The Zoo with My Guy

Yesterday was beautiful so Otis and I headed to the zoo.  Usually our zoo trips are with friends, lots of kids running pell mell through the zoo, wanting to play at the park and complaining about being tired.  But with just Otis and I, it was so relaxing!  We meandered through the animals, only seeing what we wanted.  We stopped and ate lunch and had a treat afterward.  When it was time to go home, we popped on over to the train and took a ride before leaving.  Just me and my guy.  A perfect fall day.

Autumn at the Cottage

We headed to the cottage this past weekend.  It was gorgeous out and so autumnal!  The kids and I went to the park and played in the leaves.  I got some cute pictures. 

 Everyone is doing fine here.  Otis still loves school, Ingrid is now no longer crying for hours about going to school.  She still has some issues but mostly she's fine.  She has a field trip this week, they're taking the city bus to a farmer's market.  Sounds fun!  She's beyond excited about it. 

And now it's OCTOBER?!  In ten days I get to fly BY MYSELF to Denver to visit a good friend.  I am so excited it's ridiculous.  I'm gonna get trashy magazines and sit by myself on a plane and have a whole weekend of not being a mom.  Awesome!

A Freakishly Warm Day

We have had rain and cold for awhile now, but the past couple days were WARM!  It felt good to go out without sweatshirts and coats and bundling up.  We took advantage of the nice weather by going to the park with friends while Ingrid was in school yesterday.

 Today we are back to cold and wet.  And of course right in time for Trick or Treating.  The kids are going as cowboys.  And then Ingrid is yelling in my ear "NO, mama!  I'm the SHERRIFF!!" in case I should forget who's in charge.

Falls Past

Ingrid as a baby. Awww.

Ingrid as a toddler.  Sweet.

Me with Otis in my belly.  (Hard to imagine he was born a few short weeks after this!)

Otis a smiley little redhead.

My kids.

Fall is my favorite!

Snot.

It has started.  The months and months of someone, possibly everyone, being snotty nosed.  My poor kids are raw from nose blows and drool.  And cranky.  I'm cranky, too.  And it's only September.

 So we have been wearing our pj pants a lot during the afternoons, playing guys and cars with Brendan's old Fisher Price set, finding colorful leaves, and today we did an easy peasy Halloween craft I found on pinterest.  Simple paper ghosts and pumpkins taped to a circle to make a little wreath!  It took us a good long time to do but was super easy and not messy at all.  The perfect craft in my book.

A Beautiful Sunny Afternoon.

The other day after picking up Ingrid from school, we stayed outside instead of going in and turning on the tv like we usually do.  It was gorgeous out!  Sunny and warm, and one of those days you know you have to take advantage of before it snows.  Thank god we did, it's been rainy and cold ever since.  We brought a blanket and snacks out and got some much needed fresh air.  We've all been sick for ages and ages...

And now here we sit inside again.  It's windy and cold and we have blocks strewn about, two stains soaking in the living room rug (forgot Otis can grab stuff off the coffee table now, dang it!)  I'm so needing a nap but Otis hasn't slept more than 20 minutes in about a week.  I'm trying to be patient with Ingrid as she jumps on the couch, runs back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, scaring the bejeezus out of the cats.  She has energy and I do not.  I just want to lay here on the couch and cut out felt circles.  Actually, really what I want to do is have someone, anyone, come over and take my kids out of the house for a few hours so I can curl up in my bed and just nap.  Any takers?  Anyone?  No?  Okay, then I guess it's time to go build block towers...

Pumpkin Farm!

It's that time of year again, isn't it?  Time for apples and pumpkins and farms.  We had a gorgeous day yesterday to head up to the Family Farm.  We went there when Ingrid was a baby, too.  Not much has changed!

We saw animals.  Ingrid loved the goats.  Otis cried just looking at them.

We jumped around on some hay bales.  Otis was not too sure if he enjoyed it or not.

It was really hot and kind of smelly, but we had fun.

Holidays Already??

Today was awesome, I got my groove back after being sick for the past few days.  We got off the couch and away from the TV and got things done!  We painted a section of the wall in the basement with chalkboard paint, we did laundry, we got new fabric, we raked leaves and layed in them in all their wet, muddy glory.

Then I saw some Etsy sellers getting their shops ready for the holidays and it hit me--it's the middle of October!  If I want to make sure to get my holiday stuff ready before, say, the middle of December, I have to start thinking of it now!  Luckily today I was super motivated to get stuff done.  After five or so days of being sick and taking care of a snot nosed Ingrid, it felt good to get up and be productive.

So, I made lists.  I love lists.  I love checking things off lists.  I love throwing lists away because everything is done.  One thing on my list--cut out ornaments.  Check!  I cut out six sets of three different ornaments, total factory line style.  It was fun to have them lined up and see how felt and scisscors make cute things.

I sat and watched 30 Rock tonight and sewed, finishing up seven of the eighteen I have cut out.  Not bad.  Certainly better than the work I've gotten done in the past week, which would be...nothing.  And with the new fabric we got (from the Joann remnant section again, seriously the most dangerous part of the store for me!!) I have lists of what needs to be made.  The shop will be stocked, so if you have any babies or new mums to buy gifts for, check it out!!

Pumpkins!

Saturday was insane.  We live a block away from a university football stadium, and Saturday was a big game with the local rivals.  It was estimated that our small little college town had an extra 120,000 people in it!  The game started at 3:30pm but people were tailgating and driving obnoxiously starting at 8am.  There are some serious fans around here...

Anyway, we decided the best idea was to get out of town for the day.  We went to a local pumpkin farm and had another wonderful family day.  It was hot out, and Ingrid was tired, but we managed to have a great time.  They had animals.  They had slides.  They had a big sandbox filled with corn--it was awesome!  What a great sensory game for kids!  They were going nuts and it hit me that most of these kids have probably never been allowed to play in a big bin of corn, rice, lentils, etc.  What they have been missing out on!

