Category: Family

Andrew helped me peel the apples we picked for apple crisp and apple sauce. Once Andy put the apple on the peeler, Andrew was able to  spin it himself. He of course though it was great and I’ll never turn down a sous chef! 

Last weekend one of my favorite people came to visit. Preethi was the very first person I met at college and we’ve been getting into mischief (of the good kind!) together ever since! In addition to lots of laughs and catching up, we went apple picking at Riamede Farms. Andrew enjoyed picking the apples, pulling the wagon, eating the cider donut but (not surprisingly) was most excited to ride the tractor. Another successful festive fall experience!

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. We decided to try Snyder’s Farm which ended up be a great choice for the boys; no lines, a hayride and lots of activities perfect for budding 3 year olds. Andrew and Austin went on the giant hay barrel slide, climbed the hay barrel ‘mountain’, navigated the maze, climbed on a tractor, bounced in a pumpkin bounce house and ate donuts- all before the actual pumpkin picking! 

Andrew had a ball up until the actual patch. He STRONGLY preferred riding the tractor over picking a pumpkin; subtext he had a total melt down in the middle of the pumpkin patch. Needless to say despite reading lots of pumpkin books readying him for this moment, we grabbed the closest pumpkin, paid and headed over to the tractor. Trying to wrangle 4 kids under 3 for a picture- always MEMORABLE and IMPOSSIBLE! Happy fall y’all! ?

Despite a total scheduling mishap on Mommy’s part, Andrew and Andy are back in the pool with weekly swimming lessons! Andrew really is starting to progress in the water. He now acknowledges that the water even exists (before he’d pretend he was Jesus and could walk on it…), jumps in, goes under, blows bubbles, float on his back and can swim around by himself- with a bubble of course! It’s also great that they have this special time together (translation: ‘Mommy doesn’t have to get wet’). Just another series of lessons and he’ll be done with the Parent/child classes. No worries…. next comes Teddy! Andy won’t be able to escape that pool for at least another 2.5 years!

Yes, I’m that creeper sitting in the balcony all alone taking pictures of kids. Anything for the blog!

What does one do when the kid’s daycare is closed, your house being cleaned (I know- tough life) BUT you still have work?

Hunker down in the basement, ply the children with toys and Thomas, and use a kiddie table as a desk. ?

For the first time since early June we had a weekend at home, without guests and that everyone was healthy…or at least not in the hospital! It was awesome to just be able to enjoy our house and friends leisurely for the whole weekend; a seriously underrated experience!

On Friday Andrew and I went to the library after school to get some new books to read. We filled up his library bag, said hi to the fish and headed home for some reading. I LOVE that he loves books!

On Saturday morning we headed to the Turtle Back Zoo. Andrew said his favorites were riding the train (of course not see the animals we paid to visit…), seeing the giraffes and the ‘cave’ aka climbing through the prairie dog exhibit (again, not seeing the prairie dogs, just climbing through a hole). Teddy of course was happy as a clam to be pushed around through the whole thing.

On Sunday afternoon we went Jockey Hollow, my favorite park, to go hiking and ‘explore.’ I wanted to capitalize on Andrew’s excitement from last week’s walk and this trip didn’t disappoint. We walked the mile long (Andrew did it all himself!) Primrose trail that criss-crossed a little creek several times. Andrew LOVED walking on the trails by himself, crossing the bridges and putting his hands in the water. And when he got tired he’d say ‘I need a break’ and sit down on a rock for a few minutes. And again, Teddy was happy as a clam being carried through the whole experience!

PS- We had two(!) presidential moments this weekend. Trump spends his summer weekends at his golf course in Bedminster, NJ. This is LITERALLY the next town over and all of 2 minutes from the boys’ pediatrician. So on Saturday we saw Air Force 1 parked at the local airport on the way to the zoo. And on Sunday evening we saw 3 marine helicopters, aka Marine 1, fly overhead as the president flew back to his plane. The choppers LITERALLY flew over our property, no exaggeration. If Trump looked out the window there is no doubt he’d see our family playing in the yard. I’ll keep my personal politics off the blog but it’s still crazy to see the President of the United States fly right over your house!