Monday: here and there

I'm at my daughter's house -- up at 5:45. The kids are up when their alarm goes off -- 6:45. I did all advance stuff in advance. Backpacks and lunches -- ready except for the perishables. Clothes for kids -- laid out the night before, approved by all, so there should be no fuss. Cats attended to, dishwasher emptied, breakfast decided the night before. Every kid is cooperative this morning. Come down, eat, go up. They always have morning baths and I give lightening speed baths. In, scrub, rinse, out. Snowdrop gets dressed and ready without a moment's delay. And still, I drive up to the school three minutes after the bell has rung at 7:40. Meaning, it is not possible to get those two fed, bathed, dressed and into the car by one person and in that amount of time. 

Now that I know this, I can plan tomorrow differently. Baths will get pushed up to the evening. Sandpiper will be home today, so I will need more time for him. He takes stuff out -- you have to be watchful for that. But we will manage! Now that I realize that it's not really doable with two, I feel confident that it's even less doable with three! I will figure out improvements to the routines! The goal? 7:40, in school tomorrow, with no one upset, no one hungry. Easy peasy, right?

In the meantime, I have just a few pics from this morning.

"We're ready!"

After dropping Snowdrop off (7:43... sigh...), I go on to Sparrow's school. He's there in plenty of time having a more relaxed drop off window. Bye little guy! I'll pick up you and your brother this afternoon!

And then I turn toward the farmhouse, where I go the barn to feed the animals...

And have breakfast with Ed, reviewing with him such light topics as the elections in Brazil and the weird and devastating war in the Ukraine.

And then I sit down and I swear I do not want to move at all, ever.

That lasts a minute. A warm shower and a second steamy milky cup of coffee put me back into circulation mode. A good thing too, because I have dinner foods to (partly) prepare and (in the early afternoon) Snowdrop to claim at school.

(the secret path is a bit overgrown; it requires a nimble step!)

(salvia love)

(one of the "travel with snowdrop" books arrived)

And a couple of hours later, I have the two boys to claim at their school.

(rushing to reclaim their younger brother)

And now we are at their home again. I fix dinner, keeping an eye on the one who cannot be left alone, not even for a minute. He's perfectly capable of turning on the oven, or finding the one choke hazard that we may have neglected to clear away. And he has a legendary talent for opening anything at all and finding the one dangerous object inside.

Dinner. Shrimp tacos and corn. All very popular with the youngest one and acceptable to the older two. So long as cheese can be added!

I am determined to get the to bed earlier today. Maybe. Maybe not. You know how that works...

And now the house is quiet. Two days -- check! Two to go. Kids still whole, no emergencies, no broken bones. So far so good!

with so much love...