that morning rush.....

Oh yes, I LOVE getting up in the morning. I love the idea of waking up early (6ish), quietly coming downstairs, starting the coffee, reading my Bible in peace, glancing up at the clock and realizing it is 6:45 and I should be getting the children up. Rouse the precious children from their sleep and watch them greet the world with a smile. It is all a McDream. I forgot to mention that I do yoga then too :) Like I said, it's all a dream.

Keeping it real: I would end up waking everyone up. I've tried it. I am joined by needy people almost immediately. Not that I don't love them and want to help, but the purpose of getting up early is soundly defeated. 

So I have come up with an alternative way of waking up peacefully. We have a SleepNumber bed that I love so much that I set the alarm for 30 minutes earlier so I can keep snoozing the alarm and enjoy my bed. I talk to my bed and tell it that I love it. We have an understanding. Then when 6:50 comes, I go and wake up Adam by turning on his light. He's very pleasant in the morning.  I then get Maura up and suggest something for her to wear, knowing that she will reject the choice, but we have to start somewhere. Landon wakes up on his own (often enjoys my 30 minutes of alarm snooze with us in our bed). And then we have Dave. If there is anyone who would like the job of waking Dave, you are welcome to apply. He hates school (except Thursdays when he has Art class). So you could have Thursday off.  Finally, I go in and wake up Dave, slowly, coaxingly, while pointing out where his clothes are for the day, etc. Then I RUN, downstairs, away from it all. It is usually now 7:10.  

For breakfast, Gordie makes smoothies for the kids,  gets bowls for the cereal eaters; is the General Manager of breakfast. He's good at it. I make their lunches while they eat, read from the Bible and clean up the table. Each kid takes a different sandwich so I really have to multi task, which is something I am rather pathetic at. 

After the table is cleared and they have stepped away, things can get very hairy. The time between 7:35 and 7:48 is quite frenzied. Adam is always packed up, ready to go. No problems there. We have to meticulously guide Maura and David to get their shoes on, coats, mitts, hats, etc. If you drop one command, it will not be done. If you forget to say "put your shoes on" Dave will not have his shoes on. My main goal is to have them leave the house in a positive frame of mind. I do not like this time to be negative, since it sets the tone for the day. However, someone usually ends up stressed out and in tears because of the last minute rush. 

It is great when G. is home and he accompanies them down to the bus. He is able to diffuse many threats to peace and gives them lots of loving while he's with them for that time. If they are wound up at the house,  he is able to coax them into a good mood and get a smile out of them before they get on the bus. 

I've been thinking about ways to make that time zone more streamlined:

-having David and Maura pack their bags the night before, including snowpants, etc.

-putting their shoes right next to their backpacks so there is no last minute shoe hunt involved. 

- We are quite picky about their bedtimes as it is, but paying closer attention to that will help with the morning "sunshine". 

-any other suggestions?

That's our typical morning. In the event that Gordie is not here, Adam will read to us and I take over  smoothies and coffee duty. It's a lot busier for me, but the worst part of it is that the children then have to go to the bus by themselves, which is perceived by them to be equivalent to third world oppression. 

If they only knew how far I had to walk to the bus........