Treasure Island

We found the Treasure Island Hiking Trail a few weeks ago and it remains a favorite because of the bridges and the trees blocking the wind.  Last time we spent a lot of time playing tag in the forest, but this time Eden and Cora were focused on picking "star berries" from the Juniper Trees.  They later focused their attention on finding the special dark green rocks by the river.  I love seeing their imaginations at work. 

Dave spent his time laying down with his eyes closed and pretending he was in Mexico.  I think he had a hard time continuing his daydreams after Indie decided he was the perfect jungle gym.  Meanwhile, I got to chat with Milan since she thinks she is getting too old to play with the girls.  It was a beautiful evening with our girls and I'm glad I brought my camera a lot to capture a bit of the magic. 

World Down Syndrome Day

Happy World Down Syndrome Day, quarantine edition. Things are feeling heavy right now, but we're still wearing crazy socks and celebrating the things that make us all unique. Still cherishing Indie, just the way she is. Still beyond grateful for this crew.

Quarantine

March 13, we closed on the building and handed over a chunk of our savings for the down payment.  March 16, local schools were closed in efforts to flatten the curve of the Corona Virus.  At that time, the ADA recommended that dental offices only treat urgent cases to decrease exposure and preserve Personal Protective Equipment.  We started panicking about the fate of our new business, especially with a chunk of our savings spent.  We let our assistant and hygienist go that week.  Alicia, our hygienist is pregnant so she was grateful to decrease her exposure.  Jess, our assistant, was also okay with the decision  since she had school work to keep her busy and her husband had just gotten a higher paying job.  We postponed all our hygiene patients and non-urgent cases, which was heartbreaking after advertising and working to hard to fill our schedule.  

With Dave and I in the office, our goal was to treat anyone that could otherwise end up in the hospital.  We have actually been staying pretty busy with emergency patients and our business even seems to be growing during this time. We are the only office with full-time hours in the county so we have had the opportunity to see patients that we wouldn't have otherwise.  Almost everyone we have seen has referred us to others and/or signed up for more treatment when we are up and running again.  We are still profitable and just received a Paycheck Protection Loan that will be forgiven if used for payroll so we are using that to pay ourselves and our employees for the next 8 weeks.  We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work during the Corona Virus.

Our girls have been at home by themselves.  Indie's daycare stayed open a bit longer than the schools, but in an effort to minimize her exposure, she got to stay home with sisters.  I don't feel super great about leaving them home all day, but it is the safest option and Milan is handling her responsibility like a champ.  Milan does the majority of the work and earns $2/hour, which doesn't seem like a ton, but she has already amassed hundreds of dollars.  

This week, Milan was promoted to principal and teacher as the girls started remote learning.  Having the girls at home without much responsibility was one thing, but adding school had me pretty concerned.  Once again, they are all doing a great job with their responsibility.  Milan is managing her own schedule, Eden is stepping up to help with Indie during Milan's zoom meetings, Eden is self-sufficient with her schedule, and even helping Cora with her assignments.  I have also been helping Cora after work and it seems to be getting done.  I have consolidated all of Indie's therapy, special education instruction, and Cora's teacher meeting into Wednesdays and it is only a little bit crazy.  

After work, we take the girls on "field trips" 3-4 times a week.  Saratoga is the perfect quarantine location because there are a lot of places for us to explore without running into any people.  It always feels great to get out and enjoy the outdoors and we are grateful for the opportunity to spend time together.  

Indian Bathtubs

Now that the weather is warming up, we have been exploring the area whenever we get a chance.  We found a short hike to Indian Bathtubs where Indie loved playing with rocks on the trail and the older girls thought the ice chunks in the rock "bathtubs" were a hit.  Everyone played for a couple hours and had so much fun they wanted to go back another day to explore the river. 

Skiing

We really wanted to take our girls skiing last winter, while we lived in Cheyenne, but it was tough to find a time with healthy kids, decent weather, and available ski lessons.  This year we scored with a beautiful Saturday in March.  Megan was even available to watch Indie in Laramie so Indie's day was made too! We missed out on the morning ski lessons so signed everyone up for an afternoon lesson and tried to wing it on a beginner hill.  We later realized that there was an even easier Bunny Hill, but oh well.    

