Well, how are we doing? Did you create a Night Routine? Did anyone try to use it and made it to bed at a decent time last night? How many woke up to a clean kitchen that was ready for you to make breakfast? A house that was picked up and was a joy to walk into this morning?
It takes discipline to do your night routine every night, but after awhile the joy you feel in the morning when you have a head start on your day will provide the motivation to continue.
The next part of our schedule that I want to look at is your morning routine.
Your morning routine should not be hearing the baby cry and uttering a few choice words as you force yourself to go pick her up. Or, your preschooler comes into your room and you blindly stumble into the living room, turn on Dora (or something) while you settle into the couch and go back to sleep. After an hour, or so, your child tells you she’s hungry and you grumble as you grab a pop-tart for her, or maybe you try to be healthy and unwrap a granola bar and toss it to her, then you fill up her mega size sippy cup with apple juice and then go lay back on the couch and try to sleep a little longer. You wake up when you realize the TV is on, but your little one is somewhere, and she is a little too quiet…
This should never consistently be what occurs in your home. Reality check, I know this can happen from time to time. Mommies don’t stay healthy all the time, but your illness should be the only reason this happens.
I have found that even when I am really sick that I can still manage to tweak out a decent morning. It’s all because I have my routines and they are such a part of me now, that I don’t give it a second thought and truthfully, they are rather effortless now too. I think my body has a memory built up into it so that it does those things automatically.
Your morning routine should have 3 parts to it:
Here comes the Sun
Breakfast
What’s going On?
Married ladies I want to talk to you for a moment. Specifically, I’m talking to those with a husband who works the traditional day shift, but if your husband works another shift you can use this advice and fit it into your situation. Ask your husband what role he wants you to play in his getting ready for work. If he wants you to get up and make him breakfast before he leaves and that breakfast includes the works: eggs, sausage, etc. then by all means ladies, get up and do that!
After all, this is the man you married, and he deserves to be treated like a king before he leaves. If this means you get up at 4AM with him, then you need to do it. Work it into your night routine if you have to. I’ve even seen some recipes that you can get ready the night before (like French toast) and pop into the oven in the morning. If this is what he wants, please do it with a good attitude and not hold it against him.
Part one of your Morning routine is what I call Here comes the Sun.
What time does your family wake up? What would it take for you to be up and ready to greet them in the morning with a good cheerful attitude? For me, I want to have my devotions and prayer time finished and my shower taken before my children wake up. Maybe you want to put some time into an exercise video before the wee ones get up. You need to figure out what kind of time you need for this and subtract from the time your family wakes.
I usually need half an hour for devotions and prayer time and then another 15 minutes for the shower. My children can wake anywhere between 6:45 and 7:30, mostly they wake around 7:15. I try to wake up at 6:30 to get my day going.
(Please remember to be reasonable with yourself, are you really going to get up at 5AM to have your quiet time with God, do an exercise video, and have your shower taken? If you are motivated enough to do this, then by all mean go for it! If that’s what you want to do, but you have trained yourself to sleep in everyday, then work up to it, don’t expect to be able to change all of a sudden. You will flop on your face, feel like a failure and your desire for a schedule is going to be chalked up to the attitude of, “I tried that, I can’t do it.” Don’t set yourself up to fail!! Remember, your life changes and evolves all the time and so your schedule must change too to fit you.)
It takes discipline to do your night routine every night, but after awhile the joy you feel in the morning when you have a head start on your day will provide the motivation to continue.
The next part of our schedule that I want to look at is your morning routine.
Your morning routine should not be hearing the baby cry and uttering a few choice words as you force yourself to go pick her up. Or, your preschooler comes into your room and you blindly stumble into the living room, turn on Dora (or something) while you settle into the couch and go back to sleep. After an hour, or so, your child tells you she’s hungry and you grumble as you grab a pop-tart for her, or maybe you try to be healthy and unwrap a granola bar and toss it to her, then you fill up her mega size sippy cup with apple juice and then go lay back on the couch and try to sleep a little longer. You wake up when you realize the TV is on, but your little one is somewhere, and she is a little too quiet…
This should never consistently be what occurs in your home. Reality check, I know this can happen from time to time. Mommies don’t stay healthy all the time, but your illness should be the only reason this happens.
I have found that even when I am really sick that I can still manage to tweak out a decent morning. It’s all because I have my routines and they are such a part of me now, that I don’t give it a second thought and truthfully, they are rather effortless now too. I think my body has a memory built up into it so that it does those things automatically.
Your morning routine should have 3 parts to it:
Here comes the Sun
Breakfast
What’s going On?
Married ladies I want to talk to you for a moment. Specifically, I’m talking to those with a husband who works the traditional day shift, but if your husband works another shift you can use this advice and fit it into your situation. Ask your husband what role he wants you to play in his getting ready for work. If he wants you to get up and make him breakfast before he leaves and that breakfast includes the works: eggs, sausage, etc. then by all means ladies, get up and do that!
