7:35 My alarm goes off and I crawl out of my loft bed and stumble toward the kitchen. I wash the few dishes that are in the sink, and fill a small bowl with hot water from the tap. I drop a large raw chicken thigh into the water to warm up.

7:40 I open Stephen’s door. “Mornin’, sunshine.” He moans and rolls over.

7:42 I remove the chicken from the water, put it on a plate and set it on the floor for the cats. Then, remembering the hairball that Stephanie hocked up yesterday, I also put out a small plate of olive oil. The cats love olive oil.

7:46 Feed the bunnies, and go back down the hall to Stephen’s room. “C’mon, bud, it’s time to get up.”

7:55 I contemplate next week’s menu as I sip a bottle of water. Stephen comes inside from bringing the garbage to the curb.

8:02 I quietly open Hannah’s door, lean over her bedside and ever-so-slightly rub her back. “Rise and shine, cutie pie. Want me to make some Postum?” She nods imperceptibly.

8:07 Hannah sips her Postum at the counter, eyes still foggy with sleep. Stephen makes Papa’s breakfast and brings it over to his apartment. I’m still trying to figure out what I need to get at the grocery store.

8:29 Stephen eats leftover meat muffins with ketchup for breakfast. The coffee machine gurgles and drips. I munch on an English muffin with butter and strawberry jam and marvel at how I’ve already been awake for an hour.

8:32 Dad comes home from a breakfast meeting; he, Stephen and I sit around the counter drinking coffee and tea, talking about life and faith.

8:57 Stephen sits down to start his schoolwork. He’s reading “Lost Woods” by Rachel Carson and “Scientific American’s Ask the Experts”. Later he’ll move on to World War I and consumer math. Hannah has to do math, Japanese grammar lessons and continue work on planning her garden. The kids together are doing a state project and I tell them to work on New Hampshire today. Hannah moans and sighs dramatically, then begins to repeatedly drop the paper punch on the tile counter. “Please put the paper punch away.”

9:00 I go to my room to grab the binder that holds our lesson plans, field trip information and other homelearning ideas. Hannah continues to bang the paper punch. I raise my voice slightly. “Put it away, Hannah.”

9:01 She’s still banging the punch. “Okay, if you can’t put it away then I’ll take it away.” She jerks it from my hand and storms off to her room. I count to ten.

9:02 I knock on Hannah’s door. I hear what sounds like an affirmative noise, but find that the doorknob is lock. “Hannah, we’ll start school at 9:15, okay?” More soft noises. “Okay.”

9:04 Check my e-mail and Bloglines.

9:16 I knock on Hannah’s door again. She opens it slowly and glares out. “C’mon, kiddo, let’s do some school.” She doesn’t seem enthused but comes anyway. We pick up Math Arcade where she left off yesterday. “Sorry, Em,” she says softly. “I’m in a grumpy mood today.” “I know, sweetie, that’s okay.”

9:24 Hannah asks for my help with some of the tougher multiplication problems, and Stephen wants to know if he can play after she’s done. “You know, you can transfer the links to your bookmarks.” “Well…” he says, “I don’t want to play them all the time.” “Don’t want to be a nerd?” “Pretty much.”

9:57 With the kids thoroughly engrossed in their studies, I go back to my room and get dressed for work.

10:13 Still having some time to spare before I leave, I wash the dishes while Stephen dries.

10:28 I gather the kids’ input on what shoes to wear before rushing out the door. “Be good! I’ll be back by 7:30, and Stephen, I’ll see you after youth group. Love you guys.” “Love you too! Drive safe!”

10:38 Somewhere on Rt. 9 I realize that I’ve forgotten to put on a slip, as well as forgotten my watch and my glasses. Oh well. The morning could have been worse…