Corona Chronicles: 10/01/2022

Here is your official Radford family recap for the last week.

So I’ll start with a confession. I never took my Christmas tree down. We all kind of just ignored it for the last 9 months. However, a few weeks ago the baby mentioned that we needed to take it down, so we could redecorate in December. She was most concerned about the angel tree-topper. We promised her that she could put it on this year. I started to take the lights off one day, but decided against it. So last week, I took $15 to the Dollar Tree. I bought glittery spidersand bats, ten feet of orange lights, a few pumpkins and a garland with sugar skulls. So now, we have a Halloween tree. Next month, I’m going back to the store and buying some Thanksgiving themed ornaments. The tree is staying up forever.

We have survived two weeks of shows for the big kid. It’s been quite a ride. So far I’ve seen the show five times. I’m on the calendar to volunteer every weekend, so I’ve got at least five more to go. I’m at the point where I know some of the lines. I definitely know how to spell all the tough words, and I can absolutely tell when the actor are messing with one another. Today, I noticed when my daughter broke character and laughed at something. I noticed an unscripted conversation between two characters at the end of the play. I’m going to be an expert by the end of the shows run.

My son had his first professional haircut in years. Our barber died a few years ago, and hubby has been handling haircut duties for quite some time. The boy is no longer happy with the basic low cut, so we had to hire a professional. Good barbers and hair stylists are well worth the money. The boy also signed up for debate (thank goodness!) and hopefully will start acting classes this month.

The baby had a slight meltdown last week, when she swatted at a wasp and it landed in her head. That was a bad move on the wasp’s part, because he got tangled in ponytails and couldn’t find navigate his way out. The kid screamed the whole time, but I’m sure the wasp was more scared than she was. I eventually just grabbed the poor wasp with a napkin and pulled him out. I’m happy to report that both the baby and I survived. I can’t say the same for the wasp.

We also hosted the baby’s birthday party, nearly a month after her birthday. September was a really crazy month for us. (It’s bad when other kid’s parents have to remind you that you still haven’t actually thrown the party. ) So that was it. It was not an exciting week, but it was a very busy one. We don’t have much planned for the upcoming week, but I’m sure that will change!

Have a great weekend.

Mama Radford

Corona Chronicles: 09/22/2022

The leaves and the temperature are starting to drop. As the seasons change, I have to adapt. My family and I are currently going through some transitions. As such, the mamarad blog is also transitioning.

I started this little project as a way to chronicle the first few weeks of the pandemic. I thought we would be home for six weeks. Here we are 2.5 years later, and despite what the president just said, the pandemic is not over! My friends and family are still catching COVID. However, we are in a different phase of the pandemic. Zoom school is over (Thank God!) I’m reporting to the office at least once a week. I’m back to throwing and attending functions outside of my home. So as my world has changed, so will how I document this season of our lives.

The biggest change you’ll notice is that I will not report daily any more. Instead, I will probably give a weekly report of the Radford Family shenanigans. Instead of nightly reports of our dinner menu, I’ll share with you when we try anything new. You’ll still get the craziest things my kids said during the week, and helpful hints I’ve learned in dealing with my tribe. I’ll still probably whine about work, and having to wash the dishes. I’ll still tell you how I feel like I’m failing my little people.

But every week, I will try to remind you how grateful I am when I am able to pick my kids up from school, and marvel at how amazing the kids have become.

So this week, the big kid had her opening performance, and of course her father and I were there. We’re taking the kids to see their big sister tomorrow night. That’s the biggest thing on the agenda for this week. We also have the baby’s birthday party and a wedding to attend this weekend. It’s going to be a fun weekend. Tune in next week, to see how it all goes!

Corona Chronicles: 09/14/2022

Parenting is really hard. I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a good mom, a good wife, a full-time employee, exercise, drink water, eat healthy, and stay sane.

I managed to make it to work a few minutes early today, which is rare. But before I could make it into the building, I managed to kill a moth in my car (right in the middle of the front dashboard), lose my debit card, and I discovered that my youngest child’s book bag was in my trunk. After settling in at work, I went back to search for my debit card, which I found. I also found my son’s badge, which he needed for school.

I wound up clocking out, and driving all the way back home. I dropped their items and reminded them that they both owe me. I fully intend to collect. Then I had to drive back into downtown traffic, because my bosses refused to let me work from home for the day.

