The story of today unfortunately begins at 5:46am when Christian or Olin (I was too groggy to remember) climbed into bed with us. Both of them are in bed with us, squeezed in between me and Dae, by around 6am. If I'm lucky, we will all sleep in until 7am. We were not lucky this morning and at 5:46am we were awake and at 'em.
The story of Dae's morning began around 6:30am. He always sets his alarm for 6am. Depending on the urgency of the morning's work duties, snooze will be pressed several times or not at all. This morning progressed into a steam shower for Dae, in the dark (which is this photo). We are currently showering in the dark due to lack of proper window coverings and the ability of neighbors to see directly in. I am very eagerly awaiting a return e-mail from the people at Benjamin's, who will help hook us up with some necessary drapes.
The kids play on our bed while we are in the bathroom.
The story of our morning included me making the bed, which I now always do. I never even thought about making the bed daily until this past year. Now I love climbing onto a nicely made bed in the evening to watch a little TV. Leelee took this bed making photo.
And folding laundry. Like dishes, a never-ending chore...
The story of Olin's morning involves tucking himself into our laundry basket.
The story of my morning includes remembering to turn off the alarm so I don't set it off like I already have twice while opening up the back sliding glass door to take out the garbage. It is loud!
The story of Leelee's morning involves a size 2T Timbers jersey which he will sausage himself into as his Halloween costume because he straight refuses to wear anything else. I also get him to slide into his Columbia thermal underwear which are black and sleek and tight as sin, and I laugh when I see his little legs in them...
The story of our breakfast involved, in order of priority, MILK...
Costco granola. Today was a simple breakfast. Leelee usually loves an eggo waffle. Olin likes toast and cheese. I make pancakes occasionally but neither seem too excited over them and they are a pain to make. I also will make scrambled eggs but for some reason they don't really eat them unless I feed it to them. Apples are almost always on the menu. Sliced, and not peeled.
The story of my morning usually involves a latte. Always iced, with hemp milk, a splash of eggnog, and a pod of Lavazzo Intenso espresso. Xylitol sweetens it a bit (weird, I know). The story of Dae's morning always involves a drip coffee: Peet's Major Dickason's Deep (or dark) roast K-Cup with Hazelnut creamer. And he always leaves the Keurig machine on. I always turn it off.
Getting the kids dressed in their Halloween costumes for school...
The story of the kids' lunches is usually the same. Soy nut butter sandwiches on sandwich thins. Leelee likes jam and likes his sandwich cut into quarters. Olin does not like jam and does NOT like his sandwich cut, thank you very much. Apples, crackers, and sometimes some carrot or cucumber round out their lunches. I put in a cloth napkin per Sagebrush's recommendation. I will sometimes slip in some leftovers instead of the sandwich, but Leelee definitely prefers a sandwich. Olin says 'samich' just like Leelee used to. Olin usually does not get a packed lunch but he stayed for after-care today so he got one too.
The story of school drop-off involved picking up Henry (Darth Vader) and Claira (Princess Leia) for carpool. It also involved picking up Kelly to hit the farmer's market afterward. Perfect timing...she took all these photos!
It continued with our entrance into Sagebrush Montessori.
A kiss and a hug for mom. Thankfully, no problems with these kids leaving me to go into their classroom in the mornings.
An inquiry by Olin's classmates about his costume. "Are you a racecare driver?!"
Decoration in Christian's classroom.
The story of our (my) morning continued with a trip to the Neiffer farms stand at the Farmer's Market to pick up Kelly's and my 1/8 cow portions. We split a quarter cow.
Car delivery service.
Beef
The story of today continued with some book club reading ("Daring Greatly") while waiting for a friend of a friend, who is an interior decorator, to come over and inspire me.
And continues with us putting up these prints that I got from Ikea a while back. I love her ideas! So simple, but I have loved everything she has suggested.
The story of today involved eating leftover spaghetti casserole in my car while out and about. I was so hungry. I couldn't get this into my stomach fast enough.
Today involved a couponing trip to Walgreen's. I loaded up on essentials and of course got in on some deep discounts.
Taking a look at Dae's Pantene (yes, Dae's Pantene), for which I got a screaming deal. ha! Thanks Dawn for the 'aisle shot' inspiration. Set my iPhone down on the floor, leaned it against the shelf and set the timer at 10 seconds to snap this little baby.
The story of today involved a To Do list, written on a dental referral form from work yesterday. I usually have To Do lists on my iPhone. When they get a little unmanageable, I feel the need to transfer them to paper. Today I was very productive. I did not, unfortunately, make it into the auto shop to get the Mini looked at.
The story of the last few minutes of kid-less afternoon involved squeezing in about 10 minutes of internet time (West Elm, Target).
It involved prepping and chopping to make spaghetti squash and bolognese sauce. New recipes, and it always takes me a while to get familiar with recipes.
The story of pick-up. Olin is always SO happy to see me. He does not look like it here, and it looks like they are in a prison yard or something. haha.
Leelee and teacher Karin.
The story of the afternoon involved this beautiful series of green, yellow, and red trees on Davison driving home.
And the boys working together (after fighting) to figure out the can opener. There were lots of tears, and one time-out. The bolognese was simmering in the foreground. It was gooooood.
The story of our evening was Halloween and trick-or-treating. We trolled up and down Harris and our cul-de-sac. There were lots of homes with their lights on, lots of full-sized candy bars, and most homes said we were their only trick-or-treaters. One home had prizes, glow sticks, pretzels, snack sacks and Gatorade. It was so nice. :)
The story of our evening: We were home by 7:30pm, and Olin immediately took care of business with a #2 on his small potty. #2's on the small potty are absolutely asphyxiating. There is no water to dilute the smell. Dae took care of this little number, thank goodness.
The story of our evenings always involves me brushing and flossing the kids' teeth on the upstairs hallway carpet. Olin finally allows me to use the Sonicare now. The levels of plaque on this guy were unacceptable, so I am thankful he is acquiescing (a bit).
And flossing Leelee. He lets me brush and floss til the cows come home.
The story of our night always ends with books. When we're energized, the kids get 2-4 books each. When we are not energized, it's 2 small books each. Right now the kids love Rocket Town, Sheep in a Jeep, Brown Bear. Leelee still loves Planets, Predators, the Titanic Disaster, and BusyTown.
