The week started with Memorial Day and, for the first time in a long time, Monday feels like a long time ago. It’s a nice change.

We had a really nice day at home in the sun. The kids manage to make games out of everything and chalk + buckets + water + soap can easily become potion making.

I think Amaya looks a lot like her cousin Nancy in this picture.

At times I think Amaya’s hair is getting darker and then I see pictures like this and think, nope, still quite blonde. My little sorceress.

Scoping out a shady spot to do some art. This child can sit and draw anywhere.

I think Amaya spent 2 or 3 hours on the slip ‘n slide on Monday. The boys like it, but she loves it. She just loves water, in general. I hope we reach a point where pools are open and safe this summer. It was going to be the summer to really learn to swim and, while that might be off the table, I know she’s so eager to swim.

Searching for robots with Daddy. The kids have had a chance to earn and save money and, with that, is an interest in spending money. Steven, in his true fashion, seemed to explore every possible option before making a decision on a remote control car that turns into a robot.

We’re still hard at work at school. Last day is Thursday, 6/11 which will be so bitter sweet. It’s still hard to believe this is where we’re at.

Steven wrote to Sloane this week. That first page says, “Sloane be careful about me on the school playground.” Apparently, little boys do chase the girls they like.

Sammy wrote about bees.

Amaya wrote about her needs and wants. I hate to break the news to her about her “wants”. Maybe some extra ice cream will help. 🙂

Amaya drew Evie and Mal from Descendants.

My handsome viking.

On Friday morning, the boys’ purchases came. Their very first! Steven got his remote control car and Sammy got this very cool robot that he can program and also command with hand gestures.

Steven and Sammy spent about 30 minutes transfixed by the work our landscapers were doing.

After dinner on Friday night, Steven really wanted to go back outside and play in the front of the house. It turned out I was able to make that happen for him. It was such a nice night. I loved summer nights as a kid. I hope SSA grow up with that same feeling.

While Sammy, Amaya and I stayed in bed on Saturday morning, Steven and Jason got to work putting together a new staying in bed prize.

We found them eventually…

After months and months and months, Steven agreed to let Jason cut his hair. He wanted it short in front and the back with curls on the top. It was a much needed cut. He looks so much older now. I can’t believe it. Then he opens his mouth and he’s the same silly 6 year old.

Big, big difference. He wants it a little curlier on top so he’s counting the days he doesn’t think it’s curly. 🙂

I offered to take Steven on a drive through the neighborhood so he could get even more use out of the car from Grandma Sunshine. Amaya came along on his tricycle and, of course, halfway through our 40 minute walk she decided she wanted to ride as his passenger. I got a nice little workout dragging that trike.

How she rolls…

Of course Queen Amaya wanted her own turn to drive. The entire time Steven was driving, there was near total peace between Steven and Amaya. The minute Amaya was driving – chaos. He just can’t keep his body still in the passenger seat. Can not do it.

Queen Mommy

Like much of America, we all watched the space launch on Saturday afternoon. Absolutely amazing. Amazing. It was so cool to watch a new rocket launch and especially so to watch with the kids. They’re totally enthralled, as they should be.

Sammy got a haircut, too. He has always said he doesn’t want any bangs on his forehead so he went for a buzz cut. (A buzz cut plus.)

He slays me. <3

Amaya wanted me to dye her hair with some rainbow colors which I did, but it didn’t turn out quite the way I expected. A day later, it’s pretty much too subtle to see. But it was a solid try.

She’s got the routine down pat.

“Take a picture of me and make it black and white.”

This morning, the kids and I settled in to watch SpaceX Crew Dragon dock with the ISS. The views we can get, live, are really incredible. What a time for space flight.

Photo credit: Amaya

“In black and white, mom.”

Photo credit: Jason 🙂

The way she loves her dad. <3

We wrapped up the weekend with a family canoeing adventure at Kensington Metro Park. It was a gorgeous day and the kids are finally old enough to do activities like this. I had Steve and Amaya (Team Sparkle) and Jason and Sammy were together (Team Bridge).

We were out on the water for about 2.5 hours. I am sure my arms will feel it tomorrow, especially since my crew mates eventually decided to forego paddling in favor of grabbing lily pads of the side of the canoe.

Toward the end of the afternoon, we were rowing toward a bridge and Team Sparkle really struggled. When we finally got there, we lifted our oars in the air and cheered, “We did it!” Team Sparkle does not quit. But, if you talk to Sammy, Team Bridge wins the race.

Such a nice day.

Steven, being Steven, has set up a mailbox where he likes us (mostly daddy) to leave him mail. I have to have a record of some of these letters to Steven from Jason.

If you recall, last week I reported that Jason had a bad case of the pig pox cured, in part, by Dr. Steven.

We love the Lego Movie.

Star Wars, of course.

Gabby is great at engaging the kids in game. I love this one. I picked it up when I was in Copenhagen last year. (Remember when people traveled?) There are 6 dice, with 36 different pictures among them. You roll the dice and then tell a story based on the pictures that show face up. It’s fantasy based so there are castles and dragons and witches and cauldrons.

Go Fish with Bobes

Via text from Gabby, “Amaya says, ‘I love you mommy <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3′”.

Tuesday was a sad day. I had to run over to Thornton Creek to pick up the kids’ stuff. I think it will be a while before I can go through their stuff, though another TC kindergarten mom said her daughter loved it so maybe I’ll bite the bullet for their sake. It was just so sad to be in the building – empty and packed up. The last time I was there was the day before school closed – 3/12 – to read in the boys’ class as the week’s mystery reader. The book I read is still in my car, like an artifact from “before”. Seeing the CDC recommendations for the fall is depressing but I’m hoping the school district can figure out a way to keep the school experience as normal as possible for the youngest kids.

Because here we are… back on our laptops.

Sammy: “There is a tree in space. The tree [was] destroyed by a meteor.” The kids always want to know if they spelled words correctly and I try to find a balance between encouraging their awesome effort and helping them see where it wasn’t right. I mean, English is so silly that sometimes there’s no way they could figure it out. But all three kids often forget vowels so that’s an easy on to provide guidance on.

Amaya: “The bears sing by the light at the moon.”

I am so happy that we (they) can be outside for so much of the day.

Mr. Olive Hand! I love that simply saying, “Yes, you can put olives on your fingers” can create so much joy.

Last week I mentioned that I started a pillow for Steven. This week I finished it and also completed pillows for Amaya and Sammy. Knowing what I know now, I’d have probably left the sleeves on Steven’s but he loves it which is legitimately all that matters.

