Day Twelve --- Tuesday, March 31

Day twelve (eighteen)...

1. Up before the sun - coffee is going - mama is waking up...

Daisy decided to join me...

2. RA headed to off to work for a few hours...

3. Time for school work for Ellis... 

Mr. GRUMP...

4. RF doing school work...

Reading about the Declaration of Independence...

5. Work for me - checking in on students and checking assignments...

6. Lunch for everyone  + a walk around the yard for some fresh air...

Post lunch beagle snuggles...

 Dogwood blooms...

 Knockout roses...

Yellow iris...

7. More work for me including a video conference with RF's teacher who gave us updates about post Spring Break plans...

8. My weekly outing this week was to the bank...straight there and straight back - no touching anything and no stops...

This is as "out and about" I'll be getting this week...

9. Workout - a weight + sweat session does the mind and body good...

10. Dinner...

11. Bath and bed for two crazy boys...

12. A little more work for me + plans to read a few chapters in my new book before bed...

Be safe, my friends
H

Day Eleven --- Monday, March 30

Day eleven (seventeen).

When it rains it pours, right?

Refrigerator went out...had to buy a new one...will be delivered Wednesday.

AC unit wouldn't cut on...had to call a repairman...looks like it was an easy fix (fingers-crossed).

My car battery died again...gonna try and figure that out tomorrow...

RA's job has them working a few hours two days a week so he will be home more for the next two weeks which will be a big help. Full time teacher + trying to be a kindergarten and a first-grade teacher/mama isn't easy at all. Another set of hands, eyes, and ears wrangling and teaching these youngins' is much appreciated.

I spent most of the day in front of my computer screen today working on checking in on students and making sure they were on track to take care of everything they need to this week before 'Spring Break' next week. Can't go anywhere, but it will be nice to have a few days not having to worry about school work for myself or the boys. Although, the update we received on Friday that pushes our back to school date to April 27 was pretty upsetting. My brain understands why we are doing this, but my teacher heart hurts. I miss my kids. And my colleagues.

With RA home today, he and the boys did a good bit of work outside - manual labor 101 for the Hawk boys. They also started working on a project that involved a little painting - Ellis Hawk was all about that.

Helping daddy with a project...

Tomorrow is looking like it will be much like today (and the last sixteen days). Hoping we continue to have nice weather so we aren't cooped up in the house and the boys have the chance to get outside and run/play off some energy. :-)

A few photos from the weekend...

 Saturday morning pancakes and bacon! 

 Learning to push that lawnmower!

 A little Toy Story movie time...

 And then The Good Dinosaur...

 A really calm sunset...

 A live workout from our local YMCA - thank goodness - I needed a change up in the workout routine. 

 Sweet boy. 

Sweet brothers. 

Day Ten --- Friday, March 27

Day ten (fourteen).

Rest day. That's what today was for me. PRAISE. RA was home all day and he took over all of the kid duties for - remote learning, breakfast, snack #1, snack #2, lunch, snacks #3 - #654, dinner, baths for the boys, and bedtime. Can I get another PRAISE?

 My view for most of the day...I read, and watched Netflix, and slept. 

It. 

Was. 

Wonderful. 

And much, much, much needed. 

 I did get up and walk around outside for a while since it was such a beautiful day. The youngest tulip poplar in the yard is budding. 

 And the Cherokee Rose is beautiful!

 As are the azaleas in the front yard. 

Gracie enjoyed the sunshine, too! 

 This boy's face lit up when he got a letter from his teacher in the mail! 

TGIF! We plan on hanging at home this weekend (#socialdistancing) and enjoying our time together.

Day Nine --- Thursday, March 26

Day nine (thirteen)...and it was a much better day. I think I'm hitting that 'I'm incredibly overwhelmed and need a break' point, but the situation is so bizarre and complex that taking a "break" is hard to do being stuck at home. So stinking bizarre...and overwhelming...but we're making it. One day at a time, right?

 We started our day with blueberry muffins...

 RF started on a few chores...

 While Ellis did some school work...

 And mama tried not to loose it at 10:00AM...

 A second Yeti full of coffee will get me through, no doubt. 

 Scrolling social media and I see this...WHY...

