Thankful Thursday

1. I usually don't spend any money on drinks for myself, but I've been splurging the last few months. The local grocery store has had six packs of bottles of flavored water on sale for $1.50. Some have 0 calories and some have 5 calories so I'm not deviating from my habit of not drinking calories. I've been enjoying drinking the flavored water. 

2. Yesterday we were able to get the van serviced while Nadia was in her acting class and the boys were playing in the Children's Museum because I had an appointment at Bastian which is across the street from the building where Nadia's class and the Children's Museum are located. Due to staying at home for a few months, it had been nine months since the van had an oil change. It's always nice when we don't have to sit in the lobby while the van is being serviced. The boys enjoyed the Children's Museum last Thursday and yesterday. Due to COVID-19 they had to change many things. The boys' favorite exhibit had been removed (the large blocks), and the kids can't scan food items in the grocery store. That had been Nadia's favorite exhibit, but the boys had fun playing with other kids for two hours each time we went. Yesterday they were was a reporter there from the newspaper and WNEP (tv station). I didn't realize that I was being videotaped by the newspaper reporter. I thought he was just asking me questions to use in writing an article. If you go to https://www.dailyitem.com/ and look in the middle of that page there is a video about the Lewisburg Children's Museum re-opening that includes Ian, Oliver, and myself. Here is the link for the WNEP video clip. 

3. Nadia enjoyed going on a two hour hike with the FBC youth group on Saturday morning and being with them again in person on Sunday evening.

4. The kids continue to enjoy the food provided on Mondays and Wednesdays by the Methodist church. We won't be partaking the next two weeks, and three weeks from now will be the last week of the program as school begins the end of that week. 

5. The boys and I have enjoyed getting ice cream or another treat three times over the past week. Yesterday the boys had slushies at the Purple Cow and enjoyed the playground there. Today Ian had a root beer float while Oliver and I shared a peanut butter cup sundae.

6. I am going to a ladies Bible study this evening! It's been 17 months since I was in a ladies Bible study. This one will meet every other Thursday for a few months.

7. The kids and I had dinner at Bonanza on Monday night. Nadia was disappointed that they didn't have pizza or chocolate chip cookies at the buffet as usually those are her two favorite things that they offer, but there were plenty of other choices. It was our first time eating in a sit down restaurant since February. We have been enjoying the gift card Dad and Margie gave us for Christmas.

8. Nadia's theater camp is coming to a close. I'm thankful she was able to have the experience and also thankful the excessive driving will come to an end. Even though they will be performing in a large HS auditorium. They are only allowing 6 adults to attend each of the two performances, which means each child can only have ONE family member attend one of the two performances. Frankly I think this is ridiculous. We could very easily have a larger audience and follow all the guidelines (stay 6 feet apart, wear masks, and have our temperatures taken). Thankfully they will also be livestreaming it on FB so other family members can view it that way from the comfort of their homes. I'm going on Friday night. I'll watch her Saturday performance online. 

9. The boys have gone swimming the last 16 days in a row! I went all but one of those days. Nadia hasn't gone as often because of theatre camp. They have really enjoyed swimming for 2-3 hours a day.

10. Nadia really likes her new dress that she picked out at the thrift store last week. It only cost $4.50.

Unschooling

There are many different approaches that people take with homeschooling just as there are many different philosophies that guide the way things are done in schools. In one course that I taught at BU about 15 years ago, my students learned about various approaches including Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, High/Scope, Bank Street, etc. Some public and private schools have multi-age classrooms and others utilize a thematic curriculum. For example, I was assigned to supervise some teacher candidates who completed a field experience or student teaching at Greenwood Friends School, which is a Quaker school in our area that has multi-age classrooms. Similarly parents choose different approaches when it comes to homeschooling such as classical education (Socratic method), Charlotte Mason, unit studies, unschooling, school-at-home, etc. Distance learning via a public school is not really homeschooling in my opinion. If we wanted to save money, we could have enrolled our children in an online charter school, which is the way to educate your children at home for free, but that has never appealed to me. I would say that I have used an eclectic approach over the past seven years. I have never tried to imitate what happens in a school in our home. I don't grade their work; they've never received a report card. The only time Nadia has been graded is when she has used Teaching Textbooks on the computer for math. I will have to start grading her when she's in high school. Schooling might take place at the kitchen table, dining room table, on the couch, or a variety of other places in our house. Nadia likes to read in her bed, for example. We have a white board that we use for spelling. My kids don't write book reports or take quizzes or tests, except Nadia has had online quizzes in math the past two years. This year Nadia will begin taking tests in science for the first time. We do several of the subjects together, and others are done individually. Since Nadia and Ian are 17 months apart in age, they have done more things together in the past, but this year the boys will be doing science together. I use a thematic approach for some of the subjects - social studies, writing, and literature are usually linked together, and sometimes that topic also spills over into composer studies, cooking, Bible, and art projects. Although I haven't attempted to replicate school at home, I also haven't been on the other side of the continuum - unschooling.

