Good morning… er, not so quite morning. 🙂
I know I’m much later in getting this Rise & Shine Challenge post published than I’d planned to… but I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to my inbox literally exploding with emails from the Grocery University Blowout Sale today. And I’ve just been trying to keep afloat all morning between the emails, texts, and details surrounding that sale.
We had expected the sale to be a success, but you have (once again) far exceeded what we could have ever imagined. You all truly know how to show up in force for a bargain. 🙂
Thank you for spreading the word and sharing in our excitement! You all are the best!
In between all the emails, texts from my team, taking care of the details of the sale, my morning blogging work, laundry, homeschooling Silas, and taking care of the most important priorities who live at my house (!), I haven’t gotten that much else done today. I did get in my morning devotions and a quick exercise session and a shower. But that was about it.
However, I truly cannot envision how chaotic my morning would have been had I not gotten up at 4:30 a.m. Just another reason I need to make this getting up early thing a regular discipline again!
I’m also so grateful for my amazing team — some who got very little sleep last night to make sure everything was in place for the sale this morning (I’m looking at you, Joy!). They’ve worked tirelessly to answer countless emails, fix glitches, and take care of all the little behind-the-scenes things that have to be taken care of to pull off a sale like this with thousands and thousands of orders.
And I’m incredible grateful for my wonderful husband. This morning, after we realized that this sale was going to take a lot more time than we had initial thought (a completely great “problem” to have!), my husband offered to take over the homeschooling of the girls this morning so I could stay “tethered” to my phone and computer for awhile. Yes, that man is the best. He also made me bacon and eggs for breakfast. For the win, I tell you! 🙂
At any rate, I have to say that I LOVED all your comments on yesterday’s Rise & Shine post. You all are so inspirational!
And I wanted to answer each comment individually with a long reply. I still might get a chance to do so… but if I don’t get a chance today, know that I appreciate each one of you so much.
{Want to know the truth? Yesterday flew by between our first day of homeschooling, prepping for the Grocery University sale today, and working on blog/business stuff. We spent the evening with dear friends and didn’t get home until around 8:30 p.m.
After we got home, I was really, really tempted to jump online and spend an hour just responding personally to all of your comments on this post. But then I realized that would be a little counter-productive… you know, to stay up late responding to all your comments on getting up early. Yeah, not so smart.
So instead, I was a good girl and went to bed. Aren’t you proud of me?!? ;)}
Today’s Rise & Shine Challenge Assignment
Today’s assignment is to consider your family’s sleep cycles and see how you can do better.
This is an area we’re really committed to working on, because we developed some not-so-great habits while we were on a few weeks of summer break. And I was the worst culprit of said habits.
So I’m really committed to training my body to start going to bed much earlier. I sleep so much better when I go to bed early. I feel more rested. And I wake up feeling so energized.
This, in turn, makes me much more energetic and productive. Plus, I just feel happier all around.
To help us make going to bed a priority, one thing we did was to set up our fall schedule so all work, school, cleaning, projects, etc. would be wrapped up by 6 p.m. This way, the evenings are free to just be together, hang out with friends, and — most importantly — wind down.
I love the idea of coming up with nightly bedtime rituals that the Rise & Shine Challenge talks about today. What rituals does your family have to help everyone go to sleep earlier and to encourage everyone to sleep well? I’d love to hear any and all your ideas!
This Morning’s Report
- Got up at 4:30 a.m.
- Checked my phone to find that the Grocery University sale had blown up while I was sleeping!
- Answered some urgent emails. Started to read my Bible and devotional books, got an urgent text from Joy on my team asking me to call her. We got that urgent issue taken care of and then I went back to finishing up my Bible reading, reading some devotionals, and praying over my day.
- Made some coffee, answered a lot of emails and comments. Did some more urgent blogging work.
- Exercised, showered, dressed. Hung out with my family for a bit, handed over my morning homeschooling responsibilities to Jesse since my inbox continued to blow up and he suggested it’d probably be the best option for the day (and he was so right!)
- Answered more emails.
- Switched the laundry and took the big pile of clean laundry out to the living room couch to fold later today. (I’m still playing catch-up from our 12-day vacation!)
- Cleaned out my inbox again. Scheduled some posts.
