Morning…

I’m woken up at 7 by my perky 11 year old saying “Good Morning” to me. He’s already eaten breakfast and walked the dog. I try to stay asleep but then 6 y/o Finch is standing at the foot of the bed asking if the outfit he wants to wear today matches. I hear Wren, who has the hardest time getting up in the morning, splashing water on her face in the bathroom. I slide out of bed without waking the baby and head downstairs. I open up the curtains and blink a little. Then I fire up the laptop. I cleared out my inbox the other day, so my email is now much more manageable. No personal messages. It’s a little lonely. 20 minutes later, the kids are ready for school and I’m doing Wren’s hair while trying to prevent the boys from waking up their father and sister. I finish her hair, remind everyone that their hair and teeth should be brushed, they should all be wearing socks, and their faces should be crust free and moisturized. Robin leads the pack upstairs to kiss Daddy goodbye and then they come back down to do the same to me before they head out the door.

I wish them a good day and pick up the phone. It’s my mom, or my brother, or both. We talk every day. I boil some tea water while I’m on the phone and check my google calendar to see what’s on the agenda today. There’s nothing. I hang up and pretend I’m going to read my textbook, but I just check blackboard and see if there’s any work I can complete without looking at the text. I tweet a little, I chat a little, I check facebook and become depressed about my own “status”. Then I compose an emo status message in my head and am too chicken to write it out because I don’t want anyone to know I have feelings. I tweet it instead. It’s easier to share with strangers. I fill the kids’ cereal bowls with water and tidy up a little bit in case we have any “visitors” a.k.a. my in-laws. I hear the baby crying which means she will be downstairs in two minutes. She comes down and I automatically lift my shirt. She climbs into my lap and I shower her with kisses while she strokes my face and tries to remove all the teeth from my mouth. After a few minutes, I realize I never made tea. I check to see if the kettle’s still warm, decide I only care half way, and make the tea anyway.

I try to convince the baby she wants to eat something. She likes: grapes, tomatoes, pasta, eggs, yogurt and cheese. I’ve been trying to convince her for months to branch out, but it’s a no go. I put her in the highchair with some food and remember I have a television. I turn it on for her so I can attend to my own breakfast. I don’t eat cereal and there are no eggs, so I decide to eat leftovers…again. Hey, it’s almost lunchtime, somewhere. I let the baby out of the highchair and she wanders upstairs to play in her sister’s room. It’s hers too but she loves the time alone to throw down books and steal Littlest Pet Shop toys when she thinks no one is looking. I find some clothes for her to wear and take her into my room where L is now awake. I dress her and let them enjoy some time together while I finally drink my tea. I take her back downstairs to do an activity. More often than not, it’s painting because she enjoys it and I love to watch her do it. She says “paint” over and over as she alternately paints and eats the paint. I take pictures while she makes a mess.


Eventually, we both get bored and clean up. I remember to read my daily affirmation and then, it’s time for lunch.