a typical morning

A few weeks into kindergarten and we have all adjusted nicely to our new daily routine.

That isn't to say there weren't some bumps and tears and worries at the beginning, but where we are now is a good place.

So usually, we wake up at 6:45 and take our time getting Daddy off to work and Claire off to school.

On a good morning, we leave with plenty of time to dilly-dally on the walk- it is especially fun if it is Thursday (trash-truck day) or Friday (street-sweeper day). The kids just love trucks and get really excited when they can get a wave out of one of the drivers. :)

Sometimes we stop to say hello to her preschool teachers before moving on to the kindergarten playground where I keep a constant eye on Lucy, who thinks she is just as entitled and skillful on the monkey bars and firefighter-style pole as the big kids.

After we say our goodbyes it's off for either a long jog or a leisurely walk home, almost always followed by a stop at the park (this and a bag of grapes or crackers is how I can convince Lucy to happily stay in her seat while I'm running. Alex doesn't have a problem staying sitting, but he does have a knack for talking my ear off and asking very detailed questions that require attention and precious respiratory resources...)

The mornings are starting to feel lovely and crisp, so we take advantage by playing outside a lot.

This week we have explored our favorite plant nursery, gardened, ridden bikes, and gone to a park whose main attraction is that there is construction going on,like ten feet away. This morning we spent 30 minutes sitting at the top of the slide, all in a line, just watching the bulldozers. I'm not kidding!! It was fun. :)

We do an early lunch which usually involves cheese since I try to restrict Claire's intake of it as we strongly suspect allergies. If she's not there, we cheese lovers have no qualms partaking!!

If I'm lucky, I can get Lucy to sleep for 30-45 minutes before we leave to pick up Claire. If she doesn't sleep, I have another chance at luck during the walk over- the stroller is great at lulling to sleep! If neither of these work, oh man, it is not fun because she's wound up at Claire being home and only realizes she is tired around 5pm, which is the WORST possible time of day for a little one to nap. Bedtime is pushed back hours in this case. :(

Alexander doesn't nap anymore, and I really enjoy the one-on-one we get if Lucy naps. He has definitely stepped up as the oldest child during school hours, suggesting which errands to run (not kidding...he asks to go grocery shopping), which chores to do (again, not kidding...my kids like helping me clean and the big kids love vacuuming!), what things we do, which books we read (and he is one who likes to read the same book 14 times in a row), when we have a snack.

It has also been really fun to see him and Lucy alone together. They tend to get along really well, except for that one time yesterday when I was on the phone (prime time for mischief) and Lucy climbed on top of the washing machine and Alex closed the laundry room door on her so it was pitch black...

We are all really glad when we get to pick Claire up.

She's usually one of the first ones out the door, full of energy and almost as curious about our mornings as I am about hers.

So there you have it, more than you ever wanted to know about our mornings! :)