I forgot to take a picture of the other side. They decorated the wood on the other side with glitter!

The first three years I was homeschooling, I was "under the radar" because until this year you didn't need to file any paperwork with the school district until your child turned eight; starting this fall families must file paperwork when their child turns six. The past four years I had to document that we had completed at least 180 days of school. I have found that 150 days is all we need for spelling, math, science, etc. We usually have 30-40 days a year that are comprised of things like field trips, theatre camp, history camp, and such. Before COVID-19, my lesson plans included more than 180 days for the 2019-20 school year. Because all but one field trip was cancelled from the middle of March through the end of June, I only documented 165 days of school for 2019-20. We were not required to submit any documentation last month because of COVID-19. If I had been required to do document 180 days, I would have used an unschooling approach for the other 15 days. My plans for this coming school year included 30 days of field trips and 150 days of our usual schoolwork. This is the first year that I also need to submit documentation for Oliver. Because I knew he wasn't going to be participating in theatre camp, I hadn't planned to count those as school days. The things I thought we would be doing for the first ten days of school were national parks (Sagamore Hill, Fire Island, Thomas Edison, Fort Stanwix, Saint Gaudens, Springfield Armory, etc.), science museums, factory tours, and other historical/cultural tours in Canada such as of the House of Commons, Notre Dame, Citadel, etc. All of those ten days have been scratched out because the national parks aren't open in NY/NJ, and we had to cancel our vacation. I'm assuming that many of the other field trips I had planned for 2020-21 will also be cancelled due to COVID-19. We haven't cancelled our trip to OH/KY/WV that I booked for the beginning of October yet, but I'm not holding my breath. The kids and I did eat in a sit down restaurant tonight for the first time since the pandemic began. We used part of a Bonanza gift card that Dad and Margie gave us for Christmas. The four of us enjoyed the buffet for less than $20 total. That doesn't qualify as a field trip though. 

Since Nadia was in an acting class for four hours a day last week, I decided to count those as school days for all three kids. I read them at least one new picture book a day. Yesterday we read a fantastic one called One Hen, which was a true story about a boy in Ghana. We listen to audiobooks for hours every day. Nadia and Ian read part of a chapter book of their choosing every day, and Oliver reads picture books or easy readers out loud to Nadia, myself, or Paul almost every day. Nadia does a jigsaw puzzle (300-500 pieces) almost every day. Ian and Oliver do a few jigsaw puzzles a week. I ordered another set of 8 puzzles (150-500 pieces each) on eBay last week that is supposed to be delivered this week. All of us listened to some of Dave at Night this morning. When Ian wanted to go outside and build a fort in our yard with Oliver, Addi, and Westyn, Nadia began listening to Anne of Green Gables while she finished her jigsaw puzzle. My documentation of school days for last week and this week looks different than what I've ever written in past years. I've included swimming for the boys (physical education) while Nadia has been at theatre camp along with listening to audiobooks, reading independently, picture books I've read to them, and practicing the piano. I even included a couple of the movies that we've watched such as White Fang and Bridge to Terabithia since they are based on books we've read. There are times I wish we lived in a state where documenting days wasn't necessary. Since there is no minimum number of hours given to define a day for grades K-8, it really is extremely subjective. We listen to audiobooks together almost every single day of the year, usually for multiple hours a day, and Nadia and Ian read in a chapter book independently almost every day of the year. Counting days of school is rather arbitrary in my mind. I don't document every little thing we do. Nadia did a personal finance course this summer which isn't included on my list of "days" of school. All three kids earned multiple Junior Ranger badges at home during the quarantine - also not documented. I do a slightly more traditional approach to schooling for 150 days of the year and an unschooling approach for the other 215 days of the year. Learning can take place in such a WIDE variety of ways whether it's building a fort outside or learning some new words while playing Quiddler. Nadia played that game with Paul and I after the boys went to bed last night. 

Day of Rest

I am thankful that the theater camp that Nadia is attending this month is much closer to our home than the theatre camps she attended in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019, but when we were at the pool yesterday afternoon I decided to ask Paul if he would take the kids to the pool today without me. Of the past twenty-two days, I took the kids to the pool nineteen of those days. We didn't go the two days I drove them to Six Flags, and we missed one other day because of the weather. The pool is only 15 minutes from our house, but when Nadia is at camp I drive 20 minutes to take her to camp, 25 minutes to take the boys to the pool, 25 minutes to go back to get Nadia, and 20 minutes to go back home. I thought I'd drive less on Saturday, but the FBC youth group went on a hike in Lewisburg yesterday morning. In light of COVID-19, it's more challenging to find ways to occupy the boys for 2-4 hours while she's otherwise occupied. The park in Lewisburg that has shade hasn't been reopened due to COVID-19. I was shocked when I took the boys there around 3pm on Thursday. I talked to someone on Saturday who said her boys just walk around the barrier and play at the playground anyhow. We can't hang out at the library, and the Lewisburg swimming pool is closed due to COVID-19. I took the boys to the playground which doesn't have shade; I had brought some bread for them to feed the ducks again. It's been HOT and dry the last couple of weeks. I haven't mowed the lawn in two weeks, and I still don't need to mow it. I usually mow once a week. They lasted a little less than an hour at that playground. I ran into the library to pick up one book and one DVD, and then we got lunch. I went through the drive-thru at Wendy's to buy nuggets for the boys and through the drive-thru at Panera to get myself a salad. We ate in our vehicle in the parking lot at Panera. On my receipt it stated that I had earned a free cookie. After I finished my salad, I went into Panera and selected one cookie for the boys and I to share. I love their chocolate chunk cookie. I'm thankful I don't know how many calories are in it. At least I only ate 1/3 of the cookie and not the whole thing, right? It was SO delicious. I think at some point I'm going to attempt a copycat recipe for that particular cookie.

