Catching COVID

 Despite being super cautious, still wearing masks in public places, not going to many events or activities, I picked up COVID last week at our first homeschool camp for the year. I had decided not to organise a camp earlier in the year because the risk felt too great, but by this stage the kids were in desperate need of a few days away with friends, and I was too. We'd decided it was worth the risk and I stand by that even though I'm disappointed to have caught it. The weird thing is that I don't know who I got it from - no one else admitted to being sick, and no one else has caught it since I did, not any of my kids or the people I was hanging out with. Which is a relief, I was worried it was going to be a super spreader event. I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time - and it shows how contagious this disease is. It's possible I didn't even talk to the person I caught it from, it could have been in the shared bathrooms at the caravan park.

I want to outline how the virus has played out for me, so that I don't forget.

Day 1

Woke up with a bit of a congested chest which worried me slightly, but then also had scratchy throat and eyes and runny nose so assumed it all part of the hayfever I'd been experiencing every morning. I was tired that day and spent hours just sitting and chatting and then curled up and reading, with no motivation even to go to the beach. I stood up after 2 hours reading and my entire body ached and I just wanted to sleep, even though I'd already had a nap before my reading stint. I decided instead to walk into town and see if the walk helped (I thought I might just be sore from an 8km walk the day before, combined with all the sitting around I'd done this day), and to pick up a RAT test while I was there. The walk was slow and I felt like I was getting a cold, feeling gradually worse and worse. When I got back to the caravan park and ducked into the bathrooms to do the test I had a really strong wave of dizziness. 

I did the RAT and glanced at it after about 5 minutes - a very strong second line was already showing. It was a horrible feeling, like a very bad dream, and I sat there for the rest of the 15 minutes trying to figure out what to do next. I ran into Caitlin as I left the bathrooms and we sat out the back working out the logistics - it was too late for me to pack up and go home that night, especially considering how unwell I was feeling, so Caitlin let the others know what had happened and I basically isolated (masked) at my tent for the rest of the evening. I did some tidying up so that pack up would be easier the next morning. My kids and the people we'd spent lots of time with did RATs and everyone else was negative.

Day 2

Felt like I had a nasty cold, and tired really easily. Felt like I had a fever. I was able to pack up with the help of the kids but had to stop and rest quite frequently. Talking and walking at the same time was tiring, as was standing up for too long at once. I had lots of offers of help and felt very supported and blessed to be surrounded by friends. We packed up and I drove home with one friend driving behind me in case things got too hard. It was a long drive, and I was masked so couldn't eat and drink like I normally do when I'm driving, and I didn't stop for a toilet stop so it was a huge relief to make it home! We put the tent up (cos it was wet) and the kids got the essential stuff out of the car and I went to bed. I was very very tired and had started to cough a lot as well - I felt like I had a bad head cold, with a dry cough. Sore sinuses and a runny nose, just very congested.

Day 3

The cough became more phlegmy and more frequent. My head felt a lot clearer, much less stuffy. I had no energy to do anything. Took the kids to get PCRs (Caitlin drove and I just curled up in the front seat and didn't want to move) - all negative. I walked out to the car to get something at one stage and walked too fast, was very puffed out for a while afterwards. Rested all day.

Day 4 

A bit more congested again and cough still happening. No loss of taste though. The breathlessness was worse- a 15 minute phone call had me puffing like I'd just run up a hill. In the night time I had night sweats which were horrible, especially when I got up to try and get some relief and then had breathlessness as well. Rested all day.

Day 5

Cough and congestion a little better, breathlessness much worse. Walking to the kitchen puffed me out. I really only have about 10 minutes of conversation in me and then it gets too tiring. Long sentences were hard work. Conscious of my breathing even if I wasn't doing much. Really smoky outside due to burning off so that didn't help with the breathing and meant I couldn't have the window open. Rested all day.

Lots of friends and water

It's raining this morning!!! It feels so lovely and refreshing and I feel a great sense of relief. For the last 48 hours the forecast has been for a very high probability of rain - and it has rained lots in some areas of Victoria (and around Melbourne even), but we kept missing out. I've been watching the radar and the rain has moved just to the north or south of us, or died out before it got this far east - it's been so frustrating, and the humidity has been building... So it's wonderful to finally wake up to steady rainy this morning.

