Corona Chronicles: January 2024 Part 2

I recently started a new position with my employer. In one of our introductory sessions, I told my classmates that being a stay-at-home mom was my dream job. I’ve been getting lots of practice lately…because these kids hardly have been to school at all this month. 

I was caught completely off-guard by today’s school closure. I didn’t even know we were expecting bad weather, but a friend, who happens to be a district employee sent me a text before 5am. About 20 minutes later I received official notice from the district. My husband and I both muttered some cuss words and rolled back over. When the kids started stirring around six, I got up to break the news. The oldest was upset. Apparently she has not been able to attend several of her classes at all this semester due to the closures. The boy did the happiest happy dance I have ever seen him do. School has been a struggle for him (and me!) this year. The baby wasn’t planning on going to school today anyway, because she had a dentist appointment.

I want to give a shout out to her dentist, who sent me a text early this morning, asking to push back her appointment by half an hour due to the icy roads. I highly recommend Honey Bee Pediatric Dentist. The baby and I prayed our way over the highway, and while we saw several cars that had slid into embankments, we made it there and back safely. My kid was extremely loopy after her procedure. I am so glad I could stay home with her. It took us three hours to get her to go back to sleep. She definitely needed her mommy.

Because the kids have been home so much, we’ve gotten to try out a lot of new recipes. We baked cookies from scratch. Last night we dipped bananas in chocolate and then froze them. Last week we attempted a recipe from my son’s Pokemon^(R) cookbook. It was a disaster. But we had success with tonight’s dinner from the Dungeon’s and Dragons Miner’s pie. I had never cooked with leeks before, but it turned out well.

Earlier today, I was beating myself up about not being able to do all the things on my to-do list. But now, as I prepare for bed, I am grateful for the things I got done that were not on my to-do list. All that invisible labor all the mommy podcasts talk about are things I often don’t give myself credit for doing. Today I’m proud of myself, even if nobody else is.

As for COVID, it only slightly ruined our lives this week, as I had planned to take my little budding playwright to see a production. I was sad to see that the performances were canceled due to a COVID outbreak. Nobody in our immediate circle has been impacted at the moment. So I’m going to cross my fingers and put my mask back on. Y’all be safe, and pray that these streets don’t freeze over again tonight!

Corona Chronicles: Back to School 2023

Every time I think I can bring this blog to a close, COVID flairs back up and attempts to send me back into my bubble. In the last three weeks, I know of at least three people who caught COVID again. School starts tomorrow and I’m paranoid about this late summer rebound of this virus.

I hate back to school season. I like that my kids can sleep as late as they want and eat whenever they feel like it. I love it on days when there is absolutely no reason to open my front door because nobody is coming in or going out. I love it when nobody has anything on the calendar for days at a time. Going back to school ruins that for me.

I am writing at 11:00PM on Tuesday and I have already had 3 school-related meetings. My inbox is flooded. My brain hurts and school hasn’t even started. This is dumb.

Our end of summer celebration includes my husband taking the big kids to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, while the baby and I went to see Barbie. Heads up: The Barbie movie is not for children. It’s for moms, and I rather enjoyed it.

We then spent way too much money at an Italian buffet where one kid only ate pizza. Another kid had mashed potatoes as her main course, and the third kid only wanted the food on my plate. We will not be returning there any time soon.

To prepare for their first day of school. Each of my kids did something different. The oldest is rushing to finish up her summer reading assignment. The baby set up a spa day for herself with candles, a whirlpool bath, and a foot spa. The boy did nothing. I made a gigantic to-do list, freaked out about the length of my list and then proceeded to do very little of it.

Anyway, I have to go to bed now, because apparently, summer is over, and Covid is not. Yay!

Let’s try to have a good school year!
Mama Rad

P.S. Right now, I have blonde braids and a tan, but I rarely take selfies, so you’ll probably never see it😂. Use your imagination!

Corona Chronicles: 08/09/2022

Back to school stuff is ramping up, and I’m a bit overwhelmed. There are so many emails and dates to remember.

I almost missed out on my son’s back to school night. A co-worker mentioned her child’s back to school night, and I spent the next hour going through emails and checking dates. I kind of freaked out because his event was tonight, and I had a conflicting appointment. My husband came home from work so we could split parental duties. I took the girls, and he took the boy. I think this is the first back to school night that I have missed for any of the kids. I’m trying not to feel guilty about that.