A little post-work conversation. You know a guy wants some Daddy time when he skips an episode of Clone Wars. (Star The Clone Wars Wars)

Lake Day Thursday! The kids have three more weeks of school, after which I bet they can get to the lake even more often. (Everything with camp is still up in the air. The overnight Jewish camps all canceled for the season. The local Northville school district camp is open at $500/week/child. Nothing yet from the JCC Day Camp. I’m sure they’re trying to figure out a) when the JCC will open again and b) how to best operate the camp safely, if at all.

On Friday I took most of the day off, which was really nice. The kids did some of their Kiwi Co stem kits and Amaya made this cool kolidascope.

Lots of time for cuddles when I’m home for the day, even with a long afternoon nap.

So far, we’ve been really lucky with Memorial Weekend weather. On Saturday, Steven and I took an hour long ride though every street in our sub. He chattered away the entire time, as expected. <3

Playing Super Mario Run

Amaya, Sammy and I went for our own ride around the neighborhood where they collaborated on chalk drawings.

Sammy took my phone and snapped a picture of how I spent time during their chalk adventures.

A castle with a path to a spider and, along the way, is a princess and more spider friends.

They also drew a birthday message at a home where someone was celebrating his 18th birthday, planet earth, and a forest with some birds.

Sammy made a kite in his Kiwi Co kit, which got a bit of air, but not quite enough. So Jason promised to get the kids some bigger kites to try.

Saturday evening Jason grilled burgers and corn and we had our first outdoors family meal of the season.

This is such a nice weekend but it’s not what it’s meant to be. Bitcherie Weekend 15 was canceled due to coronavirus, which was an awful decision to have to make. We had an awesome two hr zoom on Saturday night but it’s nowhere close to 4 days in Bitcherie isolation. Hopefully by August we’ll be traveling again and we can take an extended weekend in Oregon to celebrate Erin’s wedding.

Today the kids and I headed over to Maybury Park. The original plan was a bike ride but they wanted to geocache so we adjusted along the way. We’ll have to get back out for just a regular bike ride, though, and I really need both a bike of my own and a bike rack for the van.

Sammy found the first geocache. We took three treasures and left three treasures.

Once we headed towards geocache #2 we had to head onto an unpaved trail and Steven and Amaya called it quits on the bikes but Sammy was game the entire time. He’s totally ready to ditch the training wheels.

Geocache #2! Steven really hoped to find one so I pointed him in the right direction, which did not go past him. Inside was a fairy charm which Sammy really wanted and Steven and Amaya were happy to acquiesce.

It was really, really nice to get back out in the world with SSA.

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside in the welcome heat. I’ll take it any day over the cold.

Jason delivered on the kites! They can really fly when the catch the wind!

That’s our week! Have a great one.

Here we are again! Distance learning! The highlight of the week was Friday’s scavenger hunt. Ms. M and Mrs. Shuart would tell the kids to find an item and they’d have 30 seconds to find something and bring it back to share. For “Something that smells good”, Steven brought Olive Oil Pam. While I was upstairs working I could here all of the scurrying around downstairs and it made me smile.

Even when I’m professional on top for meetings, I’m still pretty darn casual down below. 🙂 The return to an office environment is going to be rough lol.

On Sunday night, Steven drew Queen Amidala for Amaya. He worked so hard to get it right.

Amaya and Sammy both loved the picture so they decided to try their owns.

Amaya’s:

Sammy’s:

And an angry Anakin Skywalker by Steven:

The Star Wars day continued. Steven conceived of this Darth Vader idea with Darth Vader on one side and Anakin Skywalker on the other. He made it for Jason but decided, at the last minute, that it was too cool to give away.

This is another one of Sammy’s drawings! He’s least likely to sit and draw and I’m so impressed. (Jason – This has since disappeared so it either got tossed or it’s part of a surprise for you. Shhhhhhh.)

For one of her weekly lessons, Amaya had to draw and label a butterfly. Then she had to write how it moves. Which she refused to do because it has wings and it’s obvious that it flies. Hearing about penguins made no difference to her. She was obstinate in her assertion that Mrs. Shuart would know it flies because of the wing.

Hard at work…

Since they have the same math worksheets, Amaya was hiding her work from Sammy so he wouldn’t copy her answer lol. It was a good point, though, since Penni talks to the kids about their work so we talked about ways to adjust the problems slightly from child to child.

I keep saying this to Jason, but I’m so glad that SSA have each other. They’ve been playing together so well and I think it’s awesome that they’re not truly isolated during this time. (I can’t wait until they’re back at school, though.)

Wednesday was a gorgeous spring day so the kids went back to the lake. I think they spent 4 hours there, loving the sun. This week they saw someone who had a remote control boat, which sparked a lot of ideas among the boys. Next on their wish list – a remote control boat.

Sweet Sally is letting the kids love on her more and more. It’s so sweet and special, especially after how long it took us to get here.

This week the boys did partner work where they were paired up in Zoom 1:1 and had to write about one another. I found this in Sammy’s notebook. Hannah’s mom told me she wrote, “My partner is Sammy and he likes Minecraft.”

After work snuggles with Bobes.

In Friday’s mail, Steven got a letter from his friend Sloane! He was so excited to get mail and, to be honest, I think the fact that he was the only one added to his enjoyment. It said, “Dear Steven, I have been doing things like playing on rocks. What have you been doing? Love Sloane.”

First of all – this child. She has such a sense of self.

Second, on Friday our landscaper came by to help set up the sprinklers for the summer and the kids couldn’t get in bathing suits fast enough to get in the water. I think Amaya is going to ask for some sprinkler time every nice days of the season. This poor girl just can’t wait to get back in a pool and I have no idea when that’s going to happen for her. 🙁

Saturday was another nice day and, besides time spent in the sprinklers, we had out door sewing time and the fun of watching Jason powerwash.

Steven loves this t-shirt but it’s way too small on him. He was having trouble letting to so I offered to make it into a pillow for him. It’s still in progress while I wait for more stuffing to arrive.

Sweet Sammy has been working on this fox since the December. He’ll be so satisfied when it’s complete. <3

This month’s Raddish Kids featured meals from Morocco. For the first time, we took out the Q&A cards that came with the kit. One card suggested smelling the spices on your spice rack and picking your favorite. It was actually a lot of fun.

Steven: First choice – Garlic Powder. Second Choice – Cinnamon.

Sammy: First choice – Cinnamon. Second Choice – All Spice.

Amaya: First choice – Cinnanom. Second choice – Garlic Powder.

Amaya only chose two to move on to the “finals”. Sammy picked almost all of them. Steven had 10 finalists and spent about 15 minutes in an elaborate process to narrow them down.

My girl.

A couple of years ago, Amaya got a doll bed from Auntie and Dod Shuki. It was in the room that is now Steven’s and he had been using it until Amaya decided she wanted it back. I decided to let Sammy and Steven each pick out their own beds for their sleeping friends. Steven chose a triple-decker bunk bed and Sammy picked out this bed that adjusts from 2 singles to a bunk bed. I caught him so gently tucking in Puppy, Celestia and Luna. Puppy even had a flower placed under his blanket with him.

