October First

Today is October 1st.   Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!  September seemed to last forever, but now we finally turned the page on the calendar. 

This also means . . .
16 days until Fall Break (and still no plans)
30 days until Halloween
52 days until Thanksgiving
56 days until Book Fair
81 days until Christmas vacation
85 days until Christmas

I'm not going to lie, those numbers scare me just a little.   And now that I'm working retail, I know that those last few will be decidedly busier than normal.

Family, consider yourself on notice.   Start making those Christmas lists early or everybody gets socks!

Happiness and sadness . . .

I haven't checked in for about 10 days.  And while I remember the last 5 days pretty clearly, the 5 prior are a little blurry.

On Tuesday night, Matt left for his middle school band trip to Universal Studios in Orlando.  The band had the opportunity to record their own soundtrack (or at least a portion of it) to Despicable Me on site.  Bonus, since their "performance" was in a recording studio, no uniforms required.   The rest of the trip was spent enjoying Universal Studios, Island of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park. Matt had a great time, minus the 11 hour bus ride down, which was an overnighter.   He didn't get much sleep (reporting somewhere between 4-6 hours depending on the version of the story you get), but no matter, it's not enough for a kid who is grumpy when he gets less than 9.

Lucky for him, we saved him from the bus ride home by traveling to Orlando ourselves on Wednesday night.  Bassam, Gracie and I spent one day in Epcot and another in the Magic Kingdom, before meeting up with Matt on Friday night, then enjoying a relaxing 1/2 day around Disney Springs and then flying home.  

It was strange having only one kid while roaming the parks, but Gracie enjoyed getting to choose which rides we went on and where we headed next.  And given the number of unhappy children you see around the "happiest place on earth," only having one middle schooler (with no one to bicker with), was kind of sweet.  Still,  I was super glad to see Matt on Friday night and no longer felt like I had forgotten something. 

 Unfortunately, while we were in Florida we found out my dear Aunt Jane had passed away.  Jane is my dad's younger sister.  She was a wonderful light in this world and my heart is so incredibly heavy. I will forever keep her smile and contagious laugh in my heart.  As I was looking for photos of her today I was struck by this one of her and 5 month old Gracie.  Gracie is clearly as fascinated and delighted by her Aunt as I was.  Aunt Jane was one of a kind. 

So those are the highs and lows.   With fall break in the books, we are most certainly on a roller coaster ride (which by the way, Gracie has now decided she loves!) to the holidays. 

Hang on.

Indoor Pumpkin Patch

Today I decided to pull out my fall (but not Halloween) decorations.

I think I have a problem.

Falling through fall . . . .

So apparently it's just 41 days until Christmas.

I'm still catching my breath after 3 days full of Veterans Day assemblies and 2 parades.   Never mind the fact that I just managed to get Gracie to put her Halloween costume away.

I kind of wonder if part of my struggle with the rush of season seems to be the fact that up until a week ago, it was still over 80 degrees every day in Nashville.  What happened to fall?

Gracie mentioned something she wanted for Christmas last week and I kind of laughed.  Who's thinking about Christmas?  Certainly not me.   But it seems perhaps I should be because I have a feeling those 41 days will pass very quickly.

Say Cheese!

Today we conquered one of fall's greatest challenges.  

Family pictures.

We took them at beautiful Smith Park, which is just 5 minutes down the road.  There were numerous other families out doing the same thing.  Most of them had small kids, 85% of which were not happy to be there.  

Yeah, been there, done that.

Frazzled looking mamas trying to make their kids smile.   Multiple kids at the same time, no less.  It's not easy.   Matthew accidentally walked in the back of another family's shot. I apologized profusely and the mom looked at me and said, "It's okay.  I don't think we're getting anything great here."  Then she nodded towards a very grumpy looking toddler near her feet who had his back turned to the rest of the family.

I smiled and assured her it would get better.

We did add level of complexity to the session this year and brought Charlie.  When we were about 2/3 of the way through our session, Bassam ran home and got home.   I often wonder if he is superstitious and thinks the camera will steal his soul, because he really doesn't like looking at the camera.   He looks left.  He looks right.  He looks up.  He looks down.   Straight at the camera . . . not so much.