 Thankful that we have a guard beagle while we work on school work...thanks, Gus!

 Then Ellis did some chores...

 While RF did some school work...

 RA came home from work around lunchtime, so Ellis and I laid down to rest and enjoy the view of the blue sky and red bud tree from the bed...

 Ellis asked to tune in to the Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari so we checked out red pandas today!

 Aren't they cute???

 I looked over and found this little boy sound asleep. I decided to join him in a little rest while RA and RF hung out. It was perfect. 

After dinner together as a family, we decided to finish off the cake I recently made...

No need to dirty up more dishes, right? Everyone dig in!

Happy Friday Eve, my friends!

H

Day Eight --- Wednesday, March 25

Day eight (twelve)...

Today was a long day.
Today was a tiring day.
Today was similar to all of the other days.
But today was tiring.
Very, very, very tiring.

Morning math work...

Beagles without a care in the world...

Enjoying the sunshine for a few minutes...

Ellis doing some afternoon work learning about gorillas...

A few minutes of reading in the sunshine this afternoon...

AP Human Geography live lesson from the College Board - it was great!

AP World History live lesson from the College Board - it was also great!

So much more went on today. Lesson planning, dishes, connecting with students, laundry, virtual faculty meeting, making lunch, breaking up a brother fight...or two, making dinner, baths, online work to catch up on a few things...the list keeps going on and on and on...

Did I already mention that it was a tiring day? 

Stay safe, my friends. 

H

Day Seven --- Tuesday, March 24

Day seven (eleven).

We.
Slept.
In.
Today.

It was glorious.

We didn't get up until 8:15. Then we leisurely had breakfast...and coffee...and another cup of coffee. Yawn...stretch...ok, now it's time to start the day.

I jumped in to checking in on my students to make sure that they were on track with all of their work  and that they were staying sane and calm. My seniors are stressed with all of the unknowns, so trying to keep them calm is my priority.

RF and E started working on their school work for the day for an hour or so before lunch. And I got to chat with some of my teacher friends via a video conference - it was so nice to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. I miss my students and I miss my teacher friends.

Reading a book about sharks (go figure). :-)

As I was walking through our bedroom I realized RA left the candy that I got him for his office...not good...I will have to maintain self-restraint. I wanna eat the whole bag. 

After lunch I continued with checking in on students while the boys had some cartoon time. They worked on a little more school work before RA got home.

Reading another book - this one about whales...

Once RA was home, I turned the kiddos over to him and locked myself in a room for a good hour-long weight routine. I needed to decompress and sweat out some of my stress.

Earbuds are in, music is turned up, weights are ready...time to work out. 

The boys played outside while I cooked dinner, we ate together as a family, and I am now listening to RA read to them before bed. I intend on grabbing a glass of wine and binge watching Netflix shows for the rest of the evening. #mamaistired

When you're craving Chinese food, but don't want to go out and about...you search Pinterest and DIY it...YUM. 

Be safe, my friends.
H

Day Six --- Monday, March 23

It's really day ten if you count the weekends, but day six of work days - teaching my own students + helping my kids with their own school work + dealing with being at home for days...on...end.

 We started our day with pancakes...

Daisy taking her early morning nap...

It rained today. All day. When you're stuck at home the ability to go outside is key. We didn't get that option today. We're going stir crazy from being home + we're going even more stir crazy being stuck inside.

In between school work + our internet going in and out the boys built a fort. Trial and error, problem solving, and engineering are all important skills, right? 

I spent the majority of the day responding to messages and checking in on students. This is so bizarre and we're all trying our best to adjust.  

 I'm in my car! I'm escaping the house! Only to drive to Walmart and pick up a grocery order, but it felt great to be out and about in the world. 

Disclaimer - ignore the un-brushed hair + lack of makeup...we've been stuck at home for over a week now, people. 

 A rainy night calls for tomato soup and grilled cheese!

Yay for technology! Ellis got the chance to do a Google Hangout with his teacher and classmates tonight! He thought it was so cool and enjoyed seeing all of his friends. 

Tomorrow is looking like more of today...school work for the boys and school work for me. This new 'normal' is far from normal...I wanna go back to school... 

Take care, my friends!
H