Pandemic Back to School Week 23

 Pandemic Back to School

 

Week 23

 

Day 154 – Sunday, August 16, 2020

 

I woke up at 5:30 this morning.  Not as early as a school day, but certainly not late.  I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up and fixed breakfast.  After breakfast, I lay back down, and slept for 90 minutes.  It was quite nice.  Napping is just something I don’t normally do, since it tends to just make me feel worse.

 

I let the kids sleep as long as they wanted.  

 

Elijah came storming out of his room at one point and said, “Have you ever heard of en passant in chess”.  I told him, I had heard the term, but didn’t remember what it meant.  He’s been playing a lot of chess, both in person and online.  I don’t believe he has ever sat down and read all the rules, he knows the basics and is trying to improve.  So, when a rule he’s unfamiliar with pops up, he’s beside himself.  I suppose he’ll remember it now!

 

Leah has been wanting me to make her cheese fries (or tots), so I made her some bacon cheese tots for lunch in the air fryer.  At one time you could buy frozen fries that came in a microwavable box to make them crispier.  I didn’t see any when I was at Walmart, but maybe Pandemic isn’t the time to look for such things.

 

I made a quick trip to Aldi to get a block of cheddar cheese (and some random snack for the kids) so I could make a cheese sauce for our broccoli tonight.  It was pretty good and went well with grilled pork tenderloin (that was amazing).

 

I had a ICT/EVV book club on Zoom where we discussed the book, Circe.  I had only made it through the first chapter.  I didn’t do much reading this month, and it sounds like Circe was a slog until chapter 5.  I may have to check it out again.  Since I’ve been having a hard time reading, I’m guessing that I’m experiencing some low-level stress about school starting.  Kind of like back in March, I’m having a hard time focusing, at least on books.  For September, we are reading Black is the Body, which is a series of essays, so should be easier to read.  

 

Tomorrow is the beginning of the first full week of work (half the kids start Wednesday).  It will be interesting for sure. 

 

Day 155 – Monday, August 17, 2020

 

Our second teacher workday is in the books.  My FitBit says I did nothing, but I sure am tired!  

 

Teachers made a “how to” video for pick up and drop off… It took a lot longer than expected, lol.  Please remember that we are ALL learning new procedures, not just the kids (and parents).

 

Our staff meeting was via WebEx even though we were all in the building.  Being muted during a meeting might be the best thing ever.  There were a couple of times where I heartily laughed at inappropriate times.  Probably no one even noticed, lol.

 

I got all of my new students added to my spreadsheet, and I have 90… Ten of them will be virtual, and I don’t even know how we are supposed to fit them into the schedule.  I refuse to stress over this.  

 

I spent most of the day printing off IEPs for new students and adding their info to my spreadsheet.  I also spent a fair chunk getting together papers to send home to parents.  

 

Tomorrow, speech therapists have an in-person meeting… all 30 of us.  We will be spaced out in an auditorium, but I guess I’ll wear my mask. 

 

My librarian friend loaned me a copy of Circe for when I get around to finishing it.

 

On the way to pick up Elijah, I had one of those, “Is this for real?” moments.  It’s been a few months since I had one of those.  I had gotten pretty comfy in my Pandemic-at-home routine.  We all wonder how long we will be meeting in person.

 

Day 156 – Tuesday, August 18, 2020

 

Tomorrow is the first day of school.  In person.  Only half the students at a time for the first six days.  It’s fine. It’ll be fine.  Everything’s fine.  

 

There is never enough time.  I got parent letters ready and passed out to all the elementary teachers.  I will pass out the middle and high school papers soon, maybe tomorrow. 

 

I sat in on an IEP case conference that should have been super short.  It wasn’t.  

 

Another student moved from in-person to Virtual Academy (maybe two), so now I have 11 or 12 students I’ll need to see virtually.  Fantastic.

 

I had a two-hour meeting with all the speech pathologists.  Good information from the director of special ed.  

 

(Apparently, my tired brain only functions in bullet points, lol)

 

I have an evaluation that I need to finish up tomorrow (started in March!), but that should be super short.  Other than that, I can continue to get organized…. I still have to populate my Google Classroom, figure out the skeleton of a possible schedule, take care of the stack of student files I was handed for transfers into my buildings, and a million other things.  

 

I promised kindergarten that I would help get their students back to their parents in the afternoon.  

 

I suppose as long as we don’t have any kids sent to the nurse with COVID symptoms, we’ll call it good. 

 

Unless, I’m in my office by myself, my mask will stay on.  

 

Day 157 – Wednesday, August 19, 2020

 

First day of school for kids with last names that start with A-J!  Most of the classes were really small…. 3-8 kids in most of the elementary classes.  Blended families with last names at both ends of the alphabet are supposed to come this week.  Teacher’s kids are allowed both weeks (my girls opted to stay home until next week).  That’s fine.  

 

I started the day inventorying all the new files I got yesterday.  No surprises, which is nice.  

 

I headed off to Reitz High School to drop off parent letters to my life skills students.  I forgot they had moved classrooms until I walked into their old one…  I love their new classroom!  It has a bathroom attached which is super nice for them.  They had about 2/3 of their students today.  Then I headed to the nurse’s office where my files are housed.  Apparently, I won’t be able to see my students in the office I’ve always used (because it’s inside the nurse’s office).  I spent a good deal of time filing a year’s worth of IEPs that I printed in May, lol.  I brought a stack of really old inactive files (birthdays from the early 90’s) back to my office to house until I send them downtown to the special ed “dead letter office”.

 

Then I headed over to Perry Heights and dropped off files for new 6^th graders that came from Daniel Wertz.  I left parent letters with a special ed teacher who will see those students (next week because they were all K-Z)

 

I went back to Daniel Wertz to eat lunch.  Then I worked on a photo “cheat sheet” of all the speech therapists.  A few years ago, I came up with the grand idea of taking everyone’s picture at the beginning of the year, so all the new people could figure out who was who (and It helped everyone learn the newbies).  We only see each other once a month, so it can be hard to put faces with names.  It took way too long, and then I realized that I’d missed someone…. 