As our photographer, Chrissy, took the last few shots, there was another dog in the distance behind her.   Charlie looked straight on and she snapped away.  Here's hoping the rest of us had our eyes open and were smiling, too.

Pennsylvania getaway!

Just returned from our super fast, super furious and super fun fall break trip to Pennsylvania.  We were probably the only people who were traveling that were NOT heading to the beach, but this was a trip we wanted to take all summer and just couldn't make happen.

Besides, I'm back to being all pasty and what not so the idea of putting on a swimsuit again?  Noooooooo thank you.

Having said that, it was FREEZING Philly.  Yes, freezing means temperatures in the 50's during the day (mornings were 30's and 40's).  Actually, when the sun was out it was pretty nice, but when it got cloudy and the wind picked up?  BRRRRR!    I know I was born and raised in the Midwest, but I'm just not cut from that cloth any more.   While I did a dandy job packing the rest of the family, I under-packed myself a bit and didn't bring a warm enough jacket.   Luckily, we stumbled across an H&M walking to dinner and I picked up a cozy infinity scarf, a long sleeve tee to layer under a  sweater I had packed and some gloves.

What can I say?  I'm a southerner now.   Growing up, my mom had to nag me to zip up my coat when it was freezing outside.  Now I need gloves in the 50's.   #mybloodisthinner  #coldisrelative

Weather aside, we had an amazing trip.  We flew in on Friday morning and saw Valley Forge.  It was so beautiful!!  From there, we hopped in the car and drove to Hershey.  First up was the Hershey Story Museum.    Then after dinner, we got to go to the evening "preview" at Hersheypark, where they opened up from 7:30 until 11 pm for people who were staying at the Hershey Lodge and had park tickets for the next day.   It was chilly, but I'm so glad we went, because it wasn't crowded at all and the kids got to ride everything they wanted, with no wait.  A few rides, they just got to stay on and ride it back-to-back. 

The next morning, we started the day at Chocolate World. It was PHENOMENAL!  We designed our own chocolate bars and wrappers, attended a chocolate tasting experience, took the factory tour and of course bought lots and lots of chocolate and Hershey paraphernalia!

We all loved creating our own candy bars!

Rocking a hairnet and watching my bar make its way down the belt!

The finished products!

The tasting experience!  Verdict?  Our palates aren't very refined but we like chocolate! 

At noon, it was back to Hersheypark for more rides! It was more crowded than it was on Friday night, but for the most part the lines weren't very long and for some rides, there were still none at all.  

By 3:00 or so, we were in the car headed back to Philadelphia. We checked in to our hotel, had dinner (and stopped at H & M for my "winter wear!") and were busy making plans for the next day!

We woke up Sunday ready to hit the city.  We saw the Liberty Bell, toured Independence Hall, visited the US Constitution Center and otherwise walked all over the city. There is so much history to take in!  Despite our efforts, I know there was an awful lot we didn't get to.  Still, it's amazing to think you can stand in the room where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. That may have been my favorite part!

Outside of Independence Hall

Liberty Bell

Selfie at LOVE Park

Of course she photo-bombed the signers of the Declaration of Independence!

City Tavern--Paul Revere ate here, so of course we had to!
 

Today, we just had the morning before we needed to head to the airport, so we spent the morning walking around taking in some last minute sights, including the Museum of Art so we could run the steps like Rocky.   Shameless tourist move?  You bet.  But considering the museum is closed on Mondays and there were still a couple hundred people there, we clearly weren't alone!

Yo Adrienne!


It was a fantastic trip, but as always, it was good to come home.  Now on to the laundry . . . .

Pumpkins!

One of my favorite parts of October is the annual visit to the pumpkin patch.  There are several in our area, so the first sunny weekend of October, we usually pop out to one of them and enjoy an hour or two of exploring the corn maze, outdoor play for the kids, a hayride and of course, picking pumpkins. 

Well, that beautiful Saturday came today and I decided I wanted pumpkins for my front porch.  But Bassam was working and my now-getting-older kids weren't super enthusiastic for a long outing as there were football games and plans with friends, so we jumped in the car and drove to a farm near my parents house "just to buy pumpkins." 

