Quarantined - Week 2

Monday was our first day of remote learning as well as working from home. The boys teachers did a great job of setting up Google Classrooms for them with all their assignments and resources. No grades are being taken at this time as they are trying to figure out across the district who does or does not have access to technology and how to get those that don't have the resources they need. The boys divided up their work load so that they did some things daily. Usually they spend 2-3 hours a morning on their school work and then the rest of the afternoon is spent doing whatever else they can find along with working out every other day.

I gave the boys a little extra work this week for writing and asked them to write a paper for me about their Spring Break. Casen chose to write his by hand while Camden wanted to type his up in Google Slides. It was fun seeing what their favorite things were.

Casen's report

This week the boys and I dug a new flower bed in the backyard. Ever since we got new patio furniture last year, Camden has been on me to beautify the back yard. I have wanted to do it, but haven't seemed to find the time. Seems like now I have plenty of time . . . So, now that we have dug it, we will have to decide if going to buy some plants from a nursery is actually 'essential'.

 Our pepper plant is growing nicely.

Gas prices have continued to fall. The Valero near our neighborhood now has gas for $1.69 a gallon. People in oil and gas are fearful of their jobs. Many have lost their jobs, others are being furloughed or are working part time.

I was fortunate enough to have a Zoom happy hour with some of my coworkers. That hour online with them made my heart so happy.

There is a lot of cuddling together going on during
this time. While most days we do get dressed and
put in our contacts, we do not fix our hair (or put on make-up
in my case).

After feeling like I have done nothing but cook everyday, which truly is not the case since we have our routine of Little Ceasar's on Wednesday and McDonald's on Friday (classy, I know), we ordered take out from our favorite little Mexican restaurant. The beef fajitas were yummy!!!!

Quarantined - Week 1

So much has changed in our world since my last blog post. On March 16th President Trump advised Americans to practice social distancing and to avoid groups and keep 6 feet distance. We are to avoid groups of bigger than ten and thus schools, restaurants, bars, and some stores closed down. On March 19th Governor Abbott issued an executive order for people in Texas to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 as well as the closure of dine-in restaurants, bars, schools, and gyms. He said work places could remain open, but only essential personnel should work and the others should work from home. This would remain into effect until April 3rd. This was the first time we would have a public health disaster in over 100 years.

On March 18th we received word from Tomball ISD that the schools would remain closed through April 10th and remote learning would start next week on March 23rd. We also received word that there would be no STAAR (state mandated) testing this year. Dyanmos soccer sent out a web based workouts to keep the boys active at home. Casen continues to have baseball practice since not all boys are showing up, so there are less than 10 people together and they are outside.

We ourselves have not done too much this week . . . I have put together a couple puzzles, the boys have seen way more time on technology then they should, although we have gone on walks and bike rides. We have also had a family game night. I attempted to go to the grocery store to get our weekly groceries and the shelves were almost bare. I did not get more than half the things on my list. Everything has been bought up, even things like enchilada sauce . . . who knew?? The things people are hoarding is beyond me. They act like they will never get to leave their homes again. It really is mind blowing how empty the shelves are. I regret I did not take a picture.

While at the ranch over Spring Break, Camden tried bell peppers for the first time and loved them. Since that time, he has asked that we plant a bell pepper plant. So the boys and I headed to Home Depot and we bought all the needed supplies to plant one. Since it appears we will be home for awhile, it will be fun to watch it grow!

