Kellogg's, Week Nine: The Morning Rush, and a $100 Visa Gift Card

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kellogg's.

This is the ninth of twelve weekly posts sponsored by BlogHer and Kellogg's. EACH POST will have its own $100 gift card giveaway. The plan is to have each giveaway start on Tuesday and run until the following Monday.

This week's topic is The Morning Rush: Do you have tips for making the morning routine simpler? And are there breakfast foods that make the morning simpler?


Our morning routine is more complicated this year than in any previous year. My eldest child catches a bus at 7:00, and then my second child catches a bus at 8:00, and then the twins go to kindergarten at noon.

One thing that has dramatically simplified things for me is having a watch that can be set to beep at certain times. It beeps to let me know it's almost time for the first child's bus, and it beeps again when it's almost time for the second child's bus. This has already saved me from missing several buses.

I also have several morning milestones in a set schedule: I always wake the first child when I get up to take my shower 5:45, and I always wake the second child right after the first child gets on the bus.

A third thing that helps tremendously is SIGNS. I haven't put up this year's yet because we're still figuring out when each child needs lace-up shoes for gym and when the second child needs to bring his clarinet and how to make one sign include four different children, but here's an example sign from last winter when things were simpler:


This year we're adding lace-up shoes, clarinet, and remembering to brush teeth, but the gist of it is the same: a sign by the door lets us make sure we're remembering everything for everybody. IN THEORY, the children are supposed to check the sign themselves; what actually happens is that I say "Did you do everything on the sign?" and they say "Yes!" and I say "Including remembering your lunch?" and they say "Yes!...oh, er, no."

Simple breakfast foods: for us it's cereal or muffins. Both are easy to dish up, easy to serve in shifts, and easy for the older kids to serve themselves.


To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post by Monday, October 11, 2010 about either (1) tips for making the morning routine simpler or (2) breakfasts that make the morning routine simpler. Entrants must be U.S. residents at least 18 years old. One entry per post per person. To get an additional entry, blog or tweet the contest and then leave a comment with a link to the post or tweet.

For the complete rules, see The Complete Rules, Week Nine.

For more chances to win, visit the other participating bloggers.

For more about Kellogg's, visit their site.



Mom’s Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids’ cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.