Tuesday, August 27, 2024
I guess this blog topic is fitting for today because it’s a long day. I get home around 3:45 and will leave again around 5:45 for our Meet The Teacher night. We run through our schedule and parents sit in our room for 10 minutes and then a bell rings and they move on. So, it will last about 70 minutes (we have a 7 period day) with a 5 minute passing period. I am not a math teacher but it would be 70×35 minutes!
I am still figuring out my morning routine, to be honest. Every August I have a mini meltdown (Tom knows this and expects it. He has done this with me for 26 of my 31 years!) where I don’t feel like I am doing anything efficiently in my life. I think I can still keep doing all the chores that I did all summer, plus cook, plus all the new school responsibilities. Can anyone relate?
Add a puppy to the mix and it’s been a bit chaotic. But, just look at that face!
So, the puppy sleeps with us, but if he has trouble getting back to sleep anywhere from midnight until 3:00 am I guess, we take him out to the dining room corner where the crate is. He doesn’t resist his crate at all. Some nights Mason takes him around midnight. My theory is that Eddie Otis can’t handle his 50 something parents’ bathroom visits and thinks it’s time to get up. TMI, possibly.
So, Tom’s alarm goes off at 4:30 am and I usually hear it. He goes to the gym at 5 am. I have been getting up anywhere between 5 and 6 depending on how my night went.
I want to go to the gym, too, but for now, I am walking to school and Eddie Otis is my first priority.
I go open the crate for EO or we get out of bed together and then he is so hungry! We bought a slow feeder mat to slow him down because he was inhaling his food.
He eats anywhere between 5 and 6 and on weekends he can wait a bit later. While he eats I start coffee, piddle around the kitchen, and just start to wake up.
He takes almost 15 minutes to eat now, which is great.
5:30-6:15 – We head out to the patio. I light a candle, do my devotional, and EO sniffs around the yard. We are lucky to have a fence and a driveway gate.
I learned many years ago that I am a happier person if I have a couple of hours to myself before work. So, that means getting up early!
6:15 – Tom returns from the gym and he and Eddie take a walk around the elementary playground behind our house.
6:15 – 7:15 – Amy continues reading blogs and often does household orders, grocery orders, stuff like that, too. EO is ready to just chill on the patio with me while Tom gets ready.
7:15 – Tom is done-ish (what on Earth takes men so long?) I go in and pack some stuff for Tom to take to work and I gather up my food stuffs I am taking that day.
7:30- Tom leaves for work and I start getting ready. EO is now able to sit quietly outside the bedroom hallway/bathroom area and wait for me.
8:00- Amy leaves for work. I crate EO if Mason isn’t up. Mason sets his alarm for this time everyday but somedays sleeps a bit later. He lets EO back out as soon as he can.
8:15 – Amy arrives at work. Why did I switch to the third person? Amy is me. I am Amy. Some days I leave a note for things I need kids to do that day.
8:15-9:31 – Amy (I have to continue now) talked to co-workers, eats breakfast, makes sure all plans are good to go for the day, gets ready for the next day, grades papers, reads emails, etc.
9:31-11:45 – Teach 2.5 classes
11:45 – lunch
12:09-3:20 – has 3.5 more classes.
This was only meant to be a morning routine post, but I just kept going!
Are you still working to adjust your morning routine? What do you find helpful?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
I started laughing when you realized you had switched to Amy and then had to stick with it! I think I’m less and less routine oriented since no two days are quite the same now. I’m sure once we start our homeschooling lessons M-Thurs. in a few weeks I’ll get a bit more routine oriented but it’s so different with only 1 child and no real structure that I have to have.
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Ha! I laughed at myself. I do like routine, so that’s fine. Sometimes I just long for more me time.
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Amy has a good morning routine! Hahahaha!!!
I agree, I always feel better when I have time in the morning. I’d rather get up early and take my time. I think I’d be an absolute disaster if I was running around trying to get ready in a few minutes. But I’ve always been a morning person.
xo,
Kellyann
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Ha! Yes she does!
I just have to figure out how to let go of the guilt to go to the gym.
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Ha! Yes she does!
I just have to figure out how to let go of the guilt to go to the gym.
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I have a mini meltdown ever year too 😂Travis knows to expect it. Haha
You get so much done in the morning!
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It sounds like you have a great morning routine. I like the Amy voice : ) I used to be a true early riser, but ever since my allergy medicine was switched I struggle to get up as early. I loved that time and I could set an alarm, but we’re retired so no need really. I’m more productive when I get up earlier. Have a great day!
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Hi Amy, a new reader- Daria from New Jersey. A HS Spanish teacher.
I am still adjusting my morning routine. Ideally, I’d love to be up at 5AM so I have time alone in the morning to center myself, meditate, read, get ready… But that means I have to go to bed at a reasonable time. 9PM the latest… Will keep trying…
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I love a morning routine! But mine has been interrupted two days in a row. I’m going to try hard to not let that happen tomorrow. We’ll see! I was out too late last night for a blog post today, but I hope to be back tomorrow. I’ll have to explain then! I hope you thrive throughout your day today, my friend.
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You’ve been on my mind! Good luck today!
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Amy in third person, ha ha you’re so funny!
I love routins, but at the same time I don’t mind them being disturbed a bit, if you get me… We’re still living at the cabin, and that really changes things! The best thing is actually the bus rides; one hour in each direction and I spend the time reading and chilling… Me time!
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I have no routine in the morning other than getting up at some point to check on my kids. They are pretty good at getting up and getting ready on their own. Sometimes I have to keep some on track but they are mostly pretty good. Sometimes I get up to make breakfast but it’s usually my husband. The kids know to make sure they say bye to me before they leave. I might be getting ready or still sleeping (ha) but they know they have to say bye or I will send them a guilty text or phone call. Some days I work from home and others I go in, so it’s kind of all over the place. I’d like to get more disciplined and work out in the 30 minutes between when the last kid leaves and when I start WFH, but some days are better than others.
I want to commend you on your commitment to writing this blog each weekday! I love coming here to read about what you have going on.
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Hi Amy! I am a long time reader (2+ years) but I believe it’s my first (or second) time commenting. I relate to you so often as I too was a teacher, and am now retired. I taught first grade and then kindergarten for 38(!) years and I’ll never forget that transition back to the classroom each fall and how tough it was, especially when our girls were growing up! I don’t think there is another profession where one goes from 0 to 10 so quickly and all fronts! I have such compassion for all of you and I’m grateful that there are teachers like you with such passion and love of both the subject taught and, above all, the students! Wishing you and your family a wonderful year ahead!
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Oh thank you! 38 years is quite something and frankly, I just don’t think we are going to see people going that long anymore. It is really tough! We have to pay the price of the summers! Thank you so much!
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I know future Amy appreciates all that waking up early Amy does! I am in a habit the last week or so of waking up really early, but just staying in bed until closer to 7. I like my time to be still before I get up and get going. Therefore, I cannot motivate myself to exercise in the morning, unless if I am meeting someone to walk. Let’s be real, I am not too motivated in the evenings either!
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Totally! I blog in the morning and it wouldn’t get done if I waited til the evening. I really can’t linger in bed right now but that sounds nice. I hear that – having the same kind of trouble!
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You crack me up!
I sooooo wish I could be like you and get up extra early, but I just can’t do it. I wake up at 5:45 and try to be out the door by 6:45. Old habits die…… never for me. Sounds like a great routine!
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Well, you would have to get up extra extra early now, so don’t sweat that. You get that time in the afternoon or evening I hope!
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