Today has been one of those days. And it's not even 9 a.m. I didn't sleep well last night and when I opened my eyes for the 108th time and realized it was 4:45...5:26...5:48...I decided to just call it a "night" and get out of bed. But I managed to look on the bright side, at least we'd be on time. I even made silver dollar pancakes for the kids, their favorite, and a rarity on a week day morning.

But Luke was mess from the moment he opened his eyes. Even his hair stuck up more than usual. When I called him down to breakfast, he couldn't walk, his legs were just too tired. So he collapsed into a big pile of fuss until I carried him downstairs myself. He found his plate of warm, fresh pancakes waiting in his usual breakfast spot, but without mention of the yummy breakfast, he just whiiiiiinnned at me because he didn't have a drink. So of course, I made him a drink. Laid out clothes, packed lunches, checked book bags...still managing to keep a smile. But then there was a shoe issue. Then a who will take to school issue. Then a booster seat issue. And somewhere between silver dollar pancakes and we're-going-to-be-late-if-you-don't-get-your-butt-in-that-seat, I realized my morning had unraveled.

I am a big proponent of choosing ones battles wisely when it comes to parenting. I should not have even engaged in several of this mornings battles. But it should all boil down to one thing: I.Am.The.Mommy. I won't go into all the details of the wimpy parenting that allowed my morning to be hijacked by a grumpy 5 year old, but I will say if I could start the morning over, I would handle everything differently. And a 5 year old would be sitting in his classroom with blue shoes and a sore fanny.