Hurricane Hills Farm

Last year we ended up in pumpkin patch madness at the end of October. Going on a hayride with mobs of other families, after waiting in line for 30 minutes or more, is not the most fun trip to the 'country' around here... so, after chatting up with our friends next door, we opted to go in mid-October and to a different location. Being west of the big city, we decided to head even a bit further west and arrive on a Sunday morning, the moment they opened those gates. Abram's buddy Avery and his parents met us there and the boys loved it. And I - well I loved the lack of madness and craze that we endured last year... Now, we have a new tradition that we plan to keep!

 We started with the hayride out to the pumpkin patch... the boys ran around looking for a good pumpkin and turning over dirty ones while us mom's found ones we could actually take home! And the dads - well, they made pictures... We went for one large, one medium, and one small. The small was for the boys pumpkin painting project for Halloween morning.

There was also a corn maze we wandered into, got lost briefly, and wound our way back to some face painting... we requested a spider for the kids face. I could not believe how still he sat and how careful he was to not touch his spider:) 

There were so many activities for the boys! Corn Maze, Hayride, Pumpkin Patch, Corn Tube Slide, Sheep & Goats to pet, Corn Cob Canon, the list goes on... the only thing the kid was not fond of - well, it was the Cow Ride I stuck him on.  He was so in love with rides at Tweetsie, I thought nothing of plopping him in that cow train and sending him off with a wave and a "have fun!"

Yea, not so much. He cried the whole ride. The. Whole. Time. Apparently, having Mom on the ride is a pretty critical part of him loving rides. Oops. Point Taken.  

Oh, and can I say, I ate the best, repeat BEST, pumpkin whoopie pie of my life at this place. Whoopie pies are hit and miss. Some are good. Some aren't worth eating. This one - well, it was the melt in your mouth, ooey goey, buttery, moist, kinda whoopie pie. A Whole category all its own. If only I had a picture. Sigh...  We even drove by there weeks later, out of the way, just to see if that little booth was setup. Not kidding. And it wasn't. Those miles back home were long, tasteless ones. 

Oh right. Back to the kid.

He just Loved this tractor;) More updates to come... !!

Tennessee....!

Warning - picture overload!!! :-)

The kid and I hit the road bright and early on Thursday morning. I debated on going halfway the night before but really just didn't feel like it. The kid travels so well - I feel so lucky;) We made two normal stops - for gas, bathroom stop, snacks, and just some fresh air and walking time. Coffee and cappuccinos for me, juice boxes for the kid. Between all the snacks and juice, music and movies - he was so content!

I made the mistake of telling him we were on our way to see Mamaw and Big Daddy and Papaw. Every 30 minutes, in a confused voice, he whined... "But I go see Mamaw Big Daddy Papaw???!?" as if to say, WHY am i still in the car. I had to keep reminding him we have to drive a long long way to see them! About an hour away from Papaws house, the kid STILL had not napped! He spotted a stink bug crawling out of his bag beside him and had a royal meltdown. Screaming. Crying. Doing ASL sign for 'scared' over and over and over. Yelling "I DONT LIKE STINKBUGS" over and over. Till - mom pulled over to get this craziness under control!

I removed the stinkbug, moved his bag, wiped his tears, and put on his musical backyardigans dvd, ensuring him all was well. Back on the highway. 5 minutes later - i think he remembered the bug and swore there was one under his leg. Mom says - no, theres not. "YES THERE ISSSSSSS!!!!!!" more tears. another pit stop. an extra juice box. and he fell asleep. 40 minutes away from our destination. Papaws House!

After breaking out of his initial silent, shy bit, he settled right in, pulling out the toys, and playing airplanes with Papaw. Soon after, Mamaw and Big Daddy arrived and the kid was super excited to see all his grandparents:) Friday we did more visiting, relaxing, playing, and eating! Fun stuff! We even managed to have dinner at Suba's - YUM:) The kid was a bit dramatic there. He was fussy and had just woken up from a nap. Then his seat gave him a direct view of the desserts up front. He kept pointing, whining, crying for them. and we hadn't even eaten a thing. He whined for yogurt. little did i know, he meant the whipped cream on the desserts lol...  since he toughed it out and took like, two bites of his real food, he was allowed a dessert. He knew exactly which dessert he wanted - no hesitations. He wanted the chocolate addiction. 