- Taught Silas kindergarten.
- Answered more emails and finally finished this post. 🙂
Kate @ The Beautiful Useful Project says
We need to start getting up earlier and getting ready for school. My boys are starting preschool in September, and our mornings are going to need to be more structured. Feeling excited and nervous about it all!
beth says
I couldn’t find where to contact you so I’m addressing my issue here and hope you will respond. I downloaded Grocery University on my phone and laptop but cannot open on either device. I have a samsung galaxy s 3 and after it downloaded it won’t let me open it. same thing on my laptop. help!
Crystal Paine says
Email joy @ moneysavingmom.com or crystal @ moneysavingmom.com and we’ll be glad to help you out.
Angela says
I have 2 high schoolers who get themselves ready and take themselves to school so that part is pretty easy. This year my husband and I decided to take advantage of that and get up early (about 6:15ish) and go for a bike ride in the morning before work. Today was the first day so we will see how it goes from here. I am excited about waking up early and not flying out of bed to rush around before work. Thanks for the inspiration.
Carrie Willard (@carrielee) says
My morning yesterday went like this:
– 4:30 – up. I don’t mean to get up this early, but pregnancy insomnia. Oh, well. Might as well make the best of it.
– French lesson with DuoLingo.
– Bible reading (finished up the book of Job).
– Left some meaningful blog comments. Meant to blog, but had a bunch of jumbled thoughts that didn’t make a nice coherent post.
– Took notes of jumbled thoughts hoping I can expand them later.
Libby says
Since finding out I am pregnant with our second baby, I am exhausted in the evening and go to bed much earlier than I used to because I still have to wake up at the same time with our daughter. However, I am finding I sleep really well until 330-4 am and then toss and turn until 630 and get up at 7am exhausted as I still want to sleep. Any suggestions for me to sleep longer? or should I just get up at 4am and do a few things and then go back to bed later?
Susan says
Crystal, you said: “To help us make going to bed a priority, one thing we did was to set up our fall schedule so all work, school, cleaning, projects, etc. would be wrapped up by 6 p.m. This way, the evenings are free to just be together, hang out with friends, and — most importantly — wind down.”
What I am wondering, is: with this schedule, do you eat dinner before 6 p.m., or is dinner part of the “being together” that your family does in the evening?
Crystal Paine says
That’s part of being together, but we do try to have dinner made by 6 p.m. so we don’t have to mess with cooking after 6 p.m.
Kristy says
I signed my girls up for elementary cheerleading (sigh). I love it, I even help coach, but it is killing our school-night bedtime routine.
Numerous studies report that school aged children 5-12 need at least 10 hours of sleep a night. This means if we sleep in until 7:00am, they would still have to be in bed before 9 to get enough rest.
There should be better policies about how late kids in extracurriculars should be out. The practices are 6-8pm! After I read your comment about freeing up your evenings to just hang out together, I have to honestly say that I’m a bit jealous, and regretting the decision to allow them to cheer. I even feel bad for my toddler who I have to drag along to all the practices because daddy works second shift.
Even so, I am going to use this experience for good. Someone needs to advocate for parents and children, it might as well be me. I would love to see a policy in place by next year.
Andrea says
Hi Crystal,
I am a part time (2 nights/week) RN, and a full time wife & mommy! 🙂 On my days off, I attempt to live a “normal day shift” life. Any tips to get the most out of my mornings?
Crystal Paine says
Such a great question! I started to write an answer in a comment, but I realized it was going to get too long. So I’m going to answer your question in a post instead. Look for that post in the next few days!
Crystal says
I had just been starting to work on a morning routine a few days before you posted the Rise and Shine Challenge. God usually has to place things in front of me a few times before I really get it! So I am hitting this hard! I need to get my day on a schedule which is very challenging for me but I am working on it with the help of your challenge. I don’t have a bedtime routine for my 4 kids but I am open to any ideas to get one started. I have always worked outside of the home full time but I went to part time in June and it is hard to get things on a routine after living in such chaotic days!!! Thanks for this challenge!
