Start Your Day Right – 5 Tips To Make Your Morning Routine Run Smoothly #McCafeMyWay #CollectiveBias #Ad

Disclosure:  This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone.  #McCafeMyWay #CollectiveBias

I woke up with a feeling of dread.  Another school day… Another morning to be rushing around in chaos.  I got out of bed and glancing at the clock realized that I was already running late.  Right from the start of my day, I had an anxious, heart pounding response.  

“Wake up, Rosie! It’s time to get up, you have to go to school today! We’re late!”  Now my daughter was also waking with a feeling of dread and anxiety.  Reluctantly, she stretched and got out of bed.  The two of us, already grumpy, went downstairs for breakfast.

My husband hands me a cup of coffee, reminding me, “You two are late!  Better hurry up!  We have to leave in 20 minutes!”  Pouring cereal, I think that there has to be a better way to start the day.  

After eating breakfast, I send Rosie upstairs to get dressed and start searching for her backpack and homework.  Sighing, I think to myself, “Why didn’t I do this last night?” as my husband voices it out loud, “Why didn’t you do that last night?”  Yeah, thanks.

Rosie comes downstairs, she can’t find matching socks, but says in a sad voice that it doesn’t matter, she can mix-and-match.  Her shoes are in the family room and oh, my, the dog is chewing on the back of her shoe.  Grabbing a sharpie marker, I start coloring the tear.

“Hurry up!  We’re sooooo late!  We HAVE TO LEAVE NOW.”  My husband’s voice has that disgusted quality that says he’s fed up.  I say, “Instead of yelling, why don’t you help?!  Can you grab her lunch box?”  

After more chaos, they are finally out the door.  Nope.  Wait, Rosie forgot her glasses.  “Great.  NOW WE ARE EVEN LATER!”  Rosie looks like she’s ready to cry, but now they are finally on the road to school.

The phone rings, it’s my husband, “Do you see her permission slip for the field trip?”  Oh yes, there it is, staring at me with accusations from the kitchen counter.  #MassiveParentFail

This is how our mornings went the first week of school this year.  It was a nightmare.  Talk about chaos, we had C-H-A-O-S every morning.  No one was happy and it was the worst way to start a day.  I googled “morning routine ideas” and decided we WERE going to make this better.

1.  Make An Evening Schedule

Rosie and I sat down and started listing the things that we wanted to have done at night before bed and when they should be completed.  We wrote on paper first, because there were multiple changes, rearrangements, additions, and subtractions.  Even though there are a lot of preprinted lists out there, every family is different and there is great value to the process itself.  By making the list with your child, or children, you are working on the problem together and have a common stake in making it work.  I found that Rosie was much more agreeable to doing the chores and going to bed on time because we had developed the schedule together rather than me just telling her what to do.

2.  Go To Bed At The Same Time Every Day And Wake Up At The Same Time Every Day

Honestly, we are still struggling with this one.  I know it’s important and I feel the difference in my energy level, if I go to bed and get up at the same time every day, but it’s a challenge.

3.  Make A Morning Schedule

Similar to the Evening Schedule, together make a schedule for the school day mornings.  Do it together, starting from the time you want to get out the door and then working backwards.  Include key events like breakfast, finished dressing, etc. and assign a drop-dead time.  Yes, we are talking corporate project management here, people.  It works.

4.  List of Must-Haves

Create a final checklist and have it somewhere near the door.  Include all the must-haves that you would turn around the car and drive home to get.

By making sure you have what you need, before you leave the house, you eliminate that stress.  A $1 white board on the refrigerator works for us and saves any number of trips back and forth to school with forgotten items.

5.  Have Fun!

While I joke about this being corporate project management (well, sort of seriously), it is still your children and your family.  Lighten up!  Being late is not fun, but it’s not life-or-death.  What do you want your kids to remember?  That you were on-time every single day because mommy or daddy screamed at you or that mornings were fun times.  You are all in this together and it’s your choice if it’s going to be a positive, team effort or a screaming, chaotic struggle.  Reward yourself for a successful morning.  Kids out the door on time?  Sit down, put your feet up in the recliner.  Make yourself a cup of delicious, aromatic coffee.  Stop. Smell the roses, er, coffee beans and remember that being a family is what it’s all about it.

Convenience is key when you are relaxing.  I have a single-serve coffee machine that is perfect for that freshly brewed cup of hot coffee after my daughter goes to school.  McCafé coffee pods, available now at Walmart, make it quick and easy to have delicious, fresh coffee.

I recently went to a coffee demo/sample station at Walmart and tried the new McCafé coffee which comes in ground coffee or coffee pods.  As soon as the top of the pod was pierced I could smell the 100% Arabica Beans that tell you it’s a premium quality coffee.  Did you know that McCafé coffee is harvested from the rich soils and mountainous regions of the foremost coffee-growing areas of the world?  There are 8 flavors to choose from so you won’t run out of options to make your morning special.  I tried both the Medium and the Dark and both of them made rich-tasting cups of coffee.  Both appealed to my taste and I am drinking the Dark McCafé coffee in the morning when I want a strong, robust but smooth flavor.  In the afternoon, when I am reaching for a cup with a more complex delicate flavor, I use the Medium McCafé coffee pods.

There is a special section on the Walmart website called a Kraft Hub where you find Cooking Tips, Recipes, New Products, and enter to win prizes! Check out the Kraft Walmart Cooking Up Good Hub!  What is your favorite Kraft recipe?