I'm still standing, better than I ever did

The sound machine has never been so fun!

Hope everyone is hanging in there! We have been able to establish a pretty good routine this week and it's nice to see the kids anticipating what is next and finding calm in that.

In our house, we haven't talked to the kids about what is going on beyond what I shared on Monday since our oldest is 5 and I don't think she would really understand or there would be much value in it. 

I am going to try to stay positive on here because there is already a lot of talk on the internets about all the things to worry about. But know that everyone is dealing with some of the negative impacts of Covid-19. My parents are in Pakistan and we are struggling with whether to have them come home or stay there. 

Being positive and looking for the good doesn't invalidate those feelings or negate the gravity of this situation. Everyone has a different survival mode and for me, trying to see the bright side (and looking at lots of hysterical memes) is truly the only option.

That said, there have been a lot of things about being home that I have loved. Namely, spending so much time with our nuclear family. I get to see all the funny little things the kids do throughout the day and we have so many opportunities to connect. We have all our meals together and have really established a nice rhythm. I am so grateful for this gift of togetherness and of health. If we've learned anything, that can be taken away in a second, so if you have it, value it.

You can see that our schedules have a rhythm now. Not much is changing. I'll do one more tomorrow and after that, I'll just print out these five and rotate them for the most part.

Day 4 Schedule:

8:00 am – 9:00 am	Wake kids up, brush teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast	Breakfast: Pre-made pancakes and waffles. Check-in feelings and circle time to say welcome. Mama’s turn to share.
9:00 am – 9:45 am	Structured free play	Click puzzle toys and matching doll puzzle. Clean up begins at 9:35.
9:45 am – 10 am 10 am – 11:30 am	Get ready to go out Outdoor walk/bike ride	Bikeride around the neighborhood.
11:30 am – 12 pm	Reading out loud videos.	15 mins storylineonline.net 15 minutes reading in room
12:00 pm – 12:15 pm	Laugh time	Fast/Slow singing dance party. I just sing one song forever and when I sing it fast they dance fast and when I sing it slow they dance really slow.
12:15 pm – 1 pm	Lunch	Packed Bentgo boxes for kids. Teachers only get coffee.
1pm -3 pm	Nap/Rest time	Do dinner prep so everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’. "Dadi" (Paternal grandmother) arrives today so we will be cooking a lot more than usual. Will use nap time to clean up the house and get things ready!)
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm	School time	Nouri is going with Papa to get Dadi from Delaware so Nia and Na'eel will do books and small toys while I work.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm	Family dinner prep	Aloo and peppers, channa, palou, salad, raitha and kebabs. Yum!
5:30 pm -6:30 pm	Family dinner	Focus on conversation. We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something memorable that happened each day.
6:30 pm -7:00 pm	Get ready for bed
7:00 pm – 7:30 pm	Stories and prayers/reflections	I am going to use this time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm	Clean up house and prep for tomorrow	After clean-up, we will just chill and catch-up with Dadi tonight. May play it by ear for the evenings the next few nights.
8:30 pm – 9:00 pm	Read	Canceled!
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm	Work out, knit, write or do any other hobby	Canceled!
10:00 pm – 10:30 pm	One organizational task	Canceled!
10:30 pm - Bedtime	Read, watch TV, veg, whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the later side.	Canceled!