The first time getting off the ski lift and getting down the run was pretty sketchy.  Dave had the older girls and I got to hang out with Cora.  It had been a decade since I had been skiing; I had no clue how to teach someone so I just stretched out my pole in front of Cora and we made it down together (even though her ski kept trying to fall off.)  I took her back to the lodge to get her skiis tightened and by the time I got back, Milan and Eden were already riding the lift and doing down the run by themselves!  After a couple more runs, Cora was ready to go by herself too.  She mastered a deep squat for slowing down, which was effective and hilarious to watch.

The girls were doing so well by afternoon that we decided to skip their lesson and try out some blue runs together.  They did great until the very last run; at that point they were exhausted and ready to give up so we called it a day.  It was a fantastic first day and they all said they would like to go again.  We're considering getting the Epic Pass through the Guard so we have a fun winter activity next year!  

After our family ski day, Dave and I both felt the itch to try out some of the more difficult runs.  We took advantage of a Wednesday off work and some nice weather for a "team building activity."  Since we're working together now, we get to call our mid-week dates a business outing so that's a win.  We basically had the whole place to ourselves, but were a little disappointed that the runs were icy.  We found that the backside had better weather and snow conditions so we hung out there most of the day. I had felt pretty confident skiing at the girl's level, but keeping up with Dave was difficult.  I fell A LOT, but didn't get seriously hurt and still managed to have a lot of fun.  

Determined

Cora's front tooth had been hanging there for quite a while.  She asked Dave to pull it at the office and even laid down in the chair, but quickly hopped right back up when he busted out the numbing needle.  When she asked for other ideas, I mentioned a floss strategy I'd seen on Instagram.  It didn't work for me, but Cora was very determined.  She tried by herself and with a door handle for at least half an hour until she was successful.  The tooth fairy gave her two bucks for her efforts and her new big teeth make her look so grown up.  

Making the Most of Winter. Still.

It's beginning to thaw out and it's even getting comfortable to go outside with winter gear so we've been exploring a bit.  

Eden and Cora like to sled around the property; we don't have any great hills so they have to get creative.  They seem to enjoy snow and ice when they get to eat it.  Lucky for them, there's still lots of it.  

On a decent day, we took Milan and Indie along the river downtown.  We threw rocks then ended up at Veteran's Park for a while.  It was a great day to get out of the house!

We have to work on Fridays and Indie has daycare so the older girls have been staying home and baking.  They're given a lot of freedom as long as they have the house cleaned up by the time I get home.  It gave them the perfect opportunity to try out fondant and they made a hilarious funeral cake.  At first glance, Dave thought it was him because he had been working so much, but the girls explained that it was "really old guy with wrinkles."  

I bought Indie a new kitchen since hers is falling apart after 12 years of use.  I busted it out on a Sunday morning and the girls pretend-played all afternoon. The kitchen has stayed in the upstairs hall and gets played with nearly every day so I'd say it's a hit.  

January: an update

I've been here all month single momming and working, trying to get the practice ready to start in February and painting every once in a while so this house will feel less.....dark.  

The good:  Megan came for a week and a half to love on Indie and the girls.  She basically saved my sanity.  Eden is Saratoga's newest spelling bee champion.  Cora joined the spelling bee for the candy bar, made it to round 2, and thoroughly enjoyed her Reese's Cups.  After a month on the frozen tundra, a calm 28 degrees felt pretty dang nice and the girls spent most of today outside.  I joined an adult co-ed volleyball team and it has been fun!  Indie and Cora joined karate and it's one of my favorite things to watch.  

I was going to type up some of the things that have been challenging this month, but nah, I like the above list more.  I will say that I found an incredible day care for Indie for 3/4 of the days that I will be working and that feels like the hugest blessing.  Also, most of the office supplies, personnel, and figuring out my new office managering seems to be coming together as well.  Onward.  

LegoLand

This year the girls asked Santa for Lego Land Tickets and he delivered a couple days before Christmas.  We showed up when it opened and hit most of the attractions before shutting the place down.  The park was geared for younger kids, but Milan still had fun and Eden still refused to go on the "scary" rides.  Eden did find a few driving rides that she enjoyed, despite having her own off-road vehicles at home.  It was perfect for Cora, especially because she got to enjoy it with Brynn, and she was the only one that wanted to utilize our second day ticket (she was outvoted and "forced" to enjoy other things instead, but her commitment was noted.)  Indie still has a hard time waiting in line, but enjoyed wandering around until she was just too tired to keep going and spent the last hour in the warm car with dad.  My highlight was slowing down a bit to explore Tiny Town in beautiful weather with my favorite people.