Week 1 of Quarantine
March 15-21, 2020
We had NO IDEA what to expect and at this point, I thought we would be back in a week OR TWO at the most. Little did we know!
OFFICIAL CORONAVIRUS BOREDOM BEGINS
March 15
March 15-21, 2020
We had NO IDEA what to expect and at this point, I thought we would be back in a week OR TWO at the most. Little did we know!
OFFICIAL CORONAVIRUS BOREDOM BEGINS
March 15
We decide to watch the Mims Baptist Church LIVE STREAM from our home instead of attending it at our church. We are all healthy but both of us having taught 2K+ kids, we could be carriers and choose to stay home to protect others.
Ellie, our Travel Agent calls us back with a free (comped) upgrade to adjoining inside cabins on deck 9 for our April 12th Liberty of the Seas cruise. We take the free upgrade, still knowing there is a 5% chance OR LESS of us sailing on that cruise. It is a VERY sad time for everyone but the reality hits me and I am depressed.
We got rid of our sadness by playing MLB-opoly as a family! Natalie won!
Family GAME NIGHT!
(We never have time to do this... THIS IS AWESOME)
We got rid of our sadness by playing MLB-opoly as a family! Natalie won!
(We never have time to do this... THIS IS AWESOME)
March 16- First Day of “Corona-Break”
We started the day with workouts for all 4 of us and then Luke and Daddy went to the Kings facility to practice in the batting cages. There was no one there while there were there so they were still practicing social distancing. Natalie and I ran to HEB to pick up some random items like shampoo, shaving cream and razors. In the afternoon, we did school work, read books and the kids started their own “blog” so to speak about this new life we are living.
The TEA announces all STAAR tests are to be canceled for the 2019-2020 school year. This is good news but the beginning of the end, in our minds.
Natalie was VERY happy that she does not have to take the STAAR!
Natalie was VERY happy that she does not have to take the STAAR!
Mid-evening we learn that NCISD will be out of school until April 20th, at least for now. We are SHOCKED to the very core! I cannot even believe it at this point!
March 17- Happy St. Patrick's Day
I started this day out with a 1.5 mile run on the treadmill followed by an online workout class led by one of the teachers at my school. The kids did all of their strength training and most of their school work in the morning. After we all got done with our workouts, I took the kids to our district to check out the Lunch distribution by the district. It was very light and not really sustainable, which is terribly sad for the kids who truly need this. Afterwards, I went to Mr. Fred's Auto shop to get the car inspected and then to EAST MOCO Courthouse to renew the vehicle. I was the only one at Fred's (he is a local guy with very little traffic anyway) and the courthouse only allowed 2 people in at a time. The whole process for the inspection and renewal took 20 minutes, if that. I grabbed the kids lunch and came straight home.
Our district meal distribution! They were fast and efficient!
Only car here!
The kids did a "home-making class" and made a cake all by themselves. We decided to order pizza for concerns that we would not be able to in the near future. #LastChancePizza
Dinner, a movie and CAKE! All is well here!
(I didn't eat any... Thank goodness I don't like chocolate)
I've ALWAYS loved President Palmer!
Locally
Mid- morning, Chris learned that the Kings Baseball facility will be closed until further notice. Scrapyard Sports, another facility we use for practice, will also now be closed to the public.
By afternoon, Montgomery County had issued a statement that there is to be no more than 10 people together, EVER. Harris county shut down all bars, pubs, gyms and movie theaters by 6PM.
Nationally
The Nevada governor declared emergency and issued a COMPLETE shut down of Las Vegas and all state slot machines by Wednesday, March 18th.
Sad. SAD day! The lights are out in VEGAS!
President Trump discusses a surplus plan to give ALL Americans a check to cover losses during this time.
There were over 7K cases and 80 deaths (US) when we went to bed at 11PM
March 18
Once again, we started our day with exercise and workouts. I ran another 1.5 miles on the treadmill as well as a Facebook Live video with teacher friends while the kids did their strength training. Chris found an empty field near the back of our subdivision for him and Luke to practice hitting. They practiced for over 2 hours, trying to get an "edge" on the other players.
I gave Natalie her 1st trumpet lesson and I believe she will do really well. She also practice cello for about 20 minutes. Her and I also took the dogs for a long walk in the afternoon.
My trumpet "chops" came right back! I was kind impressed with myself!
I sincerely hope I passed ALL of my music genes to her! Well, I hope Luke gets a few as well! She is already doing well on her trumpet and still going strong on her cello!
My annual check-up and mammogram got cancelled as by OB-GYN is not doing "well woman" exams until not just May but July rather. This was fine but I had a concern I wanted addressed. They reschedule me for a "problem visit" the next day but after thinking and praying about it, I cancelled all together. The hospital later that day sent out an email stating all non-emergency surgery will be halted until further notice. So I will get evaluated as soon as this thing passes. I spent most of the afternoon in my driveway talking to doctors and family members.
