May 11 - Day 56 - Blood or Hot Sauce

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count: 105 rolls
Self-administered medication: Whiskey Smash

QOTD:  “Don't worry, that's hot sauce and not blood."

Curious child: The little one insists on wearing two dresses - one on top of the other - every day. 

Notes:

Home schooling is not going well and I’m beginning to dread Mondays.

Homemade flowers for Mother’s Day.

Our son’s teacher uploads to Google Classroom work on Monday morning with a Friday due date, but he can usually burn through it by Wednesday afternoon. Once he understands what to do, it’s generally not a problem. The issue is getting to a place of understanding and me trying to find the patience to help.

The real problem is when he is trying to find answers to his questions when we don’t understand either or are completely occupied. We’re in York region which has decided, in an effort to be fair to everyone, not to have any real-time learning with video chats between students and teachers. Apparently there is a concern not everyone will have that technical capability.

I get that, but the argument falls apart when the Durham and Toronto regional school boards (directly to the east and south-west of us, respectively) do have video chats with their students. That seems like a natural place for student-teacher interaction and an opportunity to get clarity or direction.

Or, maybe, how about a regular phone call? If a family doesn’t have video chat capabilities, I’m sure they can take a phone call.

April 27 - Day 43 - Beer and tiaras

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count: 108 rolls
Self-administered medication: Whitewater Blonde Ale - it’s excellent

QOTD:  “When you feel tired, do you feel better after drinking a beer?"

Curious child: Her attire included pants, t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, dress, and tiara. His involved shorts, pants, t-shirt, and long sleeve shirt. 

Notes:

Someone’s first pedal bike ride…

If the kids’ attire is any indication, they’re trying to be ready for anything. That may be our fault. We’re throwing all sorts of different things at them every day, including school work, walks outside, kids exercise videos, reading lessons, yoga with Mom, bike rides, pillow fights, baking, and more. It’s all part of trying to keep them active and occupied throughout the day.

The work assigned by the older child’s teacher, however, is a struggle. Between not fully understanding how to use a computer or tablet, plus working in French, in an unfamiliar subject, and with (at times) a confusing platform to access and submit work, he has a constant stream of questions. It’s exhausting and frustrating for us and him.

The Ontario Ministry of Education outlined five hours of work per week, focused on math and literacy. I believe he’s getting more than that, not counting the struggles with the technology. At first I thought it was way too little, now I’m not so sure. I get why some parents are abandoning this altogether.

We do give him other work, including worksheets we find online and assignments (i.e. “Go find five things you didn’t know about dinosaurs.”). Those we’re kind of in a groove with since he’s familiar and knows what to do (sort of) because it’s printed in front of him and he can use a pencil.

I know it’s good for the kids to get familiar with digital tools and we’re in a transition period, but I’m not convinced we’ve landed on a viable solution.

April 22 - Day 38 - The Exes of Auntie Lennox

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  111 rolls
Self-administered medication: Homemade Doubletree Cookies  

QOTD:  “I think the person that sings the Exes and Oh’s song is different than Auntie Lennox. You know, she sings the Broken Glass song."

Curious child: The floor is lava. Except when there aren’t enough pillows. Then it’s not lava.

Notes:

The Doubletree hotel chain published their cookie recipe - which is an incredibly smart PR move on their part - and I feel victim to its calling.

Perhaps it’s just my perception, but things seem to have calmed down somewhat. Grocery shopping doesn’t quite have the same air of desperation, I’ve been able to secure a scant amount of work, and my wife is a bit busier than she has been in the past few weeks. We’ve also learned that Ontario has likely hit the peak with new cases - the curve is flattening. 

That said, work is certainly a far cry from what we’re used to, or what we need. The government support helps a bit, but I do hope my observations represent light at the end of the tunnel.

I ran into my local barber yesterday at the grocery store. He’s obviously been completely out of work since this whole mess started and eagerly waiting for things to get back to normal. A look at the mop on my head and I certainly don’t envy the crush of people he will have to deal with. Or the fact that all of their customers will be on (about) the same haircut schedule for some time, creating a potential feast-and-famine cycle.

April 13 - Day 29 - Chocolate Overload

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  119 rolls
Self-administered medication:  Chocolate the Easter Bunny accidentally forgot hide

QOTD:  “I want to eat yogurt mixed with peanut butter.”

Curious child:  After spending three days searching YouTube for Star Wars-themed dance videos, I now have an interesting collection of “suggested” videos to watch.

Notes:

Mixing chocolate, children, and self-isolation is a dangerous combination.

The days are blending into each other, there seems to be no difference between one day and the next. Fortunately, the kids are thriving on routine and are self identifying when they have to do the next activity. That does make things somewhat easier.

