Power Outage

Yesterday, around 3:30 in the afternoon, we were busy, making cookies, entertaining a friend of Davis', cleaning, playing Candyland, when the power went out. Everything, A/C, washing machine, oven (not good for cookies), lights, etc., not a big deal, really. However, I learned something about my kids yesterday. About 5 minutes into our power outage they start complaining about how hot it is in our house. Really, I keep the thermostat in the house at about 77 degrees. I am pretty sure that 5 minutes after the power went out, it was still 77 degrees. But man, there was a rush to the sink, we need water, cold water, it is so hot - WOW!

I am thinking we need to turn the A/C off every once in a while, pretend it is not working. Save power, energy and help my kids see that a little discomfort every once in a while is not so bad...in fact, may be good.

Really?

I can complete our grocery shopping all year, December - August, knowing that the Brachs' Candy Corn is in the candy aisle and easily avoid it. But, as soon as the Halloween aisle appears (way earlier than it should) filled with Candy Corn it takes every ounce of will power I have to avoid buying a bag. It is crazy.

Last night, my girls and I had to grab snacks for Lucky Day at school, and there it was, the Halloween aisle. Of course, I had to walk down the aisle, mistake number one, but I really couldn't avoid it. Of course, I threw a bag in my cart. We went up to checkout (as you may remember, I gave up sugar for the month of August) and I was ready to buy it - throw caution to the wind - I was going to eat it on my way home, stomache ache and all. Fortunately, the Don't Eat Sugar the Month of August Gods were looking out for me and as I was paying I realized I had removed my Discover card from my wallet earlier in the day (that is the only form of payment I carry) and left it at home. So, I left my cart at customer service, went home, dropped of Eden and Clara, returned to the store and in the mean time had convinced myself not to get the Candy Corn. Thank God. September does not look good for me.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Clara, Davis and Eden



Well, we did it. We went back to school today and back to work after a long, fun (some days more fun than others) summer. We were all up at the crack of dawn, me to ride my bike, my kids to get dressed. And we even managed to sneak in a few photos!

I survived, cried a little off and on throughout the day (okay every time I spoke of it), but realized that all was really good. I need to focus on work, both Bennett Schneider and GOOD artisan ice cream, and my kids need some structured time. All in all, a very happy day. On Monday, Clara came home from orientation and said to her dad, "Daddy are you going to miss us? Because after tomorrow we are leaving." If leaving always means they come home at 3:30 p.m., anxious to tell me all about the day and excited about tomorrow. I can get used to leaving!



For perspective ... Davis - Kindergarten 2006

I am ready!

Okay, all summer long, and especially for the last few weeks, I have been saying, and I believed it, that I wasn't ready for my kids to go back to school. I am going to be losing my twin daughters to kindergarten and that scares me. They are only five and they are my babies. That said...

Today, I decided I was ready. Is that bad? Does it make me a terrible, selfish parent? It isn't like my children are over demanding or bad. In fact, generally, they are extremely well-behaved. We have one more week. Unlike many schools in our area who started today, we are starting next Wednesday. I have to admit I was a little jealous watching all the moms and dads in our neighborhood walking their kids to school today. I have one more week, will we make it? Only if...

1. Eden stops the ridiculous whining she has become accustomed to the last few weeks. I know, she is the sensitive one, and I try to be sensitive to that, but does that mean it is okay for her to break down into complete tears because her mean mother made her go back inside and put shoes on to ride her bike? Wow!

2. Clara can accept the fact that watching Disney channel downstairs and a DVD in our room is not something any one person can actually do at one time. And no, I will not put two TVs next to each other! I must be the worst mother ever.

3. Davis acknowledges that the summer of 2010 can probably be renamed in our books as the "Summer of Davis" and take 45 minutes out of his day to sit and wait for his sisters to get haircuts, and, no, you can't bring your DS. Read a book. Which we did. He only complained twice. But the worst was the trip to grocery store after the haircuts. I have never heard a child say, "I am bored" so many times. What I wanted to say, but didn't, was, something along the lines of how riveting grocery shopping is for me. Oh well.

I'm ready...I think!

Speeding Up by Slowing Down

Lately, I have felt my life is in fast forward. I finish one thing and unfortunately feel like I need to get on to the next. I learned a very valuable lesson on Saturday morning about slowing down.

Saturday was a work day for me at Bennett Schneider. So that meant I was up early and off to the gym. Since I am taking a break from both running and weight training, I made it a swimming day. Now, I will admit I am not a good swimmer or a fast swimmer, but I have come to enjoy my hour long pool workouts. Meaning...it is so peaceful. I started swimming two years ago for two reasons 1) to have something to do while my piriformis was healing and 2) to be able to compete in the longer distance triathlons.

I did not bother to take swim lessons (I figured I took those in grade school) nor did I think form mattered. To me it was just a matter of getting in the pool and doing the laps. After my swim on Saturday morning, as I was leaving the outside pool heading back into the gym, a gentleman stopped me and asked if he could talk to me about my stroke. Slightly annoyed, I had somewhere to be, I stood and listened to his feedback about how I am not taking advantage of the strongest part of the stroke by waiting so long to bend my arm, blah, blah, blah. Okay, thanks...as I rushed home to get ready for work.

