Pumpkin Picking: a first

Last Sunday, my husband's cousin invited us to join his family for an afternoon of pumpkin picking. The only pumpkin picking I had done previously was at the local farmer's market. We accepted the invitation, and headed west to a farm that offered apple and pumpkin picking, in addition to a playground for the kids.

We dropped our littlest one at Grandma's for the third time in three weeks, and headed to the farm with our two older girls. #2 fell asleep in transit, and was in a great mood upon arrival at the farm.

The playground was at the entrance, and the girls spent some time there with their cousins before heading to the pumpkin patch. Adjacent to the playground was a small barn with a number of animals including goats, sheep, and a variety of fowl.

The girls enjoyed the bumpy hayride to the field. Next, the girls ran through the "maze" in the corn fields adjacent to the pumpkin patch. They then chose one small pumpkin each. I was initially surprised that the pumpkins seemed laid out in a very orderly fashion, but none of the stems were attached. Had all the pumpkins in the patch already been picked, and they simply laid out some pumpkins for the kids to choose? We were told that the pumpkins actually detach themselves from their stems, and that no, they hadn't been placed there by the personnel. In the end, we did find a few pumpkins that were still attached, thus corroborating their explanation.

Back at the entrance after picking the pumpkins, the girls played once again in the playground with their cousins, and munched on some fresh apple muffins.

Enjoying the playground

#1 choosing a pumpkin with her cousin

Heading into a "maze" with her cousin

#1 & #2 with their cousin

A Reprieve From Chaos-Mondays

Since my husband headed back to work after his paternity leave, Mondays have been my most difficult days. He is home on the week-end, and my mother helps me all week except for Mondays.

Just before my husband returned to work, I considered hiring help on Mondays. How could I possibly handle three kids under age four on my own? But on the other hand, how would I find reliable help for one day a week... most professional nannies want full-time work. I thought of university students who are sometimes off one day a week, but would they have sufficient experience with young children?

In the end I decided to try it on my own to see how I fared. Somehow, I survived. I start off every Monday by reminding Baby #1 that I am all alone with three kids, and that I need her to be a "super good girl". Not only is she usually well-behaved, but I often hear her repeating my words while speaking to Baby #2: "I am all alone with you two, so you have to be a good girl." Between feeds, I place the baby in a front carrier, where she readily falls asleep. After breakfast, we head out to the park, returning just before lunch. At around 13h, I put Baby #2 down for a two hour nap... and it is smooth sailing after that. I suspect that things will get a little tougher as the outdoor temperature drops...

Thanksgiving Monday provided a reprieve as my husband was off work! We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but the extra help was certainly appreciated. We took turns sleeping in, and after feeding the baby, I took the older girls to a nearby park. We enjoyed 20C weather, in mid October! The rest of the day was a blur, but it was certainly a nice break. I look forward to more holiday Mondays!

enjoying her activity mat

Selling House

Already laughing at 2 months

Well, we finally did it! After 5 months on the market, 2 open houses, and multiple visits, we sold our condo!

I had some unrealistic expectations going into the whole thing...I thought that we would have sold our condo and bought a new house before Baby #3 came along. Unfortunately by the time we put our condo on the market, the condo market was not very productive (at least not for the sellers).

Then finally, a few weeks after baby #3's arrival, we got our one and only offer. And after a little negotiation, we agreed in a price. 

The hardest part of the process was keeping our condo spotless despite two little girls running around. But we somehow managed that, and we were even able to accommodate all the visits (and have the house kid-free during those visits).

Now all we have to do is find our dream house...

The Airplane-Pull

The corporate sponsorship of the Special Olympics led to a second family outing in as many weeks...last Sunday after gymnastics, we dropped our infant off at grandma's and headed to the airport.

My husband's company had sponsored the annual "airplane pull", and my husband was part of the team. In the first part of this two-part competition, the team tries to pull an airplane as fast as possible over three metres. In the second part, a smaller team has up to two minutes to pull the airplane over the same distance. The goal is to do so using as little weight as possible. The team members are then weighed.

Although the competition lasts just a few minutes per team, there were plenty of fun actives organized for the kids. There was a bouncy castle, peddle-cars, and the opportunity to meet a police dog. Here are a few photos of from the airplane-pull:

The airplane to be pulled

My husband's team pulling an airplane

In a Police car!

Bouncy Castle

On a Police motorcycle!

On a peddle car with Papa

On a peddle car with Mama

Playing with a Police dog!