Coronavirus: Day 155

It's been awhile my sweet friends, but I am here.  I can hardly believe this is the 155th day of the coronavirus having an impact on our daily lives. I never would have thought or believed that when the quarantine began 155 days ago, that we would still be dealing with the virus.  Our daily lives have changed dramatically.  Our world looks different.  My children were supposed to return to the classroom this fall...but distance based learning will continue.  Last March, I would never have predicted we would continue online learning at the beginning of the new school year.  But here we are.  Here we all are.  

There isn't one person that hasn't been affected by this virus.  That thought is both comforting and unbelievable.  Never in my lifetime did this possibility ever enter my mind.  Despite the changes, and masks, and social distancing, and mandates and new rules...life continues on.  My dear readers...since life goes on even during the craziest of times, this is my attempt to catch you up on the goings on of life in our Dahlhouse.  Enjoy.

Let's start with the littlest Dahl.  Matthew is nearly 4.5 years old.  Wait...he is 4.5 years old today!  Crazy.  He is my little ray of sunshine, my sweet buddy and shadow...that is unless dad is around.  Then, I don't exist.  He has finally fully potty trained, even at night.  Bless! He continues to be obsessed with trains and vehicles.  Our house is one big area for building railroad tracks...upstairs, downstairs, tables, couches, under furniture, down the stairs...doesn't matter.  If there is open space, Matthew sees an opportunity to conduct his little trains all around the tracks.  He is at the age where he is looking for validation and feedback from adults.  So it seems every two seconds, "Hey mom, look at __________."  I respond to him and then the next five seconds, "Mom look at this cool railroad track," or "Mom are you proud of me?"  He has really began verbalizing and expressing himself where anyone can understand now.  In early September we have an appointment for another evaluation for feeding therapy at a new clinic.  I still feel there is work to be done in this area.  I have promised myself that I wasn't going to worry or "borrow trouble" over the lack of variety in his food choices during the coronavirus.  But, I would be lying if I didn't mention that those thoughts exist in the back of my mind. 

The littlest Dahl lady is our regular comic relief.  I continue to write down all the amazingly humorous comebacks she has.  Bella enjoys helping me around the kitchen, jumping on the trampoline and playing with her best friend on our street.  I am so thankful that she has a sweet friend to play with.  I often find them creating elaborate stories and worlds for their dolls.  It makes me smile as I eavesdrop on their conversations.  I am so glad they just get to be kids right now, even in the midst of a pandemic.  Bella has been very artistic and dabbling in just about every form of art medium there is.  She has also taken to rearranging her room four to five times since March (just like her mama).  

Grace is our in house baker and has been making the most delicious baked goods.  Snickerdoodles, brownies, banana bread, cowboy cookies, no bake cookies, rice crispy treats.  She is amazing.  Grace is very into Kpop these days (Korean pop music) like most of her friends.  She enjoys her group of girl friends and I am so thankful that they have been able to get together more and hangout.

Luke has spent a lot of time learning the ways of Minecraft.  I enjoy hearing his conversations from downstairs while he is playing with his friend.  Well...mostly.  My boy can be LOUD!  Every so often from the family room I hear Luke upstairs yell, "Yaaaaaa.....let's GOOOOOO!"  or "I need help, I need help, I need help."  It makes me smile.  Luke and I have played a lot of board games.  Currently, Sequence is our fav.  I think I am on a winning streak right now.  I do not go easy on my kids when it comes to games.  Lol.  We've also dabbled in a bit of Monopoly too.  

Mark has been working tirelessly for BNSF.  He will celebrate his 16th year with his company in October.  After nearly two years working the road and traveling with the trains, he is coming back to the yard to work a predictable schedule and have set days off.  It is time.  We all miss him terribly and the weird, unpredictable hours have been more difficult for him.  Also, with this year going to be distance learning for awhile with four kids, Mark's help will be extremely valuable.  He looks forward to doing projects, hunting and fishing and finally being able to ride his motorbike.  I am so, so grateful for his hard work for our family.

