School Mornings…you gotta’ love them!

Okay, so I’m not doing such a good job of keeping up on the ol’ blog right now.  Suffice it to say, the start of school has my head spinning. 

I REALLY DISLIKE SCHOOL MORNINGS.  Long gone are those lazy mornings of summer where we meander out of bed, maybe watch a cartoon or play with some toys before one or the other would decide he’s hungry. 

No.  Something about school mornings sets my kids off.  Bay, the older one, makes it his mission to find ways to annoy his little brother.   It can be as subtle as a weird look thrown in the wrong direction to subliminal whispers calling CJ’s favorite cartoon a  ‘baby show.’  It’s at that moment that C will break down crying, then proceed to punch his brother in the arm.  During this whole time, Mom is trying to find out which cereal they want for breakfast.  (So that they can leave half of it in the bowl and another third on the floor.)

I try to do my part as quickly as possible while throwing warnings out to each of the boys.  I slide their food in front of them and run out of the kitchen to go hide in my bathroom.  That hairdryer just isn’t loud enough.  I can still hear the screams as one of them steals the coveted cereal prize that (I thought) I have hidden behind the ceramic pig.  Darn.  I swear they have radar for stupid toys.

I can only stay in that bathroom for so long before I come rushing out, a long list of expletives running through my brain.  But as the good mom, I will not voice them audibly.  (Oh come on, don’t you even try to tell me you haven’t been there!)  I begin to do the hissed yelling…you know the one…the windows are open and you can’t scream the way you want to, so you strain your throat trying to be as quiet but adament as you can.  But we dare not let the neighbors hear lest they know that the crazy lady has made an appearance once again.

So, we finally get everyone calmed down long enough to do those last minute chores which just seem impossible to children on school mornings.  Finding socks.  Brushing teeth.  Gathering school books.  Putting on shoes in less than 10 minutes (because mom will burst a blood vessel if she sees Bay trying to jam his foot into his $60 Nikes without untying the laces one more time.)

We slip out the door (where the kids are warned to be quiet because the neighbors don’t want to hear their bickering as the garage door goes up.  Good morning, world!)   After buckling up, C remembers that he left his blankie in the house (more crying), B isn’t sure he put his AR reader in his backpack (pause for checking of said backpack), and Mom remembers that B didn’t actually get around to brushing his teeth.  Oh well.   It will keep the girls away a little longer.

We take the five minute trip to school during which I attempt to give my child a more positive start to his day.  My voice is about 2 octaves higher than normal and all honey as I ask him what he thinks he’ll be doing that day.  All I get in response is an ’I dunno,’ and then he begins yelling at his brother for sitting on his backpack strap.  (Long sigh.)

Well, we drop off B, I do get a quick ‘I love you.’  I have to strain my ears to hear it, but it’s there.  C begins to get mad because B didn’t say goodbye to him.   We wait to see him into the school and pull away.  (Ah, sigh of relief.)

C starts crying, yet again, because he WANTS to be with his brother. 

 Are you kidding me?