Morning Already?

Anybody here a morning person?  Anyone?  Anyone at all?

Is it just me, or are mornings tough?

I am most certainly NOT in the morning person category.  Sure, once I get up and get going, mornings are the times I can accomplish the most in my day.  However, I'd rather stay up really late instead of going to bed early enough to get things accomplished properly the next morning.

Since school started yet again, and now my daughter is in grade 1 (seriously... in school all day... sniff.  Where did the time go?), I have to make lunch for her in addition to the regular morning breakfast (can't start the day without a healthy meal.  Well, I suppose one can, but she has made it clear that breakfast cereal does not agree with her tummy.  She is just like I was, no joke.  I had the same tummy issues each morning I had breakfast cereal as a kid... and even still).  That means breakfast takes a good 20-30 minutes just to make each morning.  In addition to that, it is virtually impossible for me to make breakfast in a messy kitchen.  Impossible.  I see dirty dishes and immediately feel the need to clean them (doesn't help when the pot or pan I need is in the pile).

So, I've made myself a new night time and morning routine.  :)  I've been doing this successfully for a month now, and I am loving how much more productive I feel in the morning!  Want to get a snippet of what it looks like?  Sure you do!

First... this is an example of what my kitchen looks like before bed on a Sunday night... I didn't have time to unload the dishwasher in the morning, and it wasn't unloaded until now, so everything got piled on the counter (which is really no different from normal, except that during the day I usually put any stray items into the dishwasher whenever I'm in the kitchen).

 

Yeah... imagine waking up to this...

 

 

*shudder*

 

So, rather than dread having to enter my kitchen in the morning, my night-time routine involves a checklist that I look at each night.

 

My 'good morning' starts before bed.  I make my daughter her lunch and put it in the fridge, wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.  I prime my sourdough starter (which still hasn't quite gotten to the 'breadmaking stage', but I'm using the stuff you would otherwise have to dump in other recipes anyway, so at least I don't feel wasteful), and make sure I have the utensils and stuff out for breakfast the next morning.  Any meat needed for the next day gets pulled out and into the fridge.  The dishwasher is loaded and I set it to run (it is on the checklist because you have NO idea how many times I load the dishwasher and forget to turn the dial.  Seriously.  It is such a frustrating thing).  I vacuum the dining room and kitchen (kids plus rice plus floors don't mix) and pick up in the house for about 10 minutes (or less... the kids job before bed is cleaning up their toys).  I make sure I've checked M's agenda for school, put it and the things she needs in her bag, and if I need to bring things for church, I put it all by the door.  The kids and I have our clothes picked out for the next day (I had no idea how long it takes a 6 year old to choose her clothes until I had one.  Really.  It is insane.  After all, the socks must color coordinate with the shirt...).  And then I can relax.

I SHOULD get to bed early... but I don't.  Yeah, the early to bed thing just doesn't seem to be working for me.  Anyone have any ideas?  I tend to stay up until I just can't stay up anymore and THEN head off to bed.  Not helping in the sleep department, that is for sure.

Anyway, here is what I will wake up to tomorrow morning.

 

MUCH nicer than that disaster of a kitchen from earlier (which would make me stress and likely start my pregnant self crying first thing after getting up seeing as both my 'oatmeal pots' were made dirty during supper).  Oh, and the crock pot on the stove has lunch in it, cooking on low already (starting soup stock for tomorrow since we had chicken for supper and I had the bones out already).

 

Anyway, the next morning is much easier!  I start my day with oil swishing while I read the Bible and journal (it is a nice slower start to the morning where I can sit in bed for a little longer instead of 'jumping' out of bed).  I pop the already prepped breakfast on the stove (well... you can't really prep scrambled eggs.  But oatmeal you do.  I soak mine 24 hours with some lemon juice and flour to remove as much phytic acid as possible, so I have my sieve, pot, measuring, and my soaked oatmeal waiting for me).  While it is cooking, I clear the dishwasher and drying rack, get the kids (who are awake and dressed) to set the table (and put their lunch into their bag if it is a weekday), put a load of laundry in the washer, and of course take care of A.  After we eat (and M is on the bus), I prep for lunch or supper if needed, I try to exercise and attempt my daily cleaning task.  After exercising I am usually so exhausted that I sit down for awhile, and then my morning plans go out the window.  :)  Darn that facebook/pinterest.  At least I have started laundry and my kitchen is all clean!

I actually made myself an organizer that sits next to my phone.  I use it to check off how much water I've had (because otherwise I won't drink enough), put in my daily and weekly tasks, and it is so satisfying to tick each one off.  Then I have a monthly dry erase calendar above it where I can see all my appointments and anything that may need more of my attention.  You have NO idea how much this has helped me lately!  I have become so scatterbrained that the constant going back to this schedule to see what I have done and have yet to do is invaluable to organizing my household!  And I actually feel like I've accomplished something, even if it IS only the normal weekly tasks, because believe me, there is a lot that needs doing each week to keep a house running (I'm sure you understand).  Laundry and food are two really big ones.  And I think they take up most of my time, too.  Oh, and yeah... pic of that as well.  ;)

I still need to work on this whole 'sleep' thing.  You know, going to bed at a reasonable hour so that one can get the number of hours sleep that one would need to properly function the next day?  Yeah, that.  If I can somehow get that to work for me, perhaps I wouldn't need mid-morning naps so often.  You know, because putting a load of laundry into the washer is so taxing.  ;)

For now, I think I want to go play some Farm Heros or Candy Crush.  Just 5 minutes... 
um...
yeah...
(where DID that hour get to?)