 

I went to help one of the kindergarteners to their parents after school.  The class I helped had 3 kiddos, lol.  The other class had 5, but they had a helper already.  I had them get their hands washed, get their backpacks from their cubby, unhook their mask from the lanyard that stays at their desk, and put their mask on.  (Kindergarteners masks are DISGUSTING by the end of the day, and they didn’t even wear them while sitting at their desks).  I took the kids out when their names were called… had no idea which vehicle to put them in, but it worked out.  The process seemed to go super slow, but we were done by 3:20 which is the “end of the teacher workday”.  I was super impressed until the gym teacher noted that we only had 1/3 of the kids today. Oh yikes… it will get better.  

 

The teachers loved having super small classes!  

 

We keep getting notifications of more and more kids signing up for Virtual Academy…. (in 9 weeks, I think most of them will come rushing back to in-person school).

 

The high school added a 4^th lunch period, and now first lunch is at 9:20am!!  The first elementary lunch is at 10:15… crazy days.

 

Day 158 – Thursday, August 20, 2020

 

Day two of soft start.  I think it went even smoother than yesterday.  Most of the parents of my students who received their parent letter yesterday actually signed up for Remind like I asked.  A few of them returned the papers saying that they had when they hadn’t, but I was smart enough to ask for their email and text number on that sheet.  So, I signed them up, and a couple quickly accepted.  It’s exciting to think that I might actually be able to communicate with some of the parents better.  

 

I finished up my speech therapist visual aid and realized there was one photo I simply didn’t have.  Three people who were absent or I missed taking their photo, I had older photos of them.  I used those for now.  

 

I spent the majority of my day making a schedule.  Three schools, four self-contained classrooms (three of which have many students on a reduced day and are in the building at different times.  I try to see the middle schoolers during their 20 minute “flex” period.  The high school now has FOUR lunch periods, and upper classmen who go to morning programs at other locations.  Normally, the high school is on block schedule and I try to pull kids during their 90-minute homeroom, but no block schedule and no real homeroom this year.  No one is supposed to be pulled from reading and preferably not math.  If I have kids in my office, I have to have time to clean the room immediately after.  Then there are the virtual students for which we have received zero guidance, and their numbers keep growing.  I simply don’t have enough spots for all of my virtual students.  I did get most of the schedule created though I still need to put in some individual students from the self-contained classrooms, but I know which classroom I’ll be in at what time.  

 

I have to say the socially distanced lunch with half of the students per grade is super quiet.  The lunch monitors must love it.  The kids, not so much.

 

Dismissal was WAY faster, at least the car pick-up line.  Some of the busses were running late, but there’s not much we can do to fix that on our end.  

 

Tomorrow is Friday!  Then Monday, we get to start all over with another group of kids.

I watched the lunch procedure for the high school and got an update from Hannah’s boyfriend (last name starts with B).  It’s sad, and there’s no way to get a school lunch in time to actually eat it.  My girls have already decided to take their lunches.

 

Day 158 – Friday, August 21, 2020

 

6:30am

 

I went to bed nice and early, my FitBit says I was asleep by 9:15.  Just before 2am, Oliver woke me up and I noticed that the lights were still on.  Alexa normally turns off the lights at 10pm.  It’s great.  I love it.  When I got up to sequester Oliver in the laundry room, I told Alexa to turn off the lights.  She said, “Lights are not responding”.  Fantastic.  I decided it was no big deal since I went to sleep with them on, what does it matter.  But I couldn’t go to sleep.  I started searching the internet for why two smart plugs that were bought and installed at separate times more than 18 months ago would stop working at the same time.  Nothing.  All I read was “unplug them and reset them”.  Both plugs are behind the sectional and not easy to get to.  Then I started worrying that the plugs might overheat since they weren’t working right and start a fire.  (Also, maybe the Chinese government was overheating our smart plugs to cause fires and general chaos… but it was the middle of the night).  I got up and moved the sectional, unplugged both smart plugs, reset them, and left them unplugged for now.  Now I think it was an internet issue as Elijah is complaining about it being really spotty.  Later, I awoke to a constant rumbling noise that I couldn’t place… until the train whistle started blowing.  I rarely hear them anymore, but last night was the night.

 

Bring on the crazy dreams!  First, I dreamed that the power went out and neither Elijah nor I woke up on time, nor did we realize we were late until we were LATE.  The girls had gotten up, but didn’t realize what was going on.  Next, I dreamed that the garage door raising woke me up, and when I went to check on it, there was a camera crew and a reporter.  I let loose with some language, lol. Then when I left the house, I was pulling out of our driveway and realized that our house was no longer in the same neighborhood… it was now much more urban.  There was an apartment complex across the street that looked just like the one downtown at MLK and Court.  Down the street to the north, there was an elementary school and I could see the swings on the playground.  Next door, through the window I could see that my neighbors were taking care of a newborn.  Seemed weird since I’d never seen the wife pregnant.  Last I dreamed about a movie about a young woman who always goes to summer camp.  She had gone to a pre-camp clean-up day, but when asked about it, she denied ever being there.  Weird, weird dreams, lol.

 

8:45 pm

 

It was a fairly productive day at work.  I finished up my schedule… until something changes.  I watched two required professional development videos and did the assessments.  One of those took significantly longer than I was led to believe, and I ended up skipping through the last half (I still got 100% correct).  I received a few more files, so I inventoried those (they need to go to the middle school).  

I spent the majority of the afternoon on my first language lesson.  I’m going to teach my kids to play “Guess in 10” (an animal 20 questions type game), but I need to teach most of the vocabulary and concepts before we can play.  I’m working on phase one.  We’ll probably end up playing it more like Guess Who…

 

My first lesson with all of my students will be to get them logged into my Google Classroom.  That should be a fun, good time.  

 

I had Friday pizza night with my kids, and then I did yard work.  I finally did the backyard edging (yikes!), and I mowed.  I do think that maybe the grass is starting to slow down on the growing.  That would be welcome.  I’m not really a fan of mowing.

 

I got my smart plugs reset, and they are working again.  If I’d left them alone, I wonder if they would have started working again…. I’ll never know.  

 

Day 159 – Saturday, August 22, 2020

 

This is the first real weekend I’ve had since March.  When you are quarantined every day is the same.  If you don’t get the floor swept, you’ll have time to do it tomorrow.  Saturdays are my ‘get everything done day”.  I did sleep until about 7, since a was up cleaning cat barf a few times over night.  I spent 8-10 grocery shopping, including drive time.  It took 40 minutes or so to put everything away.  

