Screen Time

Now that I am working remotely at home, my days look a bit different than when I was reporting to a school building. One major difference is the amount of time I am seated and on a computer. Right now, I am looking at a screen and typing on a keyboard for about 8 to 10 hours of my day. A lot of Google Meets, video calls, calendar invites, and emails. I'm finding it a bit hard to write this blog post, because it's tough to get back on the computer for even more screen time. The mornings begin around 6AM with a divide-and-conquer effort as Boomer gets Emmy ready, and I nurse and dress Eli. We all leave around 7AM, Boomer a little before and me, a little after. I head over to my parents' house, while Boomer takes Emmy to preschool. After dropping off Eli at Grammy and Grandpa's, I am back home and at the computer by 8AM. Previously I spent very little time in our home office. It was Boomer's domain during his grad school years, and I treated it like his man cave. But now, I am slowing taking over his "mega desk" for my new work space. I am on the computer until around midday when I take a break to pump and make lunch. Even then, I usually find myself back on the computer, working while I scarf down my lunch and trying not to get crumbs on my keyboard. While I am adjusting to all this new screen time, one big advantage of my new work environment is my more casual attire, at least from the waist down. Here is a typical work-from-home outfit: 

Sometimes I do get fully dressed!

I try to wrap up my work by 4PM, so that I can pump one more time and then pick up the kiddos. I usually pick up Emmy first. One day last week, we made a stop by the library for a new Fancy Nancy book. Emmy still loves Fancy Nancy, and we are quickly making our way through the entire series. 

Summer made us a bit lazy, and we are all trying to build up our stamina for these early, long week days. Emmy is noticeably still adjusting to preschool, because she is quite worn out in the evenings. They are learning so much; she loves singing her new songs like "Good morning, everybody, how are you?" (to the tune of "Happy and You Know It") and the months of the year. She has also started saying phrases like "1, 2, 3, all eyes on me" and "Guess what?"  It is becoming apparent that my curious, doesn't-want-to-miss-a-thing daughter is not napping at school, and several times over the past three weeks, she has fallen asleep on the short car ride home, often while holding on to the day's artwork.

With work filling up the majority of my day now, there isn't much time during the week for any "extra" activities. I do miss our usual walks like in the summer. If it is sunny, Grammy is sure to take Eli for a walk during the day, and Emmy and I will fit in a jog together on Sundays after church. We are trying to get outside while we can before, all too soon, the weather turns cold. 

Eli went on a special field trip this week to the Greensboro Science Center with Grammy and Zander. Zander and Eli, the two bookends, loved exploring the open exhibits, of course following all of the safety procedures that are in place. 

The weekend is a time for all four of us to catch our breath. While there are always chores to be done, I love the slower rhythm to Saturday and Sunday. Our biggest plans usually are meeting up with the Houstons and Williamses for dinner. This past weekend, Boomer and I had a date night with some of the Morganton gang. Kelly and Matt came to town from Raleigh, and we met up at Incendiary Brewery in Winston. We met at 7PM, and Boomer and I joked that we couldn't believe we were leaving the house so late. Usually we are wrapping up our evening at 7PM, not starting it! Those of us that are parents enjoyed the night off from our usual duties (Thank you, Grammy!) It was such a fun evening with drinks, pizza, and a lot of laughs. Sometimes screen time is necessary, but I'm so thankful for face-to-face time with friends! 

9 Months Old

Our Eli continues growing! We will have to wait until later this month for the official statistics from his 9-month appointment, but there is no doubt he is getting bigger. The giraffe shrinks a little more each month when I pull it out for our photo shoots. Eli is in 9-12 month clothing and size 2 diapers. He continues to nurse or take a bottle about 5 times a day, and he has two "meals" of either rice cereal or baby food. He easily can finish a size 2 Gerber food and still have room for Puffs or a teething cracker for dessert. He has a total of 6 teeth: two on the bottom and four on the top. He has developed a habit of grinding them together, I assume to relieve some of the pain from teething. Even Emmy will say "Quit crunching your teeth, E-Guy!" She is like a second mama to Eli, fetching toys for him to play with and putting a pillow behind him when he is sitting unassisted on the ground. She will even bring the video monitor over to her coloring station so that she can keep an eye on her little brother during his morning nap. Eli hasn't shown any special attachments to toys, although he likes chewing on Sophie the Giraffe. His favorite thing continues to be his two fingers, which he sucks on when he is tired or hungry. This month looks a little different for Eli. He is beginning to spend more time over at Grammy and Grandpa's, and less time with Mommy. I very much love sharing Eli with my parents, and I couldn't be happier with where he is. The last three photos were sent to me from Grammy Preschool. Eli's newest tricks include standing against furniture, trying out a sippy cup, and wearing sunglasses! 

