Morning Marathon

I hate mornings. I have always cut every corner known to man, just to give myself a few extra minutes of sleep. It was hard enough getting moving in the morning when it was just me, but trying to get four kids fed, dressed, and out the door is exhausting. You would really think I would have mastered this by now, but I feel like I have 500 things to do every. single. morning.

This is what my kitchen counter looked like at 8 a.m.

From 7:45-9:45 a.m. I:

• made/served four breakfasts (French toast, cut strawberries, poured milk)
• cleaned up breakfast
• did meal prep for dinner (peeled and cut potatoes)
• made and packed Jackson's lunch
• baked two dozen cookies (from scratch) for Jackson's end-of-year ceremony
• put a load of dishes in the dishwasher
• put a load of laundry in the washer
• showered and dressed
• changed the trio's diapers and dressed them
• carried uncooperative toddlers down the stairs one at a time and put them in the van
• gathered Jackson's school things (lunch, bookbag, folder, cookies)
• restocked the diaper bag with diapers, wetbag, and snacks
• dropped Jackson off at preschool (which involves putting James and Amelia in the stroller and wearing Maddie for the three minutes it takes to walk Jack to his classroom, then buckling them back in the car seats)
• realized gas light was on, stopped and filled up the gas tank
• drove to the gym
• unloaded toddlers from car seats into stroller and walked to the gym

I keep thinking our morning routine will get easier, but it's only become harder. Now I'm fighting 3 (sometimes 4) kids to get dressed, not throw food, come downstairs, etc. I am literally sweating by the time I get the kids in the van for school. Getting a four year old and triplet toddlers ready for the day feels like an Olympic event every morning there's school!