Confessions of a Quarantined Mom

I have made mac and cheese and ramen for lunch too many times to count.

My daughter usually doesn't run a brush through her hair most days and I'm too tired to argue. She says she likes the "undone look".

My living room has a permanent pillow fort erected.

I consider being able to get my kids to log in to half of their WebEx meetings on time a real win.

I bribe all the time. I bribe with ipad time. I bribe with root beer floats. All of the good parenting techniques I developed over the past 11 years are out the window. It'll likely take me years to undo this damage.

I read about 33% of the emails from my children's school (I figure I have 3 kids, I must be getting the highlights just reading 1 out of 3).

We have instituted a policy in our house that kids must rewear their jeans at least 3 times to decrease on laundry.

I have told my children they can't have dessert, literally while eating a bowl of ice cream covered in Magic Shell (at least it was homemade magic shell).

I only put away the breakfast cereal at 9 pm at night.

Every morning, I resolve that I will not lose my patient with the kids. I have typically blown this promise by 8:33 am.

I have become addicted to TikTok.

I only know about 1/4 of what my 6 year old daughter uploads to SeeSaw. I have seen that she seems to favor a YouTube style instructional format where she informs her teachers that she's had a really busy day and just couldn't get to all of the assigned work. I have no clue how to delete that video and find the assignments she needs to do, so I let it go.

I have told my kids that my precious Waterloo has "alcohol" so they won't try to drink it (because who wants to go to the grocery store now to restock?).

I tell myself I'm teaching my kids "independence" when I instruct them to make their own lunch, when in reality, I'm just tired.

But, I love our daily after- dinner bike rides.

And, that I get to see the excitement on their faces when they've mastered a new concept in distance learning.

And, the time I get to spend with them (within reason of course)

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy (and sane).