Family

Do you have a pet peeve?

What about a pet peeve that not others do but YOU do?

I am driving myself crazy here. I have this problem with cabinets in the kitchen.

See how those cabinets are nicely closed shut? Well, you see I have this problem where I go to open the cabinet door but the cabinet door never gets shut behind. How hard is it to shut the cabinet door behind me? My mind will not understand that the door needs to be shut. I cannot stand walking in a kitchen and seeing doors open. My husband is going crazy too because he cannot stand for the doors to be wide open either, yet I do the same thing every single day. Open the door, grab what I need and walk way. It is not that hard to remember is it?

My husband said yesterday morning, Jen, why do you not close the cabinet doors behind you? I responded promptly and said, I have a problem. I am trying hard to overcome this problem, but my brain will not wrap itself around why I need to close the doors. Please help! He just sat there and laughed at my craziness….

Do you have a pet peeve that YOU do?

MOM, turn the light off.

MOM, I don’t want to wake up.

MOM, I don’t want to wear that.

Those are just a few of the comments that were heard on any given school morning at our house last year. Meltdowns can put a good morning into a very bad morning really fast. I know you can relate right?

Guess what? You are not alone. Last week, I co-hosted the Virtual Breakfast with Kellogg’s along with other moms who were in the same shoes as I was with school mornings.

We were able to take away really great ideas to help have a non-meltdown morning and actually get the kids to eat a hearty nutritious breakfast.

This quote is so true:

“Our greatest inspiration behind these breakfast chats is that at Kellogg, we believe that great days start with great breakfasts,” said Sarah Woodside.

How do you ensure the kids get the nutritious breakfast?

“Be prepared,” advised Lori at La Vida Lori. “Have foods on hand for breakfast that are quick and easy to prepare, make sure the kitchen is clean the night before so you don’t have to deal with it when you’re trying to get breakfast together, and make lunches the night before.”

How do you create less chaos in the mornings?

* Sit out your child’s clothes and shoes the night before. My youngest is super picky about what clothes she wears, so this helps save time if we do it before.

* Make sure all papers are signed, homework is completed and packed away in backpacks.

* If you have a daughter with long hair, braid their hair each night to help prevent tangles.

From morning meltdowns to being too tired to eat, you can navigate any obstacles in your morning routine and breakfast menu by planning ahead. Planning ahead has been a huge key in our house. This school year, I was determined to be more organized and plan ahead. It has definitely been less stressful.

Recently, Kellogg sponsored one of the largest surveys ever conducted on breakfast and found surprising statistics about breakfast consumption, especially among kids,” said Sarah Woodside.

Among those findings:

– We see that 77 percent of young children eat breakfast every day, but the number falls to 50 percent in the middle-school years and to only 36 percent among high school students

– Results show 54 percent of all adults would like to eat breakfast every day, but in reality only one-third (34 percent) actually do

– Research shows us that although 89 percent of moms want their kids to eat breakfast every day, 40 percent report that their child does not eat breakfast daily

The key I am taking away, is make sure we are all eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Our bodies will thank us, our minds will thank us and we will be much happier and alert.Disclosure: I am being compensated for my time involving the Kellogg Virtual Breakfast. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

A sadness has come over me in the past week and I just cannot shake it for some reason. My heart is heavy, it feels as if someone keeps tugging at my heart, I want to cry at the drop of a hat and just have this uneasy feeling all over. I long for that third baby that I have always wanted but up until recently, I could shake the feeling. Now the feeling just stays with me wherever I go.

Last night, I laid in bed with my girls and watched them sleeping so peacefully. Where did the time go? I was just rocking them to sleep and holding them for hours on in. Now the girls have become so independent and are able to make a lot of their own decisions. The tears are hitting the keyboard as I am typing this… Why am I so sad they are growing up? I want to still cradle them or wear them in a sling. I want them close to my heart. I know they will always be close to me but I cannot help to think when I look at them, there is a missing sibling there?

I always ask the girls if they want a baby brother or sister and they joke around. One wants a baby brother and one wants a baby sister but my husband wants neither. We made the rash decision when L was about to be born, that he would get the big V. My emotions were all over the place and exactly one week before L was born, he had the V. I have regretted that decision ever since, but since he is older, I respected the decision and was happy God gave me two precious girls. I thank God each night for blessing me to be their mom. Yet, I still yearn for that third child. I want to break from this feeling. How will I ever get over feeling like this and know my family is complete?

I secretly wish in my heart that the Lord would bless us with a child anyways or maybe even through adoption. I’m not sure how to heal my heart at this point, but I do know one thing, I will continue to hold my girls close to my heart always. They breathe such a fresh air in my life each and everyday. I hope overtime with prayers, God will guide me and direct on what he feels best for our family.