Steven’s curls!! Steven hasn’t wanted a hair cut and, at times, bed head can leave his hair looking disheveled but I figured something out – his curls need TLC just like mine do. Of course! As long as you wet them and let them be…wow. Also, leave-in conditioner works wonders. I am curious how long he’ll want to go without a trim. He seems satisfied right now.

My Sal.

Last July, back when people traveled, I got the kids these awesome shirts from the Viking Museum in Denmark. I just pulled them out again and they fit perfectly. I remember intentionally buying them big and I’m so glad I did.

Jason had a bad case of the “pig pox”.

I had some great helpers with my Lego roller coaster. 2 bags and 2 hours in!

So sweet. Jason was asleep and Amaya cuddled right up. <3 It reminds me of a picture we have of my sister sleeping on my dad’s chest when she was little.

Tonight, for Made in Morocco, we baked Orange Blossom Tea Cakes and cooked Morocccan Chicken Tagine. This time, we added a new cooking skill – grating. I’d been nervous about letting the kids use the grater but they’ve demonstrated care with kitchen utensils and we were grating an orange for zest, so the size made me more comfortable. I also gave them the option of using their cutting glove, which Amaya and Steven took me up on.

We’re working on level measurements for baking.

Sammy loves cracking eggs. (Despite how his face looks.)

While Steven was grating, Amaya and Sammy were squeezing oranges for juice – used in the tea cakes themselves and the frosting. Same with the zest.

Dicing an onion, while Amaya took charge of the garlic. They’re getting better and better at dicing, too, though I’d say we’re closer to a “chop” right now.

Sammy did an amazing job cooking the chicken. He seared it, flipped it, and then added a host of other ingredients. I feel pretty certain that the kids eat better when they play a part in the cooking. It was all delicious. Citrus desserts aren’t really my thing, especially with zest, but I could appreciate how well they came out. The Moroccan Chicken Tagine is definitely one we’ll do again.

I’ll end this week with a video of Amaya talking about coronavirus. It’s interesting to hear what she has to say and who she thinks is safe. (6 year olds, 44 year olds and 51 year olds lol.)

Have a great week!

The week started with a celebration of Jason’s birthday and ended with a celebration of Mother’s Day.

On Monday morning, I overheard Amaya on her zoom call. “It’s my dad’s birthday. … No, brownies. … Yes. I made goody bags.” It was so sweet.

The kids also celebrated their dad in their morning journaling.

Decorations for Daddy!

Cards and presents and stories and crowns and brownies goody bags!

They love giving. <3

Penni has been bringing Lunchabes to work every now and then and the kids are jealous every time so, occasionally, Jason gets the kids Lunchables, too. Happy Tuesday Lunch!

This week the kids studied habitats for science. I love Amaya’s work on robins. She’s so focused when she writes and draws.

Penni took SSA back to the lake on Wednesday – another gorgeous day. They spent hours there and were the only ones.

While I’m working on Wednesday afternoons, I like to peek in on the kids’ dance class via Zoom. It’s definitely harder for them to focus from home but I think they’re still (mostly) glad to have dance once a week. These are strange times.

For May the 4th week, the them was Fan Art and Amaya was totally on board. I love her pictures of Rey and Princess Leia. Especially the eye lashes. 😉

Each of the kids picked out new books. Sammy picked out a new Tacky book. Steven got a Mo Willems art/activity book. Amaya picked Knuffle Bunnny, which I can’t believe we didn’t already own. I’ve read it to her almost every day since it arrived.

Steven dove right into his art book.

I think I’ve said this before, but I’m so glad that Steven, Sammy and Amaya have each other. Boy, they can fight, but they also play amazing games together. This was some version of hide-and-seek involving our orange cones. They’re also into light saber duels. Steven explained that they each have to take theirs proper starting spot, so it’s fair. I know things change when siblings grow up – especially mixed gender siblings – but I hope they’re close forever.

My girl is 6 going on 16.

All of us hard at work! I ate lunch downstairs (rare!) and did some work side-by-side with the kids. <3

On Thursday night I declined Amaya’s request to take a picture and print it for her. She was beside herself. She directed Sammy to come tell me, “You should care about other people, not just yourself.” Then she spent ages crying to Jason, “She’s so mean to me. She doesn’t love me. She hates me.”

From my conversations with other moms of 6 year olds this is par for the course (and won’t improve for a while) but ugh, it’s hard! Then, one day later, she’ll tell me I’m the best mom in the universe.

On Thursday the kids were rotating through virtual piano lessons and our housekeeper was upstairs (Welcome back, Claudia!) so I hunkered down in the basement to work. Of course I wasn’t alone for long. 🙂 Steven worked hard on his Elephant and Piggie activity book.

Sammy got two splinters in his hand, coverable by one bandaid but I think he was feeling the need for a little extra security. (They’re still there, by the way. We’ve been doing baking soda paste round the clock and he took a long bath yesterday but no lucky. I think we’re going to have to go digging. 🙁 )

And doesn’t Sammy look old here. Old, and like Jason.

Piano!

For show and tell on Friday, the kids had to bring something connected to their moms. Something our favorite color. Something we like to do, etc. Amaya brought a picture of one of my lego sets. Steven shared his orange headphones. Sammy brought one of my lego sets.

The consistency of the daily Zoom meetings has been great. I feel like the only mom in America who is going to be sad when school ends for the summer, especially if they don’t have camp. They need routine and outside contact. We’ll build our own routine when school ends, but it won’t be the same.

A Friday highlight was watching the pick-up for our dumpster. Steven was sad to see “Dumpy” go. He’s like his dad with nicknames for everything.

“Bye Dumpy.”

Somehow, the kids convinced us to have a slumber party in the living room on Friday night. I thought it would be a nightmare but I actually slept until 7:45am, and my sleep was my measure of success. I’d do it again. But it’s probably better saved for a time of year when the sun sets before 9am and rises after 6am.

When one Cline kid gets a bath, they all get baths. Which is a 90 minute exercise for their mother. But it’s worth it when Amaya is in the bath singing, “This is the best day ever! This is the best day ever!”

She’s been into the idea of curly hair, so after her bath we used leave in conditioner, scrunched in a bunch of jell (upside down) and plopped. I’d say she ended up with a fun beach waves look.

Steven and Sammy are pretty much always up for art.

The influence of laptops is strong in our house, right now.

I still can’t even, with this mask. (Do you think, hundreds of years from now, linguists will see phrases like, “I can’t even” and shake their heads?)

This morning I was treated to my most favorite meal, in bed – toasted everything bagel, lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and onion. Perfect.

I also got some amazing cards from the kids.

