Zootastic

We went to Zootastic a couple of weeks ago. It's something we could do while staying in the car and "social distancing." We went on a Saturday around 12 haha! Looking back we should have known that wasn't the best time to go. We were in line, waiting to get in, for over an hour. Once we got in all the cars were bumper to bumper and some animals were not hungry or even interested in food by that time of day... but we still had a good time! I think next time we'll try to go first thing in the morning, on a week day, though.

Week 3 (or is it 4?) In Quarantine

This week hasn't been too different than last week or the week before that but we're all still enjoying the time at home! Have I mentioned how much I love sleeping in every day and not having to go anywhere!? 

 Last week the kids washed rocks. This week they've been painting rocks! 



I'm so thankful that we've had such beautiful weather the last few weeks! We spend tons of time outside every day that's nice out! I know all the outdoor time is great for the kids and great for me too. Being outdoors helps my mood and outlook so much! 

I found L painting rocks in this position haha! Cracks me up how she can sit like this! She had hip dysplasia as a baby and has hyper mobility (like a lot of hip babies) so she is super flexible! 

Right before we went in for the evening we found L painting rocks again with paint everywhere! Look at all that black paint on her leg! Her expression is so funny here.. kinda like she knows she's been caught ha! 

The older girls did more chalk designs yesterday! This took like 5 brand new pieces of chalk and then they ran out and couldn't finish it..

I cleaned out part of the garage yesterday and then needed to sit down and rest. L decided she needed to rest too. Cracks me up! She wanted her little pool float behind her back and her feet up on this container ha! 

The little girls had a blast rubbing their hands in dirt yesterday.. 

they said it made their hands really soft ha! 

Can you spy C in the tree? 

The little boy across the street comes over almost every day to play with C and the girls. C loves having another boy to hang out with and our neighbor is an only child so I know he loves having other kids to play with. He is the ONLY person we have been around for weeks.. otherwise both his family and our family stays home so I feel like it's fine for him to come over and play. I'm sure all the fresh air and sunshine help kill germs too! Today the boys were up in the tree and doing something with cardboard boxes. They always have so much! J and the boys have been videoing each other a lot lately and dying to start a YouTube channel. I feel like we definitely need a great editing program (free if possible!) before they start posting all this stuff on YouTube. If anyone knows of anything please let me know! 

I found J sitting in the little kids' wagon this evening. I thought it was cute. :) 

I tried to make a face mask from an old pair of leggings a few days ago. Big fail! But L loves to wear it around the house sometimes. :) 

L has been thriving at home as I know many kids with SPD are. Being home with no changes in her routine, having her daddy and siblings home 24/7 seems to really be a great thing for her! 



She learned to take off and put on a shirt within the last week! I honestly can't remember how old the other kids were when they started doing this but it seems like L learned a bit later than they did. She came downstairs one day last week fully dressed.. I couldn't believe it! This was the first time she ever put a shirt on by herself. :) Nevermind the crazy hair and mixed matched clothing. 

I've also had her start working on preschool books several days a week. I think this is really helping her fine motor skills and helping her control her pencil better. This is the book she's working on above. This book is so cute and full of stickers and different activities! Looks like Amazon has several books in the same series as well.. and there is even a little Bible book.

I'm just amazed by the improvement she's shown in just the last week. These two drawings are both of rainbows (and the sky and people) and she drew them just a week apart. She seems to have much better control on her pencil in just this short amount of time. 

Last weekend. 

And today! Look at the difference! 

My feelings may change but right now I'm feeling more and more confident in my decision to homeschool her from kindergarten on. She's thriving with all her siblings at home 24/7 and already shown improvement with the little bit of preschool work I've been doing with her. Things are never predictable with L so all this may change but right now I'm just really excited with the huge steps she's taken since we've been in quarantine! 

She's gone down to almost no meltdowns and improved so much in skill since we've all just been staying home together. I know all the change in routine that we normally have is really hard on her. While I'm excited that she's doing so well right now I am a little concerned about how she'll adjust when everything goes back to normal. 

Besides all the outdoor time I've also gone through two huge totes of old mail and papers and have shredded bags and bags full of stuff! We thought R might enjoy playing in the shredded papers but she just jumped right back out ha! I had to hold her still for a quick pic. 

We heard today that they will start clearing lots on our side of the street where we're building! So exciting!! My husband recently bought some tools and wants to start making furniture. I decided I will have to have a built in shelf, similar to this one from Pinterest, in our family room upstairs. We plan to put a couch and TV up there but it will also be our homeschool room so a shelf like this will be amazing to tuck away bins of books and papers! 

I'm linking up with Hello Monday again today! 

Quarantine

Strangely enough I think my family and I are all enjoying being at home together during quarantine. I tend to be a homebody anyway and am really LOVING the break from school drop offs and pick ups and all the extra activities the kids are in every week. The kids are having fun being at home too! I asked them yesterday where they want to go as soon as we're able to get out again and none of them could even think of anything.. until the older three decided they kind of miss going to school. I think a break is good for all of us.. I just wish it wasn't under such tragic circumstances. 







Thankfully we've had several beautiful days the last few weeks so the kids have been able to spend hours playing outdoors! 

