Mornings with Merliah

So lately I've been having mornings with Merliah. (See one of the previous posts about her current obsession with "Barbie in 'A Mermaid Tale' ", mermaids, Merliah, etc.). Now, I'm not a morning person, and usually Ellison takes a little while to get roused and "normal" in the mornings, too. However, I literally open my eyes when she crawls into bed and immediately hear, "I'm hungry", which is code for "I want you to surprise me with a type of cereal 'with milk in it', a cup of milk (to drink), and my vitamin". This is certainly not a new routine in our household during the week. Trust me, it's almost like the movie "Groundhog Day" - this happens verbatim every single morning. Bleary-eyed, I turn on cartoons and make my way down the stairs trying to loosen up my old, tight leg muscles that are attached to snapping, creaking bones. I do my motherly duty as quickly as possible, then head back upstairs where Ellison gets served breakfast on her "Ellison" tray in our bed. This is really pathetic to admit, but I can actually crawl back into bed and dose here and there while she's into her cartoon, and slowly enter the conversation world with her. Usually, we lay in bed for a little while chatting and watching TV together after she finishes eating, then get a start to our day. Well, since on the Merliah kick, it seems like she inhales her breakfast, then hops out of bed begging me to join her in the playroom for a tea party after changing into her Merliah mermaid dress-up outfit. Still not awake yet. But, guilty mom feelings set in, along with the fact that I do want to give time to my Bug and play with her. So off we go to Merliah's restaurant where she serves me, then joins me for a tea party.

Merliah whipping up some homemade blueberry muffins.

Daddy bought Ellison this mermaid outfit she'd been "needing" for the longest time during one of those parenting "sucker" moments at Target. We have lots of those. Too many of those. But she sure makes a cute mermaid, doesn't she?

[July 19, 2010]