My Mom Can. By Amaya Cline.

My mom can swim. My mom can read. My mom can work. My mom can sleep. My mom can go to New York. My mom can cuddle.

To Mom. By Sammy

My mom has black hair. My mom has curly hair. My mom likes to go swimming. My mom likes cats. My mom is special because she loves me. My mom is special because she is my mom.

Mommy. By Steven.

My mom has love. My mom has glasses. My mom likes orange. My mom likes me. My mom is special because she helps me.

It was a very lazy day. Lots of Star Wars including Revenge of the Sith and two episodes of Clone Wars. (Or, as Steven says, “Star The Clone Wars Wars“. <3) I’ve been craving Popeyes for weeks but there nearest one is 20 minutes away so, for dinner, Amaya, Sammy and I took an hour long round trip to the Popeyes drive through. Totally worth it.

Here I am with my kids on mother’s day – captured in the moment with SSA as we look at some of my legos.

Have a great week! Happy Mother’s Day!

As we work out way through the Star Wars movie, we’re playing a lot of Star Wars games lately. Overheard while I was working, “WYN Team, the Death Star has been spotted. Team – the Death Star is headed toward our tower. We’ve gotta go.”

I’m not sure what’s going on here but I loved to see the end result.

Turns out he man doesn’t have 6 legs. Sammy noticed and added another one later.

Tuesday was gorgeous so Penni took the kids to a local park where they spent a good 3 hours outside. Amaya was worried there would be bees so she dressed accordingly lo.

I love this picture of my socially distanced kids out in the world. And I’m glad that Amaya felt safe enough to take off her jacket and gloves. 🙂

Gabby couldn’t work on Tuesday and Penni left at 3pm so I got out, for the first time in a while so I took the kids through the McDonald’s drive through for a dinner treat. The Happy Meals toys were from the new Trolls movie and, with their order, I asked the kids if they wanted Branch or Poppy. We had orders for one Branch and two Poppys, but when we got home, we saw they made a mistake and we only had one Poppy figure. Sammy noticed first and burst into tears saying, “I asked for a girl troll, why did only Amaya get a girl troll?” I looked at him and said, “You did get a girl troll. They made a mistake with Amaya’s order.” I wish I could have captured this kid’s smile. I don’t know why he assumed it was his order that was wrong but I couldn’t let that stand. And Amaya was appeased by a Hershey Kiss.

Steven found a new spot to watch the neighbors doing yard work.

Stuck at home, we’re trying to get outside whatever the weather. I think the kids were actually excited to be able to play outside in the rain – but I’m not sure how many days we can pull that off.

Next time we’ll get the umbrella up before the rain starts.

It’s a season of celebrations around here and the kids had a good time this week with preparations for Jason’s birthday. All week, they hid birthday artwork around the house.

Steven watched a video to learn how to make his birthday craft.

This week, Sammy used his journaling time to express his POV about my work load. Though, to be honest, it’s normalizing. It’s just hard for the kids to have me here, but not here.

I peeked in on jazz class today and caught this exchange with Steven and Sammy. Bless these dance teachers instructing little kids in dance, via Zoom.

I bought felt for a project but didn’t realize that what I purchased is adhesive so the kids got busy with their own projects. Sammy started with headwear.

It was funny to see what the kids brought for show n tell on Friday. Sammy picked a carrot. Steven wanted to bring grass but he didn’t want to rip up real grass so he made some. Amaya brought Penni, via photograph.

Penni saw we had some perfect baking bananas so she and the kids made some delicious) chocolate chip banana bread.

They’re getting better and better at cracking eggs.

Amaya asked to see what it looks like to look through Stevens glass. She wears them well!

Coco, read by Daddy

Jason slept in a bit and, when went to get Sammy, I found him like this curled up against Jason. Both snug as bugs in rugs.

The kids have been sleeping with us a lot lately. To hep wean them, we have a new rule that they can only sleep with us every other night. If they choose to sleep in their room instead of with us, they earn 2 stars. So far, only Steven has taken us up on that offer but I think its been good for everyone to break the habit of nightly sleepovers.

Steven and Sammy got to work on a birthday breakfast for Jason. Sammy had the idea to make honey chocolate sauce so he melted hershey kisses on the stove and then added honey. His first original recipe! 🙂

The weather this weekend was amazing. We spent a lot of time outside on both Saturday and Sunday. The kids are back to bike riding and its amazing how much more confident they are now than they were in late fall. Same for their motorized car. Everything about being 6 makes life so much easier for all of us, especially now.

Steven has been committed to his tricycle. He was definitely more comfortable on the tricycle but I think he realized that he can’t quite keep up with his brother and sister so finally, finally, he gave his bigger kid bike a shot.

Go Steven, go!

He was really proud of himself.

The kids are all riding well, breaking well and pausing at driveways so they’ve aged into, and earned, more freedom riding their bikes. The end of our street curves into a dead end and they’re doing really well circling around down there and back toward our house with supervision from a distance, so we let Sammy try it on his own. It is amazing to be at this point.

Footrest for daddy!

Why not sew outside?

Jason was going to play ball with the boys and asked if I wanted to join. Steven said it’s more fun with just the boys! “It’s more fun with just the boys. But I still like playing with you, Mommy!” He said it’s because Jason is a better baseball teacher.

Amaya’s big plan for the day was a birthday tea party with Jason. <3

Photo credit: Steven

Photo credit: Sammy

Steven and I tried to play memory outdoors which worked, except for when the wind gusts came.

Finally, today was the last day of religious school for the year. It was always planned as the last day so the timing isn’t COVID-19 related. I hear they’re going to try to find ways to keep the kids engaged, though, since we can’t be at the temple now. (And until who knows when.)

I’ll leave you with this photo that turned up this week. Joanna and Sara, circa 1994. My senior year of HS, Sara’s freshman year.

Have a great week!

When this has passed, I think there will be interesting articles written about the perception of the passage of time. I remember reading, once, about how variety in our days adds to the perception of time. For example, if you spend a week long vacation sitting on the same beach you’ll remember the vacation as shorter than if you spent the trip doing different things every day. So all the days blend together right now, but it’s also hard to remember a time when this wasn’t our lives. Reentry will be very interesting.

We had a good flow for distance learning this week. (Well, Penni did. With our thanks.) I’m so glad it isn’t a battle to get them to their morning meetings. I credit the way the teachers engage the kids and the fact that it’s never more than 30 minutes of live learning per day. Honesty, the fact that these teachers have “classroom management” for 22 5 and 6 year olds via zoom is amazing to me.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya are really into Master Chef Junior. (Thanks Nana.) They have their favorites and least favorites and it’s fun to hear them talk about the show. They watch every day after lunch.

On Monday afternoon, Gabby returned! The kids were so excited to see her which made my heart very happy.

