I recently had a friend over, she has 3 girls- all over 8yrs old now.
I walked her up to the car and said our goodbyes… I then watched as the girls opened their doors, got in their seats, buckled themselves up and closed their doors…. I mean this took less than 10 seconds for my friend and her children to be in the car ready to go. I sighed with envy! She of course was a mum with 3 young children not that long ago- she does remember a time when getting in the car took a 30 minute lead up…but she is certainly happy to gloat now at the advantages of her children being more grown.
Sometimes the thought of getting me and my children into the car feels like it might just send me into a panic attack… well maybe that’s a bit extreme, but it’s far from easy right? Because…
Morning Routine:
Breakfast to be dished out, eaten/fed, then cleaned up off child, chair, floor, walls.
Clothes chosen, re-chosen.
Chasing down young children to be dressed in a way that feels like what I imagine wrestling an octopus would also feel like.
My daughter, who has spent the last 20 minutes doing….well I have no idea…but it has not been getting dressed and each reminder is getting less polite.
Teeth brushed,
Hair brushed,
Shoes and socks on..then taken off and misplaced somewhere, so hunt for second pair and put them on.
And you just know there will be a nappy explosion when you are already running 5 minutes late. The later you are-the bigger the mess…Right???
Bags packed- because despite intentions to always have bags ready and packed to go … this isn’t always my morning reality.
Getting packed and ready into the car is so much more of a process than I ever anticipated pre-children.
You will noticed I have mentioned nothing about getting myself ready. There is every chance I threw on yesterdays clothes, sprayed some dry shampoo and gargled some mouth wash-Viola.
Even once we are dressed and bags are packed, moving us all out the door can be tough. I only have two hands, so it takes a few trips just to load…
The Bags:
Baby bag,
Toddler bag,
School bag,
maybe additional swim bag,
or dance bag,
or my work bag,
a food bag….
I mean why so many bags???
Making sure each bag is placed where I will need it- like food bag being accessible if needing to grab a quick snack for someone, drink bottles within reach for kids to grab.
Making sure items I need are taken out of bag and placed where I need them- keys, drink, sunglasses etc.
Then getting the kids in- one at a time because they are not yet independent with this process.
My daughter can and will get herself into her seat, which is good- but is generally the harder one to rustle out the door:
she wants to bring a toy,
she wants different shoes,
she wants an extra clip in her hair,
didn’t need to go to the toilet 20 mins ago but now as we are walking out the door- she simply must!
My son– LOVES the car, but as soon as a door is open:
he is in- climbing to the drivers seat and pushing buttons,
he jumps at the opportunity to do this when getting out of the car too, and not 1 but 3 times has the battery gone flat when he has done this and I have failed to realise he has left lights on.
The same NRMA guy has come out each time- it is so embarrassing. I try- but the kid is quick! Trying to then get him in his seat with his Houdini strap is hard- he often fights it. N I ramble through the selection of ‘car play’ items to find something he is not yet bored of to stop him resisting the notion of being strapped down.
My baby, by all definition should be easy right- into the baby seat, less fight….But:
what if it is mid nap,
almost time for a feed?
With a third you cant always move around bubs routine- drop offs need to happen, appointments need to be kept.
So if it is not an ideal time- we may just have some screaming and mummy guilt is tough when your baby is crying!
On top of all that I feel like at least 50% of the time, despite my efforts- I will have left something at home that I need:
Forgot:
The bike when we were going to the park with a bike track,
Forgot to put extra jumpers in their bags even though I checked the weather app and knew I needed to,
Forgot to fill water bottles- so the kids have a ration of about 50ml each,
Forgot to brush the birds nest out of my sons hair, but also probably forgot his hat to cover it up.
Forgot to charge my phone so I have about 15% battery after a run of pepper pig games being played on it this morning…… always something!!!
I can see why some people Never make it out the door. And why isolation is a problem for young families.
But in a few years….. there will be less bags, less dependence, less chaos in getting out the door…… and then we will probably get clucky again…hehe. We are just suckers hey!