After all, this is the man you married, and he deserves to be treated like a king before he leaves. If this means you get up at 4AM with him, then you need to do it. Work it into your night routine if you have to. I’ve even seen some recipes that you can get ready the night before (like French toast) and pop into the oven in the morning. If this is what he wants, please do it with a good attitude and not hold it against him.
Part one of your Morning routine is what I call Here comes the Sun.
What time does your family wake up? What would it take for you to be up and ready to greet them in the morning with a good cheerful attitude? For me, I want to have my devotions and prayer time finished and my shower taken before my children wake up. Maybe you want to put some time into an exercise video before the wee ones get up. You need to figure out what kind of time you need for this and subtract from the time your family wakes.
I usually need half an hour for devotions and prayer time and then another 15 minutes for the shower. My children can wake anywhere between 6:45 and 7:30, mostly they wake around 7:15. I try to wake up at 6:30 to get my day going.
(Please remember to be reasonable with yourself, are you really going to get up at 5AM to have your quiet time with God, do an exercise video, and have your shower taken? If you are motivated enough to do this, then by all mean go for it! If that’s what you want to do, but you have trained yourself to sleep in everyday, then work up to it, don’t expect to be able to change all of a sudden. You will flop on your face, feel like a failure and your desire for a schedule is going to be chalked up to the attitude of, “I tried that, I can’t do it.” Don’t set yourself up to fail!! Remember, your life changes and evolves all the time and so your schedule must change too to fit you.)
When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is read my Bible. I try to hit at least 3 chapters of whatever book of the Bible I’m currently reading (right now I’m in 1 Corinthians). Have you made this a discipline in your life? Do you need a place to start? There are a few Bible reading programs on the internet such as this. Sometimes you can find a checklist in your Bible on what to read to accomplish ready the Bible in a year. Or if you are just starting out getting into the discipline of reading your Bible, try reading a chapter of Proverbs everyday. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so read the chapter that corresponds with the day.
After reading in the Bible, I take time out to pray. As a new Christian, people would always ask me, “Are you having your quiet time?” and I had no clue what they meant and when I did I had no idea what I was supposed to say or do.
I found this prayer written by Elisabeth Eliot Gren and decided to make her prayer my own. This little prayer served me well in the beginning of my walk with the Lord and I pray that it becomes a blessing to you and that you can start the discipline of praying from it.
Loving Lord and Heavenly Father,
I offer up today all that I am, all that I have, all that I do, and all that I suffer, to be yours today and yours forever.
Give me the grace, Lord, to do all that I know of your holy will.
Purify my heart, sanctify my thinking, correct my desires.
Teach me, in all of today’s work and trouble and joy, to respond with honest praise, simple trust, and instant obedience, that my like may be in truth a living sacrifice, by the power of your Holy Spirit and in the name of your son Jesus Christ, my master and my all.
Amen
(Elisabeth Eliot Gren Gateway to Joy PO Box 82500 Lincoln, NE 68501)
Of course, you should only pray that if you understand it, and you mean it. Do not ever just pray rote prayers just to check it off of your list.
My boys are usually in bed, but what do I do if one gets up during my quiet time? I let them know that mommy is having her quiet time with God. If I’m reading my Bible, I hand them their children’s Bible to “read” until I’m finished. My oldest son now has his own quiet time and often I see the lamp click on in the living room while I'm having my quiet time (they do watch everything we do). If I’m praying I put them in my lap and we pray together. Don’t stop your quiet time! It’s important that your children see you have your quiet time.
After my quiet time, I jump in the shower. When I’m done I get dressed and leave my hair in a towel. I then go to my washing machine and start it and put in the first load of the morning. When I have that load in, then I go and fix my hair and my face. If I don’t have anywhere to go that morning, I just moisturize my face and do my hair. Usually the children are up by then.
Then Princess Pea helps me make my bed by handing me the pillows from the floor and my boys do their own room chores.
I offer up today all that I am, all that I have, all that I do, and all that I suffer, to be yours today and yours forever.
Give me the grace, Lord, to do all that I know of your holy will.
Purify my heart, sanctify my thinking, correct my desires.
Teach me, in all of today’s work and trouble and joy, to respond with honest praise, simple trust, and instant obedience, that my like may be in truth a living sacrifice, by the power of your Holy Spirit and in the name of your son Jesus Christ, my master and my all.
Amen
(Elisabeth Eliot Gren Gateway to Joy PO Box 82500 Lincoln, NE 68501)
Of course, you should only pray that if you understand it, and you mean it. Do not ever just pray rote prayers just to check it off of your list.
My boys are usually in bed, but what do I do if one gets up during my quiet time? I let them know that mommy is having her quiet time with God. If I’m reading my Bible, I hand them their children’s Bible to “read” until I’m finished. My oldest son now has his own quiet time and often I see the lamp click on in the living room while I'm having my quiet time (they do watch everything we do). If I’m praying I put them in my lap and we pray together. Don’t stop your quiet time! It’s important that your children see you have your quiet time.
