The time has come *tear*

 

Unfortunately my maternity leave has come to an end and I have to go back to work.  Actually I'm already back at work, in my desk as I type this, but just go with me on this one.   I can't believe how fast the year has gone.  As soon as your little bundle is born people are always telling you "enjoy it, it goes by so fast!".  I heard them, and I thought I understood what they meant, but I had no idea at all.  It sounds cliché but it really does feel like Roman was only born yesterday.

 

Now my not so little man is heading off into the great big world of daycare.  Daycare can be a frightening place for any little person, especially after spending an entire year at home with their favorite person.  Roman has always been a fairly easy going little guy so I thought the transition would be easy.  Boy was I wrong!  He has his bad days and usually cries when I leave, but I also know he has his good days, he just forgets to tell me that part of the story!  All of this change can be stressful for both parent and baby, so I wanted to share some tips of how I make our morning routine a little less stressful during this "interesting" transition time.

 

Freezer cooking!!!  You all know I love preaching the gospel about freezer cooking, but I had no idea how amazing it was until I went back to work.  I pick Roman up from daycare at 5:45 and he is usually in bed by 7:30.  How in the world am I supposed to cook a meal from scratch and eat, feed our zoo and bathe Roman in that amount of time?!  Even with John's help there is no way it would happen.  Did I also mention that during this lovely transition to daycare Roman now refuses to be any farther than 6 inches away from me for the first 30 minutes we're home?  With freezer meals I don't have to worry about supper at all during the day.  I take a meal out of the freezer before I leave in the morning and it's ready to heat when I get home.  This way I can still get some snuggles in before we have to continue on with the routine.

While Roman was on his daycare trials I went on a massive freezer cooking mission.  I made enough meals to cover us for a couple weeks at least and I probably have enough breakfasts for a month,  Here is what I made!

• Texas Breakfast Casserole
• Breakfast Burrito Bites
• French Toast Sticks
• Salisbury Steak
• Chicken Dijon
• Smart Mac & Cheese
• Stuffed Peppers
• Apple Chicken Bites
• Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes
• Chicken Nuggets
• Burrito Casserole
• Thai Turkey Meatballs

Pack lunches the night before.  This may seem like something you can accomplish in the morning but take a moment to picture this scenario.  You wake up half an hour late, your kid won't eat what you made for breakfast so you have to make something else, and the dogs are refusing to come back in the house.  Sound familiar?  It happens in our house sometimes too and the last thing I want to do is to think about lunch.  Heck, I barely have time to think at all.  It's so much easier to grab a bag out of the fridge and roll.  Plus it'll probably end up being better for you rather than throwing an entire box of granola bars into a bag.

Lay clothes out the night before.  Not just the kids', yours too! I don't consider myself a fashionista that needs a super stylish outfit every day, but I would like to have an outfit that matches and doesn't have any mystery baby stains.  No more standing in front of the closet for 10 minutes in the morning thinking "I have nothing to wear"!  The night before I put out whatever outfit I'm going to wear the next day, along with any jewelry that I want to wear with it.  I get dressed while Roman is playing and quite often I end up pulling him off a dog or out of a garbage can while attempting to get dressed.  If everything is in a pile then at least I know where I left off when I come back to getting dressed.  Don't want to leave the house without pants!

Be ready before the kids wake up.  The unfortunate part of this tip is that you sometimes have to be up at the crack of dawn.  Roman wakes up around 6am so that leaves me staggering into the bathroom at 5am to get ready for the day.  Sure I could get ready when he's awake but there is no way we would get out the door in time.  My goal every morning to have my hair done and makeup on before I hear chattering coming from down the hall.  Now if you have a messy eater like I do, I highly recommend staying in your pjs until after breakfast is cleaned up.  Nobody wants a smear of blueberry across their white pants which sends you back to the closet in a panic because "I have nothing to wear".

I realize these tips aren't exactly earth shattering information, but hopefully they will help your mornings run smoother and keep the stress to a minimum.  How do you make your mornings start off on the right foot?  Share your tips in the comments!