Corona Chronicles: 03/01/21

Happy Women’s History month. I don’t know how you’re supposed to celebrate. Maybe just be nice to the women around. That would be a good start.

It was a Monday, and it definitely felt like a Monday. At one point, I think I scared my youngest child because I was literally yelling at my computer. There was a conflict with a co-worker. It was frustrating, and the man insisted on taking the issue to the higher-ups. It took the higher-ups less than five minutes to sort through our three hour email chain and tell the man the exact thing I tried to tell him 4 hours and 8 emails earlier. I was annoyed at the very least.

The kids were being themselves. I had to fuss at the boy about homework. The baby got in trouble for not cleaning up after herself. The teen came out of her room, but just to relocate to the basement by herself.

I tried a new recipe for dinner, and the kids seemed to like it. There were barely any leftovers. It’s hard to go wrong with cheese and pepperoni in this house. I managed to sneak some spinach and peppers under the cheese, and the kids were none the wiser. A mom has to do what a mom has to do.

That’s it. I’m headed off to sleep. Good night.

Corona Chronicles: 02/28/20

It has been a full Black History month. As usual, it ended too soon. I’ve been really impressed with some of the efforts I’ve seen this month. Let’s keep up the good work.

I drove the entire I-435 loop today. I spent more timing in the car this afternoon than I have in the last 4 weeks. But it was worth it. I got to hang out with good people, and the fresh air and sunshine was a bonus.

My son has assured me that he will have a better week at school. He certainly better. Because if not, I’ll be hiding every Battery and USB charger in the house.

The baby had the nerve to give me scores on dinner tonight. Ten out of ten on the main dish. I got a 9/10 on the starch, and a pitiful 6/8 on the vegetable. I’m not sure where this idea came from, but I’m pretty things are going to go downhill very quickly, especially since there is at least one vegetarian meal planned for later this week.

The big kid talked about school stuff, and lucid dreaming, which I certainly have never experienced. I’m not even sure I have even heard of it. But one of the first things I heard this morning, was my younger cousin saying that children are closer to the Source. So dream on, baby girl. I hope all her dreams come true.

Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 02/27/2021

Let me tell you something! I was fully ready to give up on today by 8:00am. I am so glad I didn’t do that.

First I want to say thank you to my friends who sent positive vibes my way. They worked. I changed my attitude, and while I did not my get half my work done, I was not at all upset about it.

I took the girls out, because the big kid needed something to wear. The little one just kept asking for things all day. She wanted pretzels. She wanted Mc Donald’s. She wanted any item of candy near the checkout line. She wanted clothes. She made me tired. Pretty sure she was disappointed with our endeavors today.

The boy spent most of his time doing missing assignments. So not only was he skipping school, but he wasn’t even doing all the work. I also helped my husband with his homework and I saw the similarities in their work habits. I realized that I’m fighting against DNA.

On the plus side, most of the Girl Scout cookies have been delivered. I’ve talked to each of my siblings this week, and the kids got to see their grandmother in person. Even if I didn’t get everything done, I can feel good about the day.

I’m going to bed feeling good about life.

Corona Chronicles: 02/26/21

Whew! It’s the weekend baby (in my Walt “Baby” Love voice).

This week was difficult, so I took today off. I got my hair done for the first time in more than a year. I ate both Jamaican and Thai Shrimp curry, and still managed to get a bunch of things on my to do list finished. I’m pretty happy with myself.

I don’t know that I was a great parent today, though. I kind of skipped out after I made breakfast and got everybody ready for school. But I did pay all the bills and buy some necessities for the house, so I haven’t done too terribly as the mom today.

I offered to take everybody out for a quick shopping trip after work, but only the baby wanted to participate. She started crying because we didn’t get anything that she wanted at Target. She completely ignored the fact that two of the three things I actually purchased were for her. But whatever.

