A Busy Month

We've been extremely busy this month!!!! We've had lots of playdates with friends, gone to several different farms and done lots of other activities that kept us really busy! Here are a few pictures of some of the fun things we've done...

Going for a bike ride

Playdate with Emily (and Aaron)

Lunch at Minado with Oliver (and Maddie and Addie)

Claire's first college volleyball game

6 month dental check-up

Dance Class (Everyone wore their Halloween costume.)

Claire's 1/2 Birthday

I decided to celebrate Claire's 1/2 birthday this year for two reasons. First, I like to buy presents for Claire and I feel less guilty about doing so when there is an actual occasion that requires a gift. You know, Christmas, Hanukkah, the first day of fall, Groundhog Day... Also, I wanted to make a big deal about this half year milestone to help Claire realize that she is not just 4 anymore, but 4 1/2. She understood completely. Mission accomplished. Just ask her how old she is.

This morning when she woke up, Claire asked me what time her 1/2 birthday party was. I explained to her that we would not be having a big birthday party for her until she was 5 and that we would be celebrating her 1/2 birthday with cake and one gift that evening when my husband got home. She was cool with that.

We ran out to get a replacement pumpkin (couldn't find one!) and then stopped at a new place to get some Chinese take out. Believe it or not, they didn't have wonton soup, so we settled on seafood soup. We got home and started sharing the pint of soup. After 6-7 spoonfuls, Claire started getting faint red marks on her face and said she didn't want any more, but she wouldn't talk. She was whining and pointing to her mouth. I almost started to panic, but I kept telling her she was ok. I gave her a dose of Benadryl, but she still wouldn't talk and was crying a little (she tends to be dramatic). I was expecting my sister in law and nephews any minute. We were going to go to the pediatrician for my nephews' check-ups. I figured I'd try to get Claire to the doctor as quickly as I could in case she got worse or needed her TwinJect pen. I drove to the doctor's office while constantly checking Claire out in the rearview mirror. Once we arrived, we sat in the car since we were early and she wanted to sit on my lap. After a few minutes, she was back to her normal self, but when she spoke, her voice was raspy, almost as if she had a sore throat. I talked to the pediatrician about it, but at that point she was fine. The next time we go to the pediatric allergist, I will have her tested for shellfish.

We stopped at a great little playground on the way home from the doctor's office. Claire and Ryan had fun running around and playing. I felt a sense of relief seeing Claire play and laugh just as if the soup incident had never happened.

After a nice 1/2 birthday dinner at Frank's Pizza (Claire's choice), we sang "Happy 1/2 birthday to you...," Claire blew out 4 1/2 candles on her cake and she opened her gift: The "Beast" doll from Beauty and the Beast. She was thrilled with it all!

I'm thankful and relieved that today had a happy ending.

Family Day

Today was a beautiful day -- warm and sunny! We headed out to The Chatterbox for lunch and ran into one of my classmates from high school and a friend of Claire's from dance class. The restaurant was packed!!! After waiting in the long line to get a table, we were seated next to the platform in the middle of the restaurant where an orange Thunderbird was parked. It was very Halloween-y. After perusing the menu, we were both shocked when Claire ordered a hamburger for lunch (gasp!)! I wasn't sure if she'd eat it, and tried in vain to talk her into a hot dog, but she ended up eating about 1/4-1/3 of the hamburger. We made a big deal out of it to, hopefully, encourage her to order outside of her comfort zone in the future. Like mother, like daughter. : )

@ The Chatterbox

After lunch, we headed right across the street to Ideal Farms. It's a cute little farm with some steer (I think!?! I'm not an expert on livestock.), a few little animals, a small play structure, a haunted barn and lots of little boards with cutouts where visitors can stick their heads in and pretend to be princesses, Sponge Bob and other characters (I actually purchased some really nice mums there a few weeks prior.). After visiting Tranquillity Farms a few weeks ago, Claire was disappointed that this farm didn't have any rides. We went through the haunted barn (Claire's first experience in a "haunted house") and she loved it! Luckily, there were no live people inside to scare us.

