April Showers

 We marched right into March in typically covid fashion... masks and at mostly home!  

I had my first hair cut since August 2019- and it felt good.  I made it to the beach to celebrate my birthday with Joe.  My kids and I went back mid-week during spring break and had a blast exploring and adventuring.  We rented a condo in Gearheart- this is the first time I have felt good about going on a real vacation due to finances.  So that was nice!

Kathryn moved back to Stephens MS instead of EDGE online- and it was a much better fit since I could talk to her teachers easily and had a better idea of what to focus on.  In March we were still online, but anticipating going to to campus soon.  Kathryn has really suffered being home and away from people- so we are grateful she will get to go back to the classroom and be with kids her age

Nathan decided to stay at EDGE through the end of the school year- he has a pretty good system set up and is aware of the expectations.  

Grayson was always at ECHS, but they are likely staying online for the rest of the year as well.  They have moved to taking more classes at Chemeketa Community College as part of the program.  Being online has been hard for him too, but he is making headway!

March Madness

 In March we learned we would be returning to the classroom.  I had mixed feelings.

As a teacher, I didn't enjoy zoom lessons.  My students were doing great, but many were hard to reach and I worried ALL the time about them.  In September I kept a student on my zoom class after everyone else left in order to go over things with him one on one.  I had him unmute himself.  The noises of baby toys were in the background. The conversations of older brothers and parents were present. After we got off the zoom call I had my first ugly cry.  How... how am I expected to teach my students when so much is already working against them?

As a parent, I loved working from home.  I was able to sleep a bit later. I was able to see my children throughout the day.  I could start laundry and move it over to the dryer in the middle of the day during a break. I also loved being able to PEE whenever I wanted or needed to- something that we laugh about, but is seriously distressing to me and my weak bladder.  I was also able to walk with Nathan every day(even though we stopped tracking... ooops). 

As a teacher I was concerned with the plans going back. We were expected to clean all desks between classes. We were expected to keep kids 6 feet apart. It felt like we were the last line of defense between my students being healthy or sick. I resented these expectations.  

Nathan would stay on EDGE- the online program SKPS set up.  Kathryn was going to come to school with me.  Grayson would return to Early College High School, but he was taking two classes at Chemeketa Community College which were online, so he only had to show up to class physically twice a week.  A lot of changes, but we were ready.

During spring break I went to the beach with Joe the first weekend for my birthday- we stayed at the Ester Lee Motel in Lincoln City and enjoyed ourselves.  Later the next week, I took the kids back to the coast- we rented a place in Gearheart and stayed a couple of nights.  We had so much fun. We explored the coast, got some pizza one night, made pancakes for dinner another night.  I felt a little overwhelmed with making sure the kids were entertained and got a little a cranky-but the kids forgave me. We went on a night hike down to the beach and really had a lot of fun.  

One scary thing in March was my Mother having a stroke.  Kathryn and I went up to see her on my Father's Memory Day, visited his grave, had dinner with Mom and Beth.  Monday morning I got a call from Beth that mom had fallen- she woke up not feeling right and fell down and couldn't get back up.  Thankfully she was able to get to her phone.  Because of covid, she could only have one visitor a day. I worked on Monday, then went up on Tuesday to be with her.  She was doing well, had some weakness in her left side.  We looked into some rehab centers for her to get completely up to speed with.  Beth went above and beyond to make sure she was taken care- but it surely was scary!  Makes you realize the important things in life are not things. They are the people we love and care about.  

February Craziness

 So... we have kept walking, however, we stopped tracking.  I decided I would like to keep a monthly journal about the happenings at our house so we can remember, laugh, and maybe decide what we need to include in future counseling..  ;)

February was a wild month considering the ice storm and challenges as a result from that. I already posted a bit.. but here is some more. 

First of all, February is Kathryn's Birthday (the 17th!)
! She was thrilled!  Her plans were to go to her Dad's the weekend before her birthday and they were going to have a party.  Now, all Kathryn really wanted for her birthday was a snow day.  The forecast was looking good... except it came early, keeping her from going to her Dad's(Neither of us wanted to drive in the ice that was forecast).  And worse, it didn't snow much in Salem, it only iced!  And her Dad had at least 5 inches of snow and then ice. She was devastated!

