Def: Pumpkin Patch

pump·kin patch

noun

1. 1.

   a collection of pumpkins, sometimes with fall themed carnivals
2. 2.

   a hotbed of blogging mamas furiously snapping pictures in hopes of getting a great shot for social media

I figure I might as well be one of them :) I was successful in case you didn't see the pics on facebook.

We had maybe 100 rejected shots, but here were some other contenders. 

He thought the stem was amazing and promptly tried to eat it.

I scored the seasonal onesie (IN SEASON EVEN) for a buck and couldn't even get a good shot of it.

Madre Dos drove all the way out there to spend the day with us and be my wingman.

This is what happened when I tried to get a picture of the kids together.



So Madre Dos held them.

And a half second later they start doing this.

J also has an obsession with poles. She has to touch ever one she sees, including all 7 for handicapped parking on the way to the gym doors. Unless I'm actually early to a class, then she can walk right by them no problem. but when I'm late, every.single.one. This time she was able to play to her heart's content.

I hope it doesn't portend her future career.

Madre Dos along meant I actually got some pictures with me in them too.

We went to Vertuccio Farms again since we had such a great time two years ago. They expanded their entertainments.There was a barrel train.

A giant air pillow.

Bouncing pony things

Feats of strength

Duck pump races, where J would have spent the entire day.

She stayed until she had it all to herself

All of the ducks are mine!

 Seriously, sheer delight.

We might have to make it a yearly tradition, just for this sign.

She milked the pretend cow.

Enjoyed the mini maze

Then there was the tube slide, There was another one twice as tall next to it and she went down both repeatedly all on her own. It made my heart beat faster just being up that high, but she loved it. As she'd go down she'd yell, "YAHOO!" and bring a smile to all the onlookers.

We also made friends with the pot belly pigs and goats.

She successfully fed it a weed.

We went into the corn maze. They freak me out a bit because I hate not being able to leave somewhere when I want to, but I managed the anxiety by not attempting to go through the whole thing.

Of course she won't pose with me.

You might notice Puppy joined us on this adventure. He's a big hit in our family, especially with M. I wish I could bottle the giggle that he was making. I'm pretty sure it could heal the world.

And so ends the Halloween posts! We might eventually get into November :)

Def: Blink

blink  (blngk)

v. blinked, blink·ing, blinks

v.intr.

1. To close and open one or both of the eyes rapidly.

2. To look through half-closed eyes, as in a bright glare; squint.

3. To shine with intermittent gleams; flash on and off.

4.

a. To be startled or dismayed.

b. To waver or back down, as in a contest of wills: "This was the first genuine, direct confrontation between this administration and the Soviets. It was the U.S.A. that blinked" (Zbigniew Brzezinski).

5. To look with feigned ignorance

6. The amount of time it takes your baby to go from this

to this.

No really, she did it the same week. I thought there would be a month or two of crawling before the standing kicked in. Nope. She did it the same week, I've just been chasing her for a month before managing to snap a picture. She pulls herself up onto anything these days.

*sigh*

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is my life. I feel like I'm babysitting instead of being the mom. Now that she is pushing 8 months, I guess I can't use the "I just had a baby" excuse anymore either. Please excuse me while I turn into a motherhood cliche and cry about how my baby is growing up so fast. *sob sob sob* Have a*sniff* happy *sniff* weekend.

Definition: Door Stop

door·stop 

n.

1. A wedge inserted beneath a door to hold it open at a desired position.

2. A weight or spring that prevents a door from slamming.

3. A rubber-tipped projection attached to a wall to protect it from the impact of an opening door.

 

4. Best. Baby toy. Ever

Def: Exersaucer

Def: Exersaucer

noun
1. A freestanding, garish devise, used to barter more time for eating, peeing, blogging, and various activities best accomplished without infant help.


This is me during my first walker experience.

Since walkers have been banned by my doc (apparently kids get hurt in them a bunch, mostly by finding stairs), here is J's her first encounter with the exersaucer.