It was also parent-teacher conference day. I wasn’t exceptionally happy with either of the reports I received today. I heard multiple times that the kids were bright and respectful, but their scores were not reflecting brilliance. Either that’s going to change, or things around here are about to shift.

After yesterday’s lockdown at the middle school, today I heard of another nearby shooting. This one involved kids being shot as they got off the school bus! I promise if I could afford it, I’d homeschool these jokers. I cannot believe the mess our children have to wade through.

Anyway, it has been a long, stressful day. Good night.

Corona Chronicles: 09/13/2022

I thought I was having a pretty good day, and then school let out, and things went down hill very quickly.

My first stop is the middle school. I noticed that the busses were not moving. School usually dismisses at 3:05 and by 3:10, I’m headed to the elementary school. Today, though, I only saw one kid dismissed, and that’s because his parent was already in the building and they were running to their car. Now my natural inclination when I see folks running is to run as well! I couldn’t leave my kid, though. So I sat there envisioning all kinds of terrible reasons why they weren’t dismissing my kid. The appearance of an unmarked police car did not make me feel better. The officer spoke to a school official and drove off. Almost immediately kids starting came bounding through the doors. I was relieved to see my son, and also annoyed because I knew I was going be late for everything else.

The baby was very upset that she was one of a very few students still waiting for a ride. As usual, she was questioning my parenting skills. I tried to explain that it was not my fault. At the time, I didn’t even know why the middle school was on lockdown. I had no answers to give her. I now know that there was a shooting in the area. I probably wouldn’t have told her that, even if I did know.

Finally, I picked up the big kid. We were already going to be late for her rehearsal, so we didn’t need to rush. The kid couldn’t find her script. After looking for it for several minutes, we gave up. Shortly after I dropped her off at the theater, she let me know that she found the script exactly where she left it, still in the theater.

Dinner was vegan chicken sandwiches and tater tots. I’m exhausted and actually have nothing left to offer.

I told my son to shower an hour ago. I told the baby to pick up her mess. At this point, I’m tired of talking to myself, so I’m going to bed. Y’all say a few prayers.

Corona Chronicles: 09/11/2022

I’m so tired. I have been on my feet a majority of the day, and still managed not to accomplish much.

I have worked myself into a tizzy. My shoulders feel like rocks. My head is pounding. Showtime is creeping up on us, and I’m more stressed about it than my little actress. She seems to be doing much better than I am doing. Today she had a hair appointment and another 5 hour rehearsal. I have no idea how she is not in meltdown mode.

These other two little rascals are no help. They don’t cook. They don’t clean. They really are luck they are cute.

I forgot to buy paper plates today and the boy asked me what he was supposed to put his food on. When I did told him to use a regular plate, he acted like I was speaking a foreign language. “We have those?”’, he asked on all seriousness. He gets on my nerves.

I have to get some rest, I don’t know when that will be, but I can at least try to sleep for a couple hours. Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 09/09/2022

Happy Friday. Today was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were definite highlights, and a few lowlights. But I guess I am grateful that there was any light at all.

The big kid is required to take a Covid test three times a week for her production. When she got up this morning to take her test, the testing solution was covered in lotion. The baby was our prime suspect. She denies it, of course. Luckily, there are more supplies available, and it’s not that big of a deal.

The boy checked out a book from the library today. He does not have a good history with library books. In fact, when they let him check out today, they told him he has an outstanding book from last year. I would say a majority of the library fines I have paid have been on his behalf. I love him, but he misplaces things very often.

The baby doesn’t lose things, so much as she collects them. She picks up rocks and leaves. Her play areas are overflowing. i have to sneak and throw things out when she isn’t looking. Currently, I’m waiting for her to go to to bed so I can toss all of the papers she brought home this week.

I might not be able to stay awake that long, though. Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 09/08/2022

It’s Friday Eve, and I’m already counting down until it’s time for me to clock out. Of course, I probably need to work overtime just to cover gas for the next week, but still, the thought of a weekend at least sounds good.

I forgot to check my son’s bag today. So I don’t know if he’s missing assignments or if he’s all caught up. I do know that I already emailed at least one teacher and have not gotten a response. That’s okay, because I’ll be at school next week, and that teacher is going to have to look me in my face. That person will have wished that they just responded to my email. I’m not the kind of parent that goes away.

