Mornings in the George house can feel like you’re in a race against time which used to always make me wonder how I can save time in the morning. Unfortunately, it’s a battle between the morning risers (my son) vs. the afternoon risers (my daughters). School, however sides with my son so my daughters have no choice but to get up at the dreaded break of dawn (not really, but that’s how they feel). In all actuality, they just need to get up around 7 am.
The Routine
The girls’ routine in the morning used to consist of waking up, lying around, getting yelled at, getting out of bed, brushing their teeth, going potty, wondering what they’re going to wear, wondering if mom did laundry, searching for clothes that may be in the dirty laundry, crying, dressing, doing their hair, packing lunch, eating breakfast, slamming the door and running out. Note: My son is atypical so this is a special post just for my daughters. LOL.
Time for a Change
A few months ago, we decided we needed to make a few changes so all of us can walk out of the house with smiles & great attitudes so here are a few things Alan & I implemented & try to stick to:
- Wake the kids up 30 minutes earlier so we’re not rushing.
- Help them prep their lunches the evening before (or even on the weekend). We have fresh veggies, fruits & snacks in baggies for the whole week. The main dish can be cooked or assembled in advance.
- Have them pick out their outfits and set it aside for the week. We use the collapsible cubby in the picture from Amazon.
- Make breakfast ahead (freezable muffins, chia seed pudding, boiled eggs, pancakes, waffles etc) that can easily be reheated. (We mix and match it with cereal). Some cereals can be in snack bags and eaten on the way to school.
Results
Is it perfect? Absolutely… but who am I kidding? 😆In all reality, we all have weekends that slip away from us where we wake up late and run around like the house is on fire, when the fridge is empty and the kids have to buy lunch from school, or we waited to do laundry so the kids have to mix and match any clean clothes they have. But the times we’re able to plan ahead, it certainly pays off.
