I am really into order and routines, personally. I typically get up at 5, and have a nice sequence to my morning that makes me feel all happy and productive. Kavi's starting kindergarten, and needs to be up at 6:30, so I'm aiming towards a morning ritual that will get us all sweet and happy and organized. Tentative plan:

• 5 - 6:30 -- mommy time, involving checking e-mail, surfing Facebook, and drinking lots of tea; somewhere in here, I need to ideally exercise, shower and dress (this is what I need to work on, as left to my own devices, I will procrastinate and live in my nightgown all day)
• 6:30 -- wake children; brush teeth and dress, make bed, straighten bedrooms
• 6:55 -- empty dishwasher (Kavi) while I make breakfast
• 7:00 -- breakfast and a show (yes, my kids get to watch tv while they eat); I check school schedule, make sure backpacks ready, etc.
• 7:20 -- go outside to wait for the bus; kiss Kavi goodbye
• 7:30 - 8:15 -- clean up breakfast and kitchen while Anand plays on his own
• 8:30 -- drop Anand at pre-school, start workday.

• 4:00 -- pickup from pre-school; Kavi will be home already
• 5:30 -- clean up first floor toys, set table (Kavi), while one of us makes dinner
• 6:00 - 6:30 -- dinner
• 6:30 -- bathtime (clean up library on the way upstairs)
• 7:00 - 7:30 -- last show
• 7:30 -- brush teeth, pyjamas, bedtime

*****

8 p.m. update: Day one of new chore plan -- all went smoothly until MASSIVE Kavya sulk at being asked to clear the table (of her and Anand's two plates and two glasses). Running into her room and slamming the door and everything. One hour later, she finally comes to me and asks if we can be friends again. I explain that sometimes I don't feel like doing chores either, but I do them anyway, because otherwise we would have no food and dirty clothes and would walk around in big piles of garbage and my children would cry, and I didn't want my children to cry. That made her laugh, and I think we're good for tonight. We'll see how tomorrow goes.