 

I’m finishing up the 7^th load of laundry, but I won’t have any left to do tomorrow.

 

I felt bad that Leah has been unable to see her BFF, so I got everyone Chick-fil-a for lunch.  On the way, I dropped of a DVD at the library, and stopped at Schnuck’s for the things Walmart didn’t have.  Why is always puffcorn and Diet DP?

 

I cleaned toilets and cleaned out sink drains (barf) because they were slow/clogged.  Hannah and Leah cleaned and organized their sink and linen closet with some “book tubs” I found this morning.  I looked and looked for some kind of bathroom caddy for each kid, but all of the “back to college” stuff had been picked through.  When Leah was cleaning out the linen cabinet, she called out, “Why does Elijah have 8 empty deodorants?”  Why, indeed?  He has a tendency to think that all of his toiletries should stay out on the sink permanently.  And apparently, he never throws away anything when it’s empty…. Hannah also scrubbed their shower which was definitely a first.

 

I should be getting back my biopsy results soon but haven’t yet.  

 

I need to reschedule next year’s wellness visits with our family doctor, because I received emails that they were all cancelled (like a week after I scheduled them).  I guess the doctor decided to go on vacation that week.  The office isn’t open when I’m at home, I don’t get cell service in my office, and my office phone doesn’t work… Fun. 

 

I called and left a message with the eye doctor about Leah’s contacts which haven’t arrived yet (I have a feeling they never got ordered).  They didn’t call back.  They probably just ordered them…

 

I made an amazing dinner, honey ginger teriyaki pork chops, broccoli, and wild rice.  I haven’t made it in a few years, and it took about twice as long as I expected.  Twenty minutes into the process, and I had only gotten the teriyaki made.  Hannah and Elijah liked it (Hannah had requested it), and Leah ate part of the meat, all the broccoli, and turned up her nose at the teriyaki and rice… 

 

I’m exhausted.  Tomorrow ought to be more restful since most of the chores are already done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pandemic Back to School Week 22

 Pandemic Back to School

 

Week 22

 

Day 147 – Sunday, August 9, 2020

 

Today was one of those days that every time I looked at the clock it was significantly later than I expected.  

 

I started the day off pretty early, in the 6 o’clock hour.  I heard something clatter to the floor, but the cat known for pushing things to the floor was sleeping next to me.  I never did figure out what I heard.  

 

I slowly fixed breakfast and got ready.  Leah had previously said she wanted to go grocery shopping with me, but apparently not enough to actually get up.  I got to Walmart about 9:20 which is shockingly late for me.  It is nice to see more and more shelves full or mostly full.  The ramen aisle is at about 70% and I saw brands that I haven’t seen since before March 11^th.  However, there was no Diet Dr Pepper in the store…. Sacrilege!  Toilet paper = 75% full; paper towels = 25% full.  It’s just interesting to see.

 

I promised Leah an afternoon trip to Schnuck’s to get Grippos and rice milk for Elijah (he likes spicy chips and to make horchata…).  Schnuck’s had Diet DP in bottles, but not lots.  Afterward, I filled up my gas tank (clearly, I did WAY more driving last week than I have since early March), and Leah wanted to go to Dollar Tree.  

 

I played Animal Crossing, and I grilled a pork tenderloin for dinner.  I used the meat thermometer with the probe that plugs into a digital readout that’s outside of the heat, so it was perfectly cooked.  Amazing, lol.  I vacuumed and did dishes… and that’s it.  No idea where the day got away to.  

 

Assuming nothing changes, teachers report on Friday for our first day of work.  School starts for half of the students the following Wednesday.  My girls don’t go back for two more weeks…

 

Day 148 – Monday, August 10, 2020

 

I really didn’t want to get up this morning.  Oliver woke me up a couple of times, so I was in a deep sleep when my alarm went off.  I was very confused. 

 

After I took Elijah to school, I dropped Hannah’s car off for an oil change.  I think her car, Harold, has been driven about 4 times since March…. 

 

Then I took the girls to Target, Five Below, and Party City.  Hannah and I were DONE by the time we got to Party City, but Leah was looking for trinkets to make into earrings and keychains.  The cashier noted that Leah must be making earrings just like all the other TikTok pre/teens.  

 

After lunch, the mechanic called and said Hannah’s car was ready, so we picked it up.  Then I headed to work for a couple of hours.  I got a little organizing done.  Elijah stayed after school for cross country practice, and he wasn’t sure what time he’d be done, so I left in time to get there by 4:00.  Next time, I’ll get there by 4:30.  It was super-hot today, heat index of 110.  He could barely walk.  Pre-COVID, he could run 5k on a treadmill.  He barely left the house for 5 months…. Today was rough!

 

I made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn for dinner (I forgot the biscuits).  I think my kids would be very pleased if I cooked like that more often.  My mom made that at least once a week when I was growing up.  It’s just kind of a mess.  It was delicious and there were NO leftovers.  

 

Day 149 – Tuesday, August 11, 2020

 

Elijah was up until midnight doing homework, and then woke up at 2am and turned his 5am alarm off…. I checked on him at 5:02, and he got up and turned on his light.  Turns out, he wasn’t actually awake.  He woke up at 5:20. It’s a good thing that I don’t yet need to be at work at 7:35 because today it wouldn’t have happened.  

 

I got my hair cut at 10am and the girls babysat the Harper “littles” from 11:00-4:00.  The twins bonded with the girls and were sad when they left.  Hannah and especially Leah were happy to have SOMETHING to do.  

 

Earlier in the week, the power button on Hannah’s phone stopped working.  I was able to add an “accessibility” button on the screen to power down the phone, but clearly, it’s a problem. She has an iPhone SE that’s almost 3 years old.  It really seems like it should have lasted longer.  I replaced the battery at Christmas…. If we lived near an Apple Store I’d take a visit.  The “authorized” repair places are not very good.  So, it looks like Hannah will get a new phone for her birthday.

 

While everyone was gone I (finally) put photos on the wall.  I put up all the 1 year and 2-year-old photos.  I realized that I never got any prints of Leah’s 2-year-old photos (they were cute!), so I’m guessing that I got most of these framed before she was two, lol.  

