Starting tomorrow at 6 am Chicago locks down. Again. But, this time it is different. Schools can stay open (although the city’s 400,000 public school kids have been 100% eLearning since March). People are allowed to leave home for work…but no one is supposed to leave home. Restaurants are closed indoors, but warm and cozy tents are allowed for diners. I don’t get any of this, and the inconsistencies are driving me crazy.

So, my family will continue to trod along as we’ve been doing: following the rules and making the best of things. Today, despite blustery winds and morning rain, the kids and I visited (yet another) forest preserve for fresh air and a hike. I think the wintry weather made it feel like a fun adventure for most of the kids!

After the hike we warmed up at home with hot cocoa and chocolate chip pancakes for lunch (Evie’s idea!). In the afternoon I put together a little craft project inspired from an eblast I had received from a craft store last week: Gratitude Turkeys.

This was an easy project because the materials were readily available in our home. Each kid got his or her own “kit.” I traced out feathers on several colors of construction paper. Then, I cut out turkey “bodies” from an Amazon box:

The kids then cut out their feathers, wrote words of gratitude on each one, and glued them to the turkey body.

This activity kept my girls content and busy for a solid 25 minutes. The boys, however, were barely interested. I got Ben to finish the job, but Mack’s is still under construction. Ha!

We set up our turkeys on the mantle, and on Thanksgiving I think I’ll use them as placeholders on the dinner table.