Last of March-*actual quarantine*

I saw this picture on my phone from back in March and thought it very fitting for how I felt during COVID lockdown. Our city did a legit lockdown. Our state was locked down. Masks were required everywhere. Curfews were set. Specific hours for elderly persons shopping were instituted. All non-essential businesses were closed. Shopping centers cut their hours (man, I did not realize how often I grocery shop at 10pm when Sterling gets home until everything was closed at 8pm!!!). AND THE BIGGEST THING----schools closed. 

We set a routine, like everyone. They started online school, like everyone. And it was brutal. The first day my kids were staring at a screen for five hours and we didn't even get through the material. It was rough. I have big beliefs against screen time for kids, and I don't think it's healthy at all. SO I emailed the teachers. I emailed the principal. I emailed the teachers again. Ruth's teacher was an angel to work with. Will's was a little more unchanging--but eventually we got everything worked down to two hours. They had a required meeting every. single. morning. At first they weren't completing any of their required work during that time. I said I wouldn't let them attend unless they were. I think almost all parents said the same. It was just too much time and there was too much other stuff still. 

So our routine became-7am breakfast. 730-bike/scooter/walk around the little lake, sometimes three or four or five lap before 830 morning meetings. At 1030 they would finish. Will would be done no matter what because that was so much effort. I would do reading and journal writing and piano with him in the afternoon. Ruth would be done and work on piano, etc. and then if she REALLY felt she needed to, she'd put in another half hour to an hour in the afternoon. 

LUCKILY when all this went down, Sterling's work switched to a two week on/two week off schedule to try and accommodate keeping doctors healthy and rotating to being at work. So our transition was HUGELY helped by having him around to help with meals and things while I figured out school. Unluckily, that only lasted a couple of days before his program started piling work on him.

Some yoga on rainy days and hot days.

We kept at piano really religiously until about the last two weeks of school, which, if there hadn't been COVID those weeks are usually crazy anyway so I don't feel too bad.

So when Sterling went back to work for his two weeks, towards the end of those two weeks another resident tested positive (he went to an LGBTQ rally in Miami over a weekend where they had seen quite the outbreak happen) and so he came home and we had to OFFICIALLY QUARANTINE. I was pretty impressed with our ability to feed ourselves from food storage (we had our Relief Society president drop of milk, and she lovingly dropped off chocolate for me haha) in-between the two weeks. And there were so many, many things we loved about those two weeks. But also--it was stressful conditions to truly be like "this is the best ever! Sterling's around!" and he still had a ton of work to get done. All in all, we had a great time, enjoyed time with our kids, and longingly looked outside while the last of the "not-too-hot-to-play-outside" days passed us by.

Our awesome friends playing games with us virtually during our quarantine!

Playing doctor.

When we were out of quarantine. Talking to our friend from across a street.

It was LOVELY using our kiddie pool when we could go outside again!

School.

More yoga. Molly really loves Cosmic Yoga and since it can be so hot and rainy here, it was a great way to get them moving. Even if it is more screen time.