Pumpkin Pickin'

*Monkey refusing to have his picture taken...can you even see him? Head to toe orange (his favorite color) had him lookin' like a little punkin!

On Saturday, my Mama, the babes and I took a day trip to the mountains to get our pumpkins. Yes, there are plenty of pumpkin patches a lot closer, but it just isn't the same. The day was wonderful...the 2 hour drive went by quickly with Bug napping the whole way and my Monkey entertained with the beautiful colors of the changing leaves and the mountains in the distance. The temperature continued to drop as we climbed the mountain and as we made our stop at the pumpkin patch we were greeted with the first snow flurries of the season. Yes, in fall, not winter. We quickly picked out our pumpkins (I selected two for the Bug because I'm not sure which she'll be able to fit into) and Monkey picked out two for himself.

We then did a little scenic driving before we went to lunch at a Japanese restaurant. And here's where I killed my Monkey's desire to be a fire fighter for Halloween. He got a bit scared when the chef lit a fire on the grill, and smart Mommy tried to comfort him by reminding him that he was going to be a fire fighter for Halloween and that the chef knew how to safely make the fire,so there was no reason to be scared. Well, he fixed that right up for me by declaring that he would NOT be a fire fighter; he'd rather be scared of the fire. He now desires to be a Buzzy Bee...great. We don't have a Buzzy Bee costume in our dress up clothes, so I guess I'll have to find a way to make a Buzzy Bee.

We ended our trip by getting some mountain apples and then a trip to Kilwins where my Mama and Monkey ate icecream (yes in snowy weather). I opted for one of their monsterous caramel apples covered with pecans and chocolate. It was heavenly! A great fall day!

I Can See Where This Is Going...(straight to my hips)

I love Fall cooking just as much (if not more) than Summer cooking. I love the fresh vegetables of summer, but Autumn and Winter food is what warms my soul. I stumbled across the recipe blog site Our Best Bites and it has inspired me to get to cookin'. So far, I've made the Cinnamon Bun Popcorn, the Creamy Corn Chowder, and the Apple Dumplings. Which, wow!, the Apple Dumplings were SO easy and possibly the most sinful food I've ever eaten! I really wish I had taken the time to take a few pictures, but it never crossed my mind until I was elbow deep in soup and dumplings with icecream. Thanks to these two incredible women I am pretty sure that last 10 pounds of baby weight will be with me through the winter. (But hey, I'm not complaining as long as I get to eat delicious food like this!)

A Holiday

I'm on holiday!! It was a bit difficult making it through the summer while all of my friend's and their families were off on their vacations to the beach. I kept thinking, just 3 more months, 2 more months, 1 more month until I'll be on the beach looking out at the blue gray waves. October actually better suits my mood...not too hot, a little more gray, decidedly less crowded. We changed it up and decided to stay at a high rise (rather than the inlaws place) and I was a bit skeptical at first. We mostly decided to do it so we could spread out, leave our crap on the floor and not feel guilty about it, and the number one reason...the water park! For a family with a 3 year old, this trumps all. As I type this, the RedHead and my Monkey are downstairs in the lazy river or going down water slides. My skepticism was immediately put to rest the moment we entered our 12th floor suite and I looked out over the balcony at the endless ocean and felt the salty breeze on my face. I think we've found our hotel for the next 5 years...or 10. So now I'm going to get off of this computer and go enjoy my holiday.

This made me smile

It made me smile even though it's sad...and often true.

Why I Love Preschool

I know us mothers like to spout off reasons to send our babes to preschool...to prepare them for Kindergarten, to improve their social skills, to allow them time with children their own age, to give them a break from their siblings, but I know the truth.

Those are just added perks...what I really love is:
*getting to run my errands with one less child
*letting the Bug take her morning nap while I sip coffee and surf the Internet uninterrupted.
*tidying up the house without someone going right behind me and undoing what I've just done.
*getting to have another preschool mom over and actually have adult conversation (not to be confused with "playdate talk" where you have to keep one eye and one ear on the children).
*getting to do my Bible study in peace

These are the real reasons I and, I hazard to guess, many other moms love preschool!

How I Love Online Shopping...

Being trapped under a nursing baby for the past 5 months has afforded me the chance to discover many new online stores, much to my RedHead's dismay. I don't actually do a lot of purchasing (guilt about spending money when I don't have a job gets the best of me), but I do love to fill my online shopping cart with my wishlist of items. My new favorite site is www.horchow.com and what I'm loving right now is this . Maybe for Christmas...

Daily Favs

These are my two favorite things today...

1. Feeling so proud of my Monkey as he swam by himself. This coming from the boy who stood at the door, face pressed to the glass screaming for me to save him on his first day of practice 2 months ago. Now he LOVES it and I'm so glad I bribed encouraged him to stick with it (costing me $1 a lesson without tears).


2. The Bug's fat baby feet! I could just kiss them all day long!