November (and October)

One thing 2020 has taught me is there is no point in making plans. Which is sad, because making plans is my favorite hobby. The craziness of the election, COVID case counts on the rise, and a Thanksgiving that wasn't what we hoped it would be has made for a long November.

We had planned to go my parents' house for Thanksgiving, but the Governor's latest order put a stop to that. We were all disappointed, but we made the best of it by cooking the full Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, we had an 18 pound turkey and all the sides. For four people.  It was a lot of food, but it tasted good and we had a nice day playing games, watching football, and participating in three Zoom calls. We talked to my parents and brother and sister and families, the extended family on my Dad's side, and Ben's family. The kids get a little bored with the Zoom calls, which is understandable. I enjoy being able to see everyone's faces. A random note: a year or two ago, my Aunt Karen told me she thought Clare looked like my cousin Lauren. I didn't see it at first, but the older Clare gets the more like Lauren she looks. This is a good thing - Lauren is very pretty.

This month we also took a few hikes, played at a few playgrounds, and had a few virtual Scout meetings. The highlight, besides Thanksgiving, was probably the Harry Potter movie marathon I had with Clare. We didn't leave the pullout couch in our playroom for about 30 hours. (We also had a sleepover, we weren't just staring at the screen for 30 hours. Just 22 hours.) It was really fun.

I was amused by the following story. Clare and I were driving to the library a few weeks ago when she announced, "I don't think Santa is real. I think it's just you. Is it?" Well. I told her she was right, after asking if she really wanted to know. "I have been suspicious since I saw the top of our chimney. How could he fit down there?" I feel like she has been suspicious of the whole Santa thing since she was two. As we pulled into the parking lot to the library, she said, "Oh, and I don't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore, either." Okay then. She claimed she never believed in the Easter Bunny, because "How could a bunny deliver chocolate?" My little logical skeptic.

(Both kids know that I am the Tooth Fairy.)

October. It seems like a lifetime ago. The highlight by far was Halloween. I think the kids actually had more fun this Halloween than they normally do on that holiday. That is probably the only thing we can say that about in this year of COVID. We had a Halloween party with my parents, and Katie, Andrew, Josie and Otto. Clare nominated herself to be chair of the Party Planning Committee, and she took her job seriously. We played games, including wrapping Ben and Andrew in toilet paper (mummies!) and watched them race in the backyard. They didn't disappoint. The kids went trick or treating from room to room in the house. It was really fun, and I am glad we had that time together, since it is the last time we all hung out together before the current restrictions went into place.

Let's see, what else happened in October? I turned 41. We were camping at Gooseberry Falls over my birthday weekend. It was freezing and it snowed, but we were with friends, which doesn't happen too often these days and made it worth being cold. And Lake Superior is one of my favorite places on Earth.

Christopher turned 7. He had fun on our camping trip and at his small party. We did a few other fall things, including a trip to La Crosse (the fall colors were stunning and Christopher was able to read my grandma a story and act it out as well) and a trip to the apple orchard.

Christopher had an assignment for school a few weeks ago, where we both had to make a list of five things we are thankful for. I kept it simple and small: my family, especially my kiddos, my four best friends (and all of my friends), our house, the fact that we are lucky enough not to worry about having enough food, and books (my escape from the world).

Christopher went big: "I am thankful that there are people on the planet,  I am thankful for plants because they give us oxygen and provide us food, I am thankful that I have a good family, I am thankful that I have a house and I am thankful for the planet."

I'm grateful to the teacher who assigned this, because it gave me a chance to pause, take a deep breath, and literally count my blessings. Even though this month, this year, and however long to come might not be what we want it to be, we still have a lot to be thankful for.

And now, here are some pictures from the past two months. Yay!

Christopher settled in for the 30 minute drive to the campsite for his birthday camping in October. 

Camping crew!

                                      

Opening presents at his birthday party. We also had pizza and cake.

Fun at Whistling Well Farm. We had a beautiful day and it wasn't crowded.

October snow.

Clare making a cake during her virtual Girl Scout meeting.

The spread at my outdoor joint birthday party (with my friend Kerry).

We did not have nice weather for an outdoor Halloween event with Stepping Stone Theater.

Christopher's face here shows how he felt about it.

They did have fun sorting their candy and making trades.

Pumpkin carving on Halloween day.

A sea witch and a devil trick or treating at the bathroom door.

Followed by a dinosaur and the grim reaper.

Enjoying a rare warm November day with a Noodles picnic and a playground.

