Entertainment under quarantine…

"Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."
-Craig Claiborne

Between being stuck inside due to the coronavirus and one of being sick, there wasn’t a whole lot going on this week.  The kids mostly entertained themselves, sometimes by playing “the floor is lava” at lunch time.

And then other times they would put in a lot of effort to make a multi-course meal.  It’s always nice when they can all get motivated around a common goal.

Large projects were also being undertake such as the creation of elaborate domino structures which would inevitably get knocked over by a rampaging kitten or curious dog.

We know this will be a new normal for awhile, and it’s the right thing to do.  Still, we’re all looking forward to being able to go back out into the world again.

Cooking under quarantine…

Mommy:  "How is the salad?"
Isla:  "Way more than delicious!"

The quarantine continues, and the kids have stopped going to both gym and soccer due to the coronavirus popping up gym and possibly in our own house.  That didn’t stop the girls from doing gymnastics in the living room under the watchful eye of coach Mommy.

The kid did a lot of cooking this week, which was a big help for Mommy.  I lost track of the number of dishes they prepared, and they were all good.  And unfortunately that’s all we have this week as we deal with everything the coronavirus is giving us.  Hopefully we’ll have more next week!

Science, pen pals, and pictures of kittens…

"If we knew what we we were doing, it wouldn't be called research."
-Albert Einstein

With the coronavirus continuing to spread across the world, we thought it would be appropriate to do a science experiment to show the kids where germs live.  We ordered some petri dishes and took samples from things around the house including cats paws, water from the pond, water from the pool, the bathroom, sink, etc.  We also did a test where Ashlyn coughed into a dish with and without a mask on to show why masks are important.  The kids are already looking forward to seeing the results.

Isla received another letter from her pen pal this week.  It was an elaborate letter and Isla had a lot of fun opening it.  She’s already started working on her reply, and in our digital age it’s fun to watch her communicate the old fashioned way.  Who knows, maybe e-mail and texting will be considered old fashioned when Isla is our age.

Any time Isla sees the kittens doing something cute she will run to the nearest parent to borrow a phone for pictures.  These are some of the results.

Kittens, a tiny meal, and a birthday…

"A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever, and generally stopping before it gets there."
-Agnes Repplier

The kittens are settling in nicely and are growing quickly.  Isla can’t pass a kitten without picking it up, and if we have trouble finding the kittens we can usually find them near Isla.

Ashlyn thought it would be fun to make small dinners for James and Isla.  The end result was a spaghetti with real noodles, tomato sauce using garden tomatoes, and a small salad with lettuce and carrots.  It actually looked pretty good for being so small, now we need to convince her to make dinner size portions and we’ll be set.

We went to Nina and Papa’s over the weekend to swim and give her some belated birthday cards.  The kids had fun as always, which is good since it’s one of the only outlets they have right now to get out of the house.  And I’m glad that we were able to see Nina close to her birthday, happy birthday Nina!

And here is James with a cucumber.  He eats those things like apples.

 

Letters and America’s birthday…

"True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Fourth of July was a more subdued celebration this year .  We couldn’t get together with friends and the fireworks shows in our area were cancelled.  We tried to make it fun, we bought the kids a box of poppers and other small fireworks that were legal to use in the city and they had a good time popping them in the driveway.  The little pops instead of the big lights in the sky somehow felt appropriate this year, and it’s our hope that next year we’ll have something to celebrate.

While James was earning his green thumb in the garden, Isla was putting on a green dress in the house.  James was pruning while Isla was preening.  James was trimming while Isla was primping.  I can’t think of any other comparisons at the moment, but you get the idea.

One of our friends with a daughter Isla’s age thought it might be fun to setup a pen pal exchange between the two kids as a way to practice writing.  Isla thought this was a fun idea and was excited to get and then return the first letters in the exchange.  She checks the mailbox every day now in hopes for a new letter.

Happy Birthday James and Grandpa!

"Today is the oldest you have been, and the youngest you will ever be. Make the most of it!"
-Nicky Gumbel

James turned eight this week!  Since we couldn’t have a party this year we decided to do something a little different for the presents.  James wanted to open all this presents as soon as we woke up but instead he came down to an empty table.  We got some donuts, and after breakfast he was given the first clue for a scavenger hunt that sent him and the kids running through the house and yards collecting additional clues and presents along the way.

The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun, but to cap off the day we went to Nina and Papa’s in the afternoon so the kids could go swimming.  We spent most of afternoon there before coming back home for some wind down time before bed.  It wasn’t the birthday party he originally wanted, but he thought it was a good day.

The next day we setup a slip n’ slide and let the kids go crazy in the back yard.  They made a mess, but at least the grass got plenty of water.

Grandpa’s birthday was Sunday so he and Grandma came over for some brunch out on the porch.  The kids played with some of James’s new toys while the adult’s talked.  Then Isla talked Grandma into playing some games for a bit.  The visit reminded all of us how much we miss being able to visit with family like we used to, but we’ll have to make due for now.

Happy birthday James and Grandpa!!