I’m considering joining the elementary’s school site council and Title 1 team. I know I don’t need another thing on my agenda, but the thought of insuring that all our babies have equal access to education is exciting to me. The baby was excited because she had cupcakes at school today to celebrate a classmates birthday. She commented on the size of the cupcakes. I think she was throwing shade because I only take the miniatures to school. We serve full-size cupcakes at birthday parties.

Speaking of parties, I finally scheduled hers. Sure, it’s a full 24 days after her actual birthday, and her big sister is going to miss it, but it’s done. We’re going back to the trampoline park. I’m pretty sure all birthday parties next year will just be at the park. These party prices have gotten out of control. Instead of birthday parties next year, we might just go on a mini-vacation. It’ll probably work out to cost the same amount.

The big kid ordered her class ring today, and she was supposed to get fitted for her costume, but due to scheduling delays, it didn’t work out. She’s hoping to be able to get fitted tomorrow. She’s very excited about the possibility of a sparkly jean jacket. She is much less excited about possibly having to wear a crop top.

We almost made it half-way home tonight before we saw emergency vehicles with flashing lights. The last few nights we’ve seen the lights both going to rehearsals and coming home, so this was an improvement.

I’m going to bed because when I wake up it will be Friday. Amen!

Corona Chroicles: 9/07/2022

Why do short weeks seem so long?! I know I’ve only clocked in twice this week, but it feels like it should be Friday already.

So today, I realized a missed a deadline. I completely forgot to do something that was due a week ago. Missing deadlines is not something I normally do. (I’m a former journalism student.) But these are not normal times, to say the least.

The big kid’s five-hour rehearsals are stressing me out. I do not know how she is coping, but coming home at 9:30pm has me completely discombobulated. I have seen more emergency vehicles with flashing light these past two weeks than I had seen in the prior two months. The city gets wild after dark!

It’s patent-teacher conference time already. So I have to try to figure out how to get to all three schools some time next week. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Zoom!

Speaking of Zoom, the baby had the nerve to question my decision to send her to virtual school for kindergarten two years ago. I know we all question our parents decisions, but aren’t we supposed to wait until we’re grown and out of their jurisdiction? This child is eight and asking for justification. I’m two years she’s going to want me to cite case law.

So that’s how I’m doing, dropping the ball at work, and apparently making questionable decisions at home. Things are going great!

Corona Chronicles: 09/05/2022

After yesterday’s events, I was glad to have a relatively quiet day.

Hubby and I snuck out of the house for breakfast and a movie. We enjoyed our pancakes, and then we watched Honk for Jesus. That movie deserves a blog post of its own. I laughed way too hard, and said amen at the wrong points of the movie. I loved it, but I’ll save my critique for another day.

We came home to a kitchen disaster, as our youngest child had made lunch for us. There was stuff everywhere. But she set up a romantic table for us, complete with both wine and shot glasses. (I feel like this was a critique of my parenting.)

The boy picked our family movie tonight. It was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoon. I enjoyed if for the most part. He’s my contrarian, so he was rooting for one of the turtles to die, due to some of the character’s choices at the beginning of the movie. We’re going to have to teach him about grace.

The big kid designed her class ring today. She offered to pay for it, and I turned her down. We told her there would be things she will have to pay for, but right now, I have no idea what those things might be.

Anyway, I’m going to bed. Had a good night.

Corona Chronicles: 09/04/2022

I had one of the craziest Labor Day celebrations I have ever had. We had to call the sheriff twice. This is not how I saw my weekend going!

Today, we planned for a small get together. A group of us who grew up on the same block were going to hang out, chit-chat, and eat tacos at the park. When we got there, a family was occupying our shelter. They were barbecuing, playing games, even painting on canvas.

The directions on our contract said that if another party was occupying our shelter to call a number. I found out after we called that it was the sheriff’s department. I hate calling the police on people, so I promptly went and spoke to the people. They were super nice, and they were leaving before the sheriff pulled up. After that, my friends and I had a good time.

The second time the sheriff showed up was not as easily resolved. I won’t go into detail, but someone ( not in our party) was drunk and belligerent, and tried to confront someone who was in our party. We were all just trying to go home! The dude scared my kids, which was only one of his many mistakes today. Don’t be drunk, belligerent, wrong, and doing something illegal in public. Do that at home. Amen.

But I want to focus on the good things. I got to lay eyes on people I had not seen in a while. I ate tacos, and my kids got much needed fresh air.

Tomorrow, I’m going to watch “Honk for Jesus” and lay around my house. That&/ what people do on Labor Day, right?

Good night!