I had an epiphany. It was one of those epiphanies you wish you wouldn’t have because it is going to make your life harder. It was also one of those epiphanies you know you can’t just ignore and hope it goes away. What was it?
Everyone has to eat breakfast at the same time.
{I can hear you laughing at me! Cut that out!}
How does this make my life harder? Let me count the ways…
1. I know I said I have to get up earlier, and while I’ve been striving to do this, it hasn’t been on a regular basis. (In fact, this one issue has long been something I’ve struggled with!) In order for everyone to eat breakfast at the same time, I have to get out of bed every day AT THE SAME TIME.
2. I have to wake the children up. I have lived my entire motherhood steeped in the belief you should never wake a sleeping baby. Never mind that very few of my children qualify as babies these days, it just feels wrong to wake them. I mean, after all, we homeschool! Besides that, awake children are considerably noisier than sleeping children.
3. I have to cook. Don’t get me wrong, I like to cook, but three meals a day for 7 people and the clean up that comes along with that has kept me from persuing it with too much vigor. As a non-morning person, breakfast seemed the obvious choice for deletion from the day.
You might be wondering what brought me to this epiphany in the first place.
It was Micah.
Every morning he would cry from 8-10 am. Why? Because, despite the fact I had served him breakfast the minute his little self hopped out of bed in the morning, he was convinced that each of his siblings (who straggled into the kitchen to find their own breakfasts from 8 until 10 am) were making breakfast for him! When they were less than responsive to his beggings for their food, grunts gave way to screaming and mommy wanted to hide.
However, hiding from your needy children really isn’t the answer. So, I had to come up with a better plan.
That plan was to:
1. Get up at the same time every morning and start breakfast.
2. Wake up the children.
3. Feed them all the same thing at the same time.
I know, brilliant!
One of the recipes I used this week was one for
Breakfast Cookies
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. oatmeal
½ c. oil
½ c brown sugar or sucanat
1 ½ c. milk
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
Mix like cookie dough. Add any extras you’d like: raisins, apple, nuts, etc. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 12-15 mins. Feed to everyone at the same time and listen to the quiet of a baby NOT screaming the rest of the morning! 
Breakfast together always goes smoother here too and I only have three. I have to plan what we are having also or I get lazy. I don’t have to wake anyone though. They are up and at’em way too early.
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to try it tomorrow morning
)
Breakfast as always been my weakness. And I never ate breakfast before I had kids, so it’s easy for me to let it slide. Throw in gluten-free diet for the little one . . . I gave. But it’s just like you said, it’s more trouble to NOT fix something. I need to get back to making banana bread or breakfast bars or something the day before.
I’m so glad to hear someone else struggles with this too. The only difference between us is that I do cook breakfast and we do all eat at the same time but by the time I get up and get it all ready the children are all grumpy and fussy because it is so late. And my husband usually has to leave for work before he even gets to eat. It leaves everyone frustrated. I just got done making a family schedule using “Managers of their homes” . We’ll be starting it next week and I’m really hoping this will help! We’ll be going through it together, sister!
Thanks for the recipe. I will have to try it.
BUT both of my boys are morning people.
I am not a morning person either. My father did not know me when he chose my name.
I like to keep breakfast simple, but it seems that my early-rising boys also like breakfast more than any other meal. It is one of my goals to fix better breakfasts.
LOL on your name! I had a bad night last night, so my oldest fixed waffles this morning. I don’t know if you have anyone old enough to help out, but I do think I’ll assign at least one day a week to him.
Yummy! I was doing a search for recipes for a crowd and wound up at your blog. I couldn’t resist this recipe and just made these for my kids for breakfast. Since we always have a surplus of eggs here, I added an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla, a handful each of dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. I had to add in an extra cup of whole wheat flour to make up for the egg, I guess. They are great, and the kids seem to enjoy them. Thanks!
~Jenny~
Excellent! Thanks for sharing your variation!
I’m with you! I was horrified to see it was near 10:00 when I woke up this morning, and we have a passel of animals to feed!
I’ve also been convicted to get up earlier in the morning and get some consistency going for my 6 children. Thanks for the encouragement and laughs.
Hi Amy~
I have been making and severving breafast cookie for about 1 1/2 years now!
The recipe the kids and I love is the unprossed oatmeal cookie you post a few years back!
I never feel quilty giving it to them!
Warm Blessings,
Georgiann
I should have linked to that recipe too! That is a WONDERFUL recipe that I’ll also add to my breakfast list! Thanks for the reminder!
Also, sorry for the loss of your dog…are the kids doing ok?
Now, go have some tea.
Talk about type o’s in my last comment! I sound like a Hillbilly! EEEKKKK!
Our dog passed away yesterday and I have not had my morning tea!
Warmly,
Georgiann
The more I read your blog the more I think you and I may just possibly be twins separated at birth. Good GRIEF, I have the exact same problem… I know I need to start earlier, but most days I find really good reasons to not do it. I like your plan though, and I think my kids would eat anything if I called it breakfast *cookies*!! Sounds yummy. I’ll try it… tomorrow.
LOL! And good luck! Let me know what they think!
Mmmm, yummy! I made them this morning. The kids gobbled them up… and they were so quick and easy! Thanks!
Yay!
You make me laugh! We’re polar opposites! I’m the nutty control freak mom that doesn’t allow her kids to get out of bed until I wake them up and of course they have to get out of bed right when I awaken them. We have to be at swimming this summer at 7:30 and the kids must be fed before then so I have to get up by 6:30 and must have them up and breakfast ready by 7 or we won’t make it.
I have gotten MUCH more lax about when my bigger kids go to bed on the weekend. But we’re always up early. I’ve found we’re so much more productive in the morning and that all of us sort of fizzle out by the afternoon.
My husband is the night owl in our family, though, and he hates getting up in the morning. He and I are opposites, but complement each other nicely (ie he’s laid back enough to tolerate my control issues;).
I really relate to this post, not because of having the hard time making breakfast (let me tell you, omelets are really quick and easy) but I too have a hard time with the idea of making 3 meals a day for 7 people. When I start to think of it, it overwhelms me! But one good thing about starting the day off with a good breakfast is that I find my kids are less hungry for snacks during the day. So, good luck and maybe just think about the fact that you feeding Jesus (and your kids at the same time!)
Matthew 25:34
“Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ’Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ’Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?’ And the king will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.’”
amy, i have struggled with this very same things for years. i do think one of the drawbacks to h.s. is we as moms can become alittle lazy. i NEVER wake up to an alarm. and the thought of it just sends shutters up and down my spine:) I know life would be easier….but still i sleep in. What might make it alittle easier is to allow yourself 1 day a week (at least) to sleep in. kinda like a diet. they say your should allow yourself 1 day a week to “splurge” usually when we don’t totally deprive oursleves of something we enjoy, we can succeed. i think i will try this breakfast cookies out on the boys. they love baked stuff for breakfast! good luck with getting up!!
Yeah, I kind of thought weekends we would be a little more lax. Let me know how it goes!
We tried these this morning, with walnuts, wheat berries, and a splash of homemade vanilla – LOVED THEM!
Thanks!
Yay! Sounds wonderful!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I have 3 early risers and can’t wait to try this recipe, a change from cold cereal that they will surely welcome!
Do these cookies freeze well? I am thinking that having a stash in the freezer would be great on these mornings.
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t freeze just fine.