Social Distancing Week 3 & Conference

Our socially distanced world right now looks like this.

Michael:

Three days of work each week. Home by 5 on the other days. Dinner with us every night. It's bananas. This week we learned of two oral surgery residents who have passed away from COVID. The exposure to the virus when working in the mouth is much worse than passive exposure, and it's really worrisome. I'm grateful he's not having to go in every day. He's so fun and helpful when he's home more and we're enjoying doing school and this and that while he's around.

Maddie:

I deal with stress through planning and that's hard to do right now. So much unknown and waiting. So I decided to set a random April goal that was completely in my control. Every time I felt anxious I started working on getting a headstand. I haven't done that since high school and it was actually fun to have something distracting and tangible to work on every time I got stir crazy or stressed. But the fact that I got it down three days later also tells you something... Oh man, this time. Now I'm working on holding the headstand longer and added juggling to my goal list. I wish I was making this stuff up. There are a thousand million projects I'd like to get done that are impossible to do while my kiddos are around -- work on the book I'm making with a friend, more writing, some photo projects, cross stitch orders, etc., but those things just make both me and my kids annoyed if I try and do them when they're awake. But juggling and a headstand? Kids are on board. I've also used more flour in two weeks then I had in the few months leading up to this isolation business. Baking has become therapeutic and I cannot believe I just typed that. I have never liked baking. Now it's a favorite distraction.

Westin:

is growing so much in the way he managed his emotions. He's a great big brother. He's so good at building with magnets and legos. His reading just blows my mind. He's incredibly obedient. He has to work on having a positive attitude, but he does work at it. He misses his teacher and friends, but he also likes homeschool and home church. I love watching this kid grow up. He is getting so much taller and we've had to give basically all his pants to Bennett in the last little while. He absolutely loves making food and planning food and eating food and growing food.

Bennett:

is working so hard at saying his words more clearly. It's adorable and we love hearing him express himself more. He has such a big heart and goofy disposition. He loves Kitty but chases her too much to be loved back. He loves collecting worms to give to Mr. T. He sleeps with about 20 stuffed animals and knows if one is missing. We take turns telling stories at night and his are very long and somewhat unintelligible and usually always involve a Great White Shark or a Dinosaur or a Good Dragon. He eats everything but if he doesn't like it then he wants you to feed him. But he'll still eat it. 

Camden:

sweet boy. He might be teething because he had some rough nights a couple times this week. I think it is almost time to stop showing up to our late night feeding parties but letting him cry is the more tiring option each night because I know if I feed him we can get back to sleep. But I know that's the more tiring option in the long run because then we keep doing that each night. I've just never had a baby sleep well until they were almost a year, but this time around I'm extra ready to get back to good nights of sleep. He's liking food more and more. He loved eating Indian food this week, and also really loved refried black beans and cooked carrots. Cloth diapers feel like a blessing right now as we minimize store trips.

Conference:

Oh we were ready to hear conference. We had picnics for breakfast and lunch during the sessions and that was great to keep the boys busy and quiet while we all listened together. Oatmeal Saturday morning, smoothies and sandwiches in the afternoon, eggs and monkey bread the next morning, then sheet pan nachos. It was just fun to eat together on our big worn out sheet reserved for movie nights and pizza in the living room, and see the boys get excited when one of their three treat bowl words were said. Westin was over the moon when we had Temple on the peanut M&M bowl and a speaker started talking about temples over and over. It was so funny watching him go back for another and another and handing the load to Bennett with this face like, can you believe this? Score!

I feel like last conference really drove home to me that there's no room for missing the basics in my day anymore. I HAVE to be doing all I can to make sure that the Spirit has space and time to reach me and guide the things I'm doing, especially in the way I raise my boys. So the last 6 months I have focused on the basics more than ever before, and I have been so grateful for that foundation as life changed so much these last few weeks. Keeping that foundation during this isolating time has been the biggest help to my mental health. Then through this conference, I feel like I really came away with a reassurance that God not only can guide me but WANTS to guide me, and is actively working to help me. We have ways to live to make sure we can receive heavenly help, and we have Heavenly Parents actively wanting to offer that heavenly help. I know that I have friends and family on the other side who are part of that, too.

I'm looking forward to fasting with the world on Friday. I miss fasting. Nursing and pregnancy have been a HUGE portion of my last few years. But Friday I plan to fast from social media, which sadly makes a day markedly different to me as much as fasting from food does. I go back and forth about social media. I have found so many uplifting spaces on Instagram and I also feel like it's a big distraction at times. But Friday will be a pause and I know that God loves us!

What a time.

Our squirrel friend. He receives offerings of about 100 acorns a week,
from our walks. 

His and Her yogurt parfaits. Baby meals are so cute.
And this in fact, lasted him for three meals.
Still slowly liking food more and more.

When we don't bring enough acorns for the squirrel,
he goes for the bird feeder. Can you tell what entertains us these days?

Chef of the Week!
Westin wanted to make bugs.

Didn't he do so well?
Just kidding, this is actually Michael's plate :)
But didn't he do so well too?

We love having dad around more.
They've scaled back clinic and he's working three days a week right now,
and home for dinner on those days. It's such a huge shift.

Counting their acorn haul.
Homeschool math, check -- right? Right.

Bennett loves to color while we work on Westin's schoolwork.

Daily walk

Westin and Bennett's babysitter is home early from her first year at BYU.
I feel so bad that fun experience was cut short for her.
She left an Easter Egg hunt for the boys in our front yard, and they were thrilled.

Weekly Zoom meetings with Westin's class.
He loves seeing them and showing each other what they've been working on.

Bennett was sooo thrilled Kitty graced his lap for a minute.
But he can't keep his chill and then she's out of there.

I decided to set a random goal that was completely in my control for April,
since so much of what I want to plan and figure out is unknown and out of my hands.
Three days later, the headstand. So now I'm trying to learn to juggle.
I wish I was making this stuff up.

Conference picnic! Instead of getting lots of activities for each session I just decided to play to what was already on my side,
which is the fact that my boys take SOOO long to eat a meal lately.
So we timed breakfast and lunch with conference and that got us through the first hour,
with puzzles or coloring through the second.
It was super simple and honestly the most we've been able to pay attention.

Westin loves choosing three words and keeping track of when he gets treats.
He's got a surprising radar for when those words drop.
Even when the boys are wrestling and playing,
you know he's going to hear temple and get that M&M.

Since I caved and made lemon rolls the week before conference,
I had Michael and the boys vote on cinnamon rolls or monkey bread for conference weekend.
I voted cinnamon rolls, but the rest of the votes came in for monkey bread.
So here we have it! Homemade dough made a huge difference.