Sunshine

It has been a beautiful week! Sunny every day. It has been freezing at night though, and that killed off some of the frog eggs and the magnolia blooms. The tomatoes are happy though - I will need to put them in bigger pots soon. I have really been enjoying being able to work from home. We are getting into a nice routine, and this was just what I needed.

The girls are pretty happy too. The aren't missing school or their friends so much any more. We now have 'School with Grandma' every afternoon after their snack time. That has been working out really well so far! We also switched their rest time to alone time because they are together for the rest of the day (and night). They both seem to need and enjoy a bit of time on their own after lunch.

I only need to work for school 3-4 mornings per week, so that means there is more time for the workshop, the girls, and  to enjoy the nice weather. We have taken plenty of walks and bike rides. Naomi and I even started running again. We also learned a lot about ordering our groceries online, so it will be more than two weeks without a trip to the grocery store, but after that we have deliveries lined up once per week. Hopefully that will work out well.

Lunchtime.

Transitioning

This week has been about figuring out how to teach online and take care of the girls. Naomi has had a rough time with it. I think it is a lot easier than the usual routine, but staring a screen for so long gets old quickly. My school reduced our teaching time (Naomi's didn't) and our program is already mostly set up for online teaching (Naomi's isn't) and I also save about two hours a day in commuting (Naomi misses out on nice bike rides).

The girls are missing their friends at school, but other than that they have each other and are doing okay. We go on lots of walks, bike rides, and spend time in the forest. The sun has been out more and it is getting warmer, so that helps a lot!

Can't go to the gym anymore, so I started making some wooden dumbbells. Fun little project. The metal ones are all sold out or too expensive. We also went to the grocery store for the last time in a long time. It was uncomfortable. Super busy and low on a lot of products, even though I got there when it opened. We set up an online account for home delivery but it is booked two weeks in advance, and to get a delivery slot you need to wait until midnight when the next available day opens up. I guess we will be setting an alarm once a week now.

The first tulip!

Fun in the woods. 

Shutting Down

Too little, too late. The Dutch government isn't taking this virus seriously, and as a result, it is getting spread widely through the country. They still haven't even closed the schools because they say that kids are not at risk, ignoring the fact that they are the carriers. The medical community got together and is putting pressure on the decision makers, so they will probably cave today.

Supermarkets are cleaned out. People are staying indoors. Luckily we live near a forest, so we will still be able to get outside. Our neighbor was taken by ambulance yesterday. He had symptoms. Hopefully it was just a flu, because we have a lot of neighbors that are in their 70s and 80s. Italy is only a week or two ahead of us, and they are totally slammed. Only two people at a time allowed in the grocery stores. You can imagine the lines. Oddly enough, China has become the source of international aid, sending a plane full of supplies and doctors to Italy.

Friday was our last day of social contact. We had a good week though. It was nice to round things off at work, and the girls had a fun day on Friday. Amélie played with a new friend and Abigail went to the birthday party of her best friend. It will be interesting to see how these coming weeks will influence our family dynamics.

The girls enjoying their last week of school for a while.

Our view on the Dutch response.

Business as Usual

The Dutch continue to do very little to contain the spread of this virus. They keep assuring everyone that it is fine, and everything stays open unless you have symptoms, in which case you should stay home. We will see how that approach plays out. This week I stayed home from work for two days as I had a cold, but I really don't know when we should actively limit our exposure to the virus. Maybe it is already too late. It is good to spend a bit of time at work...

Last week I forgot to include some pictures from a fun day we had in Zwolle along with our trip to the zoo. Naomi and I had planned to go to Zwolle on a date, but our babysitter didn't work out, so we ended up bringing the girls along. It was our first time there, and it is a really nice city.

Yesterday was the big dance recital. We were really impressed with the girls! They had fun dancing in front of the big crowd. Last year this would not have been possible! They sure have grown a lot. It does make me miss the counterpart in the States though, where it would take place in a nice auditorium with comfortable seats and good acoustics. Here they just threw a few cheap bleachers into a gym, added a few lights, and blasted music for a couple hours.

Snack spot in Zwolle.

They turned a church into a bookstore. What a cool place!

Shopping isn't fun yet. Thank goodness.

Amélie wants a drink too!

The tower game.

Abigail got to visit an estate as a field trip.

Magnolias are about to open.

Storks in the field.

The big event.

Vacation?

It didn't really feel like one. We were busy with a lot of administrative work, cleaning out the house, going to appointments, etc. On Friday I did manage to take the girls to the zoo though, and Naomi took them to see her family on Thursday. It was good to get so many things checked off the list.

I am feeling sick, so I won't go to school tomorrow. We will see about the rest of the week. Hopefully I feel better by Thursday, my next school day, but it also depends a bit on the spread of the virus. It will start moving through this country pretty quickly as the government is doing nothing to slow it down. They even criticized a daycare for closing its doors for two weeks because one of the children was infected. It's like they want it to spread - maybe that is their plan to take care of the problem that we have too many old people and not enough nursing homes.

The weather has been miserable lately, and shows no signs for improvement. So much rain. Yuck. Forgot what the sun looks like. We did get some bags of potting soil yesterday though, so maybe we can start with a bit of gardening soon. It would be nice to work on things outside for a change!

A rainy walk - we rescued lots of earthworms.

The cherry tree down the street is in full bloom.

Abigail and I made a new box for their blocks.