Pumpkin Patch!

We have enjoyed Waterman's Fall Harvest Festival in previous years. They offer hay rides to the pumpkin patch, the kids usually walk the corn mazes, play in the hay, pet some animals, and they feature a pumpkin eating dinosaur named Tyranny during this time. They have crafts and goodies and much much more. It's a great local business that is family owned. We love it there.

This year with the weather turning cold so fast, and relentless rains...I just didn't feel up to it. I wanted to literally go buy pumpkins at a big box retailer and be done with it. I wanted to carve them before I lost the desire to. I found out that Waterman's had a second location just south of Indy. My oldest child insisted he still wanted the pumpkin patch experience and of course I did not want to rob the younger kids of that so we decided to check out the less developed Waterman's down south.

Since it was so dreary outside they did not have any of the extra's set up...like hay rides, and bounce house, or the petting zoo...which was kinda lame. I think it was 3 chickens and 2 goats. I'm not sure what constitutes a petting zoo but I am pretty sure that this is a stretch.

It was, however, perfect for us! We just needed pumpkins and the kids wanted to pick them themselves and rip 'em off the vine. They really are so much like me. :)

So, if you are ever looking for pumpkins in Indianapolis and you either don't have funds for the whole festival or you don't have time...weather is bad, etc. you should check out Waterman's south location. It was just what we needed...at least for this year! Hopefully next year will be warmer and not so wet!

When we entered the barn we were immediately greeted by this dog. I'm not a dog person but I seriously love this dog. I wish our dogs were outside dogs. I bet I'd get along with them better if the were. Ha! 

As we exited the back of the barn there were 2 goats crying at us. At least I think that they are goats. I mean...they kinda looked like a sheep and goat made babies. I really should get out more! 

Aiden decided to try to feed them some grass and they started climbing the chicken wire fencing!

Dad got a cart and we headed out to a very muddy pumpkin patch. 

Andrew found his pumpkin right away. It was lying long the side of the path. It looked like one that someone picked and decided not to take home. Lazy teenager. Remember that this was HIS idea to go to an actual patch in the rain and the cold. Shaking my head. Haha!

My daughter picked her pumpkin for it's shape. She wanted to have one that was perfectly round. That's my girl! ;)

The kids were calling this dog "pumpkin" and he happily pranced all around us in the patches. 

Dane really liked how smooth this pumpkin was. 

and little bit...he still wasn't quite strong enough to do it on his own but he tried!

Aiden hitched a ride with the pumpkins on the way back to the barn.

Nadine found the smallest pumpkin

When we got back to the barn three chickens had come out to play. 

That dog followed them everywhere!

All in all it was a good time despite the rain and strong cold winds. I'm glad that we went. 

Fall Break!

We don't have a lot planned for Fall Break 2011. I had planned a trip to Alabama to see our old neighbors but as it turns out their fall break schedule is weeks apart from ours here in Indiana.

The best part about school breaks is getting to sleep in. When I woke up I found sister playing a computer game with her two little brothers. This is a very rare moment! Don't get me wrong...they get along most times but the boys are large and in charge, and normally more loud and hyper than sis can handle in the early morning hours.

This warms my heart!

I went to check on the man child. As I walked towards his room I found that even puppers was sleeping in.

Man child was just starting to wake as I walked in. He name called me for coming in with my camera. 

We'll just pretend that didn't happen. Turd. 

He does have a point...it turns out that having your photo taken with bed head in your jammies isn't as fun on the receiving end. :)

This is how we celebrate breaks in our house. I simply do not want to cook french toast, eggs, sausage, and toast on my "day off" so....I splurged on a box of over priced, over processed, sugar laden "whole grains"

This makes me a super hero of monumental proportions to 8 little feet today. 

They very very rarely get the good stuff. 

I'm headed off to work...just felt like I needed to stop snapping pictures every day and do nothing with them so I should really try to blog them more often. 

