Week 4 Recap: Constant Knocking

From an emotional standpoint for me, this week has been a lot drudgier, like I'm wading through mental muck, trying to push things out of the way to focus and relax and enjoy my kids, and having them constantly slingshot back in to my brain. Had a few moments of tears with Andrew trying to explain that 99% of my day is completely different and only like 10% of his day is different (an obvious exaggeration, but ya know!). And that with everything with T and other life complications still popping up regularly (had a call from our lawyer about a seemingly bogus liability lawsuit we're facing), I am finding my energy levels lacking.

Each issue feels like it's constantly knocking on the door to my consciousness, asking to be let in. And every time I have to say no, I feel a little more drained and a little more irritable. This is anxiety for me, for now. Thankfully, children and Easter are good distractions.

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Sunday April 5th
E cut out 18 handprints from green construction paper so we could make palm branches for both the boys to wave during our online Palm Sunday Church service.

We spent a lot of time outside as it was a beautiful day! Including a family walk/scoot in the evening in our neighbourhood.

Monday April 6th

This morning we tidied up the playroom/dining room and got out some of our Easter decor. Then we played for a while and had a video call with a family member over lunch.

This week's Learning Time was spent doing Easter activities and playing outside. The boys were both feeling really sweet with each other in the afternoon and snuggled up while watching their show. That same show also happened to be one with some insightful (if not new) encouragement that felt like it could also be applicable to our isolation scenario.

"Have you ever lost something that you thought you couldn't do without? Sometimes it can feel like you'll never be the same... [we] learned that it's whats on the inside that counts and that the most important thing is to believe in yourself" end of Thomas and Friends episode Season 20, Episode 5

The boys and Andrew had an indoor snowball fight after dinner that was so much fun and got out a lot of silly energy. E also got to get on a Zoom call with his Otter (Scout) friends which was a bit chaotic with so many kids, but also a nice connection.

Tuesday April 7th

The boys spent much of the morning playing together but independently from me. We did record the boys doing actions to a worship song for our church's upcoming Easter morning service though!

Since Andrew and I both have had shoulder issues since isolation began (and we can't go to the chiropractor), we decided getting rid of our old mattress with those typical troughs on each side would probably be a good investment for our bodies, our sleep and our sanity. We set up our new Endy mattress today and overall we're happy with it, though it is firmer than we're used to.

For Learning Time, E finished up some letters to family and worked on Easter activities. Before dinner, Andrew and the boys went on a bike ride.

Wednesday April 8th

To try push cyclical thoughts out of my head, I spent the morning tidying up (not that you can really tell) while the boys played mostly Knight and Dragon together. I also got some one-on-one time in with T doing some magnetic animal puzzles.

Before and After

While E was having his online music class, T was outside with Andrew searching for his imaginary animal friend "Goobie" who is of undetermined classification (worm? bird? squirrel? we don't know!). We just know Goobie likes to hide and is hard to find and requires very thorough searching.

Thursday April 9th

Today the boys spent much of the morning in the basement. They used boxes and play tents and made a big fort with it's own backyard and jumped on our old mattress. I got T dressed in to some dressup costumes which is always fun.

In the afternoon I hosted a Make Your Own Easter Lego Creations call with some kids from church. E and I made a butterfly, Easter egg and cross.

Friday April 10th

I slept in a bit while Andrew and the boys did giant size floor puzzles and built a race track in the basement.  We had some emergency tablet repair, played outside, read books, went for an after dinner family walk, and "attended" Good Friday services. Andrew and I finished our day watching Fast & the Furious 8 - sometimes you just need an easy watch.

Saturday April 11th

Our day was mostly spent outside enjoying some beautiful weather. Andrew and E worked on preparing the section of backyard for the playset we ordered, cutting down a big prickly bush. I cut back some hosta flower stems that should have been done last fall but we had early snowfall.

Before and After

After T's quiet time we dyed some Easter eggs and the boys had a lot of fun and did a great job. They turned out beautifully and were also delicious!