Smooth Move.

So, our mornings are looking a little different with the new job. I'm out the door an hour earlier, but without the drama you might expect from a family like ours. I've been VERY good about getting our shit together the night before, and that has been the glue that holds this rag-tag operation together in the mornings. The key to getting our shit together in the pm before the am is not falling asleep in Bird's bed at 8:00, which means we are back to the snuggle-then-sit-in-the-chair-combo bedtime routine. It's going okay. Bird has developed a need to quickly gulp an unreasonable amount of water and then snuggle the cup on her pillow as she falls asleep, but it's working for her so I'm not interfering.

Another change is our PBS time slot.* Where Bird used to warm up to the day watching Arthur while we scrambled to find the least dirty of our clothes, this earlier hour puts her on the couch in front of Caillou, my very least favorite PBS show. But the Big Comfy Couch used to make my brain curdle and now I can watch an entire episode without my eyes rolling back in my head, so maybe I can make some progress with that irritating little whining Caillou. He's such a little shit, though. I can hardly bear to hear that voice even in passing.

I bring this up to talk about the new breakfast routine. As much as I would like to recreate the gather-round-the-table breakfasts my family enjoyed even on school mornings, that's just not what works for us right now. Bird slurps a smoothie during the Whiny Bald Caillou Program, and A. and I pack the same smoothies to go. It's a recipe I've used forever but I've made some recent adjustments to bump up the vitamins for my picky little non-green eater. The best to-go containers for this are tall, wide-mouthed glass salsa jars with lids, washed out and ready to travel. This recipe will make about one large portion-- I do this twice each morning and pour a large for me, a large for A., and a smaller version for Bird.

Mama's Breakfast Smoothie, Keeping You Full until Lunch

1 cup soy milk
1 small banana, or 1/2 of a large banana
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
2-3 large handfuls frozen fruit
1 handful well- washed fresh spinach (don't worry about stems, throw it all in)
Splash of OJ if you've got some

Blend until smooth. Should be thick but drinkable through a straw-- add more liquid as necessary.

It isn't the most beautiful concoction, and NO, you can't really taste the spinach. It's pretty dang delicious if I do say so myself.