Snapshot of my school mornings

As a mom of four school-agers, mornings are a bit hectic, to say the least.  So when my oldest informs me of his decision to join basketball (pending our approval) and that practices start at 6:30 AM!!! I was a bit dismayed.  *sigh*

With all my husband's best intentions, I knew I'd manage to take the lion's share of morning driving.  My husband could sleep through a herd of elephants stomping over the house, a tornado, and most astoundingly six children waking and rough-housing and yelling.  So needless to say the alarm is a mere whisper to that man.  However, I wake to the alarm I set (and my husbands) without issue everyday.  It's the "mom" thing to do.  Waking to crying babies who need nursed, or someone needing a 2 o'clock drink, or another child throwing up somewhere in the recesses of my house.  I wake easy.  Side note:  I can't wait for the day when I can sleep really hard and sound, that nothing will wake me except someone physically shaking me.

Despite the dread of adding one more thing to my already busy mornings, it's actually working out pretty slick.  I am up by 5:15.  I make sure Luke is up and getting his things together.  I make sure he's eating breakfast and brushing his teeth.  Besides that I have plenty of time to start a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, deal with the dog and her never ending needs.  I get a lot done.

We leave by six or shortly thereafter.  I am home by six-thirty, which always has been my ideal time to wake my school-agers, but it's so easy to sleep past that alarm and make my already crazy mornings even crazier.  So by the time I'm home I'm already ahead. 

I get the other three up and am usually so awake at this point (caffeine has been injected) that making a hot breakfast for the kids isn't such an insane thought as it sometimes feels like.  Muffins, breakfast sandwiches, and eggs and toast are being served.  Which in turn makes me feel like a better mom.  Slapping together some cereal and bagels sometimes makes me feel less so. 

I still get agitated and moody in the mornings.  Rushing around and trying to get several children to get ready and get their stuff together can get pretty frustrating.  Friday I lost it.  I was short with everyone, no one could please me.  We all have those days with those moods.  All I can do is hug my kids, apologize for my behavior that morning and try to be better the next time. 

Typically a morning person, it's nice to be able to feel super productive and get a jump start on my day.  Today was great, dishwasher emptied, laundry started, kids eating a hot meal!  Then the damn dog pees on my carpet, flooding the house with a horrific smell and my morning just got a whole lot worse. 

And that's how it goes.