A Wild Morning

This morning was the opening day of fall festivities at Wild Things Farm. It was our first time to go, and we had a blast! The very first thing we did was hop on the hay ride. I'm not actually trying to avoid being in the picture here, but my face was chopped in half... thus the picture of just Madeline. She thought the hay ride was great as long as we let her try to eat the hay. Caleb thought it was awesome because they stop in the middle and let the horses walk up to the trailer so you can pet them. He wouldn't pet them, but he thought it was neat to see them... you know... as long as they stayed far enough away from him.... and didn't look at him funny... and didn't make any sudden moves... hehehe. The hay ride dumped us off in the middle of a field where the corn maze starts. The dreaded corn maze. Never again.... shudder. As it turns out, fields are muddy. Especially little trails in the dirt where lots of feet have mushed up the mud. My shoes actually sank into the mud and filled up. I spent the rest of the morning with mud squishing between my toes. This was the only part of the trip where both kids melted down. I think we'll wait until they're older to do this part again.

After the trauma of the maze (we never made it to the exit... somehow we found the entrance again... thank God!) we went to the snack bar and gift shop area to take a break. We also grabbed the stroller. It was a bit of a rough ride going off road, but the stroller handled it fairly well.

We tried and tried to get Caleb to stick his face into the hole for a picture. He was having none of it. Josh makes a cute midget farmer, though.

And Madeline makes a good scary jack-o-lantern thing. Caleb kept saying, "Momma, those are scary pumpkins."

Caleb got to feed goats. It was a highlight for him. I'm excited that he was brave enough to actually do it. He tends to ask to do things like that and then shy away.

There were rubber duckie races

And a fake cow that you could "milk".

Finally it was time to pick a pumpkin. It was the entire point of visiting the farm after all. Caleb found one he really liked, so it was off to the car.

We only spent about two hours at the farm, but boy are we tired. It was a fun morning. I'm glad that the kids are getting old enough to do these sort of things and enjoy them.

Have a wild day!

I Feel So Crafty

Today I had my second MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting. Caleb barely waved bye as he ran to his classroom to play. Madeline actually stayed in the nursery the entire time. I have to admit I was shocked (but pleasantly surprised.) She's been very clingy lately, and she cried when I dropped her off. They said it was touch-and-go for a bit, but she calmed down. For our activity today we had a little Halloween craft. It's a candy bucket to go by your door. I thought it turned out pretty cute. The picture doesn't really do it justice. Unfortunately, it really really really made me want a cricut die cut machine. The girls are even talking about getting together to scrapbook... yeah... that's all I need... another crafty thing! Hehehe.
Have a craft-tastic day!

Did I mention...

...that my wonderful husband bought me the greatest present for our anniversary? I guess I never mentioned it on here, but the end of August was our seven year wedding anniversary. The one thing I really, really wanted was a Kitchenaid stand mixer. I've wanted one for a long time. This is obviously not my exact machine. I could take a picture of it, but the bowl is under cover in my (cold) oven. I'm trying a bread recipe from my 1961 Betty Crocker cookbook. It's a "quick" streamlined bread for the busy housewife using a stand mixer. Hehehe. Life was different in the early 60's... at least in Betty Crocker's version. You should see the little illustrations throughout the book. Anywho... outdated or not, I am a fairly busy housewife. My family likes fresh, homemade bread. So I find myself trying yet another recipe. :-) I'll let you know how it turns out if anyone cares.

Have a bread-tastic day!

Happy Birthday to Caleb!

Last weekend was Caleb's third birthday. He was very excited. He wanted cake with sprinkles and icing with sprinkles.... so sprinkles he had! As everyone arrived he stood at the door and excitedly told them where to put the presents. It's was hilarious. All of the adults were sitting and standing around talking, and we heard this voice saying, "I'm ready, Momma!" He was sitting in his chair ready to open presents.
And open he did. The only problem was that he wanted to take each toy out of the package and play with it. We had to keep reminding him that there were more to open.

When everyone sang to him he had the most hilarious look on his face. I think he was a bit embarrassed.

Overall he had a great birthday. I can't believe he's already three. Now I have to hustle and find some pink decorations because Madeline turns one in just a few weeks!

What's the Attraction?

Madeline is mobile now. She's very mobile. To be honest... she wears me out a bit. It's amazing the things she finds around the house to eat, get into, take apart, etc. It doesn't matter how much I sweep, there's always the inevitable ancient Cheerio hiding somewhere. Anyway... in the midst of all this new found freedom Maddie has developed a taste for shoes. Literally. She'll crawl like a mad woman across the entire floor to get a pair of shoes... just so she can bang them together and then try to eat them. It's a familiar pattern by now. It's also a tad disgusting. I managed to dive across the room and save her moments before one of Josh's nasty crocs landed in her mouth. You know... the ones that he wears at work... on nasty hospital and clinic floors... through baby deliveries and surgeries... yeah... those crocs. Shudder.
And this is the view I'm seeing more often than not these days... her crawling away into the sunset. Okay, so maybe it's the kitchen... but you get the idea.
Have a fast-crawlin', shoe-eatin' day!

Family Reunions and Potlucks

Well, we had the Hicks family reunion this weekend. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera. That means that the flash stopped working, it was taking forever to actually take the pictures, and it finally died before I got any good shots. At least I have one picture with both of the kids in it. It's not a good one, but it's all I managed to get. Sorry. We also had a potluck at church on Sunday. These are the cupcakes I made. Chocolate fudge cupcakes with Milky-way minis melted inside, chocolate frosting, white nonpareils around the edges, and words made from melting candy. I also have to mention that the casserole I took was a hit. It was almost entirely gone, and that's impressive for a casserole at a potluck. People tend to be wary of casseroles. They're never sure what will be lurking under the inviting layer of cheese that's inevitably on top. (It was a Mexican Lasagna recipe if you're wondering.)
Have a cupcake-tastic day!

He's Growing Up...

I can't believe my baby is almost three. I've been working on things for his birthday party. Here's the t-shirt I made today. It's nothing fancy, but I thought it was cute.

Have a nice day!