Pumpkin Patch on a spur of the moment

Last Tuesday when we were finally well again and enjoying one last day of fall break, my mom asked if we'd like to go to the pumpkin patch.  They closed at 5:00 and it was roughly 1:30 when she texted me.  I had just laid Avery down for a nap, so I asked if we could go in thirty minutes.  She said there was no rush and that I could let Avery sleep.  So I had the boys lay down too for their quiet time.  Avery woke up about 45 minutes later, but both boys were then deep asleep!  Within fifteen minutes, I had to wake Michael because his blood sugar got too low, and Noah woke up about twenty to thirty minutes after that.  So I quickly gave the kids a snack and texted my mom that we were all awake and ready to go.

We headed out around 3:45 and it took us exactly 15 minutes to get there.  Now Michael and my mom had been to this exact pumpkin patch last fall during Michael's kindergarten field trip, so she knew right where to go.  It was SO CUTE!  She paid our $10 fee to get inside (Avery was free!) and we had about an hour to pal around before closing time.

We rode the train first (read: covered trailer driven by a massive tractor!) to the pumpkin patch.  I was astounded to see flat white pumpkins, mint green (or aged copper) pumpkins, dark green pumpkins, and of course, the tried and true orange pumpkins.  My mom and Michael picked orange ones.  Noah picked a small orange and dark green one, and I picked a mint green one.  So fun!  Avery liked looking (and trying to carry) all the "balls."

Once we got back to the train station, I grabbed a wagon that they loan out to guests.  Michael, Avery and I carted the pumpkins to the van while Mom and Noah found our next location of fun-- the corn crib!  A small shed was set up with corn kernels and slides, dump trucks, etc.  Avery loved showing us the free snacks. ;)  We had to really work to keep her from eating them!

Next, we went to the huge slide.  Right next to the slide is a tunnel made out of the same pipe material.  This is great for younger kids!  I took Avery down the slide once, and she would've gone a million more times, but I satisfied her by letting her walk through the tunnel instead.

Next we saw the chickens, goats (aka "pup pups" to Avery), and the cow.

Then we headed back to the slide while Michael sneakily crept to the corn cob gun station and fired a gun (with no corn cob in it-- so it was just air, but it made a deafening noise nonetheless and scared the teenager who was supposed to be manning the station but was playing on the swingset instead!). It was hilarious to hear this sound and then whip around to see my own wide-eyed child standing at the helm.  Oh well.  Nothing was hurt, but I did tell him not to touch that again.

Next, we did a water and rubber ducky race.  We then got a quick picture of me and my kiddos in front of a pumpkin display.

By this time, it was 5:02, so we wrapped it up and called it a night.  My kids were dirty, tired, and had shoes and pockets full of corn kernels. :)  I kept finding them in my dryer days later. :)  Everyone got a bath and a story and then bed.  It was a great great day, and I'm so glad we went!!!  I'd definitely go back.

Until next time,
Much love, Reba

The Best Laid Plans

We had all intention of heading to the beach last weekend. On Monday, we told the boys about the trip and they were super excited! We knew it would be a short trip since Aaron doesn't actually get all the real holidays off of work. So although Michael would be off on Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th for Columbus day and fall break, Aaron would not be off on Columbus day. His company gives days off for popular holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas-- I mean, they can't risk being called a Scrooge. But instead of Columbus day & Veteran's day, he gets Black Friday & New Year's Eve.  These "holidays" are always nice when they come along, but it's annoying when we realize that he misses out on some actual holidays. Anyway, this meant that we'd be heading to the beach on Friday after he got home from work, and we'd come back home on Sunday afternoon.  Then the kiddos and I would get Monday & Tuesday to relax at home and pull ourselves together for another work/school week. 

On Tuesday of last week, Aaron came home & said that his supervisor was taking off on Friday and Monday for vacation, and Aaron's engineer counterpart was flying out of state over the weekend to take care of client business.  Big deal, you say. Normally, yes. These things would just be trite details. But this also meant that Aaron was put on "on call" duty for the guys out in the shop over the weekend. This duty never falls to Aaron unless these other two guys are both out of town at the same time. So of course that would happen when we already made plans. Such is life, right? But we're nothing if not determined. We were going to fight for this beach trip. We wanted the relaxation. We wanted to celebrate our 9th anniversary (albeit kids in tow). We wanted to be the heroes to our kids and show them that we could still go to the beach. 

