Lets face it – nothing is ever going to be “routine” again in a household that’s done fost-adopt, or older-child adoption.  Ain’t gonna happen.

But… you’ve got to have a system for getting everyone out of the house in the morning, and for doing all that stuff that needs doing after school.  Otherwise, you’ll lose your mind.  Well, you may lose your mind anyway, but that’s another story…

In our routine, my husband and I have been splitting the morning and evening duties.  But by a happy accident, we discovered a better way.  Now, he OWNS the morning, from the moment the first kid tries to get up too early, till dropping them off at school.  I get to do my own thing, and head off to work without any stress.  Conversely, I OWN the evening routine, till bedtime, and my husband is free to work without having to worry about rushing home.

I have to say, I’m loving this new routine.  Morning were so stressful because I was so focused on getting the kids ready so I could get to work on time.  Even the easy mornings were stressful.  But for some reason, my husband doesn’t share the same stress – he’s much more easygoing about schedules, and doesn’t get bothered when the kids don’t cooperate in the morning.

And I’m okay with the evening routine, because there’s no real time constraints, so I’m not so focused on “making” the schedule.

So for now, we have a system that seems to get everything taken care of, fits each parent’s strengths, and provides a little relief to each parent as well.  And who knows, may even be good for the kids!