A Good Morning

Yesterday morning started off pretty badly.
I came downstairs to find that Bart had been up for 42 minutes and still had not gotten dressed. He had only just sat down with his cereal and eaten a few bites. I got mad and yelled at him (probably not the best reaction). I had to keep yelling, too, because he started moping around and dragging his feet (literally). He looked like a sad penguin. So basically it was a vicious cycle of yelling and moping.
I would like to get up earlier, before any of the kids are up, so I can help them get ready more. However, Madam Lulu does not go to bed until midnight many nights. Basically, she nurses for about two hours without stopping. I think it's because she'll sleep seven to nine hours straight at night, so she's fueling up for her hibernation. Whatever the case, I can't get anything done I need to get done at night - such as last minute "I don't have ANY clean pants" laundry - until Lucybell goes to sleep.
So, I'm exhausted in the morning, and I don't get up until 7:15 while the big kids have been up since 6:50.
Most of the time, they do fine, but sometimes, like yesterday morning, they mess around and I have to get pushy.
I felt bad for Bart because there is definitely something bothering him these days. He just hasn't been himself lately. I'm taking him to the doctor, but not until the 25th, so we have a few more weeks to get through. I just want to make sure he isn't going to have to battle depression like the rest of his family. Things are much better with his attitude when we don't fly off the handle and yell at him, but really, really accentuate the positive. Yes, it works almost all of the time, but when you're faced with dirty looks and rude behavior, sometimes the LAST thing you want to do is look for something positive to say.
Needless to say, by the time I had settled everyone down and got us ready to go, we were running late. So I just kept on driving past school. The kids were like, "Mom, you passed school!" so I told them, "If we're going to be late for school, we may as well have a good reason."
So we drove across the river to Dunkin Donuts.
It was so worth it.
Bart's face just lit up and I felt like sometimes something bad for you can be really, really good for you.
So what we were forty-five minutes late instead of ten. Some lessons you just can't learn in school.