iSpecialist

Kathy Peel

Kathy Peel brings hope and encouragement to moms everywhere. She often speaks about bringing sanity to the chaotic lifestyles of busy families, but she also gives powerful presentations drawing on stories of God’s faithfulness and lessons she has learned through overcoming an eating disorder, dealing with breast cancer, and facing financial disaster. read bio

9 Makeover Strategies for Smoother Mornings

PROBLEM	After staying up late you wake up tired.
SOLUTION	Figure out a way to get the sleep you need. It might mean an earlier bedtime for your kids, so you'll have time to get done what you need to get done. Because, if you're tired in the morning, you're more likely to be grouchy and less patient. This is a formula for morning disaster.
PROBLEM	From the time your feet hit the floor, you are rushing to respond to someone else's needs.
SOLUTION	It's a simple reality that your family will need you in the morning. So, have all of your "things" done before they get up. Try to be dressed. Have your items packed. Also look at iMOM's 15 minutes that can change your day
PROBLEM	You waste time in the mornings trying to help your kids find something to wear.
SOLUTION	Ask your kids to set out their clothes the night before.
PROBLEM	Your family never seems to have enough time for breakfast.
SOLUTION	Have your children get dressed before they come to the breakfast table. (If you're afraid they'll mess up their clothes, have a dish towel ready to put in their lap or tuck into their shirt collar.) Have several no-cooking options ready: cold cereal, oatmeal prepared the night before that just needs warming, pancakes made ahead and in the freezer—ready to be re-heated in the microwave. (Here are some other school-morning breakfast ideas.)
PROBLEM	Phone calls and email begin to intrude on your family time as you begin each day.
SOLUTION	Record a new message explaining that you are unavailable until a certain time each morning.
PROBLEM	Your children turn on the TV or computer as soon as they get up, and are then too distracted to stay on task.
SOLUTION	Have a no-TV or computer rule in the mornings before school. That goes for mom and dad too. Turn on the radio instead.
PROBLEM	You struggle to get lunches made while also seeing that your kids are getting dressed and eating breakfast.
SOLUTION	Can you teach your children to pack their own lunch? If not, try to make-ahead as much of their lunch as possible, the night before, or in the morning when you get up. Plan the night before what you'll pack for each lunch, and leave that note by their lunchboxes. It will help you move more quickly if you do pack in the morning.
PROBLEM	At least one of your kids always seems to scramble to find missing homework or a permission slip before heading to school.
SOLUTION	Set up in-boxes on your kitchen desk or countertop. Label one for each child. Have them unload school papers into their boxes. Also, have your children pack their backpacks and gather school items before they go to bed.
PROBLEM	Every morning you seem to get out the door later than you intended.
SOLUTION	Have one child act as the "town crier." Let them rotate turns being in charge of giving a ten-minute warning—ten minutes before it's time to walk out the door.