Unfortunately, any variation is not welcome and occasionally ends in tears (particularly with the younger one). Except, of course, hunting for chocolate the Easter Bunny left. That surprise seemed to be welcome.

I wonder why.

I’ve been reading a book on parenting, peer-orientated culture, and their impacts on the development of children. It’s written by a couple of highly educated professionals. If you’re looking for a densely written book with insightful observations on many of the challenges facing youth culture, check out Hold on to Your Kids by Gabor Maté and Daniel Mate.

April 5 - Day 21 - Anxiety and Cookies

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  123 rolls
Self-administered medication: Bourbon  

QOTD:  “I call this colour macaroni and cheese."

Curious child:  While playing Eye-Spy, when the younger one offers a clue it almost always results in the answer.

Notes:

Lately I’ve just been a ball of anxiety. Anxious about my business, my wife’s business, the kids’ education, bills, mortgages, staying healthy, etc. It’s hard not to focus on the situation and emerge with a positive attitude. 

The idea of getting out and running an errand - I shop for groceries for our family and the in-laws - seems like it would help at first, but that’s when the reality of the pandemic enforcement (queue control for stores, sanitization reminders, empty shelves) becomes more real. As a result, I end up coming home more anxious than when I left.

And, so, we have cookies… and bourbon.

As I mentioned before, today was supposed to be my daughter’s fourth birthday party. We celebrated as a family a few days earlier as a family and gave her some presents. It just doesn’t feel the same. I feel sorry for her.

April 4 - Day 20 - How We've Occupied/Fed Our Kids

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  124 rolls
Self-administered medication:  Chocolate chip cookies

QOTD:  “This is the hardest thing in the world“ (said multiple times per day, about everything)

So tempted…

Curious child:  Mommy-itis is very real. As soon as I walk into the room, the kids will often calm down.

Notes:

We’re constantly looking for ways to keep our kids engaged, active, and learning. Here are some resources that might help. I’ll add more to this as we go…

Active

YouTube - Go Noodle
A follow-along dance/activity video. Our young kids eat it up.

YouTube - Cosmic Kids Yoga
Simplified poses for younger kids. Our 4-year-old asks for this one.

Educational

YouTube - Science Max
Elementary-school science experiments done at scale. My son finds it funny.

K5 Learning - Math Worksheets
Printable worksheets for multiple grades. For financial exercises, they have Canadian and US versions!

Food

Chana Masala (Indian Chickpea dish)
We’re trying to alternate vegetarian dishes for health and financial reasons. The kids devoured this.

Kalbi (Korean BBQ Ribs)
This is my son’s favourite… possibly mine as well.

Crockpot Chickpea Curry
An excellent curry dish, for when you’re looking for something Indian.

Doubletree Cookies
If you’ve never stayed at the hotels, the cookies are awesome. Haven’t made this yet, but I will.

Escape

YouTube - #SelfieCamJam
Get your Barenaked Ladies on… in isolation.

YouTube - Quarantine Cocktails
We’ve started exploring new recipes.

March 29 - Day 14 - Ten-y-ten Unicorns

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  124 rolls
Self-administered medication:  A couple Vodka-soda 

QOTD:  “Great-grandpa is 99 years old today. How old will he be next year?”
“He will be ten-y-ten!"

Curious child:  Our daughter wears unicorn socks because some people don't believe in Unicorns.

Notes:

We got caught in the rain, again, during a family walk. The kids were extremely unhappy.

The family is definitely in a groove now. We’ve found a pace of doing something together, then apart, a meal, rinse, lather, repeat. It’s helped allow for some time to try to find work or reconnect with people.

Tomorrow is my daughter’s fourth birthday. She’s been asking about her birthday party, which was supposed to be this weekend but was rescheduled to June. It’s clear she’s still too young to fully appreciate why social isolation is a thing, but what I’m not clear on is if she will remember this birthday beyond today.

Time will tell.

I’m sure I’m not alone, but I’m getting weary of COVID-19 materials. Companies, media, and people are over-serving things related to the Coronavirus that I’m tuning out. I know it’s serious, but that doesn’t make the saturation any more palatable long term.

March 24 - Day 9 - Scavenger Hunt Fail

So. Much. LEGO.

(Note: Not actually a LEGO product. A Pokemon project was the priority.)

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  120 rolls
Self-administered medication:  A Sazerac cocktail

QOTD:  “If someone had 1,600 eyes, they could see everything. They could see the whole world."

Curious child:  So. Much. LEGO.

