typical morning

Mornings start early at our house.

4:50 a.m. I'm up and trying to get Tanner out of bed.
Adriana comes up 10 minutes later.
We are out of the house by 5:30 delivering papers.

5:00 a.m. Akayla and Corina hop in the shower.

6:00 a.m. I'm back in the kitchen making lunches and breakfast.

Our rotating breakfast menu is like this:
Mondays:  Muffins, fruit and yogurt (whole wheat orange yogurt muffins - they're awesome and so healthy!)

Tuesdays:  Toast, Eggs & Juice

Wednesdays:  Whole wheat pancakes with bananas, homemade syrup and yogurt

Thursdays:  Toast & Fruit Smoothies

Fridays:  Homemade granola (made the night before or on the stovetop) with dried fruit (so yummy!)

Notice how the food and the day start with the same letter (except Friday)?  Yeah, I'm kind of weird like that.

I like making sure my kids have fruit, protein & whole grains in their bellies before they're heading off to school.

I also really like being up with them in the morning!

We've been doing a rotating breakfast menu for a few years now, and I love it!
Never a question about what to make, and my family loves everything on our menu.
The only problem we ever have is if I didn't make bread on Monday or Wednesday.
Then we have to have oatmeal or something creative.
Saturdays are Dave's day to prepare breakfast, and we have cereal on Sundays.

When breakfast is ready the kids gather around the table and we read scriptures.
Dave and the high school kids eat while we read because they have to leave so early.

I've heard some say that morning isn't a good time to read the scriptures because kids are too tired.

I disagree.

We are morning people, and we're wide awake for our spiritual discussions of the day.
I love giving my kids a strong spiritual base before they head into the cold cruel world!

We have had amazing discussions in the morning.
We've also had some really funny discussions!

We weren't always morning people........
it's happened over the past few years as we've been forced to get up earlier and earlier.
It's caused us to go to bed earlier, and change some bad habits.

I can't believe how much energy I now have to get things done in the morning.
And we're so much happier now sitting around the breakfast table and getting ready for school!

The only drawback is that I'm exhausted by about 8:30 every night!

6:40 a.m. Morning prayer
and our traditional hugs for everyone in the family.

6:50 a.m. Dave, Akayla, Corina, and Tanner leave for school.

We have exactly 1 hour to get the other kids ready for school - hair takes the longest.
They do chores in the morning, and if they're fast they have time to practice the piano, and I'm so grateful we have 2 pianos (one has headphones!).

I'm pretty much crazy about routines.
I like things to be exactly the same every day.
I know what to expect and so do my kids.
Nothing dares to get in the way of my schedule!

7:50(ish) I take Adri to the bus stop, and Anna, Mars & Elli to school.

8:00 Back home and ready to tackle my day!!


That's how mornings typically go at our house!
Just in case you ever wondered!!


good things:
a fun lunch with friends
leftovers
happy enthusiastic people outside shoveling snow