I thought we'd drive straight to the pool after picking Nadia up at noon, but she begged me to stop at a thrift store we pass on the way to the pool. She picked out a dress, pair of shirts, and a long sleeve shirt. She wore the dress today. We swam for a couple of hours and stopped at the grocery store on the way home to buy four steaks as they were having a three day sale on steaks. I have been in penny pinching mode for the past year once I realized I was unemployed again, but I have been trying to loosen up a little bit recently because we have spent less than planned due to many things being cancelled and have received more money than expected (for example, the stimulus check). I have been putting most of the extra money into a savings account or CD for future expenses, but it's also nice to have a few little splurges here and there. I can go years without buying any steak, but I bought four rib eye steaks. Paul grilled them today. Nadia and Paul each ate a whole steak. Oliver and Ian shared one steak. Paul will eat the fourth steak tomorrow. I made myself a taco salad because I'm not a fan of steak.

I had reservations for the Children's Museum on Friday as I assumed we'd go swimming with Nadia from 5:30-7:30 pm as we had on Thursday because Nadia had missed not being able to swim Monday through Wednesday, but Nadia didn't want to have eat a meal I packed. She wanted to eat lunch and dinner at home so she could have a hot meal both times. So I took the boys swimming for three hours instead. I also took the boys to May's Drive-In for ice cream on our way back to pick up Nadia. Ian asked for a peanut butter fudge sundae. My first instinct was to just ask him to get something that was a little cheaper, but I stopped myself and said yes. We could afford that "splurge." It only cost about $10 total for the three of us to have an ice cream treat even with his sundae. 

Paul was disappointed when I asked to stay home this afternoon. He was looking forward to the five of us doing something together. I totally understand where he is coming from. He swam with us on two other Sunday afternoons this month, and both times I contemplated staying home and both times decided it was important for the five of us to do something together. We don't see much of Paul Monday-Saturday. But I had a much more hectic schedule last week, and it will continue this week during her second week of theatre camp. Next Sunday I will be driving to Long Island. I knew TODAY was my chance to spend more time at home. We all went to church this morning, and I take Nadia to youth group at 6:30 pm and Paul picks her up at 8:00 on Sunday evenings. I am able to read a book at the pool, but I am trying to finish a photography course so I can end my membership this week before they charge me $14 on Saturday.

I think part of the reason I'm tired of running here and there the past week is because I had recently spent several months at home not going anywhere. I'm not saying I like staying home ALL the time. I am very grateful that we are able to go to church on Sunday mornings and pick up books and DVDs at the library, and the kids have really been enjoying being able to swim on an almost daily basis, but being out and about every single day of a week is not my preference. But one of my "jobs" as a stay-at-home mom is chauffeur. This too shall pass. The pool will close on August 20, and after that we will probably return to spending most of our days at home because I think field trips will be few and far between for the rest of 2020 due to COVID-19. The kids don't play on a team sport in the fall, and I'm not planning on signing them up for classes at MCS this year due to COVID-19. I don't think I'll have choir rehearsals on Wednesday nights this year, and AWANA might be done by Zoom this year. So Sundays might be our only day that we'll be regularly going somewhere this fall. 

Thankful Thursday

1. All three kids had normal results from the lipid panel, and Paul also had a normal result from his stress test on July 13.

2. The kids have been enjoying the lunches provided by the Methodist church on Mondays and Wednesdays. We are given 6 quarts of white milk and 3 pints of chocolate milk each week, many different snacks for the kids, and five meals. This week the meals were a ham/turkey/bacon sub, grilled cheese sandwich, beef stroganoff, taco boat, and a "Christmas in July" meal that included turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn.

3. Nadia's annual physical went smoothly on July 7, and the Pediatrician kindly gave Ian a prescription for EpiPens during her appointment.

4. We were able to go to Six Flags twice this month. At least some of the Towfighis joined us for both trips. We visited the parks in Maryland and New Jersey.

5. Evanna and Nadia had a 48 hour sleepover from July 10-12.

6. Our church didn't cancel the in person services after the Governor changed the indoor maximum back to 25 people. Also, the change in the face mask regulation hasn't really impacted our lives except for the fact we wear masks for about 1 minute every time we go to the swimming pool.