Steer (I think)

Scary Dorothy mannequin

Our goal for today was to buy replacement pumpkins for the two that had rotted, but we didn't feel like taking another hayride and having to search another pumpkin patch. We looked in the bins of pumpkins close to the farm store, but we didn't see any that caught our eye. So, I'll make a trip to the "pumpkin patch" at BJ's or Walmart this week so we have a pumpkin or two to carve!

We finished up our day by driving by Laney, Frank and Janelle's house to check out their Halloween decorations. They were great!

Mrs. Locker

As a child, I always loved Halloween. As an adult, I can't think about my childhood Halloween without thinking about my former neighbor, Mrs. Locker. Every year, she baked all kinds of delicious goodies for Halloween, then invited each trick-or-treater who rang her doorbell into her home where she displayed her homemade treats on her dining room table. She would take a napkin and unfold the quarters until she had a big square. Then she'd have each child choose a cupcake with chocolate or orange frosting (I always chose orange.) and place it onto the napkin. She'd select a couple of cookies, a piece of fudge and a penny and place them next to the cupcake. Finally, she'd gather the four corners of the napkin and bring them together, securing them with a straight pin, then send the little ghosts and goblins on their way.

Mrs. Locker was legendary. People would come from miles around to trick or treat at her house. Parents would drive to her house from other neighborhoods just so their kids could trick or treat at her house. If I remember correctly, a week or so before Halloween, Mrs. Locker would always remind us to come to her house early, before she ran out of treats. I also remember that she would count the number of trick or treaters she had using tally marks, then give us a final count in early November. It's mindboggling to think of how many dozens of cupcakes, cookies and batches of fudge she lovingly baked for Halloween over the years.

Rest in Peace, Mrs. Locker.

Four Halloweens and Counting

Claire has been (clockwise from bottom right) a lobster, a chick, a ladybug and Ariel, The Little Mermaid, for Halloween. The first three costumes were chosen by yours truly. I knew that once Claire was introduced to the Disney Princesses, I wouldn't have any influence over her choice of Halloween costume. I was right.

Tranquillity Farms

Every year we love to visit a local farm to see the animals and pick out the perfect pumpkins to carve for Halloween. This year we decided to try a new farm that was recommended by a friend - Tranquillity Farms. We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Tranquillity Farms today and had a fabulous time! They have a nice farm stand with mums, a variety of apples and pumpkins, gourds, squash and some homebaked treats. Behind the stand, there were tents with some crafters selling their wares, food vendors (BBQ, cotton candy, funnel cakes) and some really nice kiddie rides which Claire loved (The girl has a serious addiction to bounce houses and jumping!)!!

We spent much of the afternoon watching Claire on the rides (An $8 investment in a wristband proved to be worth every penny!). We also made our way through a giant corn maze thanks to Daddy's keen sense of direction (If we had been alone, Claire and I would have been lost for weeks.) and took a leisurely hayride out to a giant pumpkin patch where little orange balls growing on tangled vines were scattered everywhere. They also had a few pigs, goats and calves in small pens and an area for pony rides.

We plan to share this hidden gem with friends who are looking for a fun, reasonable place to spend some family time. It was the perfect place for us to reconnect after all of Daddy's recent business trips.
P.S. After recapping our day with my husband, he informed me that today was the first time he had ever been on a hayride and the first time he had ever gone pumpkin picking!! Ever. I think the other years that we have gone to farms in the fall he has been working or traveling. We'll have to make sure this becomes a yearly family tradition so he can get some more hayriding and pumpkin picking under his belt!!

Alive and Well

Just a short post to let my thousands and thousands of blog followers : ) know that we are alive and well! We've been busy settling into our fall routine of preschool, dance class and swimming lessons. We've also managed to visit a local farm with my moms group, go to a few playdates, spend some time with my parents and host an intimate meat-fest dinner party featuring my husband's chili and ribs. I hope to post again soon!