I love mornings. Mornings are probably my favorite part of my day, especially taking Daphne to school, and it’s always been a really big part of my “WHY” that gave life to my mission, which is that moms should not have to choose between family and finances!

But…here is the thing. While I love mornings,I also love that my mornings are STRESS-FREE and non-chaotic, and I want to dive into that a little more with you!

Here is what a normal, school-day morning routine looks like:

Justin sets his alarm for 630am, and hit’s snooze. Now, I’m not a snooze person, and I don’t like to be woken up at 630am, unless our kids wake us up. And let’s be honest, it’s probably 50/50 on whether or not a child has already woken us up.

In the event that a kid hasn’t come down, Justin snoozes once, and then wakes up and gets ready.

I will roll over and get my phone, which every successful person tells me NOT to do.

Here is why I do it anyway: It is the only part of my morning where I can look at something without my children present. I personally just can’t wait until 9am, when I sit down at my computer, to be aware of what is going on. So, I will check my emails, sometimes I check Facebook (I do try to avoid that), but checking emails gives me a good snapshot of what’s going on. I also subscribe to The Skimm, which I can read in 5-10 minutes and it’s “Today’s Headlines” broken down into small, readable snippets. I’ve been reading The Skimm pretty much since they started! I love that part of my morning – to be able to read the headlines, alone without my kids.

Once I get up, I immediately brush my teeth before I eat breakfast – mainly because I take eight hours to drink one cup of iced coffee and I don’t want to have to come back and brush my teeth. I do wash my face, but I will stay in my pj’s and go help Justin with breakfast.

Justin does make breakfast six out of seven days a week, specifically on school mornings.

A huge part of our routine is that Daphne and Henry both get themselves dressed before the come downstairs. That is a habit that we built very early. It saves so much time! There is no arguing about clothes, there is no yelling about “Go back upstairs and get ready for the day!”. They come downstairs ready for the day. They are both capable – and of course, there are some weather adjustments from time to time, but for the most part, it works beautifully.

Another huge habit is that Daphne packs her lunch for school. Now, don’t get me wrong, this did not come without a lot habit building and trust building. We have a Bento Box for kids and it’s amazing!! I love it. It has little compartments and Daphne knows three out of five compartments have to be filled with either fruit or vegetables. I know what my kids like, so when I go grocery shopping, I make sure to buy those items. For examples, she loves raspberries and bell peppers, so she will usually pick those out, along with a protein like ham or salami. She is also allowed to pick out a “pantry snack” like Goldfish or crackers, along with a healthy snack for the afternoon like an apple. I do have to help with certain things like cutting the apple or the bell pepper, so she’s not doing it totally alone – but she is in charge of getting it all together, in addition to making sure her backpack is together!

In addition to all of this, my kids have three chores they have to do everything morning. They feed our cats, they take out the recycling to the bin, and they unload the dishwasher. I run the dishwasher every night, and my kids know that in the morning, they have to unload it.

At this point, we all sit down and have breakfast together! After we eat, my kids immediately go brush their teeth and put their shoes on!

I believe all beverages should be served on ice, so I buy a concentrated Cold Brew from HEB (best grocery store, ever – non negotiable), so once breakfast is finished, I will make my iced coffee and fill up my hospital-sized jug of water that I carry around with me, and we will all bike (if the weather permits) to take Daphne to school. We then come back, and have about 10-15 minutes before we turn around again and take Henry and Audrey to preschool.

Once all the kids are at school, I am usually at my desk by 8:45am or 9:00am where I will work a solid four to five hours before I pick up my kids from school!

Here is what I would love for you to take away – having a non-stressful morning is about two things:

One, asking for help. I asked my husband to make breakfast in our first year of marriage. It was taking me an hour to get out of the door for work, and it was taking him ten minutes, and I was like…wait a minute, this isn’t fair. So, that’s when he started making breakfast for our family, and now it’s something he really loves doing for our family!

Two, routines and building good habits. No, it’s not easy at first, but my kids KNOW – they get dressed before they come downstairs, they do their chores, and they brush their teeth and put shoes on after eating. It makes all the difference when your family knows what they’re supposed to be doing morning after morning.

Delegate, ask for help – basically, I everything I teach about freelancing, you can incorporate into your family routine apparently, haha!

I would love to know – do you and your family have any of these habits? Did you learn anything new, or is there anything you would like to start implementing?

Let me know in the comments below!