This post: Simplify Your Morning Routine has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #McCafeMyWay #CollectiveBias
Do you feel like your mornings are a bit crazy? I used to really struggle with getting out the door in time, and a baby makes that even trickier.
However, I’ve learned a few tricks that makes all the difference between a crazy stressful morning and a calm smooth morning. Today I’m sharing those tricks with you, and a recipe for homemade coffee creamer!
Simplify Your Morning Routine
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Do Not Hit the Snooze.
Need I really say more? Hitting the snooze is a bad habit that often results in hitting it one too many times and thus rushing your entire morning.
I set my alarm for the exact time I need to get up. If I don’t need to be at work till an hour later for some reason or another, I set a later alarm.
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Set a Schedule.
My schedule goes a bit like this. Wake up – fix/drink warm lemon water – nurse baby – dress – get breakfast going – pack lunch – eat breakfast (I usually fit in my bible reading at this time) – clean kitchen – work online – wake and dress baby – take vitamins, grab coffee and head out the door.
This is all done between 5:30 and 7:30. Just having a set order I do things most days, really keeps the morning going smooth. If baby wakes early I get him dressed right away, then continue the normal routine.
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Prepare ahead.
You will notice my schedule does not include things like packing a diaper bag or gathering up things that need dropped off/mailed etc. while I’m out. Instead, this is all gathered up the night before and placed in my vehicle.
When I get home, I try (key-word “try”) to immediately put things away. This means promptly pulling dirty clothes and diapers out of the diaper bag upon arriving home. This is the best time to restock my bag, leaving it ready to grab before I walk out the door the next morning.
We typically pack our lunches in the mornings, but if Jason needs to be at work early, he will pack his in the evening.
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Auto-Program.
While coffee never wakes me up or even keeps me awake, I absolutely love it. Hot, cold, black, sweet and creamy… you name it and I will probably drink it. 🙂
To save time in the morning, it’s nice to program our coffee maker to begin perking at a certain time each day. Nothing quite like having your coffee “make itself”. We really enjoy the McCafé Breakfast Blend.
~~~I should make a little disclaimer here. I have one child and know that having more can mess with routines quite a bit. However, at work we have a lunchtime routine and by following that I’m usually able to get both babies and the preschooler out the door on time to drop the preschooler off at school.
We follow the same routine each day: Make sure stuff is in her bag before lunch. Have lunch at a set time. Clean up toys and put on shoes. I take the boys out together and the four-year old shuts the door behind us as we leave.
While not completely qualified to make this suggestion, I still recommend you encourage your children to follow the same routine each day and you will be able to simplify your morning routine together.~~~
How do you Simplify Your Morning Routine?
Homemade Coffee Creamer:
Along with learning to simplify your morning routine, why not treat yourself a bit. Brew a cup of McCafé and pour a little homemade creamer in.
You can make this as a vanilla creamer or a mocha creamer. Both are good, but I prefer mocha. It’s an all natural, inexpensive treat that you cannot go wrong with!
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1 tbsp cacao powder (for mocha only)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups half and half or raw milk
Boil water and sugar for 3 min. Stir in vanilla and cacao. Allow to cool 10 minutes and whisk in the milk.
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup raw cane sugar
- 1 tbsp cacao powder (for mocha only)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups half and half or raw milk
- Boil water and sugar together for 3 minutes and sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cacao powder if you want mocha. Otherwise only add vanilla.
- Allow to cool before whisking in milk.
- Store in fridge for up up to 7 days. Shake well before each use.
Wondering where I found McCafé?
One word. Walmart!
Found in the coffee isle, McCafé is available for purchase in 8 different varieties, including whole beans, ground, and in pods. McCafé is roasted and ground from 100% Arabica beans bringing a deep rich taste to your coffee mug each morning.
Thanks for sharing your tips for making the morning less stressful. Your Mocha and Vanilla Coffee Creamer Recipe sounds like the perfect addition to a nice cup of McCafé! #client
Something you may (or may not) like: we use espresso and other dark roasts a lot. Hubby and I enjoy Cuban coffee regularly–if you’ve seen the coffee owl pictures, it is definitely the “espresso” owl! Anyway, we use sweetened condensed milk with a demitasse of espresso, and a dash of cinnamon or splash of vanilla. With regular dark roast, we use chocolate powder mixed with regular coffee creamer for a thicker blend.
If you’re up to a little exploration, break out your baking/cooking extracts–a couple drops of those make amazing flavors of coffee! Orange or mint with your mocha will taste awesome! The extracts open up a whole new world of flavor, and when used with dark roasts or espresso, you get the kick of staying awake too. 🙂
We really like it with vanilla 🙂 I’ve never thought of using orange or mint since I don’t use either in in cooking/baking. I could definitely try it with essential oils though 🙂
We like coffee pretty dark as well. Although to be honest, I like coffee just about anyway! Too bad it does absolutely nothing towards keeping me awake.
Essential oils sound good too!
I’ve tried too using fresh mint with a tea ball dipped into coffee before adding creamer–it gave just enough mint flavor to really make a difference–basically steep the mint like you would tea but the water is coffee. The orange for me tasted a lot like tootsie rolls, and anything candy tasting is a winner. 🙂 If you use herbs, orange peel, or anything like that, use a tea ball and treat it like tea, steep them, and that’d be a more natural flavoring, like your essential oils. Lemon thyme makes a very interesting flavor, lemon balm, chocolate mint, etc.
Coffee in our house needs to be in IV form, and we can tell if it hasn’t been used yet. Some days are 2 pot days!