Friday afternoon Avery and Harper were in the living room waiting for Emerson and me to join to read a chapter of Trumpet of the Swan.  Upon entering the room, Harper was crying…a true scared cry.  Apparently, Avery had taken her glasses off and Harper was scared of her eyes.  I was honestly dumbfounded at first.  Yes, Avery’s eyes move, and they are unique, but Harper is nearly seven years old…she has been living with Avery for nearly seven years and she just now noticed Avery’s eyes?  Say what?  Yes, Avery has worn glasses since she was three and her glasses somewhat mask the real appearance of her eyes, but Harper and Avery have shared a bedroom off and on over the year, they have showered together…. Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to bed, Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to in the shower!

My first instinct was to protect Avery’s feelings.  Avery took it like a champ though and told me that sometimes her friends call her eyes crazy and are intrigued by them….she shows them her eyes, they laugh about things, and then that is it.  That hurt my mama heart too but knowing that Avery has learned implemented skills necessary to respond to such questions and comments made my mama heart smile.  To my delight Emerson stepped in when it was clear I was still in disbelief that Harper had never noticed whatever it was she was noticing about Avery’s eyes that scared her.  Emerson stepped in and said, “well maybe Harper doesn’t understand why Avery’s eyes move…let’s explain it to her”. At that very second, Avery ran upstairs to get her book on nystagmus and for 20 minutes read each page beautifully.  She paused to explain how she relates to the characters and how she has used so many points in this book to explain things to her friends.  At the end of the book, Avery stood eye to eye with Harper and said “now for the most important part.  You need to see me without my glasses.”  She then took off her glasses and ensured that Harper took a good look.

There are times when it hurts my heart that Avery’s eyes are different but am so quickly reminded that different is unique and more importantly experiencing something differently opens up one’s ability to see outside society’s norm, to see beyond what we view to be normal.   It paves the ways for being openminded, inclusion, empathy, bravery, and kindness.

My mama heart had all the feels Friday afternoon, but most of all pure love for my girls.

The girls regularly wore dresses all through last summer.  Even when many girls their age stopped wearing dresses, my girls still continued.  Dress wearing subsided some this past school year and then came to a sudden halt with the start of COVID 19 and the cancellation of in-person school.  The girls started playing on the swing set and riding bikes daily; bike riding while wearing a dress was problematic as the dress would drag on the back wheel.  Pants and shorts became the norm.  When it came time for a few new summer clothes, shorts and T-shirts were in order, not dresses in years past.  I remember thinking how cool it was that dresses were still their norm last summer and knowing that at some point soon the time would come that they would be over them.

The time came!  And with that the July 4^th outfits that they had been wearing since 2016 (yes, you read that correctly….2016…we certainly sized up and got our monies worth) were finally retired.  They each got a fourth of July T-shirt and matched it with some shorts or pants.  I did size up so there is a good chance these will be their Fourth of July outfits for years to come.

We still played Alice Cooper’s “Schools Out” last Friday morning.  But besides a kitchen dance party blaring “schools out for summer, schools out forever” at the top of our lungs to commensurate the last day of 3^rd and 1^st grade for the girls, nothing about the last three months of the school year was like any other.

School abruptly ended Wednesday March 11.  Widespread concerns of COVID 19 started about two weeks prior and the county was working on putting some plans in place for virtual learning starting a few weeks later.  Things got serious and real overnight and school was suddenly cancelled Thursday March 12 and then again Friday March 13 and then for an entire month before virtual learning started in mid-April.  The kids had no notice, left all their belongings at school, said no goodbyes, they got on the school bus that Wednesday afternoon having no idea that they wouldn’t step foot in the school again for the remainder of the school year.  They didn’t know that we would be quarantined for the next three months, not going out to eat, no going to the grocery store, no hugging and indoor visits with grandma and grandpa, no playdates, no takeout without sanitizing the containers.  We were now living in a pandemic experiencing unprecident times.

It’s a good thing we liked each other because it’s pretty much been us and only us for three months!  We began homeschooling the girls the first week they were out of school.  The first five weeks were definitely the honeymoon period.  Days were hard but Justin and I managed to work demanding jobs while still homeschooling the girls with a schedule that consisted of language arts and math workbooks; reading; puzzles, creative time to include science, engineering, photography, cooking, and art; physical activity, and electronic academic time.   We were busy managing it all, often staying up late to review subjects with them and lesson plan for the next day or catching up on work from taking extra-long breaks during the day to be hands on with the girls, but we had a rhythm.