Oh, I almost forgot that my son got caught skipping art class today. My daughter has the same teacher about an hour later, and I overheard the teacher asking where my son was because he wasn’t in class. I jumped over furniture to get to the boy after that. Who skips art class?! He’s going to pay for that little mistake tomorrow. I guarantee it.

The big kid has an event tomorrow. When I asked her if she had something to wear, she made a face that let me know she is ill-prepared. Then when I asked about shoes, she made another face. So I’m pretty sure I have to go back out tomorrow, and I am not happy about it, especially since she was invited to go shopping with me today, and I literally went out to buy shoes!!

Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and it is well past my bedtime. Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 02/26/21

I’m going to make this edition short, because I am super sleepy. So here it goes.

I thought today was Friday. Like, I didn’t eat meat at all today, because I really thought it was Friday. It was not. But there is some good news. Tomorrow is indeed Friday!

The big kid had to go to school today to take her practice ACT. As a result, I got to see the disaster that is high school dismissal procedures. The cars in the dismissal line were barely socially distant. I know the kids in the school could not have been… and this was only with a fraction of the kids in attendance.

My son told me that his music class was canceled because the teacher’s spouse tested positive for COVID. So my anxiety was pretty high, especially since the school board voted on Tuesday to bring all the kids back in the building. I know everybody is anxious to get the economy moving. I know infection rates nation-wide are trending downward. But to me, that’s a sign that things are working. It is not an indication that we should go back to normal. Normal is a thing of the past.

Anyway, I let the youngest kid play outside in the backyard by herself today. She had a ball. I, on the other hand, was paranoid. I didn’t get much work done, because I was looking for her every five minutes.

This has been a long, hard week. I have prayed and cried, and hoped for a miracle. I have had cheesecake and a margarita for dinner to make myself feel better. It didn’t work. But I just keep trying anyway. It’s all I know to do.

Corona Chronicles: 02/24/21

Happy Hump Day! We made it over. We can now coast into the weekend.

I had a fairly productive workday, but I struggled at home. I had to take my son to the dentist after work, meaning I did not get home until after 6:00. Then my overly-ambitious self decided to fry fish. I should have just made sandwiches. It wouldn’t have mattered to the kids anyway.

The big kid is taking her practice ACT tomorrow. She packed her bag and has her clothes laid out. I’m nervous about sending her but I am praying it will be okay. Anyway, as she was packing her bag, she asked where her lunch box was. I reminded her that the school was serving lunch. She told me that she was not eating cafeteria food and that she had already made herself a sandwich and packed a bag of chips. She just needed something to carry them in.

The boy is eating a bowl of cereal at 10:00pm. That’s his new thing. I’m guessing a growth spurt is on the way.

The baby fell asleep on the couch. She is in an odd position, but I’m refusing to move her. I don’t have the energy, and if I accidentally wake her, I will regret it.

I’m letting her sleep, mainly, so I can also get some sleep. Good night.

Corona Chronicles: 02/23/21

I had trouble sleeping last night, and when I woke up this morning, I could have sworn it was Thursday. This has been a really long week, already.

I had to work late today because I was behind on a project. I’m actually fairly impressed that I managed to finish before 5:00pm. That gave me enough time to walk to the park with the kiddos. Normally, when we arrive at the park, we are the only ones there. We were not so lucky today. The warmer weather brought out the frisky teens. The skater girls occupied the swings. There was a group of boys playing catch, and there was another family like mine.

I learned two things from this excursion. My kids, much like myself, can have anti-social tendencies. They only wanted to play with each other. In fact, they wouldn’t even play on any of the equipment if other kids were operating…except for the youngest kid. Which brings me to the second thing I’ve learned, I am definitely not sending these kids back to school. We weren’t at the park for five minutes before this adorable little girl with a runny nose comes up to me and says “I’m McKenzie.” And immediately, my kid starts playing tag with her. Before I could stop her, after playing tag, and climbing on playground equipment, she opens her backpack and starts eating a snack. She didn’t wash her hands. She didn’t ask for sanitizer. I was disgusted. She is the most likely candidate to bring some foreign agent into our home, which is why she doesn’t get to go out much.