Aaron was pretty sure that the guys in the shop were working on projects that would not require an in-person visit from him. He said he'd verify on Thursday & Friday whether they'd actually need him, and he'd decide on Friday at lunch if we could still go. This meant that I'd be waiting til Friday at lunchtime to pack for all five of us. We prepared the boys that Aaron might have to work, but that we'd really try to go to the beach if we could. 

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning (specifically at 1:42am, 3:00am, & 5:40am) Noah got sick. Hello, stomach bug. Why shouldn't we have expected you? 

I took Noah to the doctor that morning and got him some nausea meds & ruled out post concussive syndrome (he fell and hit his head on Monday afternoon, and vomitting is a sign of concussion). A concussion was ruled out, and it was just a stomach virus- but a contagious one. Those are disheartening words for any mom to hear. 

I spent the rest of the day making sure Noah was okay. My parents came over that evening to give us an anniversary card, but didn't stay long. 

Sure enough, the next morning, Avery woke up with throw up in her crib. That was the only time she got sick though. Aaron was also sick on Thursday, which meant he was out of work that day. I was nervous for Michael because a stomach illness & Type One Diabetes is a bad combination.  Aaron struggled the whole day, but was able to rally enough to go to work on Friday to see if the shop guys would need him over the weekend, and to see if he thought he could make it through a 5 hour car ride that evening. By lunch, he was feeling much better, so I commenced to packing. 

That evening, we headed out. During the 1sf half of our trip, we pass through 4 cities. The 2nd half of the trip is pretty rural and doesn't offer many suitable locations for bathroom breaks. Once we got to the 4th city, Aaron admitted that his stomach cramps were back and he couldn't make it through the rest of the trip, especially through all the rural areas.  So we turned around. It was about 7:45pm and Michael was the only kiddo awake. We told him what was going on & he was very understanding. I told him that I'd take him & Noah to the movies the next day and we'd have a lot of fun. 

We got home around 11pm. Noah was disappointed that we were in the garage & not at the beach. Sweet boy.  Once I explained what happened, he was fine. He was really tired, so he pretty much went right back to sleep. We got Avery transferred to her crib. She was happy, and I know it was much smoother to put her in her own crib for the night than it would have been to put her in a pack and play at the beach in unfamiliar surroundings. I briefly unpacked and Michael reluctantly went to bed. Aaron & I got ourselves settled down. And then at 1:45am, I got sick. I knew it was only a matter of time until Michael got it. Sure enough, at 6:00am it hit him too.  We spent Saturday lounging around and napping. I was so happy that God gave Aaron the nudge to come back home. I would NOT have wanted to handle a sickness at the beach. Michael got sick at 2:30 the following morning, so we took it easy on Sunday as well. 

On Monday, Aaron headed back to work and the kids and I ventured as far as the most nearby grocery store (4 miles away). Today, I'm anticipating another slow day just to fully recuperate before heading back to school tomorrow. 

The best laid plans don't always work out. But I've learned that's totally okay!

Until next time,

Much love, Reba

October!

Yay!  It's finally October-- my favorite month!

Today I begin my Field Experience.  I went to school super early this morning to meet the teacher I'll be working with.  He had no clue that I was assigned to help him.  To say I'm disappointed in the communication of the university with the school system is an understatement.

Anyway, I introduced myself and what I was assigned to do, and he said I could show back up at 9:30 which is when his first class of the day starts (he had his planning period first thing this morning). 

So since I live nearby the high school, I headed home to enjoy my coffee and pal around here for a little bit before heading back to work.  I'm so excited to see how he runs his class and where I might be able to include myself in future classes.  I imagine today I'll just be taking a lot of notes and making observations.

This week is a full one for us with me doing actual field experiences, and then getting prepared to go to the cottage this weekend. 

Next week on Friday night, I'm hosting an Intro to Essential Oils class for local ladies.  I'm excited to share why we started incorporating essential oils into our routine and how we've seen their effectiveness.  After my in-person class, I plan to host a facebook class so that others who don't live nearby can see what it's all about too!

I also have to make myself sit down and sort through the clothes and baby items that we no longer use so that I can get ready for the upcoming consignment sale!  Drop-off starts October 13th and I haven't entered anything into the system yet.  Why do I do this to myself?!

I hope to write an update later about how my first day of field experience went!

Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba