Back when our oldest son Jacob was little and about to give up his morning nap, I remember thinking when in the world am I going to get a shower? I would wake up when he woke up and we would hang out, have breakfast and play until he went down for his nap and then I would get ready for the day. Those were the days!
When I was contemplating when that shower was going to get taken, I remember talking to my husband about it and mentioning that I would get up before Jacob to shower. He said “there is no reason a stay-at-home mom needs to get up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the day”. Oh, those really were the days!
Importance of Getting up Early
Since that time almost 12 years ago, it has been part of my morning routine to get up and get my day started before my children wake up. I have always been more of a morning person. Even in college I never stayed up late to watch any of the late shows like most everyone else.
Now, not only am I a stay at home mom, but throw in homeschooling, blogging, Beachbody, yes I definitely need to get my day started early.
Here’s how a typical morning looks for me:
5:00-5:30am – I get up, and change into my workout clothes, an make my way downstairs,. If it’s a laundry day I get a load of laundry started. If I have a new blog post schedule for the day I check to make sure it’s live and then post to FB/Twitter.
I close my computer then and spend some time reading through The Magnificat and any other spiritual reading I’m doing, and praying for my children and family.
6:00am or so, I head downstairs with my husband to exercise. We are able to workout most mornings together.
7:00am – we are finishing up and some of the kids are starting to get up. While the kids that are up are working on their morning chores, I make Shakeology for myself and my kids. {My husband makes his own, we each have our own favorite “recipe”!}
7:30am – I head upstairs to get ready for the day.
8:30am – The kids are finishing up breakfast and we start cleanup.
9:00am – We are all ready to start our school day.
Of course, this would be my “perfect” day. Most days don’t go quite this smoothly, but this is the framework for my mornings. When I’m off the schedule, or sleep in a bit, I always regret it and I never seem to catch up. It’s so beneficial to me to have a good morning routine!
What do your mornings look like?
I get up at 5 too. I get the kettle on for green tea, throw in a load of laundry and have a time of prayer and devotions. By 6 I am at the blog, I get check my numbers from the previous day, then get up my new post if I have one. I then spend 30 minutes reading and commenting on different blogs. At 7:30 I break for breakfast.From 8 to 9 I write. Then I make sure the kids are all at their school books before I start my workout.
Ooohhhh, I’m gonna go start a pot of tea now.
My alarm goes off at 7:30, but that is just my signal to get up and dressed. I am usually awake before that thanks to my 1 and 2 year old blessings. The three kids I babysit for full time come at 8:00. I try to make my coffee before they arrive…then I feed kids, clean kids, change diapers and referee then repeat…all day long!
As a night owl, the morning routine has always been a struggle for me. One change that I have made with my boys is that we pray our rosary and then read our chapter book before anything- almost right out of bed for them. I found that as our days get busier, we would push those two things off and they wouldn’t happen. Occasionally, I get someone claiming to be wasting away from hunger, but mostly it works well.
We JUST started homeschooling and I’m looking at your schedule and I’m envious. I REALLY wish I was a morning person… or that we had a workout area in our little apartment… or that it wasn’t the first week of this new venture and I didn’t feel like pulling out my hair, lol. Reading this gives me hope, though, that it won’t always be so hectic… I’m praying. Right now, the only consistency about our mornings is that they AREN’T consistent. :-/
Amber “Sortasupermom”
http://www.confessionsfromboystown.com
While I’ve always been a morning person, my hubby is not! However, now that we exercise in the morning, he sees the value of getting up early to get things done. Everyone has their own routine, you just need to figure out what works for your family! Keep praying
LOL! I remember those days. At one point I have 4 kids 5 and under. Life does get a bit easier, hang in there.
Great discipline, Jen! But that’s how I’ve found to be more successful as well. I get up at 6 (before kids) and similar to you, get workout clothes on. We go to daily Mass at 7 am (M,W,F.) On those days, I head out for a 40 minute walk/jog after Mass but have to shower later in the day. The other days, I get an earlier start on workout and morning prayer. On those days, I can pray the Rosary while I’m walking. I’ve found that I can briefly check e-mail but any other social media puts a kink into my morning. I too, like to read my Magnificat and pray before the day gets started. I find that screen time can suck me in and throw me off from all of this. We try to start schooling by 9 am too! I agree, morning routines are critical and set the tone for the rest of my day. I save my computer and blogging until after lunch or afternoon/evening. My bedtime is 10:30!
OH, did I mention that my morning coffee is FIRST as I stumble down stairs? hee hee