Coronavirus

Sometime towards the end of 2019 we heard about this virus, called Coronavirus, that started out in China. It was reported that it was fatal for some that were exposed to it and they were not sure how to treat it much less have a cure for it. I didn't pay much though to it, because honestly, I am not an alarmist and didn't see it causing such an impact on our lives here in the United States. By the end of January, we had our first confirmed case in the U.S. and more attention was being brought to the news. Towards the end of February it started being brought up in conversation with my coworkers, them asking me if I felt we should start worrying yet. My response was always, "Nah, not yet!"At my Lead Nurse meeting on March 2nd, our Health Services director discussed with us that she had ordered some PPE (personal protective equipment) for the nurses to have, "just in case" and shared with us the John Hopkins website that was a COVID tracker for the whole world showing confirmed cases. At that point there was only one confirmed case in Texas, and that was a person that was brought into San Antonio to be quarantined at the Air Force base there. The next day, while at work, I looked at that website and it was less than 20,000 confirmed cases world wide. I continued to watch that tracker over the next few weeks and the numbers continued to rise.

COVID-19

While we were in Kerrville, on March 9th, the WHO declared the coronavirus crisis as a pandemic. While we were at my parent's friend's ranch on March 12th I received a text from the school district saying that we will remain out of school next week until March 22nd as a precautionary measure due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The boys school district is following suit as well. They are currently no confirmed cases in our area, however due to people traveling over spring break to places that do have it, it is probably a good call.

We found out yesterday that soccer would be cancelled until April 23rd due to this virus. Casen still has baseball practice since it is basically less than 10 people congregating in one place. At this point, people are going crazy buying up all the toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies in site. Honestly, I am not sure why toilet paper since the virus is a respiratory illness, not a gastrointestinal issues, but obviously people are hoarding it! Today, church was online to avoid mass gatherings and possible spread. The stock market has taken a total plunge and gas prices have plummeted. I am not sure what the weeks ahead hold, but at this point, it is not looking great. . .

Picture of the paper goods isle in our Walmart

This is the cleaning isle

Spring Break 2020

This week was the boy's spring break and aside from Casen having a baseball tournament the first weekend, we really did not having anything exciting planned. Unfortunately, the boys lost this weekend, despite playing well on Saturday. Sunday, well that was a different story. This was their first time playing in AAA, and while they lost, things look promising for them. They played against some teams that have been together longer than them and were competitive.

Cannon, Casen and Pryce

On Monday, the boys and I headed to Kerrville to spend some time with my parents and visit Grandma Key. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, the nursing home closed to outside visitors to keep the residents safe. While I completely understand that, it really made me sad that I did not get to see grandma. We did however get to go and visit Stinker for a bit. The boys spent time playing outside, riding their scooters and just being boys.

On Thursday, my parents friends, Jennifer and Burton, who own a ranch outside of Señora, invited us out to spend the day. The boys absolutely loved bird watching, riding the 'jitney', looking for fossils (which Camden found a trilobite), and roasting hot dogs and s'mores. It was a fun day for us all enjoying the hill country.

Bird watching

Camden driving - he was a bit nervous about it.

Casen enjoyed taking control of it and driving. 

The Burton's house

Roasting hotdogs.

A lizard Camden saved from the firepit.

On Friday, the boys played outside a lot while my mom and I went with two of her friends for a 'girls lunch'. We went to a restaurant downtown that had great food. It was such a fun time sipping wine, eating and enjoying each other's company. Afterwards, we headed to one of the local boutique's and did a little retail therapy.

Today, we headed back to Cypress. As always, we did not want to leave, but of course do not want to ever over stay our welcome! Until next time . . . .

Fun Run and Field Day

This year, the boys school decided to change things up. Instead of having their Fun Run prior to Spring Break and then Field day in May, they combined them into one day, which was today. In addition, they turned the fun run into a color run and divided the morning up into three different activities. Depending on your grade, you would either start in the Fun Run, inflatables or field games and every 40 minutes you would switch it up. It is so hard to believe this is Camden's last field day. :(

Both boys received a medal for being the top boy to run the most laps in their class. They both ran their little hearts out for 30 minutes or so and never stopped for water. Obviously, they aren't competitive, LOL.

Camden started out all smiles, then it turned serious.

                           

Camden, Cole and Joseph

Mrs. Keller's 4th grade class

Mrs. Neelley's 2nd grade class