Locally
We learned that the students in my district would be allowed to get their instruments and medication from the campus but only in a certain window and only 5 students during a 15 minute window. As the day progressed, the rules changed. It was a very fluid situation. Montgomery County followed Harris county and shut down all open seating restaurants. Now all food must be curbside, delivery or drive up only. ALL bars, pubs, gyms, movie theaters and etc are to be closed for 2 weeks. Our church, Mims Baptist, announced they will be closed until April 5th.
Nationally/ Globally
Huge department stores like Macy's and JCP decide to close for 2 weeks. There were 9K+ cases and 15 deaths when we went to bed at near midnight.
UK Cruising Couple Diamond Dave and Princess Sally are completely recovered from COVID19 and have arrived safely back at their home in the UK. I had followed this story near nightly and so excited they survive this disease and got home safely!
Congrats to these 2 fighters! What a story they have to tell!
And seriously... they are a CLASS ACT!
March 19
The day started early with a virtual staff meeting for Chris. The meeting was calm and casual but lots of questions were left unanswered (not just by us but many teachers). But at this point, the situation is SO FLUID, no one really knows the answer. The kids and I continued our workouts and exercises. Natalie and I practiced trumpet for nearly an hour and I made another trip to HEB for non-grocery items like toothpaste. The store was not that busy and there were lots of workers. Many items were still sold out; like milk, eggs, canned vegetables, toiler paper and paper towels. I got we NEEDED and got home as fast as possible.
Throughout the day there were several emails and changes to those emails from our district. Again, the situation is so fluid, there are still lots of issues and concerns. By the end of the day, we were told we had to come up to our campuses to get anything we may need as NO ONE was allowed in the buildings after 5pm tomorrow. It was kinda alarming but we will be there to get what we need. We also learned more expectations for online learning and teaching.
As a family we played with Legos and started working on a 500 piece puzzle of the Empire State building. The kids made spaghetti for dinner and it was delicious. We had family movie night and watched Disney's Blank Check... an oldie but a goodie!
It's their FAVORITE meal... Spaghetti!
Family PUZZLE time!
Natalie LOVES playing with LEGOS!
Nationally
President Trump issues a Level 4 travel warning for all US citizens.
March 17- Happy St. Patrick's Day
I started this day out with a 1.5 mile run on the treadmill followed by an online workout class led by one of the teachers at my school. The kids did all of their strength training and most of their school work in the morning. After we all got done with our workouts, I took the kids to our district to check out the Lunch distribution by the district. It was very light and not really sustainable, which is terribly sad for the kids who truly need this. Afterwards, I went to Mr. Fred's Auto shop to get the car inspected and then to EAST MOCO Courthouse to renew the vehicle. I was the only one at Fred's (he is a local guy with very little traffic anyway) and the courthouse only allowed 2 people in at a time. The whole process for the inspection and renewal took 20 minutes, if that. I grabbed the kids lunch and came straight home.
Only car here!
The kids did a "home-making class" and made a cake all by themselves. We decided to order pizza for concerns that we would not be able to in the near future. #LastChancePizza
(I didn't eat any... Thank goodness I don't like chocolate)
Chris and I started watching 24, season 3 on binge watching. This is the season with the man-made virus that attacks the country... hmm, it was interesting and kinda eerie to watch! We had not watched 24 since BEFORE Natalie was born! It brought back SO MANY memories!
Locally
Mid- morning, Chris learned that the Kings Baseball facility will be closed until further notice. Scrapyard Sports, another facility we use for practice, will also now be closed to the public.
By afternoon, Montgomery County had issued a statement that there is to be no more than 10 people together, EVER. Harris county shut down all bars, pubs, gyms and movie theaters by 6PM.
Nationally
The Nevada governor declared emergency and issued a COMPLETE shut down of Las Vegas and all state slot machines by Wednesday, March 18th.
Cue the Journey song now!
President Trump discusses a surplus plan to give ALL Americans a check to cover losses during this time.
There were over 7K cases and 80 deaths (US) when we went to bed at 11PM
March 18
Once again, we started our day with exercise and workouts. I ran another 1.5 miles on the treadmill as well as a Facebook Live video with teacher friends while the kids did their strength training. Chris found an empty field near the back of our subdivision for him and Luke to practice hitting. They practiced for over 2 hours, trying to get an "edge" on the other players.
I gave Natalie her 1st trumpet lesson and I believe she will do really well. She also practice cello for about 20 minutes. Her and I also took the dogs for a long walk in the afternoon.
My annual check-up and mammogram got cancelled as by OB-GYN is not doing "well woman" exams until not just May but July rather. This was fine but I had a concern I wanted addressed. They reschedule me for a "problem visit" the next day but after thinking and praying about it, I cancelled all together. The hospital later that day sent out an email stating all non-emergency surgery will be halted until further notice. So I will get evaluated as soon as this thing passes. I spent most of the afternoon in my driveway talking to doctors and family members.
