Alone time

I learned a long time ago that I was less than a good parent if I started my day to awake children. Or started my day AWOKEN by children. I figured out that I MUST get up before them. I must. And for the most part, that has been pretty simple to do b/c my children are good sleepers. They go to bed when I say, they napped when I said and they generally have woken up around 7-8:00. Now there have been phases when this is not true. There was a time when Lily woke up at like 5:00 am....I don't remember how long that lasted but I think she was about 2 years old. There are also times when they have trouble sleeping so they come to me in the night, "I can't sleep".
But right now, my sweet son is making me a crazy person. I had a perfect thing going ever since school started. I woke up at 6 or 6:30, made my coffee, did emails or watched the news. I took a shower and in general, was totally ready for the day. But now this child is not only NOT staying in his bed at night which translates to him not sleeping until 10:00pm, he is waking up on MY TIME. I can't take it. As it's been made clear, I am truly in love with Peter. I adore his every move. But I can NOT tolerate anyone creeping in on my time. I know myself VERY well. I know that I function well when I protect my boundaries. The next thing I know, he's going to not nap and take my Oprah time from me. AHAHHHHHHHHH! Can you hear me screaming? PROTECT OPRAH AT ALL COSTS!!!
Today he was up before me. So I started the day w/ a big UGH feeling. Then he sang through the news, talked SO loudly to me, bumped my hot coffee several times, asked me a million questions. Then i took a shower. He came in and out of the bathroom allowing much cold air to come in. He dropped cars on hard floors making crashing noises. I AM NOT READY FOR THIS.
I am a person of peace. It's my ultimate goal every day in every situation. I need peace. I would LOVE quiet but at least, I need some level of peace. And I get a little peace each morning, again for an hour in the afternoon and then after the kids go to bed - so around 8:30. But after the kids go to bed, I am DONE so nothing can be accomplished. So I really really COUNT on my morning.
Anyway, Peter is at school and the girls are here. They aren't in school this week so that probably adds to my level of concern re. my "alone" time. But I will dig deep, drink more coffee and be fresh and alert for my 1:00 closing!