What you see pictured is actually the hot fudge sundae that Papaw and I helped the kid eat. There was no way i was letting eat chocolate addiction at 7:30 at night! So i told him it was chocolate addiction in a bowl:) he was thrilled! and as you can see, i was too haha... thats me there, taking my share:) 

The next day we drove over to Tweetsie Railroad in NC! I remembered going there as a kid with my grandparents and on school trips. So fun to take my kid to places I loved as a kid...  and boy does the kid love trains! He's here waiting on the tweetsie railroad with big daddy! 

As we boarded the train, I took notice of the little ones with cowboy hats and some girls with indian headdresses on. I had completely forgotten about the whole cowboys vs indian showdown on the trail ride! oops. The kid tends to be frighten easily so i was pretty sure the cowboy indian fight would not be his favorite thing. and boy was I right... lots of tears. it was the first time he'd even heard a gunshot, poor little fella! and as the indians were using their tomahawks on the cowboys, thru tears he asked, "why they playin golf like that?" lol....

Overall though, he loved tweetsie. They weren't too crowded so he could ride the airplanes and boats as many times as he wanted (and he did! a lot!). We went thru a petting zoo, rode the rides - he even rode the scrambler! for a kid whose scared of cowboys and indians, he sure wasn't scared of the rides!

Here he is, waiting on the scrambler to start... he loved it! laughing and holding on tight. but about 30 seconds before it ended, he said "mama! I'm done!" haha... he was tired of holding on i think... to be honest, i was surprised he was allowed on! but if they said okay, mom says okay! (good thing dad stayed behind ha). 

He had a great great day:) Thanks Mamaw and Big Daddy for taking us:) Here he is with his grandparents, in front of the hay spider. 

Driving with Big Daddy... 

Touring the cheese mine with Mamaw... 

Thrown in Jail briefly due to a bad encounter with some hay bales. the kid hates hay. still does. ha. And the boys - worn out. all that fun takes its toll on 'em!

We spent more of our time hanging at papaws house, playing ball, airplanes, and riding his tricycle and hot wheels! He also helped water the flowers... he loves to help Mamaw with this chore... 

this little hot wheels was my cousin Sarah's when she was little - the kid loved it! 

Taking a call from Aunt Susie on a break... 

Saying my goodbyes to Papaw - boo! byes are so tough:( 

It was a great trip - we had so much fun. and i must say, its especially nice to have a good home cooked meal made for me by my mom:) We drove back on Tuesday and the kid did sleep a wee bit more than on our trip down. No bug incidents either. We got home just in time to beat dad home from work! 

And as usual when I return from a trip home - the kid bounces right back into his routine - but i spend a good week or two sulking around, hating i don't live closer, missing everyone, and just having a little ole pity party for myself. sounds fun huh? not not at all:( but I eventually suck it up and get back to reality... 

Long post i know - sorry! I've gotten so behind. After our return home from TN - school went into overdrive and i tend to procrastinate - badly! yikes... only 3 more weeks then winter break:) YEA!

Book Sale!

We all know I love to hit up a good yard sale. or flea market. or used furniture store. or consignment shop. A week or so ago, my neighbor kelly offered up this: "I'm going to a used book sale next weekend if you're interested?" Am I interested?? seriously. Am I ever! That's my kinda friday night girls! Count me in! 


We are big readers in this house. I was born loving to read - well i'm sure my mama had something to do with it! thanks mom! Mom read to me, Mamaw read to me, and i also saw both of them enjoy reading personally when i was growing up! I remember mom reading "The Giant Jam Sandwich" and "Upstairs Downstairs" to me. And Mamaw, she read me older storybooks, with one of my favorites being a book about a family camping trip. And this camping book? I think she read it to her three girls (mama and her sisters) when they were kids. It was broken in and tattered. I loved that book.  What was that title? "Camping.... " something? not sure... 


Husband has grown a love for reading after a little nudging from the wife:) your welcome:) and the kid - well, he just has no choice now does he?!? He is read to daily and a new book is quite a treat around these parts... 


