From Cup to Cup: a hazy day breakfast and activity

Over here in the greater Portland area, we have been experiencing some nasty smoke blowing up from California and down from BC.

It breaks my heart thinking of how bad it has been in the areas affected by the dreadful fires and all the people who have lost their homes.

Sorry, not such a cheery start to a post...

Anyway, we have not been taking the warnings about unhealthy air conditions too seriously, but after a park play date yesterday morning that left me with a sore throat and headache, I figured its time to quarantine us inside the house for a day.

Perhaps it was similar ailments (or perhaps just the two bottom molars that have been cutting through her gums for the past few weeks) which plagued Natalie last night, and woke us up for good around five this morning.

Lane finally got out of bed to shower and head to work at 5:30, and I rolled out when I was sure Nat had fallen back asleep for good around six.
Thankfully, this gave me time to myself to make breakfast, listen to the Bible, drink my (first) cup of coffee, and prepare a little activity for the kids.

And by "prepare" I just mean that I unfolded a big cardboard box, took out our bin of small toy cars, and set out some crayons, markers, and colored pencils. When the kids woke up we made a town, complete with roads, a coffee shop, BurgerVille, gas station, police office, houses, etc. (Judah contributed "dino statues" around the town)

The best part is that it starts out as an art project that takes imagination and creativity, and then turns into a big game of cars (usually involving "bad guy cars" and all the emergency vehicles).

Also, there was breakfast.
I usually start my day with a protein shake, and the kids have oatmeal or pancakes, or half shakes and toast. But this morning I had extra time, and I needed to use up the bread heels that had been accumulating in our fridge.

The great thing about French toast casserole is that it is super forgiving- you just throw in some ingredients, bake it, and it usually turns out great! It is also really filling. Like, really filling. Almost uncomfortably-full kind of filling (clearly, I ate too much of it)...
Here is the version I made this morning:

10 or 11 slices of bread (I used almost all whole wheat heels, plus a half hamburger bun thrown in for good measure)
1/4 cup butter + a couple more tablespoons for dotting the top
1 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
6 eggs
generous sprinkle cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup milk (maybe another 1/4 cup, depending on the heartiness of the bread you use)
2/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 9x13 casserole dish and stick it in the oven to melt. While it melts, cut bread into cubes. Take the dish out of the oven and swirl the butter to coat sides. Then place bread and remaining ingredients in the dish, mixing to coat everything well with wet ingredients.
Dot with remaining butter and bake until the egg is cooked through in the middle, but bread is not burning, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Enjoy!