Quarantine day 9, we are feeling ready to go to playgrounds and Costco when our quarantine is officially over tomorrow. (but that’s about all we will be adding back in). Our County has gone to level red for Covid which means we are at the level of community spread. We are not in complete lock down yet but if things don’t turn around we will be soon.

With level red covid spread personal gatherings are prohibited. So that means family Thanksgiving is cancelled. We were on the fence about if we felt it was safe to celebrate with family but now it has been decided for us. We missed last years Thanksgiving because we had the stomach flu. At least this year we will be able to make a turkey dinner at home for the four of us so that is at least an upgrade. But it’s sad to think that Emmy hasn’t been able to share a Thanksgiving with family since she was seven months old and Cannon was just two.

A lot has changed since then.

Cannon has been doing so well in online school that he earned his favorite treat, a cake pop!

It’s pretty nice that Cannon’s favorite treat is from Starbucks so Cory and I can get a treat for ourselves as well. Emmy got a pink cake pop, I got a chestnut praline latte and Cory got a peppermint mocha. We dropped Cory’s coffee off at the home office then drove to the library. We are loving the curbside pick-up and drive through drop off so we can still borrow books!

I am way late to the party but I finally figured out the Starbucks points deal, now that they opened a Starbucks about a mile from our house with a drive through we are in trouble….

After school and our library visit it was time for lunch and nap. I made the kids PB&J sandwiches….I really need some more lunch ideas! Maybe I will try some of Amber’s Bento Box Ideas.

25 healthy lunch box ideas (for kids)

After naps we went for a walk, I pushed them in the stroller while they ate snacks

Then they ran back while I tried to keep up.

On nights that I teach I want something super easy and fast for dinner.

Everything here is from Costco and cooks up super fast!

Then it was time to teach and for Cory to take over kids duty.

After class I wrote up a gift list for kids 2-4, I combined Cannon and Emerald’s list this year as they are playing with mostly the same things.

Gift Guide For 2-4 Year Old Girls & Boys

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What are your Thanksgiving plans?

It’s that time of year to start thinking about gifts for our favorite little people!

We have and love many of the items listed below and some are on their list this year.

Tricycle – We have two trikes that the kids ride around inside and love to race!

Sharper Image Remote Control RC Cars – This is a great starter RC car, both kids love it, the large tires make it less of a problem when it runs into furniture. It also just flips over and keeps going, no frustration!

Little Tikes 7 foot Trampoline – The kids will be getting this trampoline this year. They love to jump so much I can’t wait to see them use it.

Magna-Tiles Set – Both Cannon and Emmy love playing with these sets.

Kids Fire Tablet – We have had ours for a couple years now and they are amazing for travel. The kids drop them all the time and the case has kept them safe. We like to watch movies and play educational games on them.

Ikea Table – We love and use this little table all the time. It’s great for crafts, coloring and eating lunch. I feel like Emmy spills less when she is at a table that is her size.

Toddler Chair – These are on our list this year too, I just think they are so cute!

Vtech go go Train – This train is so fun for little ones, both Cannon and Emerald love the set we have. This one has Mickey and friends.

Skip Hop Backpack – We have had a skip hop backpacks for years, they have held up well and are cute. Emmy loves to keep all her treasures in hers.

Step2 Roller Coaster – We have had this roller coaster for three years, it still looks new and the kids still love to play on it. It’s a huge hit when friends come over to play.

Ikea Kitchen – I love how simple and modern this play kitchen is.

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What is on your kids list this year?

Quarantine day 8, and things are not that exciting around here. The best news is that it has been really warm and sunny here so at least we aren’t stuck inside. We are still trying to spend more time outside, we aren’t going to make 1000 hours outside this year but we are going to do our best so just be out MORE.

I have been trying to let the kids have more unstructured time outside. Cannon doesn’t have school on Wednesdays so we spent a lot of time in the backyard.

Snacks are better eaten in the backyard!

It was even warm enough to get the water table out.

And open the windows in the house, fresh air is the best!

I am so so proud of Cannon, he has had to give up so much this year but always shows up everyday with a smile on his face. Emmy has lost out on experiences too but at two I feel like she doesn’t notice as much.

I think she is happy to have more time with Cannon. She is going to be devastated when Cannon starts going to school full time.

We had veggie burgers for dinner (we try to have meat free days at least once a week) and I went to bed not long after putting the kids down. I have been tired this week, probably fighting the cold Cannon has and just needed more rest.

Lynzy at Lynzy&Co has a gift guide based on the idea that we should be outside all year. She also has other great resources and is really cute and fun to follow!

Holiday Gift Guide | No Such Thing As Bad Weather

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Have you been enjoying time outside?

What is weather like where you are? I don’t think 70 degree days in November are normal for Colorado.

We Finally heard from Cannon’s doctor that his Covid test came back negative. NEGATIVE, we are so happy!