 

Also, my friends Jean & Kip came over to look at my now dead attic fan and replaced the air filter in my HVAC.  The heater is in the attic, and I don’t have a ladder tall enough to access it…. I guess I need to add “have a door and foldable ladder installed to the attic” to my list.  As for the attic fan, it was decided that I don’t “really” need an attic fan… but getting it replaced shouldn’t cost too much.

 

When I picked up Elijah, I was ready with a cold PowerAde and some Advil.  He got so far behind the pack, that he wasn’t sure which direction they turned.  He just headed back to school, and he was ready when I got there.  Sounds like his feet need to heal up a bit, and he needs to get some good fitting running shoes.  

 

It was Taco Tuesday, and we were all starving from our exertions, so we ate a little earlier than normal.  

 

Day 150 – Wednesday, August 12, 2020

 

After taking Elijah to school, I stopped at Wal-Mart to get bread and deodorant for the boy.  I also picked up a pair of shorts for Elijah, a cardigan for myself, and actually found a bit of black cotton fabric for mask making purposes.  

 

I had an appointment with a dermatologist this morning to look at an area on my cheek.  My family doctor didn’t want to touch it since it’s on my face.  The dermatologist, who was very easy on the eyes, said he thought it was probably basal cell carcinoma.  Not life threatening, but if that’s what it is, it will have to be removed.  He took a biopsy, and I’ll know in a couple of weeks.  I was not nervous going in, and fully expected the biopsy.  Next time I will be a heck of a lot more nervous.  The nurse was super nice, and the doctor stated what he was going to do before he did it.  All in all, it was as good an experience as possible when someone is punching a small hole in your face (I have one stitch).  I failed to tell them that I’m a fainter until after the procedure.   The nurse quickly laid the chair back farther and all was well, lol.  I was lightheaded prior to that, but I did not faint.  I was vaguely nauseated all afternoon.  I have a bandage on my cheek that I can replace with a Band-Aid tomorrow.  When I’m wearing a mask, the bandage is hardly noticeable, so that’s a positive.  (I think my cheek is still partially numb from all the lidocaine)

 

After lunch, I took the girls to Walmart for some random items they wanted, so two trips to Walmart in 5 hours…

 

I went to school for a couple of hours.  I managed to ask just the right person about getting a document camera for my computer (for when we end up doing virtual).  I got it set up and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use.  I made a very short practice video to see if my microphone worked okay.  All went well!  I took my tape measure, and it is possible for me to fit two students and myself 6 feet apart (we would wear masks as well).  That makes my life a little easier.  

 

After dinner, I took Leah to the Wednesday night middle school “hang out” that OneLIfe Church puts on.  They met on the West Library lawn and ended up playing in the rain.  I guess it was officially cancelled, but I had planned to wait in the car anyway.  Leah was busily visiting for 90 minutes or so and got some ice cream out of the deal.  

 

Tomorrow is my last day of 5 month of spring/summer break, lol.   

 

Day 151 – Thursday, August 13, 2020

 

After I took Elijah to school this morning, I went to my office.  Elijah had a paper of physics equations he needed laminated, and I had just taken my little laminator to school.  Then I taped off squares that are 6 feet apart in my office, so two students and myself can attempt to do therapy in masks.  Only language therapy will take place in my room, articulation therapy will take place in the hallway, and the student will wear a face shield while 6 feet away from me.  It’s going to be an interesting year!  

 

I went home and played Animal Crossing until the Switch needed to be recharged (only 45 minutes or so). Leah got up and we set up an Etsy account for her to sell her earrings and keychains.  

 

Since it’s the last day I can pick up Elijah as soon as he gets out of school, I wanted to get there early, so he didn’t have to walk 3 blocks to the YMCA where I normally pick him up.  We had a torrential downpour around the time I wanted to leave, so I waited until it passed.  I was glad to know that if you get there 30 minutes before school gets out, you can park super close.  Too bad I will hardly ever get to use that knowledge. 

 

My bandage was downgraded to a Band-Aid this morning, and a mask completely covers it now.  It’s starting to itch a bit, so I guess it’s healing.  

 

We had a charcoal mini-miracle tonight where the rain held off long enough for me to cook burgers for dinner.  I’ll gladly take it!  

 

Elijah and I both feel like today should be Friday…. However, I go back to work on Friday, and that hasn’t happened yet.  I’ve been getting up and getting ready all week.  I only need to add packing my lunch (and we are getting pizza delivered, but I’ll probably take a salad anyway).  

 

Here’s to starting the 2020-21 school year!! 

 

Day 152 – Friday, August 14, 2020

 

First day back for EVSC teachers!  I generally enjoy teacher workdays.  I like being around my peers without the stress of students.  

 

I got several things printed.  I printed and laminated decorations for my door and chalkboard (Animal Crossing, of course).  I knocked out my first day “to do” list from my boss.  I watched a 3-hour professional development video.  Well, it was on, I mostly listened because I knew I could get a 100% on the quiz at the end because this is the 7^th time I’ve gotten this certification.  I sat in on an IEP meeting that was half WebEx, half phone conference.  

 

I wore a mask from 7:20 – 3:20 with a longish (90 min?) break for lunch.  It really didn’t bother me at all, though I probably drank less water because it meant lowering the mask…

 

All in all, it was a very good first day back at work.  We ordered pizza and I mowed the lawn.  I’m pretty wiped out now.   

 

Day 153 – Saturday, August 15, 2020

 

Accidentally woke up at the normal time… I just couldn’t go back to sleep.  I spent some time on the deck after breakfast and before taking Elijah to his volunteering at the Franklin Street Bazaar.  After I dropped him off, I went grocery shopping.  After 5 months of NOT shopping on Saturday morning, I’m back to being relegated to shopping with the masses…. I need a shirt that says, “If your nose isn’t covered, you aren’t actually wearing a mask”, or maybe, “If I can see your nose, I’m calling you a ‘rat licker’ in my head”.  Sorry, not sorry.  It drives me nuts.

 

Saturday is always laundry day, so that happened.  After I picked up Elijah, I took Leah to Michael’s because… crafts are her lifeblood. 

 

Hannah and I watched a couple of episodes of Task Master, which is hilarious.  Everyone should watch it (it’s on YouTube).

 

I grilled chicken for dinner.  I did NOT do the edging/weed eating that needs to be done in the back yard… Eventually, it will happen.  

