Sarah Tyler

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.

The kids discovered their laptops' dictation feature yesterday and left me some messages:

Nicole
Hi Mommy we miss you we want to have mommy time soon can we we love you so much to the core by by!

Alexis
Hi Mommy I love you so much. I hope you love me too. happy had a fun weekend. I hope you had a good weekend. By.

Dana
Beauties okay Barbie q r s t u vLast flight b b c a b c d e f o p q r e w at y&z now I know my ABCs. Say hi.

(Nicole tells me Dana sang the ABCs)

Filling out the school choice form today. We decided to remain remote rather than return in person. It's been hard, but an unexpected benefit has been watching the kids grow and become more independent and responsible.

On Monday, I realized I had forgotten about spell club. Nicole told me not to worry. She had been watching the clock while chatting with her friends online during her break period, so she could be sure she'd sign off with enough time to get ready for spell club. She was on time and prepared.
Yesterday, Alexis was watching one of her phonics assignment videos for class. The instruction video was using materials we didn't have, so I made a plan in my head to adapt the lesson to the materials we did have. Then I got distracted by email. When I looked up the video had ended, and Alexis had found her own way to practice the lesson.

Remote is certainly not usually this smooth. Many days I feel like a walking disaster and I've had persistent stress headaches since March. But when we way all the pros and cons, we think it's the best choice for our family.
Good luck to all the families making their choices. ❤️

All three kids were asleep from 9 until 5:30 for the first time ever!

Hot chocolate is an acceptable breakfast at 4:15 in the morning, right?

Sarah no brain good today. I forgot to put Dana in a diaper before putting her in a sleeper.

Swaddled Dana in front of the girls for apparently the first time. They are fascinated by the concept of baby burritos, or, as Alexis used to call them when she couldn’t pronounce the word ‘burrito’, “baby tomatoes.”

How I can tell it's time to change the pass code on my phone: 37 photos of the floor on my camera roll.

Domingo and I are being heavy petitioned for a family pet. Nicole is lobbying for a dog. Alexis wants a lion, but has signaled she may be willing to settle for a bunny.