How to Have a Great Day

Are you ready to learn how to have a great day, every day?!

Two things have been entering my mind lately: 1. I’m really happy at this point in life, and 2. Most of my days are exactly the same (so, why are they so good, haha?).

I have three little girls who I love dearly, but anyone with little kids knows that day-to-day life with them is pretty rough and demanding. We have a pretty set routine, which I’ll share below, and I think it’d be easy for someone with this life/routine to be… bored? anxious? wanting more? But I really don’t feel like that. Sure, I’d love to take a vacation, but I’m honestly very content with my so-called mundane life.

After thinking more about this and doing some research on what makes life good, this is what I’ve determined allows you to have the best day ever, today (and every day after).

And, my new life motto is “Great days make a great life.” How true is that?! So, instead of focusing so much on goals and what the future holds, I’m focusing on today.

Working Moms Morning Routine: 5 Tips to Streamline Your Morning

Being a working mom is no joke. From the moment you get up, your day is nonstop. To make your day run smoother, I firmly believe in the power of a morning routine.

I used to wake up whenever one of my children woke up (it was, and still is, always early). This started my day off on a scrambled foot. By the time I got to work, I felt like I’d run a marathon and my day was just beginning. I knew my routine as a working mom had to change.

For about a year now, I’ve been following a strict morning routine (that actually starts the night before). Below are my five top tips for streamlining your morning routine as a working mom.

Working Moms Morning Routine: Top Tips

Do as much as you can the night before

School bags get emptied out, cleaned and repacked. Lunches get made other than refrigerated items. *Time-saving tip: Make all your sandwiches on Sunday and freeze. Then throw one in each child’s lunch in the morning and the sandwich will be perfect by lunchtime.

Outfits are also selected the night before for both myself and my kids. Make it a part of your bedtime routine for the kids!

I also spend 10-15 minutes cleaning up before going to bed. This could be dishes, sweeping and mopping the floors, throwing in a load of laundry, or quickly cleaning the bathrooms. I never spend more than 15 minutes, but it’s made a world of a difference in both my mood in the morning and the overall cleanliness of my house.

Set three goals for the morning

This tip I learned from Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings course. I highly recommend her course if your morning routine is in shambles and you need a complete revamp.

Every night, write down three things you want to accomplish in the morning. You can start out with easy goals, like have coffee, fold a load of laundry and have five minutes of quiet time to check emails. Simple.

As you get in the habit of writing down and accomplishing your goals, start challenging yourself. I always give myself one thing to look forward to, such as having 10 minutes to drink coffee in peace, one thing to clean, such as tidying up the play room or sweeping the kitchen, and one thing for my side job (blogging), such as scheduling posts on Pinterest and Facebook.

Wake up before your kids

You knew this was coming, right? Truly the only way to get your mornings in order is to get up before the kids. I know, it’s hard, especially if you have early risers. My kids are up by 6:30 every single day at the latest. I make it my goal to be up by 5:30 which gives me an entire hour, though sometimes I do “sleep in” until 6.

By waking up early, I have time to enjoy my coffee, take a shower and get ready, have a quiet conversation with my husband, catch up on emails, or do some work for my blog.

By the time the kids wake up, I’m looking forward to seeing them. I can spend quality time with them rather than rushing around and yelling. My patience with them has grown tenfold simply by getting up before them.

Allow time for setbacks

Wouldn’t it be nice if mornings always went exactly to plan? Of course! But as any mom knows, that rarely happens.

I’m currently breastfeeding my six-week old baby girl. Some mornings she sleeps through our entire morning and I transfer her to her car seat and we’re good to go. Other mornings she eats on and off for a solid hour. Instead of frantically stressing out when this happens, I am able to relax because I’ve left extra time in our morning routine. I give myself about two hours in the mornings, but it really only takes about 45 minutes to accomplish all my tasks. If things go smooth, I’m able to dedicate extra time to my kids, cleaning my home, or my blog.

Give the kids a routine, too

I keep our mornings exactly the same from one day to the next. I believe this best prepares them for their day, too. They wake up and head downstairs immediately for breakfast. Breakfast is always something easy: frozen waffles, a poptart and sliced bananas, yogurt with fresh blueberries, cereal, etc. We save pancakes and eggs for the weekends in this house 🙂

Then, the kids are able to watch TV, do art or play in their rooms for about 30-45 minutes. This gives me time to get what I need to do done – whether that’s finalizing lunches, getting myself ready, or feeding the baby.

