Wonderful Mornings

I’m so not a morning person. I hate waking up to an alarm clock. It’s the worst sound ever.

My current ‘situation’ (not referring to my abs) is that I generally go to bed without a child next to me. We have eventful nights (musical beds, toilet trips, crying, tantrums, nightmares, etc.) and about 98.9% of the time I wake up sandwiched between both kids, and my husband is always on the edge. Teetering.

Every morning, I hit snooze at least three times. Which sucks because it puts me back about 30 minutes. As soon as I get up, my daughter’s radar kicks in and she immediately comes running after me – sometimes with her eyes still closed. One thing’s for sure she is always ready and eager to wash and put a dress on.

My son, on the other hand – wow. For somebody who doesn’t like going to sleep at night, he sure puts up a fight to get up in the morning.

“I’m tired. I want to sleep.”

Maybe I should record this and play it for him at bedtime? I’m seriously thinking I’m going to do it tonight.

We get up, we wash, we get dressed. And I find myself saying the following (plus more) over and over, every bloody day:

“Wash your hands.”

“Brush your teeth.”

“Brush your teeth.”

“Now rinse. Rinse. Please rinse.”

“That’s enough brushing.”

“Put your underwear on.”

“Put your socks on.”

“If you want my help, you need to stop moving and just be still for two minutes.”

Then:

“Eat your breakfast.”

“Drink your milk.”

“Put your coat on.”

“Zip up your coat.”

“Put your boots on.”

“Don’t forget your mittens.”

I have to be honest in that I’m annoying myself just writing this. And usually this is directed toward my son. At five and a half, he would like to be anywhere but getting ready for school.

By the time we get to the “don’t forget your backpack” my blood pressure is through the roof. My own voice is irritating to me.

Does everyone have such a hard time getting their kids ready to get out the door? Is it just me? What am I doing wrong here? I realize that I may be ‘micromanaging’ but because I hit the snooze button three times, we’re running late… not a lot of time for dilly dallying… (ha! Who am I?)

I know I need to get up earlier. I have. The scene always seems to end the same way. Maybe we don’t have to rush as much, but I have a feeling that if I didn’t ‘micromanage’ – these kids would never get out the door.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Signed,

Give me pills please.