On Wednesday morning we still had the kids over from the sleepover the night before. The boys crashed in the early morning after staying up so late, and slept for a few hours each. The girls were surprisingly happy and active. They played the Harry Potter Scene It game for a while, and went for a bike ride next door to pick blackberries, came back and filled up the paddling pool with water to cool off, played on their iPads for a while, and were fading by about lunch time. I took them home on our way to meet up with some other homeschooling families at Lillydale Lake. (We called in to the op shop on the way through and found some more My Little Ponies for Millie, she was very happy).

We got to the playground and I couldn't believe how hot it was! Very oppressive heat and not really fun for playing in the sun. We set up a picnic blanket in some shade and for most of the afternoon the kids (mine and the others) lay on the rugs and only occasionally ventured out into the playground. One family had brought their dog along so she provided a bit of entertainment. I had a good chat to the other mums and one dad. Most of those who were there have only been homeschooling for a short while so it was good to chat about how things tend to progress. As most of the others were leaving our good friends the Hs arrived, and after a while we and one other family moved down to the lake where the kids could swim and cool off. The parents stood in water about shin deep, and the kids played for ages, the big kids as far out in the lake as they were comfortable, the smaller ones in and out a bit and playing in the sand as well. It was such an improvement to sitting in the shade and feeling exhausted!

We headed home when the storm clouds threatened. I was thinking my washing would get wet so I grabbed it off the line straightaway but we didn't get more than a few drops. Tony worked a few extra hours at work then raced in for a quick shower and a bite to eat before heading off to darts - he hasn't played competition darts in over 10 years so was excited to be getting back into it. LiAM and Caitlin fell asleep early so Millie and I played games and then made a tiger mask of paper plates and pipe cleaners.

On Thursday LiAM woke early and came on my walk with me. Instead of going around the dam we went down to the water's edge and looked at the plants growing there and the types of animal footprints we could see. We came back and he played his monster game on the iPod . When Millie woke up she played on the computer for a while, then they watched some tv. It was still hot and muggy and no one felt like doing much. We popped into town at one point to return library books (but the library wasn't open) and to get Millie some chocolate milk which she'd been craving all week.

In the afternoon our friends from Sydney arrived in their bus to spend the night at our house.  The girls went blackberry picking and then spent the afternoon dressing up and playing role playing games. The boys played Halo on the xbox and after an initial discussion about who was going to play first, quickly figured out a way for the 3 of them to happily play with 2 controllers. I had a wonderful chat with L. Once the sun had gone behind the clouds the girls and L and I went down to the dam for a swim. It was so lovely to be in the water. I didn't stay in long, L and I sat on the shore and watched the girls play and swim and cover themselves in mud, it was a lot of fun. Back at the house the girls set up a graduation ceremony for Caitlin and Millie - they made outfits and hats and certificates. There was also a wedding, and then lots of craft, the girls made some really pretty and creative creatures.

We managed to convince everyone to go to bed around 11.30 - they were all exhausted and so were we! It's so great how easily our 2 families fit together, we only see each other a couple of times a year but it's as if no time has passed when we get back together.

Playstation and Homeschool Group

I had a very early morning yesterday, was awake at 4 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and sent a few emails, organised a few things that had been on my to do list for a while. By the time the kids were up I was feeling quite tired, and LiAM wanted to play Toy Story 3 on the Playstation with me, so I happily stayed lying on the couch and played with him for an hour or more. We've been playing quite a lot lately and I'm enjoying it - and I'm improving! When I first played a few weeks ago, Amelie said she liked watching me play because I was much worse than her at it - I could never figure out which way I was facing or how to run in the direction I wanted to go, I couldn't jump or fire at a target, and I constantly forgot which buttons on the controller to press to do anything. LiAM has been quite patient with me, and I'm slowly improving. I can now navigate and jump and fire and run, and I usually remember what buttons to press, even if my reaction time is still a bit slow. The part of Toy Story 3 we usually play (Woody's Roundup) has a lot going on in it, and we've pretty much divided up the tasks and can each go about our business, and help each other out on the harder bits. The girls (and even Tony) sometimes sit and watch and comment so it can be an activity that the whole family is involved in, and I'm really enjoying the time doing something specific with LiAM. It's also been a handy reminder to me of how social and bonding playing a video game with someone can be, and how much the players can learn. And it's not sedentary either, we jump around a fair bit, and we talk and laugh about all sorts of things while we play.

