oldest starts full time school in September- only one problem

[tiffini]

i also have twin daughters of 16 months and find it impossible to get out of the house before 10.00 am.

All 3 kids sleep through the night and all need 12-13 hrs sleep. Bedtime is 7.30, so they normally wake up about 8ish, i cant get them down any earlier so i have no idea how i am going to be out the house by 8.30.
also my DS, the one starting school will not eat breakfast untill he has been awake an hour (like me)and i bath him in the mornings as oppose to evening as he sleeps hot and sweats buckets through the night.
Any suggestions
TIA

[foxinsocks]

work backwards to see how long you think it will take you (coats on, school bag, toilet trip, lunch packed, teeth brushed, nappies done, etc.!) then know your 'last point' wake up time and aim for around 15 mins before that

do as much as you can the night before and have it ALL by the door so you're not looking for everything at the last minute

change your routine to bath at night

choose the kids clothes the night before (and lay out ds's uniform in advance so he can put it on)

both mine sleep late and I know worst case scenario, I have to wake them up at 8 to be out the door and walking to school at 8.30 but that can often mean they still have the last bit of breakfast on the way (a bit of toast or an apple)

[Lonelymum]

Twins could always have breakfast when you egt back from school if that gives you more time. Also, I have seen little children in the playground in their pyjamas before now so obviously other people have the same trouble. I would say though that it would be easier if ds could have his bath at night. He will be quite a bit older than he is now by September though so you have plenty of time to change routines.

[tiffini]

Thanks foxinsocks.
i already do most of what you suggested, i am just so slow in the mornings, i suppose i should stsrt practicing now, and learn not to be so fussy as i am very particular obout housework, i cant leave the house unless it is spotless, even when just nipping to the shop.
I will probably opt to giving DS school dinners, depending on the menu, so that will save a couple of minutes.

[tiffini]

Loneymum, im'e hoping the twins will change their habits by then, at the moment they wake up starving so there is no eay they will wait till i get back, as i will be on foot, 20 minutes each way.

[SoupDragon]

Oh, you'll be leaving the house non-spotless leaving a trail of devastation behind you!! I leave breakfast things, PJs etc all over the place and sort it out when I get home from the school drop off.

Organisation is definitely the key. Children can put shoes on in the car if necessary and eat breakfast! It looks like you'll have to start nudging your DSs breakfast time forward so that he eats it sooner after he's woken up or that is going to be a stumbling point. Could your DTs eat a pot of dry cereal on the way to school to tide them over til you get back for "proper" breakfast?

[SoupDragon]

(oh, and clearly if you're walking, getting dressed on the way may prove problematic!! lol)

[psychomum5]

I understand your fear but believe me you get into a good routine quite quickly. I have five now, and am always sorted by 830amm and my eldest is 11. When she started school I had her, DD2 nearly three and a newborn.....I found doing as much as possible the night before the key.

Before bed I do lunchboxes, put cereal & bowls & spoons on the table, make sure book bags are by the door as are school shoes n coats, and my handbag n keys too.

7am....alarm. I get up and shower puting the boys (4 n 2) in the bath for a freshen up. Girls jump in after. At 7.30 I get the boys dressed and do their teeth, while the girls sort themselves out. 7.45 I do the girls hair, then they go down to pour out breakfast, while I do my hair n make-up. I am normally down by 8.15 myself in time to calm them down if bickering has started up.

I know you have younger kiddies at the mo, but you have 4mths for them to get in a routine that you can work with. Like others have said, give the twins their breakfast when you get home. If they wake up starving then you could do as my friend with 15mth twins does....she gives them a breakfast bar to keep them going.

You will do it. and it will get easier, surprisingly quickly too......I am always in a rush the first week back after holidays because we quickly get into 9/10am wake-ups, let alone being ready to go out by then!!!! Good luck, and don't panic.....xxxxx

[jjash]

You`ll soon find a routine that suits.My dd was i week old when ds started morning nursery .She was always in her sleepsuit at the school gates .Iwalk there and back and on walk home i used to have to stop at friends house to feed her !!
By time ds started full time we had a routine down fine !! still have to wake them up sometimes .Agree with soupdragon though - deal with the mess when you get home from the school!! Far less traumatic.

[jjash]

theres always the odd mum at the school in her PJs too if you are really late !!

[psychomum5]

As for the mess........I am a real perfectionist and hate leaving the house messy. Beds are done as they get up, but downstairs is always gleaming before I go to bed. That way, I come down to find it tidy and only breakfast stuff to put away when I come home.

[Gwenick]

I won't even need to leave the house in September if I'm 'really' late - even though DS will only be in reception - I live next door to the school

[foxinsocks]

oh, we leave the house looking like it's been ransacked so I couldn't help you with the spotless house bit!

[tiffini]

Thanks Ladies, i know you are all right about leaving a mess and giving girls brekki when i get back, im'e very fussy and everything has to be just so, im'e just gonna have to learn to break a few habitsand learn not to panic when things are'nt perfect.

LOL soupdragon

[jjash]

Gwenick - thats great .We lived nxt door to my infant school as a kid .My mum just used to hang out of the window to say bye !!

[Gwenick]

I think if DS is REALLY late - I'll give him a hand over the wall - our 2 garden walls also form part of the school wall - and theirs access to the classrooms round that side of the building too

[Lonelymum]

At the moment, I have to drive my kids to school as we live too far away to walk. I didn't like this at first and am still looking forward to moving again and going back to being able to walk, but I must say there is one advantage: I can park right next to the school gate and the children always go straight into school (unlike their old school) so all I have to do is pull up, open the door (electric button on dashboard! - posh, us!) and say goodbye to them. Therefore, I don't have to be looking my best (though I would never leave the house in my Pjs - did you mean you see mothers in their pjs jjash?!) and ds3 doesn't have to have shoes on (often a source of contention with him at the mo). It only saves a few minutes in the morning, but every second counts when it comes to getting the children to school on time!

[jjash]

Yes Lonelymum - mothers in pjs .Of the fleecy variety .
Gwenick - cant you dig a tunnel to the school ? Dont even have to get out of bed then!

[Lonelymum]

Jjash
Gwenick, if I were you, I would just install a gate (or a small stile?) in your wall, then you can send ds out by himself. No roads to cross. Lovely.

[chipmonkey]

Tiffni, it sounds like you will have to change the routine of the little ones just a little. Can you put them to bed earlier or give an extra nap midday?

[Gwenick]

ooo lonely - we don't have any roads to cross - it's just like he would be going to the next door neighbors..............and he is very 'streetwise' in terms of not going on the road..............hmm!!

[Lonelymum]

Yeah but what I mean was, if you knock a gate into your wall, he won't even have to go out the front door!

[Louise1980]

My friend has an 8yr old and she gets up and dresses her self for school, before she could her older sister did it. The then wake her up and she takes them to school in her pj,s n dressing gown so dont worry if twins rnt dressed n are eating dry cereal or breakfast bar on way to school, it happens!!!

[Wallace]

I agree - leave twins in PJ's til after. Also, as you are fussy about housework, you could get up way before the kids and get it done first

[tiffini]

i could get up early, if i was'nt on this flaming site all hours

[tiffini]

besides i do the housework before i go to bed, it just somehoe manages to look like a pig s##t whole within an hour of the kids being up.