Never in a million years would I be prepping scrambled eggs for breakfast for my kids on a weekday. My ds likes a hot lunch, so he gets warmed-up leftovers in his thermos. Don’t even get me started on the dog.

This is one reason I LOVE wfh. Our mornings are much easier, because I don't have an eye on the clock stressing about how traffic is getting worse and my kid is dragging their feet.

Now, we still sometimes have some rough mornings because kids are kids, and they have to get to school on time. But overall I have found we are so much more relaxed.

Where is your DH in all of this?

I make some sort of breakfast and lunch (sometimes hot!) most school days. Sometimes that means I boil an egg, peel a clementine, and put a bakery muffin in their breakfast containers. Other days, it’s scrambled eggs and scratch waffles. But…my DH did/does the bodywork: making sure faces are washed, teeth are brushed, hair is brushed, clothes are presentable, etc.

Also note that I phone it in on some days. With zero guilt. It’s fine to throw an Uncrustable, carrot sticks, a cheesestick, and some grapes in the lunch box. Today they had Chick Fil A for breakfast and whatever is on the menu for lunch. It’s not their favorite, and they wouldn’t choose it, but it sure makes them more appreciative of home cooked food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids if you are saying you have done 8 years of this? They seem quite capable to help. They can pack their own backpacks (my k kid does it), they get fill up their own water bottles (my k kid does it), they can feed the dog (pretty simple) and you can fix their lunch the night before so that all you need to do is zap it in the microwave the morning of.

OP - kids are 8, 6 and 3. Dog is still a puppy. By doing this for 8 years I mean some variation. At one point I was breastfeeding before I would drop off to daycare and getting pumped bottles together. Now its lunches and breakfast. Dog is too young for kids to help (beyond putting food in a bowl). They can't walk dog at all.

An 8 year old can't walk a dog?? I wouldn't let them go far, but I don't see why not. That's a normal chore for 5+ year olds (5 year olds might only walk in front yard).

In your case, I'd make a ton of breakfast on the weekend. Granola bars, muffins, those baked egg things in cupcake pans. And then hand it to the kids only when they're completely dressed and waiting at the door.

My one kid sometimes eats a muffin on the front step outside while waiting on us. She likes waving at people as they pass and she can make whatever mess she wants.

Woah. I have 3 kids- 6, 4 and 1 and don't do any of that. In fact, we wake up at 7 and are out the door by 7:30. My morning sounds zen compared to yours.

"Lunches, breakfast, backpacks, water, feed the dog, clean up all the dishes, get kids changed, etc" - I don't do ANY of that. All 3 kids eat breakfast at school. The elementary school kid gets lunch packed the night before, younger 2 eat lunch at school. Backpacks are actually in the car the night before. No dishes because I'm not making anything. I even make my own coffee at work. The older 2 get themselves completely dressed before even leaving their bedrooms (and they're not some unicorn kids, this is a reasonable expectation).

My kids in the morning (older 2)
-get themselves dressed. I used to lay out clothes, but they both like picking their own now and are good at it.
-then they go bathroom and brush their teeth.
-Backpacks are in the car the night before and they grab lunchboxes in the fridge.
-Then they go stand at the front door ready to roll out.
-They put shoes on there.
All of that takes roughly 15 min and they have downtime.

DH and I:
-Roll out of bed at 7
- I attend to the baby (still nursing) for 10 min
-brush teeth, get dressed, minimal makeup (I do more at work). Baby whines a bit at this and it's a struggle to get ready.
-change and dress baby
- my bag is packed the night before
-DH and I head off in different directions because we have 3 separate school drop offs.

Evenings however are a hot mess, so you have my sympathies. I know how hard certain times and seasons in our lives can be. No matter what I try to do ahead of time, kids are melting down on me for dinner and attention in the evening. It's rough.

My god, what is with some of these posters with zero empathy?? Sometimes we do create the problem and life happens. It's okay to be exhausted and stressed and rant on this forum, yes, even if you helped create the problem.

But yea, it may be hard but it will get easier to keep saying no to their requests and put your foot down. Is you DH available to help with any of this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So are you going to take any of the suggestions or just continue to whine and be a martyr

OP - yes I am taking the constructive criticism. I will try and make lunches at night and then have easy breakfasts.

