For you uncultured swine that title is a song from My Fair Lady.
So there is something that our household revolves around a few times a week. What is that thing? Getting somewhere on time! Get to church on time on Sunday, get to bible study on time, get to a playdate on time, an appointment, and so forth. It seems that I hear families talking about how hard it is to get places on time. Especially families with younger kids. I know for me personally, getting Darby and Bryse ready is quite easy but Cal and Deakin are more of a challenge. And I remember what it was like when we had an exclusively breastfed baby in the mix. Which might seem like nothing to you that are reading this and didn't breastfeed or can't remember that far back, but it can be tricky. I tend to be a planner and sort of get a little high off of the challenge of getting everyone out and going on time. So I thought I would share some of my favorite discoveries in this ambition. Starting with a small baby: 1) Keep your diaper bag by the door. Or even in the car if that is possible. Personally, I use my diaper bag as my purse as well and kinda need it in the house, so I just keep it near the door, always in the same place. Keep it stocked with a change of clothes and plenty of diapers. 2) Have everyone ready to go except for baby. For us this meant that I tried to schedule an appointment for after a normal naptime. So I would have all the other kids with their shoes on, jackets either laying by the door or on and staying in one area. Have your shoes on, your hair/make-up done, and everything you need for the appointment waiting in the car. That way when baby wakes up, you can change the diaper, nurse real quick and go directly out the door as soon as baby is ready! (This trick does not work for husbands in general.) Now on to older children: 1) Teach the kids to buckle themselves and obey after the first command. "Load up and buckle up" is one of my most said phrases. If children are obedient, this goes smoothly. Which means that, in our house, Cal is still learning this obedience. He can buckle himself but still struggles with not getting distracted and obeying the first time. Both Cal and Bryse are forward facing but still in five-point harnesses and they buckle themselves. Deakin is rear facing in a five point harness and can't (or won't) climb into the seat by himself yet and obviously can't buckle himself yet. Darby is in a booster seat and buckles herself. So this means that when we get in all I am responsible for is Deakin and making sure Cal and Bryse don't get into a fist fight while getting to their seats! 2) If you child is over two (and sometimes younger) they can and should put their own shoes on. Now, having said that, if we are running late I help Cal with his shoes. But if your children will learn to take care of themselves then that frees you up to take care of other things. Again obedience is key here as well. "Get your shoes and socks on!" 3) Clothes. My kids aren't allowed to eat breakfast on weekdays unless they are dressed first. Even if we are going no where I still make them get dressed before they eat. So when it is time to go somewhere I don't have to make sure that they are dressed first. In general: 1) Leave early. And with kids can you ever leave too early? What about diaper blow outs? What about pulling over 3 times within the 10 minute drive to discipline? What about getting nearly there and realizing that you've forgotten something and having to go back? What about coaxing the dog out of the van and getting him back in the house? What about when the garage door won't close and you have to go tinker with the censor or move a yard toy out of the way to get it to close? If where I am going is between 1 and 5 minutes away I ALWAYS shoot for leaving 15 minutes before I need to be there. It takes us roughly 5 minutes to get to church. If it starts at 10:00, I am hussling hard to be loaded and in the van by 9:45. This allows for everything to go wrong and still squeak in the door on time. The whole time Robert was gone we were late for church one time (and even then it was only about 3 or 4 minutes). This works! If where we are going is 5-15 minutes away I try to leave 30 minutes before the time that we are suppose to be there. Robert hates this. Because sometimes, rarely, things all go perfectly smooth. The children are all smiling, dressed perfectly, hair combed, baby doesn't poop or throw a temper tantrum and we drive up to the appointment and are about 10 minutes early. So we have to sit in the van and talk or whatever to kill time. Although, that has only happened about 3 times. And honestly if I can choose between being early and bored to being late and frazzled? No contest. 2) Start getting ready early. I once read in an article on this topic a mom that said that they tack on 15 minutes for each additional child. So if you have one child then you start getting ready 15 minutes till the time that you need to leave. Two kids -30 minutes, three kids - 45 mintues, and so on and so forth. I assume this is working under the belief that you are starting to get ready from scratch; clothes, diapers, shoes, etc. I can vouch for this theory in regards to when we are going somewhere early in the morning. Need to be out of the house at 6am? 5:30 may work for a getting up time when you were childless but now you're looking at earlier. In the middle of the day this doesn't work though. I typically start thinking about what I need to get ready and slowly start getting things together about 45 minutes before I need to leave. Generally, I just try to always over estimate how long it will take. Example: Several Friday nights ago we had bible study that is 5 minutes away. There was a potluck before it at 6pm and I was bringing about 20 grilled soft tacos and cookies to share. I made the cookies during naptime and had them already packed and ready to go. This particular bible study has problems with people showing up late and the leader has asked repeatedly that people do their best to come on time. So I try my very hardest to honor him with our obedience to that request. So about 4:15 I started cooking. It ended up being the perfect timing too because I was done with cooking and cleaning up the kitchen at 5:30. The boys took late naps in preparation for Bible study because we stay up so late that night. Everyone was dressed so we only needed shoes, socks, and jackets. So at 5:30 we started loading the van and getting everything ready: dairy free snacks for the boys, sippy cup and diaper bag for Deakin, socks, shoes, jackets. And we were loaded up and out the door by 5:45. We had one little drop off on the way and got there right at 6:00! It was not totally peaceful and perfect, as nothing is in this world, but it was done! And while I do not believe being late for things is a sin in any way. I do believe in teaching my children that it honors others by showing them that you respect their time given. That is all I have!
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LindseyI'm the mama and wife. Updating you on our life! Archives
January 2022
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