quiet mornings as a mother of four

If I'm up before my alarm and make myself breakfast, I am able to enjoy a kind of peace and quiet I very much wanted to capture before I become a mother of five. 

The dining room curtain is open about 90% of the time since the sheers give us plenty of privacy and the morning light is just so darn perfect.

Our morning ritual with the pups is whoever is awake first lets them out of the laundry room and makes sure they have water. The boys book it for the fence area where they do their business and then start patrolling the yard. On this particular morning Matt was still asleep and they were being barky so I let them back in and they hung out on the couch. 

Usually the cats will be seated on the living room couch in the same position the dogs are and once I walk into the kitchen they are on me meowing for their breakfast. They're not polite Japanese cats.

After I've filled their bowls and topped off their water, I make my breakfast. Lately it's cereal or eggs but we're out of regular milk and I had time so I made myself some Coach's Oats oatmeal and a cup of decaf Earl Grey.

I integrated the stuff from the guest room into the house like this flowery jar with tea. Plus it seemed springtime appropriate.

I also have these tea bags in a little basket from my earlier nauseated days and one lonely bottle Matt used at a shower game to remind us of what's coming soon.

The morning light hits the bar just so, reminding me that before we have a bunch of people at our house in late May, I need to do some serious dusting and scrubbing.

Right now Gadget is in the office on the pink couch, Lebowski is patrolling the house for dropped food and chasing his tail, and  LJ and Woz are doing this:

And I'm enjoying my tea and feeling blessed to enjoy the quiet before work and before these furry guys move down a few pegs as kings of the castle.