Sure, we could buy them at Home Depot or Publix.  But I believe strongly in supporting local farms and  Mom and Pops.  Besides, the pumpkin patch was a tradition.

I dropped the kids at the area near the front with the already picked pumpkins.   While they started shopping, I began the long drive to the back of the farm to park the van.  It was crowded with SUVs and minivans full of kids decked out in orange and other cute fall outfits and parents with cameras slung over their arms walked towards the activity area.  They all looked so optimistic for the fun they were going to have and the beautiful pictures they were going to take.  

And they might.  Or they might spend half of their time telling their kids to "sit still," "look over here," or "smile."  Then over at the hay bale maze, they'll remind their oldest to, "stay with your sister."

No matter what happens, the memories of those days are sweet.  I miss them.  

As we prepared to load the car, I realized that whether this was an "outing to the pumpkin patch" or merely a Saturday errand to pick up pumpkins, I needed to have a picture.  I dug out my iPhone from the bottom of my purse and told them to say, "Cheese!"

The oldest only rolled his eyes a little. 

Pumpkin patch?

Even though it was 85 degrees today, I somehow felt the urge to pull out some fall decorations.  It may feel like summer, but why not infuse a little fall in to the house (but not Halloween--no jack-o-lanterns until October 1st).

I think I have a pumpkin problem.

Ready for fall?

It's possible I will regret these words come February, but I'm done with summer.  

I've grown tired of breaking into a sweat every time I go for a walk with the dog.   I'm ready to stop planning my list of errands around the idea of minimizing how long things will sit in a hot car.   I look forward to building a fire in the fireplace on our porch on a cool autumn night.  I've been eagerly sneaking peeks Halloween costume websites. And yes, I can't wait to break out the boots and jackets, even if it's a light one. 

Admittedly, I could do without the yard work and raking that fall brings, the dreaded time change when it starts getting dark by 5 pm and the roller coaster ride to Christmas. 

Here's to finding a happy "fall-ish" medium!

Pumpkin Patch!

Although it's a week or two earlier than we normally go, the sunny skies and cooler than average temperatures inspired us to go to Gentry's Farm for a day of fun at the pumpkin patch.

We enjoyed the hay and corn mazes, seeing the animals, hayrides, the tire swings and of course, picking some beautiful pumpkins!  You can definitely see the effects of the long, dry summer.  The corn field that they transform into the maze was not only more sparse, but the corn was shorter, too.  The upside of that is no getting lost for a prolonged period of time when you let your 6 and 9 year old navigate!



Our haul of pumpkins!



Mom is actually IN a picture?!??




Wheeee!



When you're 6, you don't mind hair in your face!

"Higher, Mom!"



This picture is for my dad!  Here is Bassam in front of one of the corn fields.

Although I've had fall decorations out for a little while, I need to get the Halloween stuff out this week, because with pumpkins picked, costumes chosen or in progress of being made (thank you, Mom!), the 31st will be here before you know it!

Something I love about fall . . . .

Nothing beats sleeping with the windows open. 

At least until a skunk gets scared/angry and stinks things up outside. 

I miss summer.

I miss summer.

Yes, I know that technically summer is not over.  But school is back in session, so we have said goodbye to the "lazy, hazy days of summer."

Admittedly, very few of our days were "lazy."

I miss being able to plan a stop on the ice cream tour stop whenever I want.  There's a couple more places we want to hit.  I know we'll do it before Labor Day, but I have no idea when, especially since one is a mobile truck (No, not the ice cream man!  Think slightly more chic!) with a somewhat irregular schedule.

I miss afternoons at the pool.  In theory, I could go myself, but why?  And  anyone who knows me knows that I don't just put on bathing suits for kicks.  For my kids, yes.  For the Cayman Islands, fine.  But for solo pool trips?  Not so much.

I miss long weekly trips to the library with the kids.   It's not that we won't still go to the library, but the visits will be shorter and wedged in between homework and bedtime or birthday parties and football games.  

With school in session, I  feel an urge to start pulling out my fall clothes.   I've grown tired of the tank tops and sundresses in my closet.  Sadly, jeans, sweater and boots are easily 2 months off, possibly longer. It doesn't even matter that all those items are stored in my guest room which is currently serving as storage for 90% of what was in my kitchen.  

