Early Morning Pep-talk

I am generally not a "morning person", in that I would much rather stay in bed and sleep, sleep, sleep. But, alas, the rule-follower in me always wins out, and I get up at the sounding of my alarm.
So, I found it rather ironic a few days ago when, in my sleepy stupor, I was able to give a pep-talk.

My habit is to get up and take a shower before the boys are up to get ready for school.
After I'm out of the shower I listen for Josh. When I hear his bathroom door open and the fan gets turned on, I know he's up and all is well. So I dry my hair and then I walk out to peek at Matthew's bedroom door.
If it's open, he's out of bed and I know everything is good.
If it's closed, I need to wake him up.
And, a few days ago, it was closed.

Matthew's alarm was going off when I opened the door, so I turned his light on and added my own wake-up call to the mix. I walked over to his bed and shook him a little, reminding him it was time to get up. Matthew mumbled, "I'm hungry." So I said, "Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you get out of bed and go have breakfast?" I paused, Matthew moaned, and I said, "I'm brilliant! C'mon! Get up and have breakfast. Then you won't be hungry anymore."
At that point, I reached down and pulled his covers off, exposing his left arm pit. As soon as I squealed, Matthew put his arm to his side - knowing my next move would have been tickling. With that option removed, I simply grabbed his legs and swung them over the side of his bed so I could "help" him stand up. It took effort, but we got Matthew to his feet. He literally stumbled out of his room and fell against the wall in the hallway. (He's a bit dramatic. Don't know where he gets it!) And I said, "There you go! You're out of bed and can get some breakfast. I'm such a good mom!"

I'm not sure who the pep-talk was really for: Matthew - to get him out of bed, or, me - to not feel like a meanie for waking him up. Either way, it was effective!

How do you face mornings?