Monday Morning Meltdowns

I’m not a morning person. And Monday mornings . . . all I can say is ugh.

Like I said, not a morning person. And we’re fast discovering that our daughter is a lot like her parents – a night owl to the core.

On the mornings when I’m expected to actually show my face in the office, I feel like Scrooge McDuck poking my head into her bedroom and begging, “Time to get up Jilly, come on honey.”

I plead. I cajole. I make promises even I know I can’t keep. Because bleery-eyed and positively cranky myself, I know my mood is nothing compared to that of my editor waiting for me to show my face on a Monday morning.

I’m fast learning that shortcuts are the way to go. Anything done on Sunday night will make Monday morning that much easier on Mom.

Common sense? You’d think, but I’m not the “lay the clothes out the night before” type. I can’t be tied to one outfit when I don’t know which side of the bed I’ll be waking up on. Until now, the extent of my night-time preparation ritual has consisted of throwing together a quick sandwich on the sticks and twigs bread that’s slowly convincing my taste buds it’s the way to go. Parenting means we’ve upped the health food factor drastically, and my Southern-born husband insists the natural peanut butter tastes just like fresh peanuts. It almost, but not quite, makes up for dragging him several states north of the Mason Dixon line. Coupled with frequent orders of Hub’s Virginia Peanuts from the factory that’s “ just up the road apiece” from his parents house, we make sure there are little tastes of home that probably make him the only non-crank in the house!

The thing is, spreading Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter (creamy, it has to be creamy per Jonathan’s instructions) on two slices of bread and offering up my ode to Elvis with bananas saves me a total of 3 minutes, maybe 4 on my Monday morning routine. So I’m still looking for nighttime tricks.

So I was dancing a little jig when I got turned on to the new line from Johnson & Johnson that’s shaved at least one 5-minute fight off of our morning routine! I’m already a big fan of their Head-to-Toe Baby Wash because it was the only thing that DIDN’T give Jillian cradle cap when she was an infant {Click here for a $1 off coupon!}. But the new No More Tangles Shampoo and Conditioner has taken over as our shampoo portion of the bath time regimen, and I don’t see any competition on the horizon. It’s got a fresh, fruity scent that I can’t quite put my finger on – one that Jillian has declared “delicious Mommy!” Even better, it’s saved us from  the morning tussle over her tangled mat of blonde locks. No more spraying and spraying with the No More Tangles detangling spray then trying to pull her fairy brush through. This, of course, while I had her little body wrapped between my criss-cross applesauce legs because she wanted to take off running around the house, yelling catch me, catch me! A quick scrub at night, followed by an easy brush through after the bath, and she really does have tangle-free hair in the morning!

Now all I have to do is convince Miss Thing that she needs the hair up! Thanks to a giant Huggies wipes container (see, we’re recycling!) full of pony holders, barrettes and ribbons in every conceivable color, it’s usually only another 5 minutes back and forth between Mom and Jillian.

I even got crafty one day and loaded the pony holders onto a simple shower curtain hook – no more pawing through the pile for the last of the pale pink bands that will match her Prinzessin shirt, carted home from Germany by her doting Opa.

Smart mom, very smart. Now what will I do when she grows out of that Prinzessin shirt?

OK, the other must-haves for nighttime (because that’s what you’re really here for, right?):

Shower wraps from Yikes Twins. Another cut corner – showering at night – can still be interrupted by a phone call. But these comfy cotton wraps stay put when you make the mad dash out of the bathroom! Made by a mama who’s been sewing since junior high and always on the move chasing down her three kids, her children’s line is another must-see. When your baby grows out of her favorite hooded towel, she can move into one of Wendy Carter’s big kid bath buddies! My vote goes to the monster towel, but Jillian’s begging for the princess.

Paul Frank Julius pajamas. Get them in pink at Pyschobaby where mama on the move Marlo always has something funky for my little monkey! Paul Frank’s Skurvy Pajamas (pink or blue) gets them ready for a pirate adventure on the high seas of their dreams.

“Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney. Little llama doesn’t want to stay in bed, but Mama Llama’s busy. A mom of two and teacher at a boys’ boarding school, Dewdney knows plenty about being a busy mom. Her easy rhymes have helped me introduce to Jillian the concept that Mommy still has work to do when she’s off to La La Land. Pick up the hardcover from Creative Kid Stuff, then explore the site – they’ve got great taste in books and even better taste in toys!