Jess Writes Here: mornings

The two things that have turned my mornings around:

1. I've never been a morning person. I love the idea of sleeping in, getting out of bed without an alarm, snuggling up with blankets until the sun has long been up for a few hours. The idea of waking up before the sun rises makes me want to vomit. No joke. I've seen enough sunrises growing up I think I'm good for the rest of my life, thank you. However, Anna's schedule is a-changing yet again and now we're down to one nap from two. When she was taking two naps I'd spend the first nap doing chores around the house and during the second I'd spend some time with Jesus, re-centering myself, meditating, praying, journaling, reading, whathaveyou. With this change Anna has also started to sleep in a little later. She wakes around 5:30-6 am, I feed her, then she falls back asleep until 7 or 8. The past few weeks have been glorious because I've gotten to go back to sleep too until she wakes up again! I realized the other day though how unproductive and tired I feel throughout the day when I sleep in. Sleeping in until 8 means I get a late start to my day. And by the time her nap rolls around I'm so exhausted from getting interrupted sleep I'd rather nap too than do my chores, spend time with Jesus, or anything else. The other day I had ~~an epiphany~~ a crazy thought, what if I stayed up after I put her back to sleep at 5:30?! Seriously, a crazy thought and something I usually would refuse to do. However, I realized this is exactly what I need to do to give me time to get energized before Anna wakes. I tried it two days ago and it was truly amazing. I was able to get a shower without a screaming baby in her exersaucer, do my hair, brush my teeth, put on make up, eat breakfast, and spend time with God and a cup of coffee all before Anna was up! I felt like a new mom, a mom who was ready to take on the day with an almost one year old. Plus, instead of hurrying to get out the door and thus making us late for church, we were actually early to church for the first time in, oh, ever! Yesterday I went back to sleep after feeding Anna because I had a late night before (did I honestly think I could do it two days in a row? Pssh!) and I wasn't ready for my day until 10 when if I would've gotten an early start I would've been out the door to the grocery store by 8. This morning I did it. I got up, stayed up, took a nice, long, hot shower, ate breakfast, sipped my coffee, and journaled. It was another glorious morning. So I'm hoping I can keep this up. The occasional going back to sleep is bound to happen but I'm going to try hard to give myself that time in the morning because not only do I need it, Anna needs me to have that time too so I can be the best mother for her.

2. This

We purchased a screen for our doorway. This was the best 20 bucks we've spent in a long time, seriously. I've been wanting a screen door for the longest time because our living room gets so dark, our front window doesn't open, and what's better than the current season's breeze coming through your home? We went to look for doors at Home Depot and when we realized they were out of our price range we began to walk away defeated. As we walked out of the door section we saw a box full of screens and got super excited because we knew it'd be perfect for our front door! Plus it was only 20 bucks and we had a gift card for that amount! So we spend our mornings after Anna wakes up sipping some more coffee (because I've been up since 5:30, remember?), enjoying the breeze, kids at school, and the occasional visit from our little neighbor and Anna's bff, Sheila.

While routine isn't a term we use a lot around here we have found one that I'm cherishing more and more everyday. Around 6 am Anna begins to cry in her crib calling out in hunger. I stumble out of bed prepping myself for her morning meal. I bring her to bed with us and allow her to nurse as we all fall back to sleep. Soon after I feel tiny fingers swipe my cheek, the sun shining through our curtain-less window and know that my time of slumber has to end. Anna is at her most cheerful state in the morning and I love it! While I'm a night owl rather than an early bird, those smiles, coos, and leg kicks perk me right up.