And the fun begins...

Today on our way walking to the bus stop, Emma realized she forgot to pack her tennis shoes. I ran back into the house to get them, when I realized that Emma also forgot her hat and her lunch, and Gavin forgot his backpack. I couldn't find the tennis shoes, then I remembered that I had already packed them in her backpack.

The morning chaos was bad enough before adding snow to the picture. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow. I think it's beautiful, and there are so many fun activities to do in the snow. It's just so much harder to get the kids out the door.

Before leaving for the bus stop at 8:05 we need to get a few things together.


1. Lunches made and ready to go
2. Backpack with contents for the day, including:
snowpants, tennis shoes, homework folder, Monday- Lilah's library book, Tuesday- Emma and Gavin's library books, Wednesday- Lilah's swimming gear in her swim bag (goggles, swimsuit, towel, swimcap) Spanish Folder and Dictionary (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
3. Winter Gear- hat, boots, mittens, scarf, jacket


I have taken on the responsibility of getting together all items in the above list. The three munchkins are responsible for:

1. eating their breakfast
2. brushing their hair
3. brushing their teeth
4. getting dressed


None of the three ever seem to exhibit any sense of urgency, Gavin being the worst. He likes to take in all life has to offer, and gets distracted easily. With this in mind, we have a system in place that Mike started last year when he was the morning adult assigned to getting-ready-for-the-day duty. The timer is set to go off at 7:59. Whoever has the 4 jobs finished gets 4 tallies. It works pretty well. If they're not done in time, we have a few minutes to spare, just in case we need it, which we always do. Getting 4 tallies is pretty important to the kids, so a friendly reminder every 3-5 minutes usually helps them kick things into gear. I'm happy to say that we haven't missed the bus so far.

Oh, I implemented the rule- No playing the piano until you have finished 1-4. Everytime we're in a hurry or a lot is going on, inevitably someone feels a sudden urge to play the piano, just to add more spice to the chaos.