Monday 20 May 2013

Organised Chaos

I have people asking me on a daily basis just how I managed to have all my children ready in the mornings. My reply is simple, organisation.

As well as my own four children to get washed, dressed and fed, I also look after my friends little girl every weekday and take her to school.

Everyone thinks I'm mad, sometimes I think I am!!!

Like I said at the beginning, organisation is key. There are two things I make sure that I do the night before :


Get the school uniforms and playschool clothes out ready
and


Prepare the toothbrushes, that way they only need to wet with water the next day.

A typical day for me starts at 5.45am when Daddy Hazelden's alarm goes off. What a dreadful time to get up, after nearly 8 years of it, I still wake up grumpy, noone likes a rude awakening do they!!

This however gives me a full hour before I have to wake the kids up from their slumber. In this time I manage to :

* Get myself washed and dressed. (atleast make myself look awake)
* Do 200 sit ups.
* Make my bed and tidy my room.
* Get Daddy Hazelden's and the kids lunches prepared.
* Get a load of washing put on.
* Get the kids breakfast ready and waiting on the table


I wake the kids up 6.45am (cruel mummy). I have to get them up reasonably early because my friends little girl gets dropped off at 7.30am so I like to have my little monkeys all ready for when she arrives, otherwise they would be too busy playing instead of concentrating on getting themselves ready.

Whilst they are eating breakfast, I pester them by putting their hair up, todays request was for 3 pony tails for each of them, not sure why 3 was the magic number but who am I to argue. After breakfast is getting washed and dressed. I am quite lucky where the oldest two can sort themselves out, so I can concentrate on getting Gracie and Layla washed and dressed.

This then gives them a full hour to go ahead and play and make a nice mess for mummy to clear up after they have gone to school, oh the joys.

Now I say this is a typical day but there are always things that go wrong which means my mornings don't run as smoothly as I like. Gracie will decide to not eat breakfast because she no longer likes the cornflakes she ate the day before, or Layla will decide to wake up early to "help" mummy make the lunches and breakfast and there has got to be some sort of sibling argument to start the day, right?? 

Do you have a routine in the mornings or is it always a manic rush to get out of the door? I would love to know!!!

xxxx

24 comments:

  1. Wow! I'm tired just reading all that!

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    1. haha I'm tired doing it lol, could do with an afternoon nap ;) x

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  2. Very useful tips for me. In September, I will have a newborn, a 3 year old at nursery 5 days a week and a 19 month old who joins him 2 days a week. I'm scared of mornings and the chaos to get ready- I am not a morning person! If I do more prep the night before, I should be ok as you say. But 2000 sit ups?? Don't think I'll ever be that good!xx

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    1. lol, routine has always been something that has worked for me, definitely takes the stress factor out.!! Hope all runs smoothly for you xx

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  3. I was with you when mine were young, everything was prepared and ready Mine were in bed for 6.30 till about 7 yr od so always had the evening to prepare. I was a childminder and had kids dropped off from 7.15 onwards so needed to be prepared. I had the advantage when mine started school that the school was at the end of the road, could see it from the flat so naver had far to go.

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    1. we are literally a 5 minute walk from school which is lovely, not sure I could handle having to go out of the door earlier!! x

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  4. Wow! You are so organised!! I could learn a thing or two from you! I love it when I wake up before Cameron but that rarely happens!

    Thank you for linking up with The Weekend Blog Hop. Hope to see you again this week.

    Laura x x x

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  5. This is what I'm aspiring to!

    We get up at 6.30 and aim to get ourselves ready before waking the kids at 6.45. Once they're ready we are out of the door (they both have breakfast at nursery). I want to start getting up earlier so I have some me time for exercise and getting a few tasks done in the morning. However, I am naturally a night owl so I've got to shift my body clock a few hours.

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    1. I'm terrible because I sit up reading most nights, meaning I probably get about 5 hours sleep a night but I think my body clock has just got used to it!

      It is nice to feel like your not rushing around. x

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  6. okay you are super mum!! 200 sit ups?! i felt lazy literally reading this post. my hat off to you lady and i'll be taking tips for when we add to our family ;)

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    1. lol I wish I was super mum. I have to do the sit ups in the morning as otherwise I wouldn't do them and I really really want to get rid of my "mummy tummy". Have fun adding to your family ;)

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  7. Wow! How incredibly organised you are. I am most jealous of the 200 sit ups you do every morning. My exercise in the morning is to roll over to reach my bedside table and switch my alarm off.

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    1. haha turning off the alarm is my hubbys exercise in the morning!!!

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  8. I would be lost without my routine! i am the same with the toothbrushes, clothes and breakfast!

    Just popped over from the weekend blog hop x

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  9. I have 4 children too but I need to get more organised, I am always rushing around at the last minute :)

    Thanks for linking up with us at welcome to the weekend blog hop :)

    New follower by GFC...

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  10. You're so organised...
    Our mornings are always chaotic even though I get the clothes ready the night before...I think if I got up at about half an hour earlier it would be easier but I like my sleep too much...hehehe

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  11. Wow! I'm not sure if I'm more shocked at the time on the alarm or the fact that you put the paste on the toothbrushes the night before! I thought that I was organised but you win hands down! Thanks for linking to #oldiesbutgoodies

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    1. lol, if I'm not military style organised it all goes to pot!!! thanks for popping by :) x

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  12. 200 sit ups!! 200 sit ups!! Ok, the rest is pretty impressive too ;)
    I do try and be organised but generally find myself ironing a forgotten cardigan, while pouring breakfast cereal in a bowl. And sometimes it doesn't matter how organized you are, it only takes one toddler to forget to tell you he needs the loo 10 seconds before you are about to leave the house to cause chaos.

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    1. haha yes my 3 year old usually waits until we are the end of the road to inform that she infact needs a wee even though she was adament she didn't 2 minutes before!!

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  13. You sound pretty similar to me! I always have the clothes out the night before and always get up an hour (sometimes more) before the kids to get myself ready and start getting things ready for them. I line the toothbrushes up too, but not until the morning!

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  14. wow! 200 sit-ups! popping over from oldies but goodies linky. great to find you and have liked you on facebook too x

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  15. popped back again for the #oldiesbutgoodies

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  16. Wish I could be organised like that - only happens once in a blue moon. Visiting from #oldiesbutgoodies

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