Lightly Toasted, Hold the Pickles, No Mayo, Please, and Thank You

I confessed to JM one of my secret pleasures this week.  Although I despise crawling out of bed at 5:30 am, I love what I get to do - take care of my family.  And, they love it too.  It feels like a day's work by the time I get them out the door. 
None of them are big breakfast eaters (woohoo), but they all want a little something in their tummies. So I usually find myself making 3 different breakfasts and serving them in 3 different spots.  Aaron has his set on the stove (not really sure why, but that's where he goes to find his pig mug full of chocolate milk); Rebeka's is delivered to her room so she can eat while dressing and hair styling, and make-up applying; and then after I've shuffled them out the door Johnmark gets his Cream of Wheat in the den while he snatches a few minutes of news before dashing out the door to wherever he may be going that day (no, he does not get up at 5:30 with the rest of us).

Side Note on Beka:  whether she's having orange juice or chocolate milk, I serve it to her in this funky little mug that my Granny bought because she thinks I didn't have enough coffee cups.  It shows this weird little woman with a retro background and the caption "World's Greatest Mom."  Rebeka usually says, "There's that jank cup again."  And, I reply, "Just reminding you who I am."  To that I get a pat on the head with a "thank you, Mama.  Love you."

Then there's Beka's lunch, Aaron's gatorade for after PE, and making sure JM has everything he needs for the day. 

Laundry has almost the same routine.  I have to know what to hang up and what to fold; a certain someone wants their underwear folded a certain way; certain items must only be hand-washed or put through the gentle cycle; some things never go in the dryer; etc, etc.  So, no, I do not like help with the laundry unless it's from Beka or Aaron who know the drill.

Sounds like a spoiled group, doesn't it?  Yep, we are. But before you go thinking we're rotten here's what I don't do.  I don't put their clothes away.  Once they're folded or on hangers I place them on their bed waiting for them.  I don't iron. Nope, not even for Johnmark.  I don't clean the children's bedrooms, but I do monitor them and they have to pick them up at least once a week.  I don't clean their bathroom, they do, and, again, it's about once a week.  They put the groceries away.  I cook supper, but they set the table and wash the supper dishes (I wash while I cook and then they do the rest).

I do what I do because it's one of the ways to love on them and care for them and to make them feel loved and cared for.  And, because I'm a control freak and want things done certain ways (even this morning after spending most of the night in the bathroom and then waking with a nauseated headache, I still got up and went through the routine because I wanted their morning to run smoothly.  I did go back to bed afterwards.).

Final note:  JM does his share and has been known to wash a dish or two when I've been sick or the kids have been slammed with homework.  He even got into the little homemaker mode one afternoon this week.  He just happened to be home when Aaron got off the bus and hurried to meet Aaron at the door with cookies and milk.  Yes, we all about wet ourselves laughing hysterically at his attempt at domestication.

Our life isn't glamorous, but we love it and it just works for us.