Follies In Motherhood: Epitome of Fall

October was jam-packed with everything fall. Pumpkin patch, fall family farms, Halloween - what else could someone ask for?

We spent a lot of time at local family activity farms - A LOT.

A local nursery always holds a fall activity weekend. We went on a chilly afternoon and there was one other family there. In a normal world I would have been sad not to have more people for the kids to play with, but it was kind of nice to not have to worry about COVID.

Next up - not my favorite. I'd heard about this place and on paper it looked to have lots of activities. I'm sure at one point it was fantastic, but when we went this time it was just really unkept and rundown. The kids still had a lot of fun - anything that is a new experience for kids is always a lot of fun.

Cute story: this place had a haunted house and Colin was just so determined that he wanted to go through it. I told him we could try, but all it took was one strobe light and fog machine combo to send him running out the door.

The next place we went to definitely more than made up for the sketchy farm. It was such an awesome family run farm. It had a cute play area, a'] porch-style market, great photo ops and an actual pumpkin patch! I had such a great day with these two kids on this day.

It was relatively warm this October, so it was pretty easy to get the kids outside on hikes and walks. Luckily both of our kids don't mind colder weather which makes getting outside even easier. The only problem is Blair is the slowest human ever on hikes. It isn't that she's stopping to check stuff out; she's just a slow walker; she just plods along in no rush. I started calling her "the slowest poke" and now that's how she refers to herself when we are walking!

I had heard there was a set of railroad tracks close to our Nature Center and I wanted to snap a few pics of the kids on it. It was a really beautiful day and man I sure did get some good snaps.

I had heard about a Nature Center about an hour away that had a skywalk, where you walk in the tree canopy 80ft above the ground. I'll admit it was a little underwhelming, but it had a nature obstacle course that the kids loved that made the trip worth it.

On some of the warmer days I was able to get Blair out on some hikes & walks while Colin was at school. You really do have to get the right mindset when you go with her: you're going nowhere fast.

Chris even took a day off so I could spend some time alone in the woods. His only stipulation was I take Carlo. He didn't have to tell me twice; I was out of there!

And what FALL month is complete with some leaf pile action! Any leaves we found we played in. Our older lady neighbor Miss Pat had a perfect tree for a leaf pile, so we said we would rake it to the street for her if we could play in it. It was a good compromise (sadly we found out the next day that Miss Pat had actually passed away - very sad).

We even used some leaves to make a Dad inspired scarecrow! Classic.

We had some visitors at the end of the month! We weren't sure they would be able to come due to a COVID scare but were glad they did. We did some crafts with Grandma then went outside for some more leaf fun with Grandpa Doug's leaf blower!

Also. I got a fire pit on sale for $50 and it was worth every penny. We don't have any crazy big fires; mostly just sticks from our yard. I know it will get used this winter as a warm up spot when the kids are outside playing.

We had our usual Halloween traditions as well. Last Christmas, I found a house that had a yard full of inflatables. This year I found out the same house does Halloween too! We went one evening to check it out; Colin loved it but Blair...not so much. She refused to go in and just stayed safe in Dad's arms. We carved pumpkins and I made pumpkin seeds. Colin ended up carving his own pumpkin face all by himself, and I was pretty impressed with how it turned out!

And then of course: HALLOWEEN. Definitely my favorite holiday right behind Christmas. I love the decorations, the creativity of costumes, and the sense of community it brings. Sadly, I heard our neighborhood wasn't really participating in trick-or-treating due to COVID, and I didn't want the holiday to be lost this year. So, I went all out (yes, too much) and had a party at home just for the four of us. It ended up being really fun, but I tried to pack way too much stuff into one day and I was burned out. We weren't planning on trick-or-treating but I thought we would drive around and see if any neighbors put out candy bowls. Surprisingly a lot of people did, so the kids ended up getting lots of contact-free candy! It was a great holiday, but next year we will do a party OR trick-or-treating; not both!

Now onto the kids.

Comparing the two kids, I know I don't have as many of Colin as I do of Blair. It is because a) Colin is in school four days a week and b) Colin can play independently whereas Blair still needs a bit of supervision so I'm always with her. My favorite part of picking Colin up (aside from getting my boy back to me) is checking out his school folder. I love getting to see what he's learning (sight words and math) and the artwork. I love his imagination and his creativity and love that he can put his creations onto paper.

He's also always happy or in a good mood, and willing to help out. Of course he is a lot to handle with his need for stimulation and energy level, but he is pretty much always happy and man, is that a great trait.

One night at dinner, Blair was being...Blair, and refused to eat her food. I had promised the kids dessert, and didn't want to disappoint Colin since he did well eating his own food. So he and I snuck outside and had our dessert in the driveway so Blair wouldn't see!!

After the Halloween Party, I was telling Colin I hoped he had a great day. Very quietly he said "You're my best girl." And if that didn't make my Grinch heart grow times three.

I saw a meme that said "No I don't have a favorite child but I do have one I try very hard not to wake up." That sums up Blair for me. She can be so sweet but man alive when she is sour, it is hard to pull her out of it and it makes for a very trying day. She had to quarantine for two weeks for a positive COVID test and I think even missing those 4 days of preschool really set her off on a wrong foot. She was cranky and defiant and the littlest things would set her off. It was a difficult time! Luckily she is still beautiful and has her little moments of cuteness.

But really. Check out these cute school pics of my girl.

She is showing she really likes to help, even if sometimes that means just keeping me company. She also likes to play with sensory activities. She had a school assignment with cotton balls and glass jars and that kept her busy for an hour, so I spent some time thinking of other sensory activities she could play to keep her quiet and happy.