Back To School Transition

We officially survived the first two weeks of our back to school transition. I hope the rest of you with kiddos at school did as well? Who knew that it could be so tiring (for both parents and kiddos!). The Little Miss absolutely LOVES Kindergarten and has an awesome teacher. She has even done great with the transition to all day school. It's been harder on her mom for sure! I am now going in the office 4 days/week (vs. 2 days), working while our girl is in class. I am able to drop off and pick up the Little Miss and get to help out in her class on the day I don't work which is a lot of fun. I have to say though that I sure miss having slow mornings at home with the Little Miss and I still in our PJ's!

The toughest part of this transition has been getting out the door in the mornings. You see, the Little Miss and I are very similar in that neither of us moves very fast in the morning. We both get out of bed fine but then move in slow motion for the first hour. We make it to school in time but everyday has required constant questioning and reminding:

• "Are you STILL not dressed even though you started 15 minutes ago? When we say get dressed, we mean now!"
• "Did you brush your teeth? Yes, you have to do that every morning."
• "Did you make your bed yet? You know the rule, no playing with toys until you are done with everything."
• "I'm sorry your clothes feel itchy. It's funny that was never a problem until you started school. No, you cannot change again."
• "You have to go potty again? We have to GO!!!"

As a Project Manager I get paid to tell people what to do, assign tasks and send reminders (i.e., nag) but I do not enjoy starting off my morning that way, resulting in stress-filled interactions with my daughter. I only have one kiddo to worry about and have to give HUGE kudos to you moms who have large families to get out the door in time!

Praise the Lord for a terrific hubby who helps out and for the Little Miss' new "morning routine chart" that outlines her daily responsibilities. We have only used it a day but it was so freeing for her to see exactly what needed to be done and for me to not have to nag (as much). Here's to surviving the first two weeks...and the next 13 years of school!