Ever have one of those mornings?

In my last post – my attack on sticky floors and dirty ovens – I may have left you with the impression that I am a fastidious “neat freak” who really has his act together.  In reality, this is pretty far from the truth, but I can’t help be at least somewhat organized.  We have six people living in 1,200 square feet – without some semblance of order, things quickly get out of control.  If you don’t believe I’m not the male equivalent of Martha Stewart, read on, and let me tell you about my morning.

wake up

Ever have one of those mornings?

“Daddy, the light’s green,” my oldest admonished me.  I am often woken up this way because I frequently sleep through my alarm clock.  I keep the volume down because the baby sleeps in our room.  My daughter is referring to her “stop light” alarm clock that turns green when it’s time to get up.  I said, “OK,” and got out of bed myself.  This is when I noticed the kitchen was unusually bright.  It was 7:15.  We ordinarily get up at 6:40.

“Oh, crap,” I said.  Both daughters looked at me, puzzled, as I remembered I hadn’t picked out their clothes the night before OR made their lunches.  (My wife is right…I really should ALWAYS do this stuff the night before.)  The bus will be pulling up in 15 minutes and both girls are both notoriously slow (and cranky) in the morning.

After they used the bathroom, both girls were dispatched upstairs to dress themselves while I made their lunches.  I had just finished making their sandwiches and realized I needed to run to the basement for juice boxes when they bounced down the stairs in utterly ridiculous ensembles.  Despite the blizzard conditions, Cailin had obviously chosen a short-sleeved shirt, leggings, and a skirt.  At least she was also wearing snow boots.  Kylie’s outfit was more seasonably appropriate, a mashup of pink and purple.

I headed to the basement and told them they were on their own for brushing their teeth.  Ordinarily, either Amy or I still take a turn after they do.  I don’t know if that’s typical, but their dentist seems happy, so we’re sticking with it for now.

So, what does Father of the Year do after making them dress themselves and brush their own teeth?  I fed them yogurt for breakfast.  Yep, just yogurt – no eggs, no waffles, no oatmeal, not even anything to drink.  By the time we’d gotten that far, the bus was due to be pulling up in literally one minute.  I figured any breakfast was better than nothing.

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The last step was trying to make sense of Kylie’s hair while keeping one eye out the front window, in expectation of the bus.  She’d slept in a ponytail and I tried to brush it out and conceal the bump with a headband.  Poor kid.  Cailin had slept in pigtails that were more or less intact – elastics and clips and all.  I didn’t touch them.  Finally, three minutes late, they finished breakfast, got their coats and backpacks on and stood at attention at the front door for the bus, watching the snow fall.

…And the bus was 20 minutes late.

Here's an after school picture.  I have to admit that they somehow pulled off their outfits.
Here’s an after school picture. I have to admit that they somehow pulled off their outfits.

But, hey, we’re parents, and that’s life, right?  What’s your most ridiculous morning in recent memory?

~Greg

24 Comments

  1. Oh boy, only one memory? LOL I have been asking some really stupid questions lately. I seem to catch it as soon as I say it, but I scare me. I seem to take A LOT long to wake up lately!!!

  2. We don’t have any kiddo’s, but I know it can be a chore to get them dressed, food ready and out the door on time. My sister always jokes that she is running late everyday!

  3. Just the other day I was saying that my boys are so much easier to take care of than girls – if I don’t remember to comb their hair, no one is likely to notice. Some days we have it a lot more together and can get out the door easier than others. I can relate to a morning like yours!

  4. Oh my goodness, your morning sounds like my morning! Thankfully my boys can get themselves dressed on their own. So I don’t have to worry about that. But often I oversleep my alarm too.

  5. I definitely understand those mornings- and so does my husband. Once he let my daughter go around in public in a nightgown. He thought it was a dress when he got her ready in the morning.

  6. Oh my! We just had one of those mornings the other day! I usually get my son up at 6:40, and I accidentally set the alarm for 7:40! His school starts at 8! Eek! He was not impressed!

  7. That sounds like a crazy morning, and of course the bus would show up late, right?! I’m sure I’m going to have a crazy morning tomorrow. I have to get myself and my 10 month old daughter ready to leave the house at 7:15. I haven’t yet filled her bottles with water, picked out her outfit, or packed her diaper bag for tomorrow. I’ll be running around like crazy trying to get everything done in the morning.

  8. Lol! My girls have their own taste in clothes. I rarely ever make a request unless it’s a special occasion or photo day 🙂

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  1. Bring on Spring #GRH #Travel #orlando

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