Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Stay-at-home Life

The last few days have included a lot of conference calls, comfy clothes, and games of Candyland. I thought I wouldn't be taking too many photos during this stay-at-home order, but boy was I wrong! I find that I am snapping even more pictures in these simple moments of being at home. I am enjoying seeing so much of the kids and also having time with Boomer. This week, his county has Spring Break, and he has been working from home each day. (He plans to go in on Thursday to have one day in his building.) Emmy and Eli have joined in for a few of his virtual meetings. After saying 'hello' I'll then scoop them up and attempt to give Daddy some space until his meeting is over. We have found a good groove between the four of us. In the [little] downtime between meals, naps (for the kids), and work (for the adults), we've enjoyed introducing Emmy to a few board games, like Candyland. Emmy tends to make up her own rules, and we let her pretty much take over the board. I'm seeing so much of her personality coming out during our days together. Boomer and I often find ourselves laughing at her funny sayings and bossy commands. She is very imaginative and makes up full-blown conversations with all of her stuffed animals. Luckily, she hasn't shown any signs of boredom with the same rotation of toys that we have at home and loves to play school or other pretend games. One night this week, we had our first movie night. Of course the movie of choice was Frozen. It was Emmy's first time seeing it, but she was no stranger to Elsa and Anna. She knew both characters already and watched intently throughout the whole movie, claiming "that's me" any time that Elsa was on the screen.
We've certainly been spending a lot of time inside the four walls of our home, but we've had some outdoor fun too. The weather this past week has been beautiful with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. The highlight of our day is often our evening walk around the neighborhood. Although there is a good amount of pollen right now, it is so nice to be outdoors and to get some fresh air. On one evening walk, Minnie and Purple Baby even joined us. Emmy walked [almost] the entire mile loop pushing them in her pink polka-dot stroller. Other outdoor fun has included helping Daddy mow the grass, rocking on the front porch, and getting creative with sidewalk chalk. This past Saturday, everyone got out in the driveway to make mosaic chalk art at the Houstons'. It has become somewhat of a tradition to get together on Saturday with my family for a take-out dinner buffet. Everyone picks up their own dinner, and then we gather around the table with our to-go boxes. I feel a little nervous extending "our circle" to include even my immediate family, but since we are all otherwise staying at home, hopefully there is no risk of being together. The evenings are laidback and simple with everyone in comfy clothes and heading home before the sun goes down. It is a fun ending to the week for all of us. 
Eli will be 5 months old soon. I know that under normal circumstances, I would only be seeing him a fraction of the time that I am seeing him now. I am trying to set aside the stress of juggling my work with mom duties and instead focus on this precious gift of time. His newest tricks this week are holding his own bottle and [almost] sitting up on his own. Emmy has given him the nickname of "E-Guy." She loves to narrate her little brother's life, with declarations of "Eli spit up!" "Eli had a poopie!" "Eli is making funny faces." She has also learned how to whisper when he is napping, and it is the cutest thing.  
I'll close with one funny story from the week. As I was attempting to clean off the patio furniture and move it back into place for use this spring, I shattered the glass top of the table. SHATTERED! (see picture below) I was trying to put the umbrella back into the stand, and I guess I didn't quite have it lined up to the base, and the pressure of the umbrella broke the glass. Thank goodness I have an April birthday coming up, because my parents already bought and delivered a replacement. I'm hoping we can enjoy more time outdoors over the next few weeks!

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