One of the more surprisingly popular blogs I've written was about my morning routine. While I had been committed to this routine for a long time, I hit 'publish' less than a month after Willow came home, not knowing how much my life would change in a few short weeks. The newborn phase, as some of you know, is difficult, but as much as possible I tried to stay faithful to what I had already been doing. I figured that if I could keep good habits going it would serve me well in the future and during the transition.

Somehow, despite sleepless nights and comforting a baby in the early hours of the morning, I was usually able to drag myself out of bed and make it to the gym so I could have a semblance of normalcy in my life. Sleep deprivation is something I would never wish on anyone, yet it's a reality for new parents. The funny thing is that I was able to function (though not well, in some areas) enough to keep a rhythm. However, life since then has shifted and I've had to make adjustments to my schedule as Willow gets older. I know now that this 'routine' will be constantly moving as life adjusts, but here is what my current 'normal' is...

Truth be told, if you had told me 5 years ago that I would one day have a strict morning routine, I would have laughed out loud. My morning 'routine' honestly used to consist of rolling out of bed at the last possible minute, hurriedly showering and getting ready, and rushing out the door with some sort of breakfast in hand - and definitely a lot of caffeine.

Nathan used to leave the house extremely early, and it was pretty rare for me to get up any time before he walked out the door so I could kiss him goodbye. Sometimes I even went back to bed for a few more minutes of sleep. I was also staying up pretty late during this season, though I never had a set bedtime or morning alarm. I just rolled with the punches and did what I wanted.

My routine started when I began to get frustrated at always having to rush, rush, rush in the mornings...