Hellobee Boards

Great weather, and these SIP days and weeks are going by faster and faster. My kids are doing well. So I’m grateful.

One thing that’s driving me crazy.. not knowing what’s to come! We were supposed to move soon... I want to know when I can see our parents again... our kids miss grandparents so much...

Good: More yard play options.... It's finally hot enough here to open the pool AND we just got grass in the front yard so we can do sprinkler time there. We are very blessed to live where we live and since I'm a teacher, my job is done in 3 weeks, so that will be another thing off my plate.

Not so good: I feel so drained and bored by 6 hours a day of solo parenting a 2 & 4 year old (I don't know how other people do this regularly) almost exclusively at home. My son is super-spirited and displays his worst behavior at home (in comparison with parks, playgrounds, preschool, errands, other people's houses, etc). We've always known this and thus structured our lives to be at home very little, and so..... this is very opposite of our norm.

Something great: I've loved getting to be home with my 5.5 month old instead of seeing her before and after work only. Also, my low muscle tone 6.5 year old DS who has been in PT almost his whole life is *thisclose* to riding his bike without training wheels.

Not so great: I really miss alone time. I hardly had any to begin with since the baby was born, but I could at least get a little on the weekends. Also, I'm so sad that I might not see my students again in person before they move on to another classroom. They all have moderate to severe autism and it's been hard for them to understand why they aren't going to school and seeing us on the computer instead.

Good: nice weather to be outside lately and the kids are still getting along pretty well!

Bad: big picture, dh just got furloughed for 2 months (and honestly; not sure if he will get laid off at the end) so that sucks. Small picture, trying to teach my super cautious kid with a tendency to anxiety to ride a bike is killing me

@foodiebee: I totally hear you on wishing you could give things your full attention. It’s so hard and in my weaker moments I feel like I’m failing at all of it.

Good thing: Not going anywhere or doing anything means we are saving lots of money... like enough for a nice weekend away whenever we feel comfortable doing that again

Good: Another vote for the weather being nice & longer days - I've been trying to get the kids out for a walk at least every other day and I'm so grateful that we live in the country and have lots of trails around us.

Not so good: My kids learning anything. DH and I both work, and LO's are home with their older sister who I can't ask/expect her to teach them. When we get home, it's outside till dark since the weather is nice, and learning just doesn't happen. DS is ahead in preschool, so okay, but DD really needs to be working on her speech therapy and it's just not happening.

Good thing - My five year old's speech therapy online is going really well. She's making great progress again and adapted to doing this through a video call pretty seamlessly. Plus, I love the convenience. We had to drive pretty far to get to the therapy practice, so what used to be a two hour outing all in is now down to about half an hour from our kitchen table. It's great!

Bad thing - I've gotten myself all worked up about what school will look like next year. The rational part of me knows it's too soon to really know, but the planner in me is dying to think through what Kindergarten will look like for my oldest and what will make sense for us to do.

So I've been wanting to contribute to this thread all day...but frankly I just can't come up with anything awesome right now. This is so hard. Here's my best effort.

Good: I bought an awesome pair of what I'm calling my "pandemic boots" from Frye on 85% off a couple of weeks ago and they're super comfy (Billy Stud Short - they're my first cowboy style boot)

Bad: Everything else. My husband is home all day working from home with LO there. I'm working out of home daily, and work is insanely stressful. This is the first time I've ever felt the mom guilt and it's serious - DH is struggling to get his work done, LO (5) is miserable without her structure and friends and every second I'm home I try to take the lead with her to give him a break so he can make up work, but that means I never ever get any breaks. I know I'm "lucky" that I'm still working, but this feels awful. No matter where I am, I feel like I should be doing more and I just can't, without adding more hours to the day.

Sorry for the rant, this should have been on macintosh's post, lol!

Good: I finished weeding and planting my garden today. And DH is adding a railing and mesh to keep the neighborhood cats out (who like to use it as a litter box). Also I have a sweet 7 month old puppy snuggling on me (we got her in November before sheltering at home).

Bad: struggling with job hunting as I wind down my current job. This was planned in the fall but trying to job hunt isn’t easy right now. So it’s stressful particularly as I’m 32 weeks pregnant and also working at my current job (at home). My DH just says I know you’ll find a good job - he means well but it is stressful to me as I’m the breadwinner!!!!

@caitcat: My son is doing his Physical Therapy over video chat every Saturday morning and I was skeptical but so far he is adapting really well. We use it as special time with Mommy and he gets a treat afterward. I'm glad it is working so well for your LO too.

Good: Another vote for the weather that allows the boys lots of outside time. I know it is good for them and we are making use of our giant yard and even expanded to finally clear out space behind the fence to build a fire pit next to the creek.

Bad: DH is furloughed for 3 months so he is taking care of both boys while I am working from home. He gets stressed out with them and I can hear them crying and him getting frustrated while trying to work. I take breaks as often as I can to try and relieve him during the day which means I am working late at night to try and catch up on work. As well as never getting a break for myself. I am missing my commute as it at least gave me some time to decompress before switching back into "mommy" mode.