One of Emery's daycare teachers tested positive for Coronavirus today. The kids' school is now closed for the next two weeks. I should have anticipated this I suppose. It's really not that surprising. It was bound to happen eventually. But it still has me shook up. Emery and Levi have both been extra whiney and fussy today and ever since we got the email this afternoon I've been wondering, is Emery crying a lot because she's coming down with COVID? The thought makes my gut clench a little bit. I'm not too anxious about her health because I know that children hardly ever get seriously sick from COVID and they are not likely to suffer anything more than very mild symptoms. However, it is still disconcerting to know that my baby was exposed to COVID and that she could at this very minute be infected. And then right after my worry for Emery was of course my concern about childcare. School closed for two weeks and my kids exposed to coronavirus means they can't just go to Dawnelle's house. The thought of that makes me somewhat panicky. The past few weeks at work have been especially hectic because my caseload has mushroomed out of control and I have ended up working 3-6 extra (unpaid) hours a week which has been exhausting and stressful. I can't imagine trying to flex hours, work with both kids at home and try to prioritize which of my kiddos on my caseload I see. On top of having to reschedule/transition to telehealth all of my in-person visits this week. The news of the exposure has also got me thinking about my kiddos I've been seeing for in-person treatments. Emery has probably been being exposed for the last few days this week. Which essentially means I've been exposed since she is always all up in my space and face and we both give lots of kisses and share food. I worry that I've exposed the families and babies I work with. But I was wearing gloves, mask and face shield or goggles with each of them so hopefully that was plenty sufficient to protect them from me. And really at this point the virus is so out in the community honestly any of us could be picking it up from anywhere anyway! Thankfully Emery's teacher hasn't shown any symptoms (yet) and the other teacher at her school who tested positive only had a fever for two days and since then has been improving so that's a relief. And I called a pediatric urgent care clinic and got an appointment for both kids to get tested for COVID on Monday. And thank goodness they have the rapid tests that give results within an hour. So by Monday night we will know if the kids have COVID or not and whether or not they can go to Dawnelle's house for the next two weeks. She has already said she would take them if they test negative so that's a big relief. She has really been a lifesaver through this whole COVID thing. And if they do test positive I guess our whole family is in quarantine for two weeks and I will be taking some sick leave/PTO and so will Eric, and I will treat the most urgent kiddos via telehealth and we will order our groceries delivered and it will be fine. Even though I am not too worried about us health-wise and I know everything will probably be totally fine, the whole thing just really upended my afternoon. Calling the school and the pediatrician and the urgent care and my boss and everything took quite a bit of time that I would normally have been spending making banana bread with Levi. Instead, he played educational games on my computer (he is REALLY coming along with some of his academic skills!) and watched Cat in the Hat on Netflix while I tried to keep my anxiety in check as I made all the calls and worried about two potential weeks suddenly without childcare! It's just one more reminder of the crazy times we are living in.
Speaking of the times we are living in, this has certainly been an odd summer. Time seems to be flying by even though there hasn't been much for us to look forward to or do. I think my busyness at work is definitely contributing. Like this morning I woke up and couldn't believe that the day I took the kids to a farm up north to pet and feed some animals was a whole week ago! It feels like yesterday. And in just two weeks I get to go to UT to help my sister shop for a wedding dress! (Assuming I don't come down with COVID that is!) I've been so excited for our sisters get-away weekend but now I'm a little anxious that I won't even get to go! But hopefully both Levi and Emery will test negative and it will all be fine.
Pictures from Preston Trail Farm where I took the kids last week. The blue skies and open space just seemed so very Texas to me!
Carrying the bucket of feed for the animals.
We also spent some time climbing around on an old tractor.
Honestly this tiny little sandbox was probably the kids' favorite part of the whole farm.
Anyway, in other news, there's not much news. Haha. Eric and I ship-lapped our laundry room and installed some new cabinets last weekend! It's still pretty rough looking right now because it's not trimmed, caulked or painted yet but I am excited for how the finished project will look. And I am already loving having cabinets I can actually reach instead of one way too tall shelf that I had to climb on top of the dryer to get anything down from. I feel so loved and lucky that I have a husband who is so willing to dive into these diy projects with me. He lets me dream and works hard to help me make my dreams a reality. It is fun to work on our house together and make so much of it our own. I just love that both he and I aren't afraid to try things neither of us have ever done before. We refuse to be daunted and we just go for it! We are both learning a lot!
Before
Shiplap in but before the cabinets.
Aside from the house, I have been trying to get the kids together for outdoor play dates with friends most Fridays and I have started taking them to explore new places again (all outside, mostly different splash pads and that farm I mentioned earlier). We have had Trey and Patty over for dinner this past Sunday which was marvelous, and my parents came to visit at the beginning of July which was really nice. My kids love both sets of grandparents and adore getting to spend time with both of them.
Emery "helping" grandma make treats.
The last day my parents were here we got to go swimming out on the ranch. It was Emery's first time actually swimming in her puddle jumper and she LOVED it! She's a good little swimmer and figured out right away how to move in the water by kicking.
The kids would have let Papi and Nona read them a hundred books if they had been allowed to. They love it!