I stopped at JoAnn's last week and got ribbons and other fall do-dads to update my front door wreath.   It seems odd to do it when it's still 85 degrees out and the only leaves on the ground have fallen as a result of the drought doing a number on trees and bushes.  It seems the bag of feathers, acorns and autumn leaves may have to wait a little longer. 

But it could be worse.  I was in Costco today and they had already devoted a couple aisles to Christmas.

REALLY!??

Anyone else ready for a change in the seasons?

Pumpkins!

 Although it's a little earlier in the season than normal for us, we ventured over to Gentry's Farm  today to enjoy a bit of fall.  Our weekends between now and Halloween are busy--plus the weather was phenomenal, so we wanted to take advantage.  We conquered the corn maze (in record time for us, may I add!), took a hayride, the kids took multiple trips through the hay maze, rode the tire swings, played in the grain bins and of course, picked pumpkins. 

We got some good looking (and BIG) pumpkins this year.   I also found some pretty white and green ones and a fun looking gourd or two.   

Despite telling them multiple times prior to our trip, both kids were bummed that we weren't carving jack-o-lanterns tonight.    Although having said that, roasted pumpkin seeds sound awfully good

Fall Break

Fall Break is here. All I can say is I'm glad it's only two days.

Really, today was quite fun. Gracie's pal Amelia came over this morning and then I took the two of them to a Pump It Up birthday party for a classmate. When we arrived we ran into two of Matthew's soccer teammates and discovered that there was open play in the other room, so we stuck around and both kids got to bounce and rock climb to their heart's content. Yay!

This afternoon, we rolled over to the Pumpkin Patch. This time it was Walden Farm, which is smaller than Gentry's, but just as fun. They even have animals you can feed, which the kids LOVE. We brought home 4 more pumpkins (Bassam was THRILLED by this!), three small ones and then a medium/large sized one.

 

Capped the night off with pizza and a trip to Costco (okay, latter not so exciting) and now the troops are parked in front of the TV watching the Titans play. As for me, I'm exhausted. Bassam's call weekend has meant lots of middle of the night pages, which means an oft-interrupted night of sleep for me, too. Safe to say, kids down in 10 and I won't be far behind!

Pumpkins!

Ahhh . . . Sunday night. The strange combination of "Omigosh! The week ahead is so busy!" and "Thank goodness the weekend is over and we can get back to our routine!"

Two soccer games yesterday. Matthew played first. And although no one on his team was listening to the coach, they still managed to pull out a win. No goals for Matty, but he didn't allow any goals when he was goalie. Not bad.

Gracie seemed to have misplaced her mojo. I can't really explain what is going on there. She is frustrated and I think, a bit timid after last week's kick to the head. I hope she gets it back because it was hard to watch her play this week.

Today was an unusually cool day. I think it went up to the low 60's . . . maybe. So after church, we changed clothes and headed over to Gentry's Farm. An awesome day to be at the pumpkin patch. We did the corn maze, hay maze, pumpkin pickin', hayride and all the other activities they had. It was kinda dusty out there --but we had a great time and it was nice not to be sweating bullets like we are most years!

Pumpkins!

Just wrapping up a great weekend. Bassam was NOT on call, which is always a good start. Then we lucked out on some amazing weather Saturday. Both kids played soccer at 9 am, so Bassam and I had to "divide and conquer." Bassam took Gracie to the Y and coached her team and I went to Crockett to watch Matthew. He had a pretty good game, minus his stint as goalie. Gracie was apparently a scoring machine yet again. Regardless, both had a fun morning.

Being done with soccer by 10, we had the whole day ahead of us, so we decided to make a visit to Gentry Farm. We almost always visit two pumpkin patches (and Matthew goes back to Gentry's for a field trip next week), but rarely this early in this season. Of course, the advantage was very light crowds and plenty of pumpkins still on the vine to pick yourself. We left with one BIG one and two smaller ones.

I took a slew of pictures, some of which I've included in the slide show below. However, my favorite shot is this one of Matthew. He picked this little pumpkin and held it up to show it off for the camera. Just as I snapped the picture, the stem broke off and the pumpkin fell to the ground. Too funny!