So, trying to make her happy, we went out on Saturday to get her Pop-Eyes Chicken.  Her favorite! Well... the ice messed up A LOT of power.  We never actually lost our power but neighbors across the street from us did. in fact, so many people were without power school was canceled for the entire week (75% of staff was without power apparently!).  This actually put a huge strain on fast food restaurants-all restaurants really- since many people were without power and hungry.  We drove to our normal pop-eyes and the line was so long- it went through their parking lot into the street.  So, we decided to try the other location.  On our way there we saw MANY downed trees. And then traffic was a stand still because traffic lights were out!  We decided we couldn't make it- I asked her if we could order from Shari's and she wasn't sure since she didn't know if she would like their food(and this was supposed to be special for her), so we pulled over to Carl's Jr(only 5 in line!) and ordered her usual(chicken stars) and they were ALL OUT!  She wasn't happy, so I got her their chicken strips instead.  I ordered her a milkshake AND THEY WERE ALL OUT! Yikes! She is stressed out and beyond disappointed- so we take the food home. She decides she doesn't like the chicken strips. I suggest we get a chocolate pie from Shari's and she reluctantly agrees.  We get there and THEY DON'T HAVE ANY! But they did have a smores pie, and she liked it. So phew....

We still celebrated her birthday on the 17th- which was a fun evening- and not having to do any online work was amazing for her. 

The other kids were great with no school- I was worried.  While school was cancelled, I still do work: grading and planning.  And worried about my students- the area by my school was hit really hard and I was getting e-mails from my students that they were out of power for the full week.  So much worry and uncertainty. 

We never lost power or wifi.  We were safe.  We had no damage to our home(A lot of trees around us and homes around us did!).  The ice storm was just another example to me that I have zero control over my life. I only have control to how I respond to it all. 

Week 6-9 (The Month of February)

 We only walked a total of 12.4 miles in the Month of February- and the weeks we walked less than others, we really missed spending time together.  But February was a crazy month, having a huge ice storm in the middle keeping us from doing ANYTHING including walking around the neighborhood. Power was out all over our neighborhood(thankfully we never lost ours) but it caused traffic lights to be down and made driving anywhere very difficult- and most take-out restaurants were super backed up full of people who had no power in their homes to cook for themselves.  Quite the experience for our community!  School was also closed for an entire week since over 80K students and teachers were out of power!  Some of my teacher friends were out of power for 8 days!  Crazy!  This allowed Grayson and Kathryn to get caught up on their school work. and I was able to get all my grades updated.

We also celebrated Ms. Kathryn's 12th Birthday!  She is so much fun to have in our family.  We made a tye-dyed cake, ordered take out from Applebees, and she was spoiled with some fun gifts.  Just like she should be!

Today we noticed there are still branches and trees down all over the neighborhood and in many of our favorite parks.  We definitely took time to appreciate that we were warm and comfortable during this amazing event.  We have so very much and are grateful for our home AND our relationships with each other.  

2021-WEEK	MILES
Month 1	22.27
Week 6	4.6
Week 7	3.58
Week 8	2.67
Week 9	1.55
Total:	34.67
Goal	1000
Left:	965.33

Week 5- End of Month 1

 We did really bad walking this week- only 2 miles.  Although, having this goal got us out Friday afternoon before I took the kids to their Dad's for the weekend.  I also went on another 3.5 mile hike with a bestie from high school... but Nathan said that wasn't our original plan.  These miles have to be walked together.   

22+ miles in one month isn't bad!  But we are hoping we do a better job this week!  And have more time spent together.  We can only improve!  :) 

And PS: I love my kid!  

2021-WEEK	MILES
Week 1	2.32
Week 2	5.33
Week 3	4.3
Week 4	8.22
Week 5	2.1
Total:	22.27
Goal	1000
Left:	977.73

Week 4! Still Walking!

 Week 4- We had a great week!  It was COLD!  But it always feels so good to get out in Nature.  We walked around our neighborhood, Minto Brown Park(Where I saved a wooly bear from getting stepped on in the middle of a walking path), and Silver Falls.  The highlight was having both Kathryn and Nathan on a hike around Silver Falls- it was so pretty!  But 3.5 miles really felt like 6...  So grateful we are healthy and able to walk!

2021-WEEK	MILES
Week 1	2.32
Week 2	5.33
Week 3	4.3
Week 4	8.22
Total:	20.17
Goal	1000
Left:	979.83

Week 3, Post 3

  Here we are at Week 3- And we slowed way down. There was some rain... there were a few headaches. I ended up going out one day with Kathryn instead of Nathan- and I am counting it! 

 We didn't get out as much as we wanted to- but we did get out and plan to do better next week. Always plan for better. 

2021-WEEK MILES 

Week 1 2.32 

Week 2 5.33 

Week 3 4.3 

Week 4 0 

Total: 11.95 

Goal 1000 

Left: 988.05 

 PS: I love my walking buddy.  And we saw a cute painted rock.  I thought it was cute- Nathan though it cringy...  lol