After a while yesterday I left him to the game and got us all ready to go to Homeschool Group in Yarra Glen. We left a bit early because I hadn't yet bought all the equipment we needed for our activities. We went and got those then opened up the hall. We had 8 families come along, a couple with kids from other homeschooling families in tow, so there was a big group of kids. Most of them played outside, and at one point one of the mums saw ALL of them, from the 4 year old up to the 15 year old, on the roundabout together in the park. The kids came in and out throughout the afternoon and some of them made decorations when they were inside - we did snow globes in glass jars, and decorated oranges with cloves.

After Homeschool Group we hung around in the park and/or library for a short while, then headed home. I was exhausted and didn't feel well so the kids put a Barbie movie on and I lay on my bed with the iPad and recharged a bit. Amelie came in and played with me for a while, then Tony brought home fish and chips for tea. Caitlin and LiAM skyped and played Minecraft with a friend and I read my book (The Railway Man) until I was ready to go to sleep.

Tiring day

Yesterday was one of those days where we ended up doing too many different things and we were all exhausted. I was saying to a friend yesterday that I've learned not to do extra things just because we're in the area - and then I did exactly that and wore us all out!

We had a pretty relaxing morning at home. The kids played Minecraft - exploring a couple of adventure maps they have on the computer - and read some books. Caitlin learnt more of 'Harry's Wondrous World' on the piano. Tony and Caitlin and I rearranged our chicken set up which ended up being a bit more complicated than we'd planned. We've had 2 broody chickens, and one of them had 6 chicks hatch over the weekend. On Tuesday we moved both chickens, with their eggs and chicks, into our spare pen - they were in a box with 2 laying areas, one chicken in each side, so that was pretty easy. Then the chicken whose eggs hadn't hatched yet decided that it would be easier to simply look after the chicks that were already born, rather than sit around and wait for her own eggs to hatch - so we kept ending up with 2 cranky mother hens and 6 chicks all in the one box. We tried various combinations with an aim to get her sitting back on her own eggs, but in the end the solution that made every hen and chick happy was to have both mothers and all the chicks in the pen together, with one big box that they could all fit in to. So now we have 2 very happy co-parenting hens and 6 adorable little chicks (5 yellow, 1 black).

Around 11.30 Tony went to work and the kids and I went to Homeschool Gymnastics. Friends of ours were there this week as well so it was a bit more fun for the older kids. Once it was finished I grabbed some of the bread we like from the bakery nearby, and also some spelt chocolate hot cross buns. Next stop was to one of my ABA group's trainee breastfeeding counsellors, to give her the raffle tickets so that she can coordinate this years national raffle for our group. While I talked to her Caitlin read books to her daughter and Millie. She lives right near Chirnside Park shopping centre, so I figured we might as well pop in and get a few things that we needed... I replaced our soda stream canister (finally - its been several weeks without soda water on tap and we've really missed it), we picked up some new Skylanders which were on special, Caitlin found a new dress, I got a new nose ring, we stocked up on cat food and (saved the exciting bit till last) we bought a whole coconut from the fruit and veg shop. We were all pretty knackered after our shopping, there was a lot of walking and browsing and it would have been nice to go home at that point. On the way back to Yarra Glen we stopped at a gluten free bakery I'd been meaning to go to and we all picked something yummy to eat - I was impressed with the quality. (Less impressed with the girl insisting Millie say 'please' before she'd give her the finger bun - Millie had no idea what she was talking about and started to get a bit annoyed - next time I'll try to step in earlier to keep everyone happy) Back to Yarra Glen and dropped Caitlin at Girl Guides, while the rest of us went to the library, read some books, watched minecraft videos, borrowed some new things, then went outside and played on the swings in the smoky air - I was a little worried about LiAM playing outside in the smoke but he coped ok, it mainly seems to affect him at night. Picked Caitlin up and met a new family who has just started Guides in Yarra Glen and then finally back home.

I made a cuppa and disappeared into the bedroom with a book for a while, and the kids played with their new Skylanders. Caitlin cooked frankfurts and cheese for the kids and I made myself something to eat, then we watched Top Cat (the movie) which we enjoyed more than we thought we would. Once I got tired I went to bed and read Anna Karenina, and Millie came in and played the iPad next to me. Eventually the others came in too and played games, chatted, read until we all fell asleep.

Birthday Party Week

We've been home from Tasmania just over a week now and its been a rather busy week - although on the whole we're all still quite relaxed from our holiday.

