Making donuts in the snow and how to be late in the morning

I've been late to work, lo these past three days. About 15-20 minutes late. I planned this. My work knew, so it's all good.

I was late because I've dropped off both kids to their day care and school. My parent's usually dance the drop off tango. They love doing this. They consider it "our job". Which is awesome for me. All I have to do is get them ready and pack up them in the car. That's the fun part of the morning.

Mornings are the best time for my kids. Not yet sticky, so very cute and all pink cheeks. Tired and a bit snuggly. My six year old daughter sleeps so good, all hello kitty jammies and spooning her pink unicorn. My two year old son has the squishiest thighs, sleeping with his blanket all askew. All upside down on his Thomas the Train bed.

I wake Pancake first. Her hair is all clumped together, sheet creases on the cheeks and sleepy eyes. Oh those sweet, sweet cheeks. She eats her cheerios, drinks her milk. When she is done, she puts on her capris, purple heart t-shirt, and pink mary jane tennis shoes. The ones with the teeny butterfly pattern. Combs her hair all by her self. I sit next to her and sip my coffee, eat my oatmeal. Then she gets all smiley.

At this point, she goes to wake her brother, the wee Mac. She crawls into bed with him, snuggles and coos. He's a toddler now. After a few minutes of watching them love, I leave to put on my make up on in the next room. I listen to them giggle and snuggle.

Then I go back into the room, time to get up for real. Mac flops onto his belly, curling up into a ball, clutching his pooh bear blankey. I tickle his legs and rub his back. Pancake jumps on his bed. He eventually gives up and gets up.

I take him to the bathroom. Still clutching his pooh bear blankey, he lays down on the bathroom mat. "I seepy" he protests. I scoop him up, rub his cheeks. Down goes the pull ups, naked baby butt on the commode.

He pees like a champ. All proud of himself.

"I PEED!!!", He exclaims.

"That's great lil' man! Now, stop playing with your peter. And get off the pot", I say.

Or, as Mr. Hall says, "No more ding dong ditch for you!"

I kneel next to him, his puts his chubby hands on my shoulders. He does this to balance himself while I get him dressed. He says, "I look at my shoe so I don't fall down." Indeed, he watches his chubby foot as he pokes it through the legs of his race car underoos. "I not fall!" He's all proud and so am I. On goes the wee little cargo shorts and red t-shirt. He bolts for the door. Grabbing a toy train for the road. "I line up!!" He shouts.

We were running a bit late this morning. I grab his sandals and put them on in the car. It's warm summer morning outside. Sun lighting everything up. Perfect for running barefoot on the concrete driveway. Slap Slap Slap- go the feet. "I walk down.", Mac says. The driveway is sloped downward and this is fun for him. Everything is fun when you are two and half.

While we were driving, I thought of how my Mom would drive my brother and I to school. We were perpetually slow in the mornings. Driving makes her nervous. Most days, she just couldn't take it. I remember how she would freak out. We would stop at a Burger King so she could use the bathroom. My brother and I waited in the car.

When my brother was old enough, he took over the morning drive. It got better, except in winter. Driving in snow makes my Mom nervous. So there we were, in the Burger King Parking lot. All snowy and winter morning. Cold seats and winter coats. The defrost blasting away, wipers smacking back and forth.

It was early, still dark. The parking lot was empty. So, my brother, being my brother, would make donuts in the snow. This would happen most mornings. He got quite good at it.

Then, this morning, I woke up later than the others. We rushed a bit. Then, when I dropped the wee Mac off at his day care, Pancake came with. His wee class mates run up and hug him. His teacher, Miss Abby, bent down and scooped him up. She is simply lovely and so loving. Mac loves Miss Abby. I love her too.

Pancake grabbed a toy snake. She started hissing and chasing the gaggle of two year olds. "Ima snake! hisss hisss hisss" she says, all wiggley like. The wee ones delight in being chased. Smiles for miles. We lingered.

Then we drove to her school and for the record, she was not late at all. We noticed something interesting. The entrance to her school is a set of double doors. The wind was caught in between the two, which prevented the doors from shutting all the way. They were open slightly.

I said, "Hey Sweetcheeks! Look! The wind is opening the doors for us."

"Oh YEAH! COOL! Thank you wind!" My daughter says.

Very cool indeed.