Another One Bites the Dust.

Another week completed by Mean Teacher Mommy and her very cute, medium naughty students. We had another outburst from Ellie this week about how she's going to drop out because she already knows all she needs to know, and Adam continues to dawdle as though he's getting paid by the minute.

He did finally lose his front fang, and now the other one is sort of wiggly and he looks like a cute little yokel.

Tim also stepped in for some indoor PE, playing Dance Dance Revolution with the kids. Who needs a brand new Nintendo Switch and the just dance game featuring the latest tunes, when you can bust out your fifteen year old XBox and ten year old Konami dance pads and do the Safety Dance? I mean, really.

In nature news, it's hot as heck already, no thank you. Much grumbling on our outdoor PE walk earlier this week, better results with a field trip to Grizz's pool, despite the water still being quite chilly.

We also caught a giant lizard that was looking like he might want to knock on our front door

And saw Mrs. Malard and some of her children

Quarenteam.

We continue to hang in, a month after school shut down. Today the teachers all sent out a picture where each teacher and administrators from the school is holding up a piece of paper with one word, and all together it says something along the lines of "we miss you, we love you and we are proud of you, we are all in this together" that made me cry. We really do have amazing support from our educators. This week the kids did even better about getting into the routine and handling their work - they're getting better about working through their check list through the day. We usually start around 10 and end around 3 with a break for lunch, and then go out and do outdoor PE. All of the rain has everything blooming on the trails, and it's lovely.

Ellie got the okay to take out her palate expander this week, so we'll see the orthodontist again in a year to follow up (and then probably get braces, ugh.) Adam has a front tooth that is absolutely hanging in by a thread and makes me want to vomit - but the thought of yanking it out also makes me want to vomit. It's so fun to be squeamish and a parent.

Our Easter was pretty subdued. Lots of candy, eggs all over the house and just relaxing.

Adam continues to spend most of his time wearing his comfy. It's like the young man equivalent to leggings and a tee shirt. He is also eating us out of house and home - this morning he had two breakfasts, some pretzels, a full lunch and then a banana by one pm. He's going to be taller than Ellie by the time this is all over, and she's going to be taller than me. They are delightful little beasts.

There's also a ton of face timing and zoom calling. Adam has a check in call every day, Ellie is on twice a week. Listening to their poor teachers try to manage thirty students and all the technology makes my brain explode - questions like "can I go to the bathroom?" and "I don't have a pencil" as though the teacher can do anything about it. Or the kids asking the same question that their classmate JUST asked. I am not cut out for the teaching profession.

The assistant principal got in on a PE session today - it's important to remind him that he can stop staring at his monitor as needed during the day.

SPRING BREAK!!!!

Whoooooo! So Crazy and Wild!!!!!

We were supposed to be at the Grand Canyon by now, but canceled everything two weeks ago. I felt bad for the people whose AirBnBs we were scheduled to stay in, hoping that wasn't their main source of income, but also happy to get my money back! The smaller bummer is that it's been pouring since Sunday night - the kind of rain we don't often get, the kind where we have to keep lights on in the house during the day. Makes me feel even more like a deflated balloon.

The kids are doing okay. They are thus far unaware that they won't be returning to their classrooms this year. I had hoped the district would cancel spring break so we could just plow through and be done with this nonsense a week earlier, but I understand that the distance learning is a ton of work for the teachers, and they are probably still scrambling this week to prepare lesson plans and learning options. We had gotten in a pretty good routine last week, so it's hard to go nothing, especially when we can't really go outside.

We did try to escape this morning, but only made it a little bit down the trail before the rain picked back up. Still saw some ducklings though, so that's fun!

I am impressed with how well they're doing, how nice they're being to one another. I love watching when they start doing made up games together, or using boxes to create things for their dolls. I am about to brave Target for groceries and also hopefully a few items for their Easter baskets.