This post bought to you by Nuffnang and Uncle Tobys.
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It doesn’t matter how much ‘better’ I feel about the world, how settled and happy I am feeling with this new life, this Melbourne life… mornings suck. Mornings always have sucked. I am not a morning person.
I was asked to write this post and describe my dream morning. Lots of examples were given- breakfast in bed. Waking up on the beach. Showering under a waterfall.
All of those sound lovely. But if I was honest, my dream morning wouldn’t be a morning at all. It would involve sleeping until at least noon, snuggled up in bed next to the Amazing Man. No children screaming at me to get out of bed and make them breakfast at 6am.
Anyway. That’s a highly unrealistic expectation. Let’s pull this back into the realm of real life, where mornings start early and are, currently, freezing cold.
I don’t function properly until at least 10am. And half the important stuff happens before that. Getting kid dressed and fed, lunches made, the school drop-off completed. Some days all my energy has evaporated by 9am, used up simply by the act of getting myself and the kidlets out of the house.
In an ideal world, I’d start my day with 10 minutes of yoga. Instead, I spend the first half an hour curled up on the lounge, two small-ish bodies curled around me in improbable ways, kicking their icy cold feet in my back.
Ideally, the Bump and the Chop would get themselves dressed, brush their own teeth and put their shoes on, all without being asked six thousand times. They would not fight, or roll their eyes at their unreasonable mother who is just trying to get them to school on time. They would not screech at me, or at each other. There would never be a morning where I stand in the kitchen cursing because there is no fruit for school today, after forgetting to buy it the night before.
In the real world, there’s arguing and grumpiness. There are school clothes thrown on five minute before we leave the house. Some days, lunches are haphazard and less than nutritionally perfect.
Most mornings are laced with a hefty dose of parental guilt.
I hate mornings.
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Uncle Tobys sent me some of their Oats Quick Sachets for the kidlets and myself to try. I think they’re attempting to make mornings more bearable. It actually kind of works. The kidlets still screech at each other- and me- but a lot of the time it’s screeching over who gets to choose their Oats flavour first. Which I understand. There are Creamy Honey, Apple and Berry; and they are all quite yummy. Nom nom. There’s something therapeutic about a warm, creamy bowl of oats on a Melbourne winter morning.
The Oats have this thing where you can use the empty sachets to add your milk to the dry mix. The sachets even have a line marked on them to show you where to fill them to, in order to have the perfect amount to pour in. The novelty of that has not worn off on the kids. Or me. And it means less washing up for us. Which is awesome because I still have not dealt with the fact that we don’t have a dishwasher.
And, let’s face it, it’s oats we’re talking about here. They are creamy and good and nutritionally sound. I can’t imagine a better winter breakfast. Take that, mummy guilt.
Happy kids. Guilt-free me. Easier mornings. It’s a win, win, win situation, really.
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One lucky RRSAHM reader will win $50 in Uncle Tobys product and a $200 Red Balloon voucher towards your own ‘dream morning’ experience. Just leave a comment answering the question – How would Uncle Tobys Quick Sachets help you achieve your dream morning?
Giveaway ends 11 July, 5:00 AEDST. T’s&C’s can be found here. Happy comping!!
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
My enthusiastic eight year olds can make their own warm uncle Toby’s breakfast and I can enjoy my first cup of tea without saying a word and we make school bus without having to scream – hurry up eat your breakfast.
My dream morning would consist of getting up really early to float over the beautiful city of Melbourne in a hot air balloon. Now it’ll be cold so I’ll need some Uncle Toby’s in my thermos jar to eat and keep my warm whilst up in the balloon and to help line my stomach before a glass of bubbles or two!
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My dream morning would be waking up to sunshine, a load of cash and heading to the airport with no planned destination. Throw in some Uncle Toby’s, some mates and a few drinks later on in the day and it would not be a bad start at all..
Don’t tell me you haven’t thought the same!
