Mornings are always super crazy at my house even though we have been doing the same thing for years now. Every day there is a new drama. Either my son cant find his shoes or my husband lost his keys or the baby is crying. I could go on and on but I am sure mornings are about the same everywhere. I still love them though. Its nice waking up and knowing that I will go downstairs to some new disaster but still be able to get myself, both the boys, and Big E off to where we need to go on time. I wake up and try to wake Big E up who then begs for five more minutes. So after five (or ten) minutes, I wake him up and he goes and gets Little M up for school. Little M has perfected his morning routine by sleeping in his clothes (I know, I am sure its uncomfortable too but he still likes to do it). Then Big E comes and gets dressed while I am getting dressed. Then either he or I will get Baby E dressed and ready while the other goes downstairs and gives Little M his medicine and makes sure he has his school snack and drink ready. Lately, we have added making our Nutrisystem shakes and a quick breakfast to our routine but its still pretty much the same. Then Little M walks to the bus stop a few houses down as Big E and I load the baby up in the car and go our separate ways in the morning.
A couple of times a week, when I feel that I have been good at my diet or when I have to have some sugar and caffeine, I stop at Murphy USA to get a drink and maybe get gas. They always have the best price on 20 oz drinks especially Mountain Dew. They also have bananas and prepackaged muffins at the counter so I know I can grab a quick snack before I leave if I forgot to eat before I left the house (happens all the time).
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| I know I am on a diet but I need sugar sometimes! |
So from the mom of disasters, here are some tips to keep your morning routine running smoothly:
1.Get clothes and shoes ready the night before
2. Pick out your lunch the night before. Just jot down what you want if you can’t make it ahead of time. Sometimes the longest part of my morning is choosing what I want to bring for lunch or snack at work.
3. Wake up 5 minutes earlier. I kills me to say this but 5 minutes really can make or break an entire morning (But the snooze button is so easy to push!!!)
4. Have a normal morning and then make a list of everything that hassles you. That night see what you can do to lessen it. Change one thing at a time until your morning is streamlined. (Of course with children and pets, it may never be since they make the unpredictable happen.)
And since mornings are most everyone’s least fun part of their day, find ways to make yours fun! We sometimes leave money on Little M’s dresser to see how long it takes him to notice he can have ice cream that day. Or we play lotto with our breakfast shakes. I hold two flavors behind my back and Big E or Little M will choose a hand and that is the flavor we are having.
I also get the chance to walk around my work if I leave my house a bit early. It is the most lovely place. I wish it wasn’t raining today so I could do my morning walk but I wanted to share a picture of how it looks. My coworker also loves to walk and he took this for me. One thing is for sure. I wouldn’t trade my crazy mornings for anything!
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| Bimingham, AL in the rain |
