Now I feel horrible

So this morning I am getting Andy ready for school. He takes a bath in the "jet tub"  and then we go downstairs so he can eat his breakfast. While he is eating with Justin, I start getting his backpack and snowpants together. All the while- I KNOW he has homework that needs to be done and it could have been done anytime this whole weekend. So here is the poor kid- trying to eat his breakfast and I am now reminding him that he still needs to do his homework. It is 8:14 and his bus comes at 8:30. What can we get done in 15 minutes?? Well, he got a worksheet done where he had to answer some addition problems and write what time was shown on the clock on the paper. He did awesome at this. Then, he had a book to read and also an activity bag to do. The activity bags are for the kids to bring home and for the parents to do with the kids. While I absolutely LOVE the idea of this...for some reason, we did not find the time this whole entire weekend to sit down and do this. So here we are at 8:17 on the morning this is due, still doing the homework packet. We had to pick one of 3 books to read together, do a worksheet where he writes his favorite color and then draws some of his favorite things that are that color , then a worksheet where he had to read the colors on the paint brush and color them accordingly, and to play a color memory game. So will we be able to get all of the activities in this packet done AND have him read the book to me that he was supposed to do to? Highly doubtful.

 I read the directions on the folder, and see that the coloring the paintbrush worksheet is his to keep at home to practice with...so we set that one aside and I tell him we can do it when he gets home from school at 4. We play a quick game of memory while I am looking between the game and the window since now I am expecting his bus any minute. We decide to play our own version...whoever gets a match first is the winner. I am feeling so horrible inside at this point that I have that sinking feeling in my stomach. I am picking and choosing and doing the "fast" version of homework with Andy and at about as last minute as a person can get. So Andy wins the game of memory we were playing, colors his yellow banana, flower and lemon for his favorite colors worksheet, we read the book he picked out of the 3 in the bag, and then races to get his snowpants on since it is 8:29 now. His bus will be here any minute between now and 8:33. I am getting paniky about him not getting this stuff done because I dont want him to feel bad at school.

Activity bag...good enough for now- I guess. We move to the front window so we can watch for his bus coming down the street. He is standing here with his jacket, snowpants, boots, hat and mittens on while I am holding the book in front of him (hard to do with mittens on) and he is doing this rocking job of reading me this story in this book. I want to cry because I cant believe my baby is reading a book. He gets about 3 pages into it and then the big yellow bus making its way down our street. "Ok Andy! Great job honey! We will have to finish this when you get home. That will be ok. Have a great day, have fun and I love you." He gives hugs and kisses to me, runs down the driveway, slides onto his butt a couple of times from the freshly melted and re-frozen snow, gets on the bus and is off. Justin runs to the door and gives the biggest saddest poutiest face that I have ever seen and says, "But I wanted to give him a hug and kiss too, and now he's gone." God, do I ever feel like the most second rate mom today. I am teaching my kid horrible habits of procrastinating and he is not getting the experience and memories from this homework that he should have. If I ever would make a new years resolution... this would be it. Its bad enough for me to be last minute, but to put that onto my kids is not cool. So that is my goal- I am going to be so prepared for Andy and have his homework done right when he gets home like most people do. No more of this "morning of" last minute crapola.
Not that I need an excuse or anything, but I feel like so much of our time is going to the basemnt right now, that everything else is suffering because of it. It is consuming waht feels like every free minute we have. Even if we are not BOTH working down there, I am usually watching the kids then and trying to keep up on the rest of the house that is getting put off behind the excitement of the basement getting so close to being done. But that doesnt matter anymore. I am not letting that get in the way anymore :) The basement can go to... ummm.... the back of the line. HA- you thought I was going to say something else, didnt you?? Youre right, I was :)