Well my 'i looked forward to it all week' friday night finally rolled around! Kelly, Me, and her sis Megan all piled into her corolla and headed over to our local elementary school. They chattered on the way about the good deals they scored last year and what section they were going to begin with this year. Sections? It's organized? Even Better! 


When we rounded that corner, the entire lunchroom and stage area was covered in tables loaded with books! And organized?! beyond organized for a used book sale. Fiction Adult, Non Fiction Adult, Board books, activity books, ages 2-4, Kindergarden, young adult, religious, reference, the list goes on! I was amazed at how well the ladies put this sale together! 


I spent most of my night in the kids book section... my kid, he loves dolphins, frogs, dinosaurs, and i had a few things i want him to love too so i was browsing and sorting quickly. I kept grabbing ahold of this certain kind of book. I kept picking these up, brushing my hand over the cover, back and forth, opening it up, smiling at the pictures and font, then placing these books back. Many moments later, I stopped - why was i putting these back? I love them! He will Love them! 

So i went back and gathered up my goodies:

I couldn't help myself. The old books with the hard back covers. The colors, the stories, the pictures, the font, the whole package! I just don't see books like this anymore. I was in love. And just what's in this pile you may ask: The Velveteen Rabbit, Bread and Jam for Frances, Giant Journey, Boris and the Monsters, Why is the Grass Green, Little Red Riding Hood (price on front is 35 cents), Nancy's Backyard, I Wonder Why, Little Grey Rabbits Christmas (which originally belonged to The British Book Centre!), On The Way to Storyland, Surprise Stories, and the top book, the little one with no title on the cover, it is called Where Have you Been.

Surprise Stories is my oldest find, printed in 1935, and at one point it belong to "diane hetrick"- she so beautifully wrote her name in with her perfect third grader-ish cursive. adorable. I love the durable hardback covers where you can see the stitching and those pages remind me of books Mamaw read to me too... I've been dishing out a couple of these books here and there to the kid as rewards but many of these will be stashed away for when he's a bit older.

I picked up some others for now - like Noah's Ark, Dinosaurs of the Earth, Busy Timmy, On the Farm and - drumroll please - "The Giant Jam Sandwich" - Score! But I never did find that camping book... to be continued on locating that goodie...

Pedal Pusher...

Well, its official. We are living with a pedal pusher. Granted, we know he's going downhill a bit here buthe definitely has the concept now and can keep it moving !!  Yeaaa!!

I didn't realize i was acting annoyed with my poor kid in the beginning of the video! I really wasn't annoyed at all - i promise!! lol... Oh well! 

Back to School Night...

Technically not 'back' to school. First, he isn't in 'school', he's in daycare. and Second, he's not going back, he's been there all along. But nevertheless, we always go to 'back to school night', like we are one of the 'others' who are actually doing this very thing.

Last year we went, and I blogged about it - click here to check it out for a flashback. Oh heck. I can't help it - i have to put it here too - can you believe this was the kid last year for back to school night?!? oh my little man!! those cheeks! that hair! sigh...

The way things unfolded last year - like the kid being so confused about showing up at his daycare, at night, with us, that he sorta freaked out, as if it were a 'final dropoff' of some sort - were the very way they unfolded this year. The kid did his freak out, husband ate lots of the free food, and we met with the kid's teacher, Miss Emma.

We love Miss Emma and so does the kid! He adores her. He includes her in his prayers every night (when he isn't refusing to say his prayers - a new thing recently, what is up with that anyways!?!), talks about going to see her, and from daycare reports, he cries when she leaves the room. Did I say he loves her?!

I know I know. It doesn't look like he he loves her but he does. I swear! Remember me saying he was a bit freaked out about being there, at night, for the second time that day? Yea. He's still freaked out here... obviously. I think he really freaked when i handed him over to her - oops! haha. He did get better eventually - when he was allowed to drink juice, eat popcorn, and even a few cheetos (oh how I was shuddering on the inside!) and he sat at his table to munch. Then he showed me his bin and his picture wall.

Miss Emma and I talked about the classroom curriculum and how the kid is doing overall (apparently well! Yea!). She feels he's ready for full fledge potty training in just a month or so. YIKES. Thats me saying yikes, not her...