7. The kids and I enjoyed a picnic at Pastor Ken's house on July 12.

8. The boys enjoyed the "Greek to Me" program at the library on July 15.

9. The kids and I enjoyed hiking with Cheri and her foster son at Ricketts Glen on July 17.

10. Nadia is enjoying her acting class which began on July 20. It's very different considering they were masks for almost four hours straight and have to stay farther apart than usual. She appreciates the mask break when they eat a snack outside. 

11. We have visited the pool almost every day this month. We usually stay for about 2 hours. Twice this week we stayed for 2.5-3 hours. 

12. Nadia was able to attend the youth group at FBC in person on July 12 and 19. She's looking forward to going on a hike with that youth group in two days.

13. Nadia and I completed a 750 piece puzzle earlier this week! This was the biggest puzzle Nadia had ever done. The previous week Ian, Nadia, and I took almost all week to complete a 500 piece puzzle which was much harder than the 750 piece puzzle because almost all the pieces were light blue.

14. I ordered two garage doors, Oliver's birthday presents, and a chest freezer this week. The chest freezer is a birthday gift. Thanks, Dad and Margie! I got three estimates for the garage doors. I ended up going with the salesman whom I least expected to choose. For one thing, he referred to my kids as my grandkids. Oops! I'm thankful we had saved up the money to pay for this project because my garage door has been really struggling to open and close lately.

15. Yesterday Ian found a wrapped birthday gift for Adam that had fallen behind a bookshelf in the dining room. I'm not sure how long it had been back there. I opened it and asked Wendy if they already had that DVD. They don't own it. We will give it to them the next time we see them. Better late than never! Oops!

16. The Lewisburg Children's Museum is reopening today after being closed for 4 months. The boys will spend two hours in there today while Nadia is in her acting class, which is located in the auditorium of the same building. We have reservations to spend 2 hours there on four different days over the next eight days. 

17. We've enjoyed watching a few movies together recently such as Cool Runnings, Bridge to Terabithia, Four Kids and It, and The Adventures of Tintin. Cool Runnings was the second movie I saw in a movie theatre. My first time in a movie theatre was when I saw Beethoven in Lynchburg in 1992 while I was working on my master's degree. We recently listened to Bridge to Terabithia, and I was rather impressed with how closely the movie followed the book. 

18. We're continuing to enjoy audiobooks together. Of the eight we've finished thus far this month, I think our three favorites were Hold Fast by Blue Balliet (about a family who temporarily lives in a shelter in Chicago), The Wild Robot, and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown. Today we finished Walk Two Moons (which was NOT one of our favorites) and began Sophie Quire and the Last Bodyguard. 

Oliver's pet

For the last 3.5 years that we have owned guinea pigs, Oliver has shown almost no interest in them. He also didn't really pay any attention to the rabbits we had for two months earlier this year. This is why I had never gotten him a pet, but a few months ago he began asking for a pet. First he said he wanted a goldfish. Then a few weeks later he changed his mind and asked for a hermit crab. He stuck with the hermit crab for a longer period of time, but then he started asking for a hypoallergenic cat, snake, or hypoallergenic dog. Although we would have had NO trouble caring for a dog the past four months, if it weren't for COVID-19, we would have been away from home for a week in April, a week in May, and a week in August plus we often go on day trips that exceed the length of time a dog can be kept in the house without being taken out for a bathroom break. So I didn't put any time into researching a hypoallergenic dog, but I did research hermit crabs, chinchillas, ferrets, hypoallergenic cats, crested gecko, and bearded dragons. I am not willing to have a rat, snake, mouse, or gerbil in our house as a pet. I would love to get a hypoallergenic cat so I spent the most time researching that option. I didn't pick that because #1 it seems you have to spend a LOT of money to get one and #2 there's still no guarantee Paul wouldn't be allergic to the cat, which wouldn't be so awful if it didn't cost so much to get one. At one point I was thinking of not getting him a pet since he seemed to be changing his mind so much as to what he wanted. If the pet cost a lot of money, that was going to be the only thing we got him for his birthday (plus a big box of Goldfish crackers). Yesterday I decided to get him a Paw Patrol toy he wanted plus an inexpensive pet. I went back to his first request - a fish. To me it seems a misnomer to call a fish a pet because you can't actually pet it, but hopefully we will enjoy watching the fish swim around. I ordered an Aquaponic fish tank because we also don't have any house plants, and it's supposed to help with keeping the water clean a bit longer in the tank. I also ordered two different kinds of food and a cave for the fish. Next week I'm going to take the boys to Pet Smart one day while Nadia is in her acting class and have Oliver pick out which zebra danio he wants. I also plan to buy either a Java fern or an Amazon sword plant to put inside the tank and a house plant for the top of the tank. I researched betta, danios, goldfish, and white cloud minnows before picking zebra danio. We might not have had the traditional pets (cat, dog), but this year we will have had guinea pigs, rabbits, and fish. Hopefully Oliver will like his birthday gifts! I'm going to bring the gift wrapped toy to Aunt Janet's house since we will be there on his birthday, but he'll be getting the fish, fish tank, and other supplies a week early.

