My least favorite time of the day is the morning. It isn’t because I don’t want to get out of bed as much as it is because my children don’t want to get out of bed. I have tried sending them to bed earlier at night but it doesn’t seem to help. No matter what I try it is always hard to get them up in the mornings. Once they ARE up they drag their feet to get dressed, to brush their teeth and to eat their breakfast. I feel like I am chasing both of my boys around, stopping fights that ensue over one looking at the other (literally) and all of that while trying to get the baby and myself ready too. What are we going to do next year when they have to be up even earlier!? With everything that has to be done to get the kids and I ready to take Wyatt to school and be there ON TIME the last thing I want to do is worry about breakfast. I don’t have enough hands to prepare a breakfast myself, so I try to keep a variety of options for the boys but I also don’t want them amped up on sugary cereals first thing either. One great option we were introduced to are the new Aunt Jemima Lil’ Griddles. The boys love anything that seems to be ‘their’ size so these bite-sized pancakes are a fun food for them. What they don’t know is that I am happy to serve them! Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day and every batch is made from scratch with real ingredients I don’t feel guilty serving them either. I also don’t mind the 30 second cook time!
Take this morning for instance – the baby was up first so I fed and changed her before it was time to wake the boys up. Once it WAS time to wake the boys up I had to go in multiple times. I use my happy mommy voice while I shake them, take the blankets off, and after I try that a few times and it doesn’t work I get aggravated. Then I start in with the more serious voice telling them to get out of bed before we are late. I’m not sure if it is because we spent a few hours at the beach yesterday or what but today was even harder to get Wyatt out of bed than normal. I have been known to carry their sleep butts to the table and set them in their chairs – they weren’t happy about it but it worked. 
While I try to get them up out of bed I give them a few choices for breakfast. By letting them choose I found there is one less breakdown in the morning. Nobody cries because they don’t want what I put in front of them. Even if it is just a choice between flavors it does make a difference. So this mornings breakfast on-the-go choice was regular or blueberry Lil Griddles mini pancakes and the choice was regular with syrup. 
Once they took their dear sweet time eating breakfast it was time to get dressed. Wyatt sat on the living room floor first – I guess he felt like wasting five minutes when we were already running late. I had to pick him up and carry him to his bedroom, stand him up and show him where his clothes for the day were. Then we argued about what he was going to wear. He wanted to wear the blue shirt he slept in with Thomas the Train on it. I wanted him to wear a clean orange Thomas the Train shirt and I won! While the boys put their clothes on I hurried and brushed my teeth and put a brush through my hair so I could look a tiny bit presentable when I had to drop and sign Wyatt in at school. Then the morning went on with a crying breakdown from Mason who said his shirt was too tight, whining from Wyatt who didn’t want to brush is teeth and again from Mason who didn’t want to strap into his car seat when we piled in to take Wyatt to school. Now I’m back here writing this and so happy that the morning is over! 
Do you have tricks to running a smooth morning routine or are all moms ready to pull their hair out by 9am? Maybe Aunt Jemima Lil Griddles will help you get breakfast on the table faster – you can request a coupon from them HERE! Enjoy,
Thank you to Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.