How The Olson Four Quarantine

It's funny how time loses meaning when a global pandemic hits. My apologies, dear readers, for the painfully long gap since my last post. I intend to be more mindful of our day-to-day lives and up my documentation game!

Never in all of our days did we expect to wear masks when we leave the house, have the kids do remote school for over 3 months, swap out social interactions for video calls/events, and find the grocery stores so low on everyday supplies (hello, flour and toilet paper!). Life has definitely changed, but we really can't complain. We are all healthy and in good spirits. The kids miss seeing their friends in non-virtual ways, but at least they have the technology available to see each other and catch up.

Speaking of catching up... here's a quick summary of how we've spent much of the 2020 pandemic.

Shortly after the quarantine/stay-at-home orders went into effect, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. We sported our newly-made Irish themed t-shirts to show our Irish pride!

Irish girl

Got green??

Speaking of all things Irish, one shift that was made during the pandemic is Annika's Irish dance class switched from in-person lessons to live video lessons. Her teachers, once again, proved how amazing they are and quickly adapted how they approach dance lessons so the students didn't miss a beat... no pun intended! (OK, maybe a little pun intended!) It has been a real treat to watch (and listen to) Annika's lessons. She is always so happy when she is wearing ghillies and is jigging this way and that!

Annika during a remote dance class

Mask-making has been another major focus around our home. We don't go out often, but when we do, we need masks. We need multiple masks per person to account for washing them after each use and me not wind up doing mask laundry every day. I've also made masks for people we know who don't sew or just because I wanted to! :)

Conor sporting one of his masks

She has her big eyes!

Mask up!

Arg, me matey!

Needless to say, I've continued to make my little heart out, but without having co-workers to feed each Thursday (I've been working from home 100% since the 1st week in March), I haven't had as many people to feed baked goods to.  That said, I remain dedicated to my baking efforts, just a bit more scaled back from pre-pandemic. I have been asked to make a few specialty items along the way, too, including wedding-themed cookies for an virtual bridal shower, a toilet paper cake for the kids' school auction (also virtual), and I taught a (virtual ... noticing a theme??) cookie decorating class for work.

Challah... future French toast

Decorated cookies for the remote class I taught "at" work

TP cake for the CKS auction

Made this for 3/14 ... PIE DAY

For my co-worker's daughter's virtual bridal shower

Strawberry/rhubarb pie (my quest to make a non-liquidy pie)

Can't beat warm bread!

Sorry, Huck. No cookies for you!

For a family friend's b-day

Sourdough bagels because ... well, why not???

Speaking of food, a local culinary school has shifted from in-person classes to virtual classes. Right before the quarantine, my sister and I took a roasted chicken class (in person!) which was a lot of fun and we learned so much! During the quarantine, Conor and I took a virtual class that taught us how to make gyozas and a very yummy dipping sauce. I also took a Baja fish taco class that has changed our culinary lives.

Conor following along with our online instructor

Beyond good gyozas!

I mentioned before that the kids spent the last 3+ months of the school year learning from home. Eric and I cannot give their school enough props and praise for how they handled this whole situation. They simply did not miss a beat! The school had a planned teacher in-service day in early March. They shifted it to a two-day in-service day so the teachers could learn how to teach remotely. The following Monday, boom!, the kids were online and learning from home.

Annika's 3-D cell model
(made of reusable/recyclable/compostable materials only)

Example of Conor's music homework

PE time!

Annika's Missionary Discipleship class
continued to think of others and spread positivity

Conor's robot Art homework

Example of Conor's art homework

Annika's botanical self portrait for Art class

Each Friday had its own theme for school. This was the magic-themed day.

Last day of school - they did it!!!

No one could have guessed how this
school year would evolve, that's for sure!

We have also found random things to keep us busy/occupied/not climbing the walls, including lots of puzzles/games, knitting, random art projects, playing virtual reality games, musical interludes, and taking a few moments now and then to sit in the sun and enjoy a moment of quiet.

