Weekly Happenings: Another week of school from home, mask-wearing while shopping, running the kids ragged in the back yard so they will hopefully go to sleep at a decent time, trying not to go stir-crazy while in the house, running little errands to maintain personal sanity, and the like.
The Weekly Weather: We’ve had a decent amount of rain during the week (which, at times, put a damper on our outside time either because it was raining or because it was still too wet from a recent storm). Walking on the grass right after a good-sized storm is a bit like walking on a sponge full of water. It isn’t pleasant, haha. We also have had a couple of good thunderstorms (hence the name of this post) that Abigail miraculously slept through and Joseph rode out in his room (one he slept through and the other he was still awake for, so it didn’t scare him like the ones that wake him from a sound sleep tend to do). Today has been sunny, but we’re entering into the end of May, so it’s rather warm and humid.
What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s been busy at work and then busy keeping ahead of the yard work (more rain equals grass growing faster…dang it). He’s also been dealing with some people that keep wanting to ride their dirt bikes on land that belongs to the HOA but is supposed to maintained as a natural area, which has been a frustrating series of events.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: Not much out of the ordinary on my part. I’ve mainly been trying to keep up with all of Joseph’s school assignments and simultaneously trying to keep Abigail from wrecking the house too bad, haha.
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s been cranking out assignments, soaking up as much screen time as he can, and does enjoy playing with toys or playing outside once he’s dealt with the initial shock of being unplugged. 😉 We did find out a time when we can go to his school to pick up his personal belongings. He’s excited because some of his favorite books (including one he hasn’t read all the way through…that’s been driving him crazy) will be in with it all.
What Abigail’s Been Up To: Bedtime is still rough, but we’re making it through, one night at a time. Luckily, once she’s asleep , she does tend to stay asleep. We got a bag of hand-me-downs from a friend that had a baby doll in it. She was over the moon and has loved on that baby doll so much. She loves playing at “the playground” (also known as our back yard) and we either have to wheel and deal with her or wait until she’s near exhaustion before we can get her to come inside. Her favorite thing to do out there is pick up fistfuls of mulch to throw, which I’m trying to break her of.
This Week in Pictures:
It’s always exciting to discover new flowers. This time it was my miniature rose bush’s turn.A close up of the bigger of the two roses. The smaller one has since opened up a little wider as well (I just don’t have a picture).I’m still amazed with how much these trees have grown in the last almost eight years. It’s really nice to stand under the shade, though.The baby doll she got from friends.She carried it everywhere, set it up with a snack and a drink, set it up on her riding toys…the works.There was one night Abigail didn’t fall asleep until 10:30. I woke her up at 8:00 the next morning so that we wouldn’t have a repeat performance…I think she was having a hard time realizing which dimension she was in, haha.She loves this slide!Raking some leaves. I joke with my friends that fall comes in the spring time here, when all the new leaves push the old ones off the trees.Collecting leaves and sticks.He was trying to balance the rake so that it would stand on its own…then he tried laying it on the ground and seeing if stepping on it would make the handle fly up to hit him (like in cartoons). Luckily, it didn’t. 😉He came and told me he didn’t know what to do, so I told him to run around the yard, then skip, then gallop. After that, he stopped asking me and entertained himself, haha.What I first thought was some crumpled up, dried out paper was actually a good-sized mushroom. I think it’s been just a bit humid lately, haha.
Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty much like last week…and the week before that. I joke that we’re pretty much living like we were in the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray…where he has to live the same day over and over again. I don’t really have much more to add to that, haha. The governor has said that restaurants and retail businesses can open up again, but only allow a fraction of their regular occupancy. San Antonio is still under stay-at-home orders until May 19th, so people are trying to find a balance between the two. The state orders override any individual city orders, so basically the city is just watching to make sure the groups of people stay small enough and spread far enough out. I am really looking forward to when we can get past all this.
The Weekly Weather: For the most part, it’s been really mild this week. We’ve had a few days here and there that have been hot, but most of the days have been mild, overcast, and breezy.
What Paul’s Been Up To: Working from home this week, getting his car inspected (something we have to do every year as part of the registration process), yard work, etc.. Today he is sanding down and staining a cabinet that someone in the neighborhood was getting rid of so that we can use it in our living room for extra storage.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: Keeping the kids alive, healthy, and relatively happy. Not too much else on my end. Oh, except the funny thing that happened yesterday. I went to water my potted plants on the front patio and discovered a suspicious-looking mound of soil in one pot (that was probably two inches higher than the rest of the soil in the pot). I ran the hose over it, hoping that it was just what I was already thinking it was…and it was: a huge toad (about the size of my palm). We left him there for the time being, but if he doesn’t move along soon, we might need to relocate him so that his burrowing doesn’t hurt my potted rose bush too much.
What Joseph’s Been Up To: Schoolwork, playing outside (and having to deal with flying insects, which are not his favorite), playing inside, video games…typical 8YO boy stuff.
What Abigail’s Been Up To: Playing, playing, playing…inside, outside, wherever she can. The other day, she came up to me and asked me to help her find her “hay baby”. I was thoroughly confused for a moment until I realized she had just been playing with her Little People nativity…she needed help finding the baby Jesus (who is, of course, portrayed as a baby laying in hay) so “hay baby” is a great description, actually. 🙂 She also picked out some interesting outfits this week. My favorite was when she picked an olive green shirt with polka dots and navy blue pants with polka dots…because, as she said, “polka dots and polka dots!” totally match, right? She then wanted her pink butterfly boots and monkey hat to complete the outfit.
