The Weeks of Quarantining, Earthquakes, and Things

Basically since M left school on March 12, we haven't left the house except out of necessity for groceries, chiropractic appointments, etc. And, with the Coronavirus continuing to spread across the world, we continue to see shifts in our lives, while at the same time much the same. We've been practicing quarantining for the past 3 months since Jay arrived, so really, we're continuing to practice the same habits...when someone goes somewhere, it's just one of us. We didn't take Jay to public gatherings, and now those gatherings aren't even allowed so we continue not to go. I worked from home before and still do, and now M is taking classes from home which is probably the biggest change.

With the days sort of blending together, we almost forgot that it was St. Patrick's day. We'd been waiting for months to put Jay in his special outfit, so thankfully we remembered. We also had a great chat with Papa because it was his birthday (which we didn't forget!).

"The Ladies are Lucky I was Born" - too true.

Wednesday, March 18th was a bit of a crazy day, mainly because the morning started out shaky. Literally, it shook. I experienced my first earthquake. I had logged into work and was sitting on the couch, M was in the shower. And all the sudden, I feel the house shake. It had been raining, so I thought maybe it was just thunder, but it kept going. I could see the ground shift, the blinds were shaking, I suddenly realized it must be an earthquake and sat frozen on the couch! I realized I had no idea what to do in an earthquake. M didn't even feel it in the shower, but later told me I should have gotten under the table, or grabbed Jay out of bed and gotten under the table. Well, hopefully there's never a next time, but if there is, I will be more prepared. The quake sort of turned the day into this weird feeling day, so we were happy when Thursday came along.

I looked it up online just a few moments after it happened, and here's the detail. 

Jay helping M with his homework, definitely not distracted... :) 

One of the things we were looking forward to the most over the past two weeks was Jay's baby blessing. We had it scheduled for March 22, Grandma and Grandpa Blaylock were coming, Oma and Papa had flights booked, Jack and Klaire had their flights, it was going to be a party weekend for sure! I was so excited to see everyone, even grocery shopped like it was going to happen...and then, with the spread of the virus, we decided to call it off. It was such a hard decision, as we were looking forward to it for months. So, the anticipated weekend of family time and celebration was very different. We made up for part of it by having Nathan and Michela over for dinner and games on Friday night. Dominos was running a big sale, so we ate pizza and played Speak Out and Pandemic. Speak Out got us all to laugh and forget about our worries, and Pandemic helped us save the world which reminded us that the world will survive the Coronavirus too. I also made gluten free bread, trying out a new recipe. This time, it was actually successful and delicious!

The bread, it actually rose! 

Speak Out - Don't we all have great teeth? 

Sunday we had Nathan and Michela over for the Sacrament, and I led the Come Follow Me discussion about Enos. It was so great to have them come and cool to see Nathan and M bless and pass the sacrament together. I also enjoyed talking about the Gospel with everyone, the insights others bring to M and I's discussions are wonderful. We enjoyed our Sunday afternoon walk, and finished the evening with Family Chat on Google Hangouts, which is always so fun.

Jay right before our Sunday walk

Jay in his fancy Sunday outfit from Grandma

"Simba"

Sometimes when M has video classes and needs to participate, Jay joins me for work. If I am on a call with my teammates, they'll often ask if we can FaceTime so they can see Jay while we work which is really fun. Or, sometimes Jay will just play around in the room while I work. It's a blessing to be able to be home to help take of him while M's in class and I am so grateful my hours are flexible so I can work around the time I have to take off to care for him.

Working buddies.

And, sometimes watching Mommy work is really boring and you fall asleep while playing.

Jay has recently decided that toys can be fun and he can grab them with his hands. It's pretty exciting and fun to watch. He's also starting to laugh, which is so great!! He also loves to practice tummy time while being held up in the air, he's getting a lot stronger and can hold his head up pretty well...we tried the bumbo out for the first time. He's doing a lot better with bathtime, and he's finally big enough to wear his BYU shoes.

This toy is affectionately called "Raffay"

This little rattle reminds us of our family in AZ

Bumbo sitting to practice some head control...we still only do it for about 5 mins, 100% supervised.

Super baby!

Bath Time, enjoying his nice baby robe.

Check out the Cougar shoes! 

M recently found out that the deadline for his last CPA test has been extended, so he's stopped aggressively studying for it, which means SO much more free time. And, lucky for me, that time is usually in the evenings. We've taken full advantage this week and played Pandemic several nights in a row, increasing the difficulty each time. We started with 5 pandemics and choosing our roles, then the next time just random roles, and then this last time we moved up to 6 pandemics, no choosing roles. Every time we have won, but one time, the most intense time, we only won by 1 cube! Eeeek! It was fun and I am loving being able to spend time doing more fun things with M.

