1 – Pack bag for daycare. Include diapers, wipes, sippy cups, food, blankets, toys, extra clothes, picture of mommy and daddy and immunization forms. It probably would be a good idea…
CHIRP!
…to actually speak to the daycare provider as well. That way you’d know if your children were going to get breakfast in the morning, if they needed their own crib sheets and if you could come earlier than the 7AM opening. Instead, obsess over the fact that you didn’t call and create a mental list of all your excuses so you are prepared if said daycare provider questions you.
2 – Bathe children. Make sure they are super clean and smell good for their new school in the morning. Although, baths can be a pain. Freddie splashes like crazy and I end up all wet. Ainsley doesn’t listen and cries when I wash her hair. I’m really…
CHIRP!
…in no mood to fight with them over this and wow, is it 7:30 already?!?! No wonder Freddie is fussy. Okay, I will bathe children tomorrow night.
3 – Pack a healthy lunch. I’m going to loose weight and feel good and I’m going to start by packing a lunch of fruits and veggies and a light sandwich. Try not to forget that the lunch is in the refrigerator when you are leaving the following morning.
CHIRP!
4 – Do a dry run of your commute. This is especially important if you are working in a big city where you don’t know your way around because you haven’t worked there in 8 years. Most likely, it is best if you drive and not sit in the very back of the minivan where you can’t see the street signs or the GPS. It also would be wise…
CHIRP!
… to get parking taken care of before you actually start instead of feeling the anxiety in your stomach until the very moment that you pull in the next day. For future reference, most likely you will be able to park in one of the 5 million parking garages within walking distance of your new office. Very unlikely that they are all full at 7:30AM. Probably not necessary to worry about that.
5 – Go to bed early and…
CHIRP!
…get a good night’s sleep. Also, it’s a very good idea to get your 3 year old to bed early so she’s not a huge pain the next morning. It is probably not the best decision to allow her to be awake until 10PM when the alarm goes off at 5AM. On that same...
CHIRP!
...note, it would probably be best to have your children sleeping through the night and in their own beds before taking on the challenge of a new…
CHIRP!
…job. It probably wasn’t the best idea to just let the kids sleep with you whenever because you were too tired to deal with it. And maybe you should just suck it up and let them cry a little instead of rushing to their bedside at the smallest noise. Also, I hear Benadryl works wonders!
CHIRP! CHIRP!
Finally…
CHIRP!
...and this is really important.
CHIRP!
I mean it's probably the most important part of the checklist.
6 – CHIRP! Make sure your smoke alarms have brand new…
CHIRP!
…batteries. Or it’s possible the chirping will wake you up…
CHIRP!
…all night long.