We arrived home early on the Friday morning before Liam's birthday, which was on the Sunday. Friday we spent relaxing, unpacking a bit, and some friends came over for the afternoon and brought Stripey back. Saturday I spent fixing the washing machine and dishwasher which had both decided to have their own holiday, and then getting organised for Liam's party.

Sunday we woke up and did Liam's present giving in the lounge room. Caitlin gave him a wooden cat (to match Millie's) and a ceramic dragon. Tony and I gave him a Tasmanian Devil puzzle, a toy lemur (not Schleich, but a similar brand) and an iPod Touch - exactly what he wanted. I'd loaded his favourite games on it so he was entertained for the morning while we finished party preparations.

Liam and his Lemur

Liam and his iPod

At midday we met his friends at Healesville Sanctuary, as well as Fi and James and Mum and Dad. Everyone had a picnic lunch, then I put out party food and the kids played in a large grassed area near the dingo enclosure. We played Pass the Parcel (Tony and I played the drums for music) and Liam (without us looking) won the main prize so he was pretty happy. Liam's presents included lego, a craft kit, a magician figurine, animal books, a vial of gold, and a Schleich dinosaur (velociraptor).

Liam's birthday cake

Eventually we packed up and went for a walk around part of the Sanctuary - we had 13 adults and 13 children there so we were quite a group. We did the wetland walk, the lyrebirds (a couple of us saw the male lyrebird singing), the reptiles and the parrots. We'd invited everyone back to our house because Liam had a piñata waiting - most of his friends came back (actually all our homeschooling friends). The kids played outside for a while then the piñata called - it was shaped like a crocodile and very cool. The tail soon came off and everyone was able to whack it and get a few lollies - and the rest of the body survived so Liam was able to keep it! Everyone stayed and played for a few hours and one the guests provided some dinner so it was a very relaxing afternoon and evening.

Liam's turn

Liam and the piñata

We were back into our usual routine through the week, with ABA, gymnastics, joey scouts, homeschool gymnastics and guides to go along to. In between Liam did a lot of the craft from his birthday kit, we watched tv and read a lot of books, played games, played with the animals (real and toy and imaginary), went to the library a couple of times and went to friends' houses.

On Friday we had Millie's birthday party. It was almost exactly the same group of people as we'd had here on Sunday - Fi and James couldn't make it and we had one other local family come along - otherwise it was Mum and Dad and 4 other homeschooling families. It was a very casual party, the kids (aged from 2 to 10 and an even mix of boys and girls) played inside and outside, with lego, craft, toys animals, on the trampoline and swings, listening to music, looking for our real animals in the yard etc. We had a beautiful cake and Millie's presents included art and craft supplies, a game, books and a felt board with a pet shop scene. Tony had finished work early, it being a Friday, so he was able to be here for most of it. A few of the families stayed for dinner and by this stage some of the kids were playing Minecraft on the computer and they kept us up to date with their new discoveries - playing as a social group they can explore and discover much more quickly than on their own, they really work well together.

In the midst of the evening part of the party Tony took Liam to Chirnside Park for him to go to the movies with his Joey Scout group - they saw Monsters University and Liam was very excited to go without any other family members, and to be able to buy his own snack to eat and drink there. There were still people here when he got back so he also didn't feel like he'd missed out on the party.

The other mothers (and one dad for a while) and I had a great chat sitting in the kitchen, it was a very easy party to get ready for and a very relaxing one while it was taking place.

Yesterday we had a visit from Pete and Cynthia who are staying at Mum and Dad's for the weekend - great to see them and Liam was thrilled because he'd wanted his uncle Pete to come to his birthday party but we'd left it too late to organise. They'd just visited the chocolate factory and came with gifts - giant chocolate freckles for the kids and a chocolate making kit and fondue set for the family. The kids enjoyed showing Pete all their lego (he was the first one to buy us any lego so he kind of has a vested interest) and the animals and their tree climbing skills, and I loved having a casual chat - we haven't had many opportunities to just visit each other over the last 20 years or so - hopefully we can do it more often.

Today Caitlin is going to an archery day with guides, and we have some friends coming over this afternoon while their mother has something else on.  So another social day coming up and looks like this coming week will be quite busy as well - although its the last week of term so then there will be a change in our rhythm for a couple of weeks after that.

