Morning routine

Our lives here at the Harker home consist of some what of a morning routine (during the week). Routines are good for kids, they depend on them and they NEED them and some times I forget that. That is why "they" always say consistency is key when disciplining your children, it's true but it's just hard to do most of the time.

Our mornings go like this....

*Lulu awake by 7-7:30-ish (we're lucky if it's 7:30) talking in her crib.

*C and I lay there in bed awake, kind of, as we listen to her babble on.

*Then shortly after lulu wakes up we hear the next two children race to the bathroom before it's too late. Which ever one doesn't make it first to the upstairs toilet goes down stairs and uses that one, it's literally a race some times.

*Alarm goes off at 7:35-ish even though usually we've been awake for a while.

*Get lulu out of bed. Go down stairs. Make bottle. Change diaper.

*Turn off t.v. (because no matter how many times I tell them DON'T TURN ON THE TV IN THE MORNINGS.....EVER! One of them always does.)

*Get breakfast going for the older two kids and C and myself if we feel like eating right then.

*Then I nag and nag E for her to get dressed, brush her teeth, shoes and socks on, back pack packed etc. I usually find myself saying this phrase "You do the same thing every morning why do I have to nag you to do it, just DO IT!" yep every morning I say some thing like this.

*On Pre-school days I nag J boy to do the same things. If it's not a pre-school day then I don't rush him in getting ready because it's not worth the fight for me.

*J boy waits at the screen/storm-door with E while she draws pictures on the steamed up window with her fingers, and while she watches for her bus. He HAS to wait there with her.

*Daddy heads out the door usually before E's bus comes, but some times after she leaves, depending on how late he is running. He says his good byes to me with a kiss and Lulu is now starting to give "kisses" too as she chimes in her bye bye as well.

*J boy MUST say "Bye Daddy" only half a dozen times then wave out the window until he has disappeared down the street and can no longer be seen. (It's so cute)

*Then Bus 48 comes by our house which is not her bus but it is like a "warning" for us that hers is next and it will be here in less than five minutes. It's nice to have that five minute warning. J boy has to point out "That's not E's bus, it's bus 48!" yes yes we know J boy!

*This is when I usually get her hair done if I'm going to get it done that day :)

*Then her bus comes and E heads out the door (It's so nice that it stops right in front of our house) but before that.....

* Our good bye's! Our "good bye" ritual happens just before her bus stops at our house, it goes as follows: Mommy to E "Bye sweety, I love you, have a good day" then a kiss and a hug, then Lulu has to chime in with a byyee byyyyee (in her high pitched cute voice) and her little wave, Then E kisses and hugs lulu to death. Then J boy chimes in his good bye's to E. Bus stops, E goes out, turns around and waves one last time to all three of us. Bus driver waves to me, then a little wave to J boy and he HAS to wave back and she HAS to see it or he is not satisfied. Then another wave to and from lulu at the bus driver. I love that the bus driver plays along with this, it makes J so happy. Then we watch as E's bus disappears around the corner down the street, J boy waving until it is gone.

*Then preschool days I get stuff ready and in the car and we are off to take J to school.

Wow that is a lot we do EVERY day and it all happens so fast, in just over an hour of our morning every morning.

Well today was weird. I woke up at 8am?! I slept in, crazy!

Either lulu slept in or I just didn't hear her. The alarm must have gone off but I didn't hear it and J boy for sure slept in and didn't wake up until after Daddy left.

You would have thought it was the END of the world for this kid because he didn't get to say good bye to Daddy. He was so heart broken, crying and crying. The only thing that calmed him down was me telling him we could call Daddy and he could say good bye over the phone. We called and he didn't answer (because he was driving) but he called us back when he got to school and J boy got to say his "good bye's" to daddy and he was oh so happy about that!

It was so sweet. I didn't realize how much J's morning "good bye" routine means to him. He sure does love and miss his daddy when he's gone! What a sweet boy he is.