 

It was a nice, relaxing Saturday.  No complaints.

Pandemic Back to School Week 21

 Pandemic Back to School

 

Week 21

 

Day 140 – August 2, 2020

 

Leah and I got up early, got ready for a day at the amusement/water park, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana.  First stop was the Harpers house where we picked up Leah’s BFF Penny and followed her family to the park.

 

I never in a million years would have thought that wearing a mask in an amusement park would be a thing I would consider doing.  We did.  Masks are required as you enter the park (lots of congestion getting people through metal detectors and scanning tickets), inside all buildings, and anywhere you can’t be 6 feet from people not in your party.  They implemented a FastPass type system where you wait in line via your phone.  It’s only for the most popular lines, and we only used it for two rides, the rapids, and the indoor turkey shoot-out ride (it’s a lot like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Hollywood Studios).  

 

We actually had to wait in a physical line for the rapids as well as on the phone because they had to do some kind of maintenance. Walls had been erected in the line area to keep people separated, and it was a little claustrophobic at times.  We wore our masks (it was open air, with a roof) and stayed away from the groups before and after us.  Once we got on the ride, we got soaked.  It wasn’t very hot out, only about 80 degrees, so the water was pretty chilly.

 

We ate lunch at the Thanksgiving restaurant, but I think the food used to be better.  Leah was a little sad that she didn’t get macaroni and cheese as her side dish, but she didn’t see it.  (Couldn’t see much of anything because she didn’t wear her contacts… didn’t want to lose them in the water).

 

We went to the water park and let the babies play in the little kid area.  Then we moved to the wave pool and Penny and Leah and Dave went on a water coaster.  I guess it was a little more intense than the girls were expecting.  Around that time, some REALLY dark clouds moved in, and we decided to get Dole Whip.  Who knew you could get that at Holiday World.  It rained on us at that point.  I tried a strawberry Dole whip, and everyone else got pineapple.  The pineapple is better, but mine was about three times bigger (I think that was an accident).  Most of us did not finish, but almost 5 year old Jacinda cleaned up all the extra, lol.

 

The twins just turned 2, and they clearly don’t remember anything pre-quarantine.  Holiday World was quite a lot for them to take in.  I held each of them from time to time.  Indigo likes me.  Violet pretends I don’t exist, even when I’m holding her.  They did really well.  

 

By the time Leah and I got home, we were just exhausted.  We ended up eating leftovers from the fridge for dinner.  

 

Day 141 – Monday, August 3, 2020

 

I had quite the busy day!  I got up early, got ready, ate breakfast, and left to go grocery shopping at 7am.  By the time I got home and got everything put away, I had to head to school for a (web) conference at 10am.  I decided I wanted to be in my office to get my mind in the right frame of mind, and I wanted to drop off some stuff as well.

 

The meeting was for a new student.  I can’t access his paperwork because the local computer system only talks to the state computer system once a week…. I have a copy of his old paperwork, and I only need to update the speech part, but I can’t.  I think the two computers have their chats on Thursday at midnight. Ridiculous.

 

On the way to school it POURED.  It’s a 10-minute drive.  It was barely sprinkling when I left home, and I waited in the car for about two minutes after I arrived at school for it to stop.  Then when I was getting ready to come home it started pouring again, but it was short lived again.  Crazy weather.

 

At home I vacuumed and did laundry since they didn’t happen yesterday.  After lunch I took Elijah to get a haircut.  I could get used to the “by appointment only”.  I still take him to the kids’ haircut place, and they’ve always been walk-in only.  We were the only people there.  It was perfect.  She worked and worked on his hair for an entire hour, but it looks fantastic!  He got butchered back in early March, and I think all of that (thinned out part) has finally grown out.  Lesson learned.  Don’t let anyone thin out curly hair…

 

On the way home I stopped at Starbucks so Elijah could get a Frappuccino.  My drink came in a glorified sippy cup.  I was about to ask for a straw when I realized what was going on with the lid.  I guess it’s fine, I can drink from a sippy cup, lol.

 

We had another couple of torrential rains before it cleared up around 4:30, so I was able to grill dinner (yay!).  

 

Today should have been the day that I reported to school for the first teacher workday of the new school year…. Elijah starts school on Wednesday.  He finished his summer assignment for English today; however, he’s unable to submit it via Schoology because none of the classes have been assigned yet.  Fun times.  I told him to check tomorrow.  

 

Day 142 – Tuesday, August 4, 2020

 

I slept “in” until 6am and ate breakfast outside.  It was downright chilly at 65 degrees.  I made sure all the kids were up at a reasonable time.  

 

Hannah and I went to the big thrift store that’s been closed since March.  Everything is 50% off!  I found a couple of pairs of jeans (they look new) and a glass pitcher.  Hannah found some shirts for school.  

 

I took Leah to Dollar Tree and Thornton’s for a free candy bar and a Fizz Freeze.  I also got a tank of gas for $20.  Leah found a couple of things to make into earrings and key chains, and I found a few trinkets to use as bribes for my students.  I got some cool dinosaurs and some fake Legos.  All things that can be sprayed with bleach water…

 

I learned how to make java chip Frappuccino, and I made some for Hannah and Elijah.  I think they were both impressed with how tasty they were.  I was surprised at how simple they are to make, and they probably cost $0.50.  

 

I had a web conference with the head of speech therapy, the director of special education, and all 30 speech therapists.  Honestly, we learned very little because when it comes to specifics, “every school is different”.  We did get on disappointing piece of news.  The students who have opted to switch to Virtual Academy will be served by the speech therapist from their physical school.  No idea how that is supposed to work.  

 

Heather and the youngest four Harpers came for a short visit.  The just-turned-two-year-old twins were enamored with the cats.  I’ve never heard those girls so chatty!  They were super happy and animated.  All the cats got as much petting as they could tolerate.  The twins were also pretty thrilled with the box of Nerf guns we brought home from Oklahoma, lol.  

 

We had chicken tacos for Taco Tuesday, and there were no leftovers, so I guess they were a hit.  Last week’s too green avocado made some decent guacamole.  Avocados have been weird lately.

 

After dinner I mowed the lawn since it hadn’t rained in about 24 hours.  It was THICK and still kind of wet.  I did not mow the bottom of the hill since I expect it’s a swamp.