Our date night on Friday was In N' Out burgers, PJ's, and P games. I went to In N' Out about 5:15, and the line was zig-zagged all the way across the parking lot. I waited for 40 minutes in line, I'm lucky Klaire was available and we chatted the whole time. The food was scrumptious, and then we spent the rest of the night in our PJ's playing Pictionary and Pandemic. Both games were super fun.

Saturday we sorted through a whole bunch of stuff in our spare room closet, made a DI pile and a trash pile, it was good to switch winter out for summer and get rid of things. Jay was a trooper and watched us sort during his play time. In the afternoon we ran over to the church and played basketball. It's so fun to play with M. He's great at 1-1, he played that all the time, and I'm better with teammates, so I am grateful he's patient with me. Jay loves to lay out on his blanket on his half of the court and watch us play.

Some of the blessings we've seen over the past few weeks include: finding chicken in the grocery store, surviving an earthquake, finding a few rolls of TP at the store, sunny days that allow for walks, technology enabling us to talk to family, smiles and laughter of Jay that can light up the day, plenty of running water, physical bodies that allow us to do all the activities we love to do (like basketball), health and happiness of family members, a great job I can do from home, and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that allows M to administer the Sacrament in our home. These are just a few, I could probably write a whole post just about blessings!

Leave, Work, and Viruses

The past two weeks have been unlike any other in my life. We wrapped up February, and jumped into March full swing. The first week of March was busy with making preparations for going back to work, and hurriedly trying to get some things done that I had been procrastinating. One of those things was an act of service. I noticed that a lady across the street had a baby within the past couple of weeks, I only met her once last year at a RS activity and I have never seen her at church. I finally thought of something I could do for her, make breakfast cookies. The first few weeks after I had Jay, it was tough to find time for breakfast because I was so tired every morning and just wanted to sleep when he slept. I whipped up the cookies, got up my courage and then she wasn't home all day. So, the next day, I watched and when I knew her car was home, I loaded Jay up in the baby carrier and we walked over. I was nervous!  And, then I learned that when you take a baby with you to someone's door, they are immediately much nicer. When the lady answered the door, I told her I lived across the street, I met her once at an RS activity, and I noticed she had her baby. She was so friendly and we had a great chat on the doorstep. I am so grateful I followed the simple prompting to go and serve, it lightened my day and I hope that I can continue to find more opportunities to serve.

Jay and I spent a lot of our time that week going on walks, which means I got to talk to people on the phone. Walking and talking is a lovely way to enjoy the day. On Friday, I spent the day out at Aunt GayLynn's with Jay. M took the 3rd of 4 CPA tests in the morning, so I headed out there a little after he left. On my way, I stopped by a lawyer's office to start an agreement for them to help us with our accident last year and ensure we get a fair settlement and all our bills paid. Spending the day with Aunt GayLynn was super fun! She got her knee replaced about a week and a half ago so we went out to help. I helped her with a little bit of laundry, but I mainly just kept her company. We tried to go on a walk, but it was windy and Jay really was unhappy by the time we got about 100 yards away from the house. We will sure miss living near the Jensen's when we move!

We also got to go up to Steph and Ken's house for dinner in Herriman, with Nathan, Michela, and Grandma and Grandpa Blaylock. It was so fun to see their new home and introduce them to Jay! We had a great time chatting, and everyone loved the caramel rice crispy treats that I made for dessert. I am so grateful for family!

The clan. 

Jay chillin' with Grandpa

 Saturday was a busy day of errands, prepping for the week ahead, and Grandma Eddington had her 90th birthday celebration. Because of the season still being that of flues, Jay and I stayed home while M went to represent our family. We also started the day watching M play basketball which was super fun! We were excited to have a short visit from Grandpa Blaylock before he headed to the airport and Grandma stayed with us through Sunday. That night we watched Frozen 2 which was actually pretty good! Sunday Grandma Blaylock watched Jay so M and I could go to church together. The whole time we felt a little off like we were missing someone, and we were, Jay! It was so nice to be able to attend the full two hours of church and enjoy them with M. That afternoon we had a wonderful time visiting and had Michela and Nathan over for dinner. We played Exploding Kittens, and then they all left. In preparation for work, M gave me a blessing. I am so grateful for M's love and support, and for his worthiness to be able to give me a blessing. I felt so much comfort and strength, and I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who cares about me and gives me courage and strength to do hard things.

M playing b-ball, Jay and I watching.

