Breakfast

Growing up in my house we did not eat a ton of cold cereal. And I can honestly say I have still never eaten Lucky Charms. I actually haven't eaten cocoa krispies or any chocolate variety and the idea of fruity pebbles makes me cringe. The most sugary cereal I will eat is Honey Nut Cheerios, and I prefer to eat it in the evening. It seems odd I know, I have no problem having a slice of leftover birthday cake, or on an ideal and rare morning a slice of my mom's apple pie. (By the way, my mom makes the best apple pie on the planet.) So I know it is not the dislike of sugar in the morning. Growing up eating oatmeal and cream of wheat for breakfast, we had a layer of brown sugar on our cereal. And I still love a bowl of hot cereal (except ralston - I will never like ralston!) If my dad was home he would often cook up eggs and toast for breakfast. When I was in high school, I did not like the idea of fried eggs at 5:00 in the morning. I attended early morning seminary and that meant an early morning breakfast. Now I love my dads eggs and toast but then I avoided it. Most mornings consisted of a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice, although if given the opportunity I have and will always prefer leftovers for breakfast.



We had a family rule that if you dished up your plate at dinner, you had to finish what you ate. There was no wasting food. If you did not eat it at dinner, it was wrapped up and saved for whenever you decided you were ready to eat. I think the goal of this rule was to teach us to not waste food, and learn to dish out appropriate amounts. I think some of the kids may have hated this rule ,because if they didn't want to eat the food for dinner, they certainly would not enjoy it for breakfast. I, on the other hand, loved this rule. I would heap large amounts of my favorite dish, more than I could possibly eat, and that way I claimed the leftovers for myself, and could enjoy them for breakfast hassle free. After nine years, I think Jeff is finally getting used to my unusual breakfasts.



My children have not inherited my love of leftovers, except Timmy who loves food all time of the day and night. They have inherited Jeff's love of cold cereal. They want a bowl every morning and every night, and if they could they would eat it for lunch and dinner as well. As a general rule I don't purchase sugary cereal. My cupboard is stocked with Life, Rice Chex, Cheerios, and Kix. I had actually never even tried Life until we had been married for a few years. Sugar cereals still appear in our cupboards though. I might cave if there is a really good sale, and if Jeff does the grocery shopping with kids we might end up with each of their favorites. But this past week it was Honey who filled our cupboard with sugary goodness.



The appearance of sugar cereal boxes brings up an important question that many people have, I don't have the question, but I have watched each of the kids struggle with this question when they get to be about one and a half. The question is, "When eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, what should I do with all the pesky cereal pieces that have invaded my morning bowl of marshmallows?"



Timmy has solved this age old question. It is quite simple really. Take your bowl and spread the cereal all over the living room. Pick out and eat all the colorful marshmallows, and then leave the cereal in hopes that your dog or little brother will eat all the evidence before your parents find it.