I don't know how it's happened that twice within a week's time I've been up at 4am. Well, I do know how - once I just woke up and today I had to have my oldest ready to leave for a field trip by 5 - but while sitting here at 7 in the morning, drinking the next to last cup of coffee in the pot and being tired enough to go back to bed already when it's just now getting to be time to wake the rest of the bunch up...that's not good. My sentence structure is never anything to brag about on the best of days but I can see by that last one today is no time to try to write anything.

Now I've never claimed to be the most organized person in the world. I can't even lay claim to being awake this morning. But I've been sitting here puzzling about the schedule for this field trip today. The kids had to eat breakfast before they left home this morning. That means between 4:30 and 5:00 am these kids ate. Lunch isn't scheduled until between 11:00 and 1:00. They weren't allowed to take any snacks of any kind. Then they won't eat again the rest of the day and they won't be home until after 4:30 this afternoon. What makes it hard is their lunches have to go in a paper bag and can't need refrigeration. Can they make this more unhealthy for the kids? They weren't allowed to take anything to drink either so chances are for the entire day they will be provided with the equivalent of a juice box to drink and (I'm surely hoping) a chance to stop at a water fountain once or twice. Just seems like a mighty small amount to ask all those kids to go all day on. What do I know though? I'm just a parent who would let all the kids take a back pack provided they carry and keep up with it all day (they are allowing them to take cameras and books, etc for entertainment on the bus). I'd have everyone with a water bottle, a hot or cold pack and a real lunch and would take them out to sit on the grass for a snack before getting back on the bus for an over two hour trip back home. It would surely be chaos.

And we wouldn't leave before 8.