The first week back to work was a little better than expected and a little worse in other ways. Each day I started with a workout, a little bit of scripture study, and was online working by 7. This was much earlier than my normal routine during leave, but each day I got a little more energy. Monday/Wednesday, Jay was home with me while M went to school, and we balanced it pretty well. Tuesday/Thursday M took Jay to group meetings/work, then Nathan watched him in the afternoon. All of M's peers thought Jay was adorable, and Jay behaved pretty well for M during the things he had to do. On Tuesday and Thursday, I was counting the minutes until they got home and even ran outside when they arrived to get the much needed cuddles and hugs. I also got my annual performance review on my second day back, which made me really feel like I was back at work. The week was just a little more nuts than expected because of the coronavirus. The virus hit China a few months ago and is now in the US. Throughout the week of work, I was constantly getting updates. First school cancelled for M and moved online, then graduation cancelled, General Conference not allowing anyone into the conference center, temples closing, all travel for work was cancelled, NBA season, March Madness, etc. It was one thing after another, which made it even extra hard to focus at work.

Jay and I working together.

Jay's first day home from BYU - fast asleep...it must have been a tiring day.

Friday couldn't come fast enough because Kara and Seth were coming to visit! They were coming for one of the saddest reasons possible, their 15 year old nephew committed suicide earlier in the week so they were really coming for the funeral. However, we were so excited to see them and get to introduce them to Jay. Jay loved them, and gave them lots of smiles right when they got there. I was grateful work wasn't super busy so I could take off time that morning when they arrived. We enjoyed visiting, and I think they enjoyed playing with Jay. I worked again in the afternoon while they went off to visit family, and M worked on homework. Friday night M and I just chilled, after a long week, we were very tired. Plus M had been up really early to run to the grocery stores. Shelves are empty, but felt fortunate that the only things we couldn't get on our list was some gluten free noodles,  potatoes, and toilet paper. M said while he was in the store, it was hard to not get caught in the hoarding mentality because of the empty shelves.

Saturday Kara and Seth were mostly at funeral events, but we sent them off with a waffle breakfast. We did our Saturday duties, M ran to Home Depot to try to get some TP, but no luck. So, we just stayed home for the day, doing laundry, meal prep for the week, etc. That night after Kara and Seth got back we watched Sahara, ate ice cream, and went to bed. Movies are good ways to end long weeks.

Sunday we were extra grateful to have Kara and Seth. Church has been cancelled to help not spread the virus, so we held church in our home. It was a special experience to have M and Seth be able to bless and administer the sacrament in our home. We sang songs, and M led a great Come Follow Me discussion about the Allegory of the Olive Tree. We discussed how sometimes individuals are trees, we get cut back, pruned, we sometimes do what we're supposed to and sometimes not, sometimes we have good ground and sometimes we don't....but with all this, we have the agency to choose how we respond to the circumstances we are given. Kara and Seth shared great insights and it was fun to have the discussion with some other adults. I took them to the airport in the afternoon, and said our good-byes. We took a long afternoon walk with Jay in the sunshine, and enjoyed the rest of the Sabbath at home.

Uncle Seth getting lots of smiles with Peek-a-Boo

Uncle Seth, Aunt Kara, Jay

It was a whirlwind of a couple weeks, with so many blessings. Also, Jay reached 3 months!! Woohoo!

3 Months, happy, smiley, and sleeping like a champ (about 10 hours at night)

This is actually the trick for getting him happy :) 

2nd Half of 02-2020

For about three years of my working career life I recruited. Although it was one of the happiest days of  my life when I left recruiting, the skills I learned have been very beneficial. One of these skills is resume building and reviewing. Honestly, I also learned a lot about resumes from a counselor in college who shredded my first draft, and then reviewing version after version of my own resume with my brother. Jack and I even talked about someday starting a business where we reviewed resumes and gave people feedback. All this said, within the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to help a few friends and family members. I reviewed their resumes, gave them feedback, and even did some interview prep. Tabitha came into town for some networking events because she's hoping to move to Utah, and we spent a full afternoon running through interview questions. I also helped Nathan and a friend from California with their resumes as they are both starting on the job hunt. I am grateful I have some useful skills to be able to help people, it's been a lot of fun!

Also while Tabitha was in town, we had a double date night with her and her boyfriend. We made taco salad and played Reverse Charades and Pandemic. Pandemic is one of our go-to group strategy games, we love playing with people when they come to visit. It was such a great evening!

T's Boyfriend, Tabitha, Jay, Me, M

I've been GF for almost 5 years now, hard to believe because when I started I thought I might starve. And, my tummy has felt better over the past 5 years than the 5 years before that I am very grateful. Over the 5 years, I really haven't made too many bad things and my experiments have turned out most of the time very good. Well, this week was different. The first attempt was bread sticks, I wanted something to go with my rigatoni so I found a 4-ingredient recipe online that had over 150 reviews and 4.5 stars...I thought I was totally safe. They smelled so good, I doused them in butter and garlic salt, and they tasted terrible. I ate the seasoning off the top of mine, and M asked if he didn't have to finish! You know it's bad if even M won't eat it. So, that was the first fail of the week...

