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JSchaaf
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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How do your mornings work? What time do you get up? The kids? If you are up before the kids, how do you spend this time? Do you shower/dress right away, or does everyone hang out in PJ's for awhile?
We have two kinds of mornings here-I can't figure out which is best. The first is me getting up between 5 and 6 to exercise, shower and dress, do some chores and have some quiet time before getting the girls up (sometimes it's hard) around 7. This morning routine is very productive-we are all dressed, fed, morning chores done by 8 and we are ready to begin the day. Problem is, by 1pm I'm worn out. But, the girls are worn out by 7pm and are asleep between 7 and 8 pm which is nice.
Morning routine number two has me sleeping in. Allyson usually comes in around 5 when my dh gets up and we snuggle in my bed and go back to sleep until her sisters wake up on their own, usually around 8:30 but sometimes even 9:30! We SLOWLY start our day and usually do table time in our PJ's and then after lunch get dressed and do our morning chores. I usually can get time to exercise later in the afternoon. But, the girls won't be ready to sleep until after 9pm, which is about the time dh goes to bed so we don't have any time without kids around. I actually prefer this kind of morning, but it feels decadent and slothful.
So, any thoughts??
Jennifer
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Willa
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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I guess if your DH has a preference, that might help tip the balance.
I was trying to get up before 6 am every morning just because it seemed more virtuous, and then, looked around my house and realized I was way out of whack with everyone else. My DH likes to go to bed late and wake up at 7 or 8... my teens are night owls and usually have their best communication times after 9 pm -- and like you said, I was wiped out by early afternoon. I was on a different shift than everyone else. So it makes more sense for me in this season of life to wake up a bit later... I usually trrryy to be awake a few minutes before the little ones so I have just a few minutes on the computer.
When everyone's older and the situation is different I may do it differently since it IS nice to be awake and getting things done early in the day.
Personally, I take a bath in the afternoon -- pegged between the toddler rest time, and the early evening when I start prepping dinner and straightening the house and planning for the next day.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Maddie
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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Same conflict here. The older ones tried something new today, they got up at 6:30 without me, got Math done and made breakfst. I woke up at 8:30 and woke up all the little ones. I had everyone gather in the living room and we said our Rosary first rather than the last thing we do. It's always such a chore to say it at night, they're tired fussy, can't pay attention, whatever.
We ate breakfast at 9:30 and then did chores. We got several subjects done and said the Angelus! Don't know if it will stick as a permanent schedule, or if it's just a little bit of grace raining down from heaven to keep me motivated to continue to strive.
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Katie
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 12:06pm | IP Logged
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I feel very unproductive before 8am, and would much rather stay up late and sleep in late, but dh is the opposite. He gets up early and hits the office early so he can be home at a reasonable hour, eat dinner with us and see the children - at least in theory - and most nights he is home before 6, and sometimes escapes at 4 which is a real treat!
Dh is a morning person, and apparently my children take after him, especially in the summer months. He and ds awaken around 5:30 or 6; they potter around quietly getting ready for their days. Ds goes to the international school and always does his homework in the morning.
The girls and I get up about 6:45 usually, though it's been creeping earlier and earlier  of late. I've usually had the littlest one in bed for a while nursing, then we stumble blindly downstairs in jammies, with me in slouchy exercise attire. I have never ever managed to get up before my children. For some reason they always wake up, and after a couple of very early mornings I am a basket case.
Our new thing is that dh and I are doing exercises together in the morning with DVD's. The kids think we are hilarious. 
After that it is a cup of tea for me, and I get some breakfast on the table, maybe read aloud to the children, take a shower hopefully before dh scurries out the door. I then have to make sure ds is ready for school, all those lovely forms signed, homework checked. This, if nothing else, ladies, is why homeschooling is so brilliant!
Ds gets on the bus at about 8:30, then I usually make another cup of tea and hit the computer for a time while the older girls theoretically get dressed and tidy their room. In practice they play up there and getting dressed invariably involves being a fairy or a princess. 
After a quick tidy round, we get down to school (as long as there wasn't something REALLY interesting to read about on the 4real forums) but as the girls are young yet schooling doesn't always take a long time, though sometimes we get very involved in a project. Right now we are doing the Eric Carle Insect unit and they could spend all day on it if I had the energy.
I know this doesn't really sound like much of a routine, but there is a certain flow to the mornings that I am appreciating. The older kids do get their chores done, I have some time for myself, some time with dh, and I don't feel like it's all a mad dash, if you know what I mean.
My kids all go to bed early, around 7:30 (though some of them read), so that gives dh and I some more time in the evenings.
