Week 11 of Distance Learning and we are losing the will

We worked for a bit Sunday morning. I tried my best to finish my reports even though I still had a week to complete them. I always like to be the first one on my team finished. I completed the forms for the shipping company in the UAE. They were due to come the following day. We watched church and then did a whole lot of nothing for the entire day. We all felt a bit lazy. 

Monday I was up and walking with Sue, my therapist. These walking sessions with Sue and the other people I’ve added as time has passed, have been a mental life saver for me. It’s not helped my waistline terribly, but has definitely kept me sane. 

Once I was home, I showered and got ready to go and look at houses with Melinda. My mom came with us as well while the kids stayed home with my dad. We had received an email from Chandler Unified to tell us what paperwork we needed to hand in, so we felt maybe we were getting closer to getting a contract and having the ability to look at buying a house. We got home in the late afternoon and Stuart and I decided to take some things back to TJ Maxx. We also needed to go to Wal Mart for something random. 

Tuesday I went walking with Mary, Elisa, and Sherry. Those ladies totally lift my spirits as well. I always have such great laughs with them. It is heating up, so we decided the following week we would need to move the time a bit earlier, which was fine by me. 

When I got home, I hopped in the shower and we set out to look at a few more houses. We found one that was move in ready, but didn’t have a pool, and we’ve decided we have to have a pool. We want to be the family that has all the kids at our house, and a pool is a drawing tool for kids. 

When we got home from house hunting we decided to order Chipotle for Grammie’s birthday dinner. Because they were getting up early to drive to Branson, we had her birthday celebration Tuesday evening. We had been to Wal Mart and bought her some travel candy as well as a new decorative pillow. 

This little fella provided some excitement for us on Tuesday night before the kids went to bed. After a bit of chasing him, we finally caught him in a bowl with a lid, took him outside and smashed him. 

Wednesday Grammie and Pop we gone by 5 am. We went to see my new classroom and measure bulletin boards. It turns out that the walls in my portable are all able to be stapled into, so bulletin boards are not even on the walls, which is perfect. We then stopped by Ryan Elementary for Stuart to see his room and we were able to show the kids which classrooms they would be in. Jack’s classroom was having the floors stripped and waxed so we didn’t get a picture of his room. 

Once we left Ryan, we went to see our favorite house again. We started making a list of all that would need to be fixed before the house would truly be livable. I’m sure my life wouldn’t be complete without a ton going on at one time (Covid, new job, kids’ new country and new school, remodel a house, and the list goes on). Later in the afternoon, we went to Jeff and Melinda’s so the kids could swim. It was a good time and the kids had a blast. Jack even played basketball with Brady, who is 6 foot 5 inches tall. They are both big kids, and seemed to have fun together. Jack’s excited to go watch Brady play basketball this year at Basha High. 

Thursday we decided to go to IKEA and Cost Plus World Market in Chandler. We were just trying to keep ourselves occupied and looking for fixtures and things for a new house we don’t even have yet. Once we got home, we chilled for a while and then headed to our friends’, Sally and Rob’s, house so the kids could have water balloon fights and tie dye t-shirts. We had a great time catching up. 

We got home and the kids showered. Stuart was making our travel play list for our upcoming journey to Branson. He played a song that we used to listen to before we were married, Shania Twain- Forever and For Always. I don’t know why, but as we were dancing, with the kids joining like jealous puppies, I started crying. I think it was just one of those overwhelming moments when I realized how much our lives have changed in the last three months and how much change there is likely to be over the next year. Then I was also feeling so blessed that I have Stuart, Jack and Millie right beside me through all of these changes. When I started crying, Millie did as well. She absolutely bawls when she sees me genuinely cry. I tried to explain to her that I was crying because I was so happy. She was inconsolable. Then Jack made her laugh, and she dried her tears. She does have such a tender side. 

Friday morning we got up and just lazed around, which we seem to be very good at these days. Stuart and the kids opened the t-shirts and laid them on the lawn to dry. They turned out so cute. 

I went to have coffee with my friend Jennifer. We picked up right where we left off. She does make me laugh. When I left her I stopped at Fry’s and got sushi for Jack, Stuart and myself for lunch. They were surprised. I got Millie a chicken nugget lunchable, which is super healthy, but she loves them so that’s good enough for me. 

The afternoon was spent watching Netflix. Stuart and Jack watched a marvel movie, Millie watched the new episodes of Fuller House, and I watched the latest season of Dynasty. Then we went to Ken and Maytee’s for dinner. The kids played on the trampoline until Jack smelled like a sweaty dog. We didn’t stay long as the curfew is still in place in Arizona. So we were home just after 8 pm. The kids showered and Millie went to bed. Jack followed about 30 minutes later. I stayed up to do the maddening Elvis puzzle. This might be the hardest puzzle we have attempted to this point. I stayed up too late, as usual, but had to get in one last piece of the puzzle before going to bed. 

Saturday morning I was up at 7:30 am, turned the coffee on and finished up my work for the beginning of the school week. We sat around and debated what to do for the day. In the end we decided to go to some open houses. None of the houses materialized to anything we would consider. It seems our minds are stuck on one house, and even if that house falls through, there are a lot of other houses out there to be purchased. 

We went to the supermarket after the last house we were to your actually had a handwritten note on it telling us they would return in 45 minutes. How can you possibly have an open house but not be there? It was disappointing, but we just changed courses and decided to go to the supermarket to get something for lunch and food for the lake the following day. 

Once we were home, we had a bite to eat and then watched television. We then headed to Barrio Queen with Tim and Sue Tharalson. We decided sitting on the patio would be okay and safe. The food was amazing and the mariachi band was amazing. Although it was warm, there were misters and the wind was blowing a bit. The ambiance was worth the heat. The food was amazing and the kids were well behaved. How much better could it have been? 

We got home, Jack and Millie showered and Millie headed to bed after conning her dad she needed some pudding before she hit the sack. Jack followed about 45 minutes later. Stuart and I finished getting ready for school. I showered and decided to watch Netflix crap! I had a Google Meets with two of my students who have needed a bit more socialization during Covid 19. It was great because I did very little and the children just talked to each other. It was a great way to end a Saturday.