Coronavirus Quarantine Week 2

Quarantine Day 6 - Nate was busy making sure everything was in place for the online worship service. Max woke up early and ate. Zach rolled out of bed around seven. Zoe has become nocturnal in this break from school. She will come out of her room for any number of reasons: thirst, hunger, itching legs, to get “something” and then when we finally say you NEED to stay in bed, she talks to herself or sings until 10pm. She then sleeps until 9am every day. This would be excellent if the boys would sleep this late too. Also, this was totally me when I was on breaks when I was younger. We watched Nate’s recording of church on Facebook. It was actually really cool to see all of our Hoyleton family tuning into church at the same time. We then got dressed and started the day indoors. I took a nap in the afternoon. Then we decided the kids needed to get out of the house, so we took them to Dairy King for dinner. I didn’t have to cook, the kids got out of the house and we supported local business. 

Quarantine Day 7 - Again Max didn’t sleep well, so I rode the couch all night, Zach woke at 7 and Zoe slept till 9. Starting off the week is hard. We have to get back into the swing of Zoe doing homework. Meanwhile, I have a fussy 6 month old baby and a toddler who has been somewhat trying lately. Zoe fought me on her homework. You know, if there were ever any question on whether or not I should homeschool my children, this solidifies my hard no. The kids are starting to feel the effects of being inside all the time. They are just out of their routine and it’s making them irritable, especially Zach. He used to have a lot of time to play on his own during the day. That is all gone now. When the Francee Kasten and her girls went to pick up lunch, they stopped by the house and said hi through the screen door. The poor girls miss each other so much. 

Quarantine Day 8 - Max continued to not sleep well. We really needed groceries so I ran to the store. I wanted to use Walmart Pick-Up, which is one of my favorite things but it wouldn’t let me add weird things like lunch meat and butter. They are out of interesting things. Butter, milk, eggs were all available. They were completely out of instant mashed potato flakes and Chocolate milk. If there is one thing that Zoe, my mom, my sister and I all love, it is chocolate milk. Yes, we could make it with chocolate syrup, but I prefer the premixed kind. It is faster with kids. Still no hand sanitizer or cleaning products. Did no one have any cleaning products in their house before this started? I mean the homes of America are going to be spotless when this is over. Plus, who has the time? I am barely holding it together. My house becomes messier by the day because of the sticky jam hands of my children. Do I have time to clean it? Nope. Do I have time to breathe or sleep? No and no. At nap time, I told Zach it was time for a nap and he ran into the room where Max was sleeping and woke him up. It is lucky that my middle baby is so sweet, cute and a miracle sleeper because he made Mommy MAD. Max proceeded to cry for 45 minutes. It was exhausting. After dinner, the kids and I took a walk to Norma’s house so we could wave to her. We miss our friends but we are taking social distancing seriously.

Quarantine Day 9 - Max has been constipated so the day before I gave him prunes at dinner time. Well this morning all the poop came out of his sweet little body. Let’s just say that at one point I ended up with poop on my face before 9am and I was not happy about it. Max had a well check at the doctor. They didn’t push it back because it was a month where he would be receiving vaccinations. We both had our temperatures taken and had to check in at the hospital entrance because our doctor’s office is connected to a hospital. In the pediatrician’s office, there were no other patients in the waiting room and I had to wear a mask. They have postponed all well visits that don’t require vaccinations until after the shelter-in-place has lifted. It was good that we went in because Max really hasn’t been himself. He’s been so cranky and not sleeping well. Turns out he has an ear infection. Good news is that we can treat it and hopefully he will start to sleep better again. Mama needs it. I had to stop in the store to get his prescription, again, no chocolate milk. I know how amazing chocolate milk is, but of all the things. People must be cleaning their homes and drinking chocolate milk all over America. The boys got great naps today. It warmed up and it was so beautiful outside. It is amazing what sunshine and fresh-air can do. Being cooped up in the house just isn’t great. Now if only the kids could play with their friends again. It’s been hard to fight against wanting to just run up to someone in the store when I see them and give them a hug or go over to a friend’s house and sit down to chat for five minutes. I can’t wait for it to be over so we can all be together again. We finally got outside this day and were able to play in the back yard.

Quarantine Day 10 -  Max slept terribly again, but the sun was out! I decided that after breakfast the kids and I were going to go out and spread some love. I decided that we would take some sidewalk chalk that Zoe got for her birthday and go write some love notes on driveways and sidewalks of our friends in Hoyleton. It was so much fun. We had to rush so we didn’t get caught leaving our love surprises. We miss our friends so much. We hit the Kastens’, Carlene Michael’s and Norma’s house. Norma saw us coming so she got to admire them in action from afar. Our plans were cut short when it started raining. We are hoping to do more artwork soon. We took the day off from school work because I think we all needed a little break. The kids and I spent some time in the front yard watching the cars go by. Zach got comfortable on the flower boxes. LuAnn and Wayne Grote treated us to Kretzer's that night and it was so delicious. Plus, I didn't have to cook. We are so spoiled. Thanks Wayne and LuAnn!

"Mom, I'm watching the cars."

Quarantine Day 11 - Nate took the night shift with Max and I got home sleep! Woo! Actually, Nate took the night shift and Max slept wonderfully for him. It’s like he knows when mama is on-call and wants all of her snuggles. Nate cut the grass this day because it was nice. Zach ran out of the house into the backyard twice without giving me a heads up. I guess I need to start locking the back door. The first time, I was on the phone and I saw Zach run across the back yard out the window. I’m like WOAH, hold on there. I went for a walk with Zoe outside. It was almost hot because of the humidity. 

Quarantine Day 12 - Nate had a lot of filming to do for the church service video. He was going to be gone most of the day. So after breakfast, the kids and I went and did more chalk love notes. We hit up our friends Carol, Henry and the Hanenbergers. zach had a hard time not hugging his Tina. Then, when we got home he told me that he was mad at the virus because he couldn't visit his Tina's house. We also went through the carwash which is now like an amusement park. I mean the carwash is always fun, but when you haven’t left the house in a couple of weeks, it is a great time. I tried taking a nap in the afternoon but Zoe woke me up twice, the first time to ask if she could get a snack, which at that point, I was like “eat the whole pantry if it makes you happy.” The second time, she woke me and Max (by accident) up because she wanted to ask if she could have an Oreo. I have been so tired lately I would have been happier if she helped herself to the entire package, but that’s okay. We had Kretzer’s fried chicken for dinner. Yum. Trying to keep supporting our local restaurant. This was the end of the first full week of quarantine for us. 

It was a long week but we have been so blessed by our Hoyletonians. People brought us food, take out, activities for the kids and always are checking in to see if I need something from the store. Thank you everyone! 

That's all for now. God is good!