Giveaway: $500 AmEx Gift Card plus a case of your favorite general MilLs Cereal
If there was ever a movie of my life, it would open with Harlow crying and me waking up reluctantly. Whether I go into her room to get her or she comes into my room to get me, the first dialogue spoken would be— “I want something to eat.”
No “good morning”. Harlow doesn’t play that game. The girl knows what she wants and she asks for it immediately.
Then we would cut to a fast paced action sequence where I make my cup of coffee, warm up Mazzy’s “milky” and fix Harlow’s breakfast (frozen waffle and a bowl of cereal) all at once. I have these three tasks down to a well-timed science— from turning on the coffee maker to screwing the lid on Mazzy’s cup to pouring the milk just high enough in Harlow’s bowl. It’s all worked out so I am never standing still in the kitchen with nothing to do and I have everything ready within three minutes which is exactly the amount of time it takes to defrost Harlow’s waffle.
Not movie material, you say? Did I mention I do everything WITH ONE ARM while I hold Harlow with the other? She’s no spring chicken, you know!
Okay, you’re right. My mornings would make a TERRIBLE movie. Plus, as Harlow has gotten older, I get away with plopping her on the counter as opposed to actually holding her.
But, for what it’s worth, I am seriously impressed with my speed and agility while my kitchen routine is happening. If there was a coffee-making-cereal-pouring event in the Olympics, my time would definitely qualify.
Unfortunately, my kids don’t seem to appreciate my high-speed breakfast coordination and are constantly demanding things like “Cheerios!!!!” and “Syrup!!!!!” even though they can plainly see me working like a mad woman to accommodate them and get them situated.
Mornings (unlike evenings) must run exactly according to plan or else all hell breaks loose. Even if you are running late or the system is breaking down, you must give the impression that all is going smoothly or else you run the risk of derailing your children completely.
It’s a tricky game getting everyone out the door and to work/school/camp/daycare on time.
Today, General Mills asked me to talk about my trusted morning hacks that make those early AM hours run as smoothly as possible. Which is funny because cereal is the only way we get Harlow to drink milk, since she stopped drinking milk when we took away her bottle at age one. I’ll call that Morning Hack #1.
Many readers have advised me to get rid of the television in the mornings, but that would mean I would also be giving up Morning Hack #2— threatening to turn the TV off if Mazzy doesn’t get herself dressed.
“Can you pause it, Mom?”
“And send Harlow into hysterics? OF COURSE NOT!”
Thankfully, Mazzy runs into her room and comes back fully dressed within ten seconds, the horror of spending precious morning time away from the TV too much to bear. Her outfit usually doesn’t match but that brings me to Morning Hack #3, which is really more of a parenting philosophy I stole from a reader on my Facebook page.
She said, “I’d rather raise an independent child than a well-dressed one”.
Yep. I agree. Coordinating outfits sounds too time-consuming for busy mornings. I question how the moms of well-dressed children choose to spend their time.
After she finishes her waffle, Harlow usually asks about Daddy’s whereabouts, so I tell her to “go see where he is” which is my Special Mom Code for “WAKE THAT MAN UP SO I’M NOT DOING THIS BY MYSELF!”
Sending Harlow to wake up Mike is Morning Hack #4, because once he’s up, he’ll come in the kitchen and make breakfast for Mazzy while I start to get ready.
Speaking of getting ready, that makes me think of Morning Hack #5, which should actually have been Morning Hack #1— showering at night. This accomplishes two things: 1) I don’t waste time drying my hair. 2) I get to shower in peace.
Want a great hack for drinking your coffee? Try Morning Hack #6— instead of drinking it, just abandon it! Your kids are never going to give you those five precious minutes to sip quietly anyway and you know you’ll end up reheating and reheating again until you finally give up and spill it out in the sink. I say, just recognize your coffee for what it is— something to gaze at from afar while you run around like a chicken with your head cut off.
Morning Hack #7 is brushing Mazzy’s hair while she eats breakfast. Yes, hair and food are a disgusting combination but add the double distraction of television and there is way less screaming involved. When there is no screaming, I actually enjoy doing Mazzy’s hair.
