The best way to wake up

I don't think even for a second that all parents are going to agree with me on this, but to me the idea of waking up the morning surrounded by your kids and maybe a dog all crammed into the bed is simply pure bliss.

We don't sleep like that all night, nor do we hold any judgement whatsoever against people who do.

The six month old sleeps in the bed with us, but the older two are in their bunk beds together in the next room, if they've managed to stay there.

Aside from the occasional grunting wake up, they tend to stay put most of the time. But gradually in the morning as their circadian rhythms pick them up out of their toddlery slumber, they dutifully grab their Teddy-du-jour and water bottles and stagger clumsily into our room, collapse onto the bed with eyes full of sleep and bedraggled hair, commando crawl toward the pillows and have a big-ol' morning cuddle.

Magic.

It lasts as long as it lasts, until someone's bodily function calls it quits. Usually Dad's bladder, the dog's patience or the three-year-old's stomach. Then we topple downstairs for breakfast, a dog walk (Dad plus or minus some offspring) and the beginnings of a chaotic family day of vaguely organised adventure.

I want to do this for as long as possible, until the kids don't want to anymore. It's one of my favourite things about homeschooling, knowing that the morning is yours, to spend as you please, with no stress over catching a bus, pulling on ties and skirts, or making it in time for morning assembly - just peace and togetherness until you've finally finished your morning coffee and said,

"Right, where shall we go today then?"