Yearn for Surrender: Safer at home Week 10

Week 10 of our time at home ran from May 18th-May 24th. We had a pretty ordinary week with a few surprises.

Monday, May 18th:

On Monday Brandon caught M and I watching an ambulance out of our window. He wanted to get a picture of us actually gawking like we were when he entered the room. I had a hard time holding it together to recreate the photo.

It was just too embarrassing.

We pretty much looked like this haha!

Tuesday, May 19th:

On Tuesday T did a science experiment where you attempt to fold an egg. The first thing you have to do is blow out the egg. We had never done this before, so it was quite a sight to see.

T: It was very strange to blow out the egg.

I actually made a real dinner on Tuesday. For the first time ever I followed many recipes and perfected a roast chicken with rosemary. Yum! We had roasted veggies and baked potatoes. The gross looking bowl is the chicken dripping which made for good gravy but not a pretty pic. We had "Jello cake" for dessert, which is a recipe that Grandma Judy makes and the kids love.

Yummy!

Last week I wrote dessert ideas on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. The kids get to draw a dessert every other day. It keeps things fun during this season of sameness. M thinks about it first thing in the morning on the days when they get to draw for a dessert.

Wednesday, May 20th:

On Wednesday afternoon I introduced the kids to badminton. They really enjoyed it, but hit many birdies on the roof. This led to a roof field trip (see future post). One Wednesday night we finished off the Jello cake and we I made "crumb cakes" to finish the pan. I grew up with crumb cakes and my kids can't understand how anyone wouldn't make them. I formed the cakes with my hands and there were precious crumbs on my hands so the kids both licked my fingers. Strange, but hilarious!

In the background of this pic I can see the box for T's party bus. I am not sure if we posted the finished pic, but she did finish the LEGO bus which she earned from not sucking her thumb.

M: We can't waste a bit of this.

Buddies.

Thursday, May 21st

While we were out biking around we spotted a tree coming down. M became three again and couldn't wait to watch. It was so sweet to watch him get excited.

M: I still love watching tree crews at work!

Both kids enjoying the view.

After biking we came home to do some puzzling and ate our homemade graham crackers. They turned out amazingly well and didn't last long.

A fun afternoon!

We received a care package from my parents with a new puzzle and several cloth masks. T's is quite big on her, but mine fits well. We went on a bike ride after this pic and T insisted on wearing her mask while biking. The kids were excited to see school friends outside to say hi to!

2020 Fashion!

Earlier in the day T spotted a real baby cradle on the curb across the street. We told her she could have it if it was still there at 5:00pm. She counted down the minutes and was super excited to add it to her room collection. She actually found a nice spot for it and her room looks pretty good after I did some organizing the following day. The question of how long it will stay organized remains to be answered.

Friday, May 22nd:

On Friday morning we spent 3.5 hours in the car driving to and from Brandon's eye appointment. Morale was LOW! It was a rough time in the car. Brandon's appointment went well, but it was discovered that some of the oil was leaking from his eye and that it would be best for surgery to happen sooner rather than later. In fact, they decided to do surgery Tuesday the 26th (a couple days ago)! This meant a lot of childcare things needed to be figured out, therapies and zoom meetings changed, church stuff prepped etc. Part of Brandon's prep was a required pre-surgical COVID test. He scheduled it for Saturday.

The picture below is what led to the organization mentioned above. She tore everything out of places and needed a restart.

T: UGH! My room needs help! (Not many would think to empty that cube from above!)

Another week, another finished puzzle! This was another tricky Thomas Kinkade one. We have all learned many puzzling skills over our time at home. A dear friend dropped off many more puzzles this week, so we are set for months! Continuing our odd puzzle trend, the pieces didn't line up again. This time we had an extra piece haha! We think it went to the previous puzzle we put together.

M: Mom and I worked hard on this one!

Saturday, May 23rd:

I had another parking lot support group on Saturday morning. The mamas helped me come up with a good surgery day plan that meant lots of driving, but no time for the kids to be unattended. The kids had fun doing LEGO and games with Brandon.

Now this is a restaurant I would want to eat at! Yum!

In the afternoon I made a cake that flopped. It didn't rise properly. It tasted fine, but there were still complaints. I remedied the situation by getting out a frosting pastry bag. The kids found ways to make tasty treats with the frosting.

M: This is so big I had to put it over my shoulder.

T: Daddy and I like this tasty dessert.

Brandon worked through the weekend to prep and record a message for next Sunday (the 31st) so he wouldn't have to worry about that during recovery. The kids and I spent some afternoon time at the neighbors having more socially distant playdates. While we were there, Brandon did his drive through COVID test. It was quite interesting to talk with him about it after the test. The nurse told him to sit on his hands during the procedure. She stuck a very long swab up each of his nostrils. It was very uncomfortable. It took Brandon about an hour to stop jumping around after the test. He still felt nasal trauma on Tuesday on the way to surgery. Basically, the things you hear about the test are true. Poor guy.

After a long day of playing these two were quite exhausted.

Totally spent!

Sunday, May 24th:

On Sunday we had church in the morning. We played Badminton outside quite a bit (see future post) and enjoyed time in the sun. T set up some biking obstacles and Brandon grilled. Brandon got good sermon work done, the kids and I biked, and the kids watched a movie.