 

Tomorrow, Elijah starts school.  He doesn’t have a supply list yet, so he doesn’t have much to pack in his backpack…. His school is still doing block schedule, and his A day classes are not likely to be his favorites (world history, English, German, and chemistry… he’s happy there’s a science).  His B day has most of his preferred classes (algebra2, physics, government, and AP survey). 

 

I saw the best meme today: “I can’t believe spring break is almost over”.  Five months later… our area is having it’s first wave now.  I think we are all taking bets in our head for how long in person school will last.

 

Day 143 – Wednesday, August 5, 2020

 

Today was Elijah’s first day of his sophomore year at Signature School.  I think he enjoyed being back at school, and he liked his teachers for today even though history and English aren’t his favorites.  He was very excited about his chemistry teacher.  His thoughts on COVID school were as follows:  not enough social distancing in classrooms (but everyone is wearing a mask); it was weird to have 1-2 kids’s faces on an giant board at the back of the class (virtual students); while lunch was outside, it was crowded, and few to no masks because it’s lunch.  There was already a COVID related incident, though not at Elijah’s grade level.  That does not bode well for the public schools starting in two weeks.

 

Elijah and I got up at 5am (yawn) to get ready.  He wanted to get to school when I would normally drop him off, and not closer to the start of the school day.  He can enter the building at 7am, and we got there about 7:10.  

 

Around 9am, I took the girls to Hobby Lobby for more craft supplies for Leah.  She was sad when we got home, and she realized she’d gotten the wrong thing for one project.  

 

I made a dermatologist appointment, and a haircut appointment, and called the eye doctor to check on when our contact lenses would arrive.  I was able to pick up another pair of trial lenses for Elijah to replace the one he ripped.  To do that I had to go back to the other side of town, so I stopped by Hobby Lobby (again) and got the right supplies for Leah.  I also remembered to stop at the credit union and close my account tied to my previous mortgage.  I had a very productive day!  I just need to schedule an oil change for Hannah’s car, and I think my to do list will be about done.  There are SO many projects I just didn’t get around to during Pandemic… it was not a time for home improvement for me.

 

I got everything done in time to pick up Elijah from school.  Normally, he’d go to Central Library, but it’s currently closed to the public.  They hope to open it for students soon…. He met me at the YMCA instead.  Once my school starts, and I’m a bit later picking him up, he’ll walk the indoor track while he waits.

 

Once we got home, I had all of the start of school papers to sign.  We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Afterward, I sat on the deck for quite a while because it was chilly after the sun started to set.  Leah (and Libby via FaceTime) joined me for a while.  

 

I’m exhausted because I went to bed too late last night and had to get up early.  So, I’m off to bed at 9:30.  Once my school starts, it will be more like 8:30 then eventually 7:30, lol. 

 

Day 144 – Thursday, August 6, 2020

 

Wiped out!!  How do we do this full time?  

 

I got Elijah to school at 7am, but his new contact lens was bothering him.  Thinking it was wrong side out, he flipped it around at school, but that was worse.  He tried to tough it out, but around 9:00, I got a text from him requesting his glasses and contact lens case.  So, I ran that to school.  Turns out the lens is defective, but we didn’t know that until he got home and I inspected it.  His supply of contacts should arrive in a few days, so he’s in glasses until then.

 

I got home from the contact lens emergency just in time for my 10am WebEx building level special education meeting.  It wasn’t too long.  Leah and I ate lunch before I headed to my Teacher Locker appointment (donated teacher supplies that we can “shop” once a year… its new).  I found some good organizational supplies and a few odds and end that could be useful.  

 

I decided to take everything to school, but I had to stop at home to get my badge to get me in the door.  I chatted up a couple of teachers and decided to finally get a few things organized in my office.  I filled up my new desk drawer organizer and put it my desk… and it jammed.  I worked and worked to get it unjammed, but I’m going to have to bring a screwdriver and take the drawer out.  

 

Elijah stayed late for a cross country meeting, so I guess he’s going to do that.  After we got home, he gave me all of his syllabi to figure out what school supplies he needed, and there were a few forms to sign. 

 

I got the grill going to grill burgers for dinner.  It was all fun and games until I almost couldn’t get the frozen burgers separated from each other, even with the butcher paper between them.

 

After dinner Elijah and I went shopping for his school supplies.  As we drove into the Walmart parking lot that it had been a really long time since he had been to a store, probably 6 months or more.  We were able to get all the folders, binders, pens, dividers, etch, but not a protractor or the graphing calculator he needed.  We went to Office Depot and found those things.  When we got home, Leah happily organized all of his supplies.  I had 4 books to order from Amazon for AP English as well. 

 

It was a very long day, and I’m ready for bed.  

 

Day 145 – Friday, August 7, 2020

 

After taking Elijah to school, I spent some quality time relaxing on the deck.  It was amazing!  Around 9am he sent me a text saying someone had stepped on his glasses.  Seriously?  Unless, someone stepped on your face, this is your fault…. He is having ALL kinds of eye correction troubles.  He ripped his right contact.  Replaced them with a new trial pair.  New left contact was defective and irritated his eye.  Glasses stepped on.  At least the glasses aren’t new and they look fixable.  

 

There were some rumors floating around that EVSC would make an announcement today, but that never came to pass.  

 

At 10am I had a WebEx meeting with the Daniel Wertz staff where our principal went over some procedures we’ll be using.  I had an 11am training 20 minutes away, so I called into the WebEx via my phone.  I was able to listen until 10:55 so I initially missed the last 20 minutes of the WebEx.

 

From 11:00-12:30 I got recertified for Safe Crisis Management for, I believe, my 7^th year.  It’s a de-escalation and physical restraint program that’s used in special education.  Normally, we practice and test out our skills on each other, but… COVID.  So, we had dummies made out of pool noodles (they were pretty ingenious) to restrain, and we wore masks when we had to restrain with a partner (we wore masks most of the time).

 

After that, I ran home, grabbed a screwdriver and some Goo Gone and went to my office for 90 minutes.  I got my desk drawer unjammed (I loosened the screws holding the track that the drawer slides on).  That was a surprisingly quick fix with the proper tools.  No more drawer organizer in that drawer!  Then I spent a good long time getting the stickers off my “new” file boxes and caddies I got yesterday.  Even with Goo Gone it was a struggle, but I prevailed.  

