I hate waking up in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the ability to wake up, move around and enjoy my life…but most days I truly wish I could stay in bed.

I’ve read too many mom blogs declaring my need to wake up before my kids in order to be my best self. Well guess what world of mama bloggers, I am NOT my best self when I wake up at 5am. Trust me, I’m not.

Thankfully, I can still be a good mom if I wake up with {or after} my kids.

I’ve said GOODBYE to blog induced morning guilt, and you should to.
Goodbye guilt!

I’ve let go of the morning guilt. I let myself sleep until I wake up naturally, my kids get up or our day HAS to start. Whether it’s during the school year, vacation or summer break being my best self requires 3 things: planning, my alarm clock, and essential oils. I’ll include a forth item, coffee. For me, I love the taste of coffee so having a morning cup is something I enjoy, but it’s not necessary for functioning.

3 {morning} best self requirements

1: planning

If you want to be a mom who sleeps past 5am, you HAVE to plan your morning. It seems like common sense, but scheduling for the following day will save you from the morning rush.

Here’s my equation to morning happiness…
Go time – prep time – grace period = wake up time
{ex. We need to leave at 9am – 1 hour to get ready – 15 minute grace period = 7:45am rise time}

This time frame works well for me because my oldest is ten and can participate in her morning routine {with her daily checklist in hand}. Her ADD used to be a huge time suck for us – she would zone into anything that wasn’t involved in getting out the door. Since we’ve been using her daily checklist she has been able to focus better, understand my expectations and have some independence {as much as I love her, I do NOT want to follow her to college so she’ll remember to brush her teeth}.

My youngest is five, but also has special needs. He isn’t developmentally ready for much independence, but having a checklist printed for him gives him a visual sense of my expectations. This greatly helps with activity transitions, reduces meltdowns and helps me remember the important parts of the morning when I’m managing more than one child. Yes, I’ve forgotten to give them vitamins or left the house without brushing teeth more than I’d like to admit. #nojudgementplease

If you want to stop pinning checklists for your kids and take action with one – get mine here. It’s simple to use and trust me, it works! ​

2: my alarm clock

I hate my alarm clock. It might be the thing I hate most about being an adult. BUT, if I don’t set one, I’ll never wake up on time. I know this about myself. Hence it is on my 3 morning requirements list. Being a mama that let’s go of guilt and lives genuinely is all about knowing yourself. If you can wake up without an alarm clock – more power to ya. I cannot. I know this about myself, so I must address it. It’s pretty simple…set the alarm, wake up on time, do all the things. Enough said.

3: essential oils

I can’t don’t do anything {successfully} without my essential oils. I use them for sleep, workouts and motivation. I use them for a cheery mood, in my cooking and even while I write this blog. They are the bread to my butter. The peanut butter to my jelly. The ball to my glove. The…you get the point.

In the morning, as soon as that nasty alarm clock goes off, I turn to my trusted ally – Peppermint essential oil. When I first started my morning EO ritual, I would take the cap off the Peppermint essential oil that I keep on my nightstand, give it a good sniff and go about my morning. Now I have a 10ml roller bottle prepped and ready for my use. I wake up, roll it on my wrists, give them a good sniff then go about my morning. The high menthol content in Peppermint EO makes it very refreshing – perfect for a morning pick me up.

While I prep the kids’ breakfast {we love a warm breakfast and rarely do cereal} I turn on the diffuser in the kitchen. This is a MUST! The diffuser disperses the essential oils into the air, which not only impacts my energy level and mood, but also helps my kids prepare for a good day. My favorite morning diffuser options are Peppermint, Wild Orange, Motivate, Cheer, Grapefruit and Balance. I like to use them separately, but I on my more adventurous days I even combine one or two to create a new scent and mood. {My most trusted essential oils are found here – NOT at Whole Foods!}

So the next time you read a pretty blog about waking up early, remember – you don’t have to! Plan for your morning, set an alarm and support your brain and body with essential oils.

Let go of that mama guilt and snuggle into that pillow, girlfriend.

You’ve got this!