Back To School

Dear Kiddos, 

Since COVID touched down in Austin back in March of 2020, you guys have been doing school at home. We finished the 2019-2020 school year with virtual school, but the rest of the year has been homeschooled by me. You both finished your language arts curriculum and you both almost finished the 2 math curriculum books which focused on problem solving, basic math facts, and applications of those facts. The world was our classroom for science and we just had impromptu, random lessons. For geography we played a few board games for exposure to locales and we had an election at some point to teach you about the democratic process. 

I've come to realize that COVID is probably going to be here to stay, so we made the decision to find a way to live with it. We started in-person extra curricular activities back up, re-instituted play dates, and sent you all to school with masks on. The first day went well. Hannah walked in and you said that you just lived the best day of your life. Nathan, you said you were bored and wished you had a friend in your class, and Hailey, you wanted to go to school 10 days a week. When I suggested 2, you exclaimed, "No, 2, that's not 10!" 

I wasn't sure how your first day was going to go, so I had planned for us to have some ice cream sundaes to look forward to at the end of the school day. You guys really like gummy worms in ice cream! 

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And of course, here are the obligatory 1st day pictures. 

Hailey, I wasn't sure how you would react when we started gymnastics back up. You were not the biggest fan of gymnastics pre-COVID, so I was kind of expecting some timid-ness or at the very least shyness from you, but as soon as I unbuckled you from the car seat, you walked with a sense of urgency into the building. You found the first mom that you saw and exclaimed, "Do you like my lilitard? It's fuzzy, I love it!" And then you proceeded to strut around, chest puffed out, displaying your fuzzy blue "lilitard" for all to see. 

Gymnastics really brings out the best of you. You typically are not a risk  taker, but of all the times that I've observed you, you have climbed higher than you have ever climbed with me. 

So, seeing how much happiness gymnastics brought you, I decided to sign you up for their mother's morning out program, which ended up being a good move because most of the kids in the class wear face masks (compared to how most of the kids in the regular gymnastics class do not). I also like that the group is much smaller, you only have 4 kids in your class on Mondays. 

You've been loving the crafts, the gymnastics, being able to eat a packed lunch, all the big girl things! You made this crown today and you wore it all afternoon. 

On days when you don't have school, you and I just hang out together at the house. We clean, cook, read, play and

sometimes we'll venture out to the library or a playground. It's much more fun for you to go to school. 

The first week of school went pretty well. Luckily we have not heard of any COVID cases at our school (we've already heard of cases at other schools) but there was a case of lice in Hannah's class. Just thankful I've been sending her to school in a pony tail and that the school is having the kids practice social distancing. 

 Hannah is continuing with gymnastics and you really love it. You both also started in-person martial arts again. You both love the activity that usually takes place at the end of class (some variation of dodgeball) and just today survived another belt test. Hannah, you are now a blue belt and Nathan, you have now earned your brown belt. You have to earn 6 brown belt levels before you can move onto red belt, so that's exciting! 

Nathan, you are also going to be trying out for baseball. We have try-outs this weekend, so we'll give baseball a shot for a year to see if you will enjoy it. 

Well, that's it for now.

Love, Mommy 

Lessons Learned After Living in Taiwan for 10 Weeks: Sushi, Sparks and Salmonella

We were in Taiwan for 10 weeks: 70 days and for 15 consecutive days, we were trapped inside a house, not permitted to step outside...15 days ya'll...with 3 young kids...and a husband who worked at night so I had to keep them quiet-ish in the morning...yeah, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for that. 

Throughout this pandemic I've done a lot of self-discovery, soul searching, that sort of thing and I learned a lot about myself but traveling with young kids in a foreign country for 70 days during a pandemic teaches you a whole 'nother set of life lessons. I will share them with you below. 

1. All bubble tea is not created equal.  We tried as many brands of bubble tea as we could. After trying different brands we found that we like tea made with creamer, 30% sweetened, and contains small tapioca (instead of the boba, which are the larger ones). Tea flavor is important and we found the best ones tended to taste more roasted in flavor. 

