Sep 10

What I Learned From The Power Outage

How I wish I had been better prepared. I should have had more ice, I wish I had purchased more canned goods. I lucked out and had just enough diapers for Agnes.

The power outage taught me a few things though…

  • Your eight year old will be the first one to freak out.
  • It is spooky in town at night when you can hear people and you can’t see them.
  • The town will go into a frenzy if there isn’t Wal-Mart available.
  • Yearly air shows are creepy if you don’t have power. We started thinking zombie apocalypse a little too quickly.
  • Night falls quickly, so don’t procrastinate.

Seriously, I really wish I had been better prepared…

  • All day on Friday I was thinking I should bake some cookies and bread. That would have been helpful on Saturday.
  • We need to own more candles. With the little toddler in the house who hates candles, I only have four. That isn’t quite enough when darkness falls.
  • Always charge your cell phone (which I hadn’t) and have enough gas in your car (which I didn’t).
  • I really need to keep more non-perishable items in the house, and powdered milk too.
  • You can never have enough juice boxes, granola bars, and crackers on hand. They will be the first thing to go with three hungry kiddos.
  • Make sure you have an ample supply of crayons, coloring books, reading materials, puzzles, and board games on hand.
  • Seriously use every bit of daylight you have.
  • Oh, and one more thing I NEED COFFEE!!! I’m not cheerful without it.

I was surprised though…

  • We pulled together quickly, stayed calm, and kept the kiddos calm too.
  • We rationed our supplies that we had on hand.
  • We were prepared for the outage to last much longer, and we were not worried.
  • We spent quality time together, and the kiddos had fun playing together.
  • It really wasn’t that bad, it was a nice break from my addiction to all things electronic.

We were really lucky though.  The weather was nice, and the power was back on late Saturday night. I’ve never seen everyone so happy. I have to say that even though it was a long weekend, it was a lot of fun. The kiddos played well together, and James and I got to spend a lot of time reading. We even snuck in a nap too. It was quiet in the evening, and nice to have all of the windows open in the house. We turned the power outage into an indoor camping adventure, and it was pretty fun.

I cleaned up the yard a bit on Saturday, and got the freezers cleaned out on Sunday. The kids even got a day off from school, so they were pretty happy about that. It will be good to get back to normal again, and seriously, I’m stocking up on candles.

 

 

 

Sep 8

Power Outage

We had a bad storm roll through yesterday. We are all o.k. though. We got out a bit to survey the damage and there are lots of trees down, and several buildings damaged too.

The power is out. With all the damage they are projecting Sunday evening before it will be back. It will be o.k. though. We’ll camp indoors and play some board games.

Sep 7

August’s Favorite Photos

In August we said good-bye to the lazy Summer days, and hello to a new school-year.

The first day of school snuck up on us.

Thade is in a new school this year. So far the third grade is going well.

Dylan enjoyed the Summer vacation, but he was anxious for school to start.

This is his first year at kindergarten, and he loves it. He is always anxious to get to school.

Agnes was a little bummed when both of the boys headed off to school.

She is into everything these days.

She’ll be turning three next month.

She is already asking if she will go to preschool too. I’m not quite ready for that.

The kiddos became full-blown Whovians this Summer. I have no idea just how many hours we spent watching Doctor Who.

There were lots of messes and video game levels were created too. It was a fun Summer.

I got out a bit this Summer, and rediscovered my love for antique shops.

I spotted this beauty at Trader Daves.

I spent a lot of the Summer sewing too. I’ve set up a little sewing room for myself in the foyer.

We had a few late Summer flowers, but the heat was just miserable this year.

I started a new collection.

I really want to go back and visit this shop again soon.

I’m piecing together a few quilts. This little one is for Agnes. She loves pink and purple.

The puppy is getting bigger.

She has also been into everything…

The kitty turns thirteen this year… He hasn’t been as playful as he used to be…

He loves to nap on whatever project I’m working on.

We’ll see what September brings our way.

Sep 6

Falling Leaves

I think we are all ready for Autumn to get here. The weather hasn’t changed too much, but the leaves are already falling.

Agnes is ready for Fall!

Me too. I can’t wait for cooler temps, layered clothes, any excuse to drink hot cocoa, and of course pretty Autumn trees. Hurry up Fall!

 

Sep 5

August’s Tasty Treats

August flew by way too quickly. We spent most of the month at home and indoors, the heat was miserable. The awful Summer heat didn’t keep me out of the kitchen though.

We kicked off August by going on a date night. I have loved my Summer date nights with my hubby. We went to one of our favorite local spots, and enjoyed a quiet meal together.

We enjoyed some tasty Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream on a hot Summer night.

In August the kiddos were craving Cinnamon Rolls.

They were super tasty!

I made homemade pizza a few times in August too.

I made lots and lots of Chocolate Chip cookies too.

I got back into the habit of baking Homemade Bread. I love to bake bread, I need to do it more often.

My kiddos love Breadsticks on Spaghetti night. They can eat an entire batch.

I got out my yellow Pyrex bowls to make some Cakerdoodles.

I made another Chocolate Bundt Cake too.

One Sunday morning James took the kiddos out for Donuts. It was so quiet in the house.

I made homemade pizza before the start of the school year. This time around I proofed the dough in four separate bowls, instead of just one big bowl. It worked out well, and gave me four uniform large pizzas.

When the boys were back to school, I made them some Chocolate Chip cookies to enjoy when they got home. I missed them like crazy.

I also made a batch of Iced Sugar Cookies. These work out well in lunch-boxes.

Speaking of lunch boxes. I whipped up a batch of Homemade Brownie Dough to make little snack cakes for the boy’s lunches.

These Mini-Chocolate Chip topped homemade brownies were a huge hit. They were gone in an instant though.

I’m going to make them again soon.

We finished off the month with one more batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies, and a yummy Vanilla Cake too.

Now that September has made it, I’ll be in the kitchen a lot. We are redecorating the kitchen, and I’ve got a cookie catering gig this month too. I’ll be baking lots of treats for the kiddos too. With school in session, the little guys are always hungry.