Beginnings

If there's one thing I've learned about myself, since being home with kids, it's that I like to ease into the morning.  While I have little to no say about when I wake up - I'm at the whim of a breastfed baby - I do have some wiggle room when it comes to how I wake up.  We all have our morning rituals.  A friend of a friend won't get out of bed until she has a chance to drink her first cup of coffee that her husband brings to her in bed.  I'm usually food averse first thing in the wee hours of the morning (though that quickly passes), but what I do relish is 5 -  10 minutes of waking up me time.  This involves finishing feeding Penelope and passing her off to Dan to be changed, and then laying in bed alone.  Penelope has begun expediting the process, as she's getting so big now, that once she's done breastfeeding, she pops off, climbs over me, points her feet to the ground (like grandma taught her), and slides on her belly off the bed like a baby penguin.  She says, "Down! Down!" then waits for me to text Dan to come and get her.
Once Penelope is taken care of, I usually take a few minutes to check my phone, then a minute or two to think ahead, and plan out my day.  Dan sees what a calming effect this has on me, so he fully supports my waking up time, which is GREAT.  Even when Dan travels for work, I still try to steal a peaceful minute or two.
What follows next, I hope, is a pleasant first interaction with each of my children.  Even better is when my day starts off with a degree of comedy.  Yesterday, the first time I saw Ariel, she was skipping down the stairs, using a sing-song voice, "Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving!  It's my favourite holiday!"  Ariel, like her mother, enjoys celebrations.  Dan and I looked at each other and laughed, "I'm sure she'll be saying the same thing about Halloween, and then Christmas next," I said.
"Yeah, and don't forget about Remembrance Day," Dan added, making me laugh again.
I walked in the next room, and saw Elyse dancing, and playing with last year's Christmas present - an interactive globe - that plays music from around the world, and teaches you about the names of countries and what they are known for.  One setting allows you to locate different countries.
I was only somewhat thrown off then when I heard Elyse call out, "China!  Where are you?" like she was playing a game of hide-and-go seek with the Far East.  Her earnest, sweet little voice cracked me up.
These are the beginnings that set my day on the right path.  Whatever happens from here, there's Thanksgiving to look forward to, and China at the push of a button.  These are the memories I cherish, the little nuggets of gold I keep in my back pocket to push me through whatever may come next.  I rely almost entirely on a diet of golden nuggets.  Kids will do that to you.

What our days usually look like: