Before kids, I had so much more time. The house was always tidy, I didn’t lose small children under piles of laundry and rooms were always (well, ok, "mostly") clean. Now, I’m laughing if I even have time to clean me!

Yes, it takes me a small miracle to get out the door each morning without looking like I’ve emerged from an all-night rave.

Between preschool dropoffs and wardrobe negotiations (“No, Elle, you can NOT wear your swimsuit to school today”), I often struggle to find 5 uninterrupted minutes to ‘put on my face’ each morning.

Thankfully, I polled Mommy friends and was relieved that I’m not the only one taking short-cuts in the “morning prep” department.  In fact, moms use impressive tricks each morning.  Here are some examples. I’ve changed their names to protect the innocent (and the disheveled.)

• Sandy confesses that she “fake-showers.”  On rushed days, she hoses her hair down with a plant spray bottle.  No shampoo; just dampens it and styles ‘til she no longer looks like a troll.


• Anna keeps a jumbo-sized supply of hair elastics on hand and always wears a ponytail “so no one will know if I’ve washed it or not.”  Genius.


• Emily’s son gets up at about 7:00am, so she gets up at 6:50am, and “whatever I fit in before he wakes, is what gets done that day”.  Toothbrushing?  Check.  Hairbrushing? Check.  Shower?  Check, but iffy.  Decent make-up application?  Only if Bozo the Clown has just shown up with a pony and all-you-can-eat snowcones.

Whether you consider these admissions “mommy-acceptable” or “mommy-disgusting,” these are typical mornings for many.  Sure, we mamas admit that this isn’t our preferred way to operate, but we’re proud to get out the door without looking like our hair was styled by rabid raccoons.

And isn’t that what mommyhood is about: always having tricks up our sleeve…and pulling off little miracles every day?!

So... What tricks do you use to get out the door quickly each morning?