Pumpkin & Gourd Shenanigans

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Yes...I am still pregnant...38 weeks and am so exhausted.  Last weekend was Bubba's fall break...so we had to do some entertaining as he was out of school Friday and Monday.  Entertaining a school aged kid, who is out of school, can get tiring.  Luckily, my mom and step-dad were in town as well.  Having guests in the house always gives Bubba more to do. 

One tradition I desperately wanted to check off of our bucket list for the year was going to a Pumpkin Patch with Bubba.  It was important to me to do this with Bubba during his last few weeks as an only child.  This has been a tradition for our family ever since Bubba was born, and this time we got to share our tradition with my parents.

We went to a new pumpkin patch this year and while we loved it...it was $16 a person...Is that not absolutely insane!?  We love supporting local agriculture and agritourism, but my parents paid $80 for all of us to go into a farm and walk around.  It was a great family experience, don't get me wrong, just not sure if it was worth $80!!! It was extremely nice of my parents to treat us to this fun day.

Quite possibly our very last picture as a family of 3!  I desperately wanted a picture of the boys holding a pumpkin where my preggo belly is, but they were not cooperative so I said screw it!

The farm had some gorgeous trees with large limbs that were low enough for children to climb and play on.  Bubba had said he was going to go all the way across this limb...but made a better decision about half way up to just have his Daddy get him down :-)

Bubba's favorite thing was the air compressor gun that you could use to shoot small produce at pumpkins and other non-functioning appliances.  Bubba and his Daddy did good shooting.

They had a small produce garden for you to look around in.  I absolutely love okra plants.  I don't care for picking okra, but I love the plant itself along with the vegetable and flower it produces!

Bubba, accidentally, pulled up a carrot from the produce garden.  We were not sure if this was supposed to happen...so we had him put it back...Unfortunately, he did not put it back before other kids saw he had pulled up a carrot, so they thought they could as well.  We all just slowly walked away from the scene...

I got on a hayride with Bubba and lived to regret it!  It was quite bumpy and bottomed out quite violently...both can make a woman who is a million months pregnant feel quite insecure.  My family tried to get me to stay behind, but I really wanted to go with Bubba.  Looking back, it probably would have been better if I had stayed behind!!

We ended up spending all afternoon out at the Pumpkin Patch.  While it was way overpriced, it was still a great afternoon of family fun! Lots of memories made.

A few other items checked off the bucket list for us before Vivian gets here...

| 1 | Purchased stackable gourds for front porch (NOT from Pumpkin Patch, as they had enough of our money)

| 2 | Purchased pumpkin to carve with Bubba (Again, NOT from Pumpkin Patch)

| 3 | Watched Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin

Next up to check off our list:

| 1 | Actually carve the pumpkin

| 2 | Watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Hocus Pocus and Ichabod with Bubba

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| 3 | Make Apple Cider

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 | 4 | Make Pumpkin Dessert like Pumpkin Muffins or my Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

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| 5 | Snuggle up in blanket on front porch in early morning with Hubs, coffee and Sassy

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| MOST IMPORTANTLY |

Give birth to sweet baby Viv in the next 2 weeks!

The Blur...

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I keep hoping if I post enough pumpkins and eat and drink all of the pumpkin things, that I will convince fall to go ahead and start already!  My theory has not worked that well, but I am enjoying all of the pumpkin things anyway...

We had an amazing weekend that was gone all too soon.  Friday night was sheer perfection.  We came home from a horribly long week of work, school and baseball practice and decided to bake a frozen pizza and watch The Jungle Book.  It was the best movie night we have had in a long time.  Hubs bought me Espresso Chip gelato...because he is just the best.  I learned that I am now able to balance a pint of ice cream on my belly, which is convenient...so thanks Vivi!

Just before we sat down for movie night, I coordinated a few outfits to pack in the hospital bag for Vivian...I am already having so much fun just by getting to coordinate a bow with an outfit...I am turning into the girl I said I wouldn't be....

Saturday morning Bubba snuggled with us in bed for a bit, then we loaded up and headed to our local coffee shop on the square.  The has become a tradition of ours.  We don't do it every weekend, because...well bills...but we do it once or twice a month and it is so cherished.  I just love a good cappuccino...

Next up was baseball pictures in which Bubba was looking quite classy, if I do say so myself...

Bubba got to go play with his friends after baseball pictures, then got to go to a birthday party for our neighbor's daughter across the street.


We watched the Auburn vs Texas A&M game, and were sorely disappointed...but we will shout war eagle till the end!


Sunday morning I got all of the bedding from Etsy out of the packaging and washed...then put on the crib mattress, changing pad and Boppy...I am in Rifle Paper Company heaven! I am loving the periwinkle color with small pops of pink and navy.  I really did not want to do a pink bedroom for a girl, but I did want to make sure it was colorful and feminine.

The two books on the crib are two that were on my Babylist registry, that Babylist was kind enough to gift to me.  I look forward to reading these adorable books to Vivian when she gets here!



