Covid-19 Quarantine and Isolation: Part I - Surviving The First Month

Parks, beaches, hiking trails, and playgrounds all closed during our stay home/stay safe order, which meant neighborhood walks were our only form of recreation. Oscar and I both love walking outside, but unfortunately, the novelty wore off on the kids very fast.

The cats began getting a lot more (unwanted) attention now that Allison was home all day, though credit for the dinosaur Leela goes to Tyler. Fry and Leela are about 14 years old now, so they've lost some of their will to resist the kids' antics.

Tyler lost his two front teeth soon after quarantine started. He even pulled them out himself.

I quickly became very grateful we live in a house (as opposed to a small apartment), and that we have a fenced in back yard, even if it's tiny. I post a lot about our happy moments, but this transition to home learning was very hard. I'd be willing to homeschool if my kids were struggling or being bullied or something, but I've never once considered it seriously because both of them thrive in public school. Tyler in particular really needs schedules and interactive activities. If I don't plan our day out all he wants is screen time, but he can only handle so much of it. Too much makes him irritable, demanding, and prone to temper tantrums at the slightest disappointment. It's fine in the summer because we go on daily outings, and I get some good me time in at the YMCA each day. In quarantine I had neither of those things. He's well above his grade level cognitively, so I'm really not at all concerned about his education, but I have to keep him constantly busy to prevent his mood swings. It was especially exhausting now that I couldn't take them anywhere.

This idea went viral so we hopped on it too. Tyler was much more interested than Allison was. He colored most of hers too.

On a cold rainy day we took it inside and made a pattern with washable paint. I can't say I've ever been grateful for gloomy weather in the spring, but it certainly made staying inside more bearable than when it was beautiful and sunny.

Here are some of Tyler's many self made obstacle courses. He's a builder, and he'll build with anything.

At one point we figured out how to play Settlers of Catan with Amy and James in Mississippi via Google Duo. Oscar initially mounted the phone above the board by hanging it from the lamp, but the next week we found our tripod and made an easier setup. Now it's become a regular Sunday activity.

We were on our own for homeschooling for the first three weeks until the district figured out a fair distance learning approach. I tried to get the kids outside for "recess" regularly, even when it was cold. They weren't a big fan of taking walks, so it was just playing in our backyard or in the complex in front of our house. Normally I don't let them play on the complex roads, but there were a LOT less cars during quarantine, so they at least had some space to run around in. Allison in particular will just run back and forth for the fun of it. Sometimes she'll carry a couple toys with her and make them "race" (meaning she'll stick whichever one she wants to win in front of her as she crosses the finish line.

We mostly focused on Tyler's learning, but I also got a few preschool lessons prepared for Allison. Here we are learning about letters F and G while playing leapfrog, making glittery green goop, and putting letter G garbage in the garbage truck.

Something special happened while I was finishing up my last blog post. Tyler asked if I could play a game with him, but I was nearly done, and I really wanted to just finish it. Blogging and picture organizing has been taking me much longer than usual now that the kids are home all day. I can usually only work on it during their tablet time or while they're asleep because whenever they see me working on it they ask to see the pictures and watch the videos. This makes for great family time, of course, but it also makes it harder for me to actually work on it. By yesterday evening I had done everything but edit it. I tried explaining what editing was to Tyler, but he didn't get it and kept asking me how much longer I would be and when could I play a game with him. Then it occurred to me that I should read it to him as I edited it. This was the best thing that could have happened. He enjoyed reliving it as we edited, he understood better why I needed to fix my typos and incoherent sentences, and most important of all, he chimed in with his own memories. For example, when I was reading to him about how the kids rode Wonder Woman multiple times on their own he said "I fell asleep on it!" And when I mentioned that neither of the kids had liked being splashed by the whale he said "that's because I didn't like tasting the salt water in my mouth." These were things I would not have known if I hadn't read the post to him before those memories faded away. Even Allison came down and enjoyed having the memories read out loud to her. Their presence while I worked went from being a hindrance to a benefit. I'm going to make them a part of the writing process from here on out.

Tyler made a triple spoon, Allison made a neighborhood friend, and the kids worked on gummy bear graphs. I tried to encourage Allison to social distance around the neighborhood kids, but it was causing more stress than it was worth. Social distance is hard for social butterflies...I at least put my foot down when the new friend begged to come inside and pet the cats.