This Week in Pictures:
This is her polka dot outfit that totally matches, right? 😉 When she would run, I found myself actually getting a bit dizzy watching her.Getting some much-needed outside time. When the kids saw my chair, they needed theirs, too. Joseph was on the lookout for anything with wings.She loves to play fetch, haha.I got up to do something and came back to find that I’d lost my spot. It didn’t take her long to get nice and comfy.She told me she needed more sun.I took her for a walk around the block…this is what she insisted on wearing. I saw one or two other people while on our walk, but the majority of the people in our neighborhood have young kids (or did at one point), so I didn’t get any weird looks…just knowing smiles, haha. Paul heard the shaved ice truck and went to grab the kids a treat. Joseph ate every bit of his strawberry one.Abigail said she wanted mango, but she took one bite, said it was gross (it might have been too cold for her), and then just played in it. When it was completely melted, we tossed it. She was sad, but perked up when I told her she could have some crushed ice from the ice dispenser. She ate every bit of that…I don’t get it, haha.She was happy to get to wear her heat pajamas…because they were “so sparkly”!For a PE assignment, we had to create an “ultimate hopscotch course” that included, hops, jumps, and leaps (we used different colors of sidewalk chalk for each).Joseph had quite a bit of fun doing the assignment.Abigail saw us drawing with chalk and just about lost her mind, so after we were done with the assignment, I let her out.Joseph wanted in on the fun, too.They had fun drawing on the back patio for quite some time, actually.I decided to contribute as well.After “art class” 😉 we went straight to recess.She insisted on pushing him……and enjoyed it immensely.There was one afternoon where I was tired enough I decided I needed to “rest my eyes” (as my dad was wont to say). I could still hear Abigail playing. She ran up to me and halfway asked a question but then whispered, “Oh! Shhhhh…Momma’s sleepin’!” I could still hear her playing, but fell into a bit deeper of a rest. I woke up and found that I had plenty of stuffies to keep me company, haha.I got her up, got her dressed, and we came downstairs. She immediately did this. I’m not quite sure why, to be honest.The first rosebud has appeared!Abigail came running up to me, asking for help getting the last bit of her yogurt out of the bowl. I had to hold back laughter when I looked up and saw this.I made sure to get her all of it.She insisted on wearing her rain boots yesterday.This is the toad’s back……and I drew an arrow pointing to its eye.Spring afternoon fun.Sanded and stained. Now we’re just waiting for it to dry completely before moving it inside (so the fumes don’t get to us). Once the fumes dissipated, we moved it inside to its new home. I love it!
Weekly Happenings: It’s hard to believe that it’s already May. Time continues to march on in our new kind of normal. We kind of just chugged along, getting our normal things done. Nothing too out of the ordinary for this week.
Weekly Weather: It’s been pretty average spring weather: sunny, warm, and breezy. I do think that spring in South Texas is my favorite…in spite of all the things in the air that I’m allergic to. 😉
What Paul’s Been Up To: He was at work this week, so his time was divided between work, working around the house/yard, and family time. He had the sprinklers’ piping repaired, but the sprinklers still weren’t quite working right. He decided to check the water pressure before seeing if there was a different leak and came to find out that it wasn’t as high as it was supposed to be, so he tweaked the PRV and was able to get the pressure higher. Lo and behold, the sprinklers work now. Yay!
What Sarah’s Been Up To: We’re in survival mode at this point, haha. I’m just keeping Joseph caught up with his school work, trying to give Abigail her share of attention, upkeep the house, laundry, and the like…I’m looking forward to when things are able to open up again!
What Joseph’s Been Up To: Mostly just school work and playing around. He says he’s bored with doing school at home (I knew the novelty would wear off eventually), but we’ve just got to make it through May before we get to have a real break.
What Abigail’s Been Up To: I switched out her clothes so now she’s wearing 4T clothes. I suppose it’s about time since she will be four in December. One funny story: she had dumped her barrel of monkeys game out and was reenacting “10 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed”. She would sing a verse and then as she got to the part about the monkey falling off the bed, she would toss the monkey over her shoulder. Then she would have me do the doctor bit of saying “no more monkeys jumping on the bed”. It was pretty funny.
This Week in Pictures:
Watching her favorite movie…again.He made a rain stick by putting a twisted piece of foil inside a paper towel tube and then putting some rice inside (and sealing both ends). It doesn’t sound exactly like areal one, but it still makes for a good shaker.My May decorations. I’ll leave them up until Fall, since they cover Memorial Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, and summer in general. To be honest, these come out in January as well, when I don’t have any other holiday decorations.She wanted all of her Buc-ees. 🙂This girl sure loves those beavers!My board for May.Mom gave up and let her have as many snacks as she wanted.I’m still not sure what’s going on here.She wanted her snack left in the bag. I stayed close by to make sure she didn’t upend it. She did pretty well.If one is going to find the car one wants, one must dump out ALL of the cars. It’s the law.Teeny new tomatoes.My basil lives! It got a pretty bad fungus infection and I had to basically cut all of it back except one little stem that still had about three tiny leaves. I was hoping that it would grow back if I kept watering it and it is!One of my favorite views.If I fits, I sits…how come nobody warned me that having a toddler was a lot like having a cat? 😉