Harlow always wants to hang out in the morning which doesn’t always go hand-in-hand with getting myself ready, so I’ve invented Morning Hack #8. I give Harlow a big make-up brush and the cap of my translucent powder so she can pretend to put on make-up too. She likes to stand on the toilet and look at herself in the magnifying mirror. Best of all, she’s doing it right next to Mommy.
When Mazzy was still in school, we would pack her backpack with snacks so that they were there for her after school, regardless of who picked her up. That’s Morning Hack #9. It doesn’t save time in the morning, but it certainly has saved my sanity on more than one afternoon.
Lastly, if Mazzy or Harlow are still hungry when we are heading out the door, I implement Morning Hack #10—filling up a plastic baggie with cereal to-go. There aren’t many other things you can feel good about giving your kids in the morning, that still feels like a snack.
Thankfully, my friends at General Mills know how much parents depend on cereal in the morning, so they are constantly working to make their cereals better. For the past few years, they have been working to make whole grain the first ingredient and reduce sugar across all their cereals. Now, they are working to remove all the artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources. More than half of General Mills cereals (like our favorites, Cheerios, Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch) are already free from artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources, but now they’re working on cereals like Lucky Charms and Trix too. Good news for that rabbit!
To help spread this news, General Mills is giving one lucky reader a $500 American Express Gift Card and a case of your favorite cereal!
Giveaway Rules:
1) To enter, you must be a Mommy Shorts daily or weekly subscriber. If you are not already a subscriber, you can sign up here.
2) Leave a comment below describing your favorite morning hack. You can also enter by posting a photo on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page or on Instagram tagging #mymorninghack. If you enter on Instagram, make sure you tag and follow both @mommyshorts and @generalmills to win.
Read the full rules here.
Winner will be selected at random and announced on June 30th.
Just don’t steal using the toddler to wake up Dad. THAT’S MINE.
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This post was sponsored by General Mills who does not endorse my morning hacks, just my love of all things CEREAL.
My favorite morning hack is convincing my three curly haired daughters that they are trendsetters by wearing low ponytails with a headband! No more battles with curly hair bed head!
I don’t get the two year old out of her room until the older two are settled with their breakfast, eating
I also resort to turning off the tv to get things moving
My favorite morning hack for my 7 month old is letting him sleep in the next day’s clothes so I don’t have to dress him in the morning. (Unless he soils them)
My #1 morning hack is waking up before my daughter and attemping to get myself 80% ready before she’s out of bed. I get to shower and eat breakfast in peace most days, which always makes for a good morning in my book.
Morning hack I love best-letting my daughter feed and entertain my son in the mornings. There’s a seven year age gap, so she’s old enough to monitor them both with cereal or waffles (our favorites too!) and give me an extra half hour or so. Not much but I’ll take it! It usually involves TV also but for a few summer months I doubt it’ll melt their brains. Come fall they’ll both have to be ready for the school bus before 7 so, yeah, milking it for all it’s worth now!
My oldest child (7) has to be dressed, have his shoes on and have brushed his teeth before he is allowed to play or turn on the tv. I also hang clothes in outfits in the closet, so the kids can choose their own clothes but I know they match.
My 2-year-old daughter takes an extraordinarily long time to use the potty, especially in the morning. Additionally, thanks to her terrible eczema, she has to be doused from head-to-toe in moisturizing cream (you know…the kind that’s really difficult to rub in) every morning…these two things take up a lot of time in the morning. These days, I sit her on the potty and rub her down with the cream, dress her, and brush her hair while she’s attempting to do her business. It’s a bit gross now that I say it outlaid…but it has cut off a good 30 minutes from our morning routine!
My morning hack on weekends is to tell the husband the night before about a big breakfast for tomorrow. He’ll feel obligated to cook bacon, which means he blocks stove, which means he cooks everything. Kids get fed, I get a half hour break!
Every morning my toddler wakes up and immediately requests apple juice. Not a big deal but it always happens so early! So, in order to stay in bed a few more minutes I get the cup of juice ready the night before and keep it on my nightstand so taadaa it’s ready when he comes demanding it – I mean asking for it – and I get a few more moments of sleep 🙂
I also do this with my sons milk and he can go grab it out of the fridge and come lay back down with me lol
My favorite morning hack is preparing granola and cereal in a bowl in the fridge overnight so it’s ready for me to grab on the way out the door. That way I have my breakfast ready to eat after dropping my kids off on my way to my classes.
