When I became a mother I vaguely acknowledged the fact that becoming some sort of a morning person would be required. Late night feedings (when the boys were infants) never bothered me as much as early wake up cries. Those days were a cake walk, apparently.
Now that they kids are in preschool and pre-k, the worst word you can utter to me in the morning is “carline”. Yes, you heard me correctly. I dread carline. But not for the reasons that most other moms dread the long, winding, stream of cars lined up single file to drop off their precious bundles of joy off at school.
The reason I personally cannot get down with carline in the morning is the whole getting-there-on-time thing. If you are late the school shuts the gate to the drop-off area, and you are locked out. You now must get out of the car and do the Mom Walk of Shame to the school nurse’s office to sign your kids in for the day. Fun times, friends…Just kidding. I am kind of a hot mess in the morning and definitely do NOT want to get out of the car and have to speak to other adults all before 8am. No thanks.
I definitely don’t want to get locked out of the carline gate. I refuse to be “that” hot mess mom. I’ve gotten locked out twice so far (the first and second weeks of school), and mark my words, I will never walk that shameful Late Mom walk to the nurse’s office again. So, I’ve had to get my morning routine under control.
Prepping to CRUSH carline and get there ON TIME actually begins the night before. I’ve had to get my routine on point, and I can thankfully say that I haven’t been late (yet lol) again since!
If you’re a mama that needs some helpful encouragement to become Speedy Gonzalez in the morning to get your kids to carline on time, never fear!
Here are my best nuggets of advice to help you get it together, girl…
5 Simple Tips to Crush Carline in the Morning
1. Pack lunch the night before. I never realized what a time warp trap lunch boxes were. If I don’t prep the boys’ food at night then the morning just goes in the wrong direction. On the other hand, it’s such a breeze when I can easily open the fridge, pull out their matching construction themed Pottery Barn lunch boxes, and get on my way to carline!
2. Similarly, pick out everyone’s clothes (including your own!) the night before school. Down to the socks, no exceptions. Children’s socks tend to be the most tricky piece of clothing to find in our home. In yours, too? Get everything ready and lay the outfits out so they’re ready to go in the morning!
3. Pre-load your coffee pot and coffee station. Whether you use coffee pods or coffee grinds get it ready the night before! That way, all you have to do in the morning is turn the machine on and that baby will be brewing up your liquid lifeline in no time!
4. Get yourself some of these super convenient Dixie® To Go cups. They’re honestly a life saver for getting me to carline on time AND with caffeine in my body! There’s been countless mornings that I just skip making coffee before school, and just make it when I return home from drop off. Which means I’m moving in slow motion without coffee pumping through my body, and I’m usually not in a fabulous mood by then! Not having coffee in the AM is NOT an option…
Now, I keep a stack of Dixie To Go cups next to my coffee pot, and take my coffee to carline! The cups fit perfectly into my cup holder (um, have you ever tried to put a coffee mug into your car cupholder? lol, I have..and I’ve also had to clean up the mess of coffee in the aftermath. I definitely do not recommend doing that!)
5. Use a planner that you love! I just got a new planner and it’s really helping me to better keep track of everything going on in life. I am old school and still prefer a paper planner to on in my phone (anyone else?!)
Best of luck to getting the kids to school on time and crushing carline, friends!
I was selected for this paid opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.