10 Before 10 a.m.

10 things I do every morning as a stay-at-home, homeschool mother to three (with baby four on the way) to not only set myself up for success in the day, but to bring me joy!

I’m definitely a creature of habit, someone who likes routine (although, not a rigid one) and I’ve cultivated a very boring, yet effective morning routine for myself over the past few years. Effective in that it makes me happy, makes me productive and makes my body feel good! I’m not sure what prompted me to write this; perhaps it was reading yet another 35-step morning routine involving red light therapy, matcha, breath-work, 23 cosmetic products, a coffee enema, sauna and cold plunge, a low-stimulating workout, a dozen supplements and a smoothie with 14 ingredients in it.

You might read my “10 before 10 a.m.” and roll your eyes, because yes, unfortunately, I’m one of “those” obnoxious morning people!! You might read it and be annoyed that I make my bed every day. You might read it and immediately say “nope, not for me, crazy lady,” or “easy for you, you’re a SAHM” and all those feelings are totally fine. This is simply what works for me and has for a few years. I certainly don’t think what’s right for me is right for everyone, we all have our own rhythms that work best for how we operate, but I do hope that in sharing a realistic morning routine of a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of three who’s 6-months pregnant, a routine that’s doable, not expensive and doesn’t involve special equipment, you might find something to add to your own mornings. I feel like these 10 things can all be done no matter if you’re a SAHM, a working mom, a woman who doesn’t have children, really anyone!

Here are 10 things I do every morning (yes, even weekends):

1. I wake up early. Very early. And I do this every. single. morning. I’m “that” annoying morning person!! I can feel your eyes rolling right now, I know, I know, us morning people get a bad rap because we always talk about how we wake up early and I get it. I know this is a hot topic for some, but waking up early is life changing!! It’s an absolute MUST in my day; it’s sacred, special time for me, the hour or two I get completely to myself and I treasure it. It doesn’t matter if I am nursing a newborn around the clock, if a toddler got in bed with us in the middle of the night, if someone had bad dreams, needed water, needed to go potty. It doesn’t matter if I stayed up too late reading a book or up too late enjoying the evening with my husband. My alarm is set for 4:30 or 4:45 every morning, and my feet hit the floor no later than 5 a.m.
   
   It certainly helps that my parents are morning people, so I was raised seeing everyone up and moving early, between my dad leaving for work early and mom starting her day as a SAHM early as well. My husband is definitely a morning person, he’s out the door before 5:30 a.m. for work every day. My children have also picked up on the morning person energy we exude, as they’re all early risers themselves (no one sleeps past 7 a.m. in this house). It’s not for everyone, but it’s the rhythm of our family!
   
   I think every wise, happy, older mother I’ve ever talked to emphasizes the importance of that morning quiet time. It truly helps start your day on the right foot. This is my quiet time, while the house and children are sleeping. This is when I piddle around, when I pray and talk to God, when I do a Bible study, when I get caught up on bills or emails, when I write, when I get ahead on things, get a jump start on breakfast so it’s ready when the kids wake up, this is time for me. Weekends, my husband and I tend to trade off mornings, depending on work schedule and what our weekend looks like. One morning, I’ll get up and cook breakfast for everyone, the next morning, I won’t get up early, my husband will do breakfast and bring me a cup of coffee in bed! It kind of varies weekend to weekend.
   
   If I wake up when my kids wake up, I’m already behind. I’m extremely rushed, I have to frantically make breakfast amidst wails of “I’m starving when is breakfast going to be ready?!” and the entire morning feels like a mad dash to get anything done. Talk about a cortisol spike! There’s no gradual wake-up, no peaceful start, no easing into the day; I’m immediately thrown into the fire. Definitely not how I like to start my day!

   
   When I was mother to just one, our oldest, I probably didn’t wake up quite so early. I’ve always been an early riser, but with one child it was easy to get up around 6:30 and ease into the day. Once I had two children, that completely changed and I began my daily regiment of early mornings! Since then, I’ve become extremely attached and protective of my morning quiet time, it’s a non-negotiable for me now.
   
   Waking up early takes self-discipline, that’s the bottom line. You can do it, you really can!! But no one can do it for you and it’s entirely up to you. It might not be easy at first, but if you make the effort long enough to experience that early morning quiet time, I promise you’ll be hooked and it will become routine before you know it. You got this!

