Morning Activity

Adelaide is, and always has been, an early riser. This time of year is particularly challenging for me because she is up with the sun, and that is before 5 a.m., an hour that I believe should only be greeted from the other side, and only when one has been having so much fun that one wanted to stay up until 5 a.m..

This morning I capitulated on the "no getting up before 6" rule (which has really become no getting up before 5:30 of late) because I knew it could possibly buy me a little more sleep. Adelaide has gotten quite good at entertaining herself in the wee hours while I moan softly and hold the pillow over my head. Usually she listens to a book on tape and putters around the living room, but this morning she decided that her stuffed animals all needed leashes. The construction of collars and leashes took almost 2 hours, and with the exception of a few bumps and thumps I got to sleep for most of that time.

Tonight at bedtime, Adelaide reluctantly made her way to her room to put on her pj's, and brought the gang and their leashes along. I had noticed early that baby Rose had a collar and leash but didn't find it particularly troublesome until I saw her being dragged through the house across the floor:I guess it could be worse. It's not like Adelaide's taking them behind her on a bike ride off her back fender or anything . . .

Morning Conversation, again

I got to sleep in quite late this morning, which was a real treat. Of course, the sleeping in was interrupted at 5: 45 a.m. and every 15 minutes or so thereafter with updates from Adelaide on what I was missing by still being asleep, but it was worth it to stay in bed. The last of these little interruptions went something like this.

A: Mom, you slept through breakfast.

Me: (Sigh.)

A: (3 inches from my face) Mom, I need some fresh air.

Me: Mmfph.

A: Because mom, your breath smells like a rotten banana.

Me: (laughing) Sorry hon. Maybe you should back up a little bit.

A: Well, I think you should chew some of Daddy's gum.

Me: Oh?

A: Yes, because Daddy chews gum and he has perfumed kisses.

Me: I'll bear that in mind.

Goodnight Sun

I have been trying in vain to find a picture of the sunset yesterday which I was lucky enough to see as I headed home after yoga. The sun was an amazing red, and in the exact right place on the horizon to appear much, much larger than usual. This was just like those rare full moons when the sky is clear and the moon is low and wide, but I can't ever recall seeing the sun look like this. It was hard to keep from staring at it, though I'm glad I managed as I would likely still being seeing the sun look like that, and the recollection would not be as pleasant.

By the time I was home, the sun had sunk below Phinney Ridge and was out of sight, too late to grab the camera. I'm afraid after today's chilly gray weather it may have been giving us a last gasp, not to be seen again until February, when we have our typical week or so of false summer. But this morning I was pretty happy to have a second cup of coffee, pull on the warm pj bottoms and slow down for at least a little while. I think I was mostly thrilled at sleeping until the luxurious hour of 6:00 a.m., and excited at the prospect that winter might bring a slightly more sane wake-up time for my four year old. Now if I can just get the cats on Tylenol P.M. or something, I will be in great shape.