Wise Words Wednesday: Working Mom Morning

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." – Sophia Loren

In my opinion, the most crucial part of the day in the life of a working-outside-the-home-mom is the weekday morning. How the morning goes can make or break your entire day. When I first went back to work with Leila, it took me a few good months to get my morning routine down and flawless. And even when the routine was flawless, there were always circumstances I couldn't control...a messy diaper blowout, a tantrum, spilled milk (which I have, indeed, cried over).

Since Landon was born, I've had to re-establish the morning routine. And it hasn't been easy. Seriously, if it weren't for my hubby I don't think I'd make it out the door some mornings. Last summer I wrote a post about my morning routine with Leila (back when there was only 1 kiddo to wrangle in the AM). I thought it would be fun for me to analyze my routine these days. Oh how my life has changed...

• 6:01am - Alarm goes off... if I'm lucky enough that Landon is still asleep. Some mornings his little crow calls wake me up closer to 5:30am. If he's still asleep I jump in the shower in a zombie-like state. If he's awake, I bring him into the bathroom with me and pop him in the bouncer while I shower. 
• 6:20ish - After slathering myself with lotion and combing through my hair, I throw on some sweats, grab my littlest beast, change his diaper, and head downstairs. This is where I multi-task... I usually will sit on the chaise lounge in our living room and put Landon on the boob while I attempt to do my make-up. Talent!
• 6:45ish - Leila usually saunters downstairs around this time and promptly requests milk and Dora. Landon is usually still on the boob and I'm still attempting to do my make-up. I start to sweat a little. Landon finishes up, I put him in the excercauser/bouncer, turn on Dora for Leila and get her some milk. If I need to finish my make-up, I do it... fast.
• 7am - I grab Landon and head upstairs to wake up the hubby. Usually laying Lando in bed next to him does the trick. While he's waking up I get dressed and blow dry/style my hair.
• 7:20-30ish - This is where it all turns to chaos. I usually end up barking orders at Leila and Andy. Andy gets Landon dressed while I take on Leila. This time in our morning involves a variety of exciting activities like frantically tearing apart a closet looking for a matching shoe, throwing a banana and trail mix in my purse for breakfast, grabbing a change of clothes for Landon (he seriously has a blow-out every day at daycare), brushing teeth, combing Leila's rat's nest hair, etc.
• 7:35ish - Our chaos culminates with both kiddos in their car seats. Usually at this point Leila freaks out because she forgot her baby or her special bear blankie and I have to run back upstairs scouring the house for it. Once that's taken care of, we can safely back out of the garage and head off to daycare for Leila & Landon and work for me. There is always a big sigh of relief once we are on our way.

It's crazy how my mornings have changed with 2 kids. No more breakfast for me (not until I get to the office anyway). No more snuggles with Leila on the couch while she watches her show. 15-45 minutes less of sleep. Lots of anxiety. But, it could always be worse. Here are some things that help make my mornings easier...

• I get the diaper bag ready and pick out the kiddos clothing the night before. One less thing to worry about in the morning.
• The kiddos daycare serves breakfast. Hallelujah! If I had to worry about feeding Leila, she just wouldn't get to eat. ;-)
• Hubby. An extra set of hands. Enough said.
• TV. I know it's bad, but Dora seriously makes my mornings so much easier! Leila is content while I can get myself ready and Andy can wake up and deal with Landon.

By the time I get to work each morning I feel a huge sense of accomplishment - and technically my day hasn't even started yet! Oh the simple joys of being a working mom.

Any of you working mommas have tips/tricks that help get your days off to a great start?