Mid-April the county started virtual learning.  It was a disaster so much so that classes ended up being cancelled the first week while the county worked out system issues.  Week two had similar challenges and virtual learning was again postponed another week.

Week three things started going smoothly, but there was a wide discrepancy in the expectations and assignments of the teachers, not to mention that between the virtual learning synchronous class and the assignments, the girls still had a lot of time in their day.  We continued with much of the homeschool but a scaled back version which eliminated much of the creative time and extra time to relax. Avery and Emerson also started meeting outside for math “class” with one of the neighbors Ms. Stype a few days a week along with a few of the other third grade girls.  Avery started meeting with Ms. Dishek twice a week to type.  The girls attended their teacher’s office hours a few times a week.  Dance classes started back up in April virtually, which too was a new experience. Days were busy to say the least!

Fast forward to June 12, the girls officially finished 3^rd and 1^st grades, exactly 3 months to the day that school inside the school abruptly came to a halt.  No backpacks, no walk to the bus stop, no lunches to pack, no teachers or friends to hug, but three happy girls who took it all in stride and had a great memorable school year

We ventured on a socially distance walk through Meadowlark.  This was the first weekend the parks were open since March when everything suddenly closed.  Six feet place-markers at the entrance and masks are somehow the new norm.  If you told me last year that this summer we would be in the midst of a pandemic – quarantining, wearing masks when we go out, applying hand sanitizer 50 times a day amongst so much more, I would have laughed.  Yet, here we are. In fact, this is where Justin and I sat (standing this time so as not to touch shared public spaces) almost 12 years ago.

Here are the girls wearing their masks.

This will most definitely be a time period in history and their life that they will always remember.

Going into the weekend, I knew my favorite weekend of the year was certainly going to look a lot different than our typical Memorial Day weekend….no Viva Vienna, no barbeques with friends and family, no going out to eat or anywhere. But we were determined to make the best of it.

We started our long weekend early Friday by having a wacky school day, which included a visit to the Reston Zoo, a trip we have never done before due to it being overpriced; however, with the zoo being turned into a drive through zoo and very few places to go these days, we figured why not.

Look at this guys hair!!!  It’s gettin BIG!

When we got home…we had two lessons.  The first was a lesson of the importance of brushing one’s teeth!  The second was a creative writing exercise about the girls experience.  Avery did a few types of poems!

Harper’s poem.  I thought a miracle had happened as her spelling was superb…turns out she was asking Google.

Emerson’s acrostic poem.

Saturday brought a family walk through the woods, with the girls complaining about the muddy trail, mud getting on their legs, spiders, branches in the path, the threat of poison ivy, the temperature being too hot, too hilly…and I’m sure there were others.  I threatened to leave them in the woods behind our house to navigate their own way home should the complaints continue.  They knew I would never do that so not sure my “threat” had much of an impact.  We had a good walk nonetheless at least in terms of exercise!

The rest of the afternoon there was a lot of playing outside, bike riding, softball playing, and chapter book reading.

Saturday night we had a delightful charcuterie board with cheeses and meats from a combination of The Oakton Wine Shop and The Italian Gourmet.

We enjoyed a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir and after a glass, I was full of laughs as I rocked my new “garage only” crocks through the neighborhood.  Man I looked ridiculous but I had a great ab workout.

Sunday we picked up some fresh fruit from Depauls. We called our order in and they dropped it in our truck…the norm these days.

We surprised the girls with a trip to Wendy’s drive through and they each indulged in their own frosty and they enjoyed it in the car.

Justin and I had a date night Sunday.  We ordered take-out from Clarity and ate in the “pit”…it was delicious…we will definitely need to do it again!  Meanwhile the girls “watched” themselves with a night full of sugar cereal and binge movie watching.

Justin and I finished our night off with a walk, Nintendo playing, and Netflix watching.  It was certainly a different Memorial Day Weekend than years past, but the girls still rocked their Memorial Day clothing, which had just arrived.  Missing Harper as she had thrown up in the car about 20 minutes before this picture was taken….we think she actually got car sick…having been int the car so little over the last few months!

Memorial Day 2021…hope to be wearing these same shirts celebrating with friends and family.

Wacky school Friday included me taking the day off from work and having quality time with the girls.  It was hot and we took an activity break to walk to the field off Hillington.

