Real Life at the Winkel House

In response to my friend Breanne's blog post... here is real life in real time.

5:45 am....I kick Kevin cause the baby's crying...."Baby--your turn" is all I say as I roll over and go back to sleep.
5:46 am. Kevin brings Crying baby into bed with us.

5:55 baby is still crying and hitting me with his bottle in the head. This amuses him enough to stop crying for an instant, but when I don't join in the game the crying returns. " I think he wants a toy" I say to Daddy, so Daddy reaches onto the floor and retrieves a wooden truck for baby.

5:56 am Happy baby hits me in the head with wooden truck.

5:57am. Daddy gives in and take him out to the living room to turn on the Christmas tree and show baby that the sky is still pitch black and no one ought to be awake.

6:45 am Little girl comes into the bed next to me and sticks freezing cold feet on the small of my back. My eyes fly open for a second and then close peacefully as little girl takes a handhold of my hair and says sleepily, " I love you my silly mumzy mumzy"

 7:00am. The return of crying baby, and daddy who needs to get ready for work.

Into the shower they go.

Little girl and I finally pull our bones out of bed and she copies me in kneeling beside the bed for morning prayer. "Oh dear God please...." is about all I get out on some  such mornings.

"amen." little girl replies at my elbow

7:30 am. Wave goodbye to daddy in the window!

Praise the Lord for bowls of cereal with milk and sugar that keep my kids attention for a whole of 10 minutes, particularly baby who is getting more Shreddies in his lap than mouth.

8:00 Coffee... also Praise the Lord for this.

8:10am check the weather and debate walking Ava Grace to school or playing hookie?

(oh won't homeschooling be sweet on mornings such as these?)

8:15 dressing children, changing diapers,  combing and braiding hair, snarfing down soggy cornflakes, putting laundry in washer/dryer, looking for a missing boot, and pulling out the heavy duty winter coats....

8:40am  Let the Morning Marathon part one commence: 3 Jackets, 3 toques, 6 mittens and 3 pairs of boots (one boot still awol, how this can be I am not sure.) 3 scarves bundled around three faces, only 4 meltdowns ( one each for the kids, two were mine) and out to the garage to bundle them into the wagon.

still no vehicle for the poor me....
we started using the wagon on monday when Ava Grace wiped out twice on the ice at the end of the driveway, so now they get to sit all cozy wrapped up in blankets while I pull them to and from the school like a tired farm horse...


the old gray mare she ain't what she used to be--let me tell you.

9:02 am. We arrive at the school, and tumble out of our winter trappings and melt all the way down the hallways of the school to Ava's preschool class.

the other mothers give me pained looks and several inquire as to whether we are ever getting a vehicle again.

"Thursday!" I tell them brightly, and they sort of look like they believe me. I can see them being more thankful for their own minivans, and that's good, cause like I always say, "I am in the business of making other feel better about themselves"
They also have more matching outerwear than the grab bag assortment of toques and mismatched mittens and scarves we are all wrapped in, so that's gotta feel good for them too. :)

9:20 am. we are finally back from the trek home and I can't help it, I reach for the cartoons.
Baby flaps his arms in excitement and starts making cave man sounds "woo  woo woo".

10:00 am ...good grief is it only 10:00 am?????

I pack several boxes in the basement and run out of tape.

Baby happily hits the same song button on a toy in the basement. Over and Over and Over "Be sure three times a day to brush... don't have to rush"

11:15am.  Back.  Into.  Outer.  Wear.  Clothes.  Walk.  Back.   To.  School.

11:30am. Boy oh Boy are we building character, with each freezing cold puff of air in my burning lungs as I drag 80 lbs of wagon and child behind me!

11:45am. Stuff our faces with leftovers and canned pears and peanut butter sandwiches,  I realize I have a headache from the wind on my face.  Praise the Lord for Advil.

12:00 Feeling has returned to my limbs and the children are fed and happy.
We read, we cuddle, we drink sippy cups and bottles and draw some paper dolls wearing one piece leotards....they all have legwarmers.

12:01... I start thinking about legwarmers and how I should make some legwarmers....

12:30 The bliss of a tired boy in my arms succumbing to sleep as we creak back and forth in the old family rocking chair.

12:35 I come out to the kitchen where little girl is still playing and startle her. She says "Oh mom, it's just you. I thought maybe you were a ninja."
okay.

12:45 The bliss of a little girl all cozy in her blankets saying "mom I am going to sleep for so long today!"
and then actually doing it.

1:00 the coffee pot is beeping and the house is a mess... but there is blogging to be read and written and encouragement and inspiration from friends. There is a God who's waiting on the rest of those half finished prayers from this morning, Pleases are good, but there's still the "thank-you's" to be said.

there's still an afternoon to pull out a new roll of tape, pack another box, make a phone call with a loved one, a supper to make, a paper doll to draw, a cuddle to share and a husband who come through the door with love and humor in his footsteps.
Theres a van to pick up tommorow and a few loads of laundry to do. There is baked goods in the freezer and no reason to venture out the door tonight, there are lights on my Christmas tree and books to curl up with.

There will probably be time-outs and forgiving hugs, and temper tantrums, and tears, there will be stubbed toes and lost toys and things will get broken and spilled. There will be music playing and puzzle pieces  pajamas  and bedtime stories and bath times and kisses and hugs that sustain. There is always advil.

This is real life at the Winkels house, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.