Leaving the house...it does not have to break a mom!

I feel as though this blog should be coming at a later date, but here it is. How I was able to successfully get out of the house this morning to go to the United Way Reading Festival.

When I had 2 kids I did not realize the time and effort it takes to get them out of the house. It has taken me hours to get out of the house every day this week. I do not want my life to be that chaotic. I want to be able to go out and do fun things with the kids and not get upset during the getting ready process. Today, I assessed my getting ready process and made drastic changes and noted what I did, what I needed to do, and what I learned today during this process. 

Lillian is an incredible, aggressive nurser. She knows when it is time to eat; it is time to eat! This has been the biggest struggle in getting ready to leave the house.

Today began a little differently. Lillian is on a 2 hour eating schedule and luckily, she woke up at 5 am to eat which meant she was up at 7 am instead of her usual 6 am to feed. That extra hour made a huge difference in how I felt when I woke up. She also went right back to sleep which is a miracle in itself because usually we have an hour of awake time and no time for Mom to do anything else. Because she went to sleep, I was able to pump and wake up for the day.

It was also a huge blessing because Hannah was still sleeping. Usually, she is in our room at 7 am or earlier to wake me up and begin her day.

With both girls sleeping, I began to map out how I was going to get out of the house. I emptied the diaper bag and began to repack it, gathering all the supplies I needed for two kids. Something I learned from someone or Pinterest was to put all the different essentials in plastic, gallon zip-lock bags. This helps keep everything from going everywhere. I put Hannah’s wipes and diapers in her own zip-lock and Lillian’s diapers and wipes in another. I then put all the clothes in another bag. I also packed a snack for Hannah with Lillian’s pumped milk in the cooler. I got a cute little bag from Target when I registered there so I put all my supplies I needed for myself in it. I also threw in the camera and my wallet so I would not have to carry a separate purse.

This assured me that I would be prepared for anything that would go my way while out of the house. I put everything I would need by the door so I would not accidentally leave the diaper bag or my pump on the kitchen table. This told Hannah I meant business. We were leaving soon!

There were several things I could have done better today to help get me prepared faster and out the door at a quicker pace.

Mistake #1: Did not have the girls clothes picked out and laid out the night before. I should have read the weather for today and decided what would be appropriate for each girl to wear and have it laid out. This would cut down on time searching for socks and undershirts. Hannah is getting to the age where she likes to pick her own clothes out and if there is time, I would adjust and let her wear what she wanted.

Mistake # 2: Breakfast was not planned. We usually think of only planning dinner and forget about breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day and who would want to deal with a crabby, hungry 2 year old? Not me! I was able to make Hannah something fairly quickly, but in order to cut down on time taken to think of what to make I should have planned this into my monthly food menu. I could make pancakes and freeze them and then warm them up or have food cooked and ready for when Hannah woke up.

Mistake # 3: Have snacks and Sippy cups filled and ready the night before. I spent at least 15 minutes finding snacks and clean sippy cups. I should have prepared the snacks when I bought them in their own little individual containers and then I could just grab and go. The sippy cups should have been filled and in the fridge next to the snack.

The biggest thing about getting two kids ready (or more) is to anticipate your departure. You know that you want to get out of the house and children should not keep you cooped up. I do not believe your social life has to end when you have children. You should get out of the house so that you can get away from housework and the oldest child can get away from their toys and see something new.

Organization is key to getting out of the house in a timely manner. Andrew was sweet enough yesterday to give Hannah a bath and keep her busy for a bit. What did I do with my time then? Nothing! I did nothing to get them ready to leave the house. The other day I wanted to take their pictures and took 3 hours to get them ready to go outside for a 5 minute photo session. What is wrong with these two pictures? I did not stay on task and when given the opportunity to get a bunch of stuff done I did not jump on it. I drug my feet. This caused us getting out the house to be chaotic and me to be frustrated!

Today taught me several important lessons:

1)      Organization is going to help the whole household because I will be less chaotic and this  will keep me from becoming irritated as I get the girls ready.

2)      I need to seize every free moment I have to get something important done that will help us leave the house sooner. This means putting the cell phone in the diaper bag by the door and not answering texts, calls, or checking the latest on Facebook until we are ready!

3)      Make a list! Try to keep a notepad on the table or fridge and write down what errands need to be ran while out. Also write down anything you may need while you are out!

4)      Anticipate that things will not always go my way. Lillian will need fed, she will spit up, Hannah will spill her juice, and I will not have Andrew there to help me like he did this morning with me getting a shower.

5)      Since I will anticipate these things to happen, I will be more prepared next time. Next time Andrew may not be there when I need to shower so I will need to remember to take a shower the night before if I know I have somewhere to be in the morning.

6)       Have a plan! I knew that Lillian does not like the car seat so I had her pacifier ready to go into her mouth as soon as I put her in and this helped us get out of the house.

Today was a great outing. Hannah had a wonderful time at the reading festival. She and I were able to color together and look at books. We did a character walk together and she was able to show off all the things she has learned to do. I credit having such a nice outing to the fact I did not leave the house all frazzled. In fact, I felt prepared and had a plan in place. We were then able to go on to have a wonderful play date as well! Hannah was happy, I was happy, and Lillian was happy!

This is my journey so far and each day will get better. Now let’s see if I can make it to church on time tomorrow!!! I will keep you all posted. J Have a wonderful day!