Morning Routine

Kathy over at Cassel Crew posted her morning routine, and asked others to post about theirs...

Our mornings on weekdays typically start one of two ways: Jock's alarm going off at 5:20 am, or mine going off at 6:20 am. If his goes off , I typically ignore it, he gets up immediately, throws on some sweats, kisses me goodbye, and heads out with his gym bag. He has joined the gym at work, so gets to work by 6, works out until around 6:45 or 7, then showers up and starts working around 7:30.

My alarm goes off at 6:20, and again at 6:27, and again at 6:34 - whether Jock gets up early or not. If he sleeps in, he gets up around 6:30 and showers first. I wait to hear the 6:35 weather forecast on my clock radio. I then turn it off and go through some morning prayers until around 6:40 when the back-up battery-operated alarm goes off in our bathroom. (That's my drop-dead-I-must-get-out-of-bed-NOW alarm.)

I then go wake up Kaylen and set out her clothes for the day. She goes to the bathroom and gets dressed while I fix her bowl of cereal. (She does this herself on the weekends, including pouring the milk if the gallon jug is not more than 3/4 full. But this doesn't work on weekdays - I don't let her choose the 100% sugar variety of cereal on weekdays before school, and she is too slow herself - probably because she pours herself the most enormous bowl she can find and even then stuffs some cereal in her mouth before she puts it away and pours her milk - I witnessed this Sunday. :)

Anyway, Kaylen and I usually meet again on the stairs when she's headed down to eat her breakfast and I'm heading up for my shower. Jock's usually out of the shower getting ready when I get back upstairs around 6:45. Kaylen eats, goes to the bathroom again, brushes her teeth, puts on her shoes and brushes her hair while I shower, blow dry my hair, get dressed, etc.

If Jock doesn't hit the gym, he leaves for work around 7:00 or 7:10. When I come downstairs, Kaylen's usually ready to go, and we finish up packing lunch(es) if necessary, I grab my breakfast to eat when I get to work, and we're out the door around 7:15 or at the latest 7:20.

On the way to daycare, we listen to Kaylen's Bible verse songs from her Wednesday night Kids program at church (2 new songs each week to learn) or Christian contemporary radio, sometimes spurring deep conversations (for a 5-year-old) about the songs' meanings. Otherwise we just sing or talk about our days and what we're looking forward to, or sights we see along the way.

Kaylen has to be at daycare by 7:30, for check-in and to catch her bus to school. I then head off to work, and get to work usually about 5 minutes before 8:00, or right at 8:00 if I have to stop for gas - this is assuming traffic is decent. (All you bigger city folk - you can shake your heads and grumble now at my "traffic" squabbles. I drive about 24 miles from daycare to work, and it takes me about 20-25 minutes most days - almost all interstate. I can't complain.)

Then it's on to our busy days at school or work, until the evening when the rat race begins all over again.