Meet Ella!

In March, we decided that we are ready to add another furry friend to our family. But with the stay-at-home orders in place all the cats in our vicinity were adopted out and shelters were closed. It was not until mid April that I found our kitten on an adoption website and went ahead to pre-adopt here. Since she was only 4 weeks old at that point, we were not able to bring her home until mid May. Normally, cats are adopted out at 12 weeks old and once they are neutered/ spayed and got their vaccines but because of  Covid, we were able to bring our furbaby home once she was 8 weeks old and at least 2 lbs. 

So on Wednesday, May 13th, the children and I drove an hour to pick her up. We are pleased to introduce to you: Ella (lovingly called Ella Labella). 

While Ella is a family pet, Amelia is the one who wanted another cat and will mostly take care of her. 

Indy, our 11 year old tabby cat, is not so sure yet of the little one but she fits right in with our guinea pigs. Pictures from the first day at home:

Indy is still figuring out why she is here but they get closer each day and share already each others food dishes. Indy loves to eat, so as long as Ella is willing to share, she got a friend in her. 

At night, she sleeps in Amelia's room, pretty much just as she imagined she would. These two are too cute: 

At nap time, she rests with Elliot either in his room or on the couch: 

And in the mornings, when I work or on weekends, she sleeps on me or likes to be carried around: 

Ella is a sweetheart and fairly calm but still playful. She fits in perfectly and we love her already so much. 

Field Trip and Last Day of School

It now has been 9 weeks since the children have been home due to the pandemic. They miss their friends and routines and the best parts of the school year such as field trips, field day, school concerts and other fun stuff that usually happens during the last two weeks of the year. We are doing our best of keeping the children active, engaged in learning, and happy but still breaks this momma's heart that my little boy will miss out on all those "firsts" during his Kindergarten year. 

In order to make it a bit more fun and get them outside (they have been quarantined the entire time and have not been anywhere yet except for walks around the neighborhood), I decided it is time for a Field Trip to the strawberry patch. So on Friday, we invited my friend, Bettina, to join us and off we went. Only 30 minutes from our house is a U-Pick Farm.  

The weather was great and there were a few people out picking in the fields but we never got close to anyone and still were able to spent 2 hours picking (and eating) the most delicious little strawberries. 

Field Trip Covid-Style:

 Bettina and I with our 6 pints each.

We brought our picnic basket along and enjoyed lunch out in the field: 

If you can't tell but we had lots of fun and ate way too many strawberries along the way (by the way, there is no such thing as eating too many freshly picked berries). 

And then, a few days later, it was time to pick up the childrens' belongings from their lockers at school. This right here, made me cry because there were no hugs from their teachers, childish laughter and excitement, last day of school parties, pictures with friends or a last honorary lap around the parking lot in the school bus but just bags with names in the school gym:

The children made a card for their teachers though and a little thank you gift we left for them to be collected:

Elliot received a Remarkable Reader Award from Mrs. King and was so proud of himself. He is way ahead with his reading, now up to chapter books.

Yesterday was officially the last day of school. This Kindergartner will return in August to school as a first grader and my third grader will go into fourth grade. 

Hurray for Summer!

Since there are no summer camps and we don't have a big trip planned this year, we made some Summer Guidelines and each of the children and myself came up with some goals/ accomplishments we want to achieve during the next 2.5 months. 

HERE WE COME SUMMER FUN!

Directly Affected by Covid-19

Despite being in isolation and taking all the preventive care measures, only going once a week grocery shopping, wearing a mask and frequent hand washing, we still got sick. And let me tell you, this virus is no joke. I have not felt that sick ever. 

We believe it all started with Elliot, a couple of days after school let out (March 13th) when he began to complain about a headache, sore throat and a slight temperature. The weird thing was the symptoms were on one day and off the next and it took close to two weeks to disappear completely. First we thought, he had strep throat again, but it didn't smell like it and in between he felt better.

 A week later (March 22nd) Derrick had a sore throat and felt a bit warm and at night, snored severely (more than usual) and some slight coughing. But he still was able to work and we thought it must be allergies. It never got bad enough to warrant a doctor visit even though his breathing at night got heavier and allergy meds didn't work. And he had also some days he felt better and then it got worse again with the sore throat and overall well-being. This lasted exactly 3 weeks and then he was finally feeling like himself again. Interestingly, a few weeks later we found out that Elliot's classmate and his mother had, during the exact same time frame, the same symptoms as my son and husband and while the boy was swabbed for strep and flu, both tests came back negative. Coincidence???

Meanwhile, I felt great and continued with my running protocol as I was supposed to run my first half marathon on April 4th. As you all know, all the races got canceled/ postponed but I still continued to train. That is until from literally one day to another (5 miles on Sunday, April 5th) I started having pain in my lungs and couldn't go on a run (April 7th). The pain in my lungs got progressively worse and so did my breathing. Everytime I walked or moved, it got harder and harder to breathe. Until Easter Sunday, I was laying in bed at night and could not find any possible way to get better airflow or rest. It was one awful night and since the next morning, my breathing or dizziness wasn't any better, we decided it is time to go see a doctor (April 13th).

We called the Covid-19 hotline as no one in my doctor's was able to help me and where told to go to the hospital. Derrick dropped me off and I was right away led to a triage room. Everyone was suited up in PPE and I had to keep my mask on the entire time too.

