Quarantined

Life is pretty quiet around these parts. Actually, I don't think quiet is accurate. Life is pretty unscheduled which is rare for me. We don't really leave our house. It has been an adjustment. James frequently says that he will kill the sickness, so we can go out. The Corona Virus (Covid-19) is spreading quickly and we've done our best to stay away from people. The end doesn't seem to be near. Andrew's work told him that he'll be working from home for a minimum of 2 months! He locks himself in our bedroom during the day. School is now canceled through May 1st minimum. I've heard many rumors that children won't be returning at all this school year.

In spite of all of this craziness and uncertainty, I'm trying to remain positive. Just weeks ago, I was complaining to Andrew about how busy our evenings are. "We have something every night of the week." "I never get to see you anymore." Well, now everything is canceled and we have all the time in the world. I have enjoyed spending more quality time together.

Looking back over the past several months, we have been extremely blessed. I am so grateful that Andrew was able to find work before this virus hit. I can't imagine having to stress about money right now on top of all the other worries and unknowns. What a blessing that his job is one that can easily be done remotely. Also, I don't find this coincidental, but Andrew switched teams a mere 2 weeks before this working from home situation occurred. Andrew had not been liking his job much and was seriously contemplating getting a new job. We both felt a little confused and conflicted because we strongly felt that this was the right job for him. Andrew feels like he understands his work and role on his new team much more already and says it would have been hard working from home while on the other team because his responsibilities were unclear.

While being forced to stay in our homes, I've made quite the list of home projects. Most of them are cheap and semi-annoying, but I'm grateful we have the time and means to complete them.

Here's a funny story about that: On Wednesday, I started jotting down some things I wanted us to accomplish over the next bit. Some of the things on the list were more immediate (mopping) and some more long-term. I left the list on the counter and went upstairs to do piano lessons via ZOOM. (what a challenge) Once I finished, Andrew told me he had a minor panic attack when he saw the list. He thought I wanted him to accomplish all of those things that afternoon while I was teaching (but then realized it would be impossible and he was mistaken). Here is the list:

(P.S.-I didn't make this list knowing it would be posted)

Project #1:  Goodbye clock that never matched my style. Marriage is about compromise, right? Andrew loved this clock. I figured 4 years was plenty of time for him to admire it. I wanted it down as soon as we moved in. (The previous owners left it.)

Project #2: Get rid of our shedding red couch. Our next door neighbor took it to the dump for us which was much appreciated. Now we need to decide what will replace it.

Project #3: Paint Railing

Before

After-- This project was much more work than anticipated and took several coats.

Project #4: Get rid of our cheap white curtains and replace them with blinds.

The best $115 I've spent in a long time. If I had know what a difference this would have made, I would have done it years ago.

Project #5: Paint James' Bedroom and Closet

Before

After-- The color was less subdued than anticipated, but it really makes that white wall by his window pop. This color won "color of the year" at Home Depot and is called "Back to Nature."

Closet--Please note: the closet hanger railing broke during this process. In other words, it hasn't been broken for the 4 years we've lived here. Also, we forgot to paint his closet when we painted his room "Cottage White" when we moved in. Look how hideous that color is!

In other news, I've read 3 books this week-- eh maybe 2 weeks. It's easy to lose track of time these days. Reading is helping me stay sane. Oh and limiting my time on social media. Nobody is posting anything cool anyway because we're all stuck at home. People have LOUD opinions about this virus and a break from social media has made a world of difference for me.  I've also found relaxation and routine in doing recorded piyo workouts at home with Andrew. I'm so grateful that Jessie, the piyo class instructor, is willing to record 3 workouts a week! Also, door-dash has been a life-saver and we cherish our kidless nights eating delicious food in bed. 

Whew! If you made it to the end of this, I applaud you. I can't really see anyone these days, so I just word vomited instead. Let the projects continue... 

Birthday James!

James gets giddy about birthdays. So giddy that back in January, we created a paper chain countdown to help him picture when his birthday would actually be here. Apparently that means I've successfully done my job at spoiling him over the last 2 years. (Oops.) It also adds a lot of pressure. A couple of weeks before his birthday, we decided we wouldn't do a party this year. Then, with the Corona-Virus going on, I'm so glad I didn't have a party planned because basically everything is cancelled (including church) and nobody is really leaving their homes.

We talked about taking James to the movie theater for the first time on his birthday, but we didn't because of the virus. We did take James to "the donut shop" also know as the Lehi Bakery the weekend before because it was closed on Monday, James' actual birthday. James picked out his own donut and was thrilled with the green sprinkles. We meet Grandma Langlois at the Lehi Bakery sometimes, and he is very fond of that place. I can't blame him because the donuts are so light and fluffy.

On Sunday, March 15, we sang to James at Nana and Papa's house. He loved the attention and left quite a bit of spit all over the apple crisp dessert. Nana and Papa gave James a big car carrier and Simon and Esther gave him a coloring mat!

On Monday, March 16, James' presents awaited him downstairs. In fact, I think he knew something was up the night before. He may have heard us working on getting everything ready and got out of bed a couple of times (which is rare). We got training wheels and a helmet for James' bike! My friend Kaitlin gave him an astronaut book along with an astronaut launcher. Balloons made everything even more exciting!

(Still working on learning to ride this)

We had a big breakfast of pancakes and eggs! For dinner, we went through the drive through at Chick-Fil-A and got James his very own kids meal with chicken nuggets, french fries, and chocolate milk. Later, we watched the movie "Frozen 2" which none of us had seen. To top it all off, James got to pick his own cupcake (pupcake is how he pronounces it) from Cravings. I have never let him have his own before. He wanted to get a cupcake that wasn't messy. Good luck with that!

Although it was kind of a different birthday due to the unique pandemic, I'm glad we could spoil James. Here are some things I want to remember about James right now:

James is extremely smart! He talks constantly and speaks well. Most people think he is much older than 3. James has lots of energy and I have to remind him that if he wants to be wild, he can run around in the basement. James likes to know the schedule for the day and what's going on. He asks, "what's happening after that?" He enjoys going to story-time at the library weekly and is stoked to be big enough to attend "preschool story-time" for big kids. He can listen to me read him stories for A LONG time which makes my heart happy. He loves going to the gym (or gymboree) while I workout and I think it's mostly because of the unlimited T.V. 

He cannot wait until preschool begins in September and is extremely disappointed that a yellow bus won't be picking him up.  He LOVES Macaroni and Cheese (He definitely doesn't get that from me). He knows the words to some primary songs (I Love to See the Temple, I am a Child of God, Families Can be Together Forever, The Wise Man, Nephi's Courage, etc.) I said he knows the "words" for a reason. We're still working on his singing voice. ;) He absolutely LOVES nursery and is very social constantly asking about his friends. James is the best big brother and often asks if we can go wake Isabelle up when she's napping because he misses her. He lives for playing outside! We sure do love this tender-hearted boy.

A couple of days after James' birthday, he continued to ask me when his friends were coming over for a party. Next year it is, buddy!