The kids have been riding bikes... 

 drawing with chalk...

blowing bubbles...

.. they played in the sprinkler one afternoon.... 

Our neighbors were getting rid of this pink blow up hammock chair and the kids

have been having SO much fun with it! 

The dogs have been loving all the outdoor time and extra attention too! 

Saturday we went down to our lot where we'll be building. The kids have fun playing around this big fallen tree. Looks like it's been down for quite a while. We also tied ribbons around the living trees we want to keep when they start clearing the lot.

The two oldest kids have been great at keeping up with their school work at home! S isn't thrilled with the Spanish work she has to do or the daily class meetings on Zoom but she is staying caught up! L had her first (and probably only) remote occupational therapy meeting yesterday. It was kind of fun for her but definitely not nearly as good or beneficial as a true therapy session so I don't think we'll be doing it again. I found several little preschool workbooks for her at Dollar Tree and she's been working on those the past couple days. She's doing really good and loves having school work to do! 



Today is chilly and overcast and I'm having an awful time trying to stay awake haha! I think I need Starbucks! 



I'm linking up with Hello Monday today. 



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*No idea why I have annoying ads popping up in my posts. If anyone knows how to get rid of them please let me know! I don't mind them on my page but prefer not to have them in the actual post. 

Hello Monday

Lots of catching up to do! I started this post last week and got sidetracked ha!

A couple Friday mornings ago the girls and I went up to a kids' consignment sale for their 50% off day. The sale is held in an old warehouse once or twice a year. This was our first time there since moving out here and I had to get some pics of the interior. The brick walls are amazing! I could totally see this place being a redone as a Magnolia Market type store. #loveit

I gave the little girls a dollar each and L wanted to take her little purse to keep her money in. Then she wanted to hang it up when she went potty. Ha! So cute!

The trees outside were gorgeous too!

The girls' dance rehearsal was a couple Friday evenings ago followed by a pizza dinner. And their big dance recital was Saturday, March 30. They all did great! The recital wrapped up dance for the spring semester.

Last Tuesday evening C's Trail Life group went to Climb On! Then G went with her American Heritage Girls group this past Friday. They both loved it! J took C and I dropped G off with her group. I wish I could've stayed to watch but it wasn't practical since I had all the other kids with me.



Last Wednesday C's school had a Fun Run! He did great!! He ran 35 laps and raised money for his school.

C's first baseball game of the season was last Thursday evening! They're playing again this evening. 

The little girls started soccer this past Saturday. I was so proud of L.. she finally got out on the field without me and practiced a bit with her team. I couldn't get her to go out during the actual "game" but maybe next week? I was so busy with L that I didn't get to really watch S's team on the other side of the field. I love watching her play.. hopefully I can get over there next week for a few minutes.

The weather has been beautiful lately. But on April 2nd we had random snow flurries in the morning. It was so weird! I hope we don't see that again for several months. We're loving the spring weather and have been spending a lot of time outside! 

Hello Monday!

We stopped by Dairy Queen for free cones last Wednesday, the first day of Spring!

We walked/rode bicycles down to our neighborhood park one afternoon last week! It was sunny and almost perfect outside! 

C and the dog love walking over by the pond! 

We woke up and saw three deer in the woods right behind our backyard a couple mornings last week. They're fun to watch! Our neighbors put deer feed out every evening but we rarely see them unless it's early, early morning. It was hard to get a decent pic through the smudged window pane and screen so this was the best I could get. If we went outside they would've run away. 

G had her first lock-in sleepover with her American Heritage Girls group last Friday night. She had a lot of fun! 

L had a couple febrile seizures again on Saturday. She wasn't feeling very well in the pic above so S brought her her "newborn baby monkey" to snuggle with. Ha! I love the stuff these girls come up with. They named this monkey "purple" and have been pretending it's a real baby for several days now. L fell asleep and had a short seizure not long after I took this pic. She ended up having another short one about 30 minutes later. We didn't see a need to take her to the ER this time and thankfully it was all over within an hour or so.

This was after she had come out of her seizures but was still kind of out of it. She threw up the Tylenol I gave her and went to sleep for a good long while. The seizures seem to really wear her out. 

Thankfully she was pretty much back to herself after she woke up again! And she did great all day Sunday and today. Her seizures have been months apart so I'm not expecting another one any time soon but I guess you never know.. She just started sleeping in her own bed and now I'm kind of terrified to have her sleep on her own again. I just can't imagine her having a seizure during the night without anyone knowing. :( I just found out about these "watches" that alert caretakers to seizures. I don't think we're at the point where she needs one but I think they're pretty cool for those who do. 

This morning was bright and sunny and one of the warmest mornings we've had lately. I decided to wash my van on a whim and G and S were eager to help. As soon as we were done it started getting overcast and started to rain a little later in the afternoon. Ha! I guess I should've looked at the forecast. 

L still isn't feeling 100% and the water from the hose was freezing so she sat in her little lawn chair and watched Gabby's tablet while we washed the van. 

Little E has been loving the spring weather too! He loves curling up in the warm soon. He's the cutest but it's hard to get a good picture of him since he moves around so much!