Hello my dearies. So I’m happily back in front of the computer (finally) with a nice breeze on my neck and the sounds of Paris filling my ears. I’m uploading the second video from our Paris adventure as I write — yeah! — and feeling so happy to be back in touch with my CloudMom pals!

This videos is a glimpse of our morning routine away from home! Since we left New York, a couple friends have asked how I do it with five, how we manage to get out of the house, and what can I suggest regarding good morning routines for kids.

I’ve been sans babysitter for a lot of this time and I will be honest, it’s been hard. In the U.S, we’ve had the same sitter for almost seven years and she helps out more than I even realized. Take her out of the picture, and there’s total chaos. And I get super stressed.

I’ve been open about this in the past and I’m not someone who handles mess, chaos, or disorder well. Those elements fill me with anxiety. So on our trip, two things have happened: I’ve had to learn to let go and be happy with the living room sofa being our “laundry station” (since I never manage to move the clean clothes there into the closets) and my kids have had to pitch in a lot more!

I’ve been focused on getting my kids to help out around the house for a long time now, and sometimes I feel like without prompting, nothing will even improve.  What’s we’ve done these past few weeks is make helping out part of the morning routine, and here’s how, on a good day, it rolls:

Do you have a good morning routine for your kids?  Share below!

My Kids Morning Routine Checklist

1) Get out of bed, make bed, get dressed!  No breakfast before being dressed!  This is key for me because otherwise, I get stressed that there is too much to do and we’ll never get there!

2) Dirty pajamas go directly into the washing machine.

3) Breakfast is self-serve by the older kids, and they help the younger ones.  Cereal, fruit and milk are placed on the table by yours truly, but after that, it’s up to the kids to serve themselves and eat.

4) While they are eating, Mom does the sunblock and the ponytails.  Yup.  Gotta save time.

5) Kids put plates and cups in the dishwasher themselves, with the boys doing it for my younger girls.

6) After breakfast, it’s potty time, teeth-brushing, shoe-tying, and God willing, WE LEAVE THE HOUSE!

Now, I’d be lying if I said this works like clockwork, and sometimes we stuck with getting the kids out of bed, but having this template of sorts has helped me to stay  calm and involve the kids in the process.

Take a look at my video to see this play out, and let me know how things shake out in your house. Oh, and tune in for more from our Paris adventure later this week.

Thank you for watching CloudMom!

With love and gratitude,

Melissa xoxo