Early Mornings...

My children clearly don't understand that it is summer. It's summer! We can sleep in, relax, do whatever we want....Mommy doesn't have to go to work for 2 months! Yet, my 11 month old daughter has gotten up every day somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 am. She NEVER woke up this early during the school year. My 3 year old son, lingers a little longer (7:00 a.m.) in his room...but not much.
I am not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. I also LOVE to sleep. I now think back with longing on those days of old when I used to sleep in on weekends until 11:00 or noon. Waking up at 9:00 am used to feel early. That is a cruel joke to my current reality. It's hard for me not to harbor resentment about these early mornings. I look at my beautiful children and am thankful for them each and every day, yet I wish they would learn to SLEEP in!
This morning Cameryn woke up right on cue at 5:46 am. My husband got up with her and took her for an early morning walk (bless him) so I could sleep a little more. However about 30 minutes later I heard my son calling me telling me he was awake and he had to go potty. So much for that extra hour of sleep. I begrudgingly crawled out of my warm bed, again, and went to take care of him. To give myself a few more minutes back in my bed I told him he could come in with me to watch cartoons. He was of course, thrilled. He doesn't have a TV in his room and if I have anything to say about it, he never will. Right now he thinks you have to be a mommy or a daddy in order to have a TV in your room. I pulled him into bed with me and turned on Handy Mandy. I turned over on my side facing him, snuggled with my blankets, and closed my eyes hoping for a few more minutes of bliss. Soon I felt his fingers crawling along my face as he sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". I smiled and tried to sleep. A few minutes later he asked what the red thing (pimple) was on my cheek. I explained to him what it was (even though I don't understand why at 34 I still get them) and again tried to recapture the quiet. The cartoon ended and Ian poked me and said, "Mom, Handy Mandy will be right back" echoing the words of the announcer. I smiled and said, "Good. I love Handy Mandy." He said, "Mommy, I love you!". OK...early mornings aren't THAT bad.