And to kick off 2021.... we are awaiting Covid tests here 😂😩
We all feel great but we were exposed a few days after Xmas so we’re just chilling at the house. We got our tests this morning but the states’s computers are down and results won’t get sent out till Monday and turn around time is 3-4+ days so basically by the time we get the results back we could just leave quarantine anyway. 🤷♀️🤦♀️
We signed up for HBO Max to help kill time and have watched Wonder Woman 1984 (just ok) and started binging His Dark Materials (really good!). School is supposed to start Monday but I’m guessing we will be out the whole first week.
DS1 starts at his new school Tuesday. I’m hoping we find out his teacher tomorrow. H claims he continues to catch mice in the garage. If he would help me go through our mountains of boxes, I’m sure it would reduce the amount of mice! I guess I know what I’ll be doing today.
danvers I’m so sorry to hear that you are in limbo on your COVID tests. That’s really frustrating to have such a slow turnaround time. Glad you are all feeling okay, and I hope the self-isolation time passes quickly.
curmudgeon Good luck getting through all of those boxes! Unpacking is the worst thing about moving. I find it so overwhelming. Fingers crossed the new teacher for your DS1 is a good fit, and I hope he has a great first day of of school!
Whelp, it was nice while it lasted. After nearly 6 months of pretty much no local COVID transmission, it’s back, spreading, and things are shutting down again. Sigh. They’ve moved all the schools to virtual learning through the end of January, which sucks. Travel outside of the city is not recommended, and I certainly won’t travel, as I don’t want to risk getting trapped away from home.
So, we’re just preparing for more time at home and thankfully we have a new iPad coming this weekend that DS1 can use for school once his winter break is done (our old iPad was over 10 years old, yikes!). I really hope they can get the outbreak under control so that schools can re-open, but I think it will be much more difficult this time. The UK strain is now here, and while schools are closed, the government refuses to close the malls or restaurants. So, it’s just going to keep spreading, while my kids are stuck at home. Doesn’t seem fair to prioritize malls and restaurants over students and education. 😞
We met DS’s teacher and she seems very sweet. And young. A lot of areas like science labs and computer labs are shut down because of covid. That was disappointing to see. I get it, but I wish they weren’t. The school has 15! new students starting tomorrow. I’m just hoping DS doesn’t get lost trying to find his classroom!
Post by duskymonkey on Jan 4, 2021 23:44:58 GMT -6
danvers bah! I hope you all are ok. Same with my sister about test results wait time. They didn't feel great Thanksgiving week and they were afraid it came home with my nephew ( because of special ed he's in school ) It took 2 business days or 5 total days to obtain results added to the fact that it took my BIL 2 days to get a testing appointment. I also heard, most people who are awaiting test results will just go about their daily lives instead of quarantining their ass. It's just so frustrating. I am so over selfish people.
curmudgeon I hope he'll assimilate well into his new school environment. They've decided to get kids back in school this week to except the county we're in is at 10% positivity and that worries me. Our school is part of the district which is in the neighboring county which has a 4% positivity rate. They obviously care about the community and have been able to get it down from our state wide 12% about a couple of months ago. I actually go all the way there to get groceries. I no longer shop in my area because people suck. Anyways DS is in virtual school and has been since March so we shan't have to worry much but I still worry being in our neighborhood. If you're looking for mice traps, I highly recommend the electronic traps. Might cost more but much less mess and more humane. We get them in our garage when the weather starts getting cold. There's no way around it they can squeeze in through the tiny gap between our garage door.
Taitai I am sorry you all have to be stuck at home too. It's so much more challenging being in an apartment. We are thankful we have the great outdoors to be able to social distance and that is keeping us sane for certain. I agree with you regarding prioritizing education. It's the same over here...actually much worse. I cannot wait until inauguration. I sound like a pessimist but I honesty do not know how the new admin is going to get a handle of this. It's so OOC here and it will take the people to actually be willing to abide which I sadly cannot see happening. The crap I am reading on our Next-door is just mind-blowing. Like incomprehensible how caught up they are with their so called freedom and all the lies and the damage it has done which I don't know if its reversible at this point. I am just hoping enough of the population are willing to get vaccinated so we can at least open schools safely and that we feel safe to send the kids.
