1st Dose

 

30 minutes, three drive-through tents, two shots, and we are now officially halfway to being vaccinated! We are just happy to join the throng doing what can be done to get things back to "normal"! 

Second dose will be at the end of the month, and we'll be there!

T-E-N Ten.

 

How is it possible that both of my kiddos are double digits now? This Mama's heart still sees babies, but Henry turned T-E-N ten today. 

He got up and got ready for school, he got all his chores and work done, he pulled up the trash cans after school, and he helped feed the bees. Birthday schmirthday, this guy is rock solid. He is kind, reliable, generous, and funny. He is our favorite Bubba, and we are all so proud of him.

Happy birthday, Henny Benny, we love you so.

Abscess

Remember that time when Audrey tripped and fell and her front tooth caught her? When we had her tooth fixed, we were told that there was a chance that the impact of the fall might prove to have also damaged the root, but there would be no way of knowing except to just wait and see.

It turns out the root was damaged, it later died... and Audrey ended up with a pretty painful abscess.

This poor brave girl started complaining of pain in her mouth at the beginning of last weekend, it quickly accelerated into excruciating status, and after a quick trip to get an antibiotic prescription and a week on said meds, she was finally afforded some relief... via a root canal.

Although she was glad to get things resolved, she wasn't very happy about going through the process (who could blame her?). It took about an hour and all she had was gas and local anesthetic, but the staff said she handled it better than half the adults that came in for the same procedure.

She recovered in 24 hours and reports now that not only do things feel normal, but she doesn't even think the filling needs any smoothing or touchup. It was stressful to watch her go through it, but we have no regrets... and we are so glad to have this resolved!

...for now, anyway!

Spring Garden 2021

Our beds are amended and (mostly) leveled, our trellises are secured and ready for yet another season, and against all odds, we even have almost everything planted. It was a family effort, but things are looking good for our spring garden this year!

Tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, two kinds of melons and two kinds of squash, onions, beans, and herbs, with mulch from the guinea pig cages and the waste wool from a friend's flock of sheep... oh the early promise and potential of the spring garden!

Proud Mama Moment

I just had to share this, so please humor me... I received this message from Henry's homeroom teacher today. I am so proud of how he's working to make the most out of this weird situation. He asked me the other day, "Mama, I know you'll probably say no, but I really wish I could go back to school for the last nine weeks... just so I can see what fourth grade is like." It almost broke my heart. I told him he needed to do his best for the rest of the year the way things are, that we were still concerned with safety, but with the vaccine aaaaalmost available to us, I would do my best to get him back in the classroom for fifth grade.

And then this:

He's holding up his end of things. I better hold up mine!

Getting Out

 

This is what "getting out" looks like these days. Not what I would have called "normal" once upon a time, but we still had fun.

Dinner

 

My two little chefs treated us to a dinner made 95% by them. Audrey chose the recipes, Henry made the tomato & cucumber salad (and dressing), Audrey made a refreshing grapefruit, lime, and cherry drink, and they worked together to make sautéed chicken in a light thyme sauce. The only part that Mama helped with was frying the potatoes that they served on the side.

It was awesome... but the best part was how they worked together and helped each other pull it off. 

So good.

Reflecting on COVID

 It's hard to believe it, but this week marks our one-year anniversary of living in a pandemic. About a year ago we went away for our spring break trip to Broken Bow, and when we came home there was no toilet paper to be found, stuff was shutting down, people were panic-buying everything, and our kids wouldn't return to school for the rest of the year (and beyond, little did we know).

It was kinda exciting in the beginning... we had plenty of toilet paper, the kids were enjoying the extended spring break, and it still felt like something special and a little silly. But then it kept on... and kept on... and kept on... 

...and teachers started attempting to engage kids online without any plan or support, my company canceled their lease and went all-remote, and we started wearing masks everywhere we went. 

It became pretty obvious pretty quickly that this was not a short-term situation. We were going to have to shift the way we lived, worked, played, everything. We made reusable masks, we stopped going out for fun, we stopped seeing friends, everything changed.

Now, one year later, our state has decided they've had enough change. They're going full-steam ahead backwards into pre-COVID living, and although we'd love to get back to "normal," too, even one year later I can't help but wonder if it's not time yet. 

My heart hurts for everything that my family has missed out on... sports, school activities, friendships, date nights, travel... but we've stayed healthy and we can say with a clear conscience we haven't taken unreasonable risks. We'll be ready to rejoin society when the time is right- and surely that's close with vaccines becoming more available every day- but we will also continue to wear our masks, abstain from large gatherings, and finish the school year remotely.

After all, we've gotten pretty good at staying in.