Fall is ringing the doorbell at our house. Bought a mum last weekend (as it gave a sad, knowing look to his friends when I put it in the cart). It’s barely hanging on, perched on my front porch, also known as the place where plants go to die. But I love fall, so I’ll buy another one today and probably at least one more before Halloween. The last two years fall brought with it the dreaded isolation, but not this fall. We’re free. To enjoy fall festivals, go trick or treating, find pumpkins on a hayride. We can’t wait. A family costume is happening. Darrin is thrilled.
Truth be told, old habits die hard so I’ll still carry a bag of Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer and can of mini Lysol in my purse. Maybe for the rest of my life, actually. We’re also moderately concerned about the entero virus, so we’re planning to keep a modicum of isolation practice in place. It won’t be a free for all, we’ll probably pass on big gatherings that would score high on the germy scale. If this is an isolation season for you, we’re thinking about you and know it will be hard. I found some really great life gifts when we were in isolation, actually. Total immersion with the 2 other people inside our house bubble gave me a unique perspective laced with a heavy helping of gratefulness for them. I’m linking some favorite blog posts from preemie sites about getting through isolation at the bottom-check them out.
Thank you so much for all the comments about my last post. It made my heart swell to read how happy you were to hear this kid singing. He does it all the time now. Everywhere. He doesn’t discriminate, he’ll sing at the top of his preemie lungs anywhere he is. His favorites are in his crib at night, in the car and amusingly to shoppers around him, in the aisles of any store we peruse. He’s pretty proud of himself too. Watch the video below to the very end to get a good chuckle.
Hoping fall brings you lots of happy stuff. One for me was a recipe for pumpkin pancakes, so I’m sharing below. It wasn’t quite sweet enough for me, but for normal folk, it should be just right. Enjoy.
Happy fall y’all. I’m off to buy a new mum.
Good Job
https://vimeo.com/107390579
Click here if you can’t see video
Blog Posts about Isolation:
Top 10 Ways to Survive Isolation (from Life with Jack)
Deck the Halls with Hand Sanitizer (from Preemie Babies 101)
Letter to Extended Family about Isolation (from An Early Start)
October 1st (from Fierce Pierce)
I didn’t have ground cloves so I used all spice. Also, for a bit sweeter, I might add a tsp of white sugar next time. Pumpkin Pancakes!
Pumpkin Pancakes (originally from Brown Eyed Baker)
INGREDIENTS:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat a griddle to medium heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk gently until completely combined. Set aside for 5 minutes.
4. Once the griddle comes to temperature, drizzle with vegetable oil and wipe off excess with a paper towel.
5. Ladle ⅓-cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the edges are set and the bubbles around the edges are open and set. Flip and cook on the second side for an additional 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Leftover pancakes can be frozen for up to 1 month.
First football game
Andrea M says
Thanks for the link up! I love the video – he has an excellent singing voice and will probably make you rich someday. 🙂 Also, I LOVE pancakes, and I will give these a try. Yum – fall!
Heather says
Of course! The pancakes were pretty darn good. I love everything pumpkin so I loved these 🙂
Shann says
So happy you guys get to experience all Fall has to offer this year! We were isolated the last 2 years too. I’m a little worried about the new virus this year, so we’ll be probably doing the same as you. BUT, happy fall from one Micro Preemie mama to another!
Heather says
Yay Shann! Happy fall to you too. Hope there’s a hayride in your future!