Suggestions for Organization When I Return to Work

I agree with the person who said to get a routine going, and have everything set up the night before. You don't want to have to run around looking for things in the morning. You will be calmer when you drop the girls off. As far as meals, I can give you some suggestions on preparing meals ahead of time, to cook in a crockpot. As long as you find a daycare you like and trust, it will be easier. It is good for children to be around other kids and adults for socialization.

set up a place for all the kids back packs to go...i got a really cute locker system from pottery barn...my friend uses a hook and cubbies, anyway once your place is set up...just figure out your system...here is some of my system...figure out your meals ahead of time...mon-weds cook,thursdays leftovers/fridays pizza whatever works for you.
when you do laundry put everything in a roll....pants,shirt, undies,socks etc...put rolls in drawers...so when they(or you) pull it out, everything is there and matches...no thinking required. We have two baskets in the pantry...one with healthy snacks, the other with a treat...the kids pack their own lunch...I do the sandwiches...they grab one thing from each basket and put it all together(even little kids can do this, and they like to do it themselves)...keep all library books(if this applies) in backpacks...read and return, never late this way....by keeping everything in its spot you never waste time looking for lost things...my kids shoes, coats,backpacks and lunch boxes are always in their spot....another good rule of thumb is no tv in the morning untill everyone is ready and then if you have time to kill...go for it, this is always a motivater for my boys...I would also practice a week or so before school starts...get up and ready and go to the park or wherever to get in the groove before school actually begins. Don't feel guilty, we have enough on our plates as mothers..there is no room for guilt...do what you can and be prepared to let somethings go...if you can get a cleaning service that way you can spend your weekends together and not stressed out about what needs to be done...if you can't split up the chores and do it together...give the little ones a swifter and let them dust, my kids love the gadgets for cleaning the toliet and showers(they fight over who's turn it is)...I guess my point is you can't do it all, so don't try...just do your best and be happy with that! Goodluck, I hope I helped a little bit.

Here are a few tips that I hope help.

Plan to leave 15 minutes before you actually have to be out the door and if your lucky, you'll be on time.

If your not starting work until September, you'll have lots of time to practice.

Try setting out cloths the night before. Be flexable, if your toddler wants to wear her purple pants with her green polka dot shirt that doesn't match. So be it.

Set the table for breakfast the night before.

Keep a bag, box etc in the car with extra cloths, jackets, non perishable snacks. That way when you a mile down the road and realize you've forgotten something, you won't have to turn back.

Turn tea time into work time. When I would get together with my girlfriend on the weekend for some girl talk, during our talks we would cut up veggies, or divide large packages of dry snack foods (like goldfish) into small ziplock bags or storage containers.

I had one shelf on the refrigerator door that was for sippy cups. I would fill many cups at a time. This way the kids could serve themselves or I could grab one on the way out the door.

Do dinner prep the night before or on the weekends. If you're going to have some extra income, you may want to consider buying some prepared food (shredded cheese, cut up veggies, etc) or an actual cooked meal available at most larger grocery stores.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Consider hiring a mother's helper. Is there a young girl or boy in your neighborhood that could help watch/play with the kids while your preparing dinner or doing chores?

Some quick meals that we enjoy -

Tacos - you can cook up the meat a day or two in advance and just heat it up, you can also cut up the veggies in advance

Stir fry - everything can be cut up in advance, start cooking the rice first, by the time everything else is cooked the rice should be done.

Breakfast - forget the eggs and bacon - instead of just cold cereal, try the following especially with some fruit -instant oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese, toast with peanut butter, yogurt.

Is hubby a morning person? In my case hubby takes care of the morning duties, I do the evening duties.

Most importantly, try to discover what works best for your entire family as a whole.

Congratulations and good luck.

Change the guilt to thinking about how it will help your kids socialize with others, especially your son in preschool. He would be off to regular school soon anyway.
Your twins are nearby while your at work and they will be exhausted and have a great nights sleep after being in daycare.