I have to get myself ready before getting the boys up. Oh, and have their clothes laying out the night before!!
My husband and I work full-time and I usually handle morning routines during the week so by the time the weekend has arrived, I’m ready to hand it over. Instead of asking or telling my husband to get our son up and ready, I will get him meanwhile the cat is weaving in/out of my feet for her wet food.
After he’s all dressed I let him start to lead me to the stairs and then I say, “let’s see what Daddy is doing?!” and he leads me in there…wants to get up on the “big bed” and horse around! He sits on my husband and pretends he’s a horse and the cat is still begging for attention so I toss her on the bed too which my son LOVES! Then I say, oh I need to use the restroom and do some things BRB…and before I know it…the whole family is downstairs, breakfast is started including the cat’s dang wet food! I don’t do it all the time b/c I can’t use the tactic up but I do think although I’m sure my husband wants some extra zzzzz’s…he hasn’t complained yet about being a “horse” first thing in the morning. 😉
What kind of crazy person would recommend getting rid of tv time in the morning? It keeps them quiet, safe and still while I run around and pull together last minute items for the day as well as get their hair done…oy vay
My morning hack is to get out of bed, showered, dressed, and completely ready to go before any of the kids wake up. Then I can focus completely on getting THEM out the door on time.
I pick out my 3 year old’s clothes the night before, I guess that’s why she’s coordinated in the morning 😛
I also make her make her own breakfast – she’s 3, so it’s simple stuff like pouring water/oatmeal in the bowl or putting toast in the toaster, I do the microwave work, etc. She’s learning a life skills and it keeps her near the dining room table so I don’t have to go chase her to get her sitting and eating.
My best morning hack is to get myself completely ready prior to waking up the kids. This works about 80% of the time. I also fix my coffee, the kids milk, etc. if I can before they wake!
My morning hack is packing backpacks & lunches the night before. I put cold items in the fridge & just toss them in in the morning. It saves at least 15 minutes.
As bad as it sounds mine is either turning the tv or iPad on for my 3 year old so I can get just a little bit more sleep ????????????
Prior going to sleep, I packed their juices, snacks, water bottles in their lunch boxes, so next morning all I need to do is make the sandwiches. I let them choose what they want to wear the night before and hang the outfit up on their hooks so in the morning there won’t be any “I don’t know what to wear”.
I make scrambled eggs for a few days and a weeks worth of oatmeal at a time. The eggs my two year old will eat cold, so those and milk in a cup gets me enough time to make and have a few sips of coffee!
I already implement hacks #2-4 and #8-10 (combining hacks #9 and 10 by keeping non-perishable snacks in tupperware containers in the car). I still have my morning coffee, though. I just wait until I get to the office to drink it (corollary morning hack #6a).
If my son isn’t ready on time, he doesn’t get to ride his bike to school. Mommy will have to drive him. The horror!
Choose clothing, shoes, hairties, etc the night before to speed along the morning process! (That includes for the grown ups too!)
We make our lunches the night before to make the mornings easier.
Morning Hack #11: teach your kids how to our their own cereal and milk!
#1 morning hack is to have a “busy bag” of totally random toys/stuff/empty interesting packaging in my room so if there is a child kicking off when I have my 10 minute slot to make myself look semi presentable I can dump child and bag on my bed and they can explore the books, minions, baby hairbrushes, old noisy toys I thought I gave to charity, old mirrors etc while I get ready. It lives under my bed so never gets overplayed with.
#2 is to send your kid to a school with uniform – ha! – no worrying whether the clothes match they are all standard and easy on.
I help my daughter pick out her clothes the night before to avoid arguments in the morning. I also wake up at least an hour before she does to get myself ready before she wakes up. If she wakes up before I’m ready, I’ll pour her a bowl of cereal and she gets to watch TV while I finish getting ready.
My morning hack is getting down a bowl and box of cereal the night before then letting my 8 year old pour her own cereal and milk while I finish getting ready. On mornings that we are really rushed we take dry cereal on the go 🙂
My morning hack is that I leave for work before the kids even get up! My husband handles all three in the morning, God bless him!! I do get as much prepped for him the night before as possible.
