SD: 38 days and counting.

And counting we will do until at least May 30, as today our governor extended our stay-at-home order through next month. In the meantime, our state has increased the number of testing sites and ramped up the number of tests being administered daily to reach its 10,000 per day test goal. Our death totals continue to ebb and flow. Earlier this week, we reported 33 deaths in a single day. Today we reported 123 deaths. The data is all over the place and mind numbing to try to sort through, so I will just heed the advice of the governor and stay home. 

And also, this...

{Mason has been trying to trap the chipmunks that have been destroying our flower beds. This squirrel was so close to meeting the same fate. Not pictured: The momma robin that keeps laying and abandoning her eggs in our rose bushes. Pro-choice knows no borders.}

{The three boys in the house have been playing a whole lotta Fortnite. Mason mainly likes to play with Caleb and Jacob on Friday and Saturday nights because it excuses him from normal bedtime hours and routines. Smart cookie!}

{Socially distant field trips to my parents' house. The boys tore it up on my dad's mower while Caleb finally dug Sadie's headstone into her grave. My mom grows asparagus, and despite what his face looks like, Jacob enjoys picking and eating through her garden! We also set up a picnic lunch on their deck where we all sat and ate awkwardly distant from one another. A sign of the times, I'm afraid.}

{We have been including my parents on our neighborhood walks. Three generations. Unified by our face masks. Speaking of face masks, the governor is mandating all people wear face masks while out in public beginning on May 1. Happy birthday to me...}

{This tough guy got his baseball pictures back for the season that likely won't happen. Looking the part nonetheless.}

{An anonymous photographer snagged this pic of Caleb and me doing what we all do most anymore: chilling on the couch.}

{Also what we do: bake things. Last night for dinner we made homemade donuts from scratch, and by all accounts they were Ahhhh-mazing! Homemade churros have also topped our list of new favorite things to eat. It's crazy just how many new things we have tried now that we have absolutely nothing else to do!}

As for the facts:

In the six days since my last post, our country's case total has increased just shy of 165,000 cases to 864,678. The death toll has risen just more than 12,000 to 48,845. In Illinois, we have an additional 9,300+ cases bringing our count to 36,934 and 554 additional deaths for 1,688 total deaths thus far. In our Village, we are currently reporting 79 cases. A neighbor of ours posted on our community Facebook page that his live-in mother-in-law died from COVID-19 after everyone in their family suffered from it, including their daughter who is in Jacob's grade. Things are beginning to hit a bit closer to home.