We're planning a trip to The Children's Museum and the Haunted Museum too. We are also planning a trip to the pumpkin patch. We'll see if this rain lets up. It's been raining for days and the lake is swelling up quite a bit!

Black Friday

This was a post I shared on a local moms site a few years ago. I would revisit the subject every year around Thanksgiving week in anticipation of Black Friday. I thought I would post it here since that site may be shutting down soon and I put a lot of time into sharing this information to save others time, and money!

Are you a Black Friday Virgin or a seasoned shopper? I have always enjoyed Black Friday for the most part. No matter where you shop you will most likely run into some sort of problems, but the savings have always been worth it for us.

Last year I posted a few tips about shopping for Black Friday. My friend decided to go shopping with me for Black Friday this year, and she is a Black Friday Virgin. There was a lot to teach her about the process!

I thought I'd expand my tips and tricks of the trade from last year’s post. I encountered so many ill prepared people this year! I hope that by sharing what I and so many other Black Friday shoppers have learned will help other Moms you can make your day go as smoothly as possible each year! 

Get plenty of sleep. If you are well rested you automatically have the advantage! Your mind will be sharper than the shoppers who stayed up all night to ensure they get to the stores early. You really want to be at the store at least 30 minutes to an hour before the start of the sale. The shoppers who walk in at the start time of the sale miss a lot!

Dress comfortably. You are not trying to impress anyone! Wear comfortable shoes! You should also dress in light layers. Instead of wearing a heavy coat that will take up space in my cart I wear a zip front hooded sweatshirt that can be tied around my waist should I get too hot. If you have long hair you may be more comfortable wearing it up. My hair is very long and it gets caught on hangers and other items as I buzz around the store. I usually start the day with my hair down, and keep a hair band on my wrist as a bracelet so I can pull my hair back when I've had enough.

Take a snack with you. A Protein bar or cereal & fruit bar can sustain you while you wait in long lines! I find that I get hungry much earlier than a normal day, so be sure to eat breakfast too! Take a drink. Many people take a Travel mug of coffee, or bottled water. You'd be amazed how many people I hear say they are thirsty while they are shopping!

Clean out your car. Remove car seats, and anything that may make it difficult for you to load your deals when you are done shopping! You may want to keep trash bags or reusable grocery bags in the car to consolidate your load, and this also helps conceal your items in your car. 

Spend time making a list. The more detailed the better! Write down the store name for each item, the advertised price, and if it is a price that has restricted hours, and be sure to write down sizes too for clothing, shoes, etc. It is a lot easier to reference your list versus flipping through ads while pushing a cart. You want to still take the ads with you, as often times there will be items that are not in the stores computer system at the correct price!  

Be patient. Have realistic expectations. You should go into the day knowing that you will not get every item on your deal list. By the time you get to a few items, other items will sell out. It is the nature of the sale. There is no sense in getting upset, angry, or violent. I have personally watched shoppers push, yell, curse, and display other unsavory behavior. If you engage in this type of activity you can be thrown out of the store, and it also takes away from your edge of being well rested. Tell yourself that no deal is worth fighting over and you will have the energy needed to move on when you find a deal you missed out on. This is probably one of the most important things to take with you. Your patience! There is no sense in getting angry over not getting a sale item. You will carry that anger with you all day and pass it onto everyone you come in contact with. It's not worth letting something like that take away from your Black Friday experience!

Do not take personal items with you that you will regret losing. It is easy to lay down your purse or wallet and forget it. Unfortunately during this Season people become desperate and theft is always a concern. If you want to carry a tote or purse I suggest one that can sling over your body and keep it on you at all times. I carry a small tote with a long strap. It has a pocket in front for my cell phone, a zippered pocket to make my debit card and ID less accessible, and it has room for my snack, gum, shopping list, pens, and ads.

You should decide which item(s) are most important, and focus on finding that item first. Remember-it is not realistic to let yourself think you will be able to get all of the door busters.  