Yesterday I called the Pediatrician's office because I hadn't gotten the results of Nadia's bloodwork eight days earlier whereas I had gotten the boys' results on the same day their blood was drawn. Paul also called his PCP yesterday to get the results of his stress test. Paul and Nadia both had normal results. I assumed that was good news for Paul that his heart is fine, but he's not convinced that's automatically good news. His symptoms haven't gone away. He's having an upper and lower EMG next month.  Today I called the Walmart Auto Center to schedule an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation. I have managed to go nine months, which is longer than usual because of being home bound for a few months this year. I was shocked when the man told me they have been closed since the middle of March and have no idea when they will be reopening. I was disappointed because we get our tire rotations there for free, but I made an appointment at Bastian Tire, which will work out well because it's right across from the Children's Museum so the boys can play in the museum while they are working on the van because I already have a reservation at the Children's Museum. It's been closed for 4 months but is reopening tomorrow.

I feel like we've made a lot of decisions this week that we had been wrestling with for varying lengths of time - when to let Nadia have a phone, which garage doors to get, what pet to get Oliver, and which freezer to get. My Dad and Margie told me in April that my birthday gift was a chest freezer. Paul tried to buy one in April, but there has been a shortage due to the pandemic. I have checked online periodically to see if we could get one through Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, or Best Buy. The youth pastor at FBC yesterday said that he was told they wouldn't have any in the stores until next spring. I found a few available at Sears that supposedly could be delivered in 1 month and a few available through Lowe's that could be delivered in 3 months. The prices are higher at Sears plus they charge $80 for delivery. Delivery is free through Lowe's. So I used Margie's Lowe's credit card to order a chest freezer last night. It was a little bigger than what I had planned to get, but the size I had in mind wasn't available, and I was hoping not to have to wait a full year, and who knows maybe this size is exactly the right size for our family? We shall see if this chest freezer is actually delivered in October or not. I'm hoping that will happen but not holding my breath. Thankfully Millie has been storing some chicken we purchased in April in a freezer at her bakery. I think the chest freezer will definitely come in handy once we have one here in our home. I'm very thankful for this belated birthday gift!

Decisions, Decisions

We make so many decisions each day. Some of them are so small such as what clothes we'll wear or what we'll eat for breakfast. Others are far more significant, and many fall somewhere in between. Earlier this year we decided not to extend my time share for another 25 years. Time will tell if we end up thinking that was a wise choice or not. We know that we will need to replace our roof at some point in the not so distant future because most of our neighbors have already replaced theirs, and our homes were built around the same time. Knowing exactly when we should replace it is something we haven't figured out yet. The Amish roofer who gave us an estimate last fall suggested we should replace it this year, but Paul thinks we can put it off a bit longer. The garage doors have been cracked for awhile, but the door I use has been really having issues in the last couple of weeks so we have decided that now is the time to replace the garage doors. Having never purchased a garage door before, I had absolutely no idea how many decisions would be involved in that purchase. Long panel or short panel? With windows or without windows? Carriage house style or raised panel? With decorative hardware or without? Colonial or spear hardware? What color? How much insulation? When I discussed it with Paul last night, he suggested I digitally edit a photo of the front of the house to change the color of the garage doors as a way of helping us decide. One of our neighbors has a dark green garage door, and I think it looks really nice. However, when I edited a photo this morning to see what it would look like with two green garage doors, I had to agree with the opinion of everyone I asked. Nope! I chose medium oak, which is very similar to the color of our front door. Nadia preferred the cedar, but I preferred the medium oak. Paul, Ian, Oliver, and I all leaned toward evergreen for a time, but Nadia never liked that color at all. I will darken the front door a bit if that seems necessary for it to match the new garage door. The other decision we made yesterday regarding the garage doors was to select 9.0 R-Value for the insulation. This particular salesman had suggested one that was 6.5, but that seems too low considering we have an attached garage and Nadia's bedroom is directly above part of the garage. We could have gone as high as 18.4, but that would have added another $210 to the project. I am thankful we have put this particular decision to rest, and I hope that we like our new garage doors once they are installed! Our current doors lasted 21 years, and these new doors are supposed to last much longer so this might be the only time I purchase garage doors in my lifetime. The two other things around the house that I assume we will need to replace over the next few years are the roof and the oven. We've already replaced the furnace, AC, hot water heater, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, and dryer over the past 10 years.