There were blood draws, nasal swabs, a chest xray and I received some oxygen. After three hours, I was told that I most likely had Covid-19 but that they are not allowed to test for it (the doctor was as outraged about this as it sounds) as my flu and strep tests came back negative and the X-ray did not show any fluids on my lungs. I was prescribed an inhaler and told if it gets worse to come back and then get admitted. At that point, all I wanted is to go home, shower and rest.

I was tired, exhausted and every time I moved/ inhaled, my lungs were either tremendously painful or I couldn't get a deep enough breath in. Talking was a pain and so was anything else. Obviously, I wasn't able to work. But in order to qualify for Covid leave I needed a positive test result. So in the afternoon, I went to a drive-by testing station. Let me tell you, these deep nasal swabs are anything but pleasant. I really didn't care about the test results as it really didn't help with my symptoms and at that point, we ruled out allergies, flu, bronchitis or anything else while the symptoms aligned with Covid-19: pain on the lungs, extreme shortness of breath, hardly any taste, coughing, and dizziness. The only thing I didn't had was a temperature higher than 99.4F.

The test result came back 3 days later: NEGATIVE (really???) but I was told that I should come in for another one if I still have symptoms as 15% of all tests are false negative. I didn't go back as I was physically not able too but my company still provided me with Covid leave as they accepted the doctor's note. If you are keeping track, this completes week one of symptoms and it pretty much took 26 days till all my symptoms disappeared and I started to regain my strength. The weird thing is, one day I felt a bit better breathing-wise but my lungs hurt more and I was thinking now I'm getting finally better just so the next day it got worse again. It was a constant up and down and very depressing as it lasted so long.

For two weeks, I pretty much sat or laid on my couch or soaked up some vitamin C in the afternoon sun and did nothing. No reading, tv and of course, no housework or cooking. So thankful to our friends and church community to provide us with some meals in these trying times. I'm also very thankful for all the prayers and well wishes I received daily from family and friends near and afar. And of course to my husband to nurture me back to health.

Overall, it was a long and strenuous process to get back on my feet and the worst I have felt in forever. And this comes from a person who was in top condition with no underlying health issues. While some people think, the social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders were unnecessary, I don't think though as I or anyone else for that matter I could have came in contact with could have easily ended up in the hospital on a respirator. As of today, there are close to 3.1MM confirmed cases globally and 218K deaths with the numbers drastically increasing. 

Even though I'm almost symptom free now, we are still staying in quarantine and only go out if needed and only the adults. There is nowhere we need to go nor is there anything for the children to attend currently. And when the restrictions lift, we still will be cautious. It may be different for people who didn't get sick and feel stir-crazy being cooped up at home, but having been directly affected by the virus, we know how much devastation it can cause.

Stay safe everyone!

Birthday Celebration Covid-Style

On Wednesday we celebrated Derrick's birthday and it was unlike anything we would have imagined. For starters, I was sick and incapable of preparing anything for him nor did I get him a gift. I felt so unprepared and guilty but my husband was a trooper. Secondly, there was no way of going out to a restaurant to celebrate and since we had a food coming in from our lovely church members, he didn't even get to choose a birthday dinner. 

However, despite the circumstances, we are truly grateful that we are able to celebrate Derrick on his special day and more than that, we are blessed to call him ours. He is best husband and daddy! 

Happy birthday, my love!!!

There is and always be birthday decorations to make any birthday special around this house: 

Birthday wake-up song: 

And some homemade cards and lots of love:

He bought himself some gifts and then proceeded to wrap them himself so that we all could be surprised when he opened them on his birthday. If that is not true love, then I don't know what it would be.

There may have been no surprises, no cake nor a nice dinner, but we were all here to celebrate you and that love on you and that is what made this day special. We love you. And next year, we will go all out for your birthday!

Quarantine Life - Part II

We are still in quarantine and it looks like, it will stay this way for a few more weeks to come. By now, we have adjusted to the homeschool-work balance fairly well and the teachers have been more interactive via Zoom classes too. 

The children were so excited when the school announced a Teacher Car Parade thru the neighborhoods. Posters were made, chalk messages were written and then the parade began: 

It was quite emotional seeing everyone and afterwards, Elliot held me tight as we both shed some tears. Everyone talks about the impacts on the businesses, parents and workers but we often forget to mention that our children were ripped out of their routines and pulled away from their friends and that this quarantine is as hard on them, if not even harder, as on all the adults. Just the other day, Elliot saw the neighbors' children play in their yard and suggested to go over and play with them. I told him no and he said: "But mom,  we are outside and Corona will not be there." And then he cried as he didn't quite comprehend why they can't be together, even just playing outdoors. 

But we keep them busy with different activities and by now, they have settled in quite well. The best thing is, they have each other and lots of teh same interests. Rock painting was a favorite: 

Amelia also showed an interest in learning about Word, Excel and video making. Here is a video she created: 

She also made us Tortellini Soup. It was delicious and was quickly made with ingredients we had on hand.

What homeschool looks like on some days: 

Not sure if the cat was any help:

Learning about the 50 States: 

Reading lessons:

 And more Lego creations: 

Meanwhile, the cat and guinea pigs have gotten used to our constant presence in the house. But who is the boss???