These three are mine.  Days are sometimes hard, and I often miss the innocence of the baby and toddler phase.  I miss my perception and ability to experience life through their innocent heart and minds. But then there are times like this…and I just sit staring at the picture, reflecting on the fact that THESE THREE ARE MINE!!

Harper was running wildly through the buttercups, calling me over to each section saying “Mama, aren’t they so beautiful”.  “Yes, Harper…they absolutely are beautiful”.

A gentle reminder that no matter how old they get or how much I miss the baby and toddler phase, life is filled with abundances and beauty – even when babies and toddlers are no longer in the picture – just look at this these buttercups and this cutie!

Today Justin turns 40.  We have been joking about this day for a few years. It’s a running joke that I am 9 months older than Justin.  So me being in my mid-30’s before him was ‘oh so funny’ to him as was each year that passed after that as it just meant I was closer to 40 than him.  Even though we have been nearing 40 the last few years, it still seemed like a distant milestone until all of a sudden it wasn’t.  We are both officially 40…both officially Yung No Mo!

In February, Justin and I decided to go to Charlottesville, VA just the two of us – we were going to stay in a cute cottage slightly off the grid.  The girls were going to stay with my parents and Justin and I were going to have some quality down time together.  We cancelled last month when we realized we were going to be celebrating his birthday in quarantine.

While it wasn’t my birthday and the plans weren’t what we originally anticipated, I think it was a great low-key birthday celebration if I do say so myself!

We kicked off the celebration on Friday when Justin woke up to a massive Happy Birthday sign in our front yard. It came courtesy of Card My Yard and since they were sold out for Saturday, I figured starting the birthday celebration on the 8^th was perfect!

It was a rainy day, but we managed a few pictures and a walk in our neighborhood in between the rain.  

Saturday morning was like Christmas morning.  Bacon in our family equates to Christmas and we had bacon!  Not only bacon, but also sausage, eggs, fruit, and lemon muffins.  We leisurely ate and enjoyed the delicious food and each other’s company.

Presents followed breakfast.  Several shirts were in order as were socks, two koozies, a Golden Girls journal, and a homemade Top 40 card with a Chinese Proverb Yung No Mo that had us hysterical all morning.

The weather was cold today…only around 50 degrees and cold, but there were pockets of sun among the winds and we still took advantage of mother nature with an hour long walk and then a short bike-ride in our neighborhood.

Since we ate a big breakfast at 10:00 a.m., we turned breakfast into brunch and skipped a real lunch.  Instead we surprised Justin with a Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream sundae bar for lunch.  The girls thought it was totally nuts.  It was delicious and fun and so wonderful not to have to make a real lunch for the first time in months!

Brophy and Donald stopped by for a few socially distant driveway beers…an event that if you indicated would be the way they would celebrate together several months ago, I would have thought bummer, but with reset expectations, it was truly wonderful to visit with them…despite the fact that they couldn’t even come in to use our bathroom and had to pee in the woods.

We were going to do dinner in two parts.  First an oaky bottle of Pinot Noir and a charcuterie board with cheeses and salamis that I got from Oakton Wine Shop and Caboose Brewing coupled with a whole wheat boule that I made!  A combination of the wine, the massive amounts of cheese that we consumed, as well as the thought of not having to clean up a bunch of dinner dishes, made us realize we should turn our charcuterie board into dinner. 

There was no need for a second part…the shrimp and New York Strip would wait until tomorrow.

With full bellies, we had family fun in our make-shift photo booth.  Look at this guy…turning 40 and all has made him turn furry!

Justin’s expression in the last picture sums up how his birthday ended!  We went on a quick after dinner walk in the brisk May cold after our photo booth session and then Justin capped off the night with a few outdoor social distance drinks with a neighbor. Yung No Mo had a great birthday and I think it is “safe” to say, it was one like no other.

The Easter Bunny managed to make an appearance despite stores being limited on items.  He/she even made the girls some pretty nice baskets filled with puffy paints, glues, stickers, bath bombs, Twix, and some books and socks. The girls played by the rules and stayed in their rooms until 9:00, a deal we made since they stayed up to 11:00 Saturday night watching The Greatest Showman.   That gave me a chance to meditate, journal, workout, shower, and even put real clothes and make-up on all before 9:00!

They eagerly crowded the stairs at 9:00 a.m!  They had made notes and pictures for the Easter Bunny Saturday, something they had never done before.  As such they weren’t sure if the Easter Bunny was going to leave the notes and pictures or take them.  We weren’t sure either!

The girls were super excited about their Easter baskets.