Another decision Paul and I discussed this week was when we would get Nadia her first phone. She'd be thrilled to have her own phone now, but that's not going to happen. Actually at the moment we're requiring her to take a break from the iPad, my phone, and the laptop through the end of the month. Yvonne shared how they let their kids get a phone when they turn thirteen, but they start them out with a phone that only can be used with Wi-Fi, and they also don't immediately tell their teen the phone's passcode. If a teen starts driving, I think he/she should definitely have a phone at that point. But considering Nadia would like a phone now, it seemed a bit too long to require her to wait four more years. When I was at the pool yesterday, my friend was telling me that her 10 year old granddaughter already has her own phone. The trend seems to be to give kids a cell phone at a younger age. Paul and I decided that we'd get Nadia a phone when she turns 14 since that is when she'd be entering 9th grade. The decision would be easier if phones were just used for talking, but considering they give your child access to the Internet which has some awful stuff, it's a different story. It's tricky knowing which social media apps to allow her to use. She had been using Instagram (she's never posted anything but just uses it to follow some of her friends), Messenger Kids, text messaging, Marco Polo, Skype, FaceTime, and House Party. I deleted the House Party app yesterday after doing more research.

Cinderstein

Nadia's acting class began today. Some years she has attended a theatre camp that was 45 minutes away from our house (one way). This one is 19 minutes from our house. It still adds up to about 80 minutes of driving per day if the boys and I don't stay in Lewisburg during her 4 hour class. One day done and nine to go. It was definitely different for her than all the other theatre camps she has participated in from 2013-2019 because #1 the kids had to wear masks for almost four hours straight and #2 each actor has to stay 6 feet apart from every other actor during the play. They did have a snack break outdoors, which gave them a small break from the masks. I asked the director if they would be wearing masks during the performance since facial expressions are so important in a theatre production, and she said she has ordered special masks for the kids which are transparent in middle so we will be able to see more of their faces than we can with the masks and bandanas that the kids are wearing during rehearsals. I'm planning on staying in Lewisburg with the boys on Thursday and Friday partially because we can spend 2 hours in the Children's Museum those two days as they are reopening for members only this week and for the general public next week. Today after dropping Nadia off we picked up and returned some books at the library, fed some ducks some bread, swam for two hours, and then picked up a grocery order at Walmart on our way to picking Nadia up at 5:00. Feeding ducks was on our bucket list, and it was the first time we did that this year. I also bought some plums today, which was something else we hadn't eaten yet this year that is on our bucket list. To the best of my knowledge Walmart has never forgotten to include something in our order that we had paid for. They have been unable to fulfill things at times, but in those cases we weren't charged for the items. Today I discovered we were charged for two items that we weren't given. I called the 800 number, and they gave me a refund. I appreciated the excellent customer service.

The last few times we've been at the pool I've crossed paths with a woman I hadn't seen in quite a few years. I sang in the choir with her from 2004-2008. She sat next to me in the alto section. Today she and her husband were celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary by swimming with two of their grandkids who have live in Senegal. Nadia is bummed that she won't be swimming much this week, but you can't do everything! The pool is open from 12:30-7:30, and her class is from 12:50-5:00. If the weather cooperates, I'm planning to take the kids for a later swim, after her class on Thursday and Friday so that she will get to swim a little this week. She's hiking with the FBC youth group on Saturday. It will be the first youth group social she's attended since February I believe.

Waterfalls!

Yesterday afternoon we met my friend, Cheri, and her sixteen-year-old foster son at Ricketts Glen State Park which has more than 20 waterfalls. The tallest waterfall is 94 feet high. We ate lunch at a picnic table together before starting our hike. We planned to do the 3.2 mile loop, but we ended up doing the 7.2 mile loop, which translated to over 8 miles round trip from the parking lot. The forecast on Accuweather showed a significant chance for thunderstorms, but thankfully the two other weather apps I checked, which showed favorable forecasts, were correct. It was a beautiful day. I had an umbrella in my backpack so I could protect my umbrella if Accuweather was correct. I never needed it. We only used our masks when using the bathroom. I was surprised how many people were wearing their masks while hiking outdoors. When we go to the playground, swimming pool, yard sales, etc. people aren't wearing masks. I had planned to make blueberry pancakes for dinner, but since we ended up staying at the park for more than five hours, we stopped at Dunkin for breakfast sandwiches instead. I was thankful I had a gift card in my purse! We had brought our bathing suits. We stopped at our swimming pool on the way home and swam for about 90 minutes.

From the ballpark figures that the salesman was giving me on Thursday, I assumed his quote would be the highest of the three. I also wasn't happy that he was trying to convince me to buy two new garage door openers. I am not tempted to do that since the other two salesmen said they did not think we needed new openers. Since he had come to our home to measure, I felt I should at least call their office on Friday to get a quote. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost of buying two oak colored garage doors from him would actually be $200 less than two cedar colored garage doors from the first salesman. I had been trying to decide between evergreen or cedar. I had gotten feedback from three friends and three family members regarding which color they would choose, and not a single person had picked green. I am going to call the third salesman back on Monday to get more quotes because the door he recommended isn't as well insulated as the doors the other two recommended. All three suggested we buy a door that is made of steel on both sides. Our current one has steel on one side and vinyl on the other. I think part of the reason he didn't suggest we get one with better insulation is because we don't have insulation and drywall on all of the walls in the garage. At this point I think we will be going with medium oak. It might be a little darker than our front door, but I could buy some stain to darken our door a little. The inside of our front door is much darker than the outside. I'm assuming that the sun has faded it over the past 21 years. I have been paying attention to garage doors when I've been driving, and I will say I do like the windows on the carriage house style doors, but if we spend more than what he quoted me yesterday, I think it's wiser to invest in a more energy efficient door than to pay for decorative windows.

