The Hook

You know that feeling when you get everything ready the night before and you wake up feeling totally together and ready to tackle the day? Yeah, neither do I.  I tried so hard to do this when our baby number 2 arrived. Baby number 1 was only 2 years old and I had spent the last 9 months in a panic. How would I handle two kids? I felt like I was barely keeping one alive! I asked other moms for advice. Preparation is key was the most common answer. The caveat? Something about birthing a baby makes most mothers go brain-dead. I was not firing on all cylinders. I tried to prepare. I failed.

I thought I had been super prepared by taking the changing table station and putting  it in the laundry room on top of the dryer. This way I was close to the garage to dispose of any offensive diapers, I had a sink nearby if I needed it, and it just seemed easier than anywhere else on the first floor. Our house is equipped with the standard and highly annoying feature of the walk-through laundry room, so one must come in through the garage, walk through the laundry room, open that door, and then enter the kitchen/family room area. Freakin’ brilliant Mr. Builder. Lets put a door from the garage right so that it opens right near where the mom’s head is as she is unloading the dryer. Oh and won’t it be swell to have everyone enter the home by wading through mounds of dirty laundry on the floor?

Yes, that’s our son Hayden’s feet on the floor. Yes, he thinks it’s super fun to lay on the ground when the laundry chute is empty. No, I have no idea why.

The first day I was home alone from the hospital, baby number 2 was only about 3 days old. My husband was out getting us some essentials. I took Hayden, aka baby #2, into the laundry room for a diaper change.  Big sister, Faith, was playing in the family room. I was just about finished the job when the door from the laundry into the rest of the house was shut. By the 2-year-old. If you have every spent time around a 1-2-year-old child you know that they are obsessed with opening and closing things. The fridge, the potty, drawers, and especially doors. The problem was that this door had an outside lock, facing the interior of the home. Again, thanks Mr. Builder. This was a press lock and Faith had pressed it. I tried to get back into the house but it was a no go. Panic set in. I was in my pjs. Okay really just a t-shirt with some holes in it. Don’t judge, I had just had a baby. I opened the door which leads into the garage. This got me as far as…the garage. All of my outside entrances were locked from the inside. Shit. I had to go back to the door she locked. Sounds simple, right?  Have you ever tried to tell a 2 year old to do something? It ain’t easy.

This is pretty much how she looked at me all the time. Eventually, after much candy bribing, we got out. I learned there are somethings you cannot prepare for. I also learned that there ARE some things you CAN prepare for, such as your OUTFIT OF THE DAY. Out there in blogger world a commonly heard term is O.O.T.D., which stands for Outfit of the Day. There are so many fabulous bloggers that take amazing photos of their chosen outfit for that particular day and post them for others as inspiration. But guess what? Us everyday folk can do this too, not the posting part but the outfit part.  Take aside 5 minutes before bed at night to plan out your outfit for the next day. Check the weather on your phone or while watching the news and plan ahead. It will save you time in the morning. You will feel that much more together. It’s kind of like washing your face at night before bed. You know how you are so tired and just don’t want to do it? But then in the morning you are so much happier that you did, because, if you are like me, the consequences show up on my face when I skip that essential step. Our minds and bodies work slower in the morning, we need to help ourselves out by completing this simple step at nighttime.  Most of us do this for our kids so why not do it for ourselves?

*Insider Tip – Create a special “HOOK.” Create a spot in your closet that is reserved just for the Outfit of the Day. The Hook can be as simple as a 3m command hook or a beautiful find from Anthropolgie. Give the outfit a place of reverence. I’m not talking Batman suit  importance but pretty close. Don’t hang anything else on this spot so that you always see it and know it is waiting.  A new outfit for a fresh start to each day.

*Insider Tip – Don’t over think it. The Outfit of the Day can be as simple as workout clothes. I am much more likely to get a work out during the morning if the outfit, right down to the sports bra and socks and sneakers, is laid out and ready to go.