Breakfast was pancakes, sausage, and fruit for the girls while Justin and I had some eggs and yogurt respectively.  (We’ve been temporarily moving furniture around during this quarantine…today our breakfast table is in our “living room”).

At 10:10, the girls got on their IPADS and attended Sunday school while Justin and I watched the Church Service while drinking our coffee.

The girls were eager for their Easter Egg Hunt and thrilled that I was able to find some Swedish Fish and chocolate candy online. This was the first year without jelly beans; however, the girls understood and were just as excited about the Swedish Fish as a replacement.

The girls cooperated with the obligatory Easter pictures knowing that those must happen before the Easter Egg hunt could begin.

And of course some family pictures were necessary as well.

It was chilly out today causing a last minute wardrobe change for me….my cute jumpsuit turned into jeans last minute, the first time I haven’t worn a dress for Easter in at least five years.

And then finally they were off! 

The girls had their own egg colors for which they were hunting, a tradition we started last year and is liked by all the girls.  Twenty-seven eggs for each girl.

Some candy was enjoyed after the hunt.

A second hunt, a free for all hunt, occurred in the afternoon….about 40 eggs, none of which are color designated per kid.

Claws and tears came out this time!

Whether it was a friendly competition or not was debatable.  They all agreed they like having their own eggs better; yet, I did witness quite a bit of sharing, playing together, and a joyous day by all!

My dad (papa) is 70!  Tuesday was his 70^th birthday!  It doesn’t seem possible, nor does it seem possible that I am 40!  My days have always gone by quick and the months and years even quicker!  In some respects a lot has happened since the days I was a teenager and my dad was in his 40’s.  At the same time, those days still remain vivid memories.  His hair, what is left anyway, is all gray and thin.  Yet in my head, my dad still has a full head of black hair.  My perspective may not be reality; however, it is my reality.

My dad is not a huge partier and originally didn’t want to do anything special for his 70^th other than a simple dinner with family.  However, I think he realized that not only do you turn 70 only once, but that turning 70 is a gift…a gift worth celebrating!  He became excited about the prospect of a celebration and so we decided on dinner at The Palm.  It was supposed to be him, my mom, Justin, myself, the girls, Russell and Mary, and Mike and Susan.  A few weeks ago, we realized that dinner was not going to happen.  We are in midst of a pandemic….schools closed, restaurants closed, workers teleworking, the world social isolating and quarantining.  Even as I type it, this situation seems unreal.

Hugging and kissing are out of the question as is entering my parents house and vice versa.  Sunday we paid a driveway visit to my parents as a way to say hello from afar.  We also dropped off my dad’s present giving it a few days to sit and rid itself of any potential germs.While I am sure my dad was disappointed that we couldn’t celebrate as we originally planned or truly even together, I still wanted to make the day special.  And I think we did.  For surely, it was a unique birthday and one in which I am sure he will never forget!

We started the day with some birthday videos and a FaceTime call.  I ordered crab cakes over the weekend from G&M along with some She-crab soup.  Late afternoon, I made mashed potatoes and garlic green beans and a delicious healthy coconut cake with lemon buttercream.  I cut it in half and we kept half! 

We piled in the van at 5:30 and headed to their house.  We stood at one end of the driveway and them the other.

He opened his presents which included some homemade crafts from the girls and a “vintage 1950’s t-shirt.

He enjoyed the poster that I put together over the weekend that documented his life in pictures from the time he was a little boy!

We “shared” a bottle of wine by bringing our own wine glasses and having a no-touch pour in the middle of the driveway.  The girls decorated the driveway.

My parents enjoyed their dinner together and when it was time for cake, they Facetimed us so we could sing happy birthday again!

We took a break from eating our dinner, which looked identical to theirs! 

We will celebrate at The Palm in time when this all passes.  Until then, I hope he enjoyed the thoughtfulness behind this year’s celebration.

Third child syndrome.  It’s a real thing!  I am fairly certain that we taught Avery and Emerson how to spell and write their middle names as early as pre-school.  Can’t say we did the same for Harper…we somehow forgot to teach her how to spell her middle name!  We only realized it when halfway through the year of first grade, she showed us the daily free art/writing that made at school that day.  It took us a solid few minutes to figure out that Paga was Paige!  Shame on Mommy and Daddy for forgetting to teach Harper how to spell her middle name!  Kuddos to Harper for taking matters into her own hands!

Proudly displayed in our closet, where Harper regularly tapes up her artwork while Mommy and Daddy aren’t looking!