My oldest daughter sent me a cartoon this morning. It had the words “Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance” and the caption “The five stages of waking up.” Truer words were never spoken, at least not in my house. I have always hated getting up in the morning. Where most kids fought naps, I would gladly take mine. It was a miracle I ever got through high school. You can bet your buns my college classes never started before noon! Well, this trend has been handed down to all of my kids. They hate to get up as much as I do every day. But, someone has to be a grown up around here and get everyone ready for school. Since my husband leaves the house before the sun comes up, I am the designated waker upper! Here are a few back to school morning hacks that help me get the kids to school on time:

Back To School Morning Hacks To Get The Kids Out The Door

• Bed Time: I am going to be honest. We have not had bedtimes for the kids for a few years now. Henry has a screwed up sleep cycle due to his Asperger’s Syndrome. Home schooling makes this easier to deal with. If he sleeps during the day, we home school after dinner in the evening. For Caitlin, she is in high school, so I have stopped fighting her on when to go to bed and have let her sanction her own bedtimes. If you have younger kids, start transitioning them to an earlier bedtime at least 14-10 days before school starts.

• The Night Before: We make sure notes are signed, backpacks and lunches are packed, clothes are picked out and homework is completed the night before. This saves us a huge chunk of time in the morning.

• Music: We play music, usually Imagine Dragons or the 80’s playlist, to get us going in the morning. Nothing will get you moving like one of your favorite songs! Henry and my husband think we are nuts, but Caitlin and I don’t care what those stinking boys think!

• Know Where Things Are: Nothing will slow my morning down like losing my wallet or my keys. We bought a magnetic key holder so we can hang them when we get home and grab them on our way out the door. The lunchbox is in the fridge and we keep the backpack, phone and iPad on the kitchen table. Everything is in reach. Easy peasy.

• Checklist: We keep a checklist by the door that keeps me in check with what I need before we head out the door. Caitlin will sound off each item and I will yell “check” as I grab each item

• No Fuss Healthy Breakfast: We all know kids need to have something to eat for breakfast to get their morning off to a good start. It doesn’t have to be a 5 star meal, but it should be something they will want to eat, is easy to eat on the run and full of yummy goodness. Our newest breakfast and after school snack obsession are the Brightsideâ„¢ breakfast bars from Pepperidge Farm.

I am not going to lie. I hit the snooze until the last possible minute and so does Caitlin. What this means, is we may be a fairly well oiled machine, but it is a bit crazy. We work together to get Caitlin out of the house on time, ad almost every morning, we are successful. When we aren’t, it is usually because I hit the snooze for the millionth time. As much as I would love Caitlin to have a hot breakfast, it just ain’t going to happen. Instead, I opt for something I know she will eat and is good for her. That is why we both love these Brightsideâ„¢ breakfast bars from Pepperidge Farm so much. Made with the goodness of whole grains and fruit, with a soft-baked texture, this is deliciousness you can feel good about. These little beauties are individually wrapped, heart shaped bars of flavor! They are as delicious as they are nourishing, which makes both of us very happy! Each Brightsideâ„¢ breakfast bar is a soft baked granola morning snack thoughtfully baked by the folks at Pepperidge Farm. The Brightsideâ„¢ breakfast bars are made with 100% whole grains, delivering 4-5 grams of fiber. They come in three delicious flavors; Blueberry, Cranberry (my favorite) and Cinnamon Brown Sugar (Caitlin’s favorite) and they retail for $3.99 for a box of 5. Start your day off right with these back to school morning hacks and set everyone up for a great day. The BrightSideâ„¢ breakfast bars from Pepperidge Farm are soft baked granola that is fuel for a morning routine that celebrates “Good Food, Good Energy, Great Mornings!” I love these so much, I am excited to offer one of my USA readers a box of each flavor of the Brightsideâ„¢ breakfast bars from Pepperidge Farm!! Do you have any back to school morning hacks you would like to share?