I don’t know about you, but mornings around here are totally crazy! I think my hair might actually go gray this year between Skylar being completely unyielding with her morning routine and Hailey moving at her own pace, which is NOT fast. I’m so thankful to have Chris home with me in the mornings to help me get the girls ready and dropped off at school. He has always been a tremendous help to me whether it be making the girls’ lunches, pulling Skylar’s meds, or just keeping the girls moving to get out the door on time. The 7 months he was deployed to Afghanistan were quite interesting as I was working full time as a school nurse and we had to be early to school. I remember waking each morning at 5 a.m. and saying to myself “Ok, here we go!”
This morning was no different. The morning started off well. Skylar woke up in a pretty good mood which was awesome! After I wake her up, I wait to see what her response is going to be. Some mornings she says “Uggghh! I didn’t sleep well at all!” or “It is 6:34 mom! You woke me up 4 minutes late!” Those mornings I just brace myself for the roller coaster ride that will be our morning. This morning she said “Hi mom! How was your bunco?” I played bunco last night and she was already asleep when I got home. I was thrilled that she woke up in a good mood as I know that our morning should go a bit smoother.
Everything appeared to be going smoothly until Skylar took her medicine before she ate her breakfast. Hailey was NOT happy with that at all and the following exchange took place:
Hailey: You can’t take your medicine before you eat! What are you thinking?
Skylar: Hailey! How dare you speak to me like that! You are not my mother!
Hailey: Shame on you Skylar. Don’t ever speak to me like that.
Skylar: Mom!!! Hailey is being rude to me!
Me: Seriously? Both of you cut it out. Skylar, finish getting ready. Hailey, stop telling Skylar what to do. Your dad and I have it under control.
Hailey: Clearly, she needs more help mom!
Oh my! I’m not sure why, but Hailey has taken it upon herself to be an additional parent figure to Skylar, which Skylar absolutely can’t stand. I feel like a broken record that constantly repeats “Hailey, quit bossing your sister around. Hailey, we are taking care of it. Hailey, stop parenting Skylar”. I must say those words 20 times a day.
As the girls were getting into Chris’ car I said “Skylar, I love you! I’ll be waiting for you in the pick up line! Hailey, I love you! I’ll be waiting for you in the front of the school!” They both hollered “I love you too mom!” For years, when we drop them off or are sending them off to anything whether it be school, church, or grandma’s house, we say “Make good choices!” This morning after I told them I loved them I hollered “Make good choices!!” Standing at the laundry room door I could hear Hailey all the way from Chris’ car say:
“She MUST be talking to Skylar because I ALWAYS make good choices!”
Clearly, we still have more work to do!
Make it a great one!
JuJu
I am JuJu! 
Julie, this made me laugh because you could have been describing my house! Kaitlyn always bosses Jocelyn around and I am constantly telling her that Jocelyn has two parents who can handle telling her what to do and that she can kindly keep her words to herself. I know that we homeschool and that I don’t have to get them to school at a certain time, but we have a schedule that I like to stick to, so I am constantly reminding them to quit fooling around and just get dressed, eat breakfast, wash their faces, brush their teeth, and get their books so that they can be ready to start at 8 am. Kaitlyn in NEVER ready to start at 8am! NEVER! You think that your hair might turn gray, but I think that I might pull mine out! My goodness, you would think after doing this same schedule for 3 years, she would have gotten the hang of it! Plus, she is a teenager now, so I get the attitude along with it! Thanks for sharing!