   

2. I have whatever sounds good to me for breakfast in the mornings. I don’t follow trends, I don’t listen to experts, I listen to my body. I’m extremely boring in that I have the same ‘breakfast’ (if you want to call it that) routine every morning. I wake up early, I have a cup of hot black coffee, no creamer, no sugar, no nada, as soon as I get to the kitchen, and then I don’t eat until later. I’m not a big breakfast person and I’m simply not hungry first thing in the day! 50g of protein, or whatever the experts say to eat, just doesn’t sound good to me!! Neither does hot lemon water. Neither do electrolytes. And I know, you’re supposed to wait a certain amount of time before having coffee, but I love a hot cup first thing in the morning! One cup of black coffee and waiting until I’m genuinely hungry to eat is what works for me for years now, even before kids, and I stick to that. If I’m hungry, I’ll cook myself an egg with avocado and maybe an extra sausage from the kid’s breakfast. Maybe I’ll have a nibble of whatever they’re eating. During summer months, I love cottage cheese and fresh peaches or nectarines, so I’ll eat that in the mornings. But I block out the noise from all the health gurus and just do what makes me feel good!
   
   I’ll add that I don’t count calories, I don’t follow a diet, I’m not intentionally fasting, if you had to label it, I guess it falls under the category of intuitive eating? There was a solid month of pregnancy earlier this year when I woke up STARVING, and I was making myself two eggs, toast and sausages. I was hungry, so I ate breakfast!! But now I’m back to my normal appetite and I don’t want anything until 9 a.m. or so. At that point, I’ll have a protein bar (Perfect Bar) or I’ll eat some leftovers from dinner, yes, weird, but I don’t mind them and it’s healthy, nourishing, homemade food. For example, I love leftover spaghetti for breakfast!
   
   I don’t stress over not hitting the latest protein goals for women, or not starting my day with electrolytes. I kind of tune it out, and tune into myself. If something feels off, if I feel sluggish or tired or short-fused, I’ll tweak as needed, but for the most part, this is what’s worked best for me and my body for years now and it’s what makes me feel good!

   

3. I start a load of laundry first thing. While my coffee is brewing, after I light my favorite candle, I immediately start a load of laundry. My future-self always says, “thank you!!” I do at least one load of laundry a day, from washing to drying to folding and putting away. This is how I keep myself from drowning in laundry for our family of five and make it feel manageable. Some days it’s more, if I have time, but one load is the minimum and getting the wash started early helps expedite things. That might mean folding a load bright and early, or folding it after the kids go to bed while I’m in my pajamas. I have definitely been slacking on that part lately with being pregnant; when the kids go down, I go down!
   
   But really, one load doesn’t actually take that long if you break it down throughout the day. Starting the wash takes 2 minutes. Transfer to the dryer and start that, another 2 minutes. The folding can be done in 10-15 minutes if you put your phone away. The clothes can be put up in 10 minutes, especially if you have your kids put their own laundry away (my kids do this starting from a very young age, which I’ve written about here). Even on our busy days out of the home, I can get a load cranked out, especially if I get the ball rolling first thing in the morning. Since I’m up early, the wash is done in time for me to transfer it before we have to leave the house, and then I can find time later in the day to fold it.

4. I make my bed every morning. I’ve done this since I was a child and if I leave the house with an unmade bed, it haunts me all day.

5. I always greet my children with a happy, soft, warm tone and big hug, no matter how early they wake up. Sure, sometimes they get sent back to bed if it’s too early, but no one wants to wake up and get scolded or talked down to first thing! I’d hate to come out in the morning after a good night sleep and be reprimanded or greeted with a bad attitude. It doesn’t matter if I slept poorly or don’t feel good, that’s not their problem, that’s my issue, and I’m not going to let it affect my children. Greeting my children with love, warmth and a hug helps me set my own personal tone for the day!

6. I go outside with the dog when I let him out to use the restroom, and I stand in the yard, facing the sun, letting my eyes soak in some vitamin D. They say you’re supposed to do this 30 to 60 minutes after waking up, but I figure a little later is just fine and serves the same purpose. I’m all about anything outside, so I will listen to the ‘experts’ on this one. Bright, natural sunlight first thing in the morning helps your cortisol, your metabolism, your energy and your natural body clock for improved sleep. This isn’t too hard! You simply go outside and absorb face the sun without looking directly at it. You could do this while loading your kids up in the car, or heading out the door for work. Just pause and soak up the sun (cue Sheryl Crow) for a few minutes. On the weekends, I like to go water the garden while everyone else eats breakfast and get my early sunlight then!

