Updates

On my last post, I stated I had more time to post...apparently 2 months went by faster than I can type.

We survived 6 weeks of distance learning and I was fairly pleased with how it went in our household.  Don't get me wrong, there was a definite learning curve and getting into our groove, but once I realized that for Noah, learning starts better with a couple of familiar silly morning songs, our days went a little better.  School at home can be challenging with younger siblings though, and Bella sometimes slowed the process, but it sometimes produced a laugh.  Here she is "helping" them with their PE class.  She might be a good coach for " The Biggest Loser" one day...

This whole experience has had its ups and downs, but overall, I would say we have had it pretty good compared to what some are going through.  Both Jason & I have been able to do a majority of our work from home so our incomes haven't changed.  Actually, in the last couple months, he managed to re-start his farrier business after a 15-year "retirement" from it and that has been going well thanks to social media and word-of-mouth.  His groundskeeper itch has also been scratched thanks to an opening with a guy who has his own lawn care business and that Jason knew from his time at MHS.  The downside with working that much gets you this tired...

With those additions and less money spent on activities, we hope we can catch up where we've gotten behind and try to improve on some things that have been put on the back burner.

My favorite moments about this time has been watching the kids grow in their relationships with each other.  There is actually less fighting than I thought there would be and I catch them in small moments doing really sweet things together.  There have been games played, lots of trampoline time, sidewalk chalk drawings, lounging in the sun, and bike rides.  Don't get me wrong, everyone has had more than their share of excess tech time some days, so there is some guilt that comes with not having the gumption to fully take that option out of the picture, but sometimes Momma just needs a break!

When it gets 80 degrees in April and this is all you have for a pool.

Bella's way of enjoying bubbles                       When tired hits you hard

 Our most recent family picture taken at Easter. SuzyCat was not amused, lol!

During this time, we are counting our blessings and trying to appreciate our time together.  We miss seeing everyone more often, especially during times when we are normally together as a family.  At this time, the restrictions are beginning to lighten, but we anticipate that things will get worse before they get better again, so we take each day as it is and try not to worry too much about all that's going on.  We try to stay safe and be responsible to keep the most vulnerable safe, but also caring for their physical and mental needs.  We are trying to "catch up" on the things that have been put aside because we know that soon enough, we will be back to a life of crazy, but that's just a given with a family of 8.  To everyone out there, we miss you, we love you and we hope to see and hug you soon!

The good and the bad

The good news:  I have had more time to post on this blog.
The bad news:  I don't know if anyone follows it anymore.

The good news:  We have saved money not traveling to work or activities.
The bad news:  It all goes into groceries that disappear faster than normal.

The good news:  We have food to eat.
The bad news:  When you notice your sweatpants are getting tighter around the waistline.

The good news:  We both still have jobs that we can work from home.
The bad news:  That might change if we don't have sports for a while (Jason is the assistant activities director at SMSU, and does the athletic events)

The good news:  He has a possible job to fall back on.
The bad news:  It's horseshoeing.

The good news:  School gets done earlier in the day for the kids.
The bad news:  Some days it's because this teacher is "done" (actually we get it all done, but assignments that require writing sentences around here usually end up in frustration on both sides.)

The good news:  Some family members have new hobbies.
The bad news:  One hobby is staying up late and sleeping more during the day.

The good news:  We have time for more activities as a family.
The bad news:  Jason just thinks that activity should always be splitting firewood.

The good news:  We are playing more games together.
The bad news:  Not many games work well for 8 players ranging from ages 3-46.

The good news:  Technology is great during this time!
The bad news:  Technology can be evil during this time!

The good news:  I have little fear that anyone will see how messy my house is.
The bad news:  My house is messy.

The good news:  Mass at home is easier to get everyone ready for.
The bad news:  We miss receiving the Sacraments with our church family and hope everyone is ok.

The good news:  Through all of this, we have faith that God is with us and we'll be fine no matter what.
The bad news:  Not many believe that and many struggle with our new reality.

"And now with all our heart we follow you, we fear you and seek your face.  Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in your forbearance and in your abundant mercy.  Deliver us in accordance with your marvelous works, and give glory to your name, O Lord!...Let them know that you are the Lord, the only God, glorious over the whole world...Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods, sing praise to him and give thanks to him, for his mercy endures forever."  Daniel 3:18-20a, 22, 68

Dress up days

 Before the idea came out on social media, I told Faith we should do "dress up days" like they do in school and sent it out to family members and have them share their photos.  As usual, I am more ideas, less execution, but Bella took it upon herself to come up with her own dress up days this past week, no help at all, with the exception of getting it on.

                                  Jersey day - yes she is wearing toddler-sized football shoulder pads

                                                                      Dress like a cowboy

                                                                      Super hero day

Week 1

I can't say how many days we've actually been "at home" and it differs for many because some went into hiding before others and some waited until the most recent "Stay Home" initiative.  What I do know is that we had our 1st week of "work from home" and "distance learning" or as I am now referring to it as, the School of Lock(down), and I am the assistant principal/teacher, Mrs. QuaranTina.

The first 2 days had it's challenges, most of which included learning the in's and out's of all these apps on school devices that I probably should have known about, but honestly haven't done much with.  Challenge #2 is child #6.  She loves having her siblings home, but now that they have to be occupied with schoolwork and not playing with her constantly, she is not enjoying that much.  Parent guilt comes in when I have to occupy her with technology just so we can get a Zoom meeting in (or 1st grade Language Arts) both of which require my attention and leave me with little patience.

Next week will be an even bigger challenge as the 3 older kids begin their schooling and we will then find out how good our internet service is.  Until then, we are going to enjoy our time inside together (not like the weather is giving us an option) and gather up the energy to start a new normal, for now.