The school district decided to bring all the kids back in classrooms in April. My kids definitely will not be among that bunch. If I could figure out how to keep them home long term, I probably would. I am praying for the teachers, administrators, and staff. I am also praying for our babies.

Anyway, it is nearly 2 hours past my bedtime, and I’m still sitting here scrolling the internet, as if I don’t have another long day at work tomorrow.

Have a good night.

Corona Chronicles: 02/22/21

Today was hard. On top of normal Monday woes,I have been experiencing some abnormal anxiety and some unusual heartbreak. Pray for me, if you are lead to do so.

The weather warmed up enough that I finally felt safe being outside. I could only convince the youngest to join me on my quest. We returned home happy and fulfilled, but also covered in mud.

The big kids were too busy in their virtual worlds to get outside in the actual sunshine. I didn’t force them today, but tomorrow they will have no choice. It’s supposed to be 60 degrees. I will not allow that kind of weather to go to waste, especially after the last two weeks of subzero tenperatures. We are all going to be muddy, whether they like it or not.

I am at the point in the pandemic where I am questioning all my choices. I wonder if I’ve done the kids a disservice by granting them so much grace, while also setting unrealistic expectations on myself. Parenting was already hard. Parenting in the pandemic is even tougher. I keep telling myself that there are no bad questions, and no wrong answers. We are all just doing the best we can. That’s the mantra I keep repeating.

I threw together a quiche for dinner. You can’t really go wrong with bacon, eggs and cheese. If you stir in some veggies for good measure, you’ve served up something both nutritious and delicious. At least, that is what I’m telling myself.

Anyway, hold your babies a little tighter today, just because you can.
Have a good night!

Corona Chronicles: 02/21/21

I spent the day trying to play catch up. I never caught up! This is motherhood summed up in a sentence.

I helped the big kid with a homework assignment. There was no math involved. She had to do something called a “one-pager,” based on a video she watched. I have never heard of such a thing, but we got it done. It’s kind of like a summary chart, which I also have never done. I was just glad I didn’t have to do any algebra or trigonometry.

The little ones started off the day bickering, and by the end of the night, they were huddled up on the couch together. They are hilarious. They convinced me to watch a movie on Netflix called “Pants on Fire.” There were so many things to hate about this movie. The plot was predictable. The main character was a terrible person, and the girl who was playing the love interest was an adult. My son stated that the moral of the movie was that lying is bad. I could have saved myself 90 Minutes by just saying that.

It is now 30 minutes past my bedtime, and I can hear the kids crunching away on my good potato chips. They, too, are supposed to be asleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a very long day.

Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 02/20/21

I have not yet figured out how to balance life on the weekend. I either work myself into a tizzy or lay around on the couch all weekend. Guess which one I did today?

I’m hours away from missing a deadline. The sink is overflowing with dishes, and I still have a garage full of undelivered Girl Scout Cookies. (I better get moving on that. My son opened his first box of Lemonades today, and he’s been known to devour a box in a single setting.)

I attended an HBCU fair on behalf of the big kid today. I wish I had known some of the things I learned about today when I was in high school. She passed on the opportunity to talk to any of admissions counselors, but she’s only in the 9th grade, and it was a Saturday morning. She’s excused.

I played a board game with the littlest one today, and she kicked my behind! I need to find one thing I can beat each of these kids at and stick with that. Maybe, I’ll challenge them to a cleaning contest. I would win at that, hands down!

My son laid in the middle of my bed today until almost noon. On one hand, I’m grateful he thinks of my bed as a safe space. On the other hand, I’d also like to have my bed back. I can’t even slack in the middle of the day like I want to when my bed is already occupied.

Anyway, it was a good day, even though I didn’t get much done. Have a good night.