@coachtwife How are you all doing? I hope you're doing ok and your H is back to himself. Please check in when you can. We are thinking of you. So we had a pretty good break. Hubs actually took last week off but ended up working Monday, Tuesday till 2am! and part of Wednesday. I was a little mad about it, not at him - nothing he could've done about it, just the shitty timing and I would have done the same if I was in his position. I was just looking forward to spending a relaxing time with just the family unit since I was so busy the previous week preparing for Christmas. I was also excited and made the best sweet potato buns ever! I am a horrid bread baker and I even modded the recipe because as I was making it didn't feel right. Now I have a basic potato bun recipe I can use. Too bad we aren't bread eaters or I could really get into bread baking.
duskymonkey Oooh, sweet potato buns sound awesome! I am sure you are a wonderful baker, despite what you say. Your culinary skills overall are amazing! If I was in the USA, I’d take them off your hands for sure!
What you said about people being obsessed with their freedom (to the detriment of others) is so true. Being on the other side of the world, I just don’t get why so much about this pandemic is being politicized. I saw the term toxic individuality the other day, and I was like - yep, that’s exactly what it is. There are benefits to individualism and independence, but the attitudes I am seeing in the states are just ridiculous.
I also hope the vaccine can get things in check. It’s disappointing to see how much they have bungled the rollout in the USA. Sigh. I have my fingers crossed that things will get back on track with this new administration.
duskymonkey we're ok. DH is mostly back to normal, he had teachers meetings/workday yesterday and school is back in session today. Fatigue has been his biggest lingering symptom so I'm curious how he'll feel after teaching all day. I've been quarantining due to exposure since 12/16 and my quarantine finally ends on Friday 1/8. I really struggled not getting to see my mom over Christmas - I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving. We're really close and she's the only parent I have and it was just really hard to not see her at all for Christmas. Her bday is New Year's Day so didn't get to see her on her bday either. We're planning to go visit her this weekend after I'm out of quarantine.
My heart is so happy. DS1 said he had the best day ever at school today, and found a small group of friends to play with. But he hopes to grow the group to even more people. 😆 I couldn’t have asked for a better report from him for his first day at a new place. The teacher is nicer, the playground is better, and the lessons were more interesting.
Is anyone’s kid still in a toddler bed? We are moving DS2 to a big boy bed tonight. Waited til the move and all before changing. I discovered I forgot to buy twin sheets for him so he’s sleeping with Christmas grinch sheets.
Taitai I totally get the frustration with schools closed and gyms and whatnot open. I’m glad you all had some relative freedoms before the lockdown. Hopefully the boys fall into a routine soon and it gets under control quickly.
curmudgeon that’s so awesome about your DS1’s school. I hope it continues to be a wonderful experience for him.
CoachTsWife I hope the remaining days of quarantine pad quickly for you and you can see your mom soon. My mom and I are super close and even though we live 3+ hrs apart I see her at least once a month (or did pre-covid). I get it and I hope you get to see her soon
duskymonkey we are bread eaters here. Please send all extras our way 😂 I would eat any of your food to be honest though too. I so enjoy baking but am a little intimidated by bread. I wanted to learn this summer during lock-down but getting yeast was near impossible here. Now I have some yeast but not the time I would like to read up on it and try making something.
Day 8 of quarantine here. We got tested on Day 5 but haven’t heard back yet. We all feel fine, just a little sick of each other 🤪
My boss is frustrated with me because I didn’t ask for “rapid testing” via the health dept so that I could get a negative test and return to school (super sub shortage here)
1. Did not know our health dept had rapid tests available to certain types of personal
2. Rapid tests aren’t super accurate anyway and day 5 feels early to declare someone truly “covid negatove”
3. Even if I got one and it was negative, someone has to stay home with the girls while we wait for their traditional tests so I’d be out anyway
It feels very much like “we make the rules up as we go” here whenever anyone gets exposed or tests positive. Not my problem there is sub shortage for schools where 100% of the students are in-person and in a school district where nobody takes mask wearing or social distancing seriously 😑
Anyway, we’re going a little stir crazy here. I’ve given the living room over to barbies and magnetic tiles and chaos. I just clean the other rooms of the house now 😂
curmudgeon Wonderul news that your DS1 had a great day and he likes his new school/teacher/buddies. I hope he continues to make more friends and have many more great days to come. That was very heart/warming to read!
