Tommy set up a fire pit (no pit involved) in the yard and we taught Mila the meaning of “S’mores” tonight! The neighbors also gave us some extra kid size camping chairs and after not wanting anything sweet for around a year post-transplant, Maggie has officially solidified her love of chocolate (to join the rest of the Rose women).

The “new house” is now one of the 3 activities we do on weekends as a family, where we bike or hike over to our house under construction to see the progress. It’s great fun, and the girls unexpectedly LOVE to play at the site. Unfortunately it requires constant vigilance that no one steps on a nail or falls down a chute, but it’s something to do! (The other two activities include hiking in the woods and biking around Carrboro).

Poor Maggie of course gets a fever and cough within a week of quarantine starting. This is not at all unusual for her, but of course I can’t take her to the pediatrician with potential COVID-19 symptoms, so we got to experience the “Respiratory Diagnostic Center,” which is a tent in a parking lot near UNC Hospital for COVID-19 testing. Luckily, she is negative as expected, and feeling MUCH better on some antibiotics for (what I have diagnosed as) a sinus infection.

Things you never knew would be critical during a quarantine – a short list:
Toilet paper, Zoom, Hammocks

Well…the schools have closed and we are officially “socially distancing” – a term that has entered to become a major part of my vocabulary in the last two weeks – due to COVID-19. The girls are out of school, and we decided to mix up the monotony by renting a guinea pig. You pay a local farm $40 and they give you a guinea pig and all the needed supplies for the week – so meet Bedhead, our temporary family member. I am still undecided on the animal cruelty level of this plan, but the girls sure are loving it, and Bedhead seems to love attention.