Desperately Need Routine.

I am trying to refrain from self-criticism as we make our way through the first few weeks of school, but I am failing miserably. I just can't seem to create a morning routine and schedule that flows smoothly. Despite my homemade pancakes and bacon breakfasts, each morning I find myself barking at Robby to get into the car. This is definitely not the way I want his day to begin!

I will take some blame for the morning chaos, but I know that my little Koopa must assume some responsibility as well.  A switch was flipped when he turned 9, turning him from sweet to snarky. He doesn't blatantly talk back, probably because he knows that it would not be tolerated, but his tone and demeanor wreaks of adolescence. He always has to have the last word, everything that his father and I do is silly or wrong, and he moves at his own speed.

Not wanting to be left out of the chaos, Hamlet takes full advantage of the opportunity to create his own mischief.  I walk back into the bedroom to remind Robby, for the 10th time, to get dressed and Timmy will duck into the kitchen to play with the cat food.   If I'm not hounding Robby to get ready, I'm cleaning up after Timmy. By the time I finally drop Robby off at school I'm both frazzled and exhausted. 

I miss my sweet little Koopa.  I am not ready for the teen years. I'm promised by other parents that he will return- in about 20 years.

Hopefully we will settle into a routine, and we can reign in Robby's snarky demeanor. I know that we won't extinguish it completely, so I'm hoping to remold it into mild sass.  If we don't do something, this is going to be a long school year!