Back into the swing of things, with Edith taking a jewelry and sewing class at a local rec center once a week after school. Atticus gets to play in the gymnastics room while we wait, and Edith gets a few minutes after class is over. We were there nearly every week before the pandemic. It’s nice to be back!
The last quarter of the school year begins on Thursday, and it seems that we're finally getting into a routine that I like.
The weather is warmer, so we walk to school. It's such a great way to start the day -- a little exercise, a little conversation with the kids or the neighbors we walk with. It's a bit over a mile rountrip.
When I'm back home, I start work. I have enough freelancing to easily fill three or four hours a day, giving myself a lunch break and time to do errands or a couple of loads of laundry.
When the school day ends, I walk to pick the kids up again. Back at home, they spend the afternoon outside (it's light out so late!) or doing this and that inside. Atticus has after school activities on Tuesdays; starting this week, Edith has activities on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Hard to believe that the last day of school is just a little more than two months away, along with a new routine.
A few days ago we booked our flight to Seattle, so vacation might really be on this summer.
This is for our Alaskan cruise that was scheduled for summer 2020, until Covid happened. We booked it in 2019, so we’ve really waited for this trip for a full three years!
We’re planning a few days in Oregon before the cruise, with some time to explore Seattle as well. Paul and I were last there in 2006, so it’s been a while!
We put off purchasing flights for a long time in fear that everything would again go haywire. Instead, it seems the opposite is happening. Knock on wood, fingers crossed, or whatever I need to do to keep that true.
As of now, we need a negative Covid test two days before we board, so things could still go wrong. But this trip is long-awaited, and I’m finally allowing myself to look forward to it.
In another step toward normalcy, the kids' school is mask-optional starting today. I'm not ready to burn the masks quite yet, but it is a welcome development.
Based on online discussions, I suspect about half of the students will remain masked at the beginning. I'm willing to bet the number will quickly shrink. I've talked with both of our kids about when it might be a good idea to wear a mask -- working in close quarters with others, at times when a friend might feel uncomfortable otherwise, etc. There will be a couple in their book bags at all times just in case.
Atticus has already declared that he will wear a mask outside when it's cold. He likes how masks keep his face warm! But other than that, the kids are very much looking forward to not having anything on their face. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's expressions again!
She visited twice in February, and she couldn't come quick enough that second time.
We're talking about Atticus's two top front teeth. The first one came out and that must have been all that the second one was holding onto. Suddenly that second tooth was barely hanging on, all lop-sided and diagonal. It had to have been the very definition of a snaggletooth.
But now that they are both gone ... oh so cute. Now I tell him that it's a good thing he has to wear a mask all day at school -- if his teacher saw such an abundance of cuteness, she would be sure to give him recess all day or whatever else he wanted. A bottom tooth is currently growing in as well, but there's no signs at all of his new top ones.
Christmas has long passed, but his birthday is a month away -- two front teeth may be what he needs to ask for.
No other loose teeth at the moment. That's -4 for Atticus, and Edith is at -8.
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| Snaggletooth ... |
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| ... to cuteness overload! |