 

I picked up Elijah at 3:15, but when I left school, I turned left to go home instead of right to go downtown, so I added a few minutes and miles to the drive.  I still got there a few minutes early.

 

I ordered pizza and played Animal Crossing until the Switch had to be charged.  After dinner I listened to the last 20 minutes of this morning’s WebEx only it took over an hour because it would only load a minute of video at a time.  

 

Another long, busy day, and I’m ready for bed!

 

Day 146 – Saturday, August 8, 2020

 

Elijah and I got up at 6am so he could get ready to volunteer at the Franklin Street Bazaar.  I think he’s feeling pretty good about going now.  He tried a disposable mask, but it was an immediate “nope” because it’s too dry and papery.  He’s not a fan of touching paper… ever.

 

While he was gone, I did laundry and worked on sewing four, plain, navy masks.  I’m pretty proud of these masks because they are contoured, and they have a wire to fit around your nose.  They also have an opening for a filter, if you have one.  I already had them cut out, and I had to stop and make lunch and switch laundry, so they took about two hours of work.  I might make another four tomorrow.  Elijah and Hannah are both interested in plain masks for school. 

 

I took Elijah to CVS Minute Clinic for a sports physical.  He just went to the doctor last week, but our doctor is out of town, and the coach wants the forms by Monday…. So, he got another physical.  The CVS closest to us didn’t have any appointments (it might have been closed), so the next closest was on 1^st Avenue.  I didn’t not realize there were two CVS’s on 1^st Ave…. but they are only 5 minutes apart, so we were just a few minutes late.  She was the sweetest Kentuckian ever.  Elijah was less than thrilled to be poked and prodded.  Afterward, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts because it was practically next door, and Elijah loves donuts.

 

We had ranch chicken sandwiches for dinner, and I realized that I did not buy the food for tomorrow’s dinner.  Pork tenderloin is on the menu, but I didn’t buy one…. I’m thinking chicken fried steak sounds good.  It’s been years since I made that.  

Pandemic Summer Week 20

Pandemic Summer

Week 20

Day 133 – Sunday, July 26, 2020

This morning got off to a slow start which is pretty normal these days.  I had promised Leah we could go to Michael’s today for her to pick up some craft supplies.  When she got up, I told her that after lunch, I would take her as long as she had attempted to put her contacts in.  I recruited Hannah to coach her, and she managed to get one in.  I ended up putting in her second contact for her, but it took me a few tries.

We spent a good, long while browsing Michael’s, looking for stuff to make keychains.  She found most of what she was looking for in the jewelry section.  She bought a few “blind bag” trinkets as well (she was spending birthday money).  She spent the majority of the ride home attempting to open them without anything sharp.  We had to stop at Schnuck’s for some prescriptions, so we looked for Grippo’s.  The racks that are normally stuffed fully of Grippo’s were empty!  I did find one small “twin pack”, so I got that.  They had all kinds of puff corn, but almost no Grippo’s.  Weirdness.  

When we left the store, the sun was bright, so Leah grabbed my hand because she couldn’t see.  It’s been a while since she’s grabbed my hand in the parking lot.  

Right before we got home, a pack of motorcycles passed us.  The lead cyclist had a dog strapped to his back in some kind of baby carrier!  I’m sure the dog loved it, but I thought it was a bit crazy.

I grilled chicken and zucchini for dinner, and then I edged as much grass as two battery packs allowed.  I hadn’t done any edging in quite a while, and it was getting ridiculous.  

This should be the last week before school starts, and that is still true for Elijah, but the rest of us have two extra weeks.  We have dentist appointments, doctor’s appointments for well visits, follow contact lens visits, and Elijah picks up his textbooks.  I need to get Elijah scheduled for a haircut as well.  

Day 134 – Monday, July 27, 2020

I meant to get up early and do aerobics, but I didn’t.  However, I did get to Walmart by 7:20am, so there’s that.  It was nice to see an almost full toilet paper aisle, but the paper towels were few.  I found Germ-X hand sanitizer and Clorox brand wipes.  Puff corn was back in stock…   However, Chocolate Mini Wheats cereal and New York Texas Toast cheese & garlic croutons have been out for weeks.  

Leah wanted to go to Hobby Lobby, so I told her when her contacts were in, we could go.  (She really likes shopping in contacts because she can actually SEE, lol).  She got them in in about 20 minutes with just some coaching from Hannah.  Every day is a little better than the last.  The girls and I headed off to Hobby Lobby and Leah found all the jewelry stuff she needed to make trinkets into key chains and earrings.  She made some cute stuff today!  

After lunch I headed to school for a bit to watch some professional development videos.  I finished one and started a second, but then I went and talked to some teacher friends.  Then the custodian kicked us out because his day was over, lol.  I’ll head back in the morning and see what I can get accomplished.

Leah wanted to make some little resin frogs into earrings, but none of us could get the little eye screw to go in.  Eventually, I got out my drill and 1/16” bit, and drilled… and the drill bit got stuck.  I attempted to twist it out with a vice grip and it the drill bit broke.  That was one tough frog!

I made a “healthy” dinner of air fried chicken strips, mac & cheese, and broccoli.  It was delicious!  

Day 135 – Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Today was the last relaxing day before the crazy (should have been) back to school rush of appointments. Elijah does start back next Wednesday, so that will add to some of the crazy as well.

After breakfast, I headed to school to watch a professional development video & quiz that the state is requiring all special education teachers to take.  It was ridiculous, and over things that changed last fall/winter.  The quiz required a perfect score to pass (you can take it however many times).  My first try was a 96% due to a multiple answer question that wasn’t actually covered in the video…. 

I came home, ate lunch, and bribed Leah to put her contacts in.  She got them in in record time, so I took her to Michael’s to spend more of her birthday money.  I think it was win win.

I watched part of a Q&A WebEx with our director of special education.  Lots of questions and not enough answers.  Therapists will get their own Q&A sometime…. Hopefully before school starts.

I started planning how I’m teach the game “Guess in 10” (similar to 20 questions with animal cards) to my life skills students at the high school.  I want to do several lessons at the Pro Board teaching the different concepts.  Since I don’t generally have a Pro Board to work with, I’ve never really learned the cool software for making flipcharts.  Now, it seems teachers are just using Google Slides and Google JamBoard, so I watched a video on that.  I did learn some pretty cool things.