Take a friend or family member. Misery loves company! In all seriousness though, things will run smoother if you work as a team. The aisles are cram packed, and trying to maneuver a cart is nearly impossible. One person can stay with the cart while the other ventures off on foot to grab items that would otherwise take you 20 minutes to get to with your cart. Take turns watching the cart, and it helps to be familiar with each other’s list. This way if you see something your teammate has on their list you can grab it as you go along. If you do not have cell phones take walkie talkies. It is easy to get separated in the crowds, and this makes finding each other easier!

Err on the side of caution. Almost anything can be returned! Don't regret passing up on a deal because you weren't sure if it was the right item, color, size, etc! I also suggest you save all decision making until you are in line to pay. I am a visual merchandiser and I know how much it stinks to pick up hundreds of discarded items at a store, but on Black Friday I think it is totally acceptable to decide later you do not want an item and discard it so someone else can buy it. The stores expect to deal with this, and it is not realistic for you to put things back where you got them in these crowds!

You can expect to be in line at the registers anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour waiting to pay. I find that the longer you shop the less time you have to wait. You can wait in line for an hour, or you can lap the store a few times and get in line later when the lines are down. 

Another popular Method is to get in line right away, and continue to take turns with your team mate. You'd be amazed how many times you can take turns venturing out while you wait in the long checkout lines. Just be sure you don't stay away to long and hold up the line when you aren't there to pay!

Many people start their Black Friday at Wal-Mart. There are a few great reasons to start there. My number one reason is that they are a 24 hour store. This means I can stand indoors while awaiting the start of the sale. If you get there early you may be able to find some of the items on the shelf and save yourself from hunting down a few items later. 

The second reason some start their day at Wal-Mart is because they normally do price matching. If you have the competitors ad with you, and are checking out at the register during the time of the sale at the competitor most stores will honor the competitor's price. This saves you a trip, and also saves you from possibly missing a deal at another store if they sell out before you get there. Wal-Mart will normally only price match the exact same brand of an item if it is a sale price. They will not price match Buy one get one offers, or percentage off deals. Remember to take those competitor ads!

Wal-Mart offers really great door buster prices, and often times offer more door busters than the competitors. It really depends on what you are in the Market for!

 If you go to more than one store on Black Friday be sure you have a spare key on you for your car. Keys get locked in the car. Keys get dropped or otherwise misplaced. Make sure you lock your car, and try to hide your purchases that are stored in your car. You should lock the items in your trunk, or cover them with a blanket if possible. You don't want to encourage anyone to break into your car by leaving high ticket items visible from outside of your vehicle.

Place an envelope or some sort of container in your car to store receipts. Retailers are getting very strict about returns, and you don't want to lose the receipt and be stuck with an item you didn't need. I also suggest you get gift receipts! You don't want your gift recipients being stuck with an item that may be the wrong size, color, style, etc.

I hope this helps you to have an enjoyable experience on Black Friday. There are deals out there that are worth the waiting for. It is also a fun way to spend some time with a friend or loved one.

 

Happy Shopping!

How to Build a Cemetery

Every year I set up a cemetery for Halloween. Each year I buy a few more Styrofoam grave stones after the holiday when they are on clearance for 50%-75% off the retail price. I'm smart like that. This makes each Halloween season a little like Christmas when you get to open up all the new stuff you bought last year on clearance.

The problem is that the plastic stakes that come with the gravestones break easily, and they are often too short to hold the headstone in the ground during a windy storm. I spent a lot of time fixing the cemetery, repairing headstones and replacing the ones that were too torn up from frequent usage.

Last year I decided that I was going to find a solution to this problem. My original graveyard was just 4 grave stones. It has grown over the years to 38 headstones plus several grave diggers, an arch entryway, a gated entry and several other spooky and lighted goblins. With all of that to set up I was just over the constant maintenance of those gravestones.

What you will need for this project:

Styrofoam grave stones

 plastic fencing

2 X 2 X 8' pine boards

 Black spray paint and tent stakes

 3/16 washers and deck screws

 Step 1: Cut the 8 foot boards in half and spray paint them black. I suppose you could use black paint and a brush but I am far too impatient for that. Spray paint dries faster and doesn't require brushes/rollers/and it might be cheaper? I used 4 cans on this project. They were under $1 each at Wal-mart.

