My Morning Routine.

1 Peter 1:13
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.

For me exercising self-control includes doing things I may not want to do, like getting up early and starting my day with a chore I like the least. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood just posted about this and it's something I have been thinking and praying about. My morning routine has been less than routine lately and I need to change that in order to get our days back on track after a pretty relaxed schedule during the holidays. I don't know about you, but what I do in the morning really sets the stage for the rest of the day. If I am up and about before every one else, that day ends up being very productive and I tend to be in generally a better mood! I spend time in prayer and also get in those things I tend to miss later in the day when I am exhausted, like exercising or taking my vitamins.
Most days, lately, I have been dragging out of bed when the baby gets me up and my other two children are either up and ready to go or still asleep, which can be another obstacle in getting school started on time etc. So I am going to work on my morning routine every day for the next three weeks, God willing, to make it a habit.

Here's what my planned morning routine looks like:
1. Get up at 6 and read my daily scheduled Bible readings from my Motivated Moms planner and pray.
2. Weigh and exercise.
3. Shower, dress, and make bed.
4. Take vitamins and start coffee.
5. Unload dishwasher and start load of laundry.

I plan on starting tomorrow, no need to wait any longer! Do you have a morning routine that you would like to share? Or are you in a rut like I am and want to join me these next three weeks in creating a habit! I'll share next Thurs how I do this week and if anything needs to be added or changed.

Motivating this Mom.

I signed up for Motivated Moms a couple of weeks ago and it was the best $8.00 I have spent lately. If we really want to be accountable for spending money on yourself it really amounts to only about .02 cents a day. Since having my last baby, I have been feeling very disorganized and it has shown in my household. I decided to not let another year go by without a good cleaning schedule/plan in place, so I went for it and ordered. I had been working on my own, but with daily life getting in the way I never could get a working schedule in order. This is where Motivated Moms came in..I heard about it a few years ago and every year I would glaze over when I looked at it. I didn't realize that a list someone else has made could actually work in my own house!

If you are interested in ordering Click here to view more details.

I have devised a system that works for my house using the full page planner with daily Bible readings. What I do is print out the daily pages (one day on one side, the next on the other to save paper) and hang the current day on my fridge. Before I do that, I take a look at the planner the night before and highlight the chores I want my oldest child to do with one color, and another color for the little jobs my 3 yr old can help with(we use the colors according to our MOTH schedule). I then add in any appointments for that day, dinner for that night, and any other chores that we need to do that were skipped the previous day. As we go on with our day I check off what has been done! Simple and just my style ;) Another thing, and probably the best thing, that I like about MM is the little deep cleaning tasks are getting done now whereas I would forget to do those little jobs before.

I highly recommend getting this planner (there are other sizes etc on the site if you don't want to full day planner) to anyone but especially to my fellow homeschool moms. It has been a definite adjustment for me having more children and having them around 24/7 makes for a much messier house. I chose to blog about this because I think its a very frugal way to organize your daily tasks and if your house is cleaner and more organized, you'll save money in the long run.

Colossians 2:5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order andthe firmness of your faith in Christ.


Have a Happy New Year!!