I have had yet another of those mornings where I feel I am pushing up hill.....no matter what time we get up & get going, no matter how organised I get before hand I still find myself tearing my hair out at my son, raising my voice & losing the plot - BEFORE WE GET TO SCHOOL!
I am not a morning person & struggle to get out of bed but after a few minutes I can usually warm into the day. I make myself a coffee, get breakfast sorted, finalise school lunch, check all Maxie's homework is in his homework bag, I know Max cannot handle a whole list of instructions at once so I split them up into bite sized chunks. We have a list on the fridge with pictures of what he needs to do to get ready BUT I feel like I am not doing it right.
Every morning I am ending up exasperated & sick of it, I want to yell & scream & its not even 9am!!! We seem to be continually late and I wonder how on earth other parents do it with such ease - AND I ONLY HAVE 1 CHILD TO MANAGE!!!!!!!!
Its bothering me because more often than not I pull back into our driveway & burst into tears feeling like the WORST mother in the world! I am really starting to hate myself & the way I don't seem to manage this little task properly.....
Thank goodness holidays are around the corner.....& just as well I don't have to head on to work as I would be an absolute mess!!
Any thoughts or suggestions would be most gratefully appreciated,
TK xx
About Me
- TK
- I work, I study, I play, I laugh, I sing out loud, I skip, I drink too much coffee, I love great food, I bake, I write, I try and be a good mum and wife, I sometimes do housework!!!
Aahh, TK, I hear you, I certainly hear you loud and clear. Same at our house every single day as well. It's crazy, I feel like I am ploughing through sludge every day. I am hanging for the school holidays at our place as well. My eldest needs things broken down, shorter instructions to the point where some mornings I say to him 'bag, car, go'. It's horrid but he 'gets' that. As for thoughts/suggestions, for me, keeping it simple and repeat, repeat, repeat, til my ears bleed. oh and lots of this - 'aarrrrggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!' - chocolate helps but only a little bit. Hugs to you that your afternoon is a happy one.
ReplyDeleteLast September when school started for us, I could have written this post exactly--except that I have three kids, not one. I was SO tired of being grumpy in the mornings and I did NOT want my grumpy voice to be the last thing running through my children's heads all day at school. I wanted them to have smooth, happy mornings so that, hopefully, they would have smooth, happy days. It was only about a week or so into school starting that I said to myself 'enough is enough, I HAVE to change for them'. So here is what I did:
ReplyDelete1)I made a "load time". This was the time I wanted us to be in the van ready to pull out of the driveway. I set the load time 7 minutes earlier than the time that we needed to leave the driveway to have the kids to school on time. And I set the timer on our microwave to go off at this time and as soon as the kids heard it, they would put on their shoes and hop in the van. That extra 7 minutes made a "crisis" a "non-crisis". "Mom, I forgot my lunch on the counter" was no big deal because I had that extra 7 minute buffer. And if I didn't need the extra 7 minutes and we showed up to school earlier, that just gave me extra time to talk (not yell) to my kids, smile at them, give them an extra hug, and wish them a wonderful day.
2)Do AS MUCH as you can the night before. Get the backpack ready to go and leave it waiting by the door. Check your calendar and make sure any special projects, sports equipment, etc. are in the bag and homework is already double checked and ready. If Max takes a lunch to school, pack what you can the night before and have the rest planned out so you know what you need to do. Plan what will be for breakfast and set out anything you can (example-vitamins, cereal box, bowl and spoon.) Have Max lay out the clothes he will wear. Do the same things for yourself (set timer on coffee pot or have it ready so all you have to do is press start, make sure you are packed and ready for your day's activities) so you have minimal things to do in the morning so you can be more available for Max. Get household chores done the night before also so that all you have to concentrate on in the morning is getting ready to go. Don't worry, that pesky load of laundry that is calling your name will still be there when you get home! After I put my kids to bed at night I get my chores done, house all tidy and things ready for morning. Waking up to a clean, organized house and things ready to go starts the day off very nicely.
3)Set your alarm a bit earlier and, as dang hard as it will be, make the choice to get out of bed when it goes off. An extra 10 minutes of sleep is not worth it if the rest of your morning is going to be dreadful. I know sleeping in can be lovely, but save it for the days when there is no school or morning committments.
4)Make the choice and JUST DO IT! After all, Max IS deserving of lovely mornings, isn't he?
You can do it! Make two lists-a night list and a morning list. Get all your night stuff done and toss the list. Then in the morning wake up to a list of a few things that need to be done (brush teeth, have breakfast, etc.) and toss the list when everything on it is done. For me crossing things off a list gives me a real sense of accomplishment! A few good mornings and you won't want to sleep in!
Sorry for the long comment, but it really helped me and I hope it can help you too! Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Peace and love,
Beth
Oh TK, I felt like I was just reading about my mornings!! How did you know that goes on in our house every morning??
ReplyDeleteJoe hates getting dressed. Blimey he's only got 4 things to do every morning, you'd think he'd be able to manage it, but no. There's always something that goes wrong. I have no tips for you but I'll be reading the comments you get as well.
xx
Oh goodness, same here! How can it take so much procrastinating when they really only have a few things to do! I feel like all I am doing is just having a constant battle and yelling faaaaaar too much. Thanks Beth for the tips and thanks TK - good to know we are not alone!!!
ReplyDeleteI think it happens to most. I have found this year a little easier, Monet can dress herself now. Up until now it was easier for me to do it cause she would just forget. I do everything else. I still gave to keep reminding her to get dressed and brush her teeth and then I let her eat toast in the car on the way to school, it's getting easier, wasn't really anything I could do, they just grow up.
ReplyDelete