Wednesday, January 13, 2010

For the love of Oatmeal...

The fantasy goes something like this:

I wake up at 6am...no alarm needed...
I just love mornings.
I have time to get ready, have some coffee...
I fix the boys something warm and wonderful for breakfast.
I fix their lunches...
bento style...with adorable little strawberry mice
(have you seen those? so darn cute)
The boys wake to the smell of deliciousness coming from the kitchen...
they get dressed, and come to breakfast...
where they leisurely eat (and compliment the chef)
We have plenty of time to brush teeth, fix hair, and put shoes on.
No rushing.
Heck...they even have time to read
or watch a little tv before we have to leave at 7:30.

The reality:
(at least this morning)

Colin wakes me up at 6:50ish...
I have a kicking headache.
I remember I want to try making stovetop oatmeal.
I quick measure the water in the pot and put it on the stove.
I hurry and throw clothes on...
take some Excedrin...
and attempt to make some coffee.
My coffee pot decides for the hundredth time to not work right.
I wake the boys.
Colten comes out to the kitchen to inform me,
he needs a sweatshirt,
and he hates the pants I picked out for him.
I cut up some strawberries for the oatmeal.
I do the same with a banana.
I grind some flaxseed in my old coffee grinder...
which I pray doesn't make the flax taste like coffee.
The boys make their way into the kitchen at 7:15.
Jack doesn't want oatmeal...he wants leftover pancakes.
I nuke the pancakes.
Cole wants to try the oatmeal, but would like pancakes too.
I nuke more pancakes.
I scoop oatmeal into bowls....it's now 7:20.
The boys love the different toppings
and go to the table with bowls full of strawberries,
bananas, honey, brown sugar, & raisins...
Causing Jack to decides he needs oatmeal now too
7:25.
It dawns on me I haven't packed lunches.
(Good grief)
I shove some food into their lunchboxes.
I do pack strawberries...
but sadly, just in tupperware...
no mini-chocolate chip faces and almond sliver ears...
7:28.
Colten is in full on panic because he's going to be "late"...
Jack is still eating.
Colten realizes he forgot to fix his hair and really panics.
Jared announces he will be the only one late.
(like it's a contest and he needs to be the winner)
Jack is still eating.
We finally rush out the door at 7:35ish.
rush.
oh.
and now my kitchen is a complete disaster.Mornings.
They elude me.
I must find some sort of balance between my love of sleep...
and my desire to make the boys bacon for breakfast.
(ooooh....bacon)
Have I mentioned I'm not a morning person?


*One question.
Flaxseed.
Does one store that in the ...Fridge? Freezer? Pantry?
and the leftover ground flaxseed?
Mysterious...but tasty...especially on oatmeal.

6 comments:

gabbyfek said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
oatmeal.
yumyumyum.
flaxseed = freezer, i think?
i'll ask kathy. she knows all things about food.
and you are way too cute w/ the oatmeal buffet??? like, for REAL. LOVE it.
your kiddos are so lucky and SO loved.
xo.

pakosta said...

put it in the freezer yes!
I actually buy the already ground up container and keep it in the freezer!!!
love your kitchen! even if it's "messy"....oh man, these mornings sound like mine!
my girls hate to be late, they want to be 20 minutes EARLY!!!!!
they can't stand anyone to beat them to schoOL! LOL!
tara

sarah said...

oatmeal and i have a love hate relationship. it's good for me but i hate it. although, if mine looked as yummy as yours...i might learn to love it.

p.s. mornings? they are dumb.
hope your afternoon is better...and that your coffee pot works tomorrow.

essie said...

okay
first
i KNOW how much love you put into EVERYTHING you do for the fam-o
and
how stinkin hard it is to do it EVERYDAY
and then get up and do it again

go back to september 2006 and read the morning of
woe-is-e
on miranda drive
trust trust trust
you will feel much better

casa h is psyched when they see eggo waffles in the freezer!
MUWAH!

Jessica O'Brien said...

ok, i know i'm not a mom and this may be totally out of line, but why do you make the boys breakfast? when my brother and i were old enough (i'd say 6-7 years old), we poured our own cereal and milk everyday. it was pretty much the same thing every day - no big buffet breakfast, no sausage and eggs and all that jazz. that was weekends. and my mom didn't need to lift a finger for it. why don't they do their own?

for lunches, try packing stuff on sundays that can be grabbed throughout the week. like, i chop all my fruit, section my carrots into smaller containers, etc. then on the morning, 1/2 my meal is already ready to grab! :)

Jessica O'Brien said...

oh! and i vote you buy yourself a new coffee machine. NOTHING can conquer no coffee.... ;)