There are days when 5:00 comes and I just don't have the brainpower to follow a recipe. That's when I whip up a batch of pancakes for dinner. That's what happened yesterday. . . .
It all started when we woke up to snow. That's right, snow! The last time it snowed here my three-year-old daughter was 15 months old. She has never seen snow that she can remember. It wasn't much snow, just what I call a skiff. In North Carolina snow takes precedence over everything. All the schools cancelled for the day and the local news trumped Good Morning America and all the other morning news programs. I'm not afraid so I got the kids ready to leave a little earlier for Tristan's 9:00 office visit. Hardly anyone was out. I thought I would get to the doctor's office early, Tristan would be seen early and we would go home early so I could give him a quick nap before we had to go to the realtor's office in Chapel Hill. Wrong!
When I arrived at Duke Peds they had no record of Tristan's appointment. I knew they gave me a paper the last time I went in for his six-month visit because that's what I was waiting for when the Stranger Discipline incident happened. The clerk told me to sit down and wait and maybe someone would cancel because of the snow. I sat down and let the kids play and all of a sudden the waiting area got really busy. I kept waiting and finally the clerk told me we weren't going to get in this morning and we should schedule for next week.
I scheduled the appointment and it was just late enough that by the time I got home I would have had to drive back that way to go to Chapel Hill where I needed to drop off the earnest money check and sign the contract at the realtor's office. I was already half way there so I just went to the realtor's office hoping he would be there.
When I arrived there were two cars in the parking lot and neither were his. By this time Tristan had fallen asleep in the car and Kennedy had her shoes and socks off. I locked them in the car and went inside really quick just to see if he was there. The nice lady at the front desk told me he wasn't and tried to reach him. No luck.
I turned back around and took the kids home. I was not having a very productive afternoon. A while later the realtor called and agreed to bring the contract to my house at noon. I hung up the phone and started cleaning up my house. I had another realtor coming in the afternoon to talk about selling my house so I wanted it to look nice.
The rest of the afternoon went a little better. It was just busy. Both realtors came, at different times of course, and did what they came to do. I was a little shocked by the 6%-of-the-selling-price fee that the realtor charges and couldn't wrap my brain around it. By this time it was time to start thinking about dinner. I was fried so I made pancakes because I have made them at least a hundred times and know the recipe by heart.
Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/4 cups flour ( I like to use a white/wheat mix)
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Scrape down sides if necessary and blend again.
Cook on hot griddle and drizzle with warm syrup.
After I fed the kids and had a bite to eat it was time to take Kennedy to Little Gym. Just as she was putting on her shoes Chris got home. Just in time to watch Tristan.
After Little Gym our neighbor came over to babysit while Chris and I went to the Stake Center to meet with the president. After a lot of chit chat and some awkward questions my worst thoughts were confirmed. "We would like to extend a calling to you, Brother Kelsey, to be the new Elder's Quorum President." So here we go! More stress, more blessings, more opportunities to serve.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Hyper Speed
I feel like my life is in hyper speed right now. I thought things were going to settle down after the holidays. Boy, was I wrong!
I have been teaching Kennedy's preschool twice a week since the first of December. That takes a considerable amount of my time. I am not one to "wing it". Especially with four three-year-olds. If I give any hint of not being prepared they go wild. Besides, I really want to take advantage of the curriculum and teach the kids.
When I contacted a realtor to start looking for a house I had all intentions of just going out to look at neighborhoods then start a serious search around the middle of March. Now, here we are, preparing an offer for a house and it's barely the middle of January.
Today I went over to the prospective house to look at it one more time before we placed an offer. That included taking my two kids, which is always fun. Amazingly enough they were both angels and I was at the house for almost 1 1/2 hours! I went through everything again to make sure there was nothing that bothered me so much that I wouldn't buy the house. This house is a really well-built home and I hope things work out.