He loosened up slightly for a picture with mom...

And got all happy for one with dad in front of the building... once we told him we were going home!

See that grin?? He was so glad to get out of there with mom and dad! haha... Since they will be learning about families in the next week at daycare, we took a family portrait when we got home, before the bedtime rituals... it isn't easy - getting a picture husband and i can agree on, and that the kid is smiling!

Hopefully he learns a lot about families next week so he can quit calling Uncle Chris Daddy when he looks at his picture on the fridge! haha...

Overall we love the daycare and have liked all of his teachers too! It feels good to have complete peace of mind about the care and attention he gets while he's in their hands! Sure can't put a price on that... now, if i only had a babysitter...

Day out with Thomas

We prepped him all week long, trying to pump him up for Saturday. We read Thomas books and watched a few Thomas movies and the show (which lasts apx. 8 minutes - weird). Saturday morning, we headed over to Strasburg, PA where Thomas the Train was coming into the station. It's a small railroad station thats been there for quite sometime and Thomas arrives a few times a year, along with thousands of people who want to see and ride Thomas! The station area is small so let me tell ya, i was quite taken aback but the mobs of people that flooded this place. You could barely move around, lines for anything were terribly long and it was just an overall zoo! the area is just too small to handle that many people. We parked out in a cornfield and were bussed in on a school bus to the train station. The kid was so pumped up to ride a real bus!! A bus! A School Bus! He shouted from the line.

Despite the crowd, the kid had a ball and enjoyed spending the day with his buddy Cameron. Both two year olds enjoyed the train ride and meeting/seeing Thomas and looking at the amish scenery. 

And I got to catch up with Cara, Cam's mama, while husband took pictures! I even took a turn using the camera that I don't know how to use just to ensure husband made it into a photo:) he prefers taking them over being IN them. 

It was a beautiful warm day and the Lancaster county farms were our scenery. The boys were both so well behaved and get along together so well too! On the drive home, the kid chatted all about Thomas, riding Thomas, seeing Thomas, watching Thomas, Thomas blowing smoke, etc. I told him I'm thrilled he had fun because we won't be going back to see Thomas again lol... the mania was all a little much for mom, can you tell?!? haha... truth is, i really wouldn't want to go back! Abram likes thomas and all but he isn't obsessed with him by any means. There's really one only guy he's obsessed with and thats Diego. So until Diego comes to town, I can avoid the mania for now...

hangin' with the big kids!

The kid loves to hang out with kids older than him. He's fascinated. Watching them, following them, copying them. My friend Michelle had a little back to school get together at a local park near her house and was sweet enough to invite us up even though the kid is only two and technically not going back to school. We never get to see each other between work schedules, kids, travels, life! So, the kid and i drove up to see her and the whole gang!

As we hopped into the car, I reminded him we were going to a party...

"I go party? But But But (he's searching for what he wants to say here) I go park!" he stutters, confused by earlier promises of going to the park tonight.

"Yes honey. We are going to a party at the park!"

"I go party? But I wanna go park!!"

"Okay, we'll go to the park," i respond just to agree.

"Uhhh..... (whiny voice) but party mama... i go party..."

He wasn't getting it and wouldn't until it was all over.

Heres the best picture i got of the whole group. And sadly I cut many kids heads off - oops! I was so busy trying to make abram stay in the picture that I could barely take one! Michelle has a better pic on her blog here.

Thats my little man right there in the front looking like a little statue lol... oh well, i was just happy he actually got in the picture! We met some really nice friends of Michelle's and the kid loved the whole thing.

On the drive home, he chattered on and on....

"I ate pretzels, I ate donuts, I ate pizza, I ate cookie...."

can you tell he never gets this stuff? ha... he was all about the food! ha...

We drove at ease with no traffic at 8pm on a friday night. A true blessing around here. We were quiet with the radio playing softly in the background.

"Mama?? Mama!!"

"Yes Abram?"

He'd had a revelation.... "I went to a party! At park! Fun!"

"You sure did honey. You sure did." i smiled to myself in the dark, as i drove us on towards home...