Sophie was a few months older than Polly is now, the first time I interviewed her for school. I don't remember it being difficult to get her to answer, but maybe it was! Polly is very verbal and says so many things throughout the day -- she makes us laugh so much at how articulate she is and the funny things she says. She is not, however, interested in performing. I tried to ask her a series of questions while she played this morning and many of them she answered immediately. Others she ignored or I had to answer other questions to get her to cooperate. A few are things I answered on her behalf, because it's very obvious to us which things she loves best! Each of my girls have attended an at home daycare until they were old enough for pre-kindergarten in our school district. My ...
Sophie’s Fifth Grade Interview
The girls have been in school for a month this week and I'm finally getting around to sharing my thoughts on how things are going. Much like everyone else, our district made so many changes in the days and weeks leading up to our first day. We had a "road map" and potential scenarios, but it was hard to know exactly what school would look like until it actually arrived. Our district started the year with a staggered schedule, meaning half of the student body has in-person classes on Monday/Tuesday and the remaining students attend class on Thursday/Friday. The girls weren't thrilled about missing out on half of their friends, but they have enjoyed getting a few extra days at home. Despite attending class in person, they are still mostly doing virtual activities -- all of their work ...
Currently | September 2020
Another month has gone by and I'm still so surprised at how little time I have to myself. I sat down today to catch up on the block and subsequently broke something on my back end. I'm typing this post in hopes I'll get to share it soon, but at the moment I can't add photos or make any adjustments in the text editor. Frustrating much? appreciating | We're still in for many hot days in Alabama, but I've been appreciating the little nod to fall every morning. The morning temperatures have been low and the humidity not nearly as heavy, so sitting outside has actually been tolerable. It will probably be November before we can really wear long sleeves, but a girl can dream! anticipating | Is it terrible to say I'm anticipating our girls' first five consecutive days of school next ...
The Bookend Birthday Party
If there was one terrible mistake I made during the pandemic, it was hosting a pretty big birthday party for two. At the time, the numbers were steady and our families were all healthy and being careful and the news had encouraged us to make outdoor activities a priority. No one got sick and our two girls loved being celebrated, but in hindsight I feel guilty for the potential exposure and a little gross for flaunting our get together on social media. As we reflect on the previous year, there aren't many things I would do differently, but this is something I might would have reconsidered (written in December 2020). We arbitrarily decided, long ago, to only do big birthdays while the girls were in elementary school. Golden birthdays and milestone birthdays are the exception, but we ...
Quarantine Diary | Week 21
I will be documenting our experiences, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to preserve this time at home together. Although the world is a very scare place at the moment, I want to be intentional about our days at home together and provide my children with the story of what it was we lived through. Day One for us was Monday, March 16th (I’m counting down starting with the first day our regular schedules were disrupted) — the first day the girls didn’t report to school. It's a little hard to believe that school starts next week and we're still doing the exact same thing we were doing in March, when it ended. I keep thinking that we'll wake up and things will be different. I keep thinking I'll stop writing about it and talking about it. I keep thinking that I'll start working out more and ...
Currently | August 2020
Another month, another pile of kids on the sun room couch and toys everywhere. I keep thinking that with each new month we'll get it together and I'll have some brilliant schedule for getting everything done, but alas -- we're starting month six at home together and I'm still flying by the seat of my pants. choosing | I'm doing my very best to choose a positive outlook, despite everything being upside down and unknown. Our schools announced a hybrid option for school this year and it seems like everyone in my Facebook feed is yelling about what a terrible idea it is. I'm trying to stay positive in front of my girls and make the most of what looks to be a very weird year. I'm so fortunate to be working from home and to have the flexibility to make this work for our family, but I'm ...
The Evolution of a Working Mom
On June 29, I drove into downtown Birmingham for the first time in fourteen weeks. Fourteen weeks. When I left that Wednesday in March, I had no idea how long it would be before I returned. I left to meet Polly at the pediatrician and learned she needed daily shots for three consecutive days, to kick a severe ear infection. I grabbed what I thought I needed for the weekend, only to learn it might be weeks (ha!) before we opened our offices again. Courts cancelled our proceedings, attorneys worked from home, and my workload got consistently smaller as the spring and summer passed me by. I knew I might never have such a slow season of life again, so I soaked it up and enjoyed every garden morning and every long afternoon nap. When we received word that our offices would resume in-person ...
Quarantine Diary | Week 18
I will be documenting our experiences, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to preserve this time at home together. Although the world is a very scare place at the moment, I want to be intentional about our days at home together and provide my children with the story of what it was we lived through. Day One for us was Monday, March 16th (I’m counting down starting with the first day our regular schedules were disrupted) — the first day the girls didn’t report to school. I kept thinking that our quarantine would have an obvious end and that I would return to some sort of regular writing routine, but that hasn't happened. Despite what I see other families doing and news agencies reporting, our lives are still very much simplified and isolated and I'm not exactly sure when that will end. I've ...