Ugh, my daughter also wakes up screaming/crying. My hack is working from home so I only have to worry about getting her fed and dressed. She also gets up way too early so we have more than enough time before my husband and her have to leave for work and daycare.
9:00 is the perfect time to let Mickey and Doc Mcstuffins babysit my kids while I get some “computer work” done.
My number one morning hack, when we wake up before my husband leaves for work, is to let my daughter help. She gets to stir the coffee and carry his lunch box to the door. It take a little longer sometimes, but it’s better than her throwing a fit and/or putting her in front of the tv (which does still happen sometimes).
My favorite morning hack is taking the toddler into the shower with me to rinse the yogurt out of her hair while I soap up.
Set out the dishes, make the coffee, even get out the cereal boxes the night before. It sounds crazy, but my mom always did it and it saves time and sanity when you’re both in a hurry and sleepy.
My morning hack is actually accomplished the night before. I do a quick tidy of the family room and make sure there are no dishes to be done or anything to be put away. This means in the morning, I have ample time to start breakfast and coffee before kids arrive at my house and before mine wake up (I watch kids out of my house and have two of my own).
My morning hack is using my fitbit silent alarm as my alarm clock, so that I can snooze it a half dozen times without waking up the rest of the house. That way, I can get up before everyone else and get myself ready before chaos ensues.
My #1 Morning Hack, is prepping my coffee the night before and my 5 year old knows if he gets up out of bed before Mommy he needs to flip the switch to on, before waking Mommy up. It gives him something to do real quick to make Mommy happy, and he feels helpful, plus its not a bad thing to wake up to a smiling face and wonderful smelling coffee.
My morning hack is getting up before my 6 month old and boyfriend do. That way I get to shower and get her stuff together. Then when she’s awake i put her into her sling and do my makeup. She is usually all smiles which makes for a great rest of the day for both of us.
My favorite morning hack is getting up early with the 6 month old, before the other kids(we have 5), and getting breakfast ready and on the table before waking the other kids. Our 19 month old thinks food needs to be eaten as soon as she opens her eyes so putting her straight into the high chair saves us all from her screaming as if she is withering away, lol.
When my son wakes up we go sit on the couch with his blankie and cuddle. He watches a cartoon and mommy gets a little more sleep. It works 50% of the time 😉
Premade iced coffee is the way to get the morning caffeine fix bc its cold starting out. And we use the dog to wake my husband. He can’t get mad at the little guy, so it’s a win-win.
I agree with your hair-brushing hack!! It may be kind of gross, but is also the easiest way to get my daughter’s long hair brushed and in a braid.
Make a point of getting out of bed before the kids usually wake up – give yourself a few minutes of peace and quiet before the hustle and bustle of the day start. I will sip on some hot lemon water and get my to-do list written out for the day, prep my smoothie (so I’m not trying to do it while feeding them breakfast) or hop in the shower. Also, knowing you are getting up early (at least for me, since I have early risers), forces me to go to bed on time.
Morning Hack for us:
Daycare that provides breakfast! This way we can wait to wake the 2 1/2 year old until its pretty much time to walk out the door.
My morning hack is to get everything I can get ready the night before, lunches, sippy cups, clothes picked out. It makes the mornings when we are running late (which is every morning) go a little smoother!
Favorite morning hack: picking out all clothes for the week on Sunday and leaving them hanging on my daughter’s dress up center. I don’t care what order she wears those outfits in, but they are the outfits for the week.
Another hack: we have a 2 floor apartment. We keep one toothbrush/toothpaste set upstairs and one downstairs. This insures that at some point in the morning, my daughter’s teeth (usually) get brushed.
My mommy hack is eating breakfast at work at my desk while I catch up on email. I get to drink my coffee hot, eat fruit that is free of toddler hands, and focus on getting everyone ready while I’m still at home.
Entered on Instagram: My hubby’s #mymorninghack. When he makes coffee, he fills a similar mug with water for our toddler. That way he can enjoy his coffee without our son grabbing for it.
1) Hand him a spill proof cup of cheerios and a sippy of milk and then let Grandma (aka Daycare) give him actual breakfast.
2) Ask him to tell Dada about something which allows my toddler to knock on the bathroom door and basically tell Dad to hurry it up.
My morning hacks –
1. Brushing my toddler’s teeth while she is on the toilet because according to her, brushing = torture.
2. I give her a shower in the morning. I leave her in the tub (without water but, with toys) for 2 mins to get my clothes ready for the day.
