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Mornings

2013 January 30
by WWGD

morning

Mornings around here are pretty mellow. We are so lucky. I hear horror stories of bustling families trying to get their day going and the drama, stress and chaos that comes with it and I feel so happy that since we work from home and Little D’s school is one mile away, we can avoid that…for the most part. So while I know that most of you don’t have the same (idyllic) scenario as us, I thought I would share a piece of our day and the little things we do to make it smooth.

Kai is the first one up in the house and brings the day to life with a little babbling in his crib around 6:30am. Both of my kids sleep with tons of stuffed animals and a few small books in bed, mainly because I realized early on that it served as entertainment when they wake up, so they don’t call for us right away and are happy to hang out on their own for a bit…which in Kai’s case, means a lot of very important conversations with his monkey and his bear.

Skater boy and I take turns getting up with him. Again, we both work from home offices so have the luxury of not having to rush out the door for a commute. The truth is, the person who stays in bed doesn’t really get to “sleep in” any later because the kids’ voices take over the entire house in no time. But it still feels nice when it’s your morning to stay under the covers, if even just for 10 more minutes.

Little D follows around 7am. Unlike Kai who wakes up happy and grinning every morning, you never know quite what you might get with her. Girls. She takes a minute or two to warm up to the day.

We keep the house quiet and bright. No music, no TV. I typically hate when the house is quiet so almost always have Pandora playing in the background, but mornings are the exception. We get a ton of light in the kitchen and living room so just throwing open the curtains gives us a burst of natural energy that I love.

We check our phones for emails that came in overnight and any pressing news but then they typically sit nearby on the counter, mainly untouched.

Breakfast is simple because it’s almost always the same. Yogurt for Little D. Vanilla. Fruit for Kai. Preferably bananas. Trader Joe’s silver dollar pancakes (if you haven’t tried them, you must! Kids are obsessed and they are SO easy to make – they are pictured above) or french toast. Cups of milk. Skater boy has a coffee and usually nothing else. I have a chai latte or cup of tea.

I make Little D’s lunch and again, keep it simple. She usually gets frozen pesto pasta from Trader Joe’s (five minutes in the microwave) with some carrots, an apple crusher/sauce and maybe some crackers or cookies.

By 7:45am, Little D is getting ready for school. We’re also lucky because she is almost six and can handle dressing herself. She does her teeth in my bathroom (we keep a separate toothbrush and paste set for her there) so I can make sure she a) actually scrubs and b) doesn’t take forever and a day, and then we do her hair in a ponytail. Every. Single. Day. I get showered (well, most days) and dressed to take her in and we leave the house by 8:15am so she has a few minutes on the playground before 8:30am start.

Kai goes right about his business of playing and being two. Can you imagine being two and having nothing to do all day but play, have your grandmother feed you Pirate’s Booty and nap? Sigh. Lucky little man.

By 8:30am, skater boy and I are both at our respective desks. The commute is only about fifteen stairs down or something. The house is usually still quiet. And the day begins.

What are your mornings like? Insanely chaotic or under control?

5 Responses
  1. liz duncan permalink
    January 30, 2013

    Your mornings sound awesome! Especially the chai latte part. My mornings consist of sleeping in until the last minute to where I’ll actually have enough time to shower and get ready for work. I stay at the man’s house, but I don’t technically live there, so then I stop by my parent’s house every morning to pack a lunch and get fresh coffee that my dad makes. I get to see him and my niece and watch her get picked up for school, which is my favorite part. Then I rush out the door and make it to work at a shocking 7:57 to start work at 8:00. I’ve realized, I’m more productive when under pressure.

  2. January 30, 2013

    I’ve found that I have to work out in the morning, or else it just is not even remotely going to happen. And now that we’ve gone paleo, breakfast involves a lot of chopping and sauteing. I really like it, though…my husband and I are both lawyers, so there’s no pressure to be sitting down at a desk by a certain time every day. We’re busy, but our mornings give me the sense that we’ve accomplished a couple of really important things before the day even begins.

  3. February 5, 2013

    Your mornings sound so lovely! My husband and I are both teachers and we have an almost-two year old who attends daycare near my job. Mornings are go go go and I wish that wasn’t the case. Teaching high school is an early morning job so we don’t really have a choice. Our little one has been waking up earlier and earlier (between 5 and 6) and it makes my brain hurt. Chai tea and sunshine sounds MUCH nicer.

    • February 5, 2013

      Oops typo – sound, not sounds (the English teacher in me had to fix that!)

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