My Top 5 Tips for Less Stress in the Morning

It’s no secret that I’m not a morning person, I’m not a Barracuda but I do need to ease into my mornings.  If I wake up late it results in me stomping around cursing under my breath.  I was a bit worried, with my daughter starting school this year, how I was going to cope.

However, I have come up with a bit of a routine that seems to be working and thought I’d share.  Please note:  That my daughter is only 5 so it isn’t a problem for her to be getting ready in the lounge but I have a sneaking suspicion that this wouldn’t work with a prepubescent teen!

Getting up and out of the house on time

1.) Rest is Best

We don’t have to drag our daughter out of bed in the morning as we always ensure, partly for selfish reasons as I need a bit of me time at night, that she gets to bed at a reasonable time.  She normally wakes up quite cheerful as she’s had a good night sleep and I don’t have to battle with her.

2.) Twas the night before…

We do as much as we possibly can the night before, even if I’ve had a glass of wine or three which makes these mundane tasks more tolerable.   I do everything from making packed lunches, filling in reading journals, signing permission slips and place it all strategically by the front door so I practically trip over it on the way out.

My daughter has the most amazing hair, however, if we wash it the night before and she sleeps on it, it’s virtually impossible to brush it.  So, I’ve started plaiting it before bed so she doesn’t look like this in the morning.

 

badhairday

3.) Location Location Location

Try to have as much as possible within arm’s length.  In our house, this isn’t a problem as it’s not very big.

I would kill for a utility room.  Unfortunately, this airer has become a permanent feature in our lounge.  However, it has turned out to been incredibly useful.  We splurged and bought a week’s worth of uniforms, we had some M and S vouchers.  Each week I wash them all, put them on hangers, so there is no need for ironing and I can quickly grab what I need from knickers to cardigans, without traipsing up and down the stairs.

spacesaving

Using hangers also is a great space saving idea as I can put twice as much on the airer, but be careful as mine has collapsed on occasion.

We keep a spare toothbrush and toothpaste in the loo downstairs so we can have a quick brush after breakfast and on our way out the door.

I also have a brush and hair ties tucked away behind a lamp in the lounge so I can do her hair while she watches TV and eats breakfast.

4.) It’s not a restaurant

Limit the number of choices and save your energy for cooked breakfasts on the weekend.  I sound like a broken record, each morning I can be heard saying would you like ‘Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Krispies or Toast?’

5.) Don’t look in the mirror

If you get up a few minutes early so that you can do your hair and makeup before the school run, you really need to give your head a shake.  Please don’t make the rest of us look bad!  :-)

What do you do to save time and stress in the morning?

Warburtons are also putting together a Breakfast Survival Guide – upload your hints and tips for getting your kids to eat their breakfast and out the door!

 

MOMA! Oatie Breakfast

I’m not very good at eating breakfast or lunch for that matter.  For breakfast I normally have a coffee and a ***, which I affectionately call ‘breakfast of champions’.  It isn’t a weird starvation diet type thing I just get so busy with Madame that I forget.  It’s usually around dinner time or after a glass of wine, I think ‘woe’ I don’t feel right, and then I realise that I’ve forgotten to eat.

I don’t know how many times I’ve bought pots of yoghurt with the intention of eating them and by the time I get to them they’ve passed the sell by date.  The people at MOMA sent me some of their Oatie Breakfast to try.  It reminds me of a Swiss Muesli that I used to eat back home in Canada.  It’s a mixture of jumbo oats soaked in Apple Juice, low fat pro-biotic yoghurt and fruit.  I have to say it didn’t look that appetizing, a bit like wall-paper paste, when I opened the pot but it smells and tastes great.  My favourite is the Strawberry and Banana.

I can see myself having breakfast more often.  It comes in individual portions or a family pot so I have no excuses as it takes seconds to serve.  Madame hasn’t tried it yet but I think she’ll like it.

You can find it at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, John Lewis and Wendell’s.  A full list of stockist can be found at http://www.momafoods.co.uk/.  The family pot (850g) retails for £2.99.

Oh that reminds me….I haven’t had any lunch.