3. Turn on the TV so that my daughter eats her breakfast, lets me have my coffee & lets me comb her hair. Because anyone touching her hair is OUT OF THE QUESTION otherwise.
My favorite morning hack is to have my husband put out bowls of cereal for me and our three year old before he leaves for work. That way when I come down later with her and the baby, her breakfast is ready to go.
Like adults that can’t function in the morning without their coffee, my almost 2 year old twins can’t function without their milk. I used to try and get them up and dressed in the morning before giving them milk, but now we make sure to wake them with a sippy cup of milk ready to go! This morning hack has drastically reduced the number of AM meltdowns, but now if I happen to sneak in to say good morning before my husband has finished preparing their milks, they just glare at me and shout, “milk!” No hugs, snuggles, or morning kisses for Mama until they’ve had their milk.
In the morning we allow TV but my hack is for when we are running late – I will only allow 5-15 minutes of TV. Getting a kid to walk away from the middle of a show is difficult, so I put on cartoon shorts from on demand or the internet instead of a standard 30 minute show.
Packing lunches and bags the night before is a must to get out the door on time in the morning
Our mornings start early (5am early) so my favorite hack is to lay out everything the night before! I get lunches put together so I can just dump them into lunch boxes, lay out clothes so my 5 year old can stumble into them and then crash back out on the couch for a few more minutes of sleep (I just have to remember to check that he actually changed his underwear versus just pulling the new pair on over the old ones) and get breakfast planned so we can grab it heading out the door. After I drop my husband off at work, my son and I have an hour before I have to be at work to head to the park for a nice breakfast picnic.
My two favorite hacks:
1. During the school year I only make my coffee when we’re heading out the door to drive to school. Having that hot to go cup ensures that I can drink it while it’s still hot, considering the kids are strapped into their car seats and can only cause so much damage.
Hack #2: what I call baby trail mix. Much like your cereal in a bag… It’s the easiest to go snack that I can guarantee the kids will eat. I take a ziploc bag of Cheerios and add whatever cereal, raisins, craisins, goldfish crackers, whatever ee have around. If I’m feeling generous I toss in some chocolate chips. You could add nuts too (not us, food allergies with my 2 year old).
It’s a quick and easy snack. Best part? Keeps them quiet and entertained while they spend their time digging through the bag for chocolate chips.
And I’m a subscriber!
My daughter has long hair that she hates to have brushed, especially when we are running late for school. My favorite hack is to brush it and put it in a bun at night, take it out in the morning and it stays relatively tangle free. Saves time and tears 🙂
I tell my 2-year-old that her “baby” (curious george stuffed animal) can’t sleep and needs her “mommy” to lie in bed with her. Mia (often reluctantly) gets back in her crib and rocks her baby while I shower.
What goes around comes around, babe.
My favorite morning hack is waking up before everyone else does so I can get myself ready and pack up the car with my 5yo son’s backpack, snack, and lunchbox and my 2yo daughter’s diaper bag (for Grandma’s house) without anything or anyone slowing me down!
I totally agree with hack #2 -the threat to turn off the TV totally lights a fire and gets my 3 yr old moving (still whining, but at least moving)! Personal hacks: I make myself get up early enough to at least get a shower in before my son wakes up to get even just one thing out of the way before the demands… err requests come at me and I have learned to have my son go potty as soon as he wakes up. NO TV until he does, so there is no fighting it later when it is time to get dressed and get out the door.
Pick out outfits the night before for all three kids. And use TV/iPad time in the morning to drink my coffee!
For school-age kids who share a room, do NOT have them get dressed at the same time. They will fight and fuss, block each others’ drawers, stand on their brother’s underwear, and hide each others’ socks. Have one feed the cats (or eat a yogurt, or take turns snuggling with mom) while the other one gets dressed.
My favorite morning hack (in addition to having the kids wake up my husband) is to teach my 7 year old how to prepare breakfast for my 5 and 2 year olds. There’s always a chance that a gallon of milk or entire box of Cheerios is spilled, but it’s a risk worth taking.
