Priorities and Pancakes



“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”- Anthony Brandt

Each morning at our house is quite hectic, especially on work days. This morning was especially crazy as Koko Bean decided to wake up at 4:30, hungry, thirsty and drenched in pee. Daddy still isn't allowed to pick her up, so I changed Koko Bean's nighttime britches, made her a protein shake and fixed her a bowl of "Daddy's cereal." As I reclined in the chair, half asleep, Koko Bean devoured the cereal and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Thank God Mommy records is every Saturday. It's Koko Bean's go-to cartoon for contentment.

I worked from ten this morning until eight this evening, so Daddy took Koko Bean to daycare and retrieved her. When I finally got home at 8:45pm, Daddy told Koko Bean to ask if we could go get Christmas pancakes at IHOP. Even though I was super exhausted and wasn't even hungry, I gave in, so off to IHOP it was in our house shoes.

We each ordered a special plate. Koko Bean got one buttermilk pancake,and Daddy got eggs, hash browns, and pumpkin pancakes. And apparently I was more hungry than I thought, or just the pictures on the menu enticed me, so I ordered eggs, ham, hash browns and the white chocolate chip mint pancakes. I must say, after trying all three of ours, I was pleasantly surprised I picked the right pancakes for my taste. YUM!

As we waited for our food, Koko Bean stacked and counted the coffee creamers, as Daddy and I checked over our month's numbers from work. After a few minutes of work talk, we turned our undivided attention to our little girl, who had stacked the creamers in a perfect pyramid. I asked her what she did at daycare today and what they ate. Her response as always is, "Um...I play with Aura. We had frice (rice) and chicken for lunch." Even though I know the answer to the question every time I ask, I ask her anyway. I love hearing that little voice, and I want her to tell me everything.

It's nights like these that are the littlest gestures of how close our family is. Koko Bean's Daddy and I work very hard to give her a life we hope she'll appreciate later. All we want is to make her a happy, well- rounded  individual. Work takes a lot out of both of us, both mentally and physically, but it's important that we keep a balance between work and home. This evening was a perfect ending to a extraordinarily long day. I'm glad I got the chance to spend it with my extraordinary family.