I can haz punkinz?

I spend far too much time in the humor section of pinterest. Unfortunately for my husband he has to hear me mutter the word "ermahgerd" way too often. I give credit to his genuis mind for this little piece of heaven right here.

 

Pumpkin patch!

In 2010 we made our first trip as a family to the Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch. When Brandon was a kid he would go with his family every year and we have inherited the tradition. This year was our third year making the trip out there, and even though it is indeed a trip to get there, we always enjoy our time. Its a huge pumpkin patch with "big macs" that you pay per pound or your average sized pumpkin for a set price. There's rides and mazes and a little store where you can buy home made jams and all sorts of goodies. The weather was cool and drizzly, the boys were well behaved, and we got some good pumpkins. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!



My kid is crazy

I was that mom. I made me kids wear matching sweaters

Nono trying to move one of the Big Macs

Look at this stud muffin!

Coolest kids ever

family portrait

The boys runnin in the pumpkin field

look at this cool guy!

 There is a stack of pumpkins, a little picture prop they have out every year. The first year we took a picture with it just because it was there. But we've taken pictures with it every year since. It's kinda cool to look back and see how different your life can be just a year later.

2010 - our first trip out to the pumpkin patch. Ant was almost two and so small and cute and innocent!

2011 - Notice the little tiny newborn Noey here! This year it was super hot and miserable.

 

2012! We made a point to plan our trip around the weather this year, no more hot pumpkin patch trips!

Im embarassed to admit that im so out of shape, my legs were sore from squatting down to take pictures of my kids. But thats the ugly truth, people.

We have a sick little guy on our hands.. part two

Remember how I told you when Noah was born he needed to spend three days in the NICU where he was on oxygen and heart monitors? And then how about 6 months ago he got bronchiolitis and had to receive breathing treatments, steroids and an inhaler? Well I think this kid likes to get sick and scare me. I think its a hobby of his. That, and poking people in the eye.

Last Tuesday I noticed my normally happy, smiley baby was a clingy, fussy, warm little ball of cries following me around and knew he was getting sick. Wednesday morning he woke up sounding raspy with a clearly sore throat and a little bit of a cough. But with it being a week day and him not having a fever, we gave him some tylenol and sent him to daycare anyway. I was getting calls and texts all day about how his throat sounded worse and worse all day. He was getting raspier, he cough was getting deeper, his breathing was getting wheezy, and his voice was getting higher and higher like his throat was swelling.

I went to pick him up after work and did not find my baby, but found what sounded like a barking seal instead. So I dropped Anthony and Brandon off at home and Noah and I headed off to urgent care. We waited in the waiting room for about 20 minutes, watching people get called back, get their vitals taken and get sent back out into the waiting room to wait their turn.

They called us back for our turn to get his vitals taken and the nurse commented at least three times on how bad Noahs breating sounded. She took his vitals, asked a few questions, heard him cough and then told us we were being bumped ahead of everyone, and ushered us to our room.  Soon the doctor came in and told us what the nurse had already told us she suspected, that he had croup. They gave him a steriod and a breathing treatment and he sounded better by the time we left. They told us that it may have been because of his bronchiolitis that he got this, it left him with sort of a pre-disposition to respritory issues. And even more good news is that now that he's had croup once, he's more likely to get it again.

The real good news is that he's doing better. We've been running his humidifier and giving him ibuprofen to keep the swelling in his throat down. He still has a cough but it just sounds like a gunky cough, not a seal bark anymore. Lets hold out hope that this fall and winter dont bring us many more croup issues!

Mother Nature hates So. California.

It's October right? October as in... Fall, Halloween, changing leaves, chilly weather, all that fun stuff... right? Someone forgot to send the weather here in San Diego that memo. Yesterday it was 103 degrees. Thats hot even for our summers. We are in a seemingly endless heat wave and i've just about had it with this heat! I have friends who live in all different areas of the US. And they're all posting pictures of changing leaves, their kids in sweaters and boots, them in scarfs and jackets and I'm turning red with envy. I would be turning green if it wasn't so damn hot, all I can do is turn red.

I'm a native San Diegan. My grandparents came here from Kansas and Oklahoma, my mom was born here, my siblings and I were born here, and my kids were born here. We're pretty rooted in San Diego. You would think I would be used to the weather and embrace living in pleasantville where the worst weather we get is some heat and/or a little rain. But I really don't. I know that I take it for granted, but the fact of the matter is, I don't know any other kind of weather. To me, this is boring. I see other areas of the US that have real season and I swoon. I'm so envious of areas that have actual weather!

Last year Brandon got offered a job in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Its a cute little down in central NJ. Brandon approached me very cautiously about the opportunity, thinking I wouldn't be on board but I jumped at the opportunity and literally started researching the town ten minutes after he told me about it. Yeah yeah I knew ew NJ but the chance to live out East, and live somewhere with real weather was so insanely exciting to me. Unfortunately the move didn't work out. Clearly. Because we're still here in pleasantville.

It's not so much that I hate San Diego. Sometimes I say that I do, but I don't. I love the beach, I love how SD is unique in that you're an hour or less from the beach, the mountains, the desert, and the city. You have it all smooshed into one area. We have Disneyland, Sea World, Legoland, the (world famous) SD Zoo, Knotts Berry Farm, and the Wild Animal Park all within an hour or two drive or less. San Diego is the type of place people dream of, I realize that. But damn its boring after 26 years of it.

I can feel Fall trying to break through. Its chilly at night and first thing in the morning. It cools down quick after the sun goes down, but then that asshole sun comes back the next morning to heat everything up again.

Someone send me some fall leave? A jar of cold (not AC produced) air?  Or better yet, someone give me and/or Brandon a job somewhere else so we can have real seasons!