Love is a Warm Bowl of Oatmeal

Okay ... so it isn't oatmeal every day, some days it is a breakfast sammy.

Here is the thing if  I could go back in time I would do one thing different, I would have made breakfast everyday. This all started a while back the sudden realization that getting up and cooking everyone something was the best way to greet the day. 

Don't get me wrong I have always kept plenty of food on hand. I shop regularly and the children since they were old enough to walk knew where the cereal cabinet was. There has always been a drawer full of the season's fresh fruit. Being a bread lover that I am I always buy good bread... and often make it myowndamnself.  You know there is nothing better than a fresh warm loaf of banana bread. 

However with kids you have to give them that extra gentle nudge.... and often a push ... and sometimes you nearly want to give some of them a swift kick. Often my "Eat something" resulted in... well ... nothing. 

I know I have heard it a thousand times before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day..but with me it was a in one ear and gone tomorrow sorta thing. Then one day it hit me. all the things I have read about how you need to eat with in one hour of getting up and how that really helped in so many ways. I knew it was a must. 

I have had a few comments from other people like "Do your kids actually eat it? Mine wont eat in the morning." They would tell me "I don't have that kind of time." I do agree getting up and eating takes time. Money and energy. Mostly it takes want and a little organization, 

Let me explain this isn't the standard Sunday morning lazy day breakfast. This is up at 5:am and 5 people out the door by 7:10. I also had parents mention politely that "My kids are old enough to make their own breakfast."  Yep mine are too... and their lunches and maybe dinners as well. At one point I was saying the same thing. However to my oldest son was never going to eat cereal at 6:30 in the morning.

Making their own lunches was also a wonderful idea. It had it's own dreamy fairy tale like quality. In a perfect world my children would come skipping in and empty out their lunch boxes with the recyclable containers and wipe things down and pack their own lunches and clean up all the mess... but this is only in a prefect world. a billion days of lost lunch boxes and nagging wasn't helping anyone, let alone feeding three kids.

In my world I learned long ago that three kids making their own lunches often involved people in the way while I was trying to make dinner, food left out on the counter over night, and several dirty areas bags scattered, lids left off and knives left laying about. Also it would inevitably involve me trying to pack someones lunch to seconds before we needed to be out of the house, or worst them not mentioning they have no lunch until we were nearly at school 20 minutes away. Or even worse me having to nag them to make the lunch. After 12 + years I have resigned to take the daily 5 minutes to pack them myowndamnself and save everyone the trouble. I count myself lucky if they remember to take a lunch. 

Breakfast is another matter. It is one meal where we are all home. It may not be a sit down affair but it is a wonderful thing. I really do stock up on the breakfast foods. Most days I can and do cook an array of foods 
you name it I can whip it up pretty fast. This morning I had two orders for sausage one order for an egg one breakfast sandwich three orders for oatmeal with raisins apples and walnuts and one for a bagel with cream cheese. Some mornings I don't ask I just make everyone something and tell them. I also have found that you can cook many things with a waffle iron besides waffles. Such as cinnamon rolls and hash browns. 

Sadly dinners don't always go as smoothly these days ... I have one son that works and doesn't come home until 8:30-9:00 at night. My middle son just was hired and will be working shortly. I am guessing he will be working nights and weekends as he is a full tine student. 
My middle son is also a vegetarian so making dinners for him is a huge hurdle. He went from eating mostly meat and not liking veggies or much pasta to not eating meat and it is hard to find to find food for him. My husband ranges from not making it home till very late to eat to coming home and yelling "When do we eat?" This translates to  I'm here and hungry why isn't there something hot and ready?  However all this aside I still cook 6 nights out of 7. Friday's are usually reserved for Pizza or Subway... however many nights I buy deli fresh pizzas and doctor them up with loads of veggies (and pineapple). While I envy people that can eat out nightly. I find that I am often ill after I eat fast food. Our family budget doesn't really allow spending $30.00 a meal for 5 people.  We all eat when we all make it in. These days finding all of us sitting down at the same time is a rare treat.

So while I may not always feel like getting up every morning at 5:am. While I take my bath and dress and do hair and makeup. I know that I am going to manage to be a short order cook... and that and a bowl of oatmeal is love.