a Personal Assistant, or Maybe Just a Tissue

It would be great if someone could help me manage all the different schedules I'm in charge of...

We are FULLY immersed in school now. Last night David said the return to the routine had gone very smoothly. We discussed how its not really new to me anymore, not many surprises and we just slip right back into it. Kind of.

The difference this year is Archer and Eli are both at new schools. They've done very well adjusting and I'm proud of everyone for their great attitudes. We are, of course, busier than ever.

Archer is still in Scouts, every Monday. He's also decided to join the Cross Country team at school (yay!). That's Monday through Thursday. He gets home after 5:00. Yesterday was his first practice and he wore my old running shoes (they're at 600 or 700 miles by now, worn out?). He came home exhausted - not only did they run, he walked a mile and a half home with a 20 pound backpack. I guess I'll be picking him up after practice from now on.

After missing a week of ballet, Shelly gets to officially start this week. She's gotten rid of the boot and she's ready to go! That's every Thursday.

Eli has gotten the hang of riding the bus and asks me many times each morning, "Is it time to go yet?" We hang out at the corner picking dandelions and making wishes. I hug him so many times in the morning, loving his warm little body against mine, a little sad for the time slipping past us and the time we can't go back to. My little boy, so grown up with so many stories and things to share. He told me today, "I know you're going to do all the really fun stuff when I leave!" I'm not sure what he's imagining, but here I am at my desk, working on emails, wishing he was at my side with his truck delivering random stuff to my feet. Or with his pockets full of tools asking what needs fixed, because he's the Builder Man and he can fix anything for me. Or am I hungry? He just opened up a restaurant called Peanut Butter and Jelly, but he can make anything else too.

Yesterday when we walked to the bus stop, I watched Eli and tried to remember when Archer and Shelly were that small, just starting out in 4K. So confident and stepping out into the world, onto the bus, on their own.

Maybe we've all started back up with the school routine, and maybe we're all getting pretty good at it. But maybe I'm also wishing I could just slow it down a bit, remember those single moments of holding their small hands. Maybe I'm a bit sad that Archer doesn't ask me to help him blow dandelions to make wishes anymore. Shelly doesn't want me reading to her or picking out books for her, she's got her own ideas about what she likes. She won't let me braid her hair and definitely not ever tell her what to wear.

I guess for now I'll just hold Eli's hand as we walk to the bus stop, wave him off and wait for the tribe to return home to me at night and share their stories.

School!

First day was yesterday for Arch and Shelly, they came home with good reports and stories and yes, HOMEWORK.

Shelly packed a special lunch so she'd be allowed to sit at the Peanut Free lunch table with her friend. She was asked "only about 95 times" about her foot.

Archer went to the wrong classroom only once all day. Figured out the locker combination right away but forgot which locker was his. Found a Minecraft book on the top shelf of his locker - bonus!!

Sounds like they both got off to a great start. Today it's Eli's turn. Last night he said he was nervous. Today he keeps asking me when we can go. "I just want to leave you now!" Ha! I'm glad he's ready to go!

Archer, why can't you smile nice? You're going to regret that someday!

SERIOUSLY! Look HAPPY!

Yes he wore his boots for the pictures yesterday. Hopefully we can track down some shoes today before its time to go.

I thought I was a pro at this First Day of School stuff, this is our 8th year of it. But I'm feeling pretty torn today. My baby is going to climb on a big scary bus and ride off alone. Sigh. Have fun Grahammy, I'll miss you, but I can't wait to hear your Spy Report on everything you see today.

Goodbye Summer, hello School!