Sarah Tyler

I managed to leave the house for a little bit yesterday. I came home to Dana "holding both of [her] butts" because she needed to use the potty, but didn't want to hurt my feelings by going without me.

Alexis got these new socks you color. The instructions stress that the markers are permeant and to wash them separately the first time because they can bleed. I used the extra wash setting to get as much of the extra dye out as possible. What I didn't realize was that instead of putting her favorite outfit in the hamper, Alexis put it directly in the washing machine. She loves this outfit, it's the first thing she wears after every laundry day. It wasn't until the washing machine finished that I realized what I had done!

I panicked. Threw the socks in the drier and washed the outfit again in the hopes of getting any dye out.

The drier just finished and I realized I was missing a sock. It was still in the washing machine with the outfit. 🤦‍♀️

Someone needs to take my laundry privileges away.

Dana: What are you drawing mommy?
Me: A rainbow.
Dana: That doesn't look like a rainbow. Looks like a tomato.

My drawing skills apparently leave something to desire.

Our school district is once again giving us the option to choose between in person and remote learning.  This time when we consider all the variables we feel in person is best choice for our family.  It's ironic, I feel reasonably confident about this decision just as I was back in November when we made the opposite choice.  Both were the right choice (or perhaps more accurately least wrong choice) at the time.  Yet both times I developed a seemingly never ending stress headache from all the anxiety.  

Our kids are too young to be vaccinated and delta is hitting kids harder than the original alpha strain. I read a stat recently that more kids are on ventilators now than during the winter. It’s still low odds, but not zero. I worry about the possible waning immunity for Domingo and I. I worry about the logistics of returning to in person school. The schools are going to send kids home with the slightest signs of sniffles (which they should) but that’s going to mean a lot of home days and running back and forth to pick up kids. I also worry that with the increase in cases the school will shut down again and we'll be right back to where we started.

On the other hand, if we choose remote again we're in for another full school year without socialization, even though vaccinations for young kids are coming in just a few months. It's another full year where Alexis' teacher can't help her work on her pencil grip, or writing her letters the right away. Another full year where science becomes mostly video watching and not hands on for Nicole. Another full year of fighting internet connection issues and computer problems. Another full year of constant stress and frustrations and feeling not good enough.

Parenting during a pandemic sucks, y'all.  Sending love to anyone else whose struggling out there, parent or no.

Me (noticing Dana had cleaned up her toys by herself to make room on the table for pancakes): Thank you for helping Dana!
Dana: Of course! I want to be good baby... I love being your baby.

🥰🥰🥰

42 Minutes. That's the time difference between when the registration packet for summer camp was emailed out and when I submitted the completed packet. I would have had it in in half that if the dang scanner was working properly 😒.

We are over anxious and ready to return to a semi-normal.

"I just have one small question. How did the planets come to be alive?"

We gave Dana Keebler Fudge cookies for the first time. She calls them "donut cookies". I asked her what she thought about them after dinner.

Me: Did you enjoy your donut cookies?
Dana: Oh yes. Is Good.
Me: Can mommy have one?
Dana: No, you won't like them.

She did eventually agree that I could have one, but it took some coaxing.

New Amazon notification today: "Based on your order history, we think it may be time to reorder stickers."

Is there a sticker's anonymous? Asking for a child.

There's a baby gate resting behind the door to the office. It's been there forever, but Dana just noticed it for the first time.

Dana: What's this? A gate? To keep mommy in the office? Was shutting the door not working?

6,532 stickers later, we’re out of stickers again.

Someone has a 6 pack a day habit.

We have another coder in the family! We introduced Nicole to scratch yesterday afternoon and she's spent nearly every waking minute since then building games.

Parenting hack for when the house is a mess and you don't want to cook:

"You guys have been working so hard in school. We were thinking of doing a movie night, but there's not enough room by the TV."

The place has never been so spotless.

"Mommy, will you be my friend?"

How can I say no to that? Guess I'm not getting anything done today after all.

My stress headache got so bad last night I needed to go to bed at 7:30pm, before Nicole. I really needed the rest, but now I’m even further behind.

330 days sheltering in place down, 116 days left until the end of remote learning.

Someone keeps unzipping the couch cushions, hiding toys inside them and then closing them again. Today was the third time it's happened.
Me: Dana, did you do this?
Dana: uh huh. So no one touches toys. That makes Dana cry. *pouty face*

I am the medium sister

- Alexis

We asked the kids to help tidy up their toys.

Alexis: Do you know who did the most cleaning? Nicole and Me.
Dana: I didn't!
Me: I'm very happy to hear that both you and Nicole helped clean up. Next time I hope Dana helps too.
Dana: No. Mess makes me happy.

The kids took a break from their game where they were pretending to be fairy princesses and butterfly princesses doing battle. Now they’re pretending to be bunny princesses and cheetah princesses doing battle.

Dana making friends with a squirrel on this 317th day of quarantine.