My not so managed mornings!

If I going to call this blog manic managed mom, then I better be honest about my recent manic mornings!  This manic managed mom hasn’t been as managed in the mornings lately.  In fact the manic, but managed morning rush has been more manic since the holidays.  But I can’t blame the sunrise because the problem actually starts the night before.

Lately, I have broken my own night-before ritual rules.  And it shows when the alarm clock rings at 6 a.m.  My kids are waking up tired and cranky, which means sometimes we barely get to school on time. 

However in my defense, I think my daughter’s 7:45 a.m. start time is a bit early for elementary school kids, but that is not going to change.  So I have to get over that!

In contrast, my middle schooler doesn’t have to get to his first class until 8:15 a.m. and that 30 minute time difference makes all the difference in the world. 

A 7:45 a.m. start time means that we have to be out the door by 7:15 a.m., which I think is mighty early.  Some of her friends who ride the school bus have to be standing at the dark and chilly bus stop by 7 a.m.  No thanks!  We’ll drive.  We actually have to drive because the school that we chose to keep her in after we moved doesn’t have bus pick-up in our neighborhood. 

So now that I’m done whining and blaming the early school hours, it is time for me to accountable for my own actions!

Here are my night-before rules that I have been breaking:

1.  I have not been forcing kids up the stairs by 8:30 p.m. sharp.  I have been letting that turn into 9 p.m. for various reasons that include homework and dare I admit this…watching shows like “Dancing With The Stars” since we want to see who got eliminated that night! 

My fix:  Make the kids start homework earlier and record the shows for later viewing.

2.  I get on the computer and stay on too long.  If I sit down to quickly to check email, then I find  myself responding, checking dates, scheduling, blogging and sometimes ordering stuff for upcoming birthdays, etc.  Has this happened to you?  You plan to briefly check your messages and the next thing you know you’ve been glued to your keyboard for two hours?! 

My fix:  Kids first.  After they have retired upstairs by that magical 8:30 p.m. time, then I get to sit and do my computer stuff.  I have to practice what I preach to my kids and prioritize! 

3.  We are laying some stuff out the night before, but not everything.  We started the school year off strong with backpacks, outfits, lunches, shoes and any other needed  item neatly laid out the night before.

My fix:  I need to walk upstairs (added calorie burn is extra bonus) and double-check that they did, indeed, lay all items out before they fall asleep.

4.   Taking their word for it that they did it.  Did it meaning brushed teeth, combed out hair and finished homework.

My fix:  Although tempting to take their word for it and not have to walk up those darn stairs again, I will double-check that the toothbrush is actually wet, that they aren’t saving unfinished homework for the next morning and that tangles are combed through.  Although I don’t want to admit it, we have taken tardies at times due to lost tennis shoes on PE day or ratty hair that I had to brush through at the last second…seconds that we didn’t have to spare!

Ok, that outta do it.  If I can get back to these four fixes, then I think we can get back on track again. 

Did anyone else out there slip just a bit coming back from the hectic holidays?  Is it just me or are the winter mornings harder to navigate?  Make me feel better and tell me in the comments section that you are working on managing some manic mornings, too! 

And with that, I now force myself to get off the computer and get some sleep.  Sometimes parenting myself is the hardest job of all!