Lunchtime at 6:20 a.m.

Mornings are an intense time of getting three children dressed, fed, hair fixed, and snacks and lunches made and packed. I know that I could do some of this stuff the night before, but honestly once the kids are in bed, dishes done and the kitchen is cleaned up, the last thing I feel like doing is packing snacks and lunches. Plus I think that sandwiches get kind of icky if they sit too long. So I do it in the morning. Fortunately I'm fairly efficient at food prep and get quite an assembly line going. And the kids can do a lot of their dressing independently--I just need to remind them that they need to get their teeth brushed, hair brushed and shoes on. We DO pick out clothes the night before which makes a big difference.

ETA: I didn't realize until I was editing this picture that it was September 11th. Part of me felt really sad that I hadn't thought to take a picture that was more patriotic in nature. I debated taking a different picture later in the day, but then I realized that my picture selection told a story in itself about the healing of our nation 8 years after the terrorist attacks. For the most part we have gone back to living our lives, and only really think of those types of things when we travel by air. In a way I feel grateful that we have returned to some normalcy, but it saddens me to think that this normalcy is symbolic of our nation's growing complacency. And I dread the day that once again I turn on the news and am faced with horrors similar to, or worse than, those of September 11, 2001.