I’ve been doing this stay at home mom thing now for many years. Like anything in life, there is pros and cons. I feel extremely fortunate that I have the choice to stay at home, because I know not everyone has that choice. While I feel very blessed and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else at this point in my life, it doesn’t mean that it’s not hard sometimes or that I don’t struggle, or that somedays a job outside the home seems more desirable than swimming in a sea of diapers, toys and mess. So many times, I have felt alone in my struggles and felt guilt for feeling ungrateful or simply the fact that I was struggling. But as I’ve grown older and wiser and have had more experience, I know that pretty much ALL stay at home moms struggle at one point or another. And a lot of times, we struggle with the same things.

I have learned so much over the years, what works and what doesn’t, and wanted to share my morning routine. How your day starts can really impact the rest of your day. Obviously there are things out of our control that do come up but for the most part if you have a good routine in the morning, it can create a positive impact on the rest of your day.

RISE EARLY

This one has been the most difficult one for me because I like to sleep in. BUT…. rising early before my girls honestly has been a game changer. I get up somewhere around 6 am, wash my face, get a cup of coffee which is like the best part of my morning, put on some music or I like to listen to Joyce Meyer or Pastor Greg Laurie on You-Tube and do my makeup. Having some time to myself first thing in the morning does wonders for my patience and productivity for the rest of the day. Getting ready is HUGE for me. Whether you are like me and want to do a full face of makeup or just simply getting out of pajamas and swiping some mascara and lip gloss on, you will feel so much better if you put a little bit of effort into how you look. Even if you have no where to go that day and you think, “what is the point?” Do it anyways. I know this from experience.

DISHES

Every night Matt or I do a load of dishes in our dishwasher. In the morning, after I get the girls off to school and Emersyn fed breakfast, I unload the dishwasher right away. I do not like staring at a sink full of dirty dishes all day so it’s important to me that I can put dirty dishes in my dishwasher throughout the day and don’t have to stare at them in the sink.

LIST

Every morning I sit down with my cup of coffee and write down my to do list for that day if I haven’t already done it the night before. I look through my planner to see what we have going on for the day and write down what I want to accomplish. It can be something as simple as “send the bills” or “put away laundry”; what matters is that it is on the list. When I get a spare few minutes here and there I will go to my list and see what I need to do. I have found this is one of the most important things I do to keep myself productive.

TIDY UP

During the morning I tidy up our house. Making beds, cleaning up the smeared toothpaste on the girls’ bathroom counter for that morning, wiping down counters, picking up dirty clothes off the floor, etc. I enjoy a clean house and feel more at peace when it is clean. Now, it is not unknown to me that I have 4 little girls, and that more often than not my house is not magazine worthy. But, tidying up in the mornings brings me joy to look at a semi-clean house until the girls get home from school or until Emersyn decides to drag things out. Which she usually does do seconds after I clean up. 🙂

DEVOTIONAL/JOURNAL

I try to do my devotional and journal in the mornings. It honestly doesn’t always happen. Sometimes I end up journaling and reading my bible at night. But if I can and Emersyn is happily entertained, then I will do it in the morning at some point. With young kids, you have to be flexible.

APPOINTMENTS

I always try to make our appointments sometime in the morning. Number one, it gets me up and going. Number two, if you have young kids, they are usually happier in the mornings than afternoon. This is just personal preference but is what works best for us.

TREAT

Emersyn always has a snack around 10 and I like to treat myself to something as well. Lately I’ve been drinking a Ningxa Red supplement drink mixed with some sparkling water. It’s something I look forward to every morning and it’s healthy for me, an added bonus! Maybe for you it’s a quick work out session, going for a walk, watching a tv show, etc. Have something, even if it’s as simple as a drink, that you can look forward to every day.

This is what works for me at this point in my life right now. Depending on your kids, their ages, your circumstances, desires, etc., your morning routine will probably look different than mine. There are days where I fail at my morning routine, um, like yesterday when I overslept because I took Benadryl the night before. You have to have a whole lot of self discipline when it comes to staying at home; you don’t have a boss telling you to get out of your pajamas and into some real clothes or to brush your hair or get off the couch! It’s all up to you, you are your own boss.

I do know that most of us moms, whether working in or outside of the home, are really just trying to do the best we can. This world can make us feel less than but the thing is, as long as we are doing our best and our kids feel loved and are safe and cared for, that’s all that really matters.

Kayla