To top things off, our church ward is being split this Sunday. I got a call this evening from the stake president's office. The stake president wants to meet with Chris (and me) tomorrow evening. I looked at my calendar and saw a doctor's appointment for Tristan, a trip to the realtor's office for signing, an appointment with a seller's agent for our house and Little Gym for Kennedy at 5:55. I told him we could fit the stake president in at 7:30, which means I have to arrange for a babysitter and means that life is going to stay busy for a while. A meeting with the stake president and "bring your wife" never turns out to be just a light calling!
Life is busy but that doesn't mean I can't stop and take some time to count my blessings.
I have been teaching Kennedy's preschool twice a week since the first of December. That takes a considerable amount of my time. I am not one to "wing it". Especially with four three-year-olds. If I give any hint of not being prepared they go wild. Besides, I really want to take advantage of the curriculum and teach the kids.
When I contacted a realtor to start looking for a house I had all intentions of just going out to look at neighborhoods then start a serious search around the middle of March. Now, here we are, preparing an offer for a house and it's barely the middle of January.
Today I went over to the prospective house to look at it one more time before we placed an offer. That included taking my two kids, which is always fun. Amazingly enough they were both angels and I was at the house for almost 1 1/2 hours! I went through everything again to make sure there was nothing that bothered me so much that I wouldn't buy the house. This house is a really well-built home and I hope things work out.
To top things off, our church ward is being split this Sunday. I got a call this evening from the stake president's office. The stake president wants to meet with Chris (and me) tomorrow evening. I looked at my calendar and saw a doctor's appointment for Tristan, a trip to the realtor's office for signing, an appointment with a seller's agent for our house and Little Gym for Kennedy at 5:55. I told him we could fit the stake president in at 7:30, which means I have to arrange for a babysitter and means that life is going to stay busy for a while. A meeting with the stake president and "bring your wife" never turns out to be just a light calling!
Life is busy but that doesn't mean I can't stop and take some time to count my blessings.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
MLK Day
Chris had the day off yesterday so we met the realtor at the house. Chris wanted to see the inside. We both love the house. We'll see if things work out. We haven't even put our house on the market yet and Chris doesn't start his job until July 1 so we would have to request a long closing.
Kennedy went with us to look at the house. I left Tristan with my neighbor, Sheila. Kennedy wasn't acting herself and she fell asleep in the car on the way home which is unusual for her. We got home, had lunch and put the kids down for a nap. Shortly after that Kennedy started crying. We went up and she had thrown up. Poor thing.
We had Sheila over for dinner later that night. We had Chicken Caesar Burgers which were pretty good. I also made carmelattas for dessert which are always yummy!
Ed’s Carmelattas
32 Kraft caramels
1 cup rolled oats, quick cooking
10 Tbls whipping cream
1 tsp soda
3/4 cup butter, melted
6-oz chocolate chips
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 - 1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt caramels in cream in double boiler. Set aside. Mix melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and soda. Divide mixture in two parts. Pour half mixture in square pan. Bake 10 minutes.
Remove from oven. Put chocolate chips on top, along with nuts and melted caramels. Top with the other half of the mixture. Bake another 15 - 20 minutes.
Kennedy went with us to look at the house. I left Tristan with my neighbor, Sheila. Kennedy wasn't acting herself and she fell asleep in the car on the way home which is unusual for her. We got home, had lunch and put the kids down for a nap. Shortly after that Kennedy started crying. We went up and she had thrown up. Poor thing.
We had Sheila over for dinner later that night. We had Chicken Caesar Burgers which were pretty good. I also made carmelattas for dessert which are always yummy!
Ed’s Carmelattas
32 Kraft caramels
1 cup rolled oats, quick cooking
10 Tbls whipping cream
1 tsp soda
3/4 cup butter, melted
6-oz chocolate chips
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 - 1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt caramels in cream in double boiler. Set aside. Mix melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and soda. Divide mixture in two parts. Pour half mixture in square pan. Bake 10 minutes.
Remove from oven. Put chocolate chips on top, along with nuts and melted caramels. Top with the other half of the mixture. Bake another 15 - 20 minutes.
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