Notes:

Grocery store trip today for us and the in-laws (under quarantine). Mental note for future runs: Don’t assume the situation in one grocery store is the same elsewhere. The first store I went to was nearly out of meat. They had some turkey and pork, but that was about it. The second? Completely stocked, with plenty on sale. Product availability is not consistent.

To help occupy the kids with something new, I made them a scavenger hunt. It was not entirely successful. The small one still struggles to read (my illustrations may have left something to be desired) and I made clues instead of a list for the older one. Both needed significant amounts of help. 

Next time, simplify.

March 23 - Day 8 - What Time Is It?

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  121 rolls
Self-administered medication:  Two glasses of wine and one too many chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

QOTD:  “I put my watch on my nightstand there because I want to wear it tomorrow.”
"Can you tell time?"
"No. I just want to see the time."

Curious child:  After throwing a snowball, my son immediately fall onto the ground, making him an easy target.

Notes:

As much as I’d like the weather to warm up, it snowed just enough the night before to turn the local park into a series of tobogganing hills. This occupied/exhausted the kids for the day. A gift.

After tobogganing and making a snow figure, we had a family snowball fight. I think the smallest child won as she got everyone to make snowballs for her to throw.

March 22 - Day 7 - Engage Airplane Mode!

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  122 rolls
Self-administered medication:  2 glasses of Cabernet

QOTD:  “Airplane mode is walking, jet mode is running! Fast airplane mode is speed-walking.”

Curious child:  One child slept in until 10am, the other was up before 7am. Why can’t they do it at the same time?

Notes:

It’s possible the four of us are discovering a groove. It’s a sequence of doing things together, then apart, followed by a meal or snack. Rinse, lather, repeat. My wife and I are squeezing work in where we can.

In the last 24 hours, there was an official report of a person infected with COVID-19 very near our house. I often walk the dog along that street in the mornings. It brings the whole situation (literally) closer to home.

March 21 - Day 6 - Do You Like Pina Coladas?

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  124 rolls
Self-administered medication: A glass of red wine and a G&T

QOTD:  “I put a deal in my brain to play 30 minutes of Nintendo Switch in the morning and another 30 minutes in the evening so I spread it out over the day."

Curious child:  The dog liked her two front legs almost every waking moment.

Notes:

In an effort to kill two birds with one stone - walk the dog and exercise the kids - we all went outside during a break in the rain. I was hoping to get out and in before it started to rain again.

Things didn’t go as planned. Everyone got soaked.

Also, the battle to limit screen time is one we’re slowing losing. The kids get tired late afternoon and are difficult to console when parental energy reserves are low.

Thankfully, we won the lottery with both kids in that they go to sleep almost immediately after turning out the lights and will stay asleep (98% of the time) until 7am. So, I need to remain thankful for that.

March 18 - Day 3 - Curious Dog

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  124 rolls
Self-administered medication:  2 fingers of whiskey

QOTD:  “What if I turned into a ghost; could I go play with my friends then?"

Curious child:  Is it just my children, or do all of them seem to be not only immune, but intrigued by loud, high-pitched sounds from toys?

Notes:

I think the dog has caught on that something is different. I usually work from home, but the other three leave the house for most of the day. When that happens, the dog naps. All day.

Now, instead, she is wandering the house staring at all the noisy disturbances interrupting her naptime.

Speaking of disturbances, I think I sound like a broken record (do people even get that reference anymore?) or Spotify stuck on repeat. We fill our days with activities for the kids the best we can, but adults are human and we run out of steam. I shudder to think how many times I’ve said: “Go find something to do, please.”

Also, so much for avoiding booze…

March 17 - Day 2 - Tooth Fairies and Fire Hydrants

Coffee helps. Coffee always helps.

Infected Humans:  0/4
Infected canines:  0/1
Toilet paper count:  125 rolls
Self-administered medication:  Double shot Americano

QOTD:  “When I grow up I’m going to be a tooth fairy and a fire hydrant.”

Curious child:  My son, not used to using video chat with his friends, thought he had to yell as loud as possible. There was no escape.

Notes:

Cold, wet rain today, making outside a somewhat less desirable place to be.

I doubled my son's permitted time in his Nintendo Switch to an hour and my daughter rediscovered her interest in puzzles. She is a tenth my age and can do puzzles I find challenging. Wild.

I am going to do my best to avoid dipping into the booze more than usual. I will normally have a couple cocktails on weekends and maybe one or two during the week, but I can see how easy it will be to have more when you suddenly have far less to do all day and are stuck inside avoiding COVID-19. Instead, I’m stepping-up my workout routine and getting the kids involved as much as they can.

Coincidentally, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Can you make a green espresso?