Well, I haven't posted a blog in quite a while simply because it's just been the same every day. Then I moved my pictures from the phone to the computer and realized that I have taken tons of pictures and that it's probably a good idea to document our life these days to look back on later. So, I will write a little bit here first, in case you don't want to scroll through all of the pictures. As news of the virus spread, I realized that it might be a good idea to buy some masks. At the time, I really did not think we would need them. I told the kids that it's kind of like buying bandaids or cold medicine. We were just wanting to be prepared. I went to the pharmacy and even way back then, the limit was 10 masks per family. Since that day, we have not been able to find masks for sale anywhere in person or online. That being said, we have had several people give us masks! Schools have been out since January 17 with no official announcement as to when they will start back (although I am hearing rumors of April 27), everyone must wear a mask to go outside, you are not supposed to go outside unless it's for groceries. Things are getting better all the time and we are seeing signs of "normal" life slowly returning. I'll go into more detail another time. The first picture above is of me and my friend, Mary, at the beginning of all of this. We had planned to meet at a mall, but they were not letting you enter unless you had a mask. This was the first day for such a rule (and the mall was actually open...which it is not now) Thankfully, we had both put a mask in our bags just to have.
Jonathan going out to the grocery store.
The older two girls going with me to the grocery store. Many of these pictures are just that...grocery store trips. We took turns going and even taking a kid once in a while since my kids are bigger and look like adults ;) Even at that, they were the ONLY kinds out. Most kids have not left their homes for any reason. Talk about a stir crazy country.
So, don't let this panic you. We have food and have not ever felt like we might not have it. WE do see sections of empty shelves from time to time, but they get restocked. Think about it like the day before a snow prediction in the south....the store run out of bread and milk but there are plenty of other things too buy. Similar story here.
Our little grocery store.
Pictures like this are a first for us...we have never seen the country so void of people and cars before. Nearly everyone is staying inside.
One of the "OK things to get out of the house for" is to walk the dogs. The kids used to argue over who HAD to walk the dogs. They began arguing over who GOT to walk the dogs. ;)
Our empty, quiet, void of kids, complex
We have found many ways to entertain ourselves for so many days. One way is playing games. It's quality family time even if it was unexpected :) Who doesn't like a game of Yahtzee!
Regan and I went out just to stretch our legs. The fresh air was needed.
The plants on the balcony are blooming.
We have also been doing extra homeschool :) Katherine has graciously agreed to help teach Hudson about plants and walk him through how to do his experiments. This is a win win for mommy!!
The elevator buttons have been covered with plastic wrap to help keep the germs away. They also spray disinfectant on all surfaces of the elevator 6 times a day.
I want to find the "normal" picture of this same street for comparison...no cars, no people, no shops, not schools...
Yes, this grocery run consisted of bread, cokes, and bananas.
One of the guys spraying disinfectant (now they are not in this outfit...now it's full blown hazmat suits)
Enjoying some cool weather on the balcony...I just needed to feel like I was outside for a bit...with no mask ;)
I had some company join me :)
We then preceded to talk and take selfies for the next 30 minutes or more
We decide that she definitely looks like her daddy, so they tried the faces.
My two extraverts are stuck in the home. So glad they have each other!!
Getting a little scraggly! There are a bunch of dogs (and people) starting to need some serious haircuts! Soon. I hope soon.
You know it's been crazy when your homebody says "Do you need anything at the store. I need to stretch my legs."
This is the drive to the mall...normally overflowing with people.
empty...even Starbucks is closed
working on a science project
Lauren going out with her daddy
Katherine had more tomatoes grow!! It's amazing that this plant is still giving us tomatoes...all from 1 single seed!
A surprise envelope form Mamaw and Papaw! No one is allowed in the complex, so if you get mail or order takeout then they will call you and you have to go outside of the complex gate to get it.
Trying to be creative to get our exercise while we are stuck. It's not easy. Our muscles get sore from the lack of walking we are doing. We used to walk miles a day.
