Self-Isolation: Week 1 (3/15-3/21)

3 months old!

It's been almost a year since I've updated this blog. I kept meaning to do it, but then time kept moving and it just didn't happen. I guess I could say I have a good excuse since in the last 12 months I've gotten pregnant and had a baby who is 3 months old today! But I thought now would be a good time to do some documentation since we're living in strange, chaotic times and no one can predict what the coming weeks or months will look like.

I can relate to this to an incredible degree. Though I haven't gotten to the Doritos stage yet. Feel free to send some my way!

So, here are some things that happened in the past week, probably in no particular order...

My new normal. Parked with a sleepy baby.

Get that energy out, kiddo!

Noah's daycare was closed for professional development on 3/14. Since I was on my own with both kids for the day, I took him and Evan to SkyZone (a local trampoline park) for 2 hours of Toddler Time jumping. There were only about 10 kids there which was perfect. Noah was able to get lots of energy out and we didn't need to come in close contact with anyone- although I get that a trampoline park isn't exactly a sterile environment.

This is also when it seems people started taking the threat of the coronavirus much more seriously. By the end of the weekend, all schools in WI had been cancelled though at least the second week of April. I am currently on maternity leave with Evan and had decided to take off the remainder of the school year already so this news didn't affect me directly, but I'm still in close contact with my colleagues and department and I feel stress about how the is affecting everyone. We kept Noah home from his normal karate class on Saturday (I'm not even sure if it was running) and our church closed and held services online on Sunday which they'll continue doing for the foreseeable future.

By the end of the day on Sunday, we decided to keep Noah home from his daycare for the whole week regardless if it was open, and Jordan planned on working from home. By Wednesday, all daycares in WI were ordered to close as well. It was a lot of change to plan around within 72 hours!

Say "quarantine!"

Happiest little bear.

Reassurance from our neighborhood kids!

They're the best.

We've attempted to keep to a schedule this week with some success. Noah is admittedly an "indoor" kid so staying inside doesn't seem to affect him a lot, which is kind of nice since the weather hasn't been great. We were able to get outside for a few walks around the neighborhood though.

Water beads to the rescue!

Harry Potter can be a little scary!

In Noah's closet I discovered some water beads that I bought awhile ago. We activated/hydrated them and they have provided a lot of playtime, along with the marble run. A friend gave us a copy of the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which we've been reading a lot and finally finished on Thursday. Noah immediately wanted to start reading the second book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, so we are a few chapters in to that now. Noah still hides during the scary parts but he doesn't run out of the room anymore so I guess that's progress. Oh, our sweet sensitive kiddo.

Recipe for deliciousness!

Cookie monster.

One day we decided to make cookies from a book on Noah's shelf, How to Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? Noah was insistent that we needed to make at least one huge one. The irony is that now they're done and Jordan and I have eaten many more of them than Noah! I guess he's not as big of a fan of cinnamon-oatmeal as he thought. We have plans to make chocolate chip cookies soon which I'm sure will be a bigger hit.

Calculators are magic!

PJs all day is acceptable now, right?

Using the abacus with a math game app.

Jordan has been making a scavenger hunt everyday for Noah with increasingly difficult math clues and it's usually the highlight of the day- though I'm not sure if it's the hunt or the reese's peanut butter cup treasure at the end that Noah enjoys most. He recently has fallen in love with using the calculator and is pretty sure that it's magical. I showed him how to use an abacus this morning which was fun too.

I have been binge-watching Downton Abbey for a couple weeks while nursing Evan and just finished the final season today. It's a really great show, the hype is all true- even if I'm a few years behind. And I'm really happy that the series finale ended on a happy note. I don't think I could take any sadness or drama, there's enough of it in the real world right now. I recently bought some wireless headphones and they have been invaluable when I'm bouncing or rocking a sleeping baby in the dark and trying to listen to a podcast or watch a show on my laptop.

A rare quiet moment. It lasted 5 minutes. :)

Noah's portrait of our family

When we're trying to do solo-reading time, Noah's books of choice lately have been Calvin and Hobbes. There's something really endearing about watching your kid reading the same exact books that his dad read when he was a kid.

And the extra random pics...

The tulips on Monday...

The tulips on Friday!

Noah signed his sheets this week. First time this kid has ever used a marker on a non-paper surface. I guess this is what happens when you leave a bored kid alone in his room for a little while!

I organized the pantry! Then the label maker ran out of tape in the middle of my work. What a disappointment.

Sweet sleepy guy.

I'm very thankful for social media right now even if a lot of it is still trash. I don't typically contribute a lot on facebook or instagram, and I don't even tend to look at it a lot, but I'm sure everyone's screen time has gone up dramatically in the last week. I wouldn't say I'm a strong extrovert, but I definitely get energy and support from social interaction (my therapist says I'm a "verbal processor") and this time away from everyone has been very hard for me. Looking at the pictures and memes and videos from other people makes me feel slightly better, and it's impossible to look away from the news and see what the latest development is since everything is changing so rapidly. The latest I heard in WI was that hair salons, spas, and tattoo parlors are to be closed now as well. In the last two hours the number of cases in WI was at 206, though we know it's actually many more than that as people are carriers or haven't been tested.

In closing, stay home. Just do it if you're able. And stop hoarding stuff. Now would be a great time to get rid of the "every person for themselves" attitude that is basically the mantra of the US and start thinking about other people and making sure they have what they need too.