I often skip breakfast, so this would help me start off healthy and keep me going for my many activities throughout the day.
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My ideal morning would include a giant warm breakfast to heat me up on these cold winter mornings. This usually requires two sachets of Uncle Toby’s oats (sometimes I mix up the flavours to be adventurous) with plenty of fruit on top. Then with a warm belly and rugged up in a big jumper I’d take a walk on the beach to get started for the day.
Dream morning? Well if I am going to consider my dream morning, I first need to consider my reality. Which consists of the following…waking up at some ungodly hour where it is still dark outside, on one side of me is my exuberant 4 year old who has either wet my bed including up to my pillow OR is crying at me that ‘all the other mummies are up making breakfast except for mine!’, my delightful 2 year old yelling his guts out over the monitor (although tonight is his first night in a big boy bed so really looking forward to this spanner being thrown in the works, eeep!) and last but not least is my partner on the other side of me snoring like a chainsaw and completely oblivious to my suffering. I only went to bed about 4 hours before so I am feeling just a bit sleepy…just a wee bit. Possibly a tiny bit cranky too.
So my dream morning would consist of all of the above. Yep. This will not be my reality forever so I’m embracing it. Well…maybe more than 4 hours sleep would be nice but that’s my own fault. As well as some Uncle Tobys Quick Sachets. Sounds like they are fool proof, or even only-one-eye-half open tired Mummy proof.
Oats are my all-time favourite breakfast cereal. I’d eat them every day if I could. But working full time, I have to be quick and sneak out of the house before the kids wake up on weekdays (Daddy does the school run), so I only have time for them on the weekends, when the kids insist on sharing them with me.
My dream morning would be for the quick sachets to give me a fast and easy way to have oats every day and NOT have to share them with my kids! Mwa ha ha ha!
My dream morning . . .
I wake on an icy cold morning to find a gorgeous mystery man spooning me and keeping me warm (he is fully clothed – nothing rude here!). He says “Good morning Gorgeous, would you like some delicious steamy oats for breakfast with your freshly brewed coffee?” Sleepily I mumble “Mmm, yes please”.
I slowly start to drift off again and feel him slide out of bed to go and make my morning recharge. Sometime later I am awoken by someone tickling my cheek gently. “Breakfast is served sweetie”. I slowly blink my eyes in to focus and see the strange yet gorgeous man standing there with a tray containing a giant cup if bitter yet deliciously sweet coffee, a steaming bowl of Uncle Tobys Berry Oats and a pile of fluffy pancakes drowning in sweet sticky maple syrup. I thank him and eat the sticky pancakes first. I pick up the steaming bowl of berry oats, the bowl is nice and warm on my hands and the oats smell divine. I slowly devour the oats and they warm me from the inside out. I drink my coffee and Mt Gorgeous says “I’ve taken your son to school”. He clears my breakfast mess and then comes back, hops in bed and spoons me all day. We talk about anything and everything all day.
My dream morning would be not to have to deal with my daughter wetting MY bed, no arguments about how much milk I’ve used in the cereal (because more, more, more mummy means the entire carton) no arguments about shoes before child care and not being late for work every DAY! I can dream…
Pre-child, my dream morning would have looked a lot different..the old me would have loved to shower underneath a waterfall! But now as a mother, my dream morning is simply to arrive at work/playgroup/any public place, with my hair done (as opposed to the horrific bed head I often arrive with), my clothes free from the residue of my son’s breakfast and relatively on time with my tummy full of something other than a stress-induced ulcer
I realise that Uncle Toby’s porridge won’t help with my hair, or my clean clothes (in fact I’m sure to slop it down myself).. but it sure will help my poor breakfast-deprived, acid filled tummy and since it’s quick, it’ll also assist with me being on time.. And that alone would be a win for me!
