Our mornings with the kids are definitely crazy! Imagine two adults and 3 toddlers who all need to wake up on time, get ready on time and get on the road on time to be at work and school before 730 in the morning! Definitely not an easy project especially for the mama!

So how can anyone survive those mornings with kids without starting the day angry and stressed? Is this even possible? Well, if you want to find out how I deal with this, just keep reading.

I have established specific routines that I have found to really save me time (and peace of mind) and follow them faithfully. A typical daily morning goes something like this:

It’s 530 am and my alarm clock is ringing .. I hear it and I don’t want to believe it’s already dawn .. of course, I hit the snooze button and I end up getting out of bed at about 615am just on time before it’s too late.

 

I do most of what needs to be done before the kids wake up

I let the others sleep and head to the kitchen for the morning rite. I avoid drinking my coffee at home because I either won’t enjoy it or will really be late.

Sandwiches, & fruits for kids’ brunches, energy-boosting snacks for us to survive the day 🙄 and whatever we might need in the day is being prepared!!

This calm of the morning is really refreshing and I definitely feel like I need this time of calm adjustment before my kids wake up.

It goes without saying that when I’m not distracted by children’s voices, I finish everything faster.

I organize my space from the night before

I have no worse than having to prepare a lot of things in the morning and have to deal with a messy kitchen. Clutter confuses my mind and of course wastes precious time.

So I make sure that we clean up all toys from the night before and also clean the island and counters in which the meals for everyone should be prepared in the morning.

Preparing everyone’s clothes from the night before

645 I head to the bedrooms and I have another difficult task: waking up my children and spouse!! Most of the time Stylianos is the first one to wake up. He wakes up easily and gets dressed without complaining! Woohoo!

To get George ready I really feel like I’m in a fight. He turns right and left, trying to escape and having fun with the whole situation while I’m already stressed and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

When it comes to Anna Maria, things get tricky! To start with, she doesn’t wake up easily, it takes her forever just to open her eyes and get out of bed not to mention that choosing her clothes is a total nightmare! she doesn’t like anything !!!

We sample all her clothes until she finally chooses what to wear and get dressed!

To keep my sanity, I select all clothes and shoes from the night before and gather them in the bedroom so that I will not be searching in the morning.
In the process of selecting clothes, I can sometimes involve the children in order to make the whole process easier in the morning. Of course, the clothes they choose should be appropriate for school and the weather, but as long as this rule is followed, I am relatively receptive to their choices.

Playtime

For their day to start nicely, they always ask me for even a 10-minute playtime before we leave home. So I allow them this time while I am getting ready. During that time they can play, listen to music, anything they like.

Simple beauty routine

Everyone is ready except mom. I’ve trained myself to get dressed, do my hair and makeup in just 15 minutes! Quite impressive if you consider that when childless I only needed half an hour just to select my clothes!

I just do my hair and makeup the way I know well, and I’m not experimenting with anything that may not come out and need to be re-started.

Bedtime routines

I admit I haven’t yet totally succeeded this, but it’s definitely one of my family goals. Toddlers are in dire need of sleep and rest.

Regular schedules and bedtime rituals play a big role in helping kids get sound sleep and function at their best. So what I try and do is to establish a specific bedtime routine that includes relaxing time before bed usually a bath and bedtime story, regular bedtimes and wake times.

Also, I’ve stopped napping, and try to make sure that my children get lots of physical activity during the daytime hours.

My goal is to stick to the routine (that’s why it’s called a routine!) for my children to wake up the next day happy and energized and my mornings with the kids to be smoother. And let’s not forget that this will also give parents the time they need to rest and prepare better for what needs to be done.

 

Do you guys have any tips on how to survive mornings with kids? Please share! They are more than welcome!