Libby says
Sometimes it works more easily for you if you start little by little. Start by setting bedtime routine, don’t worry what time bedtime is if you don’t have much of one. Once your bedtime routine is in place then work little by little at setting a bedtime, if it was 9 o’clock initially work in fifteen to thirty minute increments to get them in bed by the time you want them to be in bed, like 8pm. Depends on your season of life and how your family functions. I am a scheduled person but I have friends that don’t have a regular bedtime for their kids and that works for their lifestyle.
Maria says
I got up at 4am like I wanted to! It’s been a good thing, too, since my youngest has decided to wake up at 5:30am these past two mornings. I still need to work on the evening/bedtime stuff, though I won’t really hone into it until after Labor Day. That’s a really busy weekend for us, and it seems to be the ‘wind-down-time-to-get-back-into-school-routine’ button my family uses.
Dee Wolters says
My morning went well: exercised, had coffee, caught up on email and other computer stuff. Made phone calls, scheduled appointments, etc. Then I opened the refrigerator to make lunch and the bread in the freezer was soft. Oh, no! After getting help from my son to move frozen food to garage freezer, we worked to reset the refrigerator. But this has happened before, and is the last chance for this appliance. My afternoon plans changed, dramatically. I spent this afternoon was spent shopping for a new one.
When I arrived at the store, the sales man asked what I was looking for, and all I could say was I need a new refrigerator, today. After some good help and advice, I chose the one I want. But wait, a big Labor Day sale starts tomorrow, and this model will be at least $150 less tomorrow. And at that point in the afternoon, I could not get it delivered tomorrow anyway, so I will go back in the morning.
Kandace says
Goal was 6 and I finally got up at 6:15. I had a solid hour to myself before the next person woke up. Amazing! I got dressed, had a cup of tea, started a DIY project, and got my day mentally organized. What an amazing difference it makes when I have the time to get centered before everyone starts demanding things from me. I’m a natural night owl but I may be changing my ways…
Karyn says
Leg cramps and my small Prego bladder woke me at 4:30am and thus I didn’t wake until 6:30am. I picked up the routine in stride. Read my bible plan, checked emails, ate breakfast and was onto the next task when I knocked over hubby’s 16oz coffee (WHY DOESN’T HE PUT THE LID ON HIS MUG?!?) on the counter where my ipad and Bluetooth keyboard were. The clean up put a dent in the already limited morning routine, I ran out of time to exercise, and as it turns out the coffee shorted my keyboard.
Suffice it to say that I’m thankful the challenge is 10days b/c I could use all the practice I can get to make this stick.
As far as our nightly routine, I’m not sure what could change other than getting our 3 y/o to sleep sooner. Even then with the baby coming I’m hesitant to institute any changes. Until next time!
Natasha Bowen says
I didnt get up @ 6 like planned but I did get up @630. I got myself around (my biggest challenge most mornings) & was productive w chores along w time w my kids before heading to work @ 11. I set my alarm for tomorrow…630 🙂
Ann says
My morning was great. I got up at 6:30, which is 30 minutes later than I hoped, but still 30 minutes earlier than yesterday! It didn’t help that I didn’t get to bed until 11:30 last night. I need to get better about shutting off my phone and computer at 9:30 when I start heading to bed. I would like to get back into the habit of reading and praying before bed as a bedtime ritual.
Becki @Running with Team Hogan says
I got up at 5:45 (my plan) and really had a great, productive, and unhurried morning. My children, on the other hand, are still thinking it’s vacation. For 9 years, my children have always been awake between 5 and 7 am. Now, I’m waking them at 8. I think we need to retrain them as much as me. 🙂
Crystal Paine says
So glad you had such a great morning — way to go!
Amy says
After some health problems last year, I have made sleep a big priority. I really like going to bed early and getting up early now. I never thought I would feel this way!!
Crystal Paine says
Way to go! You’re an inspiration!
Lindsay says
Also I have signed up and got the first day’s email but not today’s. I have checked all my junk and it’s not there. And I can’t see it on the website. Super annoying….
Crystal Paine says
🙁 Maybe email The Abundant Mama about it?
B says
Eggs and bacon sound soooo good! Just wondering- how does Jess cook the bacon? Stove or oven? We love bacon but it is messy to cook with! My oven isn’t self-clean so we have been cooking it on the grill.
Crystal Paine says
He always cooks it in the oven — on a cooling rack with a foil-covered cookie sheet underneath. That’s definitely the least messy option we’ve ever come up with.
