Time to go back to the "school schedule" routine around here..... class starts on Monday.

Dear Summer.... I will miss you.

6:00 am. The alarm goes off. I have a Spa Clock. Not as relaxing as it sounds.... how relaxing can an alarm clock be?? But I do like the ceiling projection. My alarm is set to the sound of thunder. Why? Because thunder doesn't wake a sleeping baby. And snoozing thunder 6 times doesn't disturb a sleeping husband. Although this morning it was static... loud static... because some small person messed with it. Ahem.
So the alarm goes off. I snooze it.

I drag myself downstairs.  I let the critters out.  I start the coffee and put away dishes in the drying rack.  I let the dog in.  I spend a moment missing my dishwasher.

Then it is off to the shower for me & to unloading the bathroom drawers for Bugsy.  In theory she should stay asleep in bed but she never does. My bathroom routine is, basically, this: scoop litter box, hang jammies on door hook, shower, apply lotions-n-potions (body moisturizer & pit stick), put on my face (let's be real.... tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, curl/mascara, eyebrows... in my old age I've added Boots serum, mascara and eyebrows.... and does anyone have a suggestion for a good high SPF face lotion??), brush my teeth (does anyone else have days when they think, "I don't have time for TWO WHOLE MINUTES with the electric toothbrush"????), comb hair, put on robe (yes, Elle, I'm still wearing the grey fleece robe from 20 years ago....).

I'm working up to cleaning my closet enough that I have just a handful of "go to" work outfits to select from each day....  baby steps.
Stagger to kitchen to see if coffee is ready.  Dork around.... load the washer and set it (via the delay mode) to be washed when I get home from work.  Maybe start the roomba.  Start a project.  Make a list..... whatever it takes to make sure I get off schedule for the morning.
Other things that need to be done that may get done before 7:00: change and dress the baby, pack my lunch, get out daycare bag and put milk in it, pack lunch for the first grader. 
My hubby usually makes Sweet's lunch. Bologna and cheese on wheat, granola bar, pretzels, carrot sticks, apple slices and a peanutbutter cup is the usual.  It's pretty automated.  And I'm not afraid to rely on convenience packaging (although it took me a while to accept it) for things like chips and baby carrots.  I confess that I rinse out baggies and reuse.  I pre-package apple sauce and cottage cheese and canned pears (not all together) in those cool containers you clip an ice pack into.  Oh... look at the cute new kid stuff they have.  I'll wait for it to arrive at Ros.

A few minutes before 7:00 the baby and I go up and snuggle Sweet and wake him up and decide what he wants for breakfast. He then grabs his clothes and comes down in front of the stove to dress. Tuff gets up and does the same around this time.
We are big fans of picking out clothes the night before.
My hubby's alarm goes off at 7:00.

I turn on the Today Show at 7:00 for a few minutes of news while I dress and snuggle the baby and sip coffee.
Then I turn the tv off. This seems to be the key to getting it together in the morning.
My son eats breakfast (I use that term freely.... "breakfast" can be leftover pizza, hot pockets, chicken nuggets....) and brushes and follows his schedule (on the fridge) while my daughter dorks around getting dressed. She usually eats breakfast at daycare.... a lifesaver since getting her to eat breakfast quickly usually ends in one of us crying.
Then I fix her hair and she brushes her teeth.
On cold days, my husband starts my car and brings it to the front door for me..... and tries to nicely remind me to not park so close to the workbench in the garage. :)
Then comes coats and hats and that last minute dash of the morning.
In theory I should be able to leave by 7:30 but it never works that way. You will also notice a lack of regular exercise routine in my mornings.... I'm working on that.
The important mental checklist for the way out the door: coffee, sunglasses, cell phone, car keys.  Usually I have my lunch, work papers, stuff to drop off and lists of things to do already stashed in my purse.

My hubby leaves at 8 with all the kids and drops our son at school and the girls at daycare on his way to work.

On "my" days to drop off I leave at 7:30 and drop the girls first and then Sweet at school a little after 8 and make it to work by 8:15.... in theory.
I'll tell you all about our evening routine next time.