16 Things A Mom Does Before Leaving The House In The Morning With Kids

Having kids sure makes for some hectic mornings. 5 days a week I repeat the same morning routine and it never seems to get easier. I often think about what I can do to make things smoother, but my efforts don't account for the variables of which I have no control. I never know what kind of mood one of my three kids will wake up in, or what surprises might be in store. All I know is Moms everywhere definitely earn their weekends when it comes to getting out of the house on a weekday morning.  Here's a list of 16 things I do before leaving the house in the morning with the kids.

16 Things A Mom Does Before Leaving The House In The Morning With Kids

1. Wake up two not-so-morning-people little girls and a pre-teen boy who wants to post to his Instagram or Snap Chat before he rolls out of bed. Really!? I wanna catch up on my social media before I start my day!

2. Dress my daughter (who is the grumpiest of the two). She's also the older one, and I only cater to her in this way to avoid her 7 going on 17 hormonal-like aggression that can be set off by the smallest detail. I've found that helping her dress quickly and allowing her “5 more minutes” in bed is way better than starting my day in a battle of the wills which just can't be won at 6:30 in the morning.

3. Do my hair, make-up, and get dressed! As a full time working Mom I have to look presentable and professional. I long for yoga pants and a tank everyday! But for now it's weekend attire only.

4. Brush through two tangled heads of hair as I'm serenaded by squeals and screams. I'm just waiting for my neighbors to call CPS on me. I threaten to chop their hair off every morning!

5. Nag them to brush their teeth.
I tell them that if they forget (and that's their favorite excuse) it must mean they like to get shots in their mouths at the dentist.

6. Do a quick recap of sight words.
I have to double check that I can sign off, and my daughter can get the next set. I HATE “sight words!” Anyone else share my sentiment???

7. Pour a bowl of cereal, toast a frozen waffle and throw a breakfast bar at my son. No matter how much we are pushed for time, I feel better knowing they at least took a few bites!

8. Make lunches. I normally save myself this hassle by making them at night, but some nights I just want to go to bed and I leave this task for the morning. I plan to wake up 10 minutes earlier, but my plan usually fails and a sloppy PB&J is the result.

9. Scrounge for lunch money. As I said in #8 my plan to make lunches in the morning is not my strength. When PB&J is too much, I resort to letting the school feed my child. The only problem is I have no cash in my wallet! It's piggy banks, the bottom of my purse, and the center console in my car to the rescue!

10. Find shoes and wait not so patiently for them to be put on. Why is it children can never remember where they took off their shoes just 12 hours ago? To top it off, they take their sweet time getting them on, and I end up lacing the stinkin' shoes myself. Arrgghh!!

11. Wait for a kid to poop. It never ceases to amaze me that as soon as we are all ready to walk out the door, someone has to go #2. Leaving the house is like a laxative. I do appreciate it when they let me know BEFORE we are in the car.

12. Change a shirt, pants or both!. Breakfast blunders and toothpaste malfunctions happen, and they most always occur on the mornings that you REALLY don't have time for them. I guess they won't match today, cuz I need to do laundry!

13. Break up a sibling argument. You know, the one where they argue over what cartoon they watch while eating breakfast or make faces at each other to be annoying. My referee skills are on high alert in the a.m.

14. Yell. Yes, I said it, I yell at my kids in the mornings. I am not fond of this but it's just a fact. There are moments of calm, normal-toned, communication. But A LOT has to be accomplished in a short amount of time. Things get hairy. I'm a Mom, and I never claimed to be perfect.

15. Give reminders. I remind my oldest to make sure he gets his homework done as soon as he gets home so he doesn't have to do it after baseball practice that night. I remind my 7 year old to stay on task in class and to be a good friend. I remind my preschooler to listen to her teacher and not wait too long to go potty.

16. Make sure the dog has food and water. Thankfully my oldest can assist me with this one. But there are days when I'm holding the hose at safe distance as not to wet my heels while simultaneously warding the dog off with my leg to avoid hair and slobber on my black slacks. We can't forget about our fur babies in the mornings!

17. I walk out the door, smile and secretly celebrate the accomplishment of making it through another crazy morning! Yay me!

Written By: Kelly Loya Perez

I'm sure all Moms can relate to these-What would you add to this list? We'd love to hear in the comments below 😉