Fast forward, as my life seemingly goes, to Sunday night. Dave and I are sitting at my parents' table celebrating my mom's birthday and I bring up this pool incident. I stood up and demonstrated to Dave (who is an amazing swimmer) and my dad (who completed an Ironman Triathlon) the adjustments this gentleman told me to make. I was fully expecting some off-the-wall comment but was surprised to see my dad and Dave nod in agreement. Yep, that is exactly what you should be doing.

So, to test this new stroke adjustment I went straight to the pool this morning. Though today's pool workout should have been intervals, I decided to do the same workout I did on Saturday, just to compare. I will be damned. I swam the same distance five minutes faster than I did it two days ago. Now I know this is remarkable, because I have been trying for months just to knock a minute off that long swim.

Lesson learned...slow down, listen, you will never know what you will learn and from whom you will learn it. Though I will say that I still wonder how long that stranger in the pool on Saturday morning was watching me swim. Wierd. If I could thank him, I would.

Surprising Week

I have had a week full of very pleasant surprises I thought I would share:

1. A dear friend of mine wrote me a very delightful thank you note for nothing. Just a thank you. And as the owner of a stationery shop it means even more, because I know how rarely people write notes anymore.

2. My month without sugar and sweets (beginning August 1st has been surprisingly easy). Though I am making an exception for business related tastings (I had a GOOD artisan ice cream delivery today and I refuse to let an order go out the door without a taste) and my mom's birthday party on Sunday. However, I will say Thursday was not so easy. Why? Because I made this cake for a friend's birthday weekend and my favorite candy in the world might be Reeses' peanut butter cups. I should write a thank you note to the expensive cherries I ate while I baked and assembled.



3. My nine year old son, Davis, played fantastically well in a three day golf tournament ending Wednesday. He shot his best three rounds ever. And if you live in Kansas City you know that the weather this week has not been ideal. His endurance and desire to get back out there the next day in 100 degree heat was truly inspiring.




4. I had to give up running for a month. And I thought it would be hell. However, I have had a few great bike rides, swims and have started my pilates reformer sessions. It has been very pleasant to wake up pain free everyday this week. I could really get used to this.

5. Friday evening I went out to dinner with my longtime summer babysitter. I really even hate to call her that - she is much more a family friend than babysitter. I very rarely take a night out so it was quite enjoyable. Now I know this sounds terrible, but I was secretly hoping I would get home to find a house full of sleeping children (especially Eden and Clara). But, much to my surprise, their dad let them stay up until I got home. Once I got past the fact that I was tired and going to have to do the bedtime routine, I helped them up to bed, brush their teeth and find all the necessary bedtime accessories (blankets, stuffed dog, etc.). As I was tucking Clara into bed she asks, "Does God make the clouds?" I replied, "Yes. Why?" Clara replies, "Because he draws them good." Then rolled over, said good night and that was that. I really wanted to ask what made her ask me that, but the simplicity was so sweet that I didn't care. I just smiled and realized how glad I was to come home and find them still awake. What a nice surprise.

Saturday morning and Apple Fritters

We have a Saturday morning routine. I get up really early (say 5:30 a.m.), ride my bike to the gym, workout, ride home, eat, shower and head off to work. Dave heads to the gym while I am showering, comes home, mows the lawn (or mowers the lawn...as Eden would say), hangs with the kids. We usually meet at 5:00 mass then head home, grill out and hang with the family.

I was desperately craving something new Saturday and I didn't have to work. So, after we got up we went straight to the Overland Park Farmers Market where we grabbed all the fresh produce we needed for our Fire-Roasted Corn Salad, ate breakfast at Clock Tower Bakery, got Davis' hair cut at Sole Patch Barbershop in Corinth. After that we hung out at home, got our workouts done in the afternoon and had some great friends over for dinner!

The dinner was great, the time with some friends we hadn't seen in a while, even better. And to top it all off, we had homemade Apple Fritters (recipe below) with GOOD artisan ice cream in Vanilla Bean. Now my only experience with Apple Fritters up to this point was the kind my husband buys on the rare Sunday when we get donuts - and those to me are not good. So these, were a real treat.

What a great day! Enjoy!

Apple Fritters "ad hoc at home"

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
3 large Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious apples
Canola oil for deep-frying
Powdered sugar for dusting

If you like, serve them with Vanilla Ice Cream and a drizzle of honey. They’re best immediately after they are fried, so serve them hot.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Lightly beat the egg and milk in a small bowl. Whisk into the dry ingredients until combined. The batter can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 hours. Peel the apples and slice the fruit from the core. Cut the apples into 2-inch-long, thick matchsticks. Fold into the batter. Heat about 1H inches of oil to 325°F in a wide deep pot. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet and line with paper towels. Using two forks, lift up about 5 to 6 of the apple matchsticks from the batter, allowing the excess batter to drip back into the bowl—the fritter should be irregular in shape, with just a very light coating of batter—and add to the hot oil. Add a few more fritters to the pot, without crowding, and fry for about 5 minutes, turning the fritters from time to time, until crisp and golden brown. Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to transfer them to the paper towels, and fry the remaining fritters in batches. Stack the fritters on a serving platter, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar, and serve immediately.