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| when you are so over your big brother's basketball season |
We snagged a few hours on Monday which was beautiful (sunny and 60 degrees!) Aunt Kitty picked the babies up early from daycare and folded 2 loads of laundry for me (thank you!!) and then stayed late into the evening to play with the kids outside on the trampoline (a weird game they call wormy wormy which had us all cracking up!) Violet got some practice on her bike without training wheels (she says "without triangles") and did so well. The big kids took a bike ride through the neighborhood and now we are all officially ready for spring - bye winter, we are done with you!
Reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and I started Nyxia by Scott Reintgen after a student returned it to my bookshelf and gushed about how much he enjoyed it. I was like, "okay, fine! I'll read it!" (hah) It is another YA project Lit book and if I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times, Project Lit did such an incredible job choosing books for their list. Amazing and diverse characters and plots. Every book I've read this year that has been on their list I have enjoyed and left me with a lot to reflect and think about. They have a high school and middle school list that you can check out here if you have big kids who are in need of something to read.
Officially certified in CPR after my Act 80 day training on Monday!
Keeping tabs on the babe with two non-stress tests this week and regular check up. All seems to be going well. I had my last ultrasound scheduled for 37 weeks to see what we may need to do at that point if the placenta is still too low-lying and the cord is still in the way. The kids are getting really anxious to meet the little fella. Rusty gives my belly hugs every day and says, "I love my wittle brudder" and Grey asks regularly if the baby is kicking or moving so he can feel/watch. Gem has been very helpful around the house so that I can rest and has admitted that she's worried I'll be hurt or sick when the baby is born. Violet is very snuggly and attention seeking these days, but will randomly walk over to me and hug or pat my belly silently. B just keeps apologizing (hah!) and saying thank you for allowing my body to stretch to this size and deal with the heartburn and back ache so we can have another human in our family. All my students are like, "Senora, do you just forget what happens? because you've done this four times before and here you are again! how? why?" and my only answer for them and for anyone is - no you don't forget (entirely), but right at this moment of enormous belly, wishing my body was my own again, braxton hicks, constant heartburn, constipation, and insomnia - the only thing that justifies it all is that loose skinned neck that smells like heaven. So...?
Smiling at the photos and updates B sent while Violet completed her Kinder testing this week. She did a great job and was very excited to meet the teachers and play all the different stations. Little peanut is growing up!
Getting a visit from the tooth fairy! Violet pulled out her first tooth all on her own - after wiggling it for the last two weeks! She refused to let anyone pull it and just kept at it until it was so loose it practically just slipped out with the slightest pull. She was so proud!
Clearing the schedule on all the things. Like many other states, we went into social distancing mode on Friday afternoon. Greyson's basketball tournament in Pittsburgh this weekend - cancelled. Brandon's conference next week in Pittsburgh - cancelled. Baseball practices - cancelled. Birthday party at the skating rink this weekend - cancelled. Sunday school - cancelled. At 35+ weeks pregnant, maternity leave looming, and my college research paper due in 2 weeks - I'm not going to complain about having the schedule wiped fully clean, but it does feel scary to live through a time that this is happening on such a huge scale. I'm hoping to make the most of it at home and really give our family an opportunity to reset and take a breath. We have been go-go-go since the start of this year, and if we are going to be forced into a slow down, then we are going to milk it for everything it is worth.
Giving the green light to nightly kid campouts during the isolation. The kids went full summer mode and immediately started chanting, "Who's sleeping downstairs tonight?" which the answer to that by any other child in the house is "Me! Me! Me! Me!"
Praying for our family, friends, neighbors, and all of those that have real concerns about this sickness affecting them in a dangerous way. We know plenty of people who fit the criteria for more severe reactions: grandparents & great grandparents, asthmatics, those recovering from surgery or illnesses. We, our family, should be fine even if/when we get it (I've done plenty of studying up on newborns, and even he should be okay if born now), but I'm most concerned about those we love that might now be. Please create space physically, but remain close with phone calls, video chats, and snail mail. This is a very weird time and we will need one another to each do our part in the coming weeks.
College'ing by submitting my draft research paper and receiving really valuable feedback that will help me keep working. It's due on April 5th, so between now and then I'll be reading articles, making corrections, and continuing to write the rest of the paper!
Spring sporting with an indoor baseball practice and a field clean up day and our weekly BB gun league shoot for Grey and Gem. It's Gemma's first year and she's doing great! As of now, we are on hold until further notice for baseball - so it will be playing catch in the backyard for at least the next two weeks.
Teaching the last chapters of Brandon Brown in Sp1 and the last chapters of Esperanza in Sp2. We finished a book each this week in two different levels - yay! Sp2 Honors continued in Somos 1 Unit 3, learned about piropos, and got to hear one of my favorite Selena songs El Chico del apartamento 512. Sp3/4 Honors continued reading Felipe Alou chapters 4-6 and I had two students bring in cardboard baseball gloves for extra credit. We didn't find out that we were closing for two weeks until Friday at 3p - so I had literally only 15 minutes early ushered my students out of school telling them that I would see them on Monday. It is unclear as to how we are moving forward for the next two weeks yet - virtual learning? extended spring break? but either way - I was still at school when it was announced - so I packed up my laptop and supplies in case I would need to teach remotely in the coming two weeks.
Making do with what we have! We did not go to the store at all this week because we were already too busy with school/work/practices/third trimester - but #bigfamilyperks , so we are usually stocked up with extras on hand normally. We are doing fine for now, and I'm oddly motivated to use this time to inventory the freezers and pantry and be creative about meal planning and using up what we have in the coming week. This week though - we had taco chicken wraps (homemade taco seasoning because we didn't have any pre-made packets), cinnamon-sugar banana bread muffins (used up two brown bananas), cheddar brats, hot dogs, and pasta salad, and pierogies on Lent Friday. We were gifted dinner of delicious homemade strombolis, salad, and brownie ice cream sundaes from one of Brandon's co-workers (thank you so much Joan!) and for Pi day on Saturday, I made Johnny Cash's Mom's pineapple pie with homemade pie crust - my first time making pie crust!
