For us, school starts on Monday next week. I’m not ready. Then again, are parents ever really ready?
I love having my kids home, and selfishly one of those reasons is because I love not having to get up in the morning and rush around chugging coffee while trying to get a lunch thrown together, because despite my every intention it just didn’t get prepped the night before, while trying to herd cats… er, I mean gather my children, and get them dressed so we can make it out of the door on time. I’d MUCH rather be having a lazy morning, snuggling with my babies on the couch. However, in less than 72 hours my Monday thru Friday mornings will be back to that school morning, hit the ground running mode.
So, what can we do to better prepare ourselves for this? And I mean prepare US – the moms and dads. Hopefully this little list of things I’m doing will help you as well:
- Stock your pantry – make sure you have all the groceries you need for breakfasts, lunch (if you pack your child’s lunch), and after school snacks. This may mean some minor menu planning. Nothing major, just have a good idea of what you’ll be making and be prepared for it. Last year, after school started, I made 3 extra trips to the store. This year I’m ready.
- Try out the morning routine – I wanted to do this a full week before school actually started. Didn’t happen. But I can manage a few days before school start. I set my alarm, do my personal morning routine (wash face, get dressed, etc), get my son’s breakfast ready, and just keep an eye on the time so I know where I may need to adjust.
- Get some rest – First, this means your kids as well. Get them used to the bedtime routine, if you’ve altered from it at all during the summer. I promise, doing this in advance does indeed save your own sanity come time for the first week of school. But, YOU need to do the same! Again, sanity saver. You will have much better mornings if you’re better rested, and it’s important that you send your kid to school in the morning with a calm and loving disposition, not as a cranky, fire-breathing dragon-hag.
- Don’t stress over the back to school shopping – I’m sure for some this is one of those easier said than done things. But seriously. Clothes? I’m not buying in bulk. I’ve bought some new items here and there throughout the summer, so we don’t need a ton of new clothes. Plus, in a couple of months the weather is going to be changing and I’ll be buying new clothes anyway. Oh, and?? My son is still constantly growing. So as a rule, I don’t buy clothes in bulk. When it comes to school supplies, if you have a list of things you HAVE TO BUY, then I highly recommend Amazon Prime. Two day shipping, and save yourself the trip to the store and playing Spartans of School Supplies. If you are given a list of recommended items, wait a week and then see what the teacher/classroom NEEDS.
- Plan YOUR look – What’s your morning style? Mine is an easy/sporty look. Yoga pants and tenny’s, and either a t-shirt or sweatshirt, depending on the morning temps. I look put-together, and I’m ready for a workout after I drop my son off at school. So to get ready for the week ahead, I have all of my pants and shirts placed in my dresser where they are the first things I grab. This actually saves me a LOT of time in the mornings.
- Treat yourself or plan an outing – Are all of your kids in school? Set a day date to connect with a girlfriend. Heading to work? Stop and grab a morning treat you normally wouldn’t. Make sure you do something for YOU!
- Make sure your wine rack is fully stocked – no explanation needed on this one. Just trust me.
I hope some of these help you. What would you add to the list?
[...] #7Things post last week talked about what I was going to do to get US MOMS ready for school to start. I prepped. I planned. And I made it through the first week. Although I probably could have stood [...]
What do the girls do while your working out?
Depends on what I’m going. If I walk my son to school, then the girls ride along in the stroller, and after I drop him off I run/walk for a while directly afterwards. If I come home and work out, I get them set up with breakfast, which buys me some uninterrupted time. Sometimes they’ll sit on the couch and cheer me on!
This year, my biggest concern was making sure that *I* had clothes to wear! The weekend before school started, I organized all the closets (mine was in need a major overhaul). It’s made my morning so much easier!
Don’t forget to make sure you are stocked up on coffee too.
It really does make mornings so much easier!! And every Sunday evening a sit with my son and we lay his clothes out for the week. It’s a 10 minute process that saves a total of 50 minutes during the week.
And, YES COFFEE!!! Just as important as the wine.