We quickly learned that remote control
cars and other toys that move are far more fun outside than inside.

While watching the live action "Lion King" Allison proclaimed during the Can You Feel the Love Tonight scene "the lions like upside down hugs and big rolling hugs!"

We discovered a little nature area we'd seen but never really explored in the middle of our complex. We did some scavenger hunts there.

It took 15 days, but I finally accepted that this quarantine was my reality for the rest of the foreseeable future. Prior to then I kept trying to take advantage of cheap flights and kept planning small getaway vacations where we'd social distance around new scenery, but I cancelled every flight just to help come to that conclusion.

The kids made helicopters for letter H and auntie Malia dropped off donuts!

hot chocolate math!

And daddy doing heart hopping, though technically he was leaping here, not hopping. I told him he needed to use both feet to hop.

We had some great spiritual experiences during the early days of quarantine. We had one FHE where the kids were being pretty rowdy until Oscar turned the lights down and had us pretend that Heavenly Father was sitting across from us. It ended up being very touching. My sweet Allison told Heavenly Father about how she likes dinosaurs but that she has a problem that sometimes she doesn't obey. She promised Him that next time she would be obedient for family home evening. Tyler smiled and repeatedly told Him how great He is. It was just lovely!

On April 4th I was sad to not be attending Amy's wedding, though I was glad Alaska Airlines was very flexible about cancellations. We got credit for the whole flight that doesn't expire until the end of the year. I took advantage of American Airlines recent price reductions on flights to Jackson, and I already booked my ticket for the rescheduled wedding. I get to fly into a much closer airport for much less money than we'd originally budgeted.

I was also glad to be able to watch General Conference live. The first session was lovely! I enjoyed getting to hear from President Henry B. Eyring so early. He's been the apostle that speaks most to my soul ever since he gave a devotional during my first week at the MTC. But as much as I love hearing from him, the talk that touched me most this morning was the one by Elder Neil L. Andersen. I enjoyed all his stories of the many different ways people have had experiences similar to Joseph Smith, The Prophet. It reminded me of my own experiences when I knew I'd received a message from God, that God knew it, that He knew I knew it, and that I could not deny it. It was nice to start the morning uplifted by those precious memories.

Quarantine took its toll on me, but it didn't break me, because the gospel has taught how to find joy and gratitude no matter the circumstance. When I'm feeling down, I know where I can find peace, because I know in whom I have trusted.

We went to extra efforts to make Easter extra fun for the kids. Oscar made really great clues for an epic Easter Egg hunt.

One of my favorites was "Tyler likes to do Math. Allison likes to take a ___." As soon as Tyler finished reading it, Allison immediately said "bath," but she said it softly and sweetly and he couldn't hear her. Then I read it out loud again, and again she said "bath," but Tyler was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't hear her. Eventually he figured it out.

But the best by far was "this is where Nibbler hides from you and also makes his kitty poo." The kids knew it'd be down in the closet where the litter boxes are, and there was Nibbler sitting right next to the egg hiding from them.

The final clue was "this is where mommy goes when the cereal is low," which took them to their Easter baskets by the food storage in the garage. Allison was thrilled to get roaring dinosaurs that laid jelly bean eggs!

Tyler had also made a little egg hunt for us upstairs with clues like "look under the covers." 

Later I took Allison out swinging and Tyler and Oscar had fun dissolving styrofoam in acetone.

While homeschooling my children, I learned that a baby rabbit is actually called a kitten. Bunny means a small rabbit, but it could be full grown.
Oscar attempted to make bread, but it didn't go well. He made a hilarious dialogue about it though, and he redeemed himself by turning it into a delicious dessert.

Host: Hello all and welcome to Baking Bread!

Host: Today’s contestant is Oscar Hunt, a Manager for Comcast. Welcome Oscar!

Oscar: Thanks for having me. Today I’ve made a pair of loaves (I like to call them a pair of loafers. Get it?)

