Monday (8/31) - First day of (virtual) school!! We were all up super early for us, earlier than we have been in over 6 months! AJ starts school at 7:00am and Daniel starts soon after at 7:40am. We all got up and moving and the boys got online for their first day of school. They all have a schedule to follow each day so they know which class to either call in for a Zoom call or work on the assigned work. This system is so much better than what we did in the spring, I think we're all going to do much better with it. The boys kicked butt on this first day and everything went really smoothly! There were just a few minor technical issues which we resolved without much problem. They also did a great job picking brain break activities when they had breaks including reading, playing with magnetic tiles, playing Uno, working on the puzzle, playing outside and taking Rocky for a walk.
While they were navigating their school day at the kitchen table, Adrian worked upstairs in our room and I worked around the house. I got a ton accomplished in between helping them! I finished our grocery list and set up some online orders, made muffins, got the house power washed and our new toilet installed, and got a bunch done on my to do list. I am shocked at how productive I was able to be while they were at school, again way better than in the spring. The day passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time to get dinner ready and start getting ready for our evening activities.
After dinner, I headed out to the church to teach my Zumba class. I had an awesome time with the ladies and we all got a great and slightly longer workout today since I had a few song requests. After class I chatted with a few friends and then headed to Kroger to pick up a bulk of our groceries for the week. I came home and Zak and Daniel helped me unload and put everything away. While I was doing that, Adrian took AJ to his Scout meeting for the week. He actually dropped him off and then came back and worked because there were some problems at his office that he needed to deal with. AJ learned about boat safety at Scouts and they also talked about their calendar for Sept. When we all got home, we were exhaused! We watched a quick episode of the new "Muppets" show and then we got the boys down to bed. Adrian and I finished up a few things around the house, watched two episodes of "Parks and Rec" and headed to bed too. This early wake up is the going to take some time to get used to!
Tuesday (9/1) - We were up and moving early again today. Adrian headed up to work and I got the boys started on school for the day. Everyone did a great job of logging on to school when they were supposed to and following along for the day. The boys needed very little help from me so I was able to get some stuff done around the house while they did their school day. They finished up again around 2:30 and I headed out to run some errands. I picked up a few books from the library and finished our grocery shopping for the week. It took longer than I wanted, but I'm glad everything is done for the week now. When I got home, we put everything away and then I made tacos for everyone for dinner. After dinner, Adrian was still working so I cleaned up a bit and then got ready for movie night. We watched "Robots" and it was great!! All 5 of us really enjoyed it! After the movie, we got the boys down to bed and then Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" before we also headed to bed. I'm hoping these good days continue for this virtual learning!
Wednesday (9/2) - We got to sleep in a little today since the boys don't have to be online for school at any specific time. Adrian got up and took care of Rocky and then dropped her off at daycare for the day. I got the boys up and ready before Daniel's friend got here. I am helping out a friend and letting her son Patrick come over one day a week to get his schoolwork done and then hang with my boys. Daniel and Patrick have known each other since preschool so it's great that they get to spend some time together during this weird time. All four of the boys did a great job focusing on their schoolwork for the day and getting it done early. They were all done before 11am so they spent the rest of the day playing. The went out side, raced cars, built with magnet tiles and played video games. I think this set up will be good for all of us!
While the were playing, I was working around the house. The day passed quickly and after Patrick was picked up, we had a quick dinner and then I dropped AJ and Daniel off at church for another One8ty meeting. They played some fun games with the other kids there including corn hole and can jam. They came in second in the corn hole tournament and were super excited when I picked them up! After I dropped them off, I went to pick up Rocky. I was supposed to work at the church but that cancelled so I came home to get a few more things done around here. Adrian worked really late again and then went right to his online Bible study when he was done so I didn't see much of him. When we all got home and finished up what we were doing, we cleaned up a little from the day and then had popsicles to celebrate blueberry popsicle day while watching another episode of "High Score." When that was over, the boys went to bed and Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Parks and Rec" before we also went to bed.
