Five Tips For A Stress-Free Morning

from a mom who is NOT a morning person.  As the mother of school aged children, the hardest part of getting back into a school routine is waking up early.  We have to get up by 6:30 am which just basically kills me.  I’m not a morning person.  I never have been.  I’d much prefer to sleep until about 8 or 9 am.  That seems like a much more reasonable hour to wake up and start the day (in my opinion of course).  Unfortunately, the school district doesn’t care about the fact that I don’t want to wake up that early.  So, over the course of that past two years (my son is in 2nd grade and my daughter just started kindergarten this year) I’ve learned a couple of things that have really helped me to get up and going in a stress free kind of way.  I think that starting the day off on the right foot is important.  I want my kids to start the school day refreshed and ready to learn, so I try to make the mornings run as smoothly as possible around here.  I thought I’d share a few of my tips with you (that’s what friends do right?).

1.  Prepare for the week on Sunday night.  

I pick out the kids school and after school activity clothes for the week on Sunday evening.  I’m typically doing at least one load of laundry on a Sunday night anyway so while I’m putting clothes away I put together the clothes for the week.  I keep an area reserved in both of their closets for this very reason.

The girl has a bin labeled school clothes and the boy has one of those hanging sweater dividers for his.  (His closet makeover isn’t finished yet so I don’t have any pics to show you yet.  Soon!) You’d be surprised how much of a difference this one thing can make.  The kids wake up and know exactly what to put on and there is no time wasted trying to figure out what their going to wear that day.  I know some of you have children that like to pick out their own clothes or want to have a say about what their going to wear; figuring it out in the morning can be a huge task and can sometimes turn into a battle which is a terrible way to start the day.  Choosing the clothes on a Sunday night limits the “battle” to once a week when you have more time to figure it out and you’re not in a hurry to get them ready for school.  It might sound like a chore but after a few times it becomes a habit.  It really does help to make getting ready in the morning a breeze.  Plus anything that allows me a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning is a good idea in my book.  I guess I could do this the night before but with homework, after-school activities, dinner, and bath/shower time there’s already enough on my plate.

2.  Do as much as you can the night before.  

Lunches are packed while I’m cleaning up dinner.  Which, by the way, also helps me not to snack while I’m packing their goodies.  If I pack them when I’m full there’s less chance that I’ll sneak a bite or handful of something.

Backpacks are prepped and ready to go, and I decide what we’ll be having for breakfast the next morning.  Which leads me to my next tip.

3.  Make breakfast easy.

I’m not big on giving my kids choices when it comes to breakfast before school.  There is just no time to “figure out what you want to eat”.  In my house, you get what you get and you’re thankful you got fed.  Ha!  It sounds harsh, but at 6:30 in the morning I’m in no mood.  😉  I’d love to say that I whip up homemade pancakes and scramble eggs every morning, but seriously let’s get real here for a minute.  I just keep it very simple.  Ok, hold on to your seats because some people are about to be outraged.

My kids eat their breakfast on the way to school!

Yep, that’s right.  They don’t sit down at the table to eat in the morning.  GASP!  I drive them myself; we aren’t bus people.  This means we have about 15 to 20 minutes (because of traffic) in the car swagger wagon on the way to school.  That is plenty of time for them to eat and it means they don’t have to wake up at 6:00 am.  At ages 5 and 7 I think they appreciate getting an extra half hour of sleep.  Though I realize that some kids naturally wake up that early, mine do not.  It takes me about 5 sometimes 10 minutes just to get them out of bed, so that extra 30 minutes they get because they eat in the car really helps.  I usually do a whole wheat waffle (I’m a fan of the Van’s brand) with either honey, butter, or peanut butter spread on top.  If I’m feeling especially generous they’ll get a little nutella on top which they both LOVE.  Syrup is overrated in my book and my kids don’t miss it, in fact they typically prefer peanut butter which adds in a little protein punch.  Other breakfast options in my house include toast, hard boiled eggs (which are boiled the night before), or oatmeal in a cup (which is great on a winter morning).

As for me, I’m a coffee only at that time of day.  I can’t even think about eating at 6:30 am.  But my coffee is my life line.  I keep my coffee cabinet nice and organized so that making my coffee in the morning is a breeze.

Thank you Dunkin Donuts for FINALLY coming out with k-cups!  Now, if you would just start making them in cinnamon spice life would be perfect!

4.  Make your kids accountable.

Getting your kids to school on time shouldn’t just be your responsibility.  I think kids should take some responsibility too.  My kids know exactly what they need to do in the morning.  They get dressed and brush their teeth without me having to keep telling them they need to get ready.  I take care of their hair and breakfast.  They know that we don’t watch television in the morning and we don’t have time to play.  If there is any spare time I encourage reading, but rarely do we have any extra time.  I think one way to encourage timeliness and responsibility is to reward them.  On Fridays when the week has gone well without any whining, bickering or me having to remind them to get dressed I reward them with something special in their lunches or letting them watch a movie on the way to school.

5.  Create a check point.

Whether it’s by the door, in a closet, or in the garage it’s a good idea to have a last minute check point before you head out the door.  Having one spot where you keep backpacks, coats, and other things that you might need for the day keeps you from running around the house trying to grab everything.

I like having a basket of stuff – vitamins, chapstick, hand lotion, sunscreen, lint roller, or whatever – helps to make sure you’ve covered all your bases before walking out the door.

So those are my tips for a stress-free morning.  For those of you that don’t have kids – be thankful – KIDDING!  I’m sure there are a few things here that you could adopt from the above tips.  Even before I had kids I would lay out my clothes for the next day the night before (like I said I’ve never been a morning person).

Above all else, start with a prayer.  At least that’s what I do.  I wish I could say that I wake up 30 minutes earlier than the kids to start my day with devotion time, but I’m just not a morning person.  I don’t think you have to spend that much time to start your day off right.  I think God knows where you are in life and knows what you need.  I start my morning when the alarm goes off – I hit snooze – lay in bed and say a prayer – Lord, please help me to start this day on a good note, prepare my heart and attitude, and let me be the example You want me to be.  Ok, let’s do this thing!  I talk to God like I talk to a you – like I’m talking to a friend.  I think He knows better than anyone that I’m not chipper in the morning, so He’s all good with my quick prayer.  That short little prayer sets the tone for my day and that’s what it’s all about anyway.

Our mornings are pretty routine, and we rarely have any hiccups.  Of course there are those occasional days when the wheels come off the bus because the dog threw up, the boy spilled mouthwash on his shirt, and the girl somehow put a hole in a brand new pair of tights.  You know because when it rains it pours and it’s never one thing; it’s a million little things.  That’s life.  Being prepared has helped me to manage the unexpected a little more easily.

So, what about you?  Are you a morning person?  Any tips you’d like to share on the subject?  The best advice/tips I’ve ever received have come from the moms who are in the trenches with me or who have already been there and survived.  Help a mom out – it’s your duty!