#staysafe #stayhome #coronavirussucks

The "C" word

With an ever-dwindling calendar and before the kids begin "Distance Learning", I feel now is a good time as ever to drop in a post on my less-frequented blog.  When we look back on this time, the words "Coronavirus" and "COVID-19" will either seem like a time when we learned a lot, or we lost a lot, or maybe even both, but hopefully it will be a time that we get down to what really matters.

Our kids have lost some things that are very important to them, time with friends, tournaments not played, challenges not met, events not attended and opportunities they had to let go of...for now.

What I hope we gain through this is a sense of what is really important.  That we are together as a family and not ripped apart from a dictator who wants to kill us because of our beliefs.  As Father Mike Schmitz videoed today, something that can never be taken away from us during this or any time, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  I think back to Saint Maximillian Kolbe who was thrown into a concentration camp room to die of starvation after he offered to take someone's place.  What did he have?  Prayer.  He didn't have much choice but to fast, but I imagine he offered up his pain and suffering to the Lord.  Almsgiving - he never stopped putting others before himself, even when he seemingly had nothing to offer. 

I asked everyone at the dinner table last night to think of ways we can help.  I can say I was a little disgusted when everyone said, "Nothing. We can't do anything to help. We're not supposed to go out and help."  Point not taken!  We'll have to keep working on that one...

Some positives I have taken away so far (we're not many days into it, so it just feels a little like a break) is that we have this opportunity to be fully together, no activities, no expectations, no events to plan for.  As an introvert, so far, the social distancing part is not an issue whatsoever, but I have found myself working to communicate better with those who need the interaction.  Some of us have embraced learning new things or working on organizing the messes that have gotten away from us.  Bella has enjoyed having all of her siblings around as well as the opportunity to play with them more since they can't be distracted by other kids.  The kids that need the social interaction more are utilizing technology, which has been a balancing act, but during this time when their worlds have been turned upside-down, I have been allowing them that time to socialize in that sense.

So, as we journey on this uncharted path together, my prayers are with the world and that this pandemic brings out the best version of humanity, verses the ones that hoard toilet paper and hand sanitizer, and that we will see the beauty of creation in each other through God's eyes.

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

There's a new lumberjack in town

We spent our long Labor Day weekend doing just that...laboring!  In order to save, what now seems like a measly, $300, we rented a boom truck and did the scary work of getting the tree to the ground on our own.  Jason did the scary high stuff while we watched in anxiousness and some amazement as branches fell.  The pics don't do justice, but here's the progression of the day...

What you don't necessarily see is the mess that involved each stage of trimming.  Jason could only get so far and then had to move the truck to a different spot, but we had to clean up all the wood and branches before he could do that.  The truck and trailer on the road shows how full it got (and there was another truck and trailer) and we also had a pile of wood in the driveway for pieces that were big enough for firewood.

 AJ wanted to run the chainsaw too, so after some advice, we let him go & he really enjoyed it!  There were moments when both him & Jason were sawing and it sounded like one of those lumberjack competitions.  I don't think the neighbors got much napping in over the weekend!

This last part had us just as nervous because we just didn't know how rotten this tree was and we didn't want it to fall on Jason as he was cutting.  It all worked out well & when this bad boy fell, it felt like a small earthquake.  Faith said she felt it in the house through the chair she was sitting in.  I was in the neighbor's driveway, and I could feel it there also.

The darker part of the tree is the rotten part and you can see it effected over half of it, so it was a big hazard to have around and needed to come down.  I took a hammer claw to it & it broke apart like a sponge!  Jason whittled away at it the next day and said it was rotten all the way into the ground.  We will have a contractor come over with a stump grinder to mulch up the rest, but until then, Bella likes having another obstacle to climb and jump off of. 

If any of you are thinking that tree removal is in Jason's future, I would bet that he would graciously decline and leave the scary work to the professionals.  We were just trying to save $300.

Bella's vocab

Being the youngest of 6 has it's advantages and disadvantages.  I personally would not know, but as our family grew from 2 to 6 kids, I notice with each one that there are challenges they deal with that the older ones did not, one being having a huge vocabulary when you have a family that understands your needs as well as older siblings that tend to talk for you.

I honestly didn't have much concern, but doctor appointments tend to increase your awareness and concerns that you aren't doing enough.  I honestly don't get overly concerned when 2 year olds can't carry on a conversation in perfect english.  I think her babble is adorable because with 5 older kids, I know that soon enough she will be talking back and telling me how uncool I am.  So for now, I enjoy having one child that enjoys every moment with me (except when it's time to come inside) and the challenge of figuring out what in the heck she is talking about.

Needless to say, the doctor recommended speech therapy where we go once a week so I can watch someone play with my child to get her to say more words.  They have found out that she is a great communicator and is good at changing the subject, all without using many words.  I don't know if either of us has learned much more in the past 6 weeks, but she is talking more, and I don't know if one can credit speech therapy or just the fact that she's nearing 3 years old.  Here are some of her new words and phrases:
"No, mine!"
"I toot!"
"I teed!" (peed)
"I want go outside"
"I want nom nom." (that's food, especially the yummy kind)
"I want more nom nom." (usually regarding chocolate)

I think that basically covers every need, other than sleep, which she is good at communicating by either naughty destructive behavior, crawling in my lap, or grabbing me by the hand to go "night night".  Regardless, we'll keep working on speech therapy while quietly enjoying how adorable it is when she talks fast like this, "yabba gebba debba ppffbb!" (that last part is a farting noise...I don't know how to spell it.)  And how could you not enjoy everything that comes with this face!