All told, and as of this writing we are 192 posts and 840 days into this blog that I began in 2022 as a commitment to myself to exercise my creative brain, as well as encourage me to pause and reflect, rather than always looking forward or wondering (read: stressing) about what might come next. I’ve been generally faithful to a weekly entry of 1,000 words or more, every Sunday at 8:00am, as well as a brain-teaser, or puzzle to help stretch the brain mid-week. Not so long ago, we added in the kid’s contributions to the latter, where they are given an opportunity to present their talented brains to the world via Eniigma Kids. I’m not generally one for publicly celebrating my own efforts, but I will admit that I am proud of myself for keeping this up, even on weeks when either:
- I am just not in the mood to write/don’t feel like it/am tired
- I am not sure what to write about until 7:30am Sunday and I hack my way through it.
I try my best to keep things interesting, in part, though admittedly not as much for the audience as much as for myself. Writing in rhyme, testing my lexicon, sharing anecdotes, trying my best to be witty or funny; I use each week as an opportunity to reflect as best I can the mood I’m in and how I’m feeling. And with that said, in full transparency: I’m not just proud of myself, I’m happy with myself.
So why the pre-amble? Well, the point I’m taking the long way home on is that I have established a routine for myself; one that I am committed to and that gets noticed throughout the home. Alison is not only supportive and respectful of the time it takes to craft these entries, but she is my biggest encourager and has obviously been a part of my goal planning because, well – we communicate like any healthy partnership at any level should: romantic, platonic, professionals, or otherwise. Beyond Alison, however, the kids have come to know and respect my routine. They know the day and time in which I choose to write and they are honestly really fantastic at not disturbing me during that time, at least for the most part, which I don’t mean to say in a negative way.
As of late, they are genuinely interested in what I am writing about and often times even provide the subject matter (which is usually ice cream, unicorns, or Great Wolf Lodge). This week, though…this week was different. This week they knew I was writing and were respecting my ‘space’ to focus on the words, but at the same time they were also showcasing interest in expressing their own thoughts and feelings. In part that’s perhaps because they now have the ability to read much of what I’m writing themselves and want to be a part of the conversation, in part it’s because they are individuals with valid thoughts of their own. Whatever the reason, they have both expressed interest in writing/contributing content to this themselves.
It started as them doing their own podcast show, which we’ve admittedly not been keeping up as much lately, but this week it evolved to wanting to share thoughts and ideas through my output. And what is creative writing if not a collaboration?
So here you are. Two things that Audrey and Nora wanted to share with the world this week:
The first, a message from Audrey to the internet at large, as she has been observing the behaviours of various devices and news sources, while gaining an appreciating for fact-checking. In the most serious of tones, she asked me to publish the following statement:
The Letter
Dear Internet People,
I don’t trust you. You have clearly not checked outside because it is not raining on this day and time, April 17th 6:40pm, even thought you tell the that it is. You need to check your sources.
I will not trust you again until you tell the truth for 1 whole week.
From Audrey.
The Recipe
Second: upon preparing for a recent Spring Fling and Bake Sale at our elementary school, we found ourselves in the kitchen, up to our elbows in sickie batter. That led to a request to share with the world our recipe for donut cookies.
What are donut cookies, you ask? well, they came about like this:
Audrey: “Why don’t we make these cookies into donuts?!”
Nora: “Yeah! That’s a great idea!”
Me: “Because we’re making cookies and donuts are a different recipe.”
Audrey: “But daddy, they just have to look like donuts and, besides, there’s no harm in trying.”
Nora” “We can just use the same cookie dough and put it in the donut pan.”
Me: stopping to reflect on all the lessons I’ve been trying to teach these girls, only to realize in that moment that I was neglecting to take my own guidance. So we made donut cookies:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs (large)
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- 1/2 cup micro mini eggs
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
Process:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
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Spray donut pan/tray with cooking spray and set aside.
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In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
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In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
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Beat in eggs and vanilla.
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Add the dry ingredients in thirds until combined.
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Add the micro eggs and chocolate chips and mix well.
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Place ~2 tbsp of dough into each donut tray.
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Bake in preheated oven for approximately 9-11 minutes. Take them out when they are just starting to turn brown.
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Let them sit for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
Sorry I don’t have photos of the final product…they worked wonderfully…we ate them.
And there you have it, the contributions of a 7 and 8 year old to their Dad’s weekly blog. I am sure they will develop further thoughts and words in future, but for now we will leave it there. Enjoy the cookies, and Internet: please do better.
I’m proud of you too. Your honest ramblings, relatable musings and creative perspective help ground me when I stop and take the time to read them. I love that you’ve shared all of this with us and glad I can still hang out with you when a busy life and distance limits us. Don’t stop! Unless you want to 🙂
– Colin