Around here, the motto for lunch and dinner is "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit." In other words, Momma decides what's on your plate. But, at breakfast I am a short order cook. Everyone gets to choose. The problem with this is that Girl 1 wants to sleep in and then announce that she wants eggs, which take awhile to prepare. Girl 2, who is not a morning person, usually answers my "Good morning, sweetie! What'll it be for breakfast?" with a grunt. And Little Boy sleeps until breakfast is basically all cleaned up, so I've had to decide on something for him. Inevitable, it's the wrong thing, and he starts his day with a fit or disapproval.

So, all of this is going on, but throw in that I'm now trying to pasteurize milk in the midst of breakfast prep, and I could see that the whole process needed a revamping. John actually came up with the idea of taking breakfast orders the night before. It was perfect! Now, Girl 1 can sleep in and her eggs will be waiting for her when she wakes up. Girl 2 can grunt away as she eats the breakfast of her choosing. And, Little Boy will greet his breakfast plate with a smile when he decides to finally get up.

So, I printed out two copies of this document and slid them back to back into a clear page protector and clipped it to the fridge.

I can use a wet erase marker to record orders; and, because it has a front and back, I only have to clean it off every-other day.

So far, it seems to be working really well for everyone. The kids think it's fun to give Momma their orders, and I love being able to work in the quiet kitchen and get everything to the table before the morning chaos ensues. I know that a sit-down family breakfast is not something that everyone gets to enjoy, and I don't take it for granted. But, I'm definitely thankful for a prep routine that is less stressful for me.

If you like this solution and would like a copy of this file to customize for your family, just comment and give me your email address. I'll send it to you as an attachment. :)