Playtime

After picking up my second set of books from the Edmonds library since they opened for socially distanced hold pickups and returns (still a thrill), I saw campers and staff at the Edmonds Boys are Girls Club in their camp t-shirts hanging out on the basketball court next to the building. The club has been…

This week, I got a phone call from a librarian from the Edmonds Sno-Isle branch. It was, frankly, thrilling. A hold I made back in March was ready for me to come and pick up and I could drop off any library books I had at home during the library’s amended hours — Monday and…

As we approach the last week of school (the last day was moved up to June 19), one kid in my house still has a few Zoom meetings left even though he turned in his “last homework of the year,” and the other has to use this final week to wrap up his missing work….

Sno-Isle librarians were in the middle of planning for their summer reading program when libraries closed on March 13th due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, our three local libraries offer wi-fi access from their parking lots and Sno-Isle has offered library cards online, moved Storytimes and Trivia online, laid out how to access books,…

“Jelly Cam” is now something I blurt out at random times during the week. This is to alert everyone that the Monterey Bay Aquarium Facebook has a live feed of jellyfish running. They also have Kelp Forest Cam, Shark Cam, Penguin Cam, Sea Otter Cam, Moon Jelly Cam, and videos of things like a huge…

My soon-to-be 11-year-old just informed me that he would be “zooming” with a friend if I needed him. People say “new normal” a lot, and we are certainly operating on a different set of rules, routines, and resources, but the new way we do things seems to get amended each week whether good or bad….

During a daily class Zoom meeting for my youngest, the student support specialist had the kids make a “Bliss List” — a list of things that students are enjoying lately. It was so good for him to hear that other people shared his coping skills and also to get ideas for new options. Connecting via…

Some of our early quarantine “go-tos” aren’t fitting the bill these days. The kids are pretty burned out on sitting through a movie at night, especially because we’re still struggling to get a good amount of exercise — I’m going to add some new links below because it seems like it’s not just us. Virtual…

This week, Gov. Jay Inslee and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal announced that K-12 school closures will remain in effect through the end of the school year. The news comes as we are just about to cross the first estimated date of return, which was April 13, after spring break. When the kids were first sent home from school, there…

I started this week riding the high of a successful “Lunch and Learn” routine we had going in the first two weeks of our time at home. These “Lunch and Learns” — named after a midday event at my husband’s office — were planned to not only teach the kids some useful life skills, but…

Currently, there is a video chat happening in two different rooms of my house. The dogs seem hell bent on being involved in both of those conversations, taking quick breaks to make sure whoever is outside of our house is informed of their presence as well. One video chat is work related and the other…

Social media is full of families adjusting to their new set of circumstances and a large part of that is figuring out what to do with the kids. We’re looking for places for the kids to go, how to get them online/connected, and then once they’re connected what will they do?!? Both of my kids’…

The Tooth Fairy came to our house this week to deliver $2 for a molar. It is worth noting that the $2 was paid out in two separate one dollar bills, not a premeditated $2 bill or fancy coins, and the amount was pre-determined by the recipient in this case either based on what the…

This week, I took my oldest son — now a teenager — to a show on Capitol Hill. He and his jazz band friends wanted to see Lucky Chops and their “high-energy brassy funk” so he got tickets for Christmas. The songs are mainly instrumental, except for some audience participation ‘la las.’ The band members…

There are consistently fun options for kid entertainment locally and as my kids get older, there are also consistently new events not offered when we were in the age range that I wish had been! I usually put the events together in a theme, whether it be free events, indoor/outdoor events, sports options, camp options,…

When the snow showed up in the forecast, I became glued to the weather app on my phone. Not only was I not ready for snow days at home that close to the break we just had, but we had a hockey tournament that required traveling over one of the passes. When the forecast doesn’t…

The gear shift between the pre-holiday rush, the post-holiday haze, and the 0-to-60 pace of a full week back to school has left our house feeling road-worn with a mix of waking up to an alarm you didn’t expect. While I think we appreciate the routine and getting back to the friends and our extracurriculars,…

It is hard to talk about “Betwixtmas,” what Urban Dictionary defines as “the week in-between Christmas and New Years Day,” without sounding like I-need-a-vacation-from-my-vacation guy. But, when Googled, there are survival guides, articles, hashtags and, of course, there is a full week of winter break left in the Edmonds School District. If you’re looking for…

Last week, on social media I saw an article about how “Holiday Magic” takes its toll on women. It immediately made me think of the Lifetime Christmas Movie I saw  this month called On Strike For Christmas with Daphne Zuniga, who you likely either remember as Jo Reynolds, resident of Melrose Place or Princess Vespa, resident…