I took the big kid to her first acting workshop. I think that’s when my anxiety level went up. The kid has to test for COVID at least twice a week. As the chief COVID safety officer at our home, I feel like my workload just doubled. I have to figure out how to limit her exposure, but also I have to put her on a bus and send her to school every day starting on Tuesday. Lord, help me.

I also have the challenge of trying to keep the baby occupied for two hours while her sister is in rehearsal. She is easily the most energetic of my three children, and sitting still for more than 20 minutes can be a challenge for her. We walked around for a bit, and she asked me to buy her something at every single eatery we passed. The mall was closing, so I stopped at the very last store to buy her a drink. She conned me into getting a snack as well. Then we met back up with the big kid. (I bought her a drink, too.)

Then it was back home to make breakfast for dinner. I probably made the best pancakes of my life, and I was so sleepy, that I’m not even sure what I put in them. Anyway, it wasn’t a bad day. It was a busy one, but not a bad one. I am learning that doing everything on my to-do list is not as important setting boundaries around my time. It’s still a bit of a struggle, but I’m learning.

I hope your day went well, and if it didn’t, let’s try again tomorrow. Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 08/08/2022

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

It’s been about three weeks since I talked to you last, and we have crammed a lot of life into those three weeks. Let me give you the Cliff’s Notes version. (Thank God for Cliff’s Notes.) So since July 15, my family caught and recovered from Covid. We celebrated my son’s 12th birthday. My big kid signed her first contract. My husband and I celebrated 20 years of marital bliss, and I got my passport stamped for the first time.

Covid was terrible. 0/10 Would not recommend. We were not able to trace the origins of the infection, and we hope that we didn’t inadvertently spread the virus to anybody else. Please do what you can to protect yourselves and your loved ones.

We are currently preparing for school to start next week. I want the kids to wear masks, but I think I will leave it up to them. I believe in bodily autonomy, so I’m going to try to model that for them. It is my hope that they make good decisions. As for me, I’ll be wearing a mask most of the time.

Over the three weeks, I only tried one new recipe, the Mississippi pot roast. It was delicious, I remixed it later in the week to make roast beef sandwiches. So if you’re one of those people who like remix meals, I’d definitely give this one a try.

That’s it. I’m going to try to get back in the habit of daily updates, because I know how much y’all love to hear what the Radical Radfords are up to every day.

IF you’ve got organizational or meal planning tips, feel free to send them my way. I have a feeling this school year is going to be a doozy!

Corona Chronicles: 01/03/22

If i cursed on this platform, today would be the day. It was a very long day, and it is not over yet.

School starts tomorrow, and I am freaking out. Covid is running rampant in KC. Every week for the last month, some family I know has tested positive for the virus. I am praying for their protection and mine. I am praying for teachers and building staff. Lord, help us all.

The baby has been on a roll today, trying to squeeze every last drop out of her winter vacation. So, I spent half my thirty-minute lunch break outside playing in the snow. She also gave me a full makeover.

I over-ambitiously attempted a new recipe with dinner, then attempted to tackle the girls hair. So my living room is a disaster. Everybody is a wide awake. And I still have a face full of makeup.

New Year, same old Radfords.

Good night!

Corona Chronicles: 12/06/20

Monday is fast approaching, and as usual, I am not ready for the work week.

I got a lot done today, but I have a habit of focusing on the negative, so I can only think about all the things I didn’t quite get to. It’s a real struggle.

I made the horrible mistake of going to the Walmart today. The guy who walked in front of me didn’t have on a mask. I saw several children without masks. I saw two babies who were barely able to hold their own heads up in one of those mega carts built to hold multiple children. I use those carts sometime to strap in my two youngest kids, but my kids are fully able control their own heads, (though they struggle with controlling their mouths at times. It’s a wonder I didn’t have an anxiety attack in that store. It was way too crowded.

I visited mom today. She had been talking about the fact that the place was overfeeding her. I discovered that it’s because she’s been ordering multiple appetizers and two entrees for lunch everyday. Another COVID-19 case has been found in her facility. I don’t think it will be long before they lock the place down, and based on the behaviors I saw out in public today, they absolutely should lock the place down. They should lock everything down.

After a very busy afternoon, I sat down to play a game with the kiddos. I lost terribly. It involved both drawing, and interpreting my kids drawings. I knew that I didn’t have much of a chance. Then we watched a few minutes of a Disney Holiday sing-along. Quarantine has been rough on everybody. I know because I saw what Ryan Seacrest looks likes on that sing-along. Thank goodness it’s not just me.

Have a good night everyone.