My dream morning has changed. When I was a single mum to a teeny baby, then sleepless toddler, I dreamed of sleeping until 7am. Then, I used to dream that my preschooler could make her own freaking porridge! Now, life has changed again and I’m awake at 5am preparing for my last Uni exam- my new partner is snoring next to me and my kiddo sleeps through the night at last, I will make them porridge in an hour or so. Never would’ve dreamed this reality but it’s pretty great. So my dream is trivial- the proper uncle Toby’s stuff instead of our home brand porridge. And tomorrow: a sleep in!!! XxJ
Hi Lori,
I used to love reading your blog, but these product endorsements are getting too much. It’s kinda insulting to your followers. Porridge Smorridge!
People need to earn there $$$ somehow.
Emma, it’s not compulsory to follow.
Welcome back Lori!
My dream morning would be spent at a day spa getting a massage and a mani/ pedi followed by a quiet breakfast (eggs Benedict, cooked by someone else!) and a coffee (all consumed while still hot!).. While someone else is at home getting 3 grumpy kids up, dressed and fed 3 different breakfasts (god forbid they could just have the same thing and make it easier for mummy!), lunches made, bags packed, hair done and wrangled into the car and off to school..
I had just clicked on to comment that I miss your ‘real life’ posts too, like from Tiny Train Town. I used to check your page every day for years. Product sponsorship is great, but just miss hearing about yourself. Take Care Lori. Katie.
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Lori,
I miss hearing about what’s really going on in your world.
Having followed your blog for a long time I’m sad that the majority of your posts don’t give us an insight into what’s really going on for you but are instead in response to a product endorsement.
Will we hear about your world again soon?
I hope all is well and that the product posts are because you are not able to speak about where you are at.
Much love
My dream morning happens most mornings: a snuggle with the man I love, he kisses me and says I’m beautiful, even with my unwashed face and scratchy skn. And when he leaves for work, he presents me with my engagement ring. Every morning he tells me he wants to marry me.
My dream morning is my reality.
Hope you’re well x
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Lori,
I miss hearing about what’s really going on in your world.
Having followed your blog for a long time I’m sad that the majority of your posts don’t give us an insight into what’s really going on for you but are instead in response to a product endorsement.
Will we hear about your world again soon?
I hope all is well and that the product posts are because you are not able to speak about where you are at.
Much love
With a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and some sultanas added before I pop it in the microwave, some quick oats sachets would help put a smidgen of luxury back into my now totally unglamorous, baby-caring morning.
Great to see you back Lori! Only give us what you can spare, xox
Given that my dream morning doesn’t start before 10am, Uncle Toby’s Quick Oat sachets are perfect for my family as my kids are old enough to make it themselves! The milk line on the packet makes it super easy to understand too. And on those rare occasions I get to stay in bed til 10 (not as often as I like), Uncle Toby’s Quick Oats are perfect then too… yay!
My ideal morning would be to roll out of my enormous beautifully dressed bed, grab a freshly juiced pineapple juice, and jump into my private villa pool, preferably somewhere in remote Bali.
In reality, I’m dragging myself out of bed when the alarm goes off, putting on fleecy lined track suits and uggy’s and not until I eat my Uncle Tobys’ does it feel like my dream morning.
Ah that warm cozy feeling…
LORIIIIIIIII!!! I have really missed you. I’m glad you’re back, and hope all is ok. Let me tell you something really scary – after years of being woken up early by small boys, these days I cannot sleep beyond about 7am. And they are still in bed at 10 now! Jenny D
I agree mornings suck! I’d love to sleep past noon too.
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It would help me achieve my dream morning by not having to scream at the kids to hurry up and finish their breakfast. It would be a quick and easy start to the day while I run around sorting out school lunches and uniforms etc plus I know it will keep them going until lunchtime
Living here in the hills it is always colder than most places. A good warm breakfast would be the go, and my son would love the berry variety.
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My dream morning is any morning where I sleep past 730.My eight and a half year old has finally mastered handling massive carton of milk we buy. This means she can make her own Uncle Tobys oats without my help, especially on the days when she gets up at 6am! Gotta love that.