Mountain Home Visit

We just spent a wonderful week in Mountain Home with Nanny & Papa and the Allred family. 
The Allreds were visiting for their Spring break  and since we are homeschooling, we just packed up our books and met them in Mountain Home. Chris stayed behind because he was finishing up the house and closing on the fixer upper. But we had a great time despite not having his help and company. 

I've been trying hard to take less pictures, so this is the first one I took during our stay and it was two days in. 
You would think these boys were enjoying beaters of cookie dough, but they are actually eating mashed potatoes. I was cracking up. They thoroughly enjoyed them. 

On one of days in Mountain Home the weather was really nice so we decided to take the kids for a hike. It was so nice. The kids loved walking and talking together. 

Big Bluff trail was a big hit. 

We did make it to the bluff overlook. Although it caused a lot of anxiety for Aunt Sarah and Nanny, no kids fell over the edge while taking this picture. 

Another day found us at the donut shop. This is one of my favorite places because I love donuts so much. 

The kids spent a lot of time printing coloring sheets and coloring together at the table. It was pretty cute to watch. 

I also got to attend a rock steady boxing class with my Dad while I was home. It was a tough class. I was breathing hard and my heart rate was up. I was impressed! My Dad is seriously a rock star. I loved getting him to watch him do his thing. It was amazing. 

We took the kids to the dollar store one day too. This was such a hit. Each kid got one dollar and each kid got to pick one treasure. They had so much fun. 

After the dollar tree we took the kids to a new ice cream shop. It was so delicious. 
All the flavors are made there and they were so unique and delicious. 

The kids were so thrilled when Papa busted out the laser guns one night after work. 
This is always their favorite things and watching my Dad play with my kids is a favorite of mine. 
Papa had most of the little ones on his team and it was hilarious to watch. 

The kids also got to have a fun sleepover one night. They are so lucky to have each other and I hope they are always such close friends. 

We had a wonderful visit. It was so fun to spend time with the Allreds, Aunt Laura, Nanny and Papa. 

Watching the kids spend time together is so incredibly fun. I'm so glad we made the trip. We were able to do school during the week and still get to spend so much time having fun. 

 

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
I was thinking about this day last year and how the world had literally just shut down. I was so grateful we had already bought our traditional lucky charms and I had all the stuff needed for our little celebration last year. The world is better today and I'm so grateful. 

We had a great time celebrating. 
We talked about St. Patrick's day in school. Learned about the traditions behind it and ate some yummy "lucky charm" themed treats. 

 

Benson was especially into St. Patrick's day this year. He loved finding the green milk and tiny green footprints all over the floor. He was so cute. He came into my room bright and early to tell me that a leprechaun had snuck into our house. He was so thrilled about it. 

This is one holiday I don't mind celebrating and decorating for because it usually means my house gets really clean before. Our legend says  if the house is dirty when the leprechaun arrives than he makes an even bigger mess for us to clean up. But if the house is clean when he arrives then he leaves us yummy treats. Nothing motivates my kids more than some delicious sugary treats. So when my house is  happily cleaned up before they go to bed, it makes me so happy and willing to do more fun stuff for them. 
That was our St. Patrick's day. Pretty low key this year, but we had fun!

 

1-Year of living during COVID

 It's now been a year since the world shut down due to the COVID-19 virus. I really can't believe its been a year but in other ways it feels like about 3 years have passed. Time is somehow both slowing down and speeding past us. Some kind of weird "COVID Time warp". 

So here are some stats as of today: As of March 16, 2021 there have been almost 121 million cases of Coronavirus worldwide. The disease has impacted more than 210 countries and territories, with the US confirming around 1/5 of all global cases. 

In Arkansas we have  had 339K cases and a little over 5,800 deaths. Our cases are currently trending down which is great. It makes me wary to get my hopes up, but it is great news. Our state was one of the lucky ones that never fully shut down. We didn't have a "shelter at home" order in place at anytime but we were asked to stay home when possible. Our restaurants were able to mostly stay open by doing take out and drive through. Our schools closed from March- May. Then in August 2020, they were able to reopen, with masks and social distancing procedures in place. Of course, we homeschooled, but most almost all my friends had their kids in school. Cases haven't been bad in the elementary schools. Our high school did close a couple of times but were able to reopen both times. I'm grateful that life is much more normal here than in many other states. Our family in Oregon still isn't able to go to in-person school. They have been virtual for a year now. It's crazy. 