UPDATE 8/28/2020: Eli had his 9-month doctor's appointment today. He measured 28 inches long (28th percentile), weighing 18 lbs and 1 oz (20th percentile), and with a head circumference of 47 centimeters (93rd percentile). We have a happy, healthy baby boy. And no shots this time - yay! 

Our Summer To-Do List Recap

Summer 2020. The summer of social distancing and face masks. Of hand sanitizer and 6-feet apart. The summer of no baseball. Of murder hornets, political protests, and civil unrest. There were some good things and some not-so-good things. Despite the restrictions and health concerns, we still made a lot of memories in accomplishing our Summer To-Do List. We sure made the best of our first summer as a family of 4!

1. Dough Joe's and Reynolda

2. Picnic at Wake Forest 

3. Quarry Park 

4. Rockford General Store 

5. Farmer's Market

6. Lake

7. Ocean Isle Beach

8. Uwharrie Mercantile (coming soon!)

9. Luna's Trail

10. Visit to Daddy's new office

11. Try a new food truck

12. Play in the rain

First Day Jitters

We've had a lot of changes this week as the 2020-2021 school year gets underway. After almost five months together at home, it was bittersweet to send Emmy off to preschool on Monday. She is in the Owls class at our church, Triad Baptist, and her teacher is Mrs. Holly. Just in one week, I feel like she has grown and matured right before my eyes. She is speaking in complete (logical) paragraphs, using her manners (mostly) without prompting, and following directions (usually) on the first time. Each afternoon she has been so excited to show us her artwork and to tell us about her day. Emmy has always had an interest in school activities like coloring, puzzles, and crafts, and I am so thankful that she continues to show that interest. If every week is like this one, I am so excited for her year ahead! She seems to really be thriving in her new environment. Here are a few photos from Emmy's first day:

 

Much like Emmy, I too have found myself in a new environment with a lot of unknowns. Last Wednesday evening, I received the news that my position as the East Surry HS College Liaison had been eliminated due to budget cuts. Perhaps I knew that it was a possibility since the position was funded by the county, but I was still very devastated, especially with the start of the school year a mere five days away. Thankful to still be employed, I was offered the opportunity to join the staff of the newly created Surry Online Magnet School. The SOMS principal has been great to work with, and she even spoke to me late Wednesday evening (11PM!) to answer some of my initial questions about the position. We realized that we had a mutual connection: she graduated from East Montgomery HS, Boomer's alma mater, and even used to babysit Carlin. Small world! It was a very positive conversation, and so over the weekend, I tried to wrap my head around returning to my roots as a math teacher. On Monday morning, I reported to the Central Office to learn more about my new assignment, and in the afternoon, I cleaned out my space at ESHS. It has been a bit of a roller coaster this week as I have tried to find my footing in completely unfamiliar territory. I have had several hours of training each day, while also trying to learn new policies, new software, and new coworkers. A tremendous positive of this position is that I will be working remotely. On rare occasions I may have to report to the Central Office as I did on Monday, but I will mostly be working from home. At least with this new job, I don't have to worry about where to park or where to put my lunch! Twice this week, I traded my usual 45 minute commute for a run around the neighborhood, with a super cute 8-month-old in tow. Towards the end of the week, we developed a new routine in which I drop off Eli at my parents' house around 7:30AM. There just so happens to be a McDonald's along the way, so I was able to still get my vanilla iced coffee like old times. Eli is loving Grammy Preschool. They go for walks, play with blocks, and read books. Since his time with my mom was cut short in the spring, I am so thankful she is able to help now. Funny enough, this time exactly three years ago is when I made the transition from my job at UNCG to ESHS. Emmy was the exact same age that Eli is now. Even though I am smiling in the picture, I vividly remember the fears and worries I had then. Now three years later, I am again trusting that God is in control and that He is directing my path to His greater plan. 

August Summer Days

This week marked my last week of summer break. I was caught in between feeling like I needed to pack in the last of our fun activities and also slowing down to enjoy the lack of routine. I think we found a good balance of both. There were a few rainy days this week, and on one afternoon, it started to sprinkle just as we arrived home from a park date with friends. Emmy had fun playing in the driveway. 

