Stahlke Adoption

Now Where Does That Go?

The way we survive our morning routine is just that--routine. Every morning, I follow a certain order of activities, which keeps me from getting overwhelmed. But there are times when I can tell we are getting stressed out:

One advantage of living in an old house (1903) is that the main bathroom and the kitchen are located next to each other. In the early 20th century, houses in Chicago were often built like that to save on cost, since the plumbing for the entire house is all on the same wall. Therefore, the basement wall under the kitchen contains plumbing for the washer, hot water heater, radiator furnace, and an outdoor spigot. We also ran new plumbing up that same wall to the second floor when we converted a closet into a powder bath for the children.

In the morning, Jonathan and I wake up about an hour before the children do. While he showers and I make lunches and breakfast, we can talk about the coming day, since the bathroom and kitchen are so close together.

One day last year, he was having a hard morning, and I chuckled when he absently tried to put his dirty clothes into the kitchen trash can. But the tables were turned on me a few days later, when he caught me starting to dump egg shells into the dirty clothes hamper! I guess the trashcan and the hamper both have lids to lift before putting stuff in, but really! I hope we got a little more sleep that next night.

posted by Stahlkes @ 9:40 AM