COVID-19 Continues

It's crazy that these kiddos stayed at home for three solid months.  When Hylie and Eliana had a dentist appointment in early June, we piled in the car and once the kids realized where we were headed they screamed, "You mean we're actually going in PUBLIC?!"

After three months of working from home, Geoff recently started going back into the office.  We sure enjoyed having him home--joining us for lunch, being around to celebrate little moments, and being able to sneak in a quick squeeze in the middle of the day.  However, we always did a double take when he came down in his typical work attire.  Welcome to the world of zoom video calls!

My calling at church is teaching the 7 and 8 year-olds with Suzanne Saatkamp.  We miss seeing our kiddos and have tried staying in touch with them in different ways.  This last Sunday we decided to deliver cookies to everyone in our class and asked the kids to prepare an "obstacle course" with sidewalk chalk so we could have a fun way to approach their door when we brought the goodies.  It was wonderful spending time with Suzanne and seeing our kids' smiling faces.

Working out in the yard has brought me much relief from the day-to-day challenges.  Flowers recharge me, and these tulips brightened my days so beautifully!

I ripped out all the bushes around the back patio and planted a garden in its place.  So far my little bunny fence has done its job!

Todd's Mini-Me

Recently, Geoff's Dad sent us a picture of Todd as a baby to see if we noticed any similarities--we were floored with how much Kyron looks like his uncle!

Instead of using one of those 'aging apps'--we can get a real glimpse into Kyron's future:

Well, I guess this is what's in store for Kyron should he experience quarantine and working from home for three months...

Piano Recital at Grandma's

Grandma held a family recital for the kiddos.  Everyone seemed pretty excited for the chance to participate and they all did a fantastic job!

Trip to Pennsylvania

I've always looked forward to time with family, but this trip to PA in June was especially wonderful and very much needed.  Life in lockdown was wearing me down so this change of pace was delightful.  Geoff packed up all his work stuff and was able to work from Pennsylvania, it was a treat to spend time with him in the evenings instead of being separated for a whole week.

The kids were ESPECIALLY excited to play with the cousins.  Playtime did not disappoint!  The minute Dean and Andrea's boys came over, the kids were on a mission to pack in as much as possible.  Hylie and Braddock were attached at the hip, building lego creations, doing poptropica on the computer, and making crazy paper creations--and guess who didn't get one snapshot of their fun?!

Kyron tried Grandpa's swing for the first time.  Right after I stopped filming his experience, he started giggling like crazy, but soon after became pretty leery about everything.  After we got him off, he definitely preferred the traditional swings to the spinning swing, ha!

With all the quarantining, I was wondering how Kyron would warm up to being around people he didn't remember.  For the most part, he did a pretty good job being with others and not just his mama.

Cousins were always available to get some giggles out of Kyron.

This little girl LOVED "riding like the wind" on Grandpa's motor bike.

Summer isn't complete without a S'more (in my humble opinion)

While we were there, my Mom celebrated her birthday.  I was so happy to be with her for the occasion.  It felt so good to prepare her dinner and give her a little bit of time off from dishes.  Dean and Andrea's family came over early to create this epic birthday greeting on the driveway.  Our girls were thrilled to help them out with the project.

We also headed to Raccoon State Park and had a BLAST playing in the sand and cooling of in the water.

This little boy was in HEAVEN!

Kyron wasn't too sure about floating in the water--he didn't last too long, but you couldn't get him away from the sand!

Singing to the Birthday Girl!

The girls pitched a fit when it was time to head back to Chicago.  Hylie bawled when we told her that no, it wasn't an option to move into Grandma and Grandpa's basement.  For one blessed week, life felt normal.  It was glorious.  Thank you for the wonderful time, Mom and Dad.

Eliana's Not-So-Perfect Day

On Saturday, June 13th, we were all geared up to have Eliana's perfect day--complete with things like waffles, painting, and lots of whipped cream...but on Friday, June 12th we experienced quite a scare.  Eliana had a very hard fall that caused her to black out.  I was cleaning in the kitchen when I heard an unsettling thud and then silence.  I ran over to Eliana who was laying still, face down.  I turned her over only to see her eyes roll back, hear her gurgle, and her hands closed into fists and pulled into her chest.  Fear swept through my entire body, but luckily only a few seconds passed before Eliana started to cry.  I ran out to get Geoff and by the time we got back, Eliana was hysterical, sweating, and nauseous.  We were able to calm her and called the doctor.  Because of COVID-19, they didn't want her in the ER unless it was absolutely necessary, so they told us to keep her up for a little while and monitor her.  When she was watching some shows she started to giggle at the cartoons and act more like herself so it was a little easier to put her down to sleep for the night.  

The next morning she said she was feeling better, but that her tummy still bothered her.  Eliana's perfect day breakfast was waffles, but she asked to eat rice instead.  As instructed, we called the doctor to follow up on how she was doing and they asked to have her come in for a quick check-up, just in case.  We made the appointment and I was trying to figure out how to squeeze in all of Eliana's activities around her visit to the doctor's.  The doctor didn't see any concerns with Eliana so we felt we were in the clear and were eager to get on with her day.  Dr. Kumar turned to Eliana and asked if she had any questions before we left and Eliana immediately piped up and asked, "Can I stay up past my bedtime again?"  Ha! 

But on the way home from the doctor's, Eliana vomited.  I called the doctor back and she advised that since it happened in the car, it could have been from motion sickness, to continue to watch her but if she vomits again, to take her to the ER.  

Eliana's demeanor returned to normal, she was playing and laughing, but just before dinner she told us her stomach hurt again and shortly after that, she threw up.  I gathered things to take with us to the hospital and was getting more nervous by the minute as to what could be going on in her little body.  On the way to the hospital, she vomited again.  The ER was pretty vacant, so we didn't have to wait long to get in a room and have Eliana evaluated.  They gave her anti-nausea medication and the doctor let me know that he was concerned about three things: she blacked out, the hit was on the side of her head where the skull is thinner, and the vomiting was quite delayed.  So they ordered her a CAT scan.

Eliana thought the CAT scan (or the big donut) was the coolest thing ever.  She felt like she was a "Mighty Pup" getting charged up!  (From the Paw Patrol Show.)

When the doctor came back with the results, nothing but GOOD NEWS!  All her scans read perfectly normal, she was good to go home.

Thankfully, Eliana has been fine ever since.  We are so very grateful that nothing serious came from this fall.  And needless to say, she's getting a re-do on her perfect day!

Summer Has Begun!

To say I've been pretty anxious about summer under lockdown would be quite the understatement.  I've always loved summertime where we would take advantage of parks, pools, library classes, zoos, time with friends, beaches...but all of that is closed due to COVID-19.  Some days I have activities planned, other days the kids just play and do an amazing job entertaining themselves, and there are those days where we have a hard time figuring out what to do at all, and many days I go to bed not feeling I am enough.  The kids have been troopers through this whole thing and I've been trying to figure out what expectations I should set for a time like this.  We are definitely blessed, Geoff continues to work, we have our health, we have food in our pantry, and we have plenty to do and play with.  I just need to focus on enjoying the blessing this pandemic has brought of time together.

Recently we discovered a little pond complete with ducks and swans.

This little boy keeps us on our toes at all times!  He is constantly getting into everything and anything.  Playing boardgames or doing anything during his awake time is quite impossible, but we sure enjoy playing with him and watching how he discovers his world.

Our neighbor gave us their unused Slip-N-Slide--we pulled it out last week and once the girls figured out how it works, it became a HUGE hit!