From Amaya via Gabby, “Send this to Mommy. I love her.”

Amaya can truly turn anything into art. She found some sticks, branches of leaves and cut out a star to make a wand. I love seeing what she creates.

I’m still working on getting back to reading books every night. The kids have books as part of their eLearning but I’m not certain they’re reading enough on their own, or being read to enough.

The kids do their eLearning between ~11am and 12:30pm so, if I come down to grab lunch during that time, I can see them in action and hear a bit about what they’re working on. Here, Steven was excited to show me his math work.

The kids spent a while working on puzzles which made me realize we should probably bring out their more advanced options. If they can focus for long enough and stop losing puzzle pieces. 🙂

I’m not sure what this exercise was but all of the kids ended Wednesday with these random but, accurate, statements about animals.

Amaya found some feathers in our craft cabinet and made this lovely addition to her headband. I love it.

She’s also obsessed with barbecue sauce lately. At dinner tonight she dipped her avocado in bbq sauce and she asked me to buy felt to sew her stuffed bbq sauce bottle lol.

Dance is going okay. It’s a little hard for the kids to focus but they’re making it through class and seem glad to keep at it. I think I need a different option for flooring in the basement. I floor is a little slippery for tap shoes.

I logged into the zoom while I was working to keep at Amaya and Sammy in tap class. I think I’m going to do that again this week while they’re all in jazz. (Weird, since I’m just two floors up for them but also fun.)

Steven has a beginner rubix cube and was so excited every time he made a side a single color. He FaceTimed with Nana and Papa to show them his progress.

We’ve only made it through 4 chapters but I started reading the kids, “Hot To Eat Fried Worms”. I loved that book as a kid. I read it over and over again and I hope they have the attention span to get through the rest of it. Amaya is decidedly not eating fried worms, though.

I got a brief visit from Captain Marvel while I was working.

Piano lessons moved to Thursday this week and, from what I can hear, the kids are still progressing. I get the sense that zoom lessons are going to be the way we roll for a while. Mr. Anthony even sent us the sheet music for Into the Unknown as some (very) advanced practice.

With our Mario obsessed kids, Gabby found some drawing tutorials on YouTube that Steven and Amaya, in particular, love it.

Steven’s Yoshi.

Amaya’s Princess Peach

Steven and Sammy (and maybe Amaya) had a nature show-and-tell on Friday. Sammy couldn’t wait to show his big stick!

Amaya loves video chatting. She could talk to Charlie all day long. On Friday she was able to talk to her school friend, Abby. It mostly consisted of trying out different video filters with very little actual talking.

Reading a book to Nana, can’t be without the filter.

SSA have been sleeping with us a lot more than usual. I think I’ve mentioned that. On Friday night, Sammy was scared and afraid to be alone. He was in true distress. So he got to cuddle with Jason and watch the NFL draft until he fell asleep. (Which makes me think this was probably Thursday.) He’s such a sweet boy.

Weekend!! We all got out into the (sort of) sun on Saturday. The boys were excited to play “sports” with Jason. Damn, they were sweet doing their stretches, playing catch and t-ball.

Amaya wasn’t into anything sports related so she and I went for a walk.She left this message at Nico’s house lol.

Our little outing turned into a nature walk. We watched birds, picked dandelions, looked at the interesting trees in our neighborhood.

Amaya was most excited when she found a “pine cone patch”. I love that the little things still please 6 year olds. She was so happy to collect these little baby pine cones.

When we got home, the boys were excited about the pine cone patch, too, so I took a walk with each of them, as well.

The Clines! Eating delicious grilled steak ala Daddy.

Even her nature finds became art.

Watching The Phantom Menace, Sammy got right up close to his Daddy again.

I was finishing my Lego diner and Steven asked if he could please make the car that finished the set. I can’t say no to my little lego master. He did great!

How sweet is this? It’s the garage I did last year connected to the diner. And there’s the car Steven made.

Steven probably spent 3 hrs this weekend working on a Lego creation of his own. Once side is a restaurant complete with decorative fish tank and the other side is a playground. He saw how I connected my garage and diner and got the same type of pieces to do the same.

The Cline men and I played a little baseball today. Amaya didn’t want to join in but appointed her self Team Photographer. She had us pose those this photo. “Steven and Sammy and Daddy get down on your knee. Daddy and Sammy put your hands on your hip. Mommy and Steven put hands on shoulders.” lololol

We wrapped up the weekend with our April Raddish Kids kit and made carrot cake cookies with cream cheese frosting. I truly love being in the kitchen with them. <3

It was a good weekend and also a hard weekend. I think the kids are feeling the strain of being cooped up. (I know I am.) It’s a lot of together time for them in the same place, day after day. We have a routine but this just isn’t normal. Same for everyone reading this, I know. I’m trying to balance how I handle bad behavior – the difference between frayed edges and straight up defiance or belligerence. It’s hard. My own fuse is short so I need to remember that before I react, and also in how I think about the kids’ behavior right now. We all need balance and boundaries. It’s a work in progress.

Have a safe week.

This week was our formal start to distance learning. On Monday morning we were given an activity schedule for the week with literacy, math and science lessons – all online. We were also given access to Google Classroom, Zoom and Flipgrid. This is in addition to some other learning sites we were already using. Since it is a slow build, the face to face time was limited to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for Amaya and Wednesday & Friday for Steven and Sammy. Their live sessions with their class are about 30 minutes long and, to a large degree, mirror their morning meetings. The kids also had to record some videos on Flipgrid. For example, they all had to introduce themselves and share two things they miss about school. On the list for all three Cline kids was “free choice.” 🙂 For Friday’s Zoom meeting, everyone had to bring a favorite stuffed animal.

To get in the zone, on Monday we started following the schedule of weekly activities. Penni gets the work started around 11am at the same time we used to do slightly less structured eLearning. So far, so good.

Coming downstairs between meetings means hugs. <3

On Monday evening I played a game with each of the kids – Memory with Steven and Amaya and Chess with Sammy. We had to put a hold on our game of chess after about 30 minutes. Sammy is very thoughtful about his moves.

Steven earned a staying-in-bed prize on Tuesday morning a guitar so he was especially excited to lead music class. One of my favorite parts of the week is when I hear their music time kick-off downstairs.

Amaya was reluctant to go outside for most of the week. I think she was still nervous about bees or wasps, even though we explained that the house had been sprayed and no insects were building nests around but it was still a push to get her outdoors. I think she’s also still disappointed that we said “no scooters” for the time being. We just don’t want to risk a visit to the ER right now.

Piano! I can’t wait until we can have lessons in our home again.

What day is it? Who knows!?!? Must be Wednesday. It was the first day for live Zoom meetings with their classes so Penni gave each of the kids some distance through the house so they wouldn’t speak over each other. By all reports, the first live session went well. And then, shortly after, it was on to online lessons.