Cannon started not feeling well recently so we were almost certain he must have caught Covid when he was exposed at school. It was very stressful not knowing how sick we could all possibly get. Now with his negative test result we can be 95% sure that what he has is a simple cold. It took six days to get results that should have taken two….I feel for anyone else out there waiting for their results. We will still quarantine until Saturday like we are supposed to because it is *possible* that he could still have Covid and just didn’t have enough viral load when we had him tested.

Now that we can move on from our Covid scare we can focus on more fun things like routines =) I love a good routine and my kids thrive on them as well. With Cannon transitioning from in-person preschool to online learning we had to rework things a bit. The last two days have gone pretty well so we will see how this schedule holds up.

We basically do things in blocks of time and adjust as needed. For now our schedule looks like this:

4am-6:15 ish: This is my time to workout unless I sleep in and just get up with the kids. I have been running on the treadmill a lot but hope to get outside once our quarantine is over.

I would like to add in some cross-training with a spin bike. Has anyone used an Echelon spin bike before? I am thinking about this one:

Also thinking about getting the Pelaton app to use, so it kinds feels like a spin class. I miss them so much and my guess is that it could be 6-12 months before I see one again.

6:30 – 7:30 – The kids get up around 6:30, although this week Cannon has thought 5:45 was a better wake up time =( This is when we get dressed have breakfast and get ready for our day.

7:30 – 9:30 – Before school we try to get some physical play in. Lately we have been playing in our basement but outside would be even better. Now that we have our negative Covid test we might start taking walks outside for fresh air and exercise.

9:30 – 10:30 – Cannon has his online zoom call with his teacher and classmates. Then we do any other activities he might have. I am so proud of how he is doing.

10:30 – 11:30 – After school work we take some down time/screen time where we have been cuddling and just hanging out. I think when we all feel better I will change this to “recess” time where we will go to a playground. But since both kids are fighting a cold they are getting extra down time.

Cannon grabbed my phone and was so excited to take pictures of his show. He took 65 pictures, I laughed so hard!

11:30 – 12:30 – Then it’s lunch time, we are so enjoying having Cory at home since he joins us for lunch every day.

12:30 – 2:30 – Emmy takes about a two hour nap a day (sometimes less, usually not more). While Emmy naps cannon gets to do his Homer App, or school work if he needs to or help me with a project. I love this one-on-one time with him. Now that Cannon isn’t going to school I don’t get much just Emmy time.

2:30 – 4:00 – This has been our open play time that the kids get to pick what to do. We play in the play loft or do a craft, really just whatever they want to do.

4:00 – 6:00 – Cory is usually done with work by 4 and we are excited to see him and start the dinner process. On nights that I teach I start class at 5:30 so Cory takes over kid/bed time on nights I don’t work we tend to go upstairs and do bedtime all together around 6 to 6:30. The kids take their baths or showers in the evening. We try to have the kids asleep by 7PM but we are often not leaving their rooms until 7:30

7:30 – Way too late! – After bed time is the magic time that we can actually get something done. We clean up, take care of chores, I write these posts and finish up any work I have to do. Cory always puts in more hours for work late at night. I pretty much always get to bed later than I want to but that’s life!

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What do your days currently look like?

I will definitely be looking for some new fun things to add to our days!

Day six of quarantine and a full five days of waiting for Cannon’s test results. Let me just say that this has been a very stressful few days. The results won’t change our behavior, we will still quarantine until our two weeks are up but we just want to know. When the test is supposed to take two days waiting this long feels extra painful.

We still had a good day with Cannon’s first day of “distance learning”

I have to admit that I like the slower morning schedule. We got up took our time getting ready and spent 45 minutes playing in the basement before Cannon had his first Zoom meeting with his class. It went much better than the spring when he was not into zoom calls and refused to participate.

We watched a squirrel eat one of the pumpkins we grew in our garden.

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He made a mess but was sure cute!

We watched the Polar Express after school and enjoyed cuddling, one of the perks of home schooling.

After naps we played in the toy loft, I will say that 2020 has been a lot of things but it has helped me focus on just being present with my kiddos.

The kids still seem to be having fun.

Cannon has been enjoying his train table in his room since we moved it to make room for their Christmas tree.

There is something magic about kids and Christmas lights.

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The jammies we love are on 50% off at Carters now!

If you want to feel happy you can read about Chris Nikic who became the first person with Down’s Syndrome to complete an Ironman.

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Read any happy news lately?

Day five of of quarantine and we are still surviving quite well. We are taking it easy and slow. Hopefully we will get good news about Cannon’s test today.

There was some good cuddles with Daddy.

Matching Christmas jammies (thanks Costco!)

It was an incredibly windy day but we really needed some fresh air.

Cannon was an awesome big brother and pushed Emmy around in her car while Cory and I cleaned up the yard.

Emmy has been treating anything she can like a trampoline so I think the Christmas shopping is going in this direction:

We then decorated the “kids Tree” in our play room.

This has only non-breakable decorations some from when I was a kid and some from my moms childhood!

My mom and grandma even painted some of them

I wish I had their talent.