See, they even look good! Don't be fooled though.

Second fail was cinnamon rolls. M passed his CPA test, I found a GF cake mix on sale, so I thought it was the perfect time for a treat. As soon as I began I started to have some little doubts. Hmmm, maybe the cake mix won't be good or the new flour I am trying won't be good, etc. When I dumped the dough out to roll it, it stuck to my rolling pin and was 100% stuck to the counter. I had to keep dumping flour into it and around it as I scraped it off the table with the spatula. FINALLY, I got it rolled up and tried to keep it together when I cut them. It was a process and the more flour I dumped I just thought to myself, there's a dollar, and another, and another...GF flour isn't cheap! They cooked up beautifully and are pretty good, but the density and the texture really didn't suite M's fancy. He tried to make it sound good by saying he liked the cinnamon part and the frosting was good....Again, they look amazing, but not so much the taste for someone who likes gluten. It was a good learning experience, and unless I have a few other people who are GF who want cinnamon rolls, I probably won't go through the effort of making them again...OR, I'll find a better recipe that suits GF better.

Beginning

Middle

End

One Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful, so we walked over to M's grandmother's house to introduce her to Jay. We had a great visit, Jay slept almost the entire time, and then we went on a long route home. It was good to introduce Jay to his great-grandma, so now he's met 2 of the 3 living greats.

Me, Grandma Eddington, M, and Jay

Jay also got to meet his Grandpa for the first time! Grandpa Blaylock was here for Root's Tech in SLC and came down to visit with us for an evening. We were so happy he was willing to drive down and visit us, and we enjoyed the evening with him, Michela, and Nathan.

Grandpa and Jay

The weather has been beautiful a few days each week, so Jay and I have been loving our afternoon walks. My favorite is when I can catch someone on the phone and I can talk to them the whole time I am walking. Feeling the sun, moving your body, spending time in nature and with those you love is so good for the soul. I am excited for when the weather gets warmer and warmer and we can go on walks every day!

Jay doesn't look too pleased, but really he does love walks and falls asleep every time.

One highlight of the past couple weeks is that I got to go to the temple. I haven't been to the temple since before Jay was born and it was wonderful to return. It has been the longest I've been away from the temple since I was endowed a little over 5 years ago, and it was wonderful to be back! I am grateful for M's willingness to watch Jay and his support in helping me go. I hope to be able to take advantage of only being 10 minutes away.

MADC-4, this may seem like one of the oddest acronyms you've seen, but it's the name of the superhero group of the movie M and his friends made in high school. His friend Coop was in town for the weekend from NYC, where he's trying to make a real acting career, so we all got together for the premier of this video. It's a 45 minute episode that they spent almost a year making...they have scenes with snow and scenes of summer. When they created it in high school, they all watched it one time and then the file became corrupt and they never saw it again...no parents saw it, nobody except those who made it...the 4 friends, Nathan, and a couple others. I have heard so much about the video, I was so excited to see it, and I was not disappointed. The premise of the movie is the villain wants to capture three gems, and to do it he decides to try and split up the MADC-4 with some insider help. It was hilarious to watch these people who I have only really known as adults act in their teenage ways, all while trying to create some cool effects, fight scenes, and drama. They wrote the script, did their own editing, their own camera working, etc. It is awesome! I really hope we can get a copy so our posterity can someday watch it. I also loved spending the evening with some of M's best friends, this was really my first time being with M and his friends. There was so much mutual respect between Coop and M, and the whole group was able to laugh and just have a great time together. M said he was so relieved when he saw Coop again it wasn't awkward and it felt like they hadn't even missed a beat. One time my mom told me that you know your true friends by those who you maybe don't contact as often, but when you get together it's like you've never been apart and that's how this night was for M, so cool!

Jay has been such a fun kiddo, he's starting to interact so much more with smiles and some ooo-ing. Whenever we're stressed or begin to worry about things, Jay will laugh or get a big smile and our stresses are washed away for a moment.

Jay has a unique ability to get at least one hand out of the swaddle, and he loves touching his ears. 

M's shirt says it all, LOVE.

These two on Sunday night were really enjoying each other. 

Oh what fun February was! We've seen a lot of friends and family, played games in our free moments, and soaked up all the laughs and smiles that we could. Jay has started to be interested in small rattles and reacting to the things hanging above his playmat, so we're excited to see what March has to offer.