Hiking at Taylor's Falls. They had fun climbing around the potholes and then whined for the entire hike. I might have whined a little bit, too.

Day 2 of the Harry Potter movie marathon.

Clare was very helpful on Thanksgiving. And very dressed up.

Once again, Christopher's face will tell you how he felt about our walk at the Minnesota River.

Seven

Christopher, somehow, is seven. 

I was looking over what I wrote last year on his birthday, and not much has changed. (Other than the entire world, but for Christopher, not much has changed. I guess it is nice to have one constant.)

One new thing - he is joining Scouts. He is very excited about this. I am not sure how much they'll be able to do right now, but hopefully it will be a chance for him to interact with some peers. 

Christopher is still very empathetic and sweet. When we were talking about joining Scouts, I expressed surprise about how much more expensive it is than Girl Scouts. Christopher thought it was way too much money. "That's okay," he said. "I don't have to do it since it costs so much." I assured him I was willing to pay.

He still loves to laugh and to entertain. If he enjoys a joke he will tell it to everyone he knows. Literally everyone. 

He has a huge vocabulary, and sometimes it is funny to hear these giant words coming out of his mouth. Especially since he still has some trouble pronouncing the "r" sound. (He met with the Speech Therapist this year, who said he doesn't make enough errors to qualify for services - we'll reevaluate at the end of this school year.)

He enjoys reading. His favorite books right now are the Dogman and Gerald and Piggie series. Clare is reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Christopher and their grandma (virtually). It is a nice time for all three of them. Christopher loved the first one in the Harry Potter series, which Clare also read to him.

Clare and Christopher are on a rollercoaster together - sometimes they love playing together and sometimes they fight like crazy. This has always been true, but it is especially true now that they spend so much time together.

Christopher has made a new friend in his class, Theo. Theo happens to be Clare's best friend's younger brother, so this works out well. I think we may pod with them over the winter so the kids can play together inside.

Christopher loves baking, and creates his own recipes. He made a chocolate cake with orange zest without a recipe that turned out surprisingly well. I am giving him a kids' baking book for his birthday that I hope he'll enjoy.

Some favorites at seven: transformers (yes, still), Legos, Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft, reading, playing basketball, Taekwondo (over Zoom), Odd Squad, Wild Kratts, Transformer cartoons, board games, fruit, and snuggling.

Some dislikes: Distance Learning (this has been a major challenge for both of us), broccoli, yellow rice, bugs, brushing his teeth (why), and COVID (he says it's a party pooper. Yes, Christopher, it certainly is.) 

Also, according to a writing activity he just completed for school, his likes include pizza, pancakes, macaroni and cheese and oranges. His dislikes include being scared, dressing up like a princess, broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes.

For his birthday, Christopher asked if we could go camping. I am glad we have our new pop-up, because it is going to be chilly. Our normal camping friends are coming with us, which will be great. We are also having a family party with my sister and her family on Sunday. Unfortunately, that party can't include Ben's parents. I will be making a strawberry cake and we are ordering pizza. I hope he has a great birthday weekend. He has been asking Alexa how many days there are until his birthday since July.

Happy birthday to my most favorite boy in the world. We love you so much!

"I like oranges because they are tasty." "I don't like brokaly (sic) because they are not tasty."

                                                         

   

Distance Learning 2020

I wish I could say that, after nearly three weeks of Distance Learning, we have this thing figured out and under control. We are so far from that I could cry. And I do. There are so many things that are hard about this. For Clare, it is not seeing friends on a regular basis. For Christopher, it is everything school-related, even though he is perfectly capable of doing the work.

The teachers are amazing. They have done a wonderful job with what they have to work with. Clare has a new teacher this year, and I have been super impressed with her and the level and quality of work Clare has been given to complete. We know Christopher's teacher well (he was Clare's teacher for the last three years), and he is dedicated and works so incredibly hard. Nothing that is hard about this is the teachers' fault.

The transition from kindergarten to first grade has been tricky for Christopher. There is a lot more work, and it is hard. He is so capable, but he gets himself worked up about the smallest things and then cannot function. (On the first day of school he claimed he forgot how to hold a pencil.)

I sometimes consider un-enrolling them. Could I homeschool or unschool? Would that be easier? Probably not. And enrollment is already way down in our district. I don't want to take away the funds they receive for our students. We have good days, but it just sometimes doesn't seem worth it. I want to do what is best for the kids. I know this isn't it. I listen to the kids at recess at the school next door (a private school, which is fully open). I know it is hard for my two to hear the kids having fun with their friends. But the private school is not an option for many reasons, one of them being that it doesn't seem safe. There are just no good choices right now.

