Quarantine Morning Routine for Mom

Well here we are, a month plus in to this craziness and I am finding a real need to address my current routine, you can find it HERE.  Guess what? It's not working. 

 It’s just not working while we are home all day, working and schooling here, and eating ALL day, right? I feel like every mom has said their kid is eating non stop. 

Starting with a list (I love lists 😍) of the things that need to be done before 8, 10, 12. I like to break mine down in chunks of time. Some people call it time blocking, I don’t really label it, I just do it because it’s logical to me. 

So my list before 8 

For me and *kids

Walk 

Coffee & Quiet Time 

Check planner (for the very very few things still on it) 

*Get ready for day.. to go no where 

Pack Lunch for hubby (if not done night before like I should have)

*Breakfast for Kids

Clean up Kitchen 

*School Prep/Check In

Before 10 

Check Meal Plan 

Daily Chores (find my schedule HERE) 

Check Bills (I have a problem, I know) 

Before 12 

*Finish school work for day

*Play Outside  

Read

Breakfast for me 

*Chores 

That’s it

 I know when I shrink it down it doesn’t seem like much. I’m happy to share more details, just ask. I just don't know how helpful it would be to all since we all have different situations/kids/chores etc. 

We leave at noon most days to grab lunch, drop stuff at my moms, errands (very rarely) or taking Ramsey to the golf course.  So thankful that’s still allowed right now. It’s a good safe outlet for him.  Afternoons are just pretty much a whatever ya want/free for all with some exceptions. From 2-3 most days is QUIET TIME FOR EVERYONE. We all need a break or nap.  No electronics from 12-3. They aren’t sitting on them much anyway but I like that there’s a definite break, and I hope we will be extending that time. They are on so much in the mornings for school.  

Evenings have been a disaster because I haven’t kept up on our usual and I haven’t even tried to work with what we had going on to adjust to new circumstances.  Working on that this week, especially since we know this is longer term than we first thought. 

Also, long time since I've been on, so HI!! Things have changed A LOT. Maybe this quarantine will get me back on here monthly, weekly? Something more than once a year? Come find me on Instagram www.Instagram.com/FolkHollow it's been pretty quiet there too though. I will say that the last few months I've felt more like blogging/Vlogging though so hopefully I can do something with those urges. 

Hope you are all well 

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Daily Rhythm For Busy Moms

You can make a REAL  life daily routine for yourself too!

 School has started for our crew, I’m taking a day to take some deep breaths and drink my coffee in peace. But only 1 day, then I am getting back to my routine, or rhythm, is a better word. 

I don’t make mine rigid and stressful, it’s rhythm and not schedule because we LIVE and things flow different from day to day.  I’ve broken these down by time but that’s not set in stone, some days our rhythm is a lot faster and sometimes it skips a few beats, ya know? So I use this loosely as a guide. 

I spent a couple weeks many years ago, establishing MY rhythm, based on my priorities.  It’s morphed and changed as our lives have. New house, new baby, new jobs, new schools etc.  Those all helped shape what it is today.  Don’t feel like you can’t make changes as you go. And this is MY IDEAL schedule, ideal not expectation. 

5:00 wake up/workout 

5:45 Reading/Coffee

6:15 Wake kids/ breakfast/lunch 

6:20 Email/Budget

6:45 Dishwasher check 

7:00 Start laundry/kids off then

Daily Chores/Get ready for the day 

8:00 Laundry Swap

8:05 Leave for School drop off 

8:45 Chores/Dinner check  

9:15 Laundry/Second Chance Workout 

10:00 Laundry Away  

10:40 School Pick Up 

11:20 Lunch/coffee

11:45 Tidy Kitchen 

12:00 Resting Time Kids/Step check/Last chance workout  

1:00 Eat Lunch/Read

1:30 Dinner Check/Prep 

Free Time/Projects/Cheer Work/Crafts 

Then it’s chaos of sports/dinner/sports 

9:00 Clean Kitchen at Night 

10:00 Get Ready for Bed 

*I did do most of today’s chores yesterday though! I wanted to sit in our CLEAN family room :) 

My suggestions would be 

Be real with yourself about how much time you are willing to put towards it. Don’t schedule yourself for 3 hours if you won’t have it, or if you will feel burned out. 

Write your priorities out and MAKE them priorities. 

Give it time before you give up or change it. It takes a while to get into a routine. 

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Nightly Routine for Easier Mornings

Our mornings start EARLY, and I hate to get the day started on the wrong foot. Sometimes that happens anyway, but most days I can do a little work the night before to make mornings run smooth!

It doesn't take long, and every minute is usually worth it.

I leave about 15-20 minutes before bed to run through this routine real quick.

Journaling

The kids each have a little journal in their Good Morning Basket, I try to just write them a little note, or reminders for the day, if something is our usual schedule.

Prep Lunches & Coffee

I am much more with it in the evening than early in the morning, and that coffee is important :)

Breakfast Prep

Just check to make sure nothing needs to be thawed or put it in the Instant Pot

Dishes

Because waking up to an empty sink is AMAZING!

Laundry Prep

I just put a load in the washer, and if it's full already I will start it, if not I just wait for the mornings dirty clothes.

Quick Overall Tidy

Walk through and put things in the right room, bedding and put trash in bin

Check Planner

To make sure we don't have anything out of our norm the next day!

Self Care

Take care of my teeth and hopefully something to counteract these wrinkles lol

Getting to bed on time is Self Care too!

Do you feel like you stay up later and later just to have a little alone time, time where you aren't doing kid stuff, or doing something for someone else?

 That was me for years! Ended up being more tired in the morning and everything was more difficult. I switched it up and went to bed earlier, and get up earlier and have MORE time for me and I am not a tired groggy mess in the morning!

Anything you do routinely at night to help with the next day?

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Prepping for a Good Morning~Night Routine

Today I am sharing how I prep to make my mornings smooth,well smoother anyway.

In my planner I use these super cute daily docket pages from Miss Tiina.

There are 6 areas besides water on the page. I like to use them for 

~Cleaning

~Appointments

~To Do's for the day

~Looking forward, appointments etc.

~Encouragement, quotes, scripture

~Everything else

Some of these are partially filled out before hand but I like to do as much as I can while I am wide awake the night before, I am less likely to miss something that way.

I have HORRIBLE penmanship.

 Anything to make mornings run smoother. These are a few things I do at night. It doesn't take long, only about 20 minutes total, including tidying the kitchen. Waking up to a mostly clean kitchen is SO worth the 5-10 minutes it takes at night.

• Fill out my Daily Docket for the next day (also throughout the day)
• Prep my coffee
• Lay out clothes
• Set out breakfast stuff
• Write in notebooks
• Get laundry ready
• Pack some of lunch stuff
• Quick kitchen tidy 
• Check dinner plan, anything need to thaw?

 What can you do in the evening to make your morning better?

Maybe only once a week prepping is more your style? Living Well Spending Less shared this 3 hour Sunday prep that might work for you!

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