Being that it’s Tuesday, we had tacos for dinner.  Hannah’s boyfriend rented the ridiculously hilarious movie, Hot Fuzz.  Elijah thought it was great, lol.  

Tomorrow will be an early day with 4 dentist appointments starting at 7:45am in Newburgh (a 30-minute drive).  Fun times.  When I made that appointment back in January, that seemed like a perfectly reasonable time.  Little did I know…

Day 136 – Wednesday, July 29, 2020

We had a long, busy day of appointments!

We got up early and left for the dentist at 7:15. Our appointments were a little more spread out than they normally are, so we were there for quite a while.  Everyone’s teeth were healthy!  Afterward, I stopped at Chick-fil-a for chicken minis for a late morning snack for the kids.  

Since I did not eat the yummy snack, I ate an early lunch when we got home.  I checked email while I ate, and our new proposed school calendar was announced.  Not surprisingly, our long fall break was shortened to help make up for our late start.  I called my mom to let her know that we wouldn’t be visiting for fall break to celebrate my dad’s 75^th birthday.  We will probably go a day early for Thanksgiving instead and get to be a part of their annual Pie Night.

After lunch I took Elijah to pick up his textbooks from the school bookstore.  That went much faster than I expected, and I don’t think he had to wait at all.  I waited in the car.  He says all of the textbooks look boring…. It’s true.  He’s taking AP English, PreCalculus, AP World History, AP Government, Chemistry, AP Physics, and German 2.  

At 3:00 we had to be at the eye doctor for a contact lens check.  That went pretty fast too.  I had promised Leah a pretzel from the mall food court, so we got that and an Icee for Elijah.

I made orange chicken, fried rice, egg rolls, and pot stickers for dinner (from frozen).  It was pretty good.  

Tomorrow is another early day since the kids have their annual wellness visit with our family doctor.  I think our first appointment is at 8am, on the other side of town.  

Day 137 – Thursday, July 30, 2020

Another early start to the day.  Elijah ripped one of his trial contact lenses, so now he has to wait until his six month supply arrives in the mail.  I should probably take bets on how long a six month supply will last him… I’m not buying more until January.

We got to the doctor’s office for our 8:15 appointment.  Leah is 61.75 inches tall, Elijah is 67.25 inches tall, and Hannah is 60.75 inches tall.  It is hard on Hannah to the shortest…. Leah got two shots, Hannah got one, and Elijah got one.  No great revelations were made.

I spent the day hydrating in preparation for donating blood in the early afternoon.  I was more anxious about being unfamiliar with the building than the actual donation.  Finding the right area was no problem, but donating didn’t go so well.  I have donated blood a couple of times.  Once in college when the dorm had a blood drive, and once at church about 10 years ago.  I also gave plasma a few times in college.  I am a slow draw at the best of times.  They tried to speed things up and ended up collapsing the vein.  They did not get the whole pint.  I had to have them lay me down flat at the end because I was going to pass out (I’m an old pro at that…).  I did not pass out.  They made me drink two juice boxes and a snack.  The good news is that my iron level is excellent.  I think that will be my last attempt at donating blood.  

I spent the rest of the afternoon with an ice pack on my arm to minimize bruising.  So far, so good.  I’m quite tired and will likely go to bed early.  I have another early morning, because tomorrow is MY appointment with the doctor.

Day 138 – Friday, July 31, 2020

I had my yearly doctor’s appointment at 7:45am (yawn).  My doctor told me that my BFF, Vanessa, was quoted in the NY Times this morning!!  I got a “gold star” for actually keeping track of my blood pressure over the past year.  It’s still okay, but not fabulous.  He’s sending me to a dermatologist for an unusual sun damaged area on my cheek.  

I took Leah to Dollar Tree because I wanted to get a drawstring backpack to take to Holiday World (amusement park & water park) on Sunday (outside, socially distanced or masked, they have a FastPass type system for rides to reduce physical lines).  Leah found some plastic dinosaurs and a Care Bear figurine, and I found some ColorForm sets for school.

For lunch, I introduced Leah to Campbell’s chicken & stars soup, lol.  She wanted to know why I’d been holding out on her all those years, lol.  I usually buy the chunky soup…

The last of Leah’s birthday presents finally arrived.  I ordered a sweatshirt from American Eagle on July 12^th.  It was shipped Priority Mail…. I guess it was one of those backlogged USPS problems.  The cats have been enjoying all of the Amazon boxes as things off my wish list arrive.  Fun for all!

I took some stuff to school after lunch but didn’t stay very long.  

Around 5pm, Hannah and Dylan were driving home from Dylan’s, and it started pouring so hard they had to pull over and park in a lot for a good 20 minutes.  I had pizza ordered to be delivered at 6pm, but it arrived at 6:40.  I’m not sure if that was due to the rain or not enough staff, but our next pizza is free… I never really mind when they are late.  They are late quite a bit.  

After dinner we were talking about Disney World, and I mentioned that when we went when Leah was 7, she insisted on calling him Walter, lol.  She didn’t remember that.  I pulled up some pictures from that trip… There were some great ones.  That was a great trip, and my first on-my-own real vacation with the kids.

Day 139 – Saturday, August 1, 2020

How on earth is it August?  Time has warped and contracted during the pandemic and it no longer holds much meaning.  Weird.

Today was extremely uneventful, which is fine, it just doesn’t lend itself to much journaling.  

I got up at 6am.  Elijah was supposed to volunteer at the Franklin Street Bazaar, but since it was rainy, he didn’t have to go.  That was good for me since I was able to run get bloodwork done before 7am at the hospital lab.  During the COVID screening process, I had to remove my cloth mask and put on a surgical mask.  They aren’t fooling around!  I had the most amazing phlebotomist, I didn’t even feel the needle stick.

I did laundry all morning.  I ate too many snacks.  I wanted to crawl back into bed all day long, but didn’t.  Since it was raining, I couldn’t grill, so our burgers were broiled.  That’s when Elijah noticed it was raining… at 6pm.  The broiler smoked up the house even though I had the vent fan on.  I had to open some windows, so it was a good thing it was cool outside.