Today was our 20th day at home with the kid… need I add that this is twenty days IN A ROW? Of being inside the house? Hoooo boy, but we’re doing it.

Today, Ezra joined his best friend Elliot for an online game of chess. I told you we just learned the game a few days ago, so Ezra loses a lot. Poor kid. It’s so frustrating for him, and he gets terribly upset, but then he wants to play again. So I have to respect that.

Here are a few images from their online play date today.

Two months ago, I surely would have frowned at this much screen time. Today? We had Elliot on face time on one device (and let me tell you, from my eavesdropping that child is pretty good at smack talk! I admired it!) and then Ezra was playing on my iPad. Two devices at once! Take that pediatricians!

What a world we live in.

This weekend, Ezra had a “playdate” online with his friend Elliot, and Elliot taught Ezra how to play chess online so they could play each other while staying at home.

Well, I never learned how to play chess as a kid, so I started working with the app and learning, and now we’re all gathered around the dining room table playing chess whenever we can. So that’s something fun and new for us!

It’s a little hard to teach a five year old about strategy, but sometimes he surprises us.

And if anyone is online and wants to play, let me know and I’ll set up an account!

It’s been sixteen days since I’ve seen someone face to face who is not my own family. That is crazy. And it’s been 18 days since Ezra has played with friends.

Yesterday morning I was invited to do a Peloton ride with some friends from a local ad agency. We all put our laptops by our bikes and had a zoom meeting while we did the same workout. It was super silly, but omg it was so nice just to see some faces again! Even over the computer! That lifted my spirits a lot.

Today, Ezra is supposed to have a playdate with a friend over the computer, and tonight I’m meeting a friend online to have a glass of wine and to talk about our week. This evolution of socializing is so crazy.

Around the house, we’ve watched a lot of TV (rain and snow all day), and right now the boys are downstairs baking banana bread.

Weirdly, I haven’t had time to read during this quarantine. With the attention that having Ezra here all day every day requires, reading is a little harder (until he can 100% read on his own, anyway). I miss that a lot.

And at night, Jamie and I are completely exhausted. So we’ve been binging more TV than usual. Last night we finished Counterpart on Netflix, and we just started I Am Not Okay With This, which is quite charming.

Next up, I think we’ll tackle the Tiger King.

On the work front, I’ve been doing the incredibly tedious task of getting my website SEO in order. But what better time to tackle a tedious project you’ve been avoiding for years, eh?

What are you all tackling? Anything exciting?

Today, like many other days of this quarantine, Ezra dressed himself. But today he opted for pajama pants, and I’m sure not one to argue with that in these circumstances.

We made it outside briefly in the morning before the afternoon storms rolled in.

Take a long look at this kid. He’s only five, and sometimes he looks like he’s 13 to me. Man it goes fast.

It was 50+ degrees today and my god, it was glorious.

At the Plesserville Preschool, we went for a nature walk to see if we could find signs of spring (science!) and we talked about how trees grow and we pulled back leaves and fall yard waste to peek underneath at what was growing.

It was so nice to have the fresh air!

And in Physical Education today, Ezra learned how to climb a tree!

Banner day over here, I tell you.

We also made one last trip to the hardware store for supplies before the Stay in Place order that kicks in tonight. Two more weeks at home. Deep breaths.

Also, please note that as soon as we were back inside I trimmed up that kid’s fingernails and made him wash his hands for 45 second. Gross.

I spent the morning with Ezra working on some sidewalk chalk since the weather is finally starting to warm up (high of 48 today!). We loved this project and have similar ones in our back pocket for next week as well.

The rest of the day was spent preparing. With the official lockdown happening tomorrow afternoon, I needed to swing by the studio and pick up all my gear. I did this in case I get hired for a studio shoot while everything is shut down (product shots done remotely) and because I’m a little nervous about crime in commercial buildings right now.

It was a sad errand to run on many levels. I think you all know how much I love my studio and the peace it brings me to work there, so I left it today with a heavy heart, not really knowing what the future will bring or when I can return.

Then I came home and snuggled with Ezra in his giant fort while we listened to Taylor Swift and I scratched his back. It was nice.

We also had our last batch of groceries delivered for a long time along with a trip to the hardware store (curbside pickup) for the tape in these art projects. If you are having things delivered or are picking up curbside, this video is fantastic at teaching you how to keep your house free of the virus.

By the way, if anyone has a lead on disinfecting wipes, please let me know. In most cases soap and water are fine, but I would like some to wipe down my cameras/phones on occasion, and I think those are best for electronics. Thanks!

Well here we are. Staying in place. Until May.

Today, the Governor announced a 2 week stay in place starting on Friday at 5 pm. He also said he hopes school can resume on Monday, May 4. YOU AND ME BOTH, FINE SIR.

I mean, I’m gonna be honest and say that our family is SUPER lucky that we have a pretty easy-going kid who has been a delight to hang out with 90% of the time. He’s not hard. It’s just that we don’t have the time to ourselves any more to catch up on email, work on our careers, listen to podcasts etc etc etc. I just miss the normalcy. And play dates. Hot damn, do I miss play dates.

But, I’m trying to think positive about this and the additional time I’m getting with this amazing child who is reading like crazy, who gets real mad at me for making him practice his piano over and over again and who spit out his brussels sprout last night at dinner with a look of horror that I would even try to get that one past him. You know what kid? I agree. Frozen brussels sprouts are terrible compared to fresh. I won’t try to trick you again.

The photos today are of Jamie and Ezra during our daily Mac Barnett story time on Instagram. It is truly one of our daily highlights, and I loved the hats my boys wore today. Enjoy.

I believe that up there is what Montessori School calls “Practical Life Skills”. And yes, we are focusing on those a little every day as well.

I gotta say, one of my favorite part of this whole “teaching” gig is coming up with the 15 minutes of chores every day. When he’s in school, we really do not have 15 minutes to spare due to dinner, piano practice, baths, and reading time. But now that we’re all working from home and inside all day every day, you better believe this is a thing.

So far, he’s still excited to learn these things. I remember when I was young how I was the same. I’ll never forget how eager I was for my parents to teach me how to clean the bathroom. Boy oh boy did that fade fast!

Usually his chores involve picking up toys, Lysol-ing the door knobs, watering plants, wiping down tables and chairs, cleaning the stair railings etc. But he does love the vacuum, so here we are.