Roughly 30-45 minutes before we leave, the kids get dressed, brush teeth and I do their hair. That time always tends to fly and we are out the door before we know it!

I know mornings can seem so rushed. Trust me, I have been there. And to be honest we still have very rushed mornings with the addition of our third child.

My best advice would be to be consistent and allow yourself plenty of time. I know it’s hard to get up in the morning, but it’s worth it to start your day off on the right foot.

Are you struggling with your morning routine? Share in the comments!

Day in the Life of a Full-time Work-from-Home Mama

I’ve done a few Day in the Life posts before, but haven’t done one this year I don’t think. Figure I am due! And, I don’t know about you, but these are my absolute favorite posts to read. Just nosy I guess! 🙂

A little background: I have two daughters (ages 4 and 2), another little girl due in October, a full-time job, and I freelance/blog on the side (minimally).

My FT job is flexible and most of it is done from home. I AM FOREVER THANKFUL FOR THIS!! I do stick to a 9-5 schedule for the most part, but there are definitely times where I’ll work on a Sunday afternoon to get my week started on the right foot, and then maybe end a few of my weekdays around 4:00 pm when my 2-year-old wakes up from her nap.

The girls go to daycare five days per week part-time. Daycare has been life-changing for not only my work schedule, but for me as a mom. I LOVE being a mom, don’t get me wrong, but I also love having something that’s just for me. This transition has been so good for my girls and it’s made me a better mom. Even if I didn’t work FT, I would keep my girls in their part-time daycare schedule.

Ok, let’s get started…

My Weekly Blogging Duties

As a blogger, I always wonder what other bloggers do throughout the day, so I thought I would share what my typical week looks like in terms of blogging. If you’re a blogger, feel free to write a post on your daily or weekly duties and link the post in the comments! I would love to read it, and I’m sure other bloggers would, too!

With blogging, no week is exactly the same, but they are all pretty similar. One of my favorite things about blogging is that I can do things whenever I want. I can schedule posts on Tailwind a few days in advance, a week in advance (that’s my goal) or go crazy and schedule a full month out. If I’m having a particular busy week at my full-time job and at home, I can skip some duties. I really love this blogging thing 🙂

So, here is an inside look at my weekly blogging duties to grow my blog month over month.

2016 New Year’s Resolutions

John and I are big goal-setters. We set goals all throughout the year, but still love the idea of a fresh start on New Year’s Day.

This year, we have a few individual goals and some that we’re working on together. Since it’s still technically the holiday’s and I’m finishing up my new book, let’s dive straight in.

An Update: How Freelancing and Working Full Time is Going; Plus, a HUGE Goal

This past Monday marked two months at my new full-time job. I’ve still been freelancing on the side and have been able to bring in around $1200 – $1500 each month on top of my full-time job (you can read my income reports here). I thought it’d be fun to provide a sort of “life update” if you will to let you all know how it’s been going managing both.

Review: Make Over Your Mornings

Well guys, I’ve completed Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings course as of today. The course is NOT just about getting up earlier, though I will say that I AM waking up earlier than normal (by choice). The course is about prioritizing your day, allowing yourself time to relax, setting goals for yourself and accomplishing them bit by bit, creating an effective to-do list and more!

First of all, I loved the course. But, I’m a long-time reader of Money Saving Mom and I love Crystal Paine! One of the main reasons I bought the course was because you get a peak into her life! The course is 14 days, and all 14 days include a chapter to read, a task out of a workbook and a video from Crystal (my favorite part!).Continue Reading

A day in the life of a freelance writer

So I thought it would be fun to do a day in the life of moi. I did one of these before, which you can read here, but our days have changed a bit since then.

For some reason, I love reading other people’s “day in the life” posts. Is that just me? I’m not sure why – I mean, we essentially all do the same thing each day. We get up, get the kids ready, work, cook, clean, relax, sleep, repeat. But nonetheless, I’m fascinated by other posts so I figured I may as well do another one of my own.

To recap, I work at home part-time as a freelance writer. My niche is personal finance, but I have a few other clients where the topics are more general. I also run this blog and am itching to start a new blog (not on personal finance) but haven’t found the time. My main “job” is taking care of my two little ones – Cami, who will be 3 in May, and Maisie, who is 1 1/2.

A day in the life of a work-from-home mom

I love reading people’s “A day in my life” posts, so figured I would do one myself 🙂 To recap, I’m a work-from-home mom of two little girls, ages 2 1/2 and 1. Life is BUSY now, but we make it work and I’m happy to be able to bring in an income from my home. Everyone has their own schedule and own way of doing things…this is mine.