Locally
We learned that the students in my district would be allowed to get their instruments and medication from the campus but only in a certain window and only 5 students during a 15 minute window. As the day progressed, the rules changed. It was a very fluid situation. Montgomery County followed Harris county and shut down all open seating restaurants. Now all food must be curbside, delivery or drive up only. ALL bars, pubs, gyms, movie theaters and etc are to be closed for 2 weeks. Our church, Mims Baptist, announced they will be closed until April 5th.
Nationally/ Globally
Huge department stores like Macy's and JCP decide to close for 2 weeks. There were 9K+ cases and 15 deaths when we went to bed at near midnight.
UK Cruising Couple Diamond Dave and Princess Sally are completely recovered from COVID19 and have arrived safely back at their home in the UK. I had followed this story near nightly and so excited they survive this disease and got home safely!
Congrats to these 2 fighters! What a story they have to tell!
And seriously... they are a CLASS ACT!
March 19
The day started early with a virtual staff meeting for Chris. The meeting was calm and casual but lots of questions were left unanswered (not just by us but many teachers). But at this point, the situation is SO FLUID, no one really knows the answer. The kids and I continued our workouts and exercises. Natalie and I practiced trumpet for nearly an hour and I made another trip to HEB for non-grocery items like toothpaste. The store was not that busy and there were lots of workers. Many items were still sold out; like milk, eggs, canned vegetables, toiler paper and paper towels. I got we NEEDED and got home as fast as possible.
Throughout the day there were several emails and changes to those emails from our district. Again, the situation is so fluid, there are still lots of issues and concerns. By the end of the day, we were told we had to come up to our campuses to get anything we may need as NO ONE was allowed in the buildings after 5pm tomorrow. It was kinda alarming but we will be there to get what we need. We also learned more expectations for online learning and teaching.
As a family we played with Legos and started working on a 500 piece puzzle of the Empire State building. The kids made spaghetti for dinner and it was delicious. We had family movie night and watched Disney's Blank Check... an oldie but a goodie!
President Trump issues a Level 4 travel warning for all US citizens.
March 20
This was the most emotional day to date. This was the day that both Chris and I had to go to our classrooms to get anything we may need between now and... Well, we don't know when. Our district said at 5PM the buildings will be CLOSED, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. My admin gave us 10 minutes to get in there and literally grab as much as we needed in that 10 minutes. We were only allowed in 5 at a time and had only that allotted 10 minutes. It was so awkward. I got there early and had to wait until it was MY TIME. Once in the building, I just started crying and all the way down the hall I just cried and cried. I waited so long for this moment and this year and to be able to do something that I LOVE for so long and now it was cut short. The tears didn't stop the whole 10 minutes. I said a quick prayer for my students, district and the whole situation and then I grabbed what I could and left.
At times I am afraid.. I WILL TRUST IN YOU! Thank you Jesus!
One more look and a quick "grab and go"... and all I could do was cry and sing Praises to Jesus for this opportunity in the 1st place!
Later that morning I had to meet some of my students who needed instruments. I organized a whole thing for a 1 hour time for them to come in (1 at a time of course) and get what they needed. It was really awkward as well, the students had to come out of their cars (in the rain) and wait their turn. Out of 110 students in my program, about 25 said they would come and get their instruments and about 20 of them followed through. I squirted each with hand sanitize and "air hugged" them and sent them on their way, fully knowing that may be the last time I see them until August. Or in the case of my 8th graders, EVER! I cried the WHOLE way home.
The day ended with a virtual Staff Meeting via Zoom. This was a really neat platform to virtually interact with staff and students. There was a LOT of info given and it was a bit overwhelming but it is ONLY THE BEGINNING!
Virtual Staff Meeting #1!
Locally
The Texas Governor, Greg Abbot, declared that alcohol could now be delivered or picked up curbside! Haha, gotta love TEXAS!
Nationally
The death toll from COVID19 in the USA was up to 264 at midnight.
March 21
What should have been a busy tournament weekend spent at the ballpark, ended up being a day spent catching up on laundry and cleaning! Yay!
Chris is AMAZING for taking Luke to practice daily! He is going to come out of this FASTER, STRONGER and BETTER than ever! Way to go #LuketheDuke
We did venture out to Potatoe Patch in Houston for a Curbside Special. This Family Four Pack was only $40 and included 4 adult size entrees (Yay... Chicken Fried Steak) and all the fixins'. We gave them $60 and all that went to the servers. The owner talked to me for a while and it doesn't look good for his business. It is so sad.
We love this place and truly hope it does not go under in all this mess!
We spent the evening working on a puzzle and watching a movie as a family!
Our work on the puzzle!
This week started smooth and somewhat easy, but ended with TONS of questions and concerns and lots of anxiousness. We spent lots of time together as a family and did LOTS of work to get this "virtual learning" ball rolling!
But through it all, we know that GOD is still in CONTROL and HE IS STILL ON HIS THRONE! We will continue to look to HIM for answers and continue to pray for this situation and those it is effecting!
Even in the midst of all of this...
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