Eric playing VR

Our window art gallery

Annika's Eiffel Tower puzzle

 

Our little knitters

Annika and Huck enjoying the hammock

We hope you are doing well, staying healthy, washing your hands, and wearing a mask! We miss seeing our loved ones in person and hope we can reconnect with you soon!

Annika's 1st Irish Dance Recital

Annika had a rather big day on Sunday... her first Irish dance recital with Tara Academy. Not a surprise, she loved EVERY minute of it.

Back in kindergarten, her teacher (hi, Meghan!!) made a comment to me about how Annika was born to be on the stage. She wasn't kidding!! Annika loves an audience and entertaining people... she always has and (probably) always will. She's my girl, what can I say???

Getting ready to leave for the performance space

Annika was incredibly fortunate to have quite the cheering section in the audience. She had Daddy, Conor, Bestemor and Bestefar, Auntie Suzanne, Uncle Troy and Auntie Staci, Kat, and Ian. WHEW!! Talk about it taking a village to raise a performer/dancer/child!

One neat takeaway from the day was how the dancers put a decorative pin at their shoulder on the cape. Her teacher generously shared many of her pins with the dancers, and I suggested that Annika look for a pin to use in the future when she goes to Ireland later this month. (Side note: Bestemor, will you please help her find one or two as souvenirs??)

Ms. Erin attaching Annika's cape

The students danced their hearts out ... and showed what hard practice and kind teachers can help them achieve. Thank you to her teachers for their kindness, patience, and willingness to share their knowledge.

Annika was recently told that she has been promoted from the beginner level to the 1st intermediate level class. Talk about a feather in her cap! I can only image that Annika was jig even more than she does now ... which means she will probably dance in her sleep before much longer!!

Post-show with her flowers and certificate

Annika's Irish Dance Performance

Since September, Annika has been attending weekly Irish dance classes as part of her school's after-school learning program. She has really enjoyed it ... to the point that she rarely walks anymore... instead, she Irish dances everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! Annika? Go get the forks for dinner, please. (Insert Irish dance moves here.) Annika? Please go get your homework out of your backpack. (Insert Irish dancing here.) Annika? Please go brush your teeth. (Insert Irish dancing and tooth brushing here.)

It has been a real treat to watch her skills develop ... both in terms of the actual steps, but also her sense of rhythm and timing.

Yesterday was the last class session. To mark the occasion, the girls in her class did a little performance for their parents/siblings. We watched the girls practice some of their dance steps and then watched them perform a basic dance routine. It was fun to watch them hop around while pointing their toes and keeping their arms straight at their sides. Well done, one and all!!

September 2015 Daring Bakers' Challenge: Soda Bread

This month's Daring Bakers' challenge was a bit of a double-edged sword for me. It was very exciting because it was the first time I was the challenge host. It was a little bit of a let down because there wasn't the anticipation of "what will this month's challenge be??" on the first day of the month.

As the host, I was able to choose any baking task that my little heart desired and my heart chose to challenge our bakers to make soda bread. I thought it was a fun nod to my Irish ancestry and my desire to travel to Ireland.

I made the whole wheat soda bread recipe my parents brought back from their first trip to Ireland in 1985 as the example for the challenge when I wrote it up a few months ago. To keep things fresh, I opted to make my other go-to soda bread recipe when I baked for the actual challenge this month. It is definitely a comfort food for me and it didn't fail to hit the mark.

Interestingly, I made the soda bread and banana bread (ewww!) the same day. The kids had slices of each as a scientific experiment. Both kiddos gave a thumbs up to the banana bread (probably because of the chocolate chips I included in the batter) and a "so so" rating to the soda bread. (I'm ok with that ... more soda bread for me!) What really tickled me was when Annika referred to the soda bread as "caffeine bread" because she thought the "soda" of soda bread was in reference to soda pop, not baking soda. :)

Annika: Bread Judge #1

Conor: Bread Judge #2

My Irish soda bread - ta da!

For the month of September Meredith from the Poco Loco Olsons challenged us to experiment with soda bread. (HEY! That's ME!)