The view out my window this morning as I wrote this blog post on a chilly morning of -5 C

2 months in one quick summary

Its been a while since I posted - we've had very slow internet combined with a very slow, about to die laptop and internet time was very limited. Now however we have a Macbook, the internet is back to - well, not fast, but less slow - so blog posts and other non-essential internet use can happen again.

So a bit of a summary of what we've been up to over the last couple of months
- a day at Collingwood Childrens Farm - the kids got to milk a cow, we saw some gorgeous week old piglets (I could have watched them all day), Liam took to the microphone and led a group in singing Baa Baa Black Sheep at the book launch of Alanah Campbell's 'Under the Persimmon Tree', there was a tractor ride and lots of tree climbing, and Fi and James joined us for a while

- an afternoon at Healesville Sanctuary with some friends
- lots of mornings, afternoons, days and even sleepovers at friends' houses
- activities at homeschool group in Yarra Glen and Yarra Junction
- exploring Op Shops
- a train ride to the city and hanging out in the Botanic Gardens with friends (and more tree climbing)
- watching the vineyard slowly turn yellow and then the leaves all falling off - they are nearly completely gone now

- playing with Stripey (the cat) and Buckley (the dog)
- Guides, Scouts and Gymnastics
- returning to ABA meetings
- having Tony around a lot again after the end of Vintage
- playing the piano, recorder and violin - oh, and buying a violin for Caitlin at the Healesville Markets
- busking in Healesville and Yarra Glen - Caitlin playing the recorder, and Liam occasionally whistling or playing the drums in accompaniment
- playing Minecraft lots - individually and connected on the ipad, and now on the new computer as well
- playing lots of other ipad games
- lots of lego
- horse riding
- trip to Maroondah Dam
- reading books of all descriptions
- drawing and writing and inventing
- a day at an Eco-festival in Yarra Junction - I was helping at an ABA Feed and Change Tent, and the kids helped there as well as going on donkey rides, doing wet felting, playing hopscotch, hanging out in the women's Red Tent, tree climbing, exploring the forest, trying to buy a guinea pig, eating ice cream etc
- trips to the library
- watching movies
- birthday parties - including a wonderful day at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie for my birthday - we were there from 11-5 and lots of friends and family joined us at different points through the day, we sat in the sun and ate chocolate and ice creams and other food and drank milkshakes and the kids played in the grounds and it was a beautiful day all round

- -conversations about all of the above
- puzzles, board games, card games
- magic tricks
- and LOTS more

If you want to know more about any of our activities, let me know in the comments and I will expand

Dioramas and library

Well I did get a lot done on Wednesday when I was here alone, cleaned out a lot of those corners that get filled with stuff, and cleared out the hallway so now its full of nothing but space! It was tiring and it also felt good to really get stuck into one task for several hours.

The kids were disappointed that they missed the nets going on the vines. However they also had a lot of fun at Grandma's, watching the renovations happening, playing games and reading books with Grandma and Grandad, and Caitlin learned how to read music and play the piano! Mum had bought a book at the 2nd hand bookstore where she volunteers, and it set the whole process out very simply so that Caitlin was able to follow the steps and learn each of the notes and then play some simple tunes. She was very excited and its spurred me on to start researching (and then get on with purchasing) our piano.

We tried to have a quiet day at home on Thursday as a bit of a chance to rest - its been a busy week with more busy days coming up over the weekend and the next few weeks. Caitlin got out the glue gun and began making a diorama to represent Millie and her friend getting married, and she started planning the 'wedding' and invitations. She's put a lot of work into it and its very pretty and clever. I love the way she plans things and can picture a whole event and everything that needs to be organised.

Yesterday we went to visit a friend who is shortly moving to New Zealand (quite sad for us) and then went to the Homeschool Library Activity in Yarra Junction. We had 4 families there and we all know each other well, it was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon hanging out in the children's section of the library, doing the craft activity, reading lots of books, some of the kids played Monopoly, some played on the ipad, the big girls (Caitlin and S) and Millie went out and used the internet for a while on the library computers, the parents chatted in between reading stories. Caitlin borrowed a HUGE pile of books about animals - she went through the shelves and picked all the covers she liked - it was funny, it pushed my buttons about how many books it was 'OK' to borrow, but I did get them all for her, especially because I realised *I* didn't care how many she got, I was simply worried (quite worried) about what everyone else would think.... I'm still feeling the desire to justify it here, but really, I was happy to be able to say yes to her borrowing wishes.