11 Year Old Marriage and 32 Year Old Toilet Paper

Since we didn't get to celebrate our anniversary in Mexico, we ordered Mexican takeout and watched an ocean sunset on YouTube last night.  We even dressed up a little (at least the parts in the picture) to make it a bit more special.

 Another aging thing I found was a pack of toilet paper from 1988.  Our downstairs bathroom needs a new toilet, so we aren't currently using it.  I was checking for extra toilet paper and cam across this little treasure left by the previous owners.  I probably knew this was down there at some point, but obviously didn't think about it until we were in the middle of a global pandemic and TP shortage.

 I kind of wish I had left it in the package, but I wanted to see what kind of condition it was in.  I tweeted a picture to Charmin to ask if it was still good to use.  I was surprised to see a response, especially on that was so matter of fact.  I guess it's a bit past its prime, but we will keep it around just in case.

Social Distancing and Staying Home

More local restrictions were ordered by the governor last week.  Bars and restaurants are closed for seating and can do delivery and takeout only.  Gyms, salons, museums, and many other business have been ordered to temporarily close as well.  I expect to have additional orders in the days and weeks to come.  We aren't officially under a stay at home advisory, but we are living as if that is the case.  

Esme got her hair braided while at daycare on Friday.  I wanted to leave them in, but she was asking me to take them out right after we got home.  It left her with some really pretty beachy waves.

 Since it was date night, but we couldn't really go anywhere, we got take out from Frankie's, our neighborhood favorite.  We will try to do this once a week to support local businesses as they need it now more than ever.  

 On Saturday night we participated in a car parade for a friend at church.  Nancy turned 65 and wasn't able to have her game night birthday party.  She works in the nursery with Esme and we are so grateful for her.  A little over a dozen cars gathered to drive by and sing happy birthday!

 All church services and events have been cancelled for the time being, so we are using technology to connect.  Sermons are on YouTube, worship is on Facebook Live and we even shared communion on Google Meet.

 Life groups are virtual as well.  We meet online for about an hour each Monday night.  It's nice to see everyone's faces and hear their voices.

 Esme has a pretty nasty cold and we kept her home from daycare on Monday.  I decided that day that I would need to start working from home and keep her and Parker out of daycare and school aged care for the time being.  She hasn't been formally diagnosed with asthma, but takes a daily preventative nebulizer medication and albuterol when she gets wheezy.  It was so hard watching her struggle that morning and while children seem to be less susceptible, it just isn't worth the risk of exposing her more than needed.  It's also important to protect Jimmy since he works at a hospital.  I was able to load up my stuff and have it set up later that night.  The laundry room is my new home for a bit.

As if I needed a sign to stay home, the garage door spring broke as we closed the door that night.  Luckily, I was able to get someone out early the next working to put in a new one.

 Jimmy is home all week since we were supposed to be on vacation.  He is able to keep the kids occupied while I work.  Next week will be a new adventure as I will be alone with the kids most of the day as well as beginning distance learning for Parker.  In the mean time, we are trying to enjoy the extra family time we are getting.

We've been missing all of the grandparents a lot too, but are thankful for FaceTime.  We have talked to my parents a couple times.  Esme runs to grab Tesla (owl) and Brady (sloth) every time so they can see their brothers ,Oppenheimer and Viscous, that live at their house.  She spends most of the call having them kiss each other, it's hilarious.  I am sure there will be many more calls like this to come!

February and March 2020 Hodgepodge

Here is a some of the fun stuff we've been able to do over the last few weeks before the craziness of Coronavirus took over the world.

I went out to dinner with Brianne and Stacy a couple weeks ago.  I saw them both at Pretzeldent's Day, but didn't get much time to really catch up with Brianne.  We met up at D. Michael B's in Albertville.  I got a peach and ginger mule and we shared an order of cheese curds.  The seven layer meatloaf was delicious.

The following Friday we met up for a fish fry with my parents and nephew at the Crystal VFW.  It was crazy busy, but still tasty.

We made a family trip to Nadia Cakes, which both of the kids loved! Strawberry for Esme and chocolate for Parker.

We've had some warmer days in the last few weeks which has allowed for lots of outdoor time.  We  got another Power Wheels via hand-me-down from Jimmy's sister in Two Harbors.  Esme has been loving riding in the back of the Gator with Parker.

Our final big outing happened on Sunday.  We visited my parents for a dip in the hot tub before heading out for dinner and a movie.

It was an earlier dinner, but Culver's was a ghost town!

With the uncertainty of things to come, we wanted to try to get out to see Pixar's latest release, Onward.  It was so cute and made me cry at the end (like they all do).  I am so glad we were able to keep our tradition alive.

I also put up a little magnet board in the kitchen recently as well.  We try to get a magnet from all of our trips and they have taken some abuse from falling off the fridge.  I got a surplus piece of galvanized sheet from work for under $5 and put it up with Command mounting strips.  Now they won't be getting knocked down and broken, but can still be seen in the kitchen.

My favorite local news channel, KARE 11, airs a show at 6:30 called Breaking the News.  The anchor, Jana Shortal, often talks to kids about current events and their world view.  Social distancing has made that nearly impossible, so she asked for pictures of our kids.  Parker and Esme made the cut and were part of the video last night.  Here is a picture of the broadcast and you can click here to view the whole story.

Our planned spring break vacation to Mazatlan was officially cancelled today which really bums us out, but we know it's for the best.  It's going to be a whole new world for the next few weeks and possibly months.