Daily thoughts 4-4-20

Let’s see if I can keep this going!

At work I have one component that changes passwords every 3 months. I was like how on earth am I ever going to remember all those changes? And I have to use a number in it. Then an easy method came to mind!! I started with Dustin1, now I’m on Autumn2! I figure by the time I get to the end of 10 kids, it will allow me to reuse the first one again! 😂😂😂

CORONAVIRUS 2020

3-18-20

As this virus continues to grow and get crazy in the U.S., I decided to begin writing about it. Some of these things remind me of what I know about the depression era that my parents lived through. I have thought of that time frequently through my life, as it was reflected in their every day living for all their life afterwards. I have been so grateful that I did not have to raise kids through that time. Well, I may be now getting a touch of that. SO backing up….

In late Feb it was announced to the world that China had this big virus that was infecting thousands and many were dying. It slowly began spreading from country to country. China was locked down and many countries denied entry to people from China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.  As it spread, the first place in the USA to have somebody ill with Coronavirus (covid 19) was in Seattle, WA in a person who had recently traveled to Wuhan China, the origination place. Then people in Italy began having symptoms with the number of infected people growing at an alarming rate! By March 10th Italy had 9000 cases and over 400 deaths! Italy then made the crazy decision to close all of it’s borders and people were ordered to stay in their homes and communities.

We were still kind’ve scoffing over here in America. Like how crazy are those Italians??! Then it began to grow in the US. Washington state was still where the biggest percentage of cases were but day by day, state after state reported an illness or two. Part of the issue at hand is that there are not enough testing kits. Likely, there are thousands more cases that we don’t know about because we cannot test everyone who appears sick. So infected people are still out and about in the communities and with their friends and families. The guidelines currently, for being tested are: you have to have at least 2 of the symptoms and since they so closely look like the flu, you must first test NEGATIVE for the flu. Then you are to self quarantine and if you begin to experience breathing issues, THEN you can go to the ER and may be tested. I believe some of the deaths are occurring because of the lack of tests and people not being treated in time. As of this writing, our Oregon county, Lane, just had our very first case, yesterday and they died right away at the hospital.☹ 

On to the CRAZY part! Around March 8 or 9, Autumn had sent a message to our family group that the crazies in her small town, Castle Rock, WA, had wiped out all the wipes, disinfectants, milk, bread, etc from all of their little stores. We thought it was nuts but also thought it pertained to WA only as they have the most cases and it seemed a little justified that people were panicking. I did not take it seriously at all. But within 3 days I began seeing pictures or posts of people relating their experiences of the stores being wiped out of items they needed. I took notice of the posts but I had been in our stores and not really noticed anything unusual. Then it became more local. Costco was out of toilet paper and all non perishable staples but also milk and bread. By the next day (3/11) after hearing of some restrictions being placed on us and that Oregon was thinking of closing schools, I decided maybe I SHOULD prepare for a 14 day quarantine! But I still was not too serious about it, having only been rolling my eyes the day before about people freaking out!

It was my day off (3/11) and I had been downtown for something and as I pulled into my parking space at my apartment, I heard the news that schools would be shut down for 2 weeks in Oregon. It caused me to panic for a moment and I decided maybe I SHOULD be prepared after all.  I backed out of my parking space and headed to the store. On my way I am going over in my head what I think we might need. More and more comes to my mind as I think how to prepare for a pandemic, which is exactly what it would be pronounced a few days later. What food do we have, what do I need to cook what I have at home, what disinfectant do we need? Luckily, I had spent some bored time at work reading over articles about the Lysol sanitizer that nobody could find and I saw a post from a friend showing the bottle that specifically could disinfect against COVID-19. So that was first on my list. Here is what my list comprised of on my first run to the store:

