Alas, it’s my favorite time of the year…the beginning of school. Everything is new and fresh, including routines. I’m a teacher, and this year my son will be joining me at my school, which is a true blessing. Unfortunately, he’s a little slow to get out of the door. To help us all get to where we need to be on time, I’ve been working on a routine all summer and have almost perfected it.
My son eats the same thing for breakfast during the week: oatmeal, a sausage patty, and some fruit. This helps with the routine, and truthfully he doesn’t seem to mind much. (I have more issues with MY breakfast!). After breakfast, he brushes his teeth, I grab his backpack and lunchbox, along with my roll-away bag – #teacherissues, and we are out the door! Don’t let this short list fool you…this takes 60-90 minutes every morning!
To back up a little, the night before, I pack both our snacks and lunches. I try to include him in the process to help with the buy-in; he’s a super picky eater with food allergies. If something needs to be refrigerated overnight, I leave it in the fridge but put a post-it note on it to remind me. We also pick out our clothes the night before to save the discussion in the morning. This also helps because my boys share a room, so if the toddler is sleeping (yeah, right), we can grab the clothes, and he can get dressed in the bathroom.
Most days, we don’t get home before 4:30 p.m.! That eliminates the need for a snack and allows for an earlier dinner. My kids both bathe every night, but the older one showers during the week while I’m cooking, and my husband takes care of that job. Luckily my little guy doesn’t have homework yet, so that’s not an issue for us, but we read 4-6 books every night. Sometimes, when time is short, we read during dinner. I cook most nights, and thanks to my meal planning on Sunday, it’s super manageable. Then, while I clean up the kitchen, my hubby takes the second shift and bathes the toddler. Then I put the toddler to sleep while hubby helps with teeth brushing and gets our older son into bed.
On a good night, both boys are asleep by 7:45 p.m. And this tired mama usually collapses by 9:15 p.m.
This is my routine. What works for you?
***Full Disclosure: my mom and mother-in-law care for my toddler, so I don’t have to get him out of the house! For that, I’m eternally grateful.