What does April in MI mean? Snow! Go figure. We got a dusting on Wednesday and then it snowed for most of the day on Thursday. We even broke out the snow pants for recess.

Fun with super hero crafts from my secret sister.

Honestly, it’s been so hectic that I haven’t even asked Penni how dance is going. It seems nearly impossible that we’ll have a recital but it’s still worth taking the classes. (Did I say that last week? Every week is the exact same.)

Sammy wanted me to die his hair black so we gave it a shot on Wednesday. He was so sweet and so excited.

Not sad, just serious for his photo op.

Its been a little more difficult than usual to work in bedtime books. I think its the change in routine for all of us, so I’m really happy when we pull it off.

Thursday! Back at the table. Go figure.

For STEM time, Sammy did some archaeology digging for fossils.

The kids found a dead butterfly outside. Penni said they were discussing what would happen to it.

Friday’s Zoom set-up. And, yes, this means getting dressed in the morning is no longer an option.

I’ve got to keep the kids out of my work space during the day but, every now and then, there’s a good reason for a visit and it always includes hugs and smiles. It’s a little hard for all of us to have me home during the day but not present.

If you’re curious about how Amaya perceives life these days, I think this drawing sums it up.

I had the good idea (terrible idea) to let each of the kids play quietly in my room while I worked on Friday afternoon. It might have been a good idea if I’d kept it to one kid at a time but it ended up with all 3 of them which meant fighting and my whisper-yells. Before it went downhill, Amaya was legitimately working quietly on her artwork.

It’s not just a cat who sits and peeks out my window while I work lol.

Light saber fights! There’s lot of Star Wars play happening around these parts since we’ve been watching the movies.

Saturday I turned 44! I slept in and then enjoyed a breakfast prepared by Steven, Sammy, Amaya and Jason.

There was drama because Steven told me about a party they were planning for me. Amaya was furious. “Get over here now, Steven.” She said they agreed that the party would be a surprise and now it was ruined. Fortunately I remembered that Jason has a machine that erases memories and balance was restored.

My first surprise was a birthday cake! And the candles were arranged in the equation 4 x 11 because I mentioned to Jason that I like when my age is a multiple of 11. <3

The kids arranged a party for me with art stations and lego stations. They even had gifts for me. What a haul!! Amaya made goody bags, too, full of her stuff and paper confetti. It was so sweet.

My little loves. (Check out my self-hair cut! This was the first time I styled it since I cut it last weekend. And, yes, Steven was in a mood. There were some issues with the contents of his goody bag.)

Amaya wanted her lipstick on and didn’t want me to do it for her because it’s my birthday. She she turned to her daddy for help.

Sammy got a daddy haircut, complete with a lightening bolt.

I gave Amaya rainbow ends but she wouldn’t let me cut her hair. I tried to explain that she needs healthy hair if she wants it to keep growing well but she wasn’t having it.

I had a birthday Zoom date with three of my closest friends. (Triplet moms, but I don’t need to qualify the friendship that way. It’s well beyond that.)

We all have BBG triplets born within a month of each other. He we are with our daughters.

Return of the Jedi time!

Amaya made me a birthday crown with a matching bracelet. I love the added touch of her “44” lol.

As a final birthday treat, we took a trip to Kensington Park to watch the sunset over the lake. It was really special. The air was cool, the sky was clear and I think the kids realized this wasn’t an everyday family outing.

Sammy, more than anyone, appreciated watching the sun slip behind the trees across the lake.

Today was a clam, easy day. It started with Zoom religious school. It’s okay. I think everyone wishes it was just a bit later in the morning but it’s only 30 minutes so a pretty easy commitment, and the last day for the year was already scheduled to be 5/4.

Amaya watches baking tutorial on her tablet and saw a recipe for Elsa cupcakes that she wanted to try so we made it happen. They’re dense, but edible, and the kids are getting better with their baking skills. We talk a lot about the precision needed for baking that isn’t as important with other types of cooking.

Elsa cupcake!

The kids played outside for a short while today. I’m so glad they have each other through this.They can flight like the best of them but having the built in playmates is amazing.

This evening I convinced Amaya to let me cut her hair. It looks so much healthier!

Some art from the week.

A clay flower, by Amaya.

“I think Elsa is a love bug.”

When you’re having trouble connecting to Dreambox math games, you think the internet is wicked.

Sammy is ready for it to be 100 degrees.

Have a great week! Stay safe!

Well, here we are. At home. Starting to get stir crazy like the rest of the world. We had some gorgeous weather days and also snow, so I’m longing for beautiful spring weather where we can be outside as much as possible and feel a little less confined.

Gabby wasn’t able to come to work this week and, fortunately, Penni was able to cover her hours. It feels absolutely impossible to conceive of both caring for the kids in the manner they need and deserve, and getting our work done successfully.

On Monday, we tried a number activity where the kids drew numbers in salt with their fingers. I remember hearing that using your finger helps train the muscle memory better than using a pencil so I jumped at this activity provided by our kindergarten teachers. Steven, Sammy and Amaya know their numbers but still write some of them backwards.

This was an interesting week for Northville. The school board held a meeting on Tuesday night that was, for lack of any other description, a total shit show. The goal was to roll out their distance learning plan and “revolt” is putting the response lightly. For reasons I still don’t understand, the district decided to more than double the amount of recommended online learning and made most of it synchronous, which eliminated any flexibility. The board meeting lasted 4 hours (before I finally left the Zoom) with parent after parent – and teacher after teacher – expressing their dismay. With nothing left to do but change course, the district came back two days later with a new plan that seems much more reasonable. It starts to roll out this week so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited for the kids to have a little time with their teachers and I’m hopeful that the plan and workload is manageable for most families – including ours.

I’ve been working a lot, often well into the evening, so I promised the kids I’d get up early on Tuesday morning and play a game with each of them. Sammy picked chess and he truly gave me a run for my money!

The kids still seem genuinely happy to do their work. I hope that continues when it’s more specifically directed by their teachers. Steven’s already said he doesn’t want to have to go on Zoom with Ms. M each day, but maybe that will change when he gets into the new routine.

My girl is back to blonde. 🙂

We’re still doing our “specials” on schedule and Penni has been great at keeping the kids on track for their music class. It’s pretty fun to sit upstairs, working away, and hear their cacophony downstairs.

Remote piano lessons were even better this week, I think. It’s definitely not the same but the kids are learning & relatively well focused.

Steven made this for Mr. Anthony before COVID hit.

On Wednesday, SSA spent the morning working on wooden puzzles that Nana and Papa sent them. Penni was saint-like working through it with all 3 at once. Though, Steven did want as much independence as possible.

A sample finished product – Amaya’s unicorn!