After my quiet time, I jump in the shower. When I’m done I get dressed and leave my hair in a towel. I then go to my washing machine and start it and put in the first load of the morning. When I have that load in, then I go and fix my hair and my face. If I don’t have anywhere to go that morning, I just moisturize my face and do my hair. Usually the children are up by then.
Then Princess Pea helps me make my bed by handing me the pillows from the floor and my boys do their own room chores.
Part one : Here comes the Sun breaks down to:
o Devotions, prayer time
o Shower
o Laundry in
o Fix Hair and Face
o Make beds
Go ahead and add it to your Master Schedule:
We are now ready to get some breakfast. If you’ve done your Night Routine then your kitchen is clean and ready to go. If you didn’t unload your dishwasher you might need to do that. Go ahead and start a good, healthy breakfast for your family. It doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal every morning. I try to reserve something special like that for the weekends. We normally have oatmeal, boiled eggs, peanut butter toast, yogurt parfaits etc. through the week.
If we are in a hurry, I’ll make peanut butter toast and serve it on a napkin or paper towel so that clean up is quick. Go ahead and think of breakfasts that you can make for each day of the week.:
Monday: Oatmeal
Tuesday: Boiled Eggs and Fresh Fruit
Wednesday: Muffins, boiled eggs, and Milk
Thursday: Yogurt Parfaits with granola and fresh fruit
Friday: Oatmeal
Saturday: Special like pancakes
Sunday: Oatmeal, or PB toast
While our food is cooking I go ahead and check on part three: What’s going On? I check my calendar, my to do list from last night that I started and add to it if I need to, I think about my dinner for the evening and if I need to buy anything or set out anything to thaw.
When breakfast is ready we sit down as a family to eat it. When we are done everyone helps clean up. The boys do their table chores. Then when we are done I send them to their rooms to get dressed (clothes laid out the night before if possible).
When they are done dressing, it’s about time for my washer to finish. Princess Pea helps me put wet clothes into the dryer while the boys gather up their nightclothes to add to the laundry baskets and get ready for the day.
Tada! We are ready for the day and it’s normally about 9:00. That’s my target time to get everything in my morning routine finished.
To recap
Part Two: Breakfast
Empty Dishwasher
Start Breakfast
Tuesday: Boiled Eggs and Fresh Fruit
Wednesday: Muffins, boiled eggs, and Milk
Thursday: Yogurt Parfaits with granola and fresh fruit
Friday: Oatmeal
Saturday: Special like pancakes
Sunday: Oatmeal, or PB toast
While our food is cooking I go ahead and check on part three: What’s going On? I check my calendar, my to do list from last night that I started and add to it if I need to, I think about my dinner for the evening and if I need to buy anything or set out anything to thaw.
When breakfast is ready we sit down as a family to eat it. When we are done everyone helps clean up. The boys do their table chores. Then when we are done I send them to their rooms to get dressed (clothes laid out the night before if possible).
When they are done dressing, it’s about time for my washer to finish. Princess Pea helps me put wet clothes into the dryer while the boys gather up their nightclothes to add to the laundry baskets and get ready for the day.
Tada! We are ready for the day and it’s normally about 9:00. That’s my target time to get everything in my morning routine finished.
To recap
Part Two: Breakfast
Empty Dishwasher
Start Breakfast
Part Three: What’s going On?
Check Calendar
Continue to do list
Dinner Decisions
Eat Breakfast
Laundry Reboot
Kids ready for the day
So plug that into your Master Schedule:
Okay, I think that is enough for today. Look how much more of your master schedule you filled in!
Okay, by now you might be wondering what are you supposed to do with all of these papers and schedules you’ve accumulated. I use a three ring binder with page covers to keep mine in. That way as I’ve finished a chore I can mark it off with a dry-erase marker and at night I can take a tissue and wipe it clean. Do what your budget allows you to do. You can get one of those folders with two pockets and a place to put in notebook paper. I saw those the other day for around 10¢.
Home Management Homework
Write out a Morning Routine
Try to do a Night Routine
Get your notes and schedules organized and in one place
Smooch your husband like you haven’t seen him for a week when he comes home from work! Knock his socks off ladies!!
Check Calendar
Continue to do list
Dinner Decisions
Eat Breakfast
Laundry Reboot
Kids ready for the day
So plug that into your Master Schedule:
Okay, I think that is enough for today. Look how much more of your master schedule you filled in!
Okay, by now you might be wondering what are you supposed to do with all of these papers and schedules you’ve accumulated. I use a three ring binder with page covers to keep mine in. That way as I’ve finished a chore I can mark it off with a dry-erase marker and at night I can take a tissue and wipe it clean. Do what your budget allows you to do. You can get one of those folders with two pockets and a place to put in notebook paper. I saw those the other day for around 10¢.
Home Management Homework
Write out a Morning Routine
Try to do a Night Routine
Get your notes and schedules organized and in one place
Smooch your husband like you haven’t seen him for a week when he comes home from work! Knock his socks off ladies!!
As always, leave comments, questions, or suggestions for me