Sorry for the ramble. I hope you find a lovely morning routine that works for you. Once this exercise thing has become a truly ingrained habit, I'm going to add a Rosary to our mornings. As Maddie said, I find it near impossible in the afternoon or evening when the children are so tired.
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Mother of 5 in South America. No 6 due in April.
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 12:16pm | IP Logged
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WJFR wrote:
I guess if your DH has a preference, that might help tip the balance.
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Well, he likes it both ways! When we're up early, the girls are in bed early and that gives us some time to relax in the evening and talk or read or watch a movie together. But, he also enjoys the peace and quiet in the mornings when he is the only one up. Even if it's just me up with him in the morning I tend to slow down HIS morning routine and I just can't help talking alot in the morning and he is NOT very sociable in the mornings. And could that sentence run-on any more?
Jennifer
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Rebecca
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 12:17pm | IP Logged
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Katie wrote:
| I hope you find a lovely morning routine that works for you. Once this exercise thing has become a truly ingrained habit, I'm going to add a Rosary to our mornings. As Maddie said, I find it near impossible in the afternoon or evening when the children are so tired. |
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I have been trying to add the Rosary to my routine for years. I fail miserably at saying it daily. Just this week I decided that I could not use the computer until my Rosary was said. Needless to say, I have said it every morning. 
I am starting to emerge from my post baby fog and getting back into the swing of things. I have a really simple morning routine so far...
Say Rosary, Make bed, dress, wash face/teeth, carry down laundry, help with/inspect kids morning chores, make breakfast. After that, it is still chaos. But I'm getting there! Maybe next week I will work on mid morning. Gee, by fall I may have a casual, friendly, semi-coherant routine worked out for our family.
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Katie
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 12:26pm | IP Logged
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Rebecca wrote:
[
I have ben trying to add the Rosary to my routine for years. I fail miserably at saying it daily. Just this week I decided that I could not use the computer until my Rosary was said. Needless to say, I have said it every morning.
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I'm laughing, Rebecca, because that is exactly how I got myself doing my exercise routines. Does this mean we're addicted? (I know the answer).
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Mother of 5 in South America. No 6 due in April.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 12:47pm | IP Logged
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We are night owls around here and our mornings are slow and leisurely. It's a rhythm I've come to love. I'm usually the first one up after dh leaves for work. I like this quiet time early in the morning so I decided to extend it this summer.
Our morning routine for the summer is significantly different than the school year...especially this summer with dh's company on strike.
My dh usually got up at 6 AM to be at work for 7:30 AM. Now he's up at 5/5:30 and leaves the house at 6 AM (he has a sideline business and is putting all his energy and time into that right now) but he gets home earlier. No more working the business in the evening. 
I don't sleep past 7 in the morning. My first thing is the coffee pot. I'm sorry but the flesh is weak. Coffee comes before prayers. 
My prayer time is usually at night anyway. It's quieter in the house, the street, the world at large (I find). There's special solace in praying while the world is asleep.
The Plan:
This summer I am letting the children sleep in and rise at will. I work during the morning hours. We do fun stuff and family time in the afternoons.
We usually do what we have to do in our pj's though most the time I try to shower and dress before the kids get up. Opa comes every morning for coffee and that gets us moving.
Okay, that's the working plan.
The Reality :
Things are not working the way I planned. Do they ever? I just did research and note taking while sitting in the vehicle waiting for my dd to go over paperwork with her employer. I had to buy some fries to keep the 4 yr old happy and singing in the carseat behind me.
So far---these two days into the summer---my mornings have been consumed with getting my oldest dd back and forth to get a work permit and to the business she'll be working at this summer. She's had to fill out paper work, etc. and still only has her driver's permt...no license yet.  (is there a big difference between female drivers vs. male drivers?) I'm seeing it with my oldest ds and oldest dd. This is a smart girl but she has no common sense in the driver's seat.
I won't bore you with the other tasks that have taken me away from my work in the mornings but we've had to leave the house early both days and tomorrow is the same. I just do not like planning anything before 12 N. If I do, it stresses me.
On a happy note though, one good thing about having to run errands before noon is that, by the time we get home, the children are content to eat lunch and laze around doing their own reading, dreaming, and projects. So I've been doing my work more in the afternoons than the mornings as I planned.