The kids had a sleepover at Grandma and Papa's last night while Bassam and I went to a wedding in Mount Juliet. As for the rest of the weekend, the beautiful weather of Saturday definitely did not carry over to today. It was rainy and cool all day -- plus the Titans had another loss, making all of us grumpy for one reason or another. Thankfully, it ended on a high note-- we got the fireplace going for the first time this year and toasted some marshmallows!

Fall afternoon

The kids are home from school and it really feels like a fall afternoon. I'm sitting on the front porch with the dog, the kids are playing in the yard, leaves are falling (although they aren't in beautiful hues of autumn--just dry, I guess!) and we are listening to the marching band practice at Ravenwood High School. Some days we can hear it better than others--but today the wind must be blowing just right because we can hear not only the band, but the director giving directions over the megaphone, too.

Happy Veterans Day!

There a lot of things I love about fall. This morning I enjoyed the "shoosh, shoosh, crunch" sound as I ran on the leaf-covered trails of Brentwood. The cold morning air followed by a warmer afternoon, although sometimes difficult to dress for, makes the days go a little easier when the kids can play around outside without being too bundled out. And another thing that I love that only comes along once a year, is the Veterans Day Parade.

As seems to be "tradition," Nashville weather for Veterans Day was a bit sketchy. Last year, it poured . . . and although I wanted to take the kids out for the parade, I remember the cold and very wet weather led me to make other plans. This morning when I woke up, I was disappointed to see it was quite overcast and there was an 80% chance of rain. Luckily, it turned out to be an 80% chance of sprinkles! Instead of going to the Nashville parade, I found there was one right over in Franklin, so I loaded the kids, plus our friend Bennett, in the van and we headed over. We parked towards the end of the parade route, near The Factory. I hope there were more people at the front end, because it was definitely not a parade route lined with a crowd where we were. The kids, armed with small flags, jumped up and down, waved and yelled "Thank you" to all the vets. Since we weren't very close to anyone else, they had the full attention of all the vets, VIPs and bands that came by. The boys even took to shouting out their names to the veterans. In the meantime, Gracie (who always has a way with the white-haired crowd) basked in the attention from the parade participants.

I must say, going to these parades can be kind of an emotional experience. For the kids, it was just a fun event with music and people. So many of the Veterans shouted out thanks to us--or told me "thank you" for bringing the children. It was lovely to see their smiles as the kids cheered for them and waved their flags. Clearly the spectators are not the only ones who are affected by it. I wish more people had been there.

Although I tried to explain to the kids about Veterans Day and why the parade honoring them was important, Matthew cited the "soldiers throwing candy" and the bands as his favorite part of the event. Gracie said she liked "the men in the fancy cars" (there were several antique cars in the parade carrying Veterans).

As for me, to steal a line from Matthew, "Everything was my favorite part!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETSY!!

Fall Break!

It's "Fall Break" here in Williamson County. Of course, it doesn't mean much when you only go to school three days a week, as Matthew and Gracie do, but it did mean no speech for Matthew today. We went to the Y this morning and then met up with friend Katie (aka "My Darling") and Ellie for lunch. This afternoon also brought the first cool front of the season. It was cloudy and even a bit chilly after lunch...so maybe Fall Break really means the start of Fall for us.

While the kids napped/rested this afternoon, I performed "Baa Baa" surgery. Gracie's beloved stuffed sheep, "Baa Baa," (for which we have not one, but two "back ups") were in need of some TLC. We had to swap out for one of the spares this week when I spotted stuffing on the floor of the living room. She managed to all but tear off the ear of Baa Baa and my mom operated on one of the others arms while she was here. Now both of the spares are back in one piece and clean (well cleaner, anyway) after taking a spin in the washing machine. And of course, Gracie is none the wiser!

Capped off the day by visiting the Holiday Market at Brentwood Academy with my friend Leigh tonight. Among my purchases was the "Elf on the Shelf" book and elf. I had heard so much about them last year, but by the time I figured out I wanted one, they were incredibly hard to find (less you want to pay double on Ebay). This year I'm ready and I think the kids will really enjoy it.
http://www.elfontheshelf.com/