I haven't seen Guess Who come out in a very long time! haha!
Yes, you can have some iPad time. They really want to go ride bikes.
building random creations
Our temperature is taken every time we leave, every time we come back, and at every store we enter!
We have missed friends....so tankful for technology. We video called our friends and talked for over an hour 3 days in a row!! It definitely helped "the blahs" the were starting to set in.
A family game of Nertz
We also need to clean our shoes when entering the complex to kill any germs that might be on the bottom of our feet.
studying hard (they all are, actually)
We have missed Grace so much!!! She was supposed to be gone for 6 days and got stuck in another province. We haven't seen her in person in 6 weeks now! I can't wait for her to get back.
Hudson had a little 24 hour bug...all is good now.
This is the MTR in a nearby city.
This is the contraption that they built to "fog you" as you enter...they are not kidding around about germs. I took a video of myself walking through it for future reference.
These signs are up everywhere!! You are not allowed to eat together....therefore nearly all restaurants are closed down (unless they offer delivery)
Gracie got sick and had to have emergency surgery. She's doing much better.
This was the surprise from Mamaw and Papaw...hong bao!
Katherine has been in McD's withdrawal :) We decided to get takeout...and yes, Katherine really did eat 2 cheeseburgers and 2 large fries :)
Boaz is 3 months old already. It's hard to believe.
This is one of our favorite restaurants...I was afraid they might be gone forever, but the gate is cracked open, so I think they are still there.
I don't know if you can tell in the picture or not, but this lady in the pink jacket is an example of the common site we see. The people that do get out will wear coats (even when not needed) with the hood up, goggles, mask, and disposable gloves so that they don't touch any germs. Some people even are wearing gas masks...that's a little overkill if you ask me...it looks so heavy!
My helpers for this trip.
Many people don't go to the grocery store, but call in their order and then this guy delivers it to their gate.
They were throwing away all of the poinsettias. My girls thought it was terrible to throw them away already, so the gardener gave them as many as they wanted.
They brought home TOO many! They kept them for about a week and then I asked them to choose 5 to keep. I think that is plenty.
This was a huge blessing! I had actually just had the thought that I was getting concerned because I didn't know how to get masks for my family. With the "no going outside without a mask" rule, it was looking more and more unlikely. I got a phone call saying that I had a package. It was from someone I don't even know!!! Our friend here locally thought we could use some masks and asked his friend to send us some. Ww now all have masks and had enough that we could share with others as well!
When a residential area does not have a guard/official gate, they block off all but on way in and out of the area so that they can control the flow of people.
When your kids pull out the bag of random toys from who knows when and make up their own games...miniature bowling
The dog wanted in on the card action
This is the other thing we do to get our energy out/exercise a little bit...a stair stepper. Everyone has been taking turns on it. They wanted a picture when it got to 9,999 steps (actually it only counts your right foot)
The flour shelf...it's restocked now.
We decided to make some thank you bags for the guards and workers at our complex. They have had to keep working during this time and even more so because of all of the strict rules. So we put together bags with oranges, Snickers, breath mints, bags of nuts, some candy, and a note from our family.
The girls had fun putting them together.
On top of disinfecting the elevators times a day, they also use these blue lights for 2 hours each day.
So, being stuck at home doesn't mean not communicating with people. Some people we have actually gotten a little more close to for various reasons. Things like this...I got this picture asking what they should do because they didn't want to take the baby to the hospital and risk infection. I was able to give advice (and double check it with my medical friend in the States since I was doing some serious multitasking that day) and got the right cream for his little cheeks.
Giving out some of the goodie bags :)
Well, one parent decided that it had been a REALLY long time since kids were allowed to play outside, so she took her kid to the playground....30 minutes later...This.
more goodie bags
A friend sent me this picture because she had her McD's delivered (we picked ours up) It has the signature and the temperature of each person that handled the order.
Signs like this are up EVERYWHERE! They are all similar. Basically, don't go out without a mask. Go back home. Think of everyone else. Let's keep safe during the epidemic. If you have traveled back from another city you must self quarantine for 14 days. Things like that.