So, good or bad, planned or not, that's life...and I'm happy it's mine. 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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StephanieA
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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Our morning routines differ dramatically in the summer vs. during the school year. That said, I am a morning person, but I definetly need more sleep than my husband. He can wake up at 5:30 and go to bed at 10:30 with no problem. I'm up by 6:00, but spent by 8:30. (Of course, he isn't up with a nursing toddler every night either.)However, I work faster during the day than he'd ever want to. He is slow and steady and wins the race. I'm Speedy Gonzales for a short bit and then I'm spent 
That said, to make you all feel better about sloth....aheemm....here was my day yesterday. Got up at 7:00, struggled to function all morning until noon when I finally succumbed and went to bed for 2 hours. Forget lunch - YUCK! Got up about 3:00, ate something and got some laundry done. Fixed a meager supper for everyone. I forced myself to eat some soup. Had prayer and was in bed by 7:00. Gee! What a life 
Today's better, and I'm venturing out to the grocery store. I sent my teenage son last week and you would have thought I was sending him into a war zone. Shopping isn't his cup of tea Last time I sent my husband to the store, I wrote a list that included 3/4 lb of this rather expensive/lean ham that I use for various dishes. A little goes a long way. He came home with over 4lbs. GULP We literally ate "high on the hog" that week.
Blessings,
Stephanie
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Dawn
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| Posted: June 06 2006 at 1:34pm | IP Logged
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I don't care to sleep in (past 7) and I have always been a morning person, but these days I get up ridiculously early thanks to my 4 yo. Generally we are up between 4:30 and 5. I know that sounds  but I actually like it. He gets his juice and I get my coffee (lots of coffee). Dh is good and gets up to make it for me because I'm all thumbs that early. Of course he gets to go back to bed so it's a good trade off.
I log onto the computer and check email/blogs/board while little guy watches some TV (I know - not the best option - but you know at 5 a.m. I'm just not fit for human interaction yet). Some days, though, I look back at my early morning posts and cringe!
Then we eat breakfast together and wait for the rest of the family to wake which is generally 6 to 7. Ideally I would get showered and dressed (to the shoes!) before dh leaves but that doesn't always happen. The boys eat, wash and dress and we tidy the bedrooms before getting on with the day. I like to start lessons between 8 and 9. We break for lunch at 11:30 and then we're outside as long as possible.
Little guy naps (no surprise) between 1 and 3 which is when I do anything intensive with the older two. I slump a bit in the early afternoon but find I usually get a second wind around 4. Lately that wind has been hard to come by though.  Bed is 8 for the boys. Dh and I watch TV and head to bed between 9 and 10.
I don't think I've helped you in any way, though I would vote for the first option and find a way to rest and recharge early in the afternoon.
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 07 2006 at 5:16pm | IP Logged
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Well, if it's any consolation here, we have yet to connect with a "schedule" that I'm comfortable with since we moved. We're getting to bed later and getting up later and not very productive during the day. School is hit or miss and I'm having trouble keeping everyone from thinking it's summer break for them as the neighborhood charter school got out last Friday and they all have new playmates that want to be over at our house or vice-a-versa all day I'm not real good with THAT whole program and have been getting some resitance and the usual disciplinary issues that can come up with new kids in a new neighborhood, of which none or few are home-schooled.
Sooo...we are trying to do lots of nature study and read-alouds and math, then some playtime, pool, and or errands or outside activites.
I have a whole Pegs schedule written out on my computer that I desperately want to enlist, but I'm afraid it might all be in vain until we're a bit more settled.
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Meredith
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 07 2006 at 8:50pm | IP Logged
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Morning routine...yikes! I am SO not a morning person. Put it this way: for lent I gave up staying in my PJs until noon!
Actually, since my grandsons have moved in I have been forced to be more organized and get some routines down. It was either that or total chaos! (I guess being down to three kids was just too easy and I was getting lazy, so God threw me this curveball to keep me on my toes!) And now as a result things are running more smoothly than ever. Just in time for summer vacation to come along and throw it all off again!
BTW: what in the world is this I'm reading about actually waking sleeping children in the morning? That is my definition of insanity!
In actuality, my littles have always been early birds and I am never the first one up. How I long for the days when I could sleep in. When was that? oh, yea, college!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: June 08 2006 at 2:40am | IP Logged
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Ugh! Morning routines! We used to have one, but over the past few months it has fallen to pieces completely due to a combination of my pregnancy inertia and 11yo dd's suddenly hitting a pre-teen need to sleep. From always being up at 7, she is now often sleeping until 9 / 9.30 - as she has always been one to fall apart disastrously if she doesn't get enough sleep I have been leaving her in bed. 7yo dd is still getting up at 7 ... dh is an early bird ... I am by nature a night owl. Everyone is out of synch, and we will soon be adding a new baby to the mix. Eek!!!!
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Donna
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| Posted: June 08 2006 at 5:38am | IP Logged
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Rebecca wrote:
| I have been trying to add the Rosary to my routine for years. I fail miserably at saying it daily. Just this week I decided that I could not use the computer until my Rosary was said. Needless to say, I have said it every morning. |
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Donna
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Morning Routine