After we did the kid's area we got donuts.  Of course!  My favorite part of fall is the donuts and cider.  Ooey gooey cinnamon sugar donuts and tart apple cider, could there be anything better?  I caved and spent three times more on a little plastic pumpkin cup for Ingrid, how dumb is that?  I swear, people know how to get money from parents.

Then it was time for the hay ride.  They had big tractors with wagons hitched up to them, and the ride was the perfect length for Ingrid.  She didn't seem to care about it one way or the other, actually.  But she loved the field of pumpkins!  She had so much fun running from one to the other and rolling them, trying to pick them up, sitting on them.  Fun times!

A Day Outside, a Day Inside.

Yesterday Ingrid and I had the best day.  We went to the park and brought lots of snacks so we could stay for however long we wanted, we ate lunch outside, I even folded laundry outside while Ingrid was off in the trees in her own little world.  It was crisp and cool and sunny, totally fallish.

Then today we woke up to rain.  I'm not necessarily against going out in the rain, but it makes it way harder for me to get the motivation to do anything outside.  Luckily Brendan had it in his head that he was going to take the car in to get new brakes, and he was going to take Ingrid.  You can tell he doesn't have to run errands with her very often because he thinks of it as an adventure rather than a chore.  Bless him.

So, while they were out, I put on some music and started cutting up the new fat quarter bundle I got for half off at Joann's the other day.  I have always wanted to buy one but it was the first time I ever have.  I just love how they match up the colors and all the prints go together nicely.  I looked at the LOTUS BRICK PATH pattern on the Amy Butler site and made my own version.  It turned out really cute, and it's backed in pale green fleece so it's super comfy! 

I was going to make this for another pregnant friend but I got selfish.  I just couldn't stop looking at it, I loved it so much!!  So it's for Otis.  The first thing I have made for him.  I made Ingrid a quilt when I was pregnant for her, too, but I wasn't nearly as good at sewing as I am now, so it's kinda crappy.  Oh well, she's got other blankets I've made, and it's a nice keepsake for her.

I also watched the movie Babies today.  How cute!  It was really good, and Ingrid liked to watch it with me for awhile.  I'm very thankful I don't live in Nairobi, where they wipe their baby's poo on their bare knee and then rub it off with a corn cob...Anyway, both good days, one out and one in.

Fall Time Fun

Today we went to a farm that's by our friend's house.  It was pretty great for a short morning out with two crabby toddlers.  We got cider and donuts that were HOT and gooey and sugary and so yum.  Unfortunately the bees came swarming over and attached themselves to us, so instead of sitting outside in the gorgeous day, we ended up inside.  Oh well.  Better than drinking a bee (they were diving in our cups!  Gross!) or getting stung.

There were pony rides and a little petting area with piglets and goats.  I love goats.  I think I've said it before, I'd love to have a goat or two someday.  And some chickens.  Ingrid liked to pet the goats but when the pigs would come sniff at her she got the most horrified look on her face and then kept wiping her hands off.  She's got a thing about getting her hands dirty lately, MY messy child!

We'll have to go back with Brendan and get our pumpkins--they had huge ones for $5!  Wherever we went last year wanted an arm and a leg for them, so this is a much better deal.  And Ingrid didn't get to ride a pony today because we just didn't feel like it, how's that for lazy?!  Two pregnant mamas with a sassy two year old each, we were all about the donuts, not so much about the horses!

In baby news, our midwife appointment went fine yesterday.  I've only gained 7 lbs in the past five months, which totally makes me see why I'm so tired all the time--this damn baby is sucking me dry!!  I by NO means watch what I eat, I eat all day long it seems like, so there's no reason I shouldn't have gained weight.  I'm not complaining, but it suddenly made sense why I always feel so tired and worn out.  He's kicking like crazy and making my belly all alien like.  It's so funny to watch my belly and see it move, knowing there's a human being in there!  It's like science fiction, people!  And he's only the size of a small banana now, when he's a melon it'll be even worse!

Lazy Days

Wednesday we had a playdate to go to.  Ingrid was pretty excited, but unusually crabby and whining at everything.  We got to our friend's house, and Ingrid wanted to play outside.  Once outside she wanted inside.  She had food and when the dog came up to sniff she uncharacteristically started to cry.  Another girl came up to see what she was eating, and again, she started to wail.  What's up?

We did manage to have some fun though, before melting down.  Heather put lots of balls in an old swimming pool--instant ball pit! 

And of course my little piggy spied the donuts right away!

But something was off, and that night Ingrid woke up an hour after falling asleep and cried and cried for an hour.  I felt so bad, I just sat there trying to be supportive even though I couldn't do anything, but then she'd yell "Mama, go 'way!"  Then cry out "I want my mama!"  Oh, heartbreaking when you can't calm your child!  The next day we woke up to lots of snot and the first cold of the season.  We vegged on the couch all day long, watching a cool Imax Under the Sea video and some Sound of Music.  I have to admit, it was the perfect day to be sick.  We had a thunderstorm and it was dark and dreary anyway, so it was relaxing to lay around all day.

Today is the same, although Ingrid is feeling just better enough she wants to do stuff but still feeling crappy enough she's whiny.  My favorite stage...We went on a walk and picked up some pretty red leaves that have started to pop up here and there on the trees.  We tried to press them between wax paper but somehow I don't think my iron is hot enough?  Or something, it just wouldn't work as easily as I remember it going when I was a kid.  Now we're drinking hot cocoa and wearing our cozy pants and starting our weekend early.  I don't like when she's sick, but it's actually kind of a nice slow change of pace!