We swam at the pool for two hours this afternoon, but other than that the kids and I have been home the rest of the day. I'm very thankful that we WILL be going to church tomorrow morning. Yesterday we watched a video announcement from our pastor. He said they would continue to offer in person and online worship services because churches are not obligated to follow the 25 person maximum for indoor gatherings. He said that since the church reopened the attendance hasn't exceeded 18% capacity. Since the sanctuary usually can seat up to 1,050, I would assume that means that the attendance hasn't exceeded about 180 people per service the last few weeks. The thought of returning to watching a service online at home was very hard for me to swallow. I am very grateful we can continue to attend in person for the time being. The directors of the play Nadia is going to be in are trying to figure out what "plan B" is for the productions. There are fewer than 25 kids in the class, but there would be more than 25 at the performances. They are trying to decide whether to broadcast it by livestream, move the performance outdoors, or make a recording. 2020 is definitely a year when flexibility is VERY necessary. Rolling with the punches is necessary during a pandemic.

 

Blueberries!

A few years ago we picked strawberries and blueberries at Green Barn Berry Farm which is located about 15 minutes from our house. If you go at the right time, you can also pick either black or red raspberries there. This year I decided we'd pick blueberries at a blueberry farm that is 1.5 miles from our house. I planned to walk while the kids rode their bikes or scooters, but it looked like it might rain this morning so we opted to drive there. It didn't end up raining. We picked a little over 4 pounds of blueberries not counting the ones Nadia ate while we were there. Nadia will be the one to eat the majority of the blueberries. I'm planning on making blueberry pancakes for dinner tomorrow and a blueberry crisp on Saturday. Picking blueberries was on our summer bucket list the last couple of years, but we didn't actually get around to it. This year we can check that one off! I think we've accomplished at least 50% of our bucket list so far. I have a feeling that several will prove impossible due to COVID-19, but hopefully we will be able to check a few more off over the next month. 

We didn't get an email from our church yet; maybe we will still continue meeting in person? I did read last night that religious organizations are exempt from the new 25 person regulation, but I still think there is a strong possibility that at least some churches will go back to online only services because of the change as that is what happened in March. We shall see. We also haven't received the results of Paul's stress test or Nadia's cholesterol test yet. 

The kids swam for about 90 minutes today. We left the pool at 2:15 because they were doing roadwork on the road you have to travel on to get to the pool. We were told if we didn't leave then we'd have to stay at least two more hours. I didn't even put on my swimsuit today because it was only in the 70's. I usually wear my swimsuit even though I don't always get in the pool. They have a basketball and hoop in the pool. Yesterday I played a game of Horse with Nadia and Ian, which I actually won. 

Last week I contacted three companies to get quotes for replacing our garage doors. The first two told me that we only needed to replace the cracked garage doors. The third came today, and he suggested also replacing the opener. I need to call the office tomorrow to get a specific quote from the man who came today, but I have a feeling we'll end up going with the first one - the man who came last Friday. I am not planning on replacing the openers since two of the three men told me that we didn't need to do that. I had budgeted $2K for this project before getting any estimates, and thankfully we won't need to spend that much. I had no idea how many choices you have when selecting a garage door. Ian and Oliver wanted me to pick a dark green door, which is the color that is around our windows. Nadia wanted either cedar (to match the front door) or sandstone (the current color which is the same as the siding). Choosing sandstone or green wouldn't impact the price, but choosing cedar would add about $400 to the total price. Nadia wants the extra hardware to make it look like a carriage house door. That doesn't add much to the price. We've decided to forgo the windows, which add about $330 to the price when you are buying two garage doors. I texted six people soliciting their feedback today. My first instinct would have been to ask my mom for her input, but I can't ask her. Decorating was more her thing than it is mine. Five people texted me back and none of them voted for the boys' choice. Most picked the sandstone. Two friends agreed with Nadia that cedar would be their top choice. Picking that color would still keep us $300+ under what I had budgeted, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth spending an extra $400 just for the garage doors to be a particular color. It seems frivolous considering how careful I usually am with every penny. I can only imagine how dizzying it must be to build a home if there are this many options just with a garage door! If you decide you want windows there are SO many options for that. If you want hardware, you again have more decisions to make. I did decide right away that I want a long panel rather than a short panel design for the doors. At least some decisions were easy to make! 