Lysol blue bottle, Lysol wipes, milk, powdered milk, butter, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, chips. I head into Walmart, no disinfectant of any type. No wipes, no TOILET PAPER, no hand sanitizer, no rubbing alcohol (for making sanitizer), no powdered milk, no bread. Ok fine! I will check another store. And another and another and SIX in total before finding most of what I needed with the exception of rubbing alcohol and powdered milk. I was shocked by all that they were out of and very glad I had made the decision to go to the store! I return home and decide to leave it all in my car in case we really don't need it. By the next day after reading more posts and seeing more pictures of stores being completely bare, I decide I need a few more things. Such as COLD MEDICINE! If you are quarantined because of having this virus you are definitely going to want some cold meds! I was very afraid that I had waited too long but when I got to WalMart, miraculously, there were a few boxes left of the kind I wanted. I bought several different types, along with Swiffer floor wet pads (disinfecting). As I was throwing cold meds in my cart and trying to read about the differences in them so I could make a decision, my jiminy cricket (more like Holy Spirit nudging) told me I could do that in a minute but I needed to hurry to check the Lysol aisle. I got there right as a clerk was stocking many big boxes full of Lysol product on the shelves. The second he would put it on the shelf, it was taken by a customer! This clerk had a pallet of boxes and every single piece of product disappeared as soon as it came out of the box.  I managed to get two 3-packs of Lysol disinfecting wipes! I was very happy with that! I had managed to find Lysol spray disinfectant at Fred Meyer, but only because they had begun limiting people to 5 per person! When I was buying the Lysol, I had looked up which kinds you needed to get to protect against coronavirus. It is very specific, so I only bought those specific ones. I feel bad for the people who THINK they are protecting against the virus but don’t know enough to find the right Lysol!

In the four days since I began writing this many more things have taken place. It is very fluid, with more and more restrictions day to day or hour to hour. Last Wed, the last day I worked before my two days off, my company Royal Caribbean, made the decision that as of that night at 10 pm all work would be transitioned to work from home. Most workers had laptops and were ready to go. I however, did not. SO this meant I got paid to sit at home and wait for the company to issue my laptop! Which also meant I could unpack more boxes as we had just moved to the Boulders Apartments in Eugene. By Friday, 3/20/20 President Trump had ordered that there could be no gatherings over 25 people! The Governor of Oregon mandated no gatherings over 10! So it was good we were set to work from home! I have been to the store a few times to replenish on milk and cereal. I just keep checking back for what I need until I find it. However, Lysol and hand sanitizer as well as cold meds are non existent in stores. And for some odd reason so is TOILET PAPER! Nobody can really figure this one out unless they intend to poop alot while quarantined. LOL I have been able to get some bread and also was able to get cheese and frozen chicken breasts. It's a good thing my pantry contained alot already because the list of what you CANNOT find in any store is pretty lengthy! 

• bread 
• jam
• peanut butter
• canned veggies
• frozen veggies
• cold meds
• powdered milk (I FINALLY scored some in bulk at Winco)
• flour
• sugar
• eggs
• toilet paper
• paper towels
• disinfectant wipes
• any wipes
• bottled water
• face masks
• plastic gloves
• rice
• soups

Stores who have had these items in have now put limits on them thank goodness! But even so they disappear as soon as they are in.  The hospitals are overrun with sick people and are now running out of face masks and gloves. They are being asked to reuse their masks which is dangerous for everyone. To help with the supply shortage there are instructions being put out on the internet for people to help with sewing masks for hospitals and emergency workers. I even saw a lady wearing one at the store. I'm thinking of going to my storage unit to get my sewing machine so I can make some.  Tomorrow (3/23) it is fully expected for Oregon's governor to issue a stay at home order. Effectively putting all of Oregon in quarantine. 

3-22-20
USA now has 33,346 cases and 414 deaths! And we have not issued an order for everyone to stay at home in every state yet! Compare that to when Italy did and their numbers today are 59,138 with 5,476 deaths! The last 2 days they have reported 800 deaths in each 24 hour period! Their morgues cannot get to the bodies because there are so many! And they shut their borders! This does not look good for the USA! I am just hoping to be able to keep a roof over my kids heads and not drown with very little paycheck.  Today was actually my first day to stay completely at home.  I really hope we can return to normal soon. 

6-20-2022

I really wish I had maintained this diary. To put it briefly the world is still greatly affected by the effects covid 19 had on everybody. We are still not back to normal. Probably never will be.

Pawn

Today I had to do something I have never done before.  I pawned my wireless security camera.  Originally we paid $400 for it and never used it because it wouldn't connect.  The selling price at a pawn store today is $50. So I walked away with $25. But hey,  I now have gas in my car which is what I needed.

Daily Schedule for school

6:10 alarm goes off,  I push snooze 3 times before really getting up.

6:25 Wake up Jadin and Josiah

6:30 Make 5 bowls of nutella oatmeal

6:40 Wake up Kenna,  Colton and Kylie

7:05 Jadin out the door
          Make sure Kenna and Kylie are             dressed and comb hair

7:15 Josiah, Kenna, Colton and Kylie out the door

7:25 Wake Jessica up.
         Callie and Caleio come downstairs.      Make 2 more bowls of oatmeal. 