2. Our house is too big and we have way too much stuff.  We brought 5 suitcases for our family of 5 to live out of for 3 months. 

This includes 2 suitcases filled with gifts that we brought for family, 3 pairs of skates, a scooter, homeschooling materials, 4 boxes of cereal (yes, like golden grahams and cheerios) and a bunch of crafting supplies. We each brought 3 outfits to wear, 1 bathing suit, a pair of sandals and a pair of tennis shoes. Life was simple, the houses we lived in were around 1000 square feet and with a little of upkeep each day, I could easily keep up with the daily housework. (We didn't even have a dryer or dishwasher!) 

3. I don't need a bigger kitchen, I just need a smarter layout. The kitchen that I cooked in was about 10' x 4 '. There was a sink, a small counter and then a 2-range stove. I loved being able to wash dished while I kept my eyes on whatever was cooking on the stove. At my home in Texas, sometimes the kitchen looks like a tornado had run its course through the house, but in the small Taiwanese kitchen, I was able to easily clean as I cooked and by the time the meal was done, the kitchen was mostly clean as well. 

4. Mosquitos in nature have more mild bites. Mosquitos are everywhere in Taiwan. It's a bad problem, but for some reason when getting mosquito bites in the forest or while hiking, the welt usually fades and doesn't itch for long afterwards. The city mosquitos' bite itches for weeks! 

5. Raw fish is better than half cooked fish when it comes to take-out sushi. Not a good idea. It's was a "when in Rome" situation. We are in Taiwan, a tropical island where seafood is fresh and abundant. When I asked the kids what they wanted to eat 1 more time before we left Taiwan, Hannah said that she wanted sushi. So, being the thoughtful mom that I am, I looked to find a restaurant that made seared salmon sushi (for Nathan), shrimp tempura (for Hailey), and something chicken (for Steve). Well, I found one and we all enjoyed the meal very much...except after the fact, Hannah ended up getting salmonella as well. Raw fish is better than half cooked fish when it comes to take-out sushi.  Don't be like me.

7. Teach all of your children (especially the middle child) about electrical socket safety. I remember telling Nathan about not sticking things into the socket, Hailey knows not to stick things in electrical sockets, but apparently, Hannah missed out on the "No pointy objects in electrical sockets" lesson. It was move-out day from our first Airbnb.  I had just dug out a shard of glass from the bottom of my foot and Hannah runs in, holding her finger saying, "Ouch, it hurts." I take a look at it and see a dark line across her finger, it resembled a mark that would've been left behind if one pinched one's finger in a door. I asked her,
     "Did you slam a door on it?" She said,
     "No. I burned myself." Immediately, my mind goes through all the possible scenarios where she could've burned herself and I came up with nothing.
     "How?" I asked and then the 6 year old proceeded to explain,
     "It just sparked, good thing there wasn't a fire." 
     "What?!?" and then Nathan comes in and explains the situation. Apparently Hannah took a metal hair clip and stuck it in a socket. It sparked and produced enough heat to burn her finger pretty badly. She had a blister on her finger for like a week! We probably should've taken her into the doctor, but she ended up being ok. In my defense, she later told me that she knew it was a bad idea, but she didn't believe that it would've shocked her and was curious to see what being shocked felt like. 

Ok. Lesson learned. 

6. Life is not about the places we visit, but the memories we make with people. When COVID restrictions were put into place, they were in effect for 2 weeks at a time, so as numbers started to decrease, speculation about restrictions being lifted were all the buzz in the news feed. So with each passing week I would gain a little hope about attractions opening back up and then my spirit would be crushed as I repeatedly got met with news about restriction extensions. Sure, I was so disappointed about not being able to take the kids to all of my favorite destinations or to eat in my favorite restaurants, but we made so many memories with each other and our extended family. 