My morning hacks consist of bringing clothes, shoes, diaper and wipes all to daddy for our 2 1/2 yr old. He then has to wake up (killing two birds with one stone there!) to change her while I get her breakfast ready. Then straight to her highchair then my saving grace is our DVR which we then play her favorite Super Why episode. Breakfast is served and I grab a small spray bottle to do her hair while she happily sings along and eats her breakfast! Win win most everytime!! 🙂
every morning I plop the baby on the kitchen floor with a cup full of Cheerios. otherwise, I cannot prep breakfast for her older brother or my husband and myself. she is anti- high chair first thing and will only settle for the floor of Cheerios are involved!
I put the baby in bathroom sink while I do my hair and makeup…he’s contained and plays with the brushes.
Does having my mom/grammy nanny come over early so I can get ready while she takes care of my 10 month old count? I think it counts!
My daughter has a lot of almost-shoulder length hair. I don’t like leaving it down for the day – it’s a mess by the time she gets home from school and it’s constantly in her face. When I put her hair in ponytails she inevitable pulls them out at school. BUT she likes to have her hair braided “like Anna” from Frozen. My hack is to tell her I can braid her hair like Anna – she has no idea that it’s just normal braids but it keeps her hair out of her face while she’s at school all day. And she doesn’t throw a fit when I tell her it’s time to do her hair.
Another hack it that I put my coffee in an insulated mug – don’t have to worry about reheating!
I let my son watch tv while he eats breakfast so that I can get ready myself and make his lunch without his nagging. I also put a granola bar in the side pocket of his backpack to eat on the bus on the way home, so he doesn’t come home a starving monster!!! Love your fake makeup idea- if I had a daughter… 😉
#mymorninghack letting LO watch her kindle at the table for breakfast!
My morning hack is I have convinced my 3 year old that there is no breakfast until Mommy finishes her coffee. Everything runs more smoothly with a caffeinated mom!
I put the non-perishable breakfast food (box of cereal, applesauce pouch, oranges) out on the table the night before. That way when Kid #1 wakes up “starving” at 6:00, he can start eating without getting the rest of us up!
Fav morning hack is to fill a low kitchen cabinet with baby-friendly items (tupperware, silicone muffin cups, etc.) so baby can entertain himself with those while I make coffee and get his breakfast ready.
My 3 year old gets to watch a show after he eats, gets dressed, and brushes his teeth. Then I can use that half hour to get ready and do things around the house while the one year old sleeps. He’s always willing to get dressed to watch his show!
My favorite morning hack is to prepare everything we need for the day the night before. I’ll make breakfast (overnight oats for my husband and I), pack lunches and snacks, and put outfits together. It helps my family with the morning chaos if everything is ready to go.
My favorite morning hack is letting my two girls, age 8 and 5, fix their own breakfasts of cereal or waffles. Then I have time to get dressed and make my one-year-old’s breakfast before getting him out of his crib!
My morning hack is to let my almost 2 yr old wake up her 14 yr old sister. That way she doesn’t get mad at me for waking her up and she’s always happy to see her little sister. And they get a few minutes of cuddle time so they both start out the day happy.
A favorite hack of mine is to subdivide snacks into kid-portioned ziplock bags (popcorn, pretzels, goldfish, and of course Cheerios) and put them in a kitchen drawer my kids can get into. There’s also applesauce cups, fruit snacks, and granola bars…it’s sort of like the snack drawer version of trail mix! Means that while I was trying to get the 1st grader ready for the bus, the pre-Ker could feed herself!
My favorite morning hack is listening to Harry Belafonte! While I’m in the kitchen the upbeat rhythm keeps me moving quickly so I can make coffee, feed my 16 mo, pack both off our lunches and answer emails without missing a beat. Plus the song and dance breaks entertain her AND my husband!
I put my lukewarm coffee that I didn’t have time to drink over ice and tell myself this is a great treat – iced coffee!
My morning hack is to make breakfast “sandwiches” to go! Usually I will have pancakes with peanut butter spread on them and the kids love it! It is very easy and portable and it really helps us all get out of the house on time in the morning 🙂
My morning hack is getting as much ready as possible the night before, such as clothes laid out and lunchboxes and backpacks packed. I also do a countdown on how much time is left before we need to leave. Then it’s tv off, teeth brushed, hair brushed, shoes on, and out the door.