The rest of my Sunday was spent prepping Pot Roast for supper, cleaning the house and sifting through the nursery.  It was actually a glorious day because I never had to leave the house!  I so enjoy having a day at home every now and then. Hubs took Bubba to go play with some friends, which I always appreciate as this pregnancy is starting to become more and more exhausting.

The week has started off with baseball on Monday and Tuesday...and we have a game tomorrow...and this is the official first week of games...Did I mention the season goes until November...Did I also mention I am having a baby in 5 weeks...I am tired just acknowledging all of this...Apparently Bubba is too judging by his face in the picture below...

Happy Hump Day Friends!

Bubba's Playlist

Bubba is quite a fun kid to have around.  One of the many reasons for this is his pretty stellar, and eclectic, taste in music.  He truly appreciates music from almost every genre.  We never really got into children's music and he never really wanted to, with the exception of the Ghostbusters theme song and the Ninja Rap on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.  I thought I would share songs that get played in our car on the way to school and ball games every week...

 

1. Long Cool Woman by The Hollies

Bubba has been requesting this song since he was probably two years old.  Now he requests for me to "turn up the bass so he can feel it"  He rocks out to this song and sings every word

   

2. Huntin', Fishin' & Lovin' Everyday by Luke Bryan

This is a newer one that has made the list in the last month.  We listen to this at least three times a day.  Bubba has always loved Luke Bryan since he first heard "We Rode in Trucks"  I think the main reason he loves this song is that he is dead set on going hunting with his Daddy this fall and he loves to fish.  He is a little country boy at heart and loves to be outside in the country exploring.

3. Get Back by The Beatles

This has been an inside joke for my family.  We will just randomly start asking each other "Who's Jo-Jo?  Bubba thinks it is hilarious.  We started doing that after listening to this song when Bubba was 2 or 3.  It is now a regular in our house.



 

4. Adventure of a Lifetime by Coldplay

Bubba discovered Coldplay this winter.  Since we don't have cable, one of the things we enjoy watching is music videos on YouTube.  It can be a challenge to find music videos that are appropriate.  Enter Coldplay.  Not only are they extremely talented musicians, but there is no filth in their videos making for easy family watching.

 

5. She'll Leave You With a Smile by George Strait

Bubba has always been mesmerized by George Strait and has always wanted to be him.  When he has on jeans, boots and a nice button down shirt he always says he looks like George Strait.  Hey, there are far worse role models out there.  George is about as classy as they come.  This is just one of the few songs of his that Bubba loves.



 

6. Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw

This is a song, and music video, that I made sure to expose Bubba to, and one that he has clung to ever since.  The song has had a profound effect on me.  The video is amazingly beautiful.  When Bubba asks for the song he says "I want the Tim McGraw song with all the different kinds of people."  Hubs and I try very hard to raise him to be humble and kind...towards ALL people, no matter their differences.  We are all brothers and sisters after all.  This song is an easy way to put lessons we want him to learn into words. I love listening to Bubba's quiet voice sing along.

Some other honorable mentions:

Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Drag Me Down: One Direction
Live and Die by The Avett Brothers
Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars
The Cave and ANY song by Mumford & Sons

Jackson by Johnny & June Carter Cash

 

I have to say I don't hate his music taste.  If there is one thing we all have in common as a family it is our love and our basic need to have music in our life.  What do your kids listen to?

Southern Belle Strawberry Farm

Last week Bubba was on Spring Break.  I took off a couple of days to hang out with him during his break.  Tuesday, we decided to go to a Strawberry Farm called Southern Belle Farms in McDonough, GA.  It was quite a drive for us, and there are strawberry farms much closer to us, but this was the only one that opened the day we could go.  We were there for their opening day of the season.

When we arrived at the farm we decided to go pick strawberries first.  We wanted to check out the competition and get going so we could pick the best berries.  Bubba was really into it as he loves all things farm life.  He wanted to pick every berry, but after some coaching he began picking only the deep red and plump berries.  He may have sampled one or two to make sure we were on the right path...

 

 

Once we finished picking all the berries we needed, we stopped to admire the fruits of our labor (no pun intended!)

Strawberry picking is actually quite a workout.  The plants were not completely filled out yet as it is the very beginning of the season, so we had to do quite a bit of walking to get enough good looking berries to fill two pails.

After picking our berries, Bubba wanted to check out the animals and play some of the activities provided at the farm...I wish I had a tenth of his energy...

Finally, Bubba was worn out and ready for some sustenance...So we splurged on homemade strawberry ice cream and strawberry shortcake.  The shortcake was the best dessert I have had in years.  It was absolutely dreamy and the setting only enhanced it.

I had almost talked myself out of going on this trip with Bubba because it was quite a drive over there and it was just the two of us.  I am so glad I pushed through the doubt, because I will cherish the adventure with him so much.  It is so nice to go do things with just Bubba.  Of course, we would have loved to have had his Daddy with us, as he would have loved every minute of it, but I believe all parents need to go on solo adventures with their kids when they can.  It is a great way to get to know the person your child is becoming.  I have frozen a bunch of the berries and plan to make my own strawberry shortcake and ice cream.