We only needed a few things . . . so we made it a family outing on one of the mornings Daniel goes in to work later.

First we stopped for coffee. I pushed Micah in the shopping cart over to a table near the Starbucks counter, as Mara followed. She saw Daniel was standing in line at the counter, so she asked to go see him. I said, “Okay, you can go stand in line with Daddy.”

She ran over to him, then turned to face the counter (like he was), and stepped into line, right in front of him.  Then she stood ramrod straight facing the counter.  It was very methodical–so cute!!

After getting coffee, Daniel took Mara and went to pick up some deodorant.

Apparently she remembered that I had bought shaving cream just a few days earlier at Target, so she exclaimed, “For Daddy’s legs!”

“No, Daddy doesn’t shave his legs,” Daniel said emphatically.

Next Mara felt her cheek, thinking it was for his beard–which she knew Daddy did shave!

“No, not for my beard–it’s deodorant,” he explained.

She lifted one hand and her face lit up, as she gripped her underarm with the other hand.

The other shoppers in the aisle were laughing . . . Every moment Mara is learning more and more about her world.

The Finer Things in Life had a great post today about five routine things to make your morning productive. She was linked back to Tammy’s post “Making Your Home a Haven.” These posts both hit very close to home, because as a career woman turned stay-at-home mom, I am still learning what works for me in the way of routine. I am encouraged to see others striving toward these goals, while admitting that they don’t do it as well as they want to. I’m right there!!

In fact, the morning routine is one of the biggest battles I’m facing in my own personal life right now. The way I start each morning sets the tone for my productivity, my faithfulness with my children’s teaching and discipline, and my overall outlook for the day.

My goal is to start my mornings this way:

1. Shower, dress, hair and makeup. (This needs to happen before my kids, ages 2 and 9 months, are up. Otherwise, it doesn’t happen until naptime, and then I miss the chance to get things done during naps!) Preparing this way for my day is like getting ready for work. I am reminded that this is my work. And I’m getting myself ready to go. If I wear my contacts (instead of glasses), I feel much more productive. If I wear shoes and socks, I get so much more done!

2. Scripture reading and prayer. Like Amy, when I start the day with a few moments of stillness before God, my heart is prepared for the day, whatever He may have planned for me! When I miss this time, my heart is frazzled and it is easy to be inconsistent with the children and I am easily frustrated, rather than trusting God for everything He brings into my life throughout the day.

3. Preparing breakfast before the kids are out of bed. They are always awake, but I wait to get them out of their cribs until 7 a.m. If I get breakfast started before they are up, breakfast goes much more smoothly, and they are much happier children.

4. Getting the kids up, dressed, doing my daughter’s hair. I want the kids to come to breakfast ready for the day. This way if we need to run errands, or if someone is coming over, we are ready to go.

5. Eat breakfast and clean-up. (This includes emptying the dishwasher from last night’s dishes, and my two-year-old daughter helps with this.)

When I start my day this way, it makes a world of difference!

Check out some more ideas at Tammy’s blog! and Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes For Mom!

• Your morning routine includes microwaving a cup of coffee four times at half hour intervals. (This is the only way I find time to drink an entire cup of coffee these days!)
• You play a game called “how-long-before-baby-spits-up-so-much-we-have-to-change-his-clothes-AGAIN-today?” and you’re not all that surprised at 10 a.m. when you’re putting his arm into the next outfit and “Ding-ding-ding! The fountain erupts! We’re on to round 3!”
• Multi-tasking has never been more important–you are making dinner, talking on the phone, while holding a baby; then suddenly you hear the dogs barking outside, and shake the tired toddler off your leg as run to let the dogs back in.
• The kids’ naptime is alternately your most productive time of the day–or your only chance to crash. Of course, it is a miracle if the baby and the toddler are both actually napping at the same time.
• You have learned which “cries” need to be addressed right now and which ones are best ignored.
• Laundry “day” becomes laundry life!
• You lose track of how many times a day you hear “Help me do it,” “Read book?”,  “Potty!! Potty!!” and “Snack? Have snack?”
• Your conversations with other adults used to center around real-estate transactions, casualty losses, and acquisitions–but now primarily revolve around baby teething and toddler constipation–after you swore you would never be “that kind” of mom!
• You are in such a hurry to get in and out of the shower, you jump in with your underwear still on (yes, I actually did that this morning!!)

I’d love to hear your mom stories! Feel free to add them in the comments below or link back to your blog!