I have been keeping things together here at the Dahlhouse, or at least attempting to.  I started a new independent contractor position with a company called Outschool.  It's been amazing so far.  I am writing and creating classes and teaching them via Zoom.  It has been awesome to not have to get up at 4:00am and also get to tap into my creative side.  I'll be scaling back some of my classes this fall because I have to make certain that I am fully available for my kids and their distance learning schedules.  I continue to go to my weekly therapy sessions with my counselor.  I am so thankful to have someone to help with my mental health during this time of the Coronavirus.  I am certainly not ashamed to say hey, "I need help."  It makes me a better mom, a better wife, a better friend and a better version of myself.  

As we begin gearing up for fall, I am reminded that this season of pandemic will end.  It will not be forever.  I am holding onto that thought, and believing for brighter days ahead.

Weeks #20 & #21 @ The Dahlhouse Travels to Maui

For our family vacation this year, we decided to go to Maui.  It had been almost three years since we last visited, and we were thrilled to go back.  The last time we were in Maui, I was pregnant with Man Cub (seems like a lifetime ago).  

The trip started at PDX and we were thrilled (ok BEYOND thrilled) that Hawaiian Airlines had brought back their non-stop flight to Kahului, Maui.  What used to be a whole travel day, from PDX-HNL-OGG (getting to the condo around 5pm Hawaiian time), became a much shorter travel day (arriving at 10:45am Hawaiian time).  

Traveling as a family of six, I always make sure to book seats in the back of the airplane, as not to disturb others around us.  I figure, if we are in the back of the plane, and Man Cub throws a fit or cries, then we are at least in the back (what more can you do)? 

This was not Matthew's first time flying; however, it was his first time really aware of what was going on.  He was very excited to see all the "airpane" as he calls them, but was not so thrilled at take off, protesting, "all-done, all done."  I think it was some sensory overload.  He quickly transitioned into becoming ok, and played musical seats between our two rows.

After landing in Maui, grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to stock up on food for the condo.  Costco is literally right next to the airport, and then a short trip to Foodland.  I forgot how expensive some things are (hello $11 watermelon), but then some things are inexpensive (1.97 pineapple).  I had never seen so many boxes of pineapples. Neither had B.

We stayed at our favorite place ever!  It's called the Hale Hui Kai.  It is literally 20 steps to the beach (which has the softest sand you ever felt).  The kiddos play for hours in the sand and water.  Boogie boarding, snorkeling, wave jumping, sand castle making...it really is the best.  Our condo unit is on the right on the bottom.  We were also close to the pool.  The Hale Hui Kai is located off S. Kihei Rd. in Kihei, Maui.  Look them up.  I can personally give a review of units #109 and #112.  

Grace enjoyed hours of reading.  She has sure turned into a little book worm.  I love that!!  She also was an incredible help with Matthew.

Having never traveled the road to Hana we were up for an adventure this trip.  It was amazing being in a rainforest and seeing the waterfalls.  We stopped at the iconic Halfway to Hana stop and bought their famous banana bread.  It was yummy.  We also stopped at a black sand beach.  It was on my bucket list!  It was truly black sand! I had never seen anything like it before.  

(Three of my kids on a black sand beach)

We traveled up north to Lahaina, to eat at Mark's favorite restaurant...Duke's.  Everyone enjoys it. 

I visited my dad's resting place and laid flowers in the water in honor of him.

After that, we got Hawaiian Shaved iced for all and ate it under the Banyan tree.

There were a lot of beautiful sunsets.  Many have asked if we had VOG or were effected by the Volcano erupting on the Big Island, but the answer was no.  We saw no effects of the volcano on the island of Maui.  

We spent a lot of time on the beach, enjoying the sun.

Or at the pool, which Matthew has named the "cuppy" after his sippy cups that hold water.  Silly kid.

I am happy to report Matthew got his "OWN" ukulele, so now he can stop screaming over Bella's.

Before we knew it, our trip had come to an end.  It always goes by too quickly.  

It was crazy going through TSA in Maui.  We had to remove just about everything from our carry ons.  It literally took 15 minutes to make it all the way through with our stuff.  They ended up checking and opening three of our bags too.  Sheesh.  We barely made it to our flight.

Heading back to the mainland was an adventure in itself. Little help and a lot of stares greeted us on the aircraft.  But we made it and Man Cub even slept through half the flight.  YES!

Before we knew it, we were back where we started and waiting for our ride to come and pick us up. I feel I am still readjusting to life post vacation, and the jet lag was pretty bad this time (as there was a three hour difference).  But we continue to move forward with end of the year activities for school, and getting ready for summer.