Carey's out the door by 640 to catch a 654 train. The kids are still asleep. I stay in bed until about 630, then shave and shower while she runs downstairs to inhale breakfast. I wake up the kids at 7 and am a Nazi about the routine -- go to the bathroom and get dressed BEFORE we go downstairs. Make breakfast while the kids watch Chip -N- Dale videos on YouTube. Eat breakfast together. Put on shoes while they finish watching. Pack their backpacks with the snacks and lunches Carey made the night before. Back upstairs. Brush teeth. Downstairs. Put on coats, hats, mittens, march them to the car. Drive 1/2 mile to the Haydens, leave the car running, escort Greta inside, give her a "kissing hand," 15 seconds to brief Sarah on anything she needs to know, then run back outside and sneak up to Lincoln's window, press my face against the glass, open the door and ask, "Did I scare you?" "Yes!" he's said for the first four days. Drive a tenth of a mile to daycare, unbuckle Lincoln, grab the kids' lunch bags from the back, carry him outside, change him from his boots into his rainbow shoes, hang up his coat, make sure he has puppy blankey, then walk him across the hall to the common room they use until 830.
Drop-off was remarkably cordial today. A couple plaintive "I wanna go homes!" but when I handed him to Miss Sheryl he didn't cry. Just kept his left hand firmly on his blanket and his right ring/middle fingers firmly in his mouth. I then drive like hell back up the hill (0.6 miles), park the car, wrap my scarf around my head, tuck my right pant leg into my sock (getting it caught in the chain is a fate worse than death) put on my bike helmet, and coast downhill back to the train station with the wind-chill watering my eyes. If all goes EXACTLY as planned (like today) and there's no dilly-dallying, I lock up the bike and am on the platform in time for the 822.
PHEW!
Only photo today is crappy. Taken with the BlackBerry of the kids watching the computer over breakfast. At the very least, it's a nice Mac ad. Question for fellow parents -- do your kids enjoy any passive visual stimulus in the morning? (TV, computer, Wii?)
Sure. On days when they have breakfast at home the kids get to eat in front of the TV. It's also a good way to keep them corralled when you're rushing to get ready in the morning - left to their own devices they're sure to get into some activity that involves a thousand small pieces strewn across the house...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it! As long as I'm keeping pace with your parenting style, my kids should turn out all right...
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