Week 18

This week was all about getting Liam settled back into his school routine . . . i.e. wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, out the door, meet buddy outside, scooter to school. It sounds simple enough on paper, but in reality, there is more drama before 9am in my life than on an episode of Real Housewives. Here‘s how it really plays out:

Liam wakes up with an hour to go before departure, lays in bed for 5-10 minutes enjoying the coziness (no, he does NOT get this from my lovable yet freakish husband who bounds out of bed like an over eager puppy dog with a full bladder), finally makes his way to the breakfast table like a floppy doll with equally floppy hair, spends a good 30 minutes eating the amount of breakfast comparable to a baby bird’s meal and then of course wants more, but if you’re doing the math, now we are down to T minus 15 minutes and counting and Liam still looks like he just rolled out of bed. We spend the next ten minutes arguing about what trousers to wear (Liam prefers 2 pairs out of about 10 that are in his drawer and because I refuse to do laundry every other day, at least 3 days out of the week I am in for it), what socks to wear (see above scenario and just thank the Good Lord he doesn’t mind if his socks don’t match), what extra layers should be added (Damn you, Winter), and oh crap, you forgot your knickers?! Seriously, Buddy?! By this time, our 3 1/2 year old scootering buddy is outside the front door, all smiles, rosy cheeks, and looking as stylish as a babyGap advertisement. Moment of truth: brush teeth or put on knickers? We go with knickers. If commando doesn’t fly at his school in California, I know for a fact it’s not going to go over well at his British school. Besides, his breath doesn’t stink yet so no one will know that little secret. We fervently throw on shoes, coat, gloves, hat, and helmet. This usually does not go down without extreme difficulty and well, if I’m being honest, maybe some yelling (I won’t say from whom). Nice and patient Mommy left the building 3 meltdowns ago. All of the ~~bullshit~~ fun songs and games that "good parents" play to motivate their children have somehow escaped my memory. We finally get out the door without killing each other and have about fifteen minutes flat now to scooter a mile to school. With 2 preschoolers. And a stop to pick up a third one on the way. I won’t get into the whole dynamic of three uber competitive preschool boys, on their scooters (with matching union jack helmets, mind you), fighting to the death jockeying for the lead, winding themselves through rush hour commuters on a 3 foot wide footpath, AND obeying traffic laws except to say, hey, these are life lessons we are learning here. I can’t even imagine how insanely ridiculous the other 2 parents and I look chasing after these mini daredevils. We are in complete control. I swear. Really. The good news: this is the quickest part of our morning. The bad news: tears and bickering are always involved and almost always some kind of crash is involved. And yes, at least one of the boys has taken down a civilian. Now we are back to painfully long, sad, pleading goodbyes at the school gate *sigh* and I am supposed to be ready to “get some work done” by the time I get home?! The upside is now I have a whole extra hour and forty five minutes before I have turn back around again and collect my little drama queen sweetie for the scooter home. I will say, I have yet to return home and go back to bed. I swear. Really.

As much as I would love to take my camera some morning and record this spectacle I have described, and some day I might still, I think someone might actually die if I was busy taking photographs and not minding the action packed adventure that is our ride to school. Cars . . . eh, who needs 'em?! Multiple people have asked me why the parents of the other 2 boys and I don't share drop off responsibilities. Again, the word death comes to mind. I just give a little chuckle and look forward to the next morning. It always holds something new and exciting.

I can never fully understand how something this completely beautiful, small, and lovable can be the source of so much hair pulling sometimes. BUT, when I pick my buddy up in the afternoon and the rest of the day holds no agenda, we have the best time together.

This week I challenged myself to shoot 500 photographs so hence the somewhat random photographs. I came not at all close to my goal, but I did have my camera on me so much more than last year so it's a start. I want to really take advantage of this time to continue growing and getting better so hence the loose resolution to shoot more.