Try Flylady. She has helped a lot of people get organized. There is an online web community or books- including meal planning. It will give you good ideas for morning and evening routines.

hi, i am not yet in your boat, but i do have a few tricks for getting little ones up and out. let them compete here and there. dont know what the child psychologists would say about this, and i wouldnt do it if one was always the winner, but "the first one to get their teeth brushed/shoes on/into the carseat/etc wins" really works, just dont use it too much or it gets old quickly. the idea that someone gave you about no tv till you are ready to walk out the door also works. doesnt have to be tv though, whatever motivates them. and get a crockpot, best thing ever! take the time from now to sept to let them learn how to do as much as possible on their own. it can be hard to let go, but they can probably do more getting ready stuff on their own than you think, make it fun and positive and it will be a big timesaver. ...doing shoes on their own saves time and also keeps them busy...velcro or pull on instead of laces, and get a big sticker and cut it in half, put one half inside each shoe so they can see which is left and right. the most important thing is for you to do whatever you need to do to be calm and collected yourself. the minute you get worked up, the kids pick up your vibe and everything spins out of control and takes twice as long and starts everyone off on the wrong foot. keep things calm, no yell-y tv, no fighting, etc....good luck to you!

Once the kids are in bed for the night get everything ready for the next day. Make lunches, lay out clothes, make sure that everything is in the backpack. Set it all up the night before so there is no searching for socks in the morning. If you kids like to pick out their clothes have them do that before bed. If you don't already have it, get a set bed time and a bed time routine. Bath, pj's, story, bed. Start on that track now so that by Sept it's something their use to. Both my kids are in bed, and most nights asleep by 8. We usually get up between 5:30 and 6:15, so this guarentees them 10 to 11 hrs sleep. I've heard that you can make it easier for them at daycare if you put a picture of yourself in their pocket. Or spray your perfume on a shirt. Your girls might be o.k. because they'll be together. Honestly if you don't make a big deal about it, they may not. You can lose it once they are inside and you've left. As for the mommy guilt I can't help there. My mom watches my kids everyday and I still call her at least once a day to see how they're doing. My son will be 4 in June and the baby is 9 mos and I still check up on them. Once they get in a routine it should become easier for them. For you, I don't know if it ever does.

Hi K.. I have two in daycare (my son literally just started), and these sound like silly suggestions but they make a difference to me: label everything with masking tape and pack as much in the car the night before as you can. I even put my purse in the car the night before and my keys in my coat pocket (hanging on a chair in the kitchen for me to grab on my way out the door). I label everything (food containers, sunscreen, bags, extra clothes) with either masking tape or a permanent/clothing marker to keep it all organized and to make it easier for dropoff at daycare --- it's quicker to drop them off when the instructions about lunch are right on the lunch itself! (and no phone calls from daycare about whether something gets heated or if it's for snack or lunch). I also keep extra boxes of healthy granola bars, crackers, cheerios and some yogurts at the daycare for my daughter, so if I forget to bring lunch or a snack one day, there's a backup for her. See how much storage they have available for your twins and keep as much as you can there(like extra sheets and blankets, diapers, wipes, sunscreen, the whole works). Then you don't have to worry about rushing around looking for that stuff every morning. I also make sure that I am 100% ready before they get out of bed -- it's not the end of the world if they go to daycare with tangly hair but it's a big deal if I go to work that way! And I wear a bathrobe over my work clothes until we are pretty much out the door so that I don't have to worry about them getting anything on me in the mornings - much less stress.
My daughter has started crying now when I drop her off, but they told me that she stops instantly when I leave. So don't worry too much if they act very sad when you are leaving - it makes it worse if you prolong the dropoff. See if they can start an activity or a meal immediately upon dropoff (my daughter likes to color and have some cheerios), so that they have something to look forward to in the morning and you can "talk it up" on the way there.
I hope this helps!