Morning Chaos with Kids

5:30 AM alarm goes off…do I wake up now and have 30 minutes to myself to get ready for work, or do I sleep in 30 more minutes and wake up when the kids wake up for school? The struggles a mom battles with every morning!

“Hey kids, time to wake up..." I go off and start getting myself ready. Five minutes later, “Kids, wake up, come on. Let’s get ready for school.” I hear grunting and moaning and lots of complaining, yet nobody gets out of bed.

“GET UP NOW, DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN!" Finally, all three kids get out of bed. My son always finds his way to my bed and climbs in and tries to get a few more minutes of sleep, as if moving locations is going to make me forget about him. The other two are girls and they are in the bathroom bumping into each other and arguing.

“Hey, don’t forget to brush your teeth,” seems to be the going phrase every morning.

I continue to get ready in my room only to see my blankets moving and realizing that my son is still in my bed. It is now 20 minutes after I originally woke them up and he tries to sweet talk me, that it only takes him five minutes to get ready, he will get up later. I tell him to get his butt out of my bed and go!

I finish up in my bedroom and go into my bathroom to do my hair and makeup. Again, I say, “Hey, did you brush your teeth?” I hear “No’s” from all areas of the house. “Well, come on, get to it,” I say to them. We leave in 20 minutes. I start to hear groaning from the girls because, suddenly, time must have warped and they are in the bedroom still, changing for the fifth time because they didn’t like their outfits. Meanwhile, my son got dressed and climbed back into my bed.

“Come on, let’s get downstairs, brush your teeth, and let’s go.” I finally start to hear more movement as they head back to the bathroom. I am downstairs, packing lunch, eating breakfast, getting my work computer and purse together, feeding the dog, cleaning up the area, and I start to see the kids come downstairs. We now have about ten minutes until the bus gets here and they are pouring cereal and looking for snacks to take to school. “Did you brush your teeth?” I ask.

“No, I forgot.”

WAIT!!! JUST WAIT. YOU FORGOT?? HOW ON EARTH DID YOU FORGET? I have been reminding you every few minutes!

By now, it’s a mad scramble to pack backpacks, finish breakfast, and put shoes on. I mention to the kids that we are walking out the door in two minutes. Scrambling is still taking place, and there is always someone who still hasn’t brushed their teeth! We finally get out the house and to the bus stop, and I always say to myself, “Wake up 30 minutes early tomorrow, and DON’T sleep in.” I really need those 30 minutes to myself where there is no chaos—mainly to prepare myself for it!

Waking up for work in the morning is tough enough; being a single mom of three kids and getting ready for work in the morning feels like an eight-hour shift in its own! Sometimes I feel like going to work gets me away from the chaos for a few hours, only to be a few hours into work and realize I need a nap. This day is exhausting!

Moms—ALL MOMS—stay tough out there! These kids are energy-sucking machines, I tell ya!