I enlist my oldest to entertain his two brothers so I can get a few other things done before we leave for school, etc. I also have my kids bring their own laundry baskets down so I don’t have to do it myself!
We don’t come downstairs and start breakfast until everyone is dressed with their hair fixed and has gone potty. This make sure that if we don’t get anything else done for the day at least we have our clothes on
My morning hack would have to be: put on impenetrable mental armor so that my preschooler’s cries of “Can’t I stay home and snuggle you all day?” bounce right off me.
Or perhaps my hack is just that I get everything ready the night before.
I make coffee the night before and set the timer for 4:31. I leave a teaspoon out for the sugar and a cup so that all I have to do is scoop a teaspoon of sugar into the cup, pour the coffee and drop a little creamer in it. I then drink it in the shower (like the wine in the bathtub – don’t judge). I then usually end up with the 3 and 5 year old waiting for me to get out of the shower so we all race each other brushing our teeth – I tell them how many sugar bugs they have left and they work furiously to get them all. Once the 3 and 5 year old are dressed and ready, I wake the girls (those lazy bums) and while the 2 year old is on one potty, the 4 year old is on the other and then they race to brush teeth, hair and get dressed. It’s a well oiled machine. I’m usually out the door right at 6:11 – with baggies of cheerios to boot! Ha!
I always try and get my shower and makeup done before my son wakes up. He always wants to “help” with makeup, which means it takes forever if I wait!
My morning hack is to have to be at work before anyone else wakes up. Daddy has to do everything!
I have my daughter pick out her clothes the night before. We avoid arguments in the morning and she can get herself dresses as soon as she wakes up while we get an extra 5 min of sleep.
Mine was #8 🙂
Our hack required years of conditioning for our daughter. We taught her at age 1 how to use and navigate electronics properly. Now, at 5, she’s a pro. We’ve ‘trained’ her to come into our room at 8:30, not a minute sooner, to tell us she’s awake. I get her a pre-breakfast snack, she navigates the xbox one and internet to bring up a pre-approved show, and she watches a show for an hour until the baby wakes up. She starts her day out slowly and I get an extra half hour of sleep. Win-win.
I definitely use hacks 7 & 9. As for helping them get dressed, I create matching “outfits” that are stored in their dresser or closet (tops with bottoms, dresses with tights/leggings, etc) and then let them pick what they want to wear. It gives them a sense of control while ensuring that what they choose actually goes together.
We pick out clothes the night before and have lunches packed and ready. Also…I brush and style their hair at the table. Gross.
We just sent our boys out the door this morning with some baggies full of Cocoa Puffs when they didn’t have time to finish breakfast before tennis lessons!
My usual morning hack is to let the boys sleep in as late as possible so I can finish getting ready. When they wake up, it’s get dressed, brush teeth, and go straight out the door. This also results in less time for morning bickering. 🙂
Note: They usually eat breakfast at grandmas/school.
One iPad for each child when they come to our bed early in the morning so we could get 15 minutes more sleep. If not too early then I use their iPad time to shower without intruders!
My morning hack is my husband. He works nights, so he’s getting done with work when the kids are getting up. As long as things are laid out, and ready for morning, he gets the older one ready and off to school while mommy sleeps with the baby (that still doesn’t sleep through the night). I always prebag serial into little baggies for breakfast and snack time, then keep them in the “snack” cupboard for easy access. We live dry cereal so we munch on it throughout the day.
Laying everything out the night before. Outfits, hair bows & all other needed stuff for the day!
I walk the dogs in the morning, so when my baby wakes up Daddy has to change his diaper, clothes and brush his teeth. I get back from my walk in time to make him his breakfast (frozen waffle) and turn on the tv so I can go shower.
Today my hack didn’t work because he woke up before me 🙁 and Daddy was too tired (bc he’s sick) to get him ready. So no walk for me.
I let my 2 year old keep a toy car or train or plastic animal in his crib when he goes to bed. When he wakes up, it buys me about 15 minutes in the morning of him playing with his toys before he starts calling for us (if we’re lucky!)
My morning hacks are to make up school lunches for a week at a time and have them ready to go in the morning, and to only give my daughter breakfast food that can be eaten in our bed (cereal bars, apple slices, etc). That way only one of the parents has to get up in the morning and the other one gets a few extra minutes of sleepy snuggles while still in bed