I drilled a hole into both ends of each 4' section of 2 X 2 about 6" in from the ends to stake the wood to the ground so the sections stay in place and are secured to the ground.

 Now...this is probably an optional step. I'm sort of a little obsessive/compulsive about small details. I tool a small saw and cut the tabs off of the sides of the fencing that are meat to connect them together since I will not be connecting them. You will have to cut the stakes off of the bottoms. You may be able to cut these off with a sharp box knife but please use caution. Missing digits are not sexy.

 Again-a little obsessive, but I spray painted the washers too, and the screw heads as well.

 I placed a grave stone at the end of the 4' section of 2 X 2. Then you screw on a screw and washer, 2 per headstone...like this. I do not have man hands. I had an assistant because...boys like to work for me. :) 

 I screwed the fencing in without washers. 2 screws per fence run. I then screwed another headstone into the other end to finish off the 4 feet of 2 X 2.

 I placed the tent stakes into the holes that were drilled in about 6 inches from each end and then pressed them into the ground.

A finished section looks like this once it is staked into the ground.

In short, I purchased 2 X 2 X 8' pine boards, spray painted them black, drilled holes 6 inches in from each end for tent stakes to hold them into the ground, I attached 2-3 headstones per 4' section of 2 X 2 with screws and 3/16 washers (that I spray painted black), and then I attached plastic fencing pieces between the gravestones to add some spooky graveyard character as well as to evenly space the headstones. Now the headstones are easy to set up, they stay in place all season (in theory...we'll see) and they will be easy to store for future years usage.

Here is what a bunch of these sections placed together looks like:

A Special Heart

I truly believe that kids with special needs need special parents with a special heart in order to succeed. When I say succeed I am NOT speaking to becoming doctors or lawyers, or the entrepreneur that makes six figures while sitting on a beach on Tokyo. I just mean a successful life in general. You know...the kind where you work for a living, support your family, give back to the community, and have a loving family.

That's just my definition of success at the moment. It may be different tomorrow. It may be different in an hour. Please do not take offense if you are not supporting your family right now, or if you cannot volunteer of yourself. Success may be a very different picture for you.

I work very hard to help keep my special boys on task. Very hard. So hard in fact that there are days where I think it may very well be the death of me. I have those days where I just want to lie down, and when I say lie down...I mean lie down, and never get back up.

Sometimes I feel like I am in this alone. My child's only advocate. That's a lot of strain a mommas heart. Especially a momma with 2 special boys and 4 children all together.

No matter how organized my brain is once these guys walk out from under my wings...they are in the drivers seat. They are in control. They have the power to undo all of the planning and organizing I so painstakingly did to ensure they were set up for success. One of them usually does just that.

You may be wondering what has sent me on such a tangent. It's really the smallest of things. It's really MY issue. Today is team pictures day. I made sure to pay for the photos online so that my son would not have a check or cash to keep track of. I placed his uniform in a gallon Ziploc baggie WITH the order form and confirmation number of payment to ensure that the uniform didn't get wet or stained, and that the order form wouldn't get lost. I asked him to place it in his backpack. I made sure to watch that he actually DID place it in his backpack AND that the order form and both uniform pieces were inside it.

I get this team picture every year. I want to have these in his scrapbook of memories for when he gets older. Every year he misplaces or forgets the form. Every year it is a battle to track down the company and arrange to get copies of the pics. You may think I should just not get the pic and let that be his lesson. That wouldn't do anything to solve this problem. It is ME who wants the picture. He could probably care less.

As you may now have guessed he has somehow lost that order form envelope. It's gone. He has no idea where it went. It is probably in the locker room or the team bus...or floating around at the school where they hosted last nights 5k. Who knows.