Week 2 of remote dance class also seemed to go more smoothly. It’s not the same, but I’m glad they have the opportunity to stay connected.

It’s Passover! We expected to be in NY for the week but everyone made due and stayed connected thanks to Zoom. I made charoset and Jason got me gefilte fish and horseradish. Amaya is obsessed with both matzah and charoset.

Found the afikomen! I hid three, so everyone could find one. I planned on giving each child $1 but Sammy was insistent that it was worth $10 and he won me over. It was only fair, then, to get Steven what he wanted (a small lego set) and honor Amaya’s request, too (blue lipstick).

The whole gang. <3

Amaya won’t let me touch her hair but she’s letting Penni give her fun hairstyles. I love that smile.

On Thursday, Amaya had a Zoom bingo date with some classmates to play bingo. She was very eager to join which made me happy.

We left the house on Thursday! Hallelujah! In preparation for Distance Learning, the district loaned us three chromebooks for the kids. They’ve been sharing my laptop which isn’t feasible when they have concurrent live sessions and more online work to do. We we managed a contact free pick-up of our laptops outside Northville High School. From there we went to McDonalds for happy meals. And then we stopped by a local elementary school to drop off art the kids made for hospitalized patients.

Sammy event provided tissues. 🙂

It was crazy weather this week, as evidenced by Steven’s attire. 60 and sunny. Snow. Sleet. MI doesn’t know how to do spring.

On Thursday we had a “second seder” with family that was really more of a “time spent visiting with one another” kind of thing.

Inspired by Chase and Charlie, forts are the hot new thing in the Land of Cheltenham. It’s a lot of books lol. The kid are making forts again right now and doing it with far fewer things that need to be put away later.

Friday yay!!

Amaya’s blue lipstick came. She’s obsessed.

Friday night / early Saturday, I woke up in the middle of the night and went downstairs to turn off some lights and run the dishwasher. (Don’t get me started on how I feel about keeping dishes flowing through the dishwasher.) It gave me a chance to get these precious pictures of the Cline men sleeping together.

Saturday!! Amaya spent a good portion of the day making bracelets and checking her lipstick.

There was ball card organizing.

We had a Cline-Scofield-Burge zoom date! I’m really pleased because I figured out how to use TV audio so now we’re totally set to connect. Only thing we’re missing are microphones so we don’t have to worry about the laptop mic picking us up.

Amaya and Sammy did their own Cosmic Kids yoga sessions. I want to subtly continue to encourage these. It’s so good for them, especially on days when they can’t get outside. These bodies need to move, move, move.

Watching The Empire Strikes Back! (My personal favorite.) Sammy thought it was interesting that the title lets us know the empire is going to strike back. 🙂

This week my lego challenges form the kids included Hoppy and C-3PO.

Tonight’s forts!

Some writing from the week.

Amaya cracks me up. This goes back to the number activity with salt. “Penni wasted the salt.”

Nice job sounding out “independent”.

That’s it for us! Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all.

Another week at home. Here we are!

This past week was virtual spirit week at Thornton Creek. We didn’t make it all 5 days but Steven, Sammy and Amaya were excited to wear their Gator Gear on Monday.

Mid-week, our governor officially announced that we won’t be returning to school this year. It’s so sad. I mean, so much of this is so sad but I’m still struggling with the idea that the kids are missing so much of their kindergarten year. It’s obviously for good reason but it still stings.

My daily view, including Ms. Sally.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya had a lego challenge to make cars, followed by car races.

I think I’ve said this for the past two weeks but I’ve been really happy with how well the kids are diving into their daily learning. It’s not all that much, truly, but I’m glad it hasn’t been a fight.

Next week (4/13), our school district is going to start more deliberate distance learning. I’m curious to see what it entails and, from my exchanges with our principal, hopeful that it is sensitive to the work/home school balance so many families are trying to find.

The week prior, Penni brought a pizza lunchable for lunch and Amaya wanted one for herself so Jason picked some up for the kids. Sammy was absolutely thrilled to tell me that he was drinking Kool-Aid which is full of SUGAR. Just absolutely tickled.

Monday’s Doodles with Mo involved making a birthday crown for his wife so, once again, we celebrated Hoppy’s birthday. 🙂

Tuesday was a pizza challenge!

Sammy is working on his math. Steven is working on his writing. (Penni had the great idea to challenge the kids to write at least four of their own words. They still want help spelling and it’s hard to push them to try on their own but also important.)

At “recess”, the kids played with cool styrofoam planes that Penni brought.

We can’t have Mr. Anthony come to our house for piano lessons but he was able to set them up via Zoom. This gave Amaya and Sammy a chance to start lessons and for Steven to dive back in. It sounds like they did really well with lessons over Zoom so I’m glad for the opportunity to keep momentum.

While Amaya had her lesson, the boys joined their class (for the first time!) to celebrate a classmate’s birthday. It was chaotic. No one was muted and no one could hear anything. I had to step away before Ms. M got things under control so hopefully that happened.

We’ve had the kids sleeping with us far more than usual. I think Jason and I are both a bit more indulgent than we are. Maybe because of the situation. Maybe because they’re not heading to school every morning.

Who could resist this?

Oh, look! It’s Wednesday we’re still here.

The kids had Hebrew school again where they worked on Hebrew and learned about Passover.

Seder plates!

On Wednesday we also got back to dance classes, again via Zoom. I didn’t push dance clothes, just shoes. And it seems like week 1 was a success.

What day is it? Thursday? Sammy made some slime for his STEM hour. This boy loves slime so much!

During Thursday’s Mo, we learned that Friday would be his last Lunchtime Doodles. 🙁 Sadness! We’ve enjoyed it so much.

Thursday with my Bubba. He’s sleeping with me again tonight and said, “As soon as I’m awake and you’re awake show me the picture you took when I was asleep.”

It’s warming up!! Thursday was absolutely gorgeous. I even got outside for a 20 minute break. On Friday, Steven, Sammy and Amaya did their independent reading out on the deck.

On Friday evening, three Master Mo Doodlers graduated from Mo Willems’ Lunchtime Doodles program. <3

We ended our “school” week with FaceTime with Aunt Bonnie (Grandpa Homie’s sister). She read the kids a bedtime story and we had a great visit.

Our weekend mornings are laaaaaaaazy. Despite being home all week, the kids are scheduled so the free time and downtime is definitely appreciated, even now.

On Saturday afternoon the kids participated in a Fairytale Entertainment zoom event with Belle, Hulk, Captain America, Olaf, Spiderman and Anna. It was about 30 minutes long and included songs, dancing and super hero moves. Amaya was, far and away, the most into it. She even had me take her braids out when she realized she would be on camera. There was conversation among the kids about whether or not it was the real Hulk and the real spiderman.

