Wordless Wednesday

XOXO

Pumpkins & Apples

Since it is technically Autumn now, I decided to take the munchkin on a very Fall-ish adventure this weekend. We headed East to Oak Glen. I'd been there before ages ago (I think I was about 11) but the munchkin had never been. As soon as we exited the freeway we saw a huge inflatable pumpkin in the air and a great big pumpkin patch... so we knew that had to be our first stop. 

*****Before I go any further... let me add a little note that it was about 102 degrees here in sunny Southern California this weekend.. but I was determined to have an "Autumn Experience".

Drew was so excited that this was a "Pick Your Own" patch. He's used to just picking them from rows of pre-picked pumpkins... or from the shelf at Wal-Mart. But of course, my never-satisfied child wasn't happy with just one.. he wanted all of them, and could come up with a reason for each one, and a place where we would put it. Luckily I got him to agree to just getting a few decorative small ones, and assured him we'd go to other patches over the next few weeks and we'd buy some we could carve.

After the pumpkin patch we headed up one of the longest roads ever towards the orchards. Nothing says Fall like picking pumpkins and apples... when we get to the Orchards, we stopped at the first one we saw. They were having a western show, but Drew decided our ears were too sensitive to listen to the guns being fired, so we went to find some lunch. After a quick bite to eat (for me, the munchkin ate 4 fries and decided he wasn't hungry...) we decided it was time to do what we came for and find some apples. This orchard however, didn't have any trees where people could pick from... just rows and rows of stores... So we moved on. 

Then next place up the road was HUGE. But it was also just a lot of shopping. There was Apple-Everything... cookies, pies, towels, dolls, fritters, bread.. you name, they can make it out of an apple. We went through the petting zoo which was kinda neat and let Drew play on a bouncer.. before heading out again.

Finally, we made our way on to Willow Brook farm. There were tons of cars parked on the side of the road so I figured this must be a good spot (oh, and also the ONLY spot) where we could pick some apples. We got in, got our bag and apple-picker-stick-thingy (no clue what the name of that thing is) and headed out to the trees.

Highly Disappointing........ there were about 20 trees or so... and each had about 4 apples on it... 2 of which were either rotten or not nearly ripe enough for picking. But we were on a mission, so I gave Drew the apple-picker-stick-thingy and let him go to town just picking whatever he could reach. We left there with about 5 apples.... BOO.... 

oh well, we had (an extremely hot) very good day together and spent some well needed time out in nature (apparently the beach isn't the only place mother nature created). And later that night we played Cowboys and Indians until bed time.... great weekend, with the greatest kid ever. 

***Side Note:  Look what I found outside my office at work this morning??? If all goes well, he'll be the new addition to our family. I can't wait for Drew to meet him this evening!!! 

Sunset & Sand Dreams

Now the munchkin is the Love of My Life... my entire world... My Son, my Moon and my Stars... and the only thing in life I want (need) is for my Drew to be healthy and happy....

However....

I must admit, there is one other small need I have in life.... for Drew and I ..... 

I want to live in a house on the beach . . . . 

not 5 minutes from the beach . . . . 

not 2 blocks away from the beach . . . .

-but right ON the beach... I want sand for my front or back yard. . . . 

I want a view of the ocean .  . .

I want to wake up to the smell of salt water. . .  and the sound of the waves . . . 

and according to Walt Disney... "Dreams do come true . . ."

Congrats Munchkin Man

Another Proud Mama Moment... my little munchkin received the Student of the Month award for his first month in the first grade. I am SOOO proud of my baby boy. So far Drew is doing very well in first grade (a lot less emotional than kindergarten was). The only issue we have is that he might be a little too advanced for the class he's in. He completes every assignment unassisted and ahead of the class, he's already read every book they have in the class "library" (twice), and is getting pretty bored with the work he's given since it's all stuff he already knows. Unfortunately his school doesn't offer the GATE program until the 3rd grade, so I'm going to have to see what else I can do to continue to stimulate and challenge his little mind.

Congratulations My Sunshine... 

Wordless Wednesday

The Weekend

This past weekend was another one of the long and horrible weekends... the weekend when the munchkin is at his dads. I kept pretty busy Saturday with shopping with Mom and lunch with the family for (the best) Grandma's birthday, then "watching" the fight (chatting with my Aunts & cousins) at my aunt's house.

