A Snapshot of April

April has been a little...unusual.

There was nothing on my calendar (other than bi-weekly grocery orders), yet I’m not sure if I sat down. Is it possible for a month to be both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time?

After making approximately 492 meals and snacks, doing 367 loads of laundry and refilling the hand soap 108 times, it seems that a family of five stuck inside together for a month eats a lot of food and makes a pretty big mess!

Also noteworthy is the fact that the absence of visitors means no more pre-visit panic cleaning and, therefore, a much messier house.

We spend a lot of time at home together in an average month but this house is getting to know us on a whole new level.

Even so, we’ve settled into a bit of a rhythm of groceries, added a package of disinfectant wipes to the pantry and spent more time in the backyard.

And, we even managed a few educational highlights:

READING WIN! Last month, I had a few fairly reluctant readers. This month (through no effort of mine), I’ve seen a huge jump in reading ability and interest for both of my readers. One has gained a little confidence and is willing to try a few new books and the other has truly discovered a love for reading, giggling right along with Sam-I-Am and his green eggs and ham.

TAKE ME TO THE ZOO! We’ve been watching live-streams from two zoos every day, without fail, since the middle of March. If there’s anything this pandemic has taught my kids, it’s about what a zoo is like behind-the-scenes. Aside from being on baby giraffe watch and knowing what coloured glitter has to do with animal poop identification (Thank you, Toronto Zoo!), there is a zoo set up in my basement, complete with keeper talks, enrichment for the animals, off exhibit training areas and sometimes cooperative sisters.

Here’s hoping for a more low key May (although I’m not holding my breath, just occasionally wearing a face mask).