Super Power-LESS

This morning Coralyn was particularly whiny and crying over every single little thing.  As soon as she woke up, she was pleading for her breakfast.  I am used to this and know not to expect, "Good morning, Mommy," when she comes out of her room.  Instead, I am greeted with the lovely, "I wanna eat breakfast," in the whiniest voice you can imagine.  Every once in a while, she will change things up and let me know, "My diaper's wet," but still in the same annoying octave.  Thankfully, she has woken up with a dry diaper the past several days (I am telling her over and over and over again that she is almost 3 years old, and big girls who are three don't go potty in their pants, not even at night time.  Maybe the brainwashing is working!)

Coralyn has never really been much of a morning person, and I caught on to this pretty early on in her young life.  Before she could even talk, the first thing she would sign to me when I went to get her out of her crib was, "Eat."  Way back then, I learned that the mornings went much more smoothly if I would have her breakfast prepared ahead of time, reducing the crying and whining and pleading while it took me all of 5 minutes to get some yogurt, blueberries, and either cereal or oatmeal ready.  Since I already get up at 5 am, I actually get her breakfast ready the night before, so then all I have to do the next day, when I am still trying to wake up myself, is pull her plate/bowl out of the fridge and plop it on the table in front of her.

Oh, and I also get a cup of milk ready too, because as soon as I set her food down, I hear, "I want some milk, too, please."  So, now I try to put her entire breakfast -- food and beverage -- on the table at the exact same time.

Maybe, I should be more patient and be able to put up with the whining and in the process teach Coralyn that everything isn't instant in this world, that she doesn't get absolutely everything she wants the second she asks for it.

Maybe, but I haven't gotten there yet...

And so, I had her breakfast ready to go this morning.  Only, I hadn't made any oatmeal yet.  I was going to wait and see if she wanted oatmeal, cereal, or even a peanut butter sandwich.  I was actually going to offer her some choices, right off the bat, to see if that would cut down on the whining.

Well, I didn't even have to ask.  Coralyn beat me to it and let me know right away that she wanted "different" oatmeal, meaning she wanted regular oatmeal and not my Hot and Tasty Gluten Free Breakfast Cereal (that somewhat resembles oatmeal).  I let her know I would be more than happy to fix her some oatmeal, and assured her at least 6 times that it would indeed be "different" oatmeal.

Before I started on the oatmeal though, I went ahead and put her plate of yogurt and blueberries in front of her, thinking she could start on that while I fixed the rest of her morning meal.  I went to grab the container of oatmeal, but before I could even get it out of the cupboard, Coralyn reminded me that she needed some milk.  I walked back to the fridge, grabbed her milk, and handed the cup to her.  Back to the cupboard, got a handful of oatmeal into the bowl, and went to the sink to add the water.  In those two steps from the counter to the sink, I look over and see Kellah standing up and leaning over in her high chair!  I guess she really, really wanted that Cheerio or blueberry way on the front/back of her tray and was determined to get it.  I quickly put the oatmeal bowl down and rushed to sit Kellah back down in her chair.

I put the oatmeal in the microwave and pushed the quick minute start button.  Kellah was standing up again, so I told her she was done with breakfast.  She was covered in head to toe with blueberry stains and had been tossing more food over her head than putting it in her mouth anyway.  I plopped her in the kitchen sink for her daily morning bath.  Before I could even start washing her off, Coralyn asked if her oatmeal was ready yet.  Nope, still 47 seconds left...

After Kellah's speedy bath, I wrapped her in a towel and started to head to her bedroom to at least get a diaper on the naked child.  Three steps down the hallway, I hear Coralyn burst out in traumatic tears.  Thinking something was terribly wrong or that she had perhaps gotten hurt, I rush back into the kitchen and ask her what happened.  "My blueberries have holes in them!" she cries in the most pitiful voice ever.  Seriously?  Your blueberries have holes in them?  That's something to cry bloody murder about?  Really?!

I explain to Coralyn that the holes are where the berries were picked off the bush and mean that they are ready to eat.  Thankfully, she believed me and continued eating happily, for about 4 seconds.  Then, she asked, "Is my oatmeal ready now?"  Sure enough it was, and it had even been so kind as to spill over the sides of the bowl, creating a mess in the microwave.  Lovely.

I get the oatmeal out of the microwave, scooping the overflowage back into the bowl, telling Coralyn it's just a little too hot to eat right away.  I suggest she keep eating her yogurt and blueberries while her oatmeal cools off.  I then remind her that I need to get Kellah dressed.  Back to Kellah's room we go.  While I am working magic and getting a diaper and clothes on my incredibly squirmy, and lightning fast, baby, Coralyn screams out that she would like some water as well.

Deep breath.

Once Kellah is happily playing with some toys in her room, I head back to the kitchen, and get Coralyn a cup of water.  As I am filling up the cup, she wants to know if her oatmeal is cooled off.  I hand her the cup of water and then go to check on the oatmeal.  It's not steaming, so I figure she can blow on it and be okay.  I stir it up a bit and hand her the bowl, with a new spoon, knowing she wouldn't possibly want to use the same one as she did to eat her yogurt! :)

Ahhhh, everyone is content.  I take a sip of coffee and enjoy the moment.  Because that's all it is, a moment. A fleeting moment.

Before I can even lift the cup back to my lips for a second drink, Coralyn shows me her sticky hands, "I need a towel, please."

It was only 6:59.  The daycare kiddos hadn't even arrived yet this morning, and I was already overwhelmed with all the "demands" of the day.  Early, when Coralyn was asking for her breakfast and milk and water and oatmeal, seemingly all at the same time that Kellah was standing up in her chair and coloring herself blue, I tried explaining to Coralyn that I wasn't Superwoman and could only do one thing at a time.

God took that moment to remind me that I am certainly not Superwoman.  In fact, I am Super Power-LESS.  Only He can do more than one thing at a time.  He actually does about 999,999,999,999 things at the same time, and doesn't blink an eye.  No sweat.  Piece of cake.

Me, I get flustered when my two daughters ask for more than one thing in a span of 7 seconds.  God, He can handle over 600 billion requests all at once.  He hears -- AND ACKNOWLEDGES -- every single one of them too!  How thankful I am for that!  I am pretty sure I had asked Him for patience and grace and compassion, and forgiveness more times than I care to count by the time the clock flashed 7 am!

I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.

Because He bends down to listen,

I will pray as long as I have breath.

~Psalm 116:1-2