Reflections on Breakfast and Lullabies

I have had success in running my children through a bedtime routine the last couple of nights. The evenings have gone a little more smoothly. The kids have stayed in bed a little better, and I actually have found that I can more easily relax after bedtime. Maybe that's because the constant clamor of children running up and down the stairs has decreased quite a bit, but I have also found myself falling into a little more of my own night time routine. After the kids are in bed I'll watch maybe a show or read a book, take a bath and go to bed. I have been feeling pleasantly tired at the end of the day, and it hasn't felt like I am longing to stay up later and later just for some much needed me time. I definitely like this night time routine thing. Another unseen side affect of having a routine with my kids is that by making going potty part of our night time routine my oldest daughter has wet the bed less this week so far.

The mornings have been less structured. My girls are frequently awake before I am ready to go get them up. If it gets to be around 7:30 or so and I still haven't heard from a child, then I go upstairs and wake them. However, like I said most mornings the girls are coming in around 7:00 or earlier. I have found the key to getting them dressed right away is to make sure that their clean clothes make it up to their drawer. This morning for example my youngest girl got herself dressed right away and the other had to be told several times that her clean clothes were in the dryer. I have come to the conclusion though that I don't necessarily need to be the one to wake up my kids to have a good and productive morning. I think I am going to put more effort into the night time routine.

Now my AHA! moment here may seem like a Duh to lots of people, but I'm the first to admit that my organizational skills are lacking. It is a weakness that I intend to put a lot of effort into. So far the efforts that I have made have really paid off.