Oh, What Do You Do in the Autumntime?

This morning we partook of the many fall festivities available at Cornbelly’s.  We went last year and got rained out so we didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked.  This year the weather was highly cooperative and not only did we have time to wander the corn maze, but we also saw pig races, played on a variety of wooden vehicles, slid down air slides, climbed on hay bales, saw a chicken show, shot pumpkin blasters (Air cannons are totally fun, by the way!) and Daniel and Nathan gave rock climbing a try.  We opted to skip the corn room (think a ball pit but full of dried corn kernels) which is just weird or the haunted stuff which is not our favorite thing.  It was a fun way to while away a few hours on a beautiful autumn morning!

When You Have Three Older Brothers, At Some Point You Are Bound to End Up With a Lizard On Your Face

 

I guess today was the day.

(This Kodak moment was brought to you by Matthew, of course.)

He Has Been Enlightened

Tonight Daniel received his Arrow of Light.  When he first started cub scouts, he didn’t really care all that much about it.  But over the past three years Daniel has really come to enjoy scouting.  Our Pack Leader asked us to tell share one way we have seen Daniel grow through scouting and I have to say that he has tried things that he never would have tried on his own.  He has always been interested in science in its various forms, but because of scouting I think his interests have diversified.  He has become aware of a whole world full of interesting things.  He still looks at them through the lens of a scientist, but three years ago he never would have been interested in archery or whittling.  He is more likely to try new things than he was before and his social skills have definitely grown through interactions with his den leaders and fellow cub scouts.  I’m very proud of him for his accomplishment and am anxiously awaiting the further expansion of his world through the many and varied activities of boy scouts.  Daniel is excited by what is to come as well.

Walmart Just Doesn’t Have the Same Ambience

Before we moved out here, we used to get our pumpkins at Walmart because it was close to home.  There are still a handful of farms out here and after we moved we discovered that several of them grow pumpkins.  The first Halloween that we were out here we opted to get our pumpkins at one of the local pumpkin patches and we have never looked back.  Selecting the perfect pumpkin by walking up and down the rows of a field in the dim half-light of dusk just has a charm that choosing a pumpkin out of a bin accompanied by the hum of the fluorescent lights does not.  That charm always bewitches us and we inevitably end up with more pumpkins than we plan to get.  Although we only have four children, this year we came home with ten pumpkins.  Literally a wheelbarrow full.  That’s another thing.  A shopping cart just cannot compare to a wheelbarrow for hauling pumpkins.  Our patch of choice also has a corn maze (really more of a corn path but the corn was at least ten feet high this year so it was extra fun) and free hay rides.  Walmart, I’ll see you when I need bandaids or shampoo, but I’ll never darken your doors at pumpkin picking season again.

The Wonder of Sleep

Last night Malia slept from 11:00 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.  Somewhere in the back of my lack-of-sleep addled mind I seem to recall that the experts consider a six hour stretch of sleep "sleeping through the night."  I don't really care what the experts say, I think that is a longest stretch of sleep I've had in six months and I will absolutely take it.  Malia has been sneaking up on six hours all week so I'm hopeful that it wasn't just a fluke.  She is big enough now that I don't get all panicky when I think about her sleeping for that long, so I think we are at the point where it is in my best interest to get some good shut eye.  So sleep on, little girl!  Count those sheep!  Sail away to dream land!  Mommy's going to have a six hour long coma and feel better for it in the morning.

A Little Potty Talk

In the past six weeks I have learned that if girl babies pee when the diaper is off  it does not necessitate a bath for baby, a shower for mommy, clean clothes all around and hauling out the carpet cleaner.

It’s nice.

The Building Blocks of Literacy

Matthew is in his second year of preschool which means that not only is he learning his letters, but he is beginning to learn the sounds the letters make.  So when he pulled out his magnet board and the alphabet magnets this morning,  I decided to take the opportunity to reinforce his literacy skills.  So I made a chunk (at) and we started placing different letters in front of the chunk to make words.  Since he is just learning sounds and doesn't know all that many yet, I would help him.  "What does 'c' say?  It says 'kuh' like cat."  And so on. 

After awhile we worked our way around to 'm'.  Matthew knows 'm' well.  He can identify it every time and he knows what sound it makes because his name starts with 'm'.  So when I asked him what 'm' says, he responded with the following:  "M says mmmmmmm, like 'Yum! Pie!'"

I Was Actually Happy When I Left the Walmart

I frequently shop at our local Walmart Supercenter.  In the past two and a half years that I have lived out here, I have never once come out of the Walmart having been able to purchase every item on my list.  In particular, a lot of the specialty food items we need to be able to cook for Matthew are unavailable at our Walmart. I have to get those things at Harmon's which has higher prices, but it's not like I have many options.  So why do I keep shopping the Walmart, you may ask?  Because it is close, prices are generally good, and they will price match any item from any store that has a printed ad.  That and the fact that there aren't a whole lot of choices out here yet.  So I go to Walmart weekly, knowing I'm probably going to get frustrated at least once while I'm there.

This morning was my weekly jaunt to the Walmart and when I left the store I was actually happy.  Want to know why?  For the fist time ever, my Walmart is carrying some of the specialty foods I regularly buy.  I found soy nut butter, egg replacer, nut and dairy free granola, and even the Matthew friendly chocolate chips!  I was stunned.  And amazed.  And I did a little happy dance in the store.  I'm sure Matthew would have happy danced to, but he was at preschool.  So although I still didn't find everything on my list, I think the chocolate chips made up for it.  And they were cheaper than they are at Harmon's.

So, Walmart actually has a check in the positive column for now.  Am I still hoping that someone will think it's a fabulous idea to build a Super Target in one of the big spaces around here left open for retail development?  Absolutely.  But at least for today, I came out of the Walmart with a smile on my face.