I had planned for this to happen. I kept the parent side of the order form. I wrote down the confirmation number. I circled the package I had ordered. I put his name on the paper. HOPEFULLY he doesn't lose that one. I forgot to make a copy.

I know it may seem like the smallest of things...but it is the little things that pile up around here. Losing homework every.single.day. Losing order forms. Permission slips. Uniforms. Gym clothes. Sweat pants. SHOES!!! He lost 2.5 pairs of shoes in the first month of school.

I don't know that this is anything more than a vent. My head aches. My heart hurts. I'm tired, and weary, and bruised to the bone...and now that he is off to school I have another very special boy to wake up and start all over again. Thankfully this one has an organized brain like mine...he's special in a very different way. Bring on the loud, hyper, and wild.

Have a great day. Hug someone today. They may really need it!

I Don't Have a Title

I've been thinking a lot this weekend. Several blog topics have come to me. Now that I have time to write of course the topics, like Elvis, have all left the building.

We had a XC meet on Saturday in Martinsville. It was 90,000 degrees outside so I was extra proud that the boys ran a 5k and won! Andrew's time dropped to 22:14 but given the heat index I think he still did well.

I let the kids have a couple of friends over last night. That was fun. They played board games. We made our own pizza, had ice cream sundaes, and watched an old movie. It was a good time and I really love the kids mine have befriended!

Today I've just been cleaning, working on a few projects around the house, and now I feel a nap coming on. Not the most exciting holiday weekend but sometimes uneventful can be very enjoyable, right?!

Have a great labor day. Sorry for the fluff post. Topic suggestions are always welcome. ;)

Making Tough Choices

In life we all have to make tough choices. I also believe we have to make wrong choices. It's how we learn. My oldest child is in high school and is participating in XC and Marching band this year. It's a beast of a schedule. The two activities have overlapping schedules nearly weekly. There are days where my son will leave home for school at 6:30am and I do not see him again until 9:00pm. It's too much. At least it is for dear old mom!

This weekend is the first of a series of Saturdays where the XC team has a meet on the same day and usually within an hour of a Marching band performance. Since we obviously cannot be in two places at the same time we have to choose which event to participate in. He has to choose.

I would like to see him run XC events over marching band. This is a painful realization for me. I hate admitting that. Music is my whole life. It moves me. It inspires me. It's how I learned how to love, and how to hate. How to succeed and how to fail. Marching band holds some of the very best memories I have of high school. I could not imagine having not had music in my life back then. I never thought I would want to choose anything over music. Ever.

With that said...this is about my son. HE is a runner. HE is an excellent runner. He may not be showing his full potential right now, but I have seen him at near best and he is a beast. He has always been a varsity runner. He may not be #1 but he does give him a run for his title!

Music, on the other hand, is not his best skill set. He has never been 1st chair. He is dead last most of the time. He doesn't practice. I've never really felt like his whole heart is really in it.

A good runner could be eligible for scholarships down the road. A fair musician is not likely to see much in the way of scholarship money. Life isn't all about money but I do have 4 children to see off to college and every little bit helps...especially when it is a reward for a skill your excel at!

With that said...music gives him joy. The very same joy that it gives me. While he may not be able to make the best music...it brings him joy. Now...how can a mother take even a sliver of bliss away from her child? I don't know. Not this mom. I cannot do it. I'm in the midst of my own mid-life...life is too short to not live your bliss-kind of moment right now. No way do I want to do that to my kid!

Still, a choice has to be made. For this year it has to be some meets are missed and some marching opportunities are missed. Next year it needs to be XC or Marching. I'm one mom with four kids and our lives cannot be centered around his schedule. Everyone deserves time to branch out and do their own thing.

I hate that I looked him in the eyes and told him that he was better at running than music and that he could still be in the band next year and just not march so that he could still run. I hate that I busted his bubble.

I hate that he has decided to run this weekend instead of march in the parade because I know his heart was set on marching.

No one ever said being a parent was easy. I sure hope tomorrow is at the very least a little easier! This mom sure doesn't like frowny faces.