Roaring like the Beast.

On Saturday evening, the Goldstein cousins & family had our own zoom happy hour. There’s no upside to coronavirus, but I’m glad that we’re finding these ways to connect that, in normal circumstances, we may not have.

Before bed on Saturday, the kids issued me Lego challenges.

* Amaya asked me to make glasses.

* Steven challenged me to make a boat without repeating any colors.

* Sammy wanted an evil flying robot.

It would be a lot easier if I had access to the breadth of pieces the LEGO Masters have. Those glasses were tough!

My prize from Amaya.

After a super lazy morning, we joined a Temple Israel zoom to sing Passover songs with other kids in the congregation.

Since we’d been so lazy, Jason and I kicked the kids outside. To motivate them, Jason had a contest to see who could find the biggest wood chips. Which evolved into a lesson on area and then a contest to find the weirdest wood chip.

Amaya didn’t want to wear a jacket but she put on tights, a Darth Vader skirt under her dress and wore leg warmers on her arms. She’s always had a very specific and deliberate sense of style. 🙂

Sammy’s weird wood chip!

A stink bug made it into the house and the kids freaked out. They made stink bug traps from paper towels, green and blue items and gum. (Apparently stink bugs like green and blue?)

Aaaaaaaaand – drumroll – today we played our first family game of real Monopoly. Goodbye “jr”. Jason picked up the Frozen II version. I think he’s been waiting for this day since the kids were born.

They did great and he’s right about it being a really good way for the SSA to practice math.

Since stink bugs like blue and green, Amaya wanted to hide her eyes.

Our special guest – Grandma Sunshine!! Grandma played along with us which, I think, worked pretty well. I rolled for her and managed her money but she was a full member of the game, making trades and everything. So cool.

Sunday Sleepover.

Here’s some art work from the week.

A rainbow bee from Steven

Not only does Sammy sign his artwork, “Mo”, but he started signing his schoolwork that way, too.

Amaya practiced spelling the words that mean the most to her.

Sammy signed this piece, “Misdr Mo”. (Mister Mo)

Amaya made a picture to send Misdr Mo.

Sammy’s picture with his siblings: Amaya, Me, Crazy Head.

Sammy wanted to be sure to write about weekend plans he knew he could deliver on. “This weekend I am going to go to the bathroom. How about you?”

Amaya insisted that “Tap” isn’t a word and wrong “Sink” instead.

I’m a love bug!

That it for quarantine week 3. Have a good one! Stay safe and healthy!

Another week, and I haven’t left the house since I last wrote a blog except to take a recycling can down to the curb. I’m doing my part and, frankly, so busy with work that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t actually counting.

We don’t start breakfast until 8:30am so Steven, Sammy and Amaya are deep into table time in the mornings. It’s going to be a rude awakening when someday, maybe for camp, they have to hustle in the mornings again.

I had some important meetings on Monday so, while Gabby had her online class, Penni came by to watch the kids. They did their journaling and she had a great idea to challenge them to write four words each time.

End of day, story-book-time selfies.

Mrs. Shuart is using photo albums on Member Hub (our school parent portal) to try to engage the kids in activities. On Wednesday she asked everyone to submit a photo of their kindergartner reading to a stuffed animal. Amazingly, when I texted Gabby to take a photo of Amaya she was already sitting at the table reading to her narwal, Leelee.

Temple Israel is doing their best to stay connected to families, including through the religious school. On Wednesday morning, the kids had a Zoom class with Ms. Amy. I was working through it but they seemed to enjoy the time, though Amaya asked why they had Sunday School on a day that wasn’t Sunday. Fair enough.

While Gabby took her class on Wednesday, I had calls (call all day, every day) so I needed to keep the kids occupied. While they rotated through eLearning, I did a pattern hunt activity shared by the boys’ art teacher.

First, they walked around the house and drew patterns that they saw. Then I gave them my phone and let them take photos of the same patterns and made the photos into a matching 9 box.

Here’s Amaya’s:

Sammy’s:

Steven’s (He checked off his patterns as he photographed them):

There is one member of the Cline household who’s particularly happy about the recent changes. <3

On Thursday Gabby had the great idea to take the kids to Maybury Park to walk the trails. It wasn’t terribly crowded and everyone kept their distance from one another. I’m so glad the kids got to go somewhere (safe).

When Penni asked them to take a picture for me lol.

I’ve been working in the guest room and, by Thursday afternoon, was totally over working from a bed so Gabby helped me bring this desk up from the basement.

I even have a view of the kids when they play outside.

To help stay in touch with people we love, I am asking anyone who’s interested to record themselves reading a children’s book to the kids. If you can send me the file (or a YouTube link) I can add it to the Story Time playlist I’m creating. I know that Steven, Sammy and Amaya would love to see their family reading books to them! (If you want to read a book and don’t have one sitting around that’s age appropriate, let me know and we’ll send you one. 🙂 )

Story Time with Savta

Story Time with Papa

We kept up with our schedule this week, including reading time. I love when I happen to get peeks of group reading time. It’s always my surest sign that everything is going to be just fine.

A few weeks ago, back in normal times, Sammy picked out a chess set as a stay in bed prize and this week he earned it. So he’s on his way to becoming a chess master! Jason found some online tutorials for kids and then he challenged his mom to his first game of chess.

Honestly, I was really impressed with how much he picked up so quickly. Six is probably a great age to start playing. It’s testing me, too, because I haven’t played in years and never very often.

When you’re stuck at home on a rainy Saturday, it’s loooooooong baths for everyone. This girl is so sassy.

Drawings from Daddy! Steven was sweet and suggested that Sammy should get a drawing first today because only he and Amaya got Daddy Drawings on Saturday.

Still obsessed with Amie and Krystal.

Today was about as lazy as a day could get around here and I think everyone needed it. The kids were on their tablets for hours this morning while Jason and I worked. They we all sat around. And sat around. And sat around.

SSA had a FaceTime lunch date with Chase and Charlie.

Sammy and I played another game of chess today (yes, he’s in the same PJs as yesterday) and today he won! I helped him along the way but I’d say he won fair and square. Once I was stuck I was stuck, and I certainly didn’t protect my queen well enough.

The kids and I made a delicious Greek chicken dinner.

Steven’s eyes were watering from cutting scallions lol

And some art from the week!

Amaya drew this one today. It’s me playing Memory with Steven. I have two cards, Steven has 0. (Though we ended up tying.) The designs on our shirts match our first match. And we have question marks over our heads because we’re guessing. Go mom.

Some Mo art!

Steven drew fish in a fishbowl on Mo’s counter. The one at the bottom is just decoration which you can tell from the sticks holding it to the bottom of the bowl.

Sammy drew this little whimsical king guy.

Amaya’s cat.

And that’s it for this week. Stay safe everyone.