106 Days and Counting....

106 days.

That's how many days we've been in our recent lockdown in England. November 5, 2020 wasn't the strictest lockdown yet. We are currently in the strictest lockdown. -No travel outside your county unless for work. -No pubs, restaurants or non-essential shopping open. -No gathering in groups indoors or outdoors. -Excercise permitted (with one other person). It's been a taxing time for us. Moving over, quarantined for 2 weeks and then placed in national lockdown. But, enough of the sad/depressing stuff. What have we been doing through this? Most days are like ground hog day for us. Daniel goes to work 6am-2pm, 5 days a week in all sorts of patterns including holidays and weekends. I stay home with Emme with no where to go but within walking distance. (So usually the park right behind our house.) I've attempted to keep a routine at home where we eat meals about the same times, get dressed/brush teeth after breakfast, clean the house together, and make sure to get outside at least once a day, rain or shine. I also incorporate a session of sign lanuguage class from back home once a week and we do loads of art/coloring and reading every day. In between that is just lots of play time and (usually) naptime. Daniel arrives home about 230 and I work from home at 2-8pm 3-4 evenings a week. Daniel's days off are scattered and random, sometimes only allowing 1 day off in between stretches of 4. The days he does have off we always make sure to get Emme into the car and take her somewhere 'new'. Only places we have been allowed to go are parks/places to walk oudoors. Our child at her age has really come to enjoy simple things such as going outdoors and for short car rides. For Daniel and I, we have had to get creative to pass the time ourselves. We have been doing Zoom quizzes/chats with family and friends about every other weekend. We treat ourselves to a good take out meal at the weekend once to twice per month. We have found good movies and shows to watch in between.

Just before the lockdown, we signed up at the local gym, but have not even been able to enter the doors. Excercise for myself has been going on frequent walks and in home work outs. What to look forward to? The hopes that restrictions will be lifted soon. Until then, Daniel took 6 days off this last week, which we enjoyed as a stay-cation. We did movie nights, take out meals, lots of outdoor walks and park visits, and making Emme's room a bit more girly. (I'll try to share the photos here.)

Daniel starts a new job on March 1. Back in the states he worked for a pool and spa company. He had placed his resume/CV on Indeed when we first came over and a man that owns a pool and spa business about 30 minutes from us reached out asking if he would be interested in a job. Daniel went for a shadow/tester day and enjoyed the work and the staff/manager. He won't be getting home at 230 anymore which was nice, but he will have weekends and holidays off and generally get home about 430-530. With this change in hours I also changed my hours with my job. I am switching to 3 morning shifts per week (8-2) and one evening shift per week (4-8). I actually increased my hours at work and we decided to put Emme into preschool. The plan was always to put Emme into some kind of daycare when we moved over. We had the issue of them being shut to new people when we first arrived. We've just been managing our hours to allow for her to stay home. I think she is at the age where she needs the increased social interaction and to be around people that aren't Daniel and myself. She will go to the pre-school just behind our house to start with 2 mornings per week. (2 of the mornings in which I am working.) The third morning I work, my mother in law will come over to play with Emme so I can work (she is still in our support bubble). I really think she will enjoy it, and we talk about going to school every day. She starts the end of March. I will probably start increasing her hours to full days once she is more comfortable and officially gives up her nap!! In the UK, any child that has turned 3, and both parents work over 16 hours per week, receive 30 hours of 'free' childcare per week. I won't necessarily use all those hours, but it is quite a stress relief to know the cost won't be an issue at that point. I also learned, based on her birthday and the way the UK handles the school system, Emme will be attending her first year of primary (elementary) school when she turns 4. That is next August and this mama heart can't currently handle it!! It seems so soon and so young. IF Emme really loves school and the routine, I am sure it will be an easier transition for us all. Lastly, we got an automatic car!! It is much more common here that people drive manual cars. With the fact you drive on the opposite side of the car and the road, I knew I couldn't handle having to do the gears as well. We sprung for an automatic SUV and I have started driving straight away! It surprisingly has felt pretty natural other than having to drive in the large roundabouts they have here. I struggle with those. I also get very tense and worried on the narrow streets. Being able to drive has made me feel a lot more freedom. I do still have to pass the driving test by October 2021, and can drive on my USA license until then.(Wish me luck!)

For the spring/summer our hopes are: -Easter egg hunt with the cousins -Picnics with family -Seeing our family and friends in a group -Going to a pub!? -Going INSIDE someone's house!? -Going on a date? -Going away for a weekend somewhere in the country -A visit from someone in America? (that's pushing it) -Backyard (garden) BBQ's -Taking Emme to Peppa Pig world -Trips to the beach -Going to the gym (for both working out and taking Emme swimming) -Taking Emme to a play group or Mum's group Stay tuned..... Jamie