I have no regrets about this trip. 70 days in Taiwan sandwiched between 10 days in Illinois was exactly the little refresh that we needed to reconnect with our loved ones. I'd do it again any day, sparks and all. 

If you want to watch the videos that I created to document our trip, I've posted them all on Youtube. 

There's like 49 videos...literally, so you can totally binge them all at once or savor them slowly like fine wine. Let me know what you end up doing. 

Self-Health Monitoring Days in Taiwan

Dear Kiddos, 

You all did a great job surviving the quarantine. After being stuck inside for 15 days coming out to experience the outside world was so stimulating! The experience of hearing every sound, seeing every bloom - every little thing seemed to be just that more heightened. For the week following our quarantine, we were not allowed to go on any public transportation so we basically explored the areas that were walkable by foot. Taiwan was under stage 3 restrictions, which were as follows: 

• Wearing of masks at all times outside the residence (even if there is no one around)
• Indoor gatherings limited to five people (excludes family living together)
• All places of business and public venues are shuttered, with the exception of essential services, police departments, hospitals, and government buildings
• Masks and social distancing required at all businesses or venues that remain open
• In areas where community transmission has taken place, residents are restricted to a set perimeter and must submit to COVID-19 testing

So we walked everywhere and explored all the things we could. Going from less than 3,000 steps a day to over 10,000 was not an easy transition for you all. You all (except for Hailey who mostly rode the stroller) complained of socks being itchy, or sore feet, but we pushed on, fueled by the plethora of Pokémon available to catch in Taipei. Shout out to Pokémon Go for helping us get through this pandemic! 

Lots Cool Architecture

Plumeria Blossoms Everywhere

Temples

Walking in the Rain with Umbrellas Was a Major Motivator

Ferris Wheel Attached to a Mall!

Side Note: One interesting thing that the government implement to help with the contact tracing process was to provide each place of business with a QR code. Anytime you would enter a place of business (even if it was outside), you would scan the QR code and it would automatically create a text message with the location and the date/time you visited. You would then text the information to the CDC. Throughout the trip I must have sent a over a thousand texts because literally, even if you were walking through a shopping alley and wanted to check out a shirt inside a store, you would have to scan. When you stopped by the side of the road to buy a bubble tea, you have to scan. When you rode public transportation or took a taxi, you had to scan.  

I purposely found an Airbnb that was close to some hiking trails. So on our first day out, we went hiking. 

It was hot and humid, the mosquitos were swarming, you kids were complaining, but we persevered. 

There were also 3 large playgrounds within walking distance, but they were all closed off. We did, however; find a little skating rink that was open and we skated almost every day. There was construction going on next to the rink so sometimes you guys would just sit and watch the heavy machinery. 

Hiking in Taipei involves lots of stairs, so by the end of the trip, Hailey you were always saying, "I'm so sick of stairs!" 

We were also supposed to be able to walk to the dragon boat championship races from where we stayed, but the event was cancelled because, you know it, COVID. We walked to the park and decided to walk across the bridge for the view. 

It was finally nice to be able to go to the stores without having to order from Uber Eats or Food Panda. Since the COVID surge, many of the groceries slots were unavailable, so I was super excited to be able to go out and buy our own food. The first week out of quarantine, we found many of the grocery store shelves completely empty (just like it was at the beginning in the States). Luckily our landlord stocked up our place with toilet paper, so we didn't even have to worry about that.  

Everyday the CDC would either call us or send us a text to ask how we were feeling. After day 22, the texts stopped, and we finally felt free. We were very fortunate to have been able to quarantine in a fully furnished 3 bedroom house with a kitchen. Many people quarantine in hotels (some don't even have windows, which I don't even know how that would be humane) because they have nowhere to go. As we left Taiwan, they changed their policy so that home quarantines were no longer allowed. (I guess a few people took advantage and left their homes)

Throughout our trip I created mini-videos to share our experience. I've loaded them on YouTube and the link is below. 

Videos of Our Taiwan Experience

Love,

Mommy