Today, however, the kids decided they are going to open a shop to sell bracelets and pictures they took with Clare's Polaroid. (They will be selling these things to me and Ben, and maybe their grandma.) They are having so much fun. They are being creative. They were outside for a long time taking pictures of "beautiful things" they saw on their walk. I think Clare has completed her work. I know Christopher hasn't. And I just don't really care. They are being kids and I am going to let them do this as long as they want. Maybe we'll get Christopher's work done. Maybe not.

Just like with everything these days, we'll keep moving forward. Take things one day at a time. It is all we can do.

End of Summer 2020

The Summer of 2020 certainly was not what we had planned. No visit from Robby, Andri and my adorable nephews. No State Fair. No swimming at public pools, and very few park visits. No sleep-away Girl Scout camp for Clare. No American Ninja Warrior camp. No family vacation to Chicago. No Memorial Day or Labor Day parties with friends. Very little time with friends at all. 

And there was a lot of sadness, at least for me, about the State of the World. I have started doing work to truly become an anti-racist, and that is hard and depressing. The Pandemic doesn't seem like it is going to end any time soon. And through all of this, November looms.    

When I look back through the pictures, however, I see that despite it all, we made this summer fun. We created our own State Fair at my parents' house. We saw farm animals, had a bouncy house in place of the rides, and ate fried food. It was really fun. We had the privilege of swimming in a private pool near my parents' house, where we could comfortably social distance. Clare was able to attend a virtual Girl Scout camp. It was space-themed, and she was able to see the Milky Way and several shooting stars at my parents' house, along with Jupiter and Saturn. Christopher attended a socially distant theater camp, and Clare did a Zoom Minecraft camp.  We couldn't take the vacation we had planned, but we did purchase a pop-up camper. We went on a few camping trips, and have a few more planned for fall. We were still able to spend a few days at a cabin in Hayward with my parents and my sister's family, since they are in our bubble. We had a peaceful time taking walks, canoeing, fishing (not me), hanging out, and just sitting around.  And we even got in a few socially distant get-togethers with friends. So all in all, Summer of 2020 really wasn't so bad. 

A socially-distant birthday party for my friend Sarah. These friends have been a life saver during the pandemic. And before.

We were able to camp with friends at Savannah Portage State Park. It was hot, and the mosquitoes were terrible, but floating in the lake holding a can of beer cures many ills.

Sunset at Savannah Portage

Christopher and his float. The kids did a good job social distancing, and we were outside.

Our camper! The U.S.S. Stargazer. Guess who named it? It is a 1995, but in great shape. 

Eating breakfast in the camper during a brief storm.

Christopher slept right through the thunder.

We set up Clare's reading nook under her bed. She spent the summer finishing the Harry Potter series. She loves it, and has already started reading it again.

Forced outside time at a nature center.

Ice cream at Two Scoops, a delicious (and Black-owned) ice cream shop on Selby in St. Paul.

When Como Town reopened, with many safety precautions in place, I surprised the kids with a visit. 

They didn't have to wait in line for any rides, and didn't come near anyone else. I actually wish it was like this all the time, actually.

We normally get ice cream at Como Town, but that wasn't available so the McDonald's drive thru it was.

We went on a second camping trip to Forestville Mystery Cave State Park. The cave was closed, but it was a nice campground. No bugs! And, now that Christopher is reading we were able to all sit around the campfire with our individual books. It was wonderful.

Ice cream in Evansville.

 

Spoiled me.

"State Fair" fun!

Ben and I take this same selfie at the Fair every year. The beer was still good, even if the setting wasn't quite the same.

We bought frozen Sweet Martha's cookies. They were good.

Christopher is going through a phase were he refuses to let me take his picture. This was at Lake St. Croix. What a wonderful beach! I wish we had found it sooner, but it felt so good on one of summer's hot days.

The Como Zoo also reopened. No crowds. 

There were mini donuts, though.

The kids had fun playing restaurant in the amazing basement of our cabin in Hayward. It was called Fish and Wine. Yum?

Clare trying the paddle board.

Giant musky.

Clare and Meema are being eaten by a fish!

Clare canoeing with her grandparents.

A Brandy old-fashioned by the lake. Truly a Wisconsin moment. All that was missing was head to toe Packer gear.