As I type my children are in there cribs trying to go down for a morning nap. Those of you who know our regular routine realize that this is the time when I would be taking my cherished "morning drive," usually either around the lakefront looking at dream houses or to Laplace and back. I would be returning phone calls, daydreaming about Christmas outfits and preschool choices, and enjoying some grown up music. Instead, I am sitting on the deck listening to my children scream in protest to being left to fall asleep alone.

They had gotten so used to our morning ritual that many mornings as soon as I put them in their carseats on the porch their eyes would begin to get heavy. Just knowing the order of operations(car seats, front porch, car, morning drive) was enough to coax them into sleep. This is when I first started to accept that times were changing.

If simply beginning our morning routine was enough to induce sleep, I was missing the opportunity to establish long lasting healthy sleep habits. Why not a diaper change and story rather than the car seat on the porch? Why not, really? Because I don't want to give up MY ritual. I like the freedom of loading them in the car and driving wherever I choose. Looking at neighborhoods and houses I could never afford. Getting anything I could possibly get in a drive through. I don't want to stay at home all day because of nap schedules. And when I dig a little deeper, giving up my morning drive meant one more way in which my babies were getting older. No more, "any way you can get them to sleep." Now "They are able to sleep if you let them." So who was the one really going down kicking and screaming?

This morning we all three are growing up a bit. And since they have now fallen asleep while I have been writing this post, and I am now sitting here in tears, I guess it's evident who is having a harder time with it.