Back-to-School Mornings Are Better With Maev
Fact: best-in-class nutrition makes your mornings better. Why? The foods we eat every day impact health, well-being — even mood and brain function (our ability to learn and recall new information). The same goes for our dogs. We sat down with Maev Team Member and Dog Parent, Michael, to learn 5 hacks to help improve a busy family’s morning routine. Hint: they rely on healthy meals made with high-quality whole foods.
Michael, Sabina and Dresden on their morning walk to school.
Describe a typical morning at your house. Who wakes you up first, the kids or Dresden?
We learned quickly to wake up before the kids on school days to give ourselves time to prepare breakfast, lunches and snacks. Dresden is extremely smart — she’s timed it where she wakes up, eats, and goes outside before the kids are awake so she can be nestled back in her bed, relaxing, and avoiding the chaos.
On the weekends, the kids wake us up first. They wake us up at 7am on the dot. Dresden loves to sleep in.
What’s for breakfast — for the kids and for Dresden?
Our kids are almost 2 and 6 so it really depends on the day. Their all time favorite is pancakes and breakfast sausage, but the weekdays vary with greek yogurt and honey, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, toast with almond butter, and fruit. Sometimes the fruit is just to decorate their plate which I end up sharing with Dresden. Dresden eats Maev Beef Hip & Joint, plus whatever dog-safe fruit the kids leave us. She’ll also get some treats from Sabina.
Dresden's breakfast, Theo and Sabina's packed lunch for school.
What does school lunch prep/ snack prep look like?
As I mentioned, we get up early to try to accomplish as much as possible before they are awake. It’s a fool’s errand to ask them what they want for lunch because it changes constantly, so we just try to keep the lunches balanced. Their lunch boxes are little bento boxes, so we usually put fruit and vegetables in 2 of the compartments. Theo and I usually go grocery shopping together on Sundays so that’s helpful for her to pick out things she wants. It’s a fun way to burn 90 minutes and get some help making the menu. Theo also gets to pick one lunch per week that she gets at the school cafeteria. Pizza seems to be a favorite at the moment.
What’s your favorite part of the morning routine? What’s Dresden’s favorite part?
I love waking up our kids. It’s so fun. Theo always wants to cuddle in bed for a few minutes, and I’ve never seen someone wake up more happy than Sabina.
I love the things Theo (our older daughter) says on the way to school. We walk with her while she rides her bike to school. I’ve noticed that’s a window when you can get some information out of her about what goes on in the classroom. I’ve learned more about her day in that 10-minute commute than any other time in the day.
Dresden’s favorite part is probably a tie between watching all the kids and dogs walk by our house in the morning and walking with the kids to school. The days she doesn’t walk to school with us, she gets a nice 1:1 walk after everyone is out of the house. On top of that, I bring her to work with me a few times a week where she gets to play with all the Maev pups. I think she loves the attention.
What healthy habits do you try to practice in the morning before school/ work?
I split the week with 2 days working out before the kids wake up, and 2 days after I drop them off. It gives me a solid hour to exercise so I can keep up with my primary hobby (cycling). I’ve found that setting goals for myself there really helps relieve the stress of kids and work. Choosing to ride and challenge myself is 100% my choice, whereas with kids and work there are a lot of surprises and unknowns. It’s good to have complete control of one aspect of my life. Not to mention, I love listening to Podcasts while I ride which I’ll mix between cultural, professional, and sports talk shows.
What’s the best part of being a Senior Dog Parent? And a parent Parent?
Dog Parent:
She sleeps in! Gone are the days of a demanding early wake up call.
Lower energy means more snuggle time … she still loves to play and wrestle, but will also sit on the ground with me while I watch TV in the evening.
She’s so gentle and patient with our kids. She acts like a big sister.
Parent Parent:
Experiencing their curiosity
Seeing their confidence
Listening to their jokes. They are both really silly.
Theo leading the pack.
Describe 5 hacks to getting everyone ready, fed, and out the door on time.
Wake up early and do as much prep as possible in advance
Parental teamwork and communication … know who is doing what and make sure each of us has some “free time” in the morning.
Timers! Kids love timers. “Go brush your teeth when the timer goes off.” It just keeps things moving.
Use the same bowls to feed your dog. We have 3 identical dishwasher-safe bowls for Dresden’s food. I know exactly what the bowl should look like with the right amount of food for Dresden, so I just pour it right in and she goes to town.
There’s no better wake up call for a sleepy dog than the freezer door opening.
What Maev Raw Food formula is Dresden on?
Raw Food, Beef Formula Supplemented for Hip & Joint
What are Dresden’s favorite Maev products/ ingredients?
Freeze Dried Treats — Sabina loves giving Dresden (she calls her DD) treats and asking her to sit. Sabina will also hide them around the house and Dresden will go find them.
Michael, Murphy, Theo, Sabina and Dresden outside of their home in Austin, TX.