Thursday (9/3) - We were up and moving early again today and these early days are starting to catch up with me! I know I will get used to it, but this first week is hard. Adrian got AJ up and started for his day while I got ready to start mine. Then he headed to work upstairs for another long day. Today I started watching another friend's son while she is teaching in our school district. He will be coming over two days each week (Thursday & Friday) to do his school work and hang out with my boys. He is on the same bell schedule as Daniel so that makes it nice. All four boys did a great job of following their schedule for the day and getting all of their work done while also having some fun. They all enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline, playing games and building with magnetic tiles. I think this is going to be another success for us and I'm glad it's working out for everyone!
After Cameron was picked up, I got busy getting dinner ready and getting ready for my night. Today is baby back rib day so I made ribs for all of us and also for our new church pastor since his famiy just moved to the area. We ate together and once again I was very proud of the boys for trying something new today. Zak said he liked the ribs and would eat them again, AJ and Daniel said they were OK and would not like to have them again. After our early dinner, I headed over to drop the second batch at the pastor's house and then to the church to teach my Zumba Toning class. We had a great time dancing together and got a fantasic workout! After class, I came home and walked with Rocky before pretty much collapsing on my couch. I'm really tired from this past week! We watched "Holey Moley" with the boys and are excited for the final episode next week and then got them down for the day. Then Adrian and I did a little clean up in the kitchen before watching two episodes of "Parks & Rec" and then heading to bed too.
Friday (9/4) - We were up and moving again early for school and are excited to have reached the last day of the first week. Adrian got AJ up and started and took care of Rocky before heading to work in our room. I got ready and got Daniel and Cameron started, then woke Zak up so he was ready to go too. The day passed quickly with everyone working on their school work and they once again needed very little help from me. In between classes, they jumped on the trampoline, played with magnet tiles and played Trouble. When they were all done with classes for the week, they played video games for a little bit before Cameron was picked up for the day. It was a really great start to our school year and I hope it continues to go this week! Now bring on the three day weekend!
After Cameron left, I started celebrating "Lazy Moms Day" by relaxing and watching "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" reunion. When Adrian was done with work, he cooked dinner for the boys and then we headed out to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse to use a gift card I got a few months ago. We enjoyed margaritas and delicious food (that I didn't have to cook) and just relaxed for a bit. When we got home, we got ready for family movie night. We watched AJ's pick of "X-Men" and AJ and Daniel really liked it. Zak got bored, which we assumed would happen since there is a big chunk of story and no action in the middle of this one. When the movie was over, we were all exhausted from the week so we all headed to bed to rest up for the weekend.
Saturday (9/5) - We slept in a little this morning but Adrian and Zak did get up and moving so they could go and join a new bowling league for Zak. He was so excited when they headed out and super disappointed to find out that it was cancelled today because of the holiday. So they came home and we decided to get our biggest and most time sensitive project out of the way this morning and stain the outside of our fence. All five of us worked together and we got it done in about an hour, although it was 2 sessions since Adrian bought the wrong color for our second can and he had to run out and get another can. The fence came out great, we all love how it looks! Our next project is the deck, we'll be working on that together as a family over the next few weeks now.
After we finished the fence, we came inside and got cleaned up and then the boys celebrated "National Video Game Day" by playing video games for the rest of the day. I joined them for about an hour playing the old school Super Mario Bros 3 which Nintendo just released on the Switch to celebrate Mario's 35th birthday. While they played video games, Adrian and I worked a little around the house and played a lot of board games. I learned two new ones, The Gallerist (Adrian won) and 7 Wonders Duel (Adrian won). We also played a few old favorites: Fort (I won), Splendor (Adrian won) and Gizmos (I won). In between games, we ordered Little Caesar's to celebrate "Cheese Pizza Day" and watched 4 episodes of "Parks & Rec." We continued our tradition of staying up until midnight on Saturdays and all headed to bed right around then. It was a great relaxing way to kick off our long weekend.
Sunday (9/6) - We all slept in super late today! Adrian and I slept so late that we missed our chuch service this morning. After a late start, we got up and started getting ready to head out on our first field trip of the school year. We headed to the Franklin Park Conservatory since today is free for Franklin county residents. We spent about two hours walking around look at the plants and artwork and playing outside in their new children's playarea. We also enjoyed watching the giant train display. When we finished up there, we headed down the street for our weekly ice cream. We tried a new to us place, Johnson's Ice Cream. It was really good, we all enjoyed it!
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