And as I mentioned work has been a bit stressful but I still really like it. Well, I like doing the sessions anyway. I could do without all the paperwork! But I got to reach out to another PT in our agency (aside from my PAL Martha) and she is now mentoring me on toe walking. I am excited to learn from her. I have so much I want to learn about everything! I just want to know it all. I want to know everything about being a great early intervention PT! I have so many courses I want to take and things I want learn and know and yet at the end of the day, when? I also want to see my children and spend time with them and my husband. It's a balancing act for sure and right now the kids and husband always win on nights and weekends. I want to learn so much but I want to snuggle my kids and hang out with my hubby and read our book and eat icecream together more. I may get a Medbridge subscription though so I can listen to some continuing ed stuff in the car while I drive for work. I think that would be helpful for me!
And then there's the world. Oh the world. We're not in a good place right now. COVID is running rampant through America and causing horrible situations across the world especially for women and children who are out of school, out of work, and running out of food and out of maternal healthcare. I read a horrible article the other day about a hospital in southern Africa that had 7 stillborn babies in one day because of the breakdown in maternal healthcare due to COVID draining resources. It's tragic. And the news is full of the tragic. It's hard to stop the doomscrolling. Portland is full of clashes and violence between protestors and federal agents, schools and parents are trying to figure out how to do this school year when there are no good or right answers, the economy is tanking the worst it has since the Great Depression, and the election is steadily approaching with Trump continuing to disgrace the country. And throughout all of this, I haven't (obviously) been able to go to church or socialize with peers which means my spiritual and social supports have definitely suffered. It's a little draining and exhausting and on nights like tonight it just feels heavy.
Anyway, I didn't sit down just to complain about things or even just to work through some of my feelings. I wanted to sit down and write this blog post so I could remember my children at this stage. Even with everything going on, they are the light in my life. They bring me so much pride and joy and humility. Levi is growing up so fast and is so good now at tracing his name and doing simple addition and learning his letters and doing mazes and making complex patterns. He's so creative and has such an imaginative mind. I love it except at night when it correlates to increasingly frequent nightmares. Some nights he runs downstairs and throws open our bedroom door crying three times in the same night. One time I asked him what his nightmare was and he said that two big fish with hands were pouring water in his eyes and another time he dreamed about a scary monkey with cymbals for hands. I sympathize with him because I had SO MANY nightmares as a kid and I know how realistic and terrifying they can be. Unfortunately, Eric says that he had a lot of nightmares too. So I think this is something we are going to be dealing with for quite a long time. I wish there was something more we could do to help him not have scary dreams but I really think so much of it is just how imaginative he is and I certainly can't do anything about that and wouldn't want to even if I could! I guess we will just have to work on some coping strategies and techniques for what he can do when scared because I don't think the bad dreams are going away anytime soon. Which is a bit exhausting to think about. Makes me a little nervous to ever have another kid because waking up due to a kid with nightmares on top of waking up with a newborn sounds like an awful kind of torture.
I do not understand how Levi manages to look way older in this picture than the one below it when they were taken just days apart! But in any event, he is one handsome kiddo!
And then there's Emery. Oh my Emery. She is so cute and feisty and expressive. She makes the best faces! She loves to laugh and can be so mischievous but at the same time she is so tender, nurturing and caring. Just this evening she sat me down on the floor and wiped my hands with her pretend baby wipes and pretended to feed me milk and juice from her baby doll bottles and applesauce and peas from her pretend baby food. Then she carefully wiped my mouth with the wipe. When Levi is upset sometimes she will go up to him and pat or rub his arm or chest and say "Eee-I?" She is also so independent and wants to do everything herself from putting on her shoes to taking herself to the potty. Tonight she actually went pee on the potty! I am so proud of her! We haven't started potty training really yet but I feel like she may be ready. Which is terrifying haha. She is talking a lot more now and has actually started saying sentences! The other day I was driving her home from daycare and she was like "my dada ah duh woh?" (my daddy all done work?). And she is trying to express more complex ideas too. Today during lunch she was like, "Eee-I big boy. Mama not big boy. My not big boy, my baby." I love the way she says Levi's name like "Eee-I." We have kept up with her speech therapy. She still struggles making her P's not sound like B's and she still doesn't really say an "h" sound. She doesn't put the endings on most words and her imitation skills are still pretty awful although she attempts much more now. So her articulation is rough but her language skills have shot off like a rocket. I am so excited to hear more of her thoughts as she gets old enough to express them.
Sweet girl just LOVES her daddy.
Emery loves to swing (although usually she likes to sit in the toddler bucket swings still). She never gets tired of it. I'm always the one who gives in first because whoever designs playgrounds around here clearly didn't have parents in mind when they put the swings out in the middle with NO SHADE! I'm always melting to death and have to put a stop to the swinging pretty quickly for my own sake!
Anyway, that's life right now. As always it is so full. So full of so many different emotions, thoughts, experiences every day. I am grateful for this life I am living.
The kids like to take turns stirring in the cheese, butter and milk when we make mac n cheese.
Eric and my first date since March!! We dropped the kids off at Blake and Shannon's house for McKenna to babysit and then went and got takeout and hung out by the lake. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I have sure missed these date nights with my hubby!
I hate waking up early in the morning but I love my early morning snuggles from my little loves!