Emily says
OK…I NEED to try this. I want to make bacon more as my husband likes the treat, but I don’t love the grease splatters. There is enough daily mess to deal with. 😉 Thanks for the idea!
Lindsay says
We have bacon and eggs literally every morning. We cook it in a cast iron skillet and then cook the eggs in the same pan. If you let it cool down for about 15 minutes the stove wipes down super easy with a dry wash cloth. Takes about 10 seconds!
Lindsay says
We also don’t have to clean the cast iron except maybe once a week. Since we use that pan every day it just sits on the stove.
Kellie says
I’ve been getting up early the last two mornings, but I haven’t been able to implement much of a routine due to special circumstances with back-to-school both mornings. So far, my getting up early has been more about survival mode than setting the tone for the day — hey, didn’t I recently read a book on how to say goodbye to that? 😉
Anyway, I’m looking forward to making progress tomorrow (although it usually takes me a few weeks to totally adjust to new school schedules).
Glad your sale is going well! I did manage to remember to purchase it at the lowest price, with just seconds before it went up! 🙂
Jessica says
LOVING this challenge! Started getting up earlier a month or two ago after talking with a fellow friend of preschoolers about how she has gotten up at 4:30 daily for several YEARS and doesn’t know how she could make it without that time! It really inspired me and I shoot for 5:30 each day (although it was 6 today) What a day changer it is to be up first though! My biggest hurdle is that my 3yr old gets up between 6-6:30 each day and I don’t know what to do! Too often I hand him my phone to watch a cartoon for a bit. Would love suggestions!
Crystal Paine says
So glad you’re finding this challenge helpful!
Some ideas that have worked for us:
Have your child get to watch a special movie or show during that time. Just plan on it so you don’t feel guilty. 🙂 Let your child play an educational app for an allotted amount of time.
Have your child go back to their bedroom with a special basket of toys and let them know they can play quietly and come out when the timer goes off.
Have the child snuggle with you if you’re sitting and reading/having devotions.
I’m sure some others have some great suggestions here that I didn’t list. Anyone else want to chime in?
Kailey says
My friend had a sippy cup of milk and a spill proof bowl of cherrios ready to hand her munchkin while she got ready and they were allowed to watch cartoons until the sleep timer shut the TV off. I have used a sound machine with one munchkin because as soon as she heard me she would get up whether it was 8am or 3am.
Courtney says
My goal is 6am and I was out of bed at 6:10. This is the second day in a row for me. This is a good thing!!! I’m usually waking up to the baby crying and the preschooler into something, and usually much later. I was able to accomplish more today, and I’m generally happier, albeit tired still, because I had some down time. We are not allowing electronics after dinner, in hopes of beginning to wind down earlier.
Crystal Paine says
I’m so proud of you! Way to go!!
Kristin F. says
Well my goal was 6am, got up at 6:30 (oops!) And jumped on my phone and emails to handle a couple of work crises. Then brewed coffee, and jumped right into work (which isn’t what I like doing first thing in the morning, but this morning seemed a little hectic!)
Crystal Paine says
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, eh? Sounds like we both had similar mornings! 🙂
K says
I think that got an awful lot done! Especially compared to my flop of a morning. 🙂
Love how you and your husband work as a team.
Crystal Paine says
Trust me, I’ve had plenty of flop mornings recently… which is why I so desperately need to be blogging about this challenge! 🙂
Victoria says
I grabbed my copy of Grocery University this morning for $2.97 am and looking forward to listening to it later tonight (or later this week if the night doesn’t go as planned). I did a first this morning and dropped a child off at a small private school in our town for his first day of classes as a high school freshman. He is going 2 days a week and it is really changing up our mornings. Normally my kids don’t get up until 8:30 and I had to get my son up at 7 to get to school by 7:45 so he could start class at 8. To do so I had him lay out everything the night before and I did as well. I then got up at 6 so I could have some quiet time to myself before waking him. It worked great. Had to move my workout to this afternoon though. Not use to rushing that much in the morning but I am sure we will adjust.
Crystal Paine says
I hope the adjustment goes smoothly for you all. That’s a big change… but hopefully it will turn out to be a great change for you all!