Shillig 4 Family

The girls have a couple friends (Sophia and Elizabeth) that they have been reading books and then having a "social distance" book club/picnic at the park.  It helped them feel less quarantined during all this craziness.  Getting in some books helped too!  I am so glad they have great friends so far here.  

Since March I have worked for the SBA. Since April Jake has been activated with the National Guard. Since March our kids have been at home 98% of the time. We do a drive thru meal here or there. A Costco run when Jake gets a day off. Otherwise we use what we have or I have Amazon Fresh delivered. I am tired. We are all tired. We miss Jake. The kids are aching for a road trip, a road trip anywhere they say, but mainly the want to see family and go to the beach. Leila Jin gives everyone a serious face as she's grown up in a Covid-era. Aimi Lark is sewing masks and knitting beanies for babies. Mali Su has been crocheting the biggest quilt. The boys are STILL trying to read Harry Potter. Leila Jin is now pulling up on everything in sight. Zelda gets her walks in and loves to sun bathe by the pool. We have been quarantined in a dream home in a safe place and been more blessed than we ever expected. We've had our health, financial stability, and happiness even th...

Overheard at bedtime Malachi giving Solomon social advice: “You like to stand out, I like to stay undercover” I’m like a secret agent, you’re like a clown” “Don’t be boring, be fun, but not too fun” “Be happy” They finally got FORTNITE a video game that is all the rage, but we are about 2 years too late. The boys were so excited. Malachi asked for his birthday (that's tomorrow but we celebrated last week on Jake's day off). I love these brothers. I am so glad they have each other.

The pool. I love this thing and I rarely even get in. I sit outside with my work laptop while they enjoy! The backyard looks like a jungle and someday I want to tame it, but right now I don't even seem to care anymore.  Leila Jin LOVES getting in with them (until someone splashes her) and they just love having her try out new things.  Yesterday, it was surfing she tried out. On Saturday we had SO MUCH RAIN and I was working and had to figure out how to eject the water on my own since Jake is gone.  Good thing I watched him backwash it the last time he was home from Army work so I was able to do it with Malachi's help.  PHEW!  That was intense.  After flooding in Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda at our Vidor house flooding is always on our minds it seems.

"It's like we are having an Easter Egg hunt, but for weeds, and these bags are our baskets" -Malachi I try to have my kids weed often. I feel like it teaches so many life skills in such a simple task.  Sure, I could pay someone, and I did for the mulch, but I think them weeding is so important. As always Leila Jin is along for the adventure, whatever that may be.

So I doctored up a can of soup today for lunch Added extra tomatoes green beans etc Malachi says “I really like this brown vegetable” I said you mean sausage? We all laughed Our kids eat meat so infrequently they don’t know the names of it all ------- I just love driving and flying anywhere and staying in a Marriott, it feels like home to me” -Mali Su -------

My 5 champions of Corona/Covid 2019.  Malachi is 11 this month and is the most helpful of all with Leila Jin. Leila Jin is 6 months old and sits up like a champ, has started eating foods, and loves her siblings to play with her.  Mali Su is 12 and is the best at cleaning the kitchen and makes great treats during quarantine.  Solomon is 9 and always up for a game, the pool, or silliness while we are social distancing.  Aimi Lark is 13 and makes sure we all know about crafty things she sees on "5 min crafts" online. This quarantine has been hard. It became harder when the Guard needed Jake. BUT it has also been amazing and I have no desire for it to end. I feel like a walking contradiction in my feelings in all this, but I am content. We are healthy. We can pay our bills. We are "stuck" in a beautiful home with those we love.

I realize more and more that I live a privileged life. I live a life unlike most in the world will ever live. It feels “normal” in the United States to live this way, but each day I am reminded just how big my piece of the pie is. A husband who loves me through it all. 5 amazing babies who think I hung the moon. And the feeling that nothing is outside my reach. I look at pictures I take of my kids and hope they know how good they have it. I look at pictures of my kids realize all my dreams have come true in this life. They are “spoiled fresh” as Jake says and I will do everything I can for that to continue for them. This is the American Dream.

Swimming at our house brings me so much joy! I knew when we bought our house I wanted good schools and a pool. I love that our kids get so much use our of the pool & enjoy the sun every chance they get. When I came home from work yesterday they all showed me their sunburns from the walks and the pool. Poor little Leila Jin got her first sun exposure since she was born in cold weather.  Her little legs were sun kissed when I came home. I ordered her a float so that when the water warms up she can join her siblings and Daddy while I’m at work. What a blessing it is to have such a nice home to be quarantined in.

Family walks have become part of our daily quarantine routine. The kids love it, Zelda loves it, and Leila Jin gets everyone to excitedly push her around. Jake and I have different paces for walking.   I like slow to medium and to randomly explore. Jake likes fast to faster to make it an aerobic activity. I can’t wait til we can get back to walking around new found places together on vacation. I can’t wait til we can do these walks into the unknown with our kids in new places. I loved our explorations in Paris and longingly think back to when we could visit places without the fear of Corona. I am feeling down and sad about how things have changed in our world. Maybe they are forever changed, but maybe this will all be over soon. I just don’t think it’ll all be better by Easter like President Trump hopes. But, here’s to family time, family walks, and a life full of down time.

Leila Jin is 5 months old now. I have been terrible at blogging about her milestones. I can’t even blame Instagram because I haven’t done it all there either. She has two teeth (that she got at 4 months). She can roll over from her back to tummy, but doesn’t seem to roll back unless she’s aimed downhill on our bed. She LOVES her “cloud” as we’ve lovingly nicknamed our bed where she prefers to sleep. She has handled me going to work well I feel like. This means she takes a bottle now and Daddy taught her to hold it! She is always along for the ride because her siblings are busy and older. She handles it like a champ and they are over the moon happy with her all the time. She is our pride and joy. She is her siblings source of big smiles when they see her smiling face! She is always smiling and I love her extra soft skin. Daddy loves her “Popeye” forearms. I love her curl on top of her head. Leila Jin we are so grateful for yo...

Mali Su is determined.   Determined to be so good at all she does.   She loves having many friends & is finding her place in her skipped a grade life at the middle school. She loves to try new things and is always altering her schedule at school to learn all she can (but still keeping choir where she is a great singer). Mali Su has a tendency to overshare so we are working on what you tell the world and what you don’t with her & I think we are making progress! She makes sure she has all As at school. She is a pacer when she runs and makes sure she doesn’t sprint too early on long runs. She has been going to physical therapy because her knee cap “slips” out of place and it’s so scary, but she is getting better at taking care of it. She is so good at taking care of Leila Jin while I am at work.   She has read all kinds of baby knowledge online and this makes her an “expert” on all things LJ. Mali Su is so capable, smart, and will do...

Aimi Lark is so tall now.  I look at her and see the future of her, the adult, the grown-up.  This makes me smile and confused all at the same time.  She is super talented with hair and knitting.  I love her artistic side. She has a short attention span sometimes with Leila Jin and asks to hold her just to give her back shortly after, but she always wants to come in my room to love on her and give me a hug. She has been sneaky since she was about 4 years old.  She will bring snacks (she loves white cheddar cheezits) in the electronics room while she plays SIMS on her laptop and while these aren’t make or break mistakes it makes me a little crazy. I sometimes think I need to have less rules because then the rules aren’t broken, but I think she and I are getting to a better understanding of my expectations (that I know are high for my kids). Aimi Lark is so smart. Aimi Lark gets such great grades at school. Aimi Lark is a loyal friend. Aimi Lark s...