Morning Routine

I work best jumping right into my day, so the concept of a specific morning routine is a bit abstract for me. I tend to prioritize coffee, the kids’ morning drinks and fruit, and feeding the pets, then once everyone is happy and settled I check emails and make my list of “must dos” for the day. Around 7:30am I make breakfast, remind the kids to please get dressed (!) and start a load of laundry and/or dishes. The kids usually play quietly (outside if the weather is appropriate) while I power through any admin work that I can get ahead on. On non-work days I’ll play in the kitchen for a while.

Best Productivity Hack

 I’m not sure if it’s a “hack” but lists and schedules! I’ve usually got daily, weekly and seasonal lists for myself. My kids have “chore charts”, I make menus so they know what we are eating (this is a game changer! Creating menus has almost completely eliminated whining and complaining about meals), and we have a basic daily schedule that we follow. It’s all written down. If you come to my house you would think I run a VERY tight ship (maybe I do?).

Additionally, food prep. I usually pre wash and chop vegetables and fruit for a few days at a time, make muffins or cookies for quick-to-grab options and we have a “snack box” on the counter with a couple of small snacks that they can grab anytime during the day. I keep the portions small so if they decide to eat ten minutes before meal time they don’t fill up on snacks. To be productive I need minimal distractions. For me that means creating an environment in which my children can be independent so I can focus on my tasks. The snack box eliminates the constant refrain of “I’m hungry” and the schedule and menu lets them know what is coming up next.

What’s Something You Want for Your Kids (That You Didn’t Always Experience)?

I want my kids to feel like their voices are important. I hope they can be comfortable asking why, or disagreeing. And I hope that they can feel confident enough in themselves to stand up for their convictions and be their authentic selves.

What Has Been Your Biggest Failure (Turned Lesson)?

My greatest failure stemmed from my early education choices, and more specifically not changing course when I realized I was in the wrong place. Instead of staying the course, putting in effort, and graduating OR cutting my losses and changing course I (immaturely) did nothing while wasting money, time and resources.

The biggest lesson I learned was that quitting doesn’t necessarily make you a quitter. Sometimes you have to see the error, cut your losses, regroup and start fresh somewhere else. Mistakes are fine, just don’t drag them out.

What is Something about you that other people might find weird?

I really hate driving more than necessary, especially with children in car seats, so you can almost always find me walking whenever possible (that means in any and all weather). I don’t think it’s weird, but I earn a lot of comments from people about it, especially when I pick the kids up from school on foot in pouring rain or a snowstorm. My belief is that the biggest benefit to living within town limits is that I don’t need to drive everywhere. And I’ve always subscribed to the belief that there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. So if you ever see someone fighting an inside-out umbrella in a rainstorm like a member of the flock of nannies from Mary Poppins, it’s probably me.

What’s One Thing You Would Never Change About Yourself?

Nothing. I think change is crucial to growth, and even if today I can think of something that I’d never want to change, my perception of that thing may change in the future.

What has Made You Feel Successful as a Mom?

This question was difficult because I really wanted to have a deep, philosophical response. The reality is that I think my greatest success in parenthood is that my children know how to behave appropriately in a restaurant. It’s truly amazing how that has positively affected our lives. It also translates well to long holiday meals. They’re happy to sit through multiple courses, often separate from the adults, without being disruptive, getting up and down or asking for a million things while actually eating their meal.

Sharing a leisurely meal and conversation as parents while kids engage or chat quietly is something I highly value. Plus it’s great for an ego boost. It’s not uncommon for strangers to tell us how well our kids behaved during a meal.

Ten Minute Tip

The Ten-Minute-Tidy is our absolute favourite quick tip. Use it for cleaning bedrooms, tidying up toys, doing dishes – whatever you need to do that you hate doing. In our house we turn on the “crazy music” as my 4 year old calls it (it’s actually an 80s dance music play list – but you can use whatever you like). We full on tidy or clean for 2-3 songs. For unknown reasons everyone is willing to move at least twice as fast as they normally do! No one whines about doing the chores because everyone has to work together. Then the kids get to check off “Ten-Minute-Tidy” on their chore list. Now my kids actually ASK to do a ten-minute-tidy. I hate looking at a mess of kids’ toys after bedtime, or unwashed dishes on the counter. This is a really good way to cut down on the clutter and mess without feeling overwhelmed by the job. It’s only ten minutes of focus, and no matter what it always looks a lot better than when we started.