We survived the first week of school. Other than the ridiculous drop-off and pick-up lines, everything went smoothly. I hope they've gotten everything figured out so that this week isn't as crazy.

Just like last year, it took me a couple of days to get used to not having a bunch of background noise while I worked. Also just like last year, because I didn't have interruptions, I ended up with more free time than I had planned on. It's been months since I had an hour to myself during the week.

Last year, we made a lot of changes to our school routine. Kindergarten brought with it a lot more structure than Pre-K had. We've carried that schedule over to this year, and I thought it would be helpful for those of you with younger kids if I shared what works for us.

Our school routine starts the night before with our bedtime routine. We try to eat supper around the same time every night - 5:00 p.m. Then we do bath/shower at 6:00, mostly so her hair has time to air dry because we both hate blow drying it. 7:00-7:30 is our wind down time. Then we do nighttime meds, pick out clothes for the next day, read a story, and turn out the lights around 7:45, with the intention of Alexis being asleep by 8:00.

My alarm goes off at 6:45 each weekday morning. That gives me 15 minutes to wake up, wash my face, change out of pajamas, etc. Then, if she isn't already up, I wake Alexis up at 7:00. She's dressed before she leaves her room. Then we do morning meds and fix her hair before heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

I pack her lunchbox and make sure her bookbag is ready while she eats. Some mornings I make a cup of coffee, which goes through the morning car line with me. After she eats, we brush her teeth and do one final check to make sure she's got everything she needs. We're out of the house by 7:30.

Our after school routine varies depending on the day. On Tuesdays, we come home long enough for her to change for gymnastics before we make the drive across town. She brings a binder home every day with notes and sometimes assignments from her teacher. I check that as soon as we get home. If she has homework, that gets done first, usually with a snack, before she's allowed to turn the TV on or play.

Then everything starts all over with bedtime.