My growing morning routine

I suppose it's inevitable when one is owned by 6 dogs and a very elderly mother that the morning routine, which used to include a cup of coffee, is complicated and growing.

Poor Barley has a big hot spot so off to the vet we went yesterday. I had to leave Mom alone 30 minutes and was jittery about that but I needn't be - she was fine. Anyway, the morning routine for Barley now:
1) release him from the collar of shame
2) clean the hot spot with antiseptic
3) gently dry the hot stop
4) spray with an antibiotic.
5) Give him his oral antibiotic, benadryl, glucosamine pill,  and thyroid pill.
6) Put e-collar back on so I can go about treating the rest of the animals (if my eyes aren't on him, the e-collar is!). Can't risk further damage by him scratching or chewing the hot spot.

Rita gets eye drops in each eye and will for the rest of her life, twice a day.

Give Hops his 4 pills - 2 muscle relaxants, a mild pain pill, and a glucosamine supplement. Sadly, he's figured out that there's a lot of pills in his food bowl (I used to just toss them in) so now I have to coax him with cheese or peanut butter - another extra step.

By the time I'd done the above, and fed and watered everyone including the confused cat, I hear my Mom's rolling thunder upstairs. I came up with the bright (?) idea to put jingle bells on her walker with the thought that I could hear her move but the jingle bells only sway and don't make noise on their own. Mom's figured out that, if she jingles the bells herownself, I come running. Pretty funny how she got that on her own. So, off I run to get her down the steps (she has stair chairs so it's not that big an issue), get her morning coffee and a bowl of oatmeal, get her her pills, rub gel on her knee, and finally (!) make myself a cup of coffee.

Now, those readers who are astute are probably thinking I should take care of my own needs first (coffee), similar to putting on that airplane oxygen mask first. But, I've tried to make my coffee early and, inevitably, a sip down the old gullet, and the sound of jingle bells tinkles down the stairway. My coffee is always cold! No one should have to suffer a cup of cold coffee first thing in the morning.

No wonder I'm tired! I feel like I never get anything done around the house, and I don't. But, I think it's mostly because I'm running around caregiving to a thousand different needs. I've also been busy writing a bunch of Squidoo articles about my recent experiences. I'm doubtful that they'll ever make any money from sales, but I felt I had important information to share with other caregivers of the elderly. Please give them a view and pass them over to anyone you think they might help. There's a comment section on each article so, if you'd leave me a comment on the article (and you can, even if you're not a Squidoo member), I'd appreciate it. Here's the most recent articles:

Helping a hospitalized senior citizen
Pneumonia symptoms in the elderly
Causes of dementia in the elderly
Senior citizen dental care
Choosing hospice - is it the right choice?