My Aunt Glenda, my mom's sister, stopped by while driving from Virginia (where my cousin lives) to south Florida (where she lives). She had not yet met Eli, and it had been quite a while since she had seen Emmy. It was a quick visit, but it was great to catch up with her. 

On Wednesday, we had our annual end-of-summer visit to Daddy's office. It was our first time visiting him at his new digs at the Yadkinville County Schools Central Office. To keep it simple, I've told Emmy that that is the name of his new school - "Central Office." Not to miss an opportunity to eat out, we stole Boomer away from work to grab lunch at the Center Bistro at the Yadkin Arts Council. Daddy had a full lap both at lunch and at his office!

Eli had a few new experiences this week. We tried Puffs for the first time! After an unsuccessful attempt with Cheerios at the beach, the Puffs have been much better for introducing Eli to "solid" foods. He hasn't moved much past the playing stage...we are working with him actually bringing it to his mouth and chewing. With the introduction of "finger foods," we had to make changes to our seating at the table. Now that Eli needs a tray in front of him, he moved from the Bumbo to the high chair. Since Emmy was still previously occupying the high chair, she too got an upgrade to a booster seat. (Mommy and Daddy are in our same seats!)  

Eli also went for his first ride in a playset swing. I think the pictures speak for themselves as to his feelings about the experience!

He also went for his first ride in the stroller without the car seat. 

For a while now, he has been big enough to ride directly in the stroller, but often times when we are on the go, it's easier to keep him strapped in his car seat. Since we were just walking up to our neighborhood park and not going anywhere in the car first, we left the car seat behind, and he rode like a big boy. I think he quite enjoyed it. We met Megan, Zander, and Maddox there at the park for lunch, and Emmy and Eli had fun swinging afterwards. There was a surprise visit from the ice cream truck, and all the kids got so excited to hear the music. Thank goodness Aunt Megan had some cash on hand! Each kid got to pick out their own special treat.

 Boomer and I just got back from an overnight getaway to Raleigh. It was our first night away from the kids since Eli was born, and it was great timing with the start of the school year just around the corner. Of course there are things we could have been doing at home to prepare for Monday morning, but it was so nice to enjoy the time just the two of us. Why Raleigh? Well, the weekend was suppose to look a lot different. After originally postponing her wedding in April due to COVID-19, my friend Jen picked the new date of August 8th. However, as the concerns with COVID continue and as we remain in Phase 2 with face coverings and limited gatherings, she and Paul made the tough decision to have a small, intimate ceremony rather than the large wedding they had originally planned. When we found out the news, I was going to cancel our hotel reservation, but Boomer suggested we keep it anyway. After all, we did have a babysitter lined up! While Boomer and I headed to Raleigh for our 24-hour kid-free adventure, Grammy came over to watch Emmy and Eli at our house. For dinner on Friday night, we went to Sullivan's Steakhouse, a fancy, white-table-cloth restaurant in the Glenwood district in downtown Raleigh. We tried to fit in with the other classy patrons as we enjoyed some of the best steak we've ever had. Boomer ordered the 16 ounce ribeye, and I had the steak salad. We also had the highly recommended cheesesteak egg rolls as an appetizer. After dinner, we took a stroll downtown. It was a  nice mild evening, and the temperature was perfect as the sun was setting. Much like dinner, the hotel was very fancy too - a studio suite with a full size kitchen! This morning, we fit in a run (by my request) and then hopped on I-40 to head back home. We stopped for lunch at Smokehouse at Steve's, a restaurant, market, and butchery in Graham. Since the food seemed to be the highlight of our trip, I can't help but include some pictures!

While we were in Raleigh, we loved getting photos from Grammy. She always plans the funniest activities; this time was no exception: cut-out Jello animals, chalk in the driveway, and other crafts (one that even involved glitter!) They did a little bit of schoolwork too, and Emmy wrote her name all by herself! 

There is a lot of change in the week ahead as we all return to work and school. It will be an adjustment as I go back to 40-hour work weeks, the hustle and bustle of drop-offs and pick-ups, and once again pumping throughout the day. I have so enjoyed my summer with Emmy and Eli, and I have loved the extra time with Boomer on his Fridays off. You know, I will even miss the simple moments of trying to complete a chore with two kiddos at my feet! :)

Can you tell who is who??