I am actually really looking forward to running outside once our quarantine is over. Once I CAN’T do something I love, I miss it all that much more. Our mornings are slower now that we don’t have to rush off to school so maybe I can get up a little later and run as the sun is coming up. I actually love winter running.

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Now we wait for results and hope for the best.

How is everyone doing this Monday?

Which would you choose winter or summer running?

Is anyone thinking of training for a marathon in 2021? I am definitely hoping to run at least one! If you are running your 100th, 10th or 1st I think this article could be helpful:

THIS article in Triathlete talks about compiling lots of data in whats most efficient in marathon training.

Our 4th day of quarantine was again not that exciting…..I did possibly find a spin bike that we could get, we’ll see.

Emmy really enjoyed drinking orange juice (why is she looking so grown up).

I Finally purchased a new laptop. We looked into it and we got my current laptop in 2012 and it is acting it’s age! Apple came out with their new MacBooks so I ordered one and I can’t wait for it to get here.

We put some more Christmas up.

We watched Jingle Jangle on Netflix, it’s cute, would recommend.

And we had shrimp pasta for dinner.

We are now on day 4 of waiting on Cannon’s Covid test, they are supposed to take 2 days but labs are backed up because Colorado numbers are so bad. The doctor warned us it could be longer and also that we might hear on Sunday if his test was positive because they prioritize those results. The office is closed on Sunday so if they get his results as negative we wouldn’t hear until Monday at the earliest. Fingers toes and everything crossed we get happy news tomorrow. Please keep us in your thoughts.

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Anyone else waiting on Covid results?

Anyone training for a marathon?

It was a stormy day with not much to do…..day three of quarentine.

The kiddos tried Egg Nog for the first time, they were fans!

While I grabbed a grocery pick-up Cory took the kids over to a field that no one was at. We don’t want to expose anyone if we do have Covid so we are making sure to not go places with other people but the kids needed some fresh air.

Some soccer and sunshine did them good.

If you are running inside a lot like I am Run 4 Prs posted these treadmill workouts. These help so much to make the time go by!

Also Hungry Runner Girl (She just had her baby!) has tons of workouts HERE.

Lastly I have been dreaming of where we can go next year. We are excited to use our new travel trailer. We loved our trip Yellowstone in September and want to see more!

Where are your favorite places to visit in the US, extra points if we can drive there from Colorado!

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Done any great workouts lately?

Dreaming of going anywhere? I would love to go abroad but who knows what travel will look like in 2021. We will definitely take the trailer out as long as it’s safe.

There isn’t too much going on here now that we are on day two of our quarantine. We are doing our best to keep the kids having fun and not having contact with other people. Even now in these crazy times we are trying to focus on the good like:

Cake pops after getting a Covid test (Cannon really had a hard time with the test)

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Emmy came along for the ride and also enjoyed her cake pop

Snuggle time with my oldest

Sweet little teacher gifts that we will now be mailing:

Our home gym so that we can get some movement in. Cory actually went for a bike ride outside in the middle of the night. There wasn’t anyone else out at 11PM (yikes, I was asleep).

**Photo from 2014 when we first moved in before kids, now it is full of stuff!

That our Vice President Elect was ON A RUN when she found out that they won.

And that it’s almost time to decorate for Christmas. I think we might just go for it early this year since we are stuck at home and it would be something fun to do. We still put up a live tree so that won’t happen until after Thanksgiving.

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What is something you are thankful for today?

It was not our best day……

We got an email from Cannon’s school letting us know that he had been “in close contact with someone that tested positive for Coronavirus”. This means that we must self quarantine for 14 days to not further spread the virus. This is a very stressful update. Cannon was supposed to go to school two more days before they shut down, now he will be very sad not to get to say goodbye to his teachers and friends. While I agree that this is the right thing to do it still isn’t easy.

This means, no school, playgrounds, walks outside, shopping, etc. We need to stay in our house or backyard until the quarantine is up. One bit of good news is that the clock started on Friday when Cannon was exposed so our quarantine is over on November 21st

While I am stressed and sad about this update I am still counting our blessings.

• As of now we are all healthy (this is by far MOST important)
• We have a yard and plenty of space to play in
• I have a treadmill and weights to keep me active
• We have technology to keep connected to friends and family
• The kids have each other and while they sometimes bicker they really are best friends.
• Cory and I are already working from home so our work will not be impacted.

This picture is of them holding hands, I love that they are so close. I am sure it will be different when they are teens so I am going to soak it in while I can.

My mom let us borrow her BB-8 Droid for the kids to play with. It was good timing as we are going into isolation, they think this thing is their new best friend. They give it hugs and love to play with it. Thanks mom, for giving them something fun to do while we wait out our two weeks.

Now we focus on what we can do to make this time fun and easy on the kids. I think we will go ahead and decorate for Christmas (why not). Bake some yummy things (thank goodness for grocery delivery). Play a lot in the yard and watch movies together.

As for my running I will just continue to do all my runs on the treadmill so nothing changes there…..I just hope it does not break again!

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Anyone else have to self-isolate because of Covid? What did you do to make the time go by?