Host: *Silence*

Oscar: Well, anyway, a friend had too much yeast and the store was out, so I traded money for yeast hostage style- She put the package of yeast outside her doorway and stepped back inside, behind the glass door. Once she was safely inside I stepped out of my vehicle and retrieved the yeast, leaving an undisclosed amount of money in an envelope. We exchanged a “thanks for doing business” glance and returned to the safety and isolation of our respective kitchens.

Host: Cool story Bro. Tell us about the bread.

Oscar: The bread is a honey-oat-wheat bread with chia seeds and…

[Gordon Ramsay enters] *cheers from audience, 2 minutes of recapping all of Gordon’s accomplishments*

Host: Well let’s get to tasting the bread. Gordon, what do you think?

Gordon [pokes at bread, cuts a large chunk off the end]: It has a nice firmness to it, but what the *expletive* are those? Are those CHIA SEEDS? Where’d you ever get the idea to add Chia Seeds to your *expletive* bread?

Oscar: They were in my pantry and I thought…

Gordon: So you thought randomly adding *expletive* things from your pantry would make this *expletive* bread better? Is that how you usually cook?

Oscar: I try to avoid waste…

Gordon: This IS a waste! A *expletive, expletive* waste. I’m disgusted. This is disgusting. I’m afraid I might die if I eat this. It smells like *expletive.*

[Gordon takes a bite, chews once, grabs trash can and lets the camera get a close-up of him spitting it out]

Gordon: *expletive, expletive, expletive* How much yeast did you use? How much salt did you use?

Oscar: I added maybe two tablespoons of yeast and a half-teaspoon of salt.

Gordon: *expletive* Oscar! Two TABLESPOONS! That’s enough to make half a *expletive* dozen loaves of *expletive* bread. And this needs a *expletive* ton more salt.

[Gordon takes both loaves and throws them in the trash with a single fluid motion]

Gordon: You’re done. Get out of my *expletive* kitchen.

Oscar: But it’s not even your..

Gordon: Take off your apron and Get. The. *EXPLETIVE.* OUT!!

[Oscar leaves.]

[Host takes a bite of the maimed slice Gordon had cut, spits it out.]

Host [quietly]: *Expletive* that’s bad.

Host: Well everyone, thanks for joining today. Please be safe and keep your distance, especially from Oscar’s bread!

Here's Allison pushing her rock on the swing, and Tyler spelling his sight words with pennies.

The best part of quarantine was that it helped me focus on my music again, which will be another post on its own. However, my putting more time and effort into my music had the added benefit of motivating Tyler to bring out more of his artistic creativity. Here's an example. He made dinosaurs to decorate Allison's room with. Some of these dinosaurs are Rainbow Rex, Zebrasaurus, Colorfolsaurus, Spotasaurus, and Starsaurus.

Here's Tyler twisting on the swing and Allison being silly with the screen door and on the hallway laundry table. For whatever reason she decided there was where she wanted to sit while playing her Kindle.

Our 1st day of distance learning through the school district went alright. I can't imagine how people with multiple kids in jr high and high school managed it. At least I only had one kid's learning to keep track of (Allison is enrolled in preschool through the school district, so some distance learning became available for her too, but preschool was low on their priority list that first week). Tyler was a bit less defiant and resistant than he'd been the past month now that he could see videos with his teacher and had work to turn in to her. Music time went especially well. He perked right up when he saw the music teacher and knew just what to do when she started the movement songs. Allison joined in on the fun too.

And we got to enjoy one outing far outside the house by going to see Allison's eye doctor for a follow up appointment. I'd never appreciated the drive to Redmond so much! They checked our temperatures before we went in. Allison was sad there were no toys or books in the waiting room. On the drive back I kept wishing there was anywhere else we could visit. I even asked if she'd like to take a walk in Redmond, but she just wanted to get home.

Allison hit a very helpful milestone of learning how to pull off stickers by herself. 

Here's a funny story. After putting the kids to sleep and waiting about 30 minutes Oscar and I began singing Phantom of the Opera (the song itself from the musical of the same name). We sang through it twice and Tyler comes out of his room saying "be quiet down there!" We decided to be done for the night and Oscar went and cuddled him back to sleep. Before he fell asleep he said "I've told you MANY times that you shouldn't sing so loud" (this was the first time we've sung this song after bedtime). I guess we gave him a dose of his own medicine.