The Isolation Diaries

My son's Playstation broke last week. You could be forgiven for thinking he had lost a limb with the way he reacted. Unable to cope with a miserable 18 year old for the next 6 months, I dipped into the rainy day fund and bought him a new one. It arrived today and he is now quite happy to be quarantined in his room for the next few months (only resurfacing for food). Poppy asked to do some work this morning so home learning commenced again, having fallen off the bandwagon for a while now. I was then treated to a fashion show in the garden, where I was forced to appalled and whoop as she strutted her way down the path in a variety of princess dressing-up costumes. Her finale was Wonder Woman and she has remained in it all day. I'm not opposed to it though as the washing basket seems to be forever full at the moment. We are at home all day, how are we managing to get through so many outfits?! Spent half an hour on the trampoline with Poppy...still aching from it now. ...

It's now been over a week. Poppy returned home from her dad's house (dressed as a mermaid) with bags of toys (because she obviously doesn't have enough here) and a Wendy house-castle thing, because there isn't enough shit in the dining room already. She has also now claimed the space under the stairs in the downstairs hallway and it resembles a crèche for dolls-a highchair, bouncer, pushchair, pram and car seat for her (many) babies. She, and her toys, are slowly taking over the house. (Contemplate if now is a good time to make-over the shed and turn it into a playhouse for her and her ever growing collection of baby paraphernalia. *Must tell her dad to stop sending her home with more things*) Cohabiting has sadly come to an end as the boyfriend needs to go be with his family and the reality of the virus has become very close to home. In order to keep the children safe, we won't be seeing each other for a while now.

Work day AKA the first day I have put make up on in over a week and worn actual clothes rather than pyjamas. Home by 4pm (a complete novelty for a Monday) and normality, as I now know it, is restored with PJs promptly put back on. Covid Cohabiting is going well. Not wanting to sound smug but I have found a good one. Nightly foot rubs whilst I fall asleep on the sofa, help with keeping Poppy entertained and he is very good at making sure my wine glass/tea cup/coffee mug is well topped up. Hopefully seeing me today with some make up on and my hair brushed will remind him that I can look presentable and he hasn't coupled up with a Yeti.

Did. Absolutely. Nothing.

Beginning to lose all track of time and it's feeling like that time between Christmas and New Years, except there is less chocolate and no one can come round for left overs. I haven't felt great today and obviously spent a lot of the day Googling my symptoms (mainly just feeling tired, most probably down to my party antics on Whats App last night). Poppy goes to her dad's this afternoon. I am concerned about her moving between households but he isn't at work and won't be coming into contact with anyone, so for as long as we are both healthy then it shouldn't cause any disruption to her routine. 6pm The first time night in over a week that I haven't had to do the bedtime routine and I am making the most of it by putting on a podcast and going to bed myself. Crazy Saturday night!

Home schooling has pretty much gone out the window. The dishwasher has been used more in the last few days that it has in the last year.  Poppy decided to play 'Teachers' with her dolls so I'm chalking that up as her quota of learning for the day.  The boyfriend really is a keeper, keeping Poppy entertained this evening whilst I had a drink/video call with my besties, realising it has been ages since I actually saw them. (And that drinking wine whilst on the phone is a dangerous game!)

Woke up again at 5:30am just for the luxury of having an uninterrupted hour before another day of lockdown and trying to keep Poppy busy. The novelty of doing school work first thing in the morning has already worn off and by 10am there still isn't a phonic card in sight. Yesterday I was still finding Aquabeads on the floor and today Poppy is adding to them with beads from her bracelet set. I have very quickly acclimatised to the fact that the house is going to be a mess most days but as long as she is happy and busy, that's all I care about. Whilst she's busy doing that, I also have to accept the fate that my acrylics need to come off. Except I have no nail varnish remover so it's going to be more of a butchering of my nails and the likelihood that small bits of acrylic will remain until they grow out. Whilst I napped yesterday, Poppy took full advantage of the boyfriend's more lenient rules and took out boxes of toys from a cupboard in her room that has ...

Woke up at 5:30 am to get some work done before Poppy got up. I attempted to do some yesterday but very quickly realised that it is impossible. Managed to get work uploaded on the website for the children of my school to access/give their parents something to try to keep the children occupied, before Poppy woke up at 7:30. She wasn't nearly as keen as yesterday to get on with her learning and was happy to laze on the sofa with Peppa Pig for company. Wasn't going to protest. Morning activities consisted of: Making a book and writing the title 'The Story of the Sassy Girl Poppy' on the front cover. The inside was less legible in the form of several squiggly lines. A phonic game which she was happy enough to play by herself and I was happy to let her. Cutting up bits of paper and sticking them onto more bits of paper (which will enviably end up in the recycling bin). That took us to 10:30 and for the first time this week I found myself looking the c...

Today was the first day of quarantine for us at home. Yesterday I was at work and Poppy was with her dad but amazingly in the space of just a few hours the dining room has been taken over by numerous piles of paper, pencils, baby dolls and Aquabeads (all over the floor, of course).  I think I am going to have to accept that this is the likely situation for the foreseeable future. Started the day very proactively, probably too proactively as by 9am Poppy had finished her phonics and maths activities and the aforementioned Aquabeads arranged in some sort of Troll-like blob. With hours left of the day, we retreated to the garden and in a moment of inspiration (or madness) I decided today was the day to finally make the mud kitchen I have been promising Poppy since last summer. Unable to go out to buy any materials for it, searched the shed and thanks to the previous owners leaving A LOT of old scraps of wood, along with a pallet I've been hoarding in there for months, I ...