 Health systems around the world have been overwhelmed by the number of COVID cases and even the richest and most prepared countries have struggled. But several vaccines have been approved for use and more than 390 million vaccine doses have been given already. The three major vaccines in the US are Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The vaccines are available here in AR and Nanny, Papa and Aunt Laura have already gotten theirs. I plan to get mine when they become available here in NWA and I'm pretty sure the military will require Chris to get one. President Nelson got the vaccine and that did give me some confidence. It feels like we've been praying for a miracle and this could be it. 

I feel like I have changed a lot over the last year. COVID really sent my anxiety into overdrive. I feel like I have always been on edge, anxious, and always on the go. When COVID forced me to slow down I really had to face a lot of my anxieties. It was a lot. I struggled. I started experiencing chest pain and depression. Every morning felt like I was waking up and hearing a damage report of what had happened over night. People were dying every day. I worried that my sweet husband or kids would get sick. I felt trapped in our house but also scared to leave at the same time. I struggled through for months. There were days when I just wanted to sleep. There were days when I wanted to be left alone, but it was impossible because we were all stuck at home together. Finally, in January, I decided to take control of my health. I went to the doctor and talked to him about all the things I was feeling. I cried. I felt exposed, vulnerable and I felt like a failure. But my need and want to feel better outweighed all those other feelings. So I got on some medication, I started doing therapy (virtually) and slowly I started feeling better. I do feel much better now. I loved my therapist. I learned a lot about myself. I learned some great coping mechanisms and I feel better about life. 

We are getting close to finishing our homeschooling curriculum. The kids have done great. It's been really rewarding getting to watch them learn and master concepts. I think the hardest part about homeschooling is having them home after we finish school. They are always here. This is what led to a lot of my depression. Not having them here, but the fact that I can't get things done and be productive like I use to be because they are here and I'm constantly getting interrupted. I really enjoy being productive. I also enjoy being busy and I like being good at things. But it got to the point where I was just falling behind in everything I wanted to do from home and my out of the house options had disappeared. I know this probably sounds so trivial. People are literally dying and I'm mourning the loss of my freedom. But my world changed like everyone else's and its been hard to adjust. 

Anyways, here we are 1-year later. I'm grateful the world seems brighter. I'm grateful that I was able to register my kids for school next year and that we will hopefully be able to resume a more normal lifestyle. I'm grateful for the development of vaccines. I'm grateful Chris was able to work from home and didn't lose his job. We've been blessed and preserved but I had a lot to learn during this time. 

Here's to one year of COVID life. May there not be a year TWO!

My 34th Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated my 34th birthday.  Sometimes it feels weird that I'm this old, but then I think about how old my kids are and it feels about right. 
I had a great day with my family and got spoiled rotten by them and my sweet friends. 
We took the day off of school and relaxed. I did run to Sushi house and got an order to go. Then I ate in the car in the parking lot of the library. It was going great til I spilled soy sauce all over myself. 
The sushi was delicious though. Then I went into the library and got to browse alone for the whole 30 minute time limit. It was so nice. 

I got to read for a while when I got home and I got a nap. I woke up to Chris making dinner. 
He made steak, shrimp and potatoes. It was so delicious. 

For dessert Chris made me an amazing ice cream cake. It was so delicious.

I can't believe he made it. He's the best. 

I got so many great gifts. My sweet husband and kiddos, family and friends totally spoiled me. 

I sure love these kiddos. 

I got lots of great gifts, but one of my favorites was my weighted blanket. The kids all wanted to try it out with me. It's actually really heavy. Well its 15 lbs but it feels alot heavier. I love how it feels. 

Then today I got to meet up with a bunch of my favorite girl friends for lunch. Last year I didn't get to do anything with my friends because of Covid, so having the world open enough to do this made the birthday even better. 
We had a great time talking and catching up. We went to Newk's and chatted for a couple hours. It was so fun. I'm so grateful for sweet friends who were able to celebrate with me. 

So here I am, 34 years old, married for nearly 14 years, a mother to 4 amazing kids and living life in a pandemic. I can't believe its been year since the world shut down. 
I'm glad this birthday was happier than my last one.