HOW TO::get to church on time (with less stress)

I am a Weekend Widow. 

And I'm sure that many of you are part of the club.  Unless you are super lucky to have someone who has made it their personal ministry to help you get your kids dressed, fed, in the car and safely to their respective classrooms by 10 AM.  But me? Not that lucky.

I have adapted.

Some people would think it is impossible or not worth the trouble, but I can do it, sometimes one-handed.  (Just kidding, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.) 

I remember one Easter when I had both kids (I only had two at the time) ready for church.  They were sitting quietly watching Kipper or something, so I ran upstairs to put the finishing touches on my look.  I suddenly got that "OH CRAP" feeling deep down inside of me. You know the one. I ran back downstairs in what seemed like slow motion to see Aiden COVERED in red nail polish.  All over his little seersucker suit.  I was devastated, and luckily had something else clean and appropriate for the occasion. 

This list might not stop that sort of thing from happening, but here’s a few tips on how to be prepared and (the operative word here) CALM:

• Prepare clothes the night before.  I know this seems like a no-brainer, like it might not take up a lot of time on the morning of church, but it can be checked off the list the night before, so why not?  And this way, if you realize that every pair of your daughter’s tights have a hole in them and your son’s dress pants look like he spent the night in a cage fight, you’ll have ample time to take care of it.
• Wake up a little earlier than normal. Or not. Its up to you. But you might not notice the dryer sheet stuck to the back of your cardigan if you choose the latter.
• Let the kids eat breakfast in their jammies.  This is the one morning a week that I allow this, and I'm sure the reason is obvious. 
• Get the diaper bag/purse/sack-of-items-to-return-to-people ready the day before, and set it in FRONT of the door so you don’t forget it. That way, you’ll have to trip over it to get to the car.  Either that or you'll sprain your ankle. In that case, you’ll get a quiet morning to yourself in the emergency room. You’re welcome.
• Plan to leave with a full ½ hour extra of time.  I know, I know, this seems ridiculous.  If you need to leave the house at 9:45 to make it on time for church at 10:00, plan to leave at 9:15.  You think I am completely nutty? But here’s the thing. Kids and babies take more time than you think.  So most often, a 9:15 departure gets pushed to 9:25.  Then someone forgets something (now it's 9:30) and once, I even had to DRIVE ALL THE WAY BACK HOME because I forgot to switch my Adidas sport sandals for something a little more church appropriate (now we're talking 9:45)! So there you have it... my mathematical equation for getting to church on time. Its super scientific, I know.

So there are my tips on keeping your sanity intact, and looking good while doing it!

Now, if I could only figure out a system for surviving weddings alone….

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