CoachTsWife I am so sorry that you haven’t been able to see your mom since Thanksgiving, and I hope you are able to visit her soon. Is she recovered from her surgery, or still a ways to go? Glad to hear that your H is feeling better, and I hope the fatigue goes away soon.
danvers I’d be going stir crazy too, and I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t received your results yet. But yes, I don’t really think there was a downside to you getting the PCR testing - they should understand that. Hope you all can find some activities around the house to pass the time, and glad everyone is feeling okay at least!
Taitai she is doing as expected I think. It was a major surgery (her surgery was WAY more involved than either of DH's back surgeries) and she is 71, so the recovery is pretty extensive. She is able to care for herself and she can drive around her little town, but it will be quite a while until she is back to her normal self. We live 1.5 hours from her and it was nothing for her to pop up and see us for an evening or a couple hours on a weekend previously, but she can't drive that far yet (due to comfort), so she still has a ways to go. All normal stuff I think, considering the surgery and her age.
Post by duskymonkey on Jan 6, 2021 18:10:09 GMT -6
Guys...this has been my adopted home for over 2 decade. America has fallen from grace today and I am so saddened with the turn of events. I cannot imagine how you all must feel.
Guys...this has been my adopted home for over 2 decade. America has fallen from grace today and I am so saddened with the turn of events. I cannot imagine how you all must feel.
I just came here to post, WTF USA. What horrible news to wake up to. This is getting out of control, and we need responsible leaders to step up and put a stop to this attack on our democracy. I’m so disappointed and saddened.
Post by duskymonkey on Jan 8, 2021 16:17:16 GMT -6
It's Friday, I am still mindblown that the whack job is still in office. He's dangerous and should be removed immediately. Yes I understand there's a process but still WTH! Dems needs to also stop pussyfooting my gosh! There's no way he's walking out of the WH with just a slap on his hand. I certainly hope there's a line of people ready to serve him papers immediately as he walks out of there. I was aghast and sad on Wednesday but now I am just angry. ETA. Now is time for Pence to grow some balls...but he won't...
Taitai it's lunacy and those people are scums and thugs. More I read about the destruction, it's an act of terrorism and good thing they're dumb enough to post themselves on SM. Every single one of them needs to be convicted for what they have done. Sorry guys if I killed the thread here for a bit. I shouldn't be discussing politics on here.
CoachTsWife I am glad to know your DH has recovered. Lots of rest for him and YOU too now that he can help with the boys a little. I so appreciate every little bit hubs does. Also happy to hear your mom is doing well too. It sucks and isn't fair and I am sorry. Big hugs. I hope you get to see her soon. I think it's so much harder when you're in the so close and yet so far situation. I hope hope so much we can get to see my folks in 2022 . It's totally OK I am used to it. When my sister left home, we didn't see her for 4 years and that was hard and there weren't any video chats then.
danvers glad to hear you're all well and if you were close by, I would be really happy to be your bread supplier. Beware though I have made some bricks before lol! I'll post the recipe here for you to try. Also if and when you have time, Peter Reinhardt The Baker's apprentice is a really good place to start. You can probably get a copy from the library. Ironically I started getting the feel of the dough after the bebehs arrived I remember reading a recipe that said to add flour and knead until the dough feels like a baby's bottom ???
