Yesterday was labor day. The kids were home from school and the weather was a bit cooler. Dave had to work so it was just me and the kids. This was my plan for the day: Go to Costco and Whole Foods (for apple cider) and then come home and make apple cider donuts.
This is how the day actually went: Went to Costco, but they were closed. Went to Whole Foods and the only cider they had was a half gallon of (really yummy) spiced cider that was 8 bucks. I bought it anyway.
I then put some cider on to boil (because the recipe called for boiled cider) and it made my kitchen smell heavenly. That is, until I left the kitchen to attend to a fussy baby and the cider burned black as black and started smoking and set off my smoke alarm. After getting that taken care of and putting more cider on to boil (and watching it closely) I finally got around to making the donuts. The dough was delicious, but having never made donuts before and not having a donut cutter or an oil thermometer, they ended up tasting more like fried dough from the fair than real donuts. Still good, but not quite right.
Meanwhile, the kids, who I told couldn't watch any TV because I would not let them squander their last day of summer, found some wood outside and tried to make a football field goal post.
By 5:00 my house looked like this:
(And believe me, it was clean when the day started. Dave's parents were here Saturday and Sunday so they can testify. I had actually spent most of last week cleaning house.)
But, despite the setbacks in the day, I was okay with it. Ordinary days are still happy days. The kids were creative and cooperative, which is really quite extraordinary. I think that is why I like summer so much. The kids are just free to explore and play. I wish I could just step on brakes and make time slow down.
