what does brown do for you?

As a child, my mother burned our breakfast so often it was the family joke that "we eat brownies for breakfast." Now as a mother, I realize that was a horrible thing for my father to teach us and taunt our mother. She wanted us to have a hot breakfast, but 5 kids under 6 compounded by getting us ready for school and everything else that goes wrong in the morning--it blows me away that my mom did it...even if it was a smidge burnt. (Our toast was literally black almost every time she tried...she would mass toast them in the oven on broil and then forget about them. Maybe that's why I prefer my toast darker than most.)

Why do I bring this up? Because to simply my life during the week, my children get these choices for breakfast: cereal, oatmeal (instant of course), or muffins/bread (if I made it the night before). That's it. Occasionally, I'll fry an egg but those are rare mornings.

Then on the weekend we usually make something more elaborate and hot. Last weekend was insane. Great fun but insane. And Halloween was a busy one. I decided to make some delicious apple pancakes for the girls and they were excited. I busted out the grill and flapped the jacks. But after the first batch, my pancakes got darker and darker...I would leave my grill to wipe faces, fill juice demands, cut pancakes, add more syrup, etc. So by the time the girls were finished and I made a short stack for Aaron in bed, I had to flip them upside down because clearly one side looked like a brownie. Despite all my efforts: brownies. And instantly, I could relate to my mother and felt horrible for teasing her about my brownie breakfasts. Thanks mom.