curmudgeon I am so happy for your DS too and it just makes our day when our kids are happy too! Grinch sheets sounds like the dream for lil fella! He's totally obsessed with the grinch and asks to watch it every afternoon after Thanksgiving. Well we just transitioned him Christmas week to my parents room directly onto a regular bed. We never used a toddler bed for either one. Crib ---> bed! We actually switched out the Queen in my parents room with DS' Full because it was a few inches lower and easier for lil fella to climb in and out. Both beds are platform beds and aren't very tall. We originally wanted to get him out of our room Thanksgiving week but I was still cleaning out my parent's room. Moreover DS had 2 weeks break over Christmas and their rooms are next to each other so if any sleep was interrupted we could let either one of them to sleep in the next day which obviously didn't happen...the sleep in part. Up before the crack of dawn like clock work Have you seen any dining sets that have caught your eye in your budget?
DS started back at school this week on Wednesday instead of Monday. I got confused and didn't know how to read the districts calendar duh!. Oops! Luckily I read the weekly newsletter Sunday night or we'd be trying to Webex his teacher Monday morning. Since I had a couple days unstructured with the kids, I made Gougeres ( Cheese puffs ) with our leftover fondue cheese! Total hit with the boys! They've been snacking on them all week. Taitai if you get to make fondue and have leftover cheese, use it for Gougeres. SE has a good recipe. Gougeres BTW how are things over there? My parents are telling me that cases are rising again. There's also lots of flooding which is usual for this time of year as I recall and that's displacing a lot of people and causing it to spread. I hope your country can get it under control quickly.
It will be a normal work and school week next week for everyone now that we know we’re in the clear. That’s it for excitement here 😂
My living room is still very Barbie central here. It doesn’t matter because with Covid cases continuing to rise no one will see the dozens of tiny shoes and naked Barbies everywhere anyway (but why are they always naked?!?!).
DS started back at school this week on Wednesday instead of Monday. I got confused and didn't know how to read the districts calendar duh!. Oops! Luckily I read the weekly newsletter Sunday night or we'd be trying to Webex his teacher Monday morning. Since I had a couple days unstructured with the kids, I made Gougeres ( Cheese puffs ) with our leftover fondue cheese! Total hit with the boys! They've been snacking on them all week. Taitai if you get to make fondue and have leftover cheese, use it for Gougeres. SE has a good recipe. Gougeres BTW how are things over there? My parents are telling me that cases are rising again. There's also lots of flooding which is usual for this time of year as I recall and that's displacing a lot of people and causing it to spread. I hope your country can get it under control quickly.
Thank you for the recipe and tip on the Gougeres! We haven’t done the fondue yet - mainly because we’ve been trying to use up this cheese and charcuterie board we had for New Years. That stuff is just soooooo rich - I needed a break on cheese for a while. Especially since I think I’m a bit lactose intolerant. Which I find hilarious I didn’t know about myself until we moved to Asia 😂🤣
In terms of the COVID situation - it’s about 200 cases per day, for a country of 70 million, which probably doesn’t sound bad when compared to the USA, but people here take the virus very seriously. We’re used to no local transmission. So, everyone is being strongly encouraged to stay home (we are), school is virtual until 31 Jan, and everyone is trying to be very cautious. I hope it works and they can get it under control again. Only about 17-40 cases per day in the city where I live, which has millions of people, so that’s good too. It’s still out there though - and I certainly don’t want to catch it.
It will be a normal work and school week next week for everyone now that we know we’re in the clear. That’s it for excitement here 😂
My living room is still very Barbie central here. It doesn’t matter because with Covid cases continuing to rise no one will see the dozens of tiny shoes and naked Barbies everywhere anyway (but why are they always naked?!?!).
Great news that your tests came back negative!! Hoping that next week will go well, and you all can stay healthy 🤞🤞🤞
We took the Christmas decorations down today - and our place feels more back to normal. While I love the festivity, I’m also happy to get rid of all the extra stuff and the tree that was taking up space.
The weather was also great today - not super hot for once, AND the AQI was green, which was awesome. The kids biked and scooted around on our compound and played with neighbor kids all day. Hoping they sleep well tonight! Not sure what we are doing tomorrow - probably just more time outside while the weather is good.