 Hope this adds a little happy to your weekend!

Def: Weekday and Cinco de Mayo

weekday [ˈwiːkˌdeɪ]

n

1) any day of the week other than Sunday and, often, Saturday

2) a term created by people who can actually distinguish between days of the week in order to look forward to a 2 day reprieve from work.

I was in error earlier this week when I corrected my mother on what day it was. I honestly believed it was Wednesday when in all actuality it was Tuesday.

Such is my life.

Since I no longer write the date on the board daily, I was happily surprised to read internet Cinco de Mayo well-wishes the day of. When did May get here? I think I'm stuck in 2010. I thought to mysef, "If I knew it was Cinco de Mayo, I would have planned to make Mexican food!" But I figured, why not  have a little last minute soiree? (I guess fiesta would be more appropriate but I'm studying French these days)  About 3pm I made the decision and threw some pollo in the crockpot. Text invites went out around 5pm and my market run commenced at 5:15. Actual food prep started at 6 and guests arrived at 6:30ish. It was a little hurried, but turned out wonderful. Husband even made it despite working 2nd shift. And special shout out to Aaron who was the official grill master extraordinaire.

 After buying lots of margarita mix in college for all of my roommates' virgin drink parties, I have come to an important conclusion: It is expensive and doesn't taste very good. So for our festivities I made a Maidename style Icee. Fill a blender full of ice, 1 packet Flavoraid (not even name brand Koolaid in the name of frugality), 1cup (or less) sugar, and enough water to make the ice float. Voila! This drink was a major boost to my babysitting franchise as a tween because anyone under age 10 thought I possessed the drink magic reserved for gas station runs with Dad. Much better than the $10 mixer and costs a whopping 50 cents. I had the dollar store glasses from my sissy's 21st mocktail party, slid a lime around the edge, and dipped them in sugar. I believe a large part of alcohol's appeal is the presentation, which is easy to achieve sans liquor.

The spread

I discovered Bashas' has a big tub of carne asada marinating in the butcher section earlier this week so I picked some up after my market run to compliment my raspberry chipotle chicken. Sounds and tastes fancy, but it's really just chicken and a 1/2 bottle of sauce from Fresh and Easy.

Homemade pico de gallo with cilantro from my garden. Really, this whole event was inspired by the abundance of cilantro I have growing.

 Fresh made salsa too!

My dear friend Rachel

After her auntie kept giving her tastes, she become obsessed with the margarita glass

Officially over the sombrero

Sis wore her dress from Mexico and brought over a J-sized one

Our entertainment for the evening

SEEEEEEE!

The internet is a fabulous source of inspiration. Or feelings of inadequacy, depending on your mood before surfing. Every now and again my sister and I will complain to each other that we don't do anything cool. I want to live in a picturesque apartment in Paris for a year! I never get to go anywhere! I wish I had elaborately decorated parties! I want to be super creative and unique! I want to be a fancy cook and bake whimsical desserts! I wish I went on little adventures to the farmers market or cruiser bike rides on the boardwalk!  Thankfully the good Lord gave us each other as a reminder that we DO have awesome lives full of awesome things. "Um sis, remember your Italy vacation? The one that was just a few months after Hawaii? Or your trip to the goat farm? Or the amazing pesto you made from your garden?" (I've been trying to remember something cool I did that she reminded me of, but I can't remember anything cool I've done. Which is ironically what I'm trying to illustrate). After several of these conversations we have decided what makes other people's lives look so awesome and sparkly on the internet.

It's pretty pictures of things taken with a nice camera.

My fiesta was nothing really magical or out of the ordinary, but that first picture of the drinks makes all the difference. So remember, any event or object looks incredible in macro with a high F-stop. Your life is cool too if you just pick up a camera to see it. Even if all you have is a point and shoot, take 200 pictures and you'll get at least one that looks like Fairy Godmother did a number on it.

Although it does mean you get to be the completely self-involved person taking 100 pictures of the food you made. Just warning you :)