Valentine's Day...he managed to buy me flowers :) What a surprise!
I made brownies and used M&M's to make hearts for everyone.
Brownies brought a smile to everyone's face!
More temperature checks
You can't get on the bus unless they check your temperature.
Gracie got to come home :)
Here's our "real" Valentine's picture ;)
Gracie wanted to sleep with Katherine. She liked it until about 2:00am
Lauren made me a card
Pit....THREE. THREE. THREE. TWO. ONE. ONE. TWO...
His little cheeks are better.
A walk by the oceanside
We ran into some friends who were taking a short walk...YEAH! Literally, the first people we have seen face to face. There's signs up all over that say you must stay 1 meter apart from other people.
They played for a few minutes in the field while their dad chilled in the grass.
Our friend also sent these masks to our other friend. It was a great chance for her to share love with her parents. They needed the masks and it made an impression on them. Simple acts of kindness.
These are the child masks that I was able to mail out to 3 different people with little ones.
Katherine asked if she could build her tent in the house. Sure. Why not? It was definitely in the way, but made her happy. I let her keep it up for a week.
This is what the inside of McDonald's looks like. You are not allowed to sit down, only pick up your food.
on the bus
in the rain
Risk
some hot chocolate on a cool morning makes me happy :)
Made some wonton soup...
stretch!
Originally I was taking a picture of this tree because it was just interesting, but then it hit me that there were cars on the road!! People are starting to travel back...theoretically that means business will open up soon, right?
Look at that proud face!! He has been working on this lego car for WEEKS! It was not an easy task for him. He stuck with it and finished it! I made it part of his school when I realized how difficult it was for him. Great Job, Hudson!!
The first kid I have seen out since the lockdown began...
Checking out at the grocery store
walking by the seaside
All parks and beaches have been closed for weeks. I don't know when they will open up. Most of the barricades also have guards by them, but sometimes they just rely on the security cameras. I'm glad we can still walk on the sidewalks :)
Health clinics are also closed. You must go to a hospital if you are not feeling well.
McDonald's to go
This is the delivery guy coming to pick up my stuff. I talked with Ayi and found out that she had no masks, so I sent her some of what we had.
This is where they are putting packages right now, one table for food and another for other items.
This was new...it's like the thing for our feet...but it's for the cars to clean the germs off the tires.
my pretty girls
It looks like we have eaten McD's a lot, but not really. It's been twice :) haha! I guess it split my pictures up when I upload them.
package pick-up and delivery outside another complex
We were SOOOOO excited to see so many people out! Ok, it's not that many people, but it's signs of life. This is a good sign.
Ummm, I don't think so...this is NOT free.
More grocery shopping! My friend saw this and said " You look so PALE!" I told her that it's because ewe are not able to go outside and we like the sun. :)
Look at all the people buying groceries....things are looking up :)
Another friend stopped by to give us some more masks. :)
This is what happens when your mom ties the mask behind your ears so that it fits bettered accidentally ties your hair in with it.
FIFTEEN more tomatoes are on the way!!!
I just love this little guy. His mom sent me these pictures and said, "Thank you for the masks, Aunt Kelly. I get to go out for the first time today."
This was earlier in the blog actually. We needed to cross the border. There were lots of people leaving...
I was taking these two for immunizations.
This is now on my "I need one of these in my house" list ;) The hospital waiting room had complimentary coffee, water, tea, and HOT CHOCOLATE! It was so good.
"Silver Particle Anti-bacteria button shield"
Coming back in...not very many people ;)
One of my friend's kids. I think Anna is bored...haha!
It was a beautiful day and we noticed lots of activity on the sidewalks...including people riding bikes. Regan was a good big sister and took these two to ride bikes for 20 minutes.
HAHA! It's been awhile since they have had a "normal" day outside of the house. They were both taking pictures of everything.
One last time. I have to end it with this cutie!
Caleb and his mom, Gray
