before it is time to wake up, M (3) yells out in her sleep, as she is prone, and I attempt to salvage the wee hours of darkness by stumbling over to her bed, perhaps to rub her back or tuck in her blanket. instead she grunts, as though peeved, yells something about a giving her a snack. having failed in the offer of comfort, I bestow a stern, "be quiet now." she is dreaming. before I can regain the warmth of my bed, N (1.5) yells from his room. in the last few weeks he has decided to take on the grumpy morning demeanor of his sister. so now instead of happy mumbles and chants in the morning, he half wails and moans in mock agony until I am forced to get him up out of desperation for ear solace. even though it is a much more stressful way to do things, when I am too tired, I will not get up bofore N. such is the case this morning, yet I go downstairs to clean out the woodstove and restock it with wood before I go up to save N from his own despair. I also happen to have a stiff neck this morning, my wife and I have long discussions about stiff necks and what they imply. for my current purposes, it implies that it is harder to hold two grumpy children on my lap as they try to wake up and try to whine the other out of their space, daddy's lap. we sit in front of the woodstove in the morning darkness, I try not to move my head too much. N is taking great delight in eating cereal and milk from a bowl like his sisters and has done well. until this morning when he decides to dump his bowl down his front. I'm not sure how much milk has dumped, how much has been drunk, until I observe a puddle of milk forming underneath his high chair, dripping out of the slot designed for a strap. I wipe him off and postpone a thorough cleaning of the chair until L (8) is on her way out the door to the bus (or the "cat bus" as M lovingly refers to it. or the "BSSSSSS!" as per N.) having completed her morning routine with a few smart alec comments, almost forgetting something, and kisses all around, although N trips while trying receive his kiss and must now wail instead of receive his sister's blessing. I now turn my attention to the high chair and discover there is a decent amount of squished food/milk packed neatly into the fittings of the chair strap. I decide it is time for a complete overhaul and am required to get a few tools out of the drawer in the kitchen in order to take everything appropriately apart. M and N also must watch and help hold the tools as I do this. eventually all the straps are removed, the packed food bits are painstakingly picked off the floor and appropriate surfaces cleaned with spray. I work the straps into the first load of laundry for this "laundry day." my wife is rustling in the kitchen, staunchly making hot oatmeal and pours the coffee I have managed to make in between the kids. M informs me that N has pulled yet another glass ball ornament off the tree. I search in vain for the balls matching cap and wire, and while I am kneeling in front of the small tree, M and N decide to parade around the tree. N half trips over the light cord and pokes his face in the branches. it is too tight for a good parade and I redirect his enthusiasm. I remind M to wash her hands after going potty and make sure that N does not try to wash his. my wife has time for an impromptu conversation and after several failed attempts we let the kids watch an episode of Maisy so that we might have our 5 minute conversation over breakfast. we speak about the nature of stress and back aches, stiff necks, the on-going "Amish project", what the day may hold and why are the holidays so stressful? what are we doing wrong? how can we simplify? etc. I ask about a few of her Amish patients and offer to start her car. (which happens to be my Dad's truck - as her car is no longer working, long story) we wife does not keep the habit of hanging keys up on the key hooks I bought at Lowes last year while carting around two kids and deciding to get the "real wood" mounted hooks even though they were more expensive. instead they usually are in her brown bag, her purse, or one of her coat pockets. after exhausting these possibilities, she remembers that she set them on the ground beside the raised beds last night while peeking at the spinach. I retrieve them in my flip flops and start the truck, taking care not to back over any children that may have slipped out the back door without my notice. my wife rubs my neck briefly until the attacks by N are just too much, she shows me a few stretches for shoulders and is on her way. I water the outdoor cats, who in the winter only get small windows of opportunity to drink as their dish freezes so quickly. I start the laundry for the morning, after finding a brown bag with handles for M who is asking for a "basket" to carry things with. I attempt to negotiate a parallel play opportunity, as N also wants the bag. this works until M informs me that N has torn the bag. I find another bag. we have about 3 days until the holidays break loose upon us. it is now 10:03 on a chilly Monday morning.
