Having Children Kills Your Mornings but It's Worth It

Kids ruin everything; and parents will agree wholeheartedly. It doesn’t matter how amazing your kids and how much you love and enjoy them or the fact that you would literally do anything for them in the world. Those little people ruin everything from expensive furniture to expensive shoes to that $70,000 SUV you HAD to buy to fit all of them in the same vehicle to the toys and books you purchase for them, to the things you borrow, to other people’s belongings. Kids are tiny little steamrollers. Trust me, I’m learning this with my first boy. We have three daughters that range from almost 7 to our youngest who is part of a 1-year-old boy/girl twin duo, but never once have we seen hurricane-force destruction like with our little boy. Mr. Man is a human wrecking ball. This handsome little man has the biggest, brightest, happiest smile (24/7) and he makes it his mission to melt hearts and cause people to fall madly in love. And he also likes to take a walk around the house 10 or 12 times a day to push over every single side table, standing toy and upright item in his path – on repeat. All while smiling and all while never missing a beat.

But the one thing that my kids have ruined the most in my life are my mornings. They’re not bad (well, they’re not always bad), but they’re not always how I like to start my day. But I’m not going to complain because ruining my mornings is far more acceptable than ruining my body, which they did not do, so what’s my issue anyway?

I’m a morning person. I like to get up early, sit on the patio and enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a good book, get some of my work done (I’m most productive in the am) and just enjoy the peace and quiet. I like to get ready with leisure, or lounge in bed until I’m ready to get up, even if it is only 7 am. Kids ruin that. Now, my kids are amazing sleepers – 12 hours a night from about 2-weeks-old on (all four of them) – by they’re up by 7 or 7:30. This means I’m up by 5 to get work done, to shower and do my hair and makeup (because I’m too vain not to do that every single day) and to enjoy my coffee and quiet time.

After that, all hell breaks loose. Everyone needs to be fed, and that’s fine. I have no issue keeping my kids healthy and fed, but not one of them gets every bite in their mouths, so there is that. Two of them need to be changed and dressed. One hates the outfit she picked out the night before and wants me to pick out something else for her every single morning. Someone inevitably spills something, someone has an argument, someone remembers something that they need that day and someone can’t decide which toothpaste to use. Someone always has a dirty diaper accident as we are already late and rushing, someone can’t buckle herself in the third row, someone forgot something, someone wants something.

One morning, my 4-year-old (she was three at the time) discovered that the twins’ desitin makes for amazing artwork on the carpet (do you know it’s impossible to get Desitin off of anything?) and that the babies could help her. And then when she got in trouble for that and I attempted to clean it up (while already running late) she decided to let the babies join her in the bathroom, where she promptly forgot to flush and the babies helped themselves to what was in the toilet and immediately used it as art work to paint the walls, cabinets, and door in the bathroom. Needless to say, I immediately called my husband in frustrated tears to demand why HIS kids do not listen to me or seem to have any respect or do anything right (because an incident like that really makes it easy to forget your kids are actually well-behaved 90% of the time) and demanded that he come home because I was running away. And I did. I ran away for the entire day. I was overwhelmed and stressed and upset and I reached my breaking point that day. It happens. He recognized it, came home and practically buckled me into the car to get out of the house. I had a long day at the spa; a massage, a facial, manicure and pedicure, a long, leisurely cocktail dinner with a friend and a great evening all in all. And I came home missing my kids and ready to start over since I was so refreshed.

But you know what? It’s okay that my kids ruin my mornings, and I’ll tell you why in just a few simple phrases.

Morning Cuddles

My four-year-old is not cuddly. In fact, she is more prone to ask me to leave her alone than she is to want to hug and kiss me, but she’s a morning cuddler. And I will stop whatever I’m doing to enjoy those cuddles, even if it means feeling stressed the rest of the morning.

Sleepy Smiles

When my kids get up and come into the main area of the house and give me sleepy smiles, hugs and kisses, it makes my day. Those are my favorite moments. There is nothing quite like a sleepy smile and a sweet, “Good morning, Mommy,” from my littles.

They’re So Excited to See Me

When we hear the twins wake up through the monitor, we go up to get them. Their smiles when we open the door to the nursery are so beautiful. They are jumping up and down in their beds screaming our names with excitement and smiling from ear to ear. How can that be bad, ever? It makes the worst morning seem pretty good.

Watching them Play While Sipping Coffee

I used to read a book while I enjoyed my first cup of coffee. Now I watch the kids play. I watch the twins as they sit down with their cups of milk in the exact same position, always right next to each other. I watch the big girls get down on the floor with them and give them hugs and kisses and tickles. It’s just heart-warming. I made them. They are mine.

Baby Giggles

Our babies are so happy all the time, but there is nothing like hearing them giggle in the morning when they see their big sisters for the first time. They are so happy to see them that it just melts our hearts and makes us realize that all the bad moments are nowhere near as good as the good moments.

And that’s why my kids can ruin my mornings anytime they want.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images