   

7. I get dressed. Sounds simple, but that means I don’t lounge around in my pajamas, even as a SAHM. Some days that’s getting put together in jeans and a cute shirt, or a dress, other days that’s athletic shorts and a workout top. Being a mom is my full time job, and I want to show up for it. I feel more energized, motivated and ready to go when I get dressed for my job, just as anyone else does for a job outside the home. No, I’m not parading around my home in a designer gown and arms covered in jewelry. But there are days I put on a dress and accessories with nowhere to be, simply because that’s what I want to wear to “the office” that day! If we’re leaving the house, I strive to look presentable, even if that’s in leggings and an oversized shirt. The days we spend at home, it’s usually workout clothes for a day spent outside, but it’s not pajamas or loungewear.
   
   There’s an additional motivator here, in that living on a working farm, there are tractors driving past my kitchen window at 7 a.m. and I don’t love to be seen standing out in the yard in my robe shouting “GO POTTY” at the dog.

8. I put on some SPF and mascara! I spend a lot of time outside every day, and with fair, freckled skin, I do use some face SPF. I’m won’t go down the sunscreen rabbit hole, I have my own thoughts on it, but I do use it on my face. If it’s a day at home or day with errands that doesn’t require much makeup, I use my favorite tinted SPF. If I’m putting on my “five-minute face” of makeup for outings, I’ll use my go-to SPF tinted skin serum. When I was postpartum with my oldest, I discovered that putting on some mascara did wonders for helping me feel put together. Even the early days when I didn’t get out of milk-stained pajamas, throwing on some mascara made me feel a little more awake and ‘with it!’ So to this day, no matter if I’m going to the grocery store, the post office, the chiropractor or it’s just a day at home, a little mascara is always the finishing touch! This one is my favorite, it’s non-toxic and clean. I’ve used it for years!

9. I drink 40oz of water before 10 a.m. I don’t track how many ounces I drink in a day, but I use a 40oz water bottle and I make sure it’s full when I wake up and I make sure I finish it by 10 a.m. I drink four 40oz bottles a day, on average, and I do drink electrolytes at some point (LMNT).

   

10. I open a window. This might be one of my “toxic traits,” because living in the countryside of Texas, our bug problem is no joke and our seasonal pollen can be insane. But summer, winter, fall, spring, it doesn’t matter the season, as soon as the sun is up, I open some windows (the ones with screens!) in the house to ‘air it out.’ I’m a fresh air gal through and through, and want our home to get a good breath of it in the morning. There are a lot of benefits to ‘airing out’ your home; it helps purify the air and remove indoor air pollutants, bacteria and germs, it helps our mood, our immune system and even our sleep, it moves stale overnight air, helps fight mold or mildew and, to me, it’s just a literal breath of fresh air to start the day! Even just 15 minutes while you get dressed can make a difference.

A few things you don’t see included in my 10:

• Working out. There are seasons for this. Certain seasons of life, I workout at home, kiddos at my feet, and get into a semi-regular routine with it. Other seasons, the working out doesn’t happen. Both are okay, both are good. Taking care of my body is a big priority to me, I love to exercise and workout, but there are seasons for rest, seasons for strength and growth, and I have learned to find peace in the seasons when working out doesn’t happen. I release any guilt around it, knowing I will enter a season of working out when the time is right. However, I do go for a lengthy walk every day. Some days, it’s before 10 a.m., other days it’s in the afternoon when we get home from activities and outings, some days it’s a morning and evening walk. Totally varies day to day, but the walk does happen daily!

• Supplements. I’m taking prenatals, but I’m not big on supplements these days. Every supplement is smothered in pros and cons, opinions, take-downs, marketing, promotion, the works. It’s become too stressful and too overwhelming to know what’s legit and what’s not! Again, I just listen to my body, I eat good, nutritious food, I drink a ton of water and I genuinely feel great, so I don’t feel the need to complicate things! I plan to do bloodwork wayyyy down the road, so the supplement situation might change eventually, but for now, I’m okay without.

• Gadgets and technology. Less is more, I like things simple.

Thank you for any time spent reading this! I hope you find a little something helpful amidst the rambling, please don’t judge too harshly :)