But then Sunday came along. After waking up and playing with the little monster (Brady) I had absolutely nothing else to do that day. Of course I could have cleaned the house, organized the 800 miscellaneous papers laying on the dining room table, or finished painting the kitchen... but who wants to do that on a Sunday (or any day for that matter)? So I did a little cleaning, then headed out to some thrift stores to find some apron inspiration and who knows what else. I hadn't been in a thrift store in so long.... and man have I been missing out! I found about 4 or 5 dressers that I could refinish for Drew's room, about 6 bookshelves that I have to have, and a few old aprons to add to the collection along with 2 pillowcases to get started on my pillow case aprons. 
 And later that afternoon I went on a "Mommy Date" and took myself to the movies to watch Love Happens then did a little (unnecessary) shopping. I hate the weekends when the munchkins isn't home, but I some how manage to enjoy some "Me Time" also. 

Football Season is Here

Well it's finally here... and I must say that I am not a huge fan of football. I can enjoy a great football get together, LOVE our family tradition of watching Super Bowl at Molles Manor, and of course I love the food that goes along with all the sports stuff... but it's not something I HAVE to watch every week, I don't have a favorite team and there's no way in the world I'll ever get into Fantasy Football. Anyways, the munchkin may only be five and he doesn't know much about the game either, but he sure does have a favorite team... Daddy's team...

The Dolphins. So last night while we're out trying to find fabric for the aprons Mom's gonna make us, we stumbled upon the Dolphin fleece. Naturally he had to have it.... and who can say no to that adorable little munchkin face? Certainly not me (just look at my bank account). Drew was all excited about making his blanket that night... until the actual work began. This little boy is such a drama queen. The entire time of making the "had to have" blanket, he was complaining that his hands hurt and he was tired. But after it was all done he was very pleased with his new creation and can't wait to take it to Dad's to show it off.

21 Choices

So the munchkin and I have been working on his reading and spelling a lot lately. Every night we go through a series of flash cards and when he gets one right he gets to put a marble in the jar (either the spelling or reading one, whichever we're working on at the moment). As an incentive to get him more excited about the process, I promised him a prize when he filled up either jar. Well, last night he filled the reading jar and was rewarded with a special ice cream treat.
Drew had never been to 21 Choices before, and other than my trip with SKGJ last week, it had been a LONG time since I'd been there myself, so off we went. And he was in love.... so many choices for the child who loves making choices. As he's looking through all the toppings trying to carefully make his selection, I asked the lady (out of my random curiosity) and she tells me there are about 100 choices.... ok, so they might need to look into changing their name. Finally the munchkin decides on strawberry yogurt with circus animal cookies and marshmallows, and I opted for vanilla bean with a twinkie (YUM!!!).

 We decided to walk around for a bit while we ate. And when we sat down to take a break, the little man just can't resist dancing. There was no music, it was so quiet out there, but that didn't stop my little munchkin. I swear I could watch this kid dance all day. He cracks me up. His attempt at the Thriller dance really had me rolling. Not sure how much longer the Michael Jackson phase is going to last. Once again it was another great simple night... spent with the love of my life. 

xoxo

(ok, so I still haven't really gotten the hang of the whole blogging thing, so the pictures are out of order... but you get the idea =)

Tooth Time

Well, the time has come... too quickly if you ask me. My baby boy has his first loose tooth. On the morning of September 12th, while eating breakfast,  the munchkin discovered that his tooth was wiggling. Now I know that this is just a natural part of life..  every child goes through it.. and every mother goes through it right along with them.. but for some reason it's different for me. I'm not ready for my baby to grow up. But we're looking forward to the tooth fairy coming to visit. The night of the discovery, Drew asked how much money I thought the tooth fairy would give him. I said probably a couple quarters. He says "what if she only has dollars? what if she leaves $200 dollars?"... Wow, my little munchkin has high hopes. Sure hope the tooth fairy wins the lottery before she shows up at our house. 

Remembering

Last night I had to explain to my 5 year old why he was being asked by his school to wear red, white and blue today. It's a story I wish I never had to tell.

For Starters...

Well, after spending the last few weeks browsing through blogs on family, aprons, crafts, cookies, kids and cupcakes, I decided it was time for Drew and I to have a blog of our own. So here it goes... too bad I have no clue of how this thing really works so it's gonna be A LOT of trial and error . . . oh well, can't be harder than raising the munchkin.