Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Blah, Blah: Ramblings on Our Morning Routine

Thanks to my two friends for their supportive comments after my last post. I promised when I started this blog I would post the good, the bad and the ugly. Nothing has made me feel more like an inferior mother than the slew of “mommy-blogs” I read. They only post the good. Pretty pictures of sweet children doing elaborate crafts, stories of all the time they spend together, tales of beautiful family events and perfect moments. It is so not my life. Now, not all of them are like that, but most are and it isn’t always helpful in the darkest of moments to be reminded of how inferior you are. So, let me provide a point of comparison for you. When you lose your temper next time, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone!

Now, my next struggle is our morning routine. For the first few weeks of school it was perfect. I was bragging about how amazing the kids were (mistake #1), how cooperative everyone was being (mistake #2) and how we were actually early to school on most days (mistake #3). Cursed. I have been cursed by my own mouth! Morning routine has, as the boys love me to say, been flushed down the toilet. Getting everyone up is a struggle, there is a fit about something by at least one person each morning and I am driving like a maniac to make it to school by 8AM.

I am a morning person—period. I hate sleeping in, I love going to bed super early but hate sleeping in. I grew up listening to my mom fight with my brother for hours about getting up for school. I think my brother was late every day of school, or seriously, at least three times a week. I married a man just like that. I promised myself that would not happen in my household. I did not give birth to three morning people—really, just one. So, we started using alarm clocks this year for everyone to get up to with the goal in mind of by the time they are in high school the grouchy sleepyhead ones will once and for all be trained to the alarm clock.

Every school morning, their routine starts at 6:30 with alarms going off. They have 30 minutes upstairs to wake up and get dressed. Andy spends 25 of that whining on my bedroom floor that he cannot find “perfect pants.” They all pick their own clothes, by the way (except PJ who wears a uniform). At 7AM, I head downstairs to start their breakfast, which is usually on the table by 7:05. They eat, brush their teeth and then if there is time left over, they can watch television. Then, at 7:30 TV goes off and shoes go on. It takes at least five minutes for everyone to get out the door and in to the car. The goal is to leave the driveway no later than 7:40AM. This hasn’t worked so well lately, but I remain hopeful. Yesterday was not great, but Phillip complemented me on not yelling (as I swore I would change my yelling after the last event I wrote about). So, progress! I thanked him for noticing. What a sweet boy.

Tomorrow is the last day of school this week. We have fall break Thursday and Friday (same as the public schools, which stinks because everything will be crowded). Monday will bring a new week with a new goal of getting out the door again by 7:35-7:40 instead of 7:45. I can make it on time if we leave at 7:45, but I have to drive like a total maniac and I really don’t like to start my day out late and rushing. Next week, we are going for the gold again, back to our award-winning gold star mornings. I hope.

2 comments:

Abby said...

Good luck next week. Keep us posted...I struggle with getting anywhere on time these days. I absolutely hate the white knuckle driving down the road too...

Happy Fall Break!

Anonymous said...

I think anyone with kids has to resign themselves to the fact they are going to be late from time to time. Kids can find a million reasons to procrastinate. I was always on time before child, now not so much. Very frustrating. I can't imagine trying to herd three kids out the door. Yikes!

Lisa