School Daze

We just wrapped up Week 3 of Virtual Learning here in our house and I'm happy to report that it's going pretty well. There were some early hurdles, like Sebastian learning to mute and unmute himself when he's called on, but we're over that hump now and all three kids are easing into a familiar routine. They miss being in the classroom and interacting with friends in person, but are enjoying not rushing in the mornings and being able to play instruments, swing in the backyard and ride their bikes during breaks throughout the day. It's give and take, right? 

Here's how it all started! Not that we needed a reminder of why we're doing virtual school but, oh, that's right...the virus. So Sebastian's "Meet the teacher" was a drive-thru in the elementary school parking lot. He made her some art to show her. 💙 

What else was happening right before the school year started? Brie got her flute and started taking lessons with our family friend Julia. She's already enjoying it!

And we got out and enjoyed our local parks a bit!

Tony's been working from home a day or two a week still, which is lots of fun. We've even picked up yummy carry-out for lunch a few times, including ramen!

We got in our last trip to the local pool...

Said an official "Good bye!" to last year's teachers... 💚💛

Grilled out on Labor Day...

And baked and cooked and baked some more! We made this poke cake for a second time...I think it's our new favorite! 

And Tony has mastered the French baguette! 

Amazing with burrata and tomatoes!

Blueberry cake...

Chicken-vegetable soup with a kick... 

Build-your-own sushi night!

Baklava bites...

And butternut squash soup! 

Then it was Day 1! 

Time to introduce yourself...

And your pet!

And meet your new classmates...

Recess!

To make up for being remote, we've had a few really nice in-person playdates with friends. That always makes us feel more normal.

What else is different about life lately? Well, I hosted my first Cabi party a few weeks ago and it worked pretty well, even though we were distanced. Luckily, we had a gorgeous evening.

I got to model some some of this fall's pieces! 

I think we could all get used to shopping like this!

And Brie's neighborhood book club met with a little socially distanced swimming. 

One huge perk of the kids being home these days is that Samuel practices his clarinet almost daily and it's like having our own jazz club. Sounds so lovely! 

And it's awfully sweet to see the kids hard at work "at school."

"Am I getting any work done?" you ask? Well, kinda. I try to squeeze things in whenever possible and our internet has been working better since Sebastian got a newer Chromebook from the district. (At first, it didn't look like the bandwidth could hold four computers at once.) I even hosted a webinar for local students about college admissions during COVID!

More fun to report? 

Every day Sebastian and his classmates race around the house looking for things that start with certain letters of the alphabet. Can you guess what letter this was??

This was clearly a clerical error by Kroger Click List. Um, lucky us??

My sweet and thoughtful neighbor Tab put this in my mailbox as a "You got this!" for being a learning partner for three virtual students. I loved this kind gesture!!

I'm still loving the sunrises when I'm jogging in the local park in the mornings, but I know that soon enough it will be too dark (and cold!) to head out before remote school begins. Sigh...

Right before the Jewish High Holidays kicked off, I drove around town and put these bags of challah bread and other goodies on the doorsteps of congregants from our temple. It felt good to do something like this at a time when we can't all be together. The gifts were very well-received!

And we made a space in our home for Zoom services. It was (mostly) very peaceful. 😉

The new year off to a sweet start with Blizzards!

As you can see, we're in a bit of daze with returning to school and a few activities, but it's all good! Full steam ahead into fall! 

P.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last week. We're all devastated. I think many of us thought she would live forever...