7:40 kids dressed

7:55 Callie and Caleio leave

8:35 take Jess to the high school for her music classes

11:25 pick Jess up from the high school

**************
Then in the afternoons there is always a counseling appointment or 2 for somebody, followed by football practice 6-8.  Then we have our bedtime routines.

It's always something

Tonight Colton was sitting beside me,  feeling his heartbeat.  He freaks a little and says "mom,  my heart is beating crazy; skipping and stuff". So I put my hand on his chest and count beats for several minutes,  no problem.   I go back to crocheting and a few minutes later he grabs his stomach and says he doesn't feel good.  The very next second he JUMPS up off the couch, screams and yells while crying "I don't have a heartbeat! !"
HUH?? Jess and I try not to laugh because he is seriously distressed.  I then explain things to him. I'm not sure what he is all worked up about but I think maybe he needs a few calming prayers tonight.

Sweet Colton

What a lucky mom!! I gave the kids a cookie treat after dinner and then I went into the living room to relax. Unbeknownst to me, Colton decided I needed some gluten free cookies so I could have a treat too! So he went on you tube, found a recipe and made his mama some cookies!! What a kid!!

I guess when he first tried to bake them, he didn't know a temp or for how long, so they were a bit crisp(black!) and stuck to the cookie sheet.  But then he got it right and they were delicious! :) 

McKenna's First Big Owie

McKenna decided tonight that Grammy's birthday wasn't exciting enough so she thought a trip to the ER was needed.  As Dustin and Denver were working on setting up my new TV and the surround sound, they were using a knife to splice the speaker wire.  They had set the knife on the piano and turned around to plug in the speaker.  As they turned to do that, McKenna walked by, saw the knife, picked it up and stabbed it through a piece of paper.  Problem was, she was holding that paper in her other hand and the knife went through the paper and cut her left hand webbing in between her index and middle finger.  Because it was in such a weird position, there was really no way for me to fix it at home and it looked like it may need stitches.  So off to the hospital Dustin, Kenna and I went.  Instead of stitches, they used glue and then buddy taped her fingers.  Now I need to add glue to my first aid kit at home. :)  She will heal just fine and hopefully she has learned not to play with knives. 

LAUNDRY: I should make a commercial for SHOUT!

So often I think I should make a commercial for SHOUT! I use that stuff by the gallons! My "to Shout!" laundry pile had been growing and growing, so today I decided to tackle it.  I sprayed Shout on clothing for NINETY minutes!!! (yes, I timed it)  You should see what a difference it makes and the pile I have during baseball season!! LOL And for some reason my boys ALWAYS seem to be placed on the teams with white or gray pants.  *heavy sigh* :)


With 7 messy children, I would have to replace clothing frequently if it wasn't for Shout.  One child in particular has extraordinarily FILTHY clothing! I think the time and effort that I put into spraying their clothes is so worth it in the long run.  I took pictures so I'd have before and afters, I will post them later. 

My 48th Birthday

Dustin decided that since my TV had barely any sound, that I needed a new one for my birthday. So we went craigslist shopping and I found a 65" projection tv for FREE. He helped me go load it up (a Herculean task) and get it home. On the way home we stopped by a garage sale to get a surround system for cheapo and a desk for him. Then they loaded me up with a free couch for my bedroom, a free gorgeous giant mirror and a free lamp for my dark living room. So, yup, those were GREAT birthday presents!! Then Denver, Sarah and girls came over for tacos and the boys set up my tv and surround sound. Love that they are here to do all of that for me!

This is what Jessica posted on Facebook:

Jessica KnowltonNovember 2

I don't know where I would be right now if I hadn't been adopted by my awesome mom. She's helped me through the hardest times. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you— feeling special with Becki Henry Knowlton.

My birthday celebration actually started the night before with a birthday dinner. Denver and Sarah took me to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday.  It was a really nice couple of hours to be with just them and not worry about the kids for awhile.  Denver said we (Sarah & I) could order whatever we wanted so we STUFFED ourselves.  I think the highlight of the night was for Denver. They told the manager it was my birthday and they made me sit on a saddle (:&) and wave a bandanna over my head while they sang a little ditty about my birthday. I was VERY embarrassed and Denver took a video, which he posted to FB.  He laughed and chuckled every time he watched it back, which was several times. LOL I am so thankful for my kids who make me feel special. LOVE them!