I'm one of the PPs. Fwiw, we don't pack lunches the night before, but they're also not hot lunches. My kids have partitioned lunch containers. I'll make a pbj sandwich but if they want something else they do it themselves (my 10yo likes to pack deconstructed turkey/cheese wraps). And they're both responsible for putting in a snack/treat, a fruit, and any extras (my 8yo sometimes likes to have a frozen yogurt tube). So we keep it simple but not the night before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids if you are saying you have done 8 years of this? They seem quite capable to help. They can pack their own backpacks (my k kid does it), they get fill up their own water bottles (my k kid does it), they can feed the dog (pretty simple) and you can fix their lunch the night before so that all you need to do is zap it in the microwave the morning of.

OP - kids are 8, 6 and 3. Dog is still a puppy. By doing this for 8 years I mean some variation. At one point I was breastfeeding before I would drop off to daycare and getting pumped bottles together. Now its lunches and breakfast. Dog is too young for kids to help (beyond putting food in a bowl). They can't walk dog at all.

Um, whose idea was it to get the puppy?

I'm sorry for piling on, but surely, OP, you know a lot of your stress was self-inflicted, right?

Seriously. Terrible decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids if you are saying you have done 8 years of this? They seem quite capable to help. They can pack their own backpacks (my k kid does it), they get fill up their own water bottles (my k kid does it), they can feed the dog (pretty simple) and you can fix their lunch the night before so that all you need to do is zap it in the microwave the morning of.

OP - kids are 8, 6 and 3. Dog is still a puppy. By doing this for 8 years I mean some variation. At one point I was breastfeeding before I would drop off to daycare and getting pumped bottles together. Now its lunches and breakfast. Dog is too young for kids to help (beyond putting food in a bowl). They can't walk dog at all.

Um, whose idea was it to get the puppy?

I'm sorry for piling on, but surely, OP, you know a lot of your stress was self-inflicted, right?

Not OP, but nothing wrong with getting a puppy. The feeding could possibly be passed off to the 8yo. Or the older kids could do more of their own stuff while OP feeds the 3yo and puppy.

Anonymous wrote:So are you going to take any of the suggestions or just continue to whine and be a martyr

OP - yes I am taking the constructive criticism. I will try and make lunches at night and then have easy breakfasts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids if you are saying you have done 8 years of this? They seem quite capable to help. They can pack their own backpacks (my k kid does it), they get fill up their own water bottles (my k kid does it), they can feed the dog (pretty simple) and you can fix their lunch the night before so that all you need to do is zap it in the microwave the morning of.

OP - kids are 8, 6 and 3. Dog is still a puppy. By doing this for 8 years I mean some variation. At one point I was breastfeeding before I would drop off to daycare and getting pumped bottles together. Now its lunches and breakfast. Dog is too young for kids to help (beyond putting food in a bowl). They can't walk dog at all.

Um, whose idea was it to get the puppy?

I'm sorry for piling on, but surely, OP, you know a lot of your stress was self-inflicted, right?

So are you going to take any of the suggestions or just continue to whine and be a martyr

OP, I totally get it. Mornings are crazy for us too. Also agree with some of the pps that you are contributing some to the crazy and you could make things easier on yourself.

For example, since they were little I've given my kids three choices of easy breakfast: bagels, toast or cereal and milk. That's it. Takes 30 seconds and the kids clear their own plates.

For school lunch, they both get the same cold lunch every day. Healthy muffins(2) - made on the weekend - fruit and crackers. If they want something different, they can get the hot lunch at school.

The kids feed the pets. My 3yo gives the cat a small amount of dry food and the 6yo does the wet food and fresh water.

I still end up having to chase them down to get dressed when they would rather play with their toys, but having a better food system could at least take that part off your plate. (No pun intended! LOL)

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids if you are saying you have done 8 years of this? They seem quite capable to help. They can pack their own backpacks (my k kid does it), they get fill up their own water bottles (my k kid does it), they can feed the dog (pretty simple) and you can fix their lunch the night before so that all you need to do is zap it in the microwave the morning of.

OP - kids are 8, 6 and 3. Dog is still a puppy. By doing this for 8 years I mean some variation. At one point I was breastfeeding before I would drop off to daycare and getting pumped bottles together. Now its lunches and breakfast. Dog is too young for kids to help (beyond putting food in a bowl). They can't walk dog at all.