It's 8:51 and all is hell

My day has been shot to hell already, and it's not even 9:00 AM. I woke up long enough this morning to turn my alarm clock off - then promptly fell right back to sleep. I woke again at 8:11. Oh shit! 8:11 is NOT a good time for the Momma to wake up on a school day around here. We have to be out the door at 8:20 to make the school bus.

Soooooo....I FLY down the stairs, only to be nearly tripped by the four-year-old, "Momma? Are you gonna get us cereal OR NOT?!?!" This is immediately followed by hearing the boys bickering and coughing. And bickering and coughing. Thankfully, at least both boys are dressed. Hmmm...their coughs sound pretty yucky. Should I keep them home? Nahhh.

I get all three kids cereal, tell 'em to eat quick. I run for the kitchen to get them cough medicine. I also get their apples and Capris Suns for later today. Then I rush them off to the bathroom to brush their teeth, while I stuff their snacks in their backpacks. Quickly, I spray down their hair with water and run a brush through it.

Time to put on jackets and backpacks. Throw them out the door. "Perrin, stay on the sidewalk and go right to your bus stop. Do NOT go off the sidewalk. Ok? Love you two, have a good day at school." Glance at my watch - yay, we're only one minute behind. They'll make it to the bus stop in time. Whew.

Ten minutes later, the front door opens. Oh no! In walks a tearful Perrin.
P: Mommy? I missed the bussssssssssssssss.
Me: !!! Uhm, did Alex miss the bus, too?
P: No.
Me: Perrin, why did you miss the bus?
P: Backs up...and backs up...and backs up...
Me: Perrin, WHY did you miss the bus?
P: mumblesIwashplayingintheforest.
Me: What?
P: I was playing in the forest. *tears*
Me: You were WHAT? Didn't I tell you to stay on the sidewalk? Do you think maybe there was a REASON Mommy wanted you to stay on the sidewalk? Maybe so you wouldn't miss the bus?
P: Yessssssssh.
Me: I'm not a happy Mommy right now. You realize that, right?
P: Yessssssssh. *tears*
Me: You know what? I was thinking about keeping you home today anyway, because you've got a pretty nasty cough. So instead of walking to school, I'm going to keep you home. But missing the school bus was still a BAD thing to do, so you need to go get on your bed and stay there a long time. You can look at books, but you need to stay on your bed.
P: Okay. *tears*
Me: In fact, I think, except for lunch, you'll probably be on your bed all day until school is over.
P: Okay.

Yep. All of this fun and more by 8:51 AM. All this fun in the first 40 minutes of my day. AAAAGH!