School Mornings

During the week, mornings are tough! We start at about 6:00 am. Invariably whenever I go to get in the shower, Owen has a meltdown or needs to eat. This is what starts me off running late almost every day. We live in a two story house so I attempt to gather all the things I need for Owen before I come upstairs so I don't end up running a marathon of stairs just to get him dressed. But I almost always forget something. Poor Owen usually ends up sitting around most of the morning while I get the girls ready.

Then I get Kate, who is usually up and dressed by the time I come upstairs. I am so thankful that I have a disciplined child who will get up to an alarm. Unfortunately, she is also a child who is easily distracted so she's usually running late too. Hair with her is always an issue and she takes FOREVER to eat her breakfast. She's also in 3rd grade now so we're almost always studying for some test she has that day.

And I save the beast for last! Savannah is foul in the mornings, so we let her sleep as long as we possibly can. But at some point in our craziness, she wakes up and the whining ensues. She can't go potty by herself, she can't eat her breakfast, she can't take her vitamin and so forth. The girl really is miserable in the mornings. And the hair! WOW!!! Talk about taming a wild beast - that hair takes a solid 5 mins of spraying, brushing, and tweaking to get under control.

There are days when everything runs smoothly, there are days I forget to eat, and then there are days like today when I am sure we aren't going to survive the morning. Can you blame me for living off caffeine? But I have learned to measure success a little differently. It's a good day if I remember to brush Savannah's teeth! I guess as long as everyone gets fed and Kate gets off to school, the rest can wait. And as hard as these mornings are, it's a very sweet time that I get to spend with my kids each and every day.