Going backward

Today our Governor tightened up some restrictions again. Some, such as the ones that relate to bars, don't impact us since we don't drink alcohol. However the whole state is again under the yellow phase restriction of indoor gatherings being limited to 25 people. Outdoor gatherings are still under the green phase restriction of being limited to 250 people. The youth pastor at FBC had split their youth group in half in early June. Half of them come on Wednesday nights, and half come on Sunday nights. Nadia is in the Sunday night group. Including leaders there are less than 25 people each time, which I would assume will mean they can continue meeting. I had signed up for a Bible study at that church on Thursday nights that is scheduled to start in two weeks. I assume there are fewer than 25 ladies in the Bible study, which hopefully will mean it can still take place despite this change. I'm expecting to hear though that we're back to worship services only being offered online again this weekend. I would be thrilled if our church would offer an outdoor service as some churches have been doing as I believe we've had fewer than 250 people per service on Sunday mornings. We had church at home for three full months, and now we've been back at our church for the past four weeks. I really, really, really don't want to go back to church at home again, but I'm guessing we won't have a choice in the matter. I'm really hoping and praying that 2021 is a better year than 2020.

There are two funerals planned at our church this week on Friday and Saturday. I wonder if these restrictions will impact those funerals? Thankfully murders are a very rare event in our area, but two people were shot and killed at a restaurant in our area last week. The man who was murdered attended our church. A patron at the restaurant shot the gunman. He didn't kill him but was trying to make sure he didn't shoot any more people. That patron also is from our church. To me he's a hero, but some people are actually mad that he had a gun on him, even though he used it to stop a murderer?!? If I am in a public place and there is an active shooter, I will be eternally grateful if there is someone present who is able to disarm the shooter with a weapon of his/her own. 

Yesterday the kids and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure for the second time in our lives. Our first trip was in 2018. There seemed to be more people there than had been at the Six Flags in Maryland the previous week, but still the attendance seemed very low. For many rides the kids were able to get on and off the ride without any wait or they just had to wait one turn, but there was a longer wait for the roller coasters. I think part of the reason for the longer wait for some rides even though there weren't many people at the park was #1 for some rides they were cleaning the seats after every ride and #2 due to social distancing requirements a much smaller number of people are allowed to ride at one time. I spent the day with Oliver and Joel. Ian was also with us for the vast majority of the time. Nathan joined us for a short while. Nadia spent the day with Uncle Joe, Joshua, and Andrew. We were in the park for 7.5 hours. Thankfully the drive there was a little bit shorter (due to less traffic) than the drive last Wednesday to Maryland. The drive was more expensive due to toll roads. Although it was a warm day, I didn't feel AS hot as I did the previous Wednesday. Maybe there was more shade? Maybe it wasn't quite as hot? This park had people going around spraying garbage cans, benches, etc. throughout the day. It might have also happened at the other park, but I saw it a lot more at this one. At this park (in NJ) they were strict about wearing the masks while on rides, but they weren't as strict as the one in MD about wearing them when you were walking around the park. The biggest disappointment was that some of their favorite rides were closed (due to COVID) including the Justice League (a ride that is similar to the Toy Story ride at Disney that is a bit like playing a video game), Cyborg, flume, and rapids. Also you can't walk through the safari this year. We didn't have special reservations so we didn't drive through the safari. I rode more rides yesterday than I did last week. The kids had a blast. They love to spend time with their cousins, and they love riding rides. Driving that many hours in one day is not something I relish. I am grateful it went smoothly, and I'm thankful the next lengthy trip isn't supposed to happen until August 2 when I drive out to Long Island. We're praying that PA stays off of NY's "bad state" list. I did see that the US/Canada border closure has been extended through August 21 so we made the right move in cancelling that vacation.

I was very hungry when we left the park because I had eaten an early lunch in the van before we entered the park. You can't make a left turn in NJ, and the fast food places near the park were on the side of the road that would have necessitated a left turn. So I decided to stop at the first service station we came to on the toll road. That didn't end up happening until 8:15pm. I am not sure if they have reduced hours due to COVID or haven't reopened yet, but when we went in only one convenience store plus the bathrooms were open. All the restaurants (Starbucks, Auntie Anne's, Roy Rogers, Cinnabon, etc.) were closed. We were very disappointed because we were very hungry at that point. We went through a drive thru at McD's at 9pm as we got off the turnpike. My dinner last  night consisted of one hot fudge sundae. I just couldn't bring myself to eat a meal that late at night.

We stayed home this morning. This afternoon I took the kids to a program at the library. The boys enjoyed it. Nadia felt like it wasn't appropriate for a twelve-year-old even though it was advertised for ages 5-12. Ian won the first game all the kids played with balloons; no one popped his balloon! After eating dinner at home, I took the kids swimming for a little less than 2 hours. When we got home we watched a DVD I had gotten at Redbox called Four Kids and It. I had read them the book Five Children and It awhile back, and this movie is loosely based on the book. Tomorrow we only have two things on our agenda - picking blueberries (at a farm about 1 mile from our house) and swimming at the pool. I didn't get any exercise today so I'm planning on walking to the blueberry farm tomorrow. I've lost 14 pounds in the past 8 weeks. If I lose 1 more I'll be back to where I was last July. If I lose 6 more, I'll be back to where I was in 2007.