Week 1-Grieving my previous life

I came into this Covid-schooling thing late because I was away on a yummy mummy solo trip where I was reclaiming what I love to do after 4 kids, a ton of schooling and one career later.

I just managed to stay ahead of the restrictions until I came home and was enveloped by them.  I work from home ninety percent of the time so the biggest change for me was having the kids at home.  Most of the time I am happy to be at home and I usually go out once a week for groceries to the nearest biggest city.  But once I was told I couldn't go out, it was a bit harder on me as I don't like to be told what to do-also I developed quite a latté-from-a-cute-café habit while I was gone.

such a cute little cup (being from North America I had to have about 4 to make a Venti)

For the first week I ate a lot of milk chocolate and drank a lot of red wine to get through and didn't do a whole lot of anything while I grieved the loss of my usual way of life.  My husband was off and/or working from home for a lot of that week which helped as he already got them into the habit of doing their schoolwork which the school sent home. We did get the kids outside with us for several walks and bike rides as the weather was sunny and mild which was a huge boon to my melancholic state.  We live in a small town so were easily able to practice social distancing for these outings and self-isolation for me.

today's goal: tire them out

running helps!

My biggest parenting life challenge is the battle against the screens and this battle has of course escalated while the kids are being Covid-Schooled.  One of my life philosophies is that sometimes you have to throw money at the problem so we did a big Lego order which kept the kids entertained for a good day without screens and also spilled into more creativity on other days as well.

unboxing of the Lego

occupied!

Ironically when the kids are off I usually throw money at the problem to go away somewhere as I dislike having them home from school and fighting them off the screens so we had had a March break ski trip planned as well as a trip to see family over Easter which both had to be cancelled which did not help with my mood.

A neighbourhood little dog showed up one day and the novelty kept the kids outside and babying him for most of the day (they were hoping they could keep him-they also tried to trap him so he couldn't go home but I digress). 

if you look closely there is a little dog in the box

We did a lot of cooking as we all enjoy it and we had the time to do it.  I did some experimenting with a vegan dish I had on the plane which turned out super yummy and has now been added to our loose rotation of meal ideas.

quinoa, kale, cauliflower, chickpeas and tahini sauce

By the end of the week I was happy to see that I had decompressed enough into the new regime (or to be specific lack thereof) and found solace in the fact that I didn't have to make lunches (and yes my kids should be making them but that is one battle on which I have chosen to give up for this school year) and I didn't have to enforce bedtime which means my kids also started sleeping in.  Bliss!

we made it through another day!