Mommy broke tradition and it wasn't good

I broke the family tradition and I made a little girl very unhappy. Every year we go to the pumpkin patch, do the hay ride, and buy a pumpkin. It makes for great scrapbook shots. Yep, I think about the layouts with each shot I take. Well this year the school sent home flyers about a new pumpkin patch not far from our home. It was a great flyer enticing me with petting area, snack counter, hay rides, and pumpkins. I am all about buying from the small business. I just didn't know how small. We drove out looking for this place only to find a folding table set up with syran wrapped goodies for the snack counter. The petting area had a goat, a sheep, 3 chickens, and a rabbit. I did get good shots of the kids feeding the animals. We got on the wagon and went out to the patch. Once the wagon stopped we looked around to find a large field with about 5 pumpkins. Now I know we waited until the last weekend to get a pumpkin but this was nuts. The pumpkins were either blue in color or rottening. It was pitiful. We settled on a tiny pumpkin that was actually orange and not soft to the touch. My oldest looked like someone ripped her off and I agree with her. We got back in our car and rushed out to the other patch only to find it closing. That is when the tears started. Taylor was crushed. She had been looking forward to this trip for an entire year and the disappointment was more than she could take. We ended up at Walmart and let them pick the two biggest pumpkins Wally World had. By the end of the night we had smiling children but it was touch and go there for a bit.

The Beach

We are off to a busy start to the school. This is the first year we are getting homework. I now remember why I'm glad I'm not in school. I am doing the typical mommy run everywhere. While balancing my position as training officer on our Volunteer Rescue Squad, running the online scrapbook store, and teaching cpr; I am running kids to piano practice, art club, doctor appointment, and school functions. When is winter break???

As always the end of September is convention time. The Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads hold the annual convention in Virginia Beach. It's great because I can take the entire family along while I take classes. This time around proved frustrating from the beginning. We arrived late at the hotel, pulled sleeping children out of the car, and tucked them into the bed. I pulled the covers back on our bed only to find stray hair all over the sheets. EEWWWWWWW!!!! I quickly pulled my clothes back on because this required a face to face with the front desk. The next day did not get any better when I discovered the poor cleaning in the bathroom. I had a long chat with the lady who is in charge. Now usually my husband does school work and beach time with the kids while I'm in rescue classes. Mother Nature did not like the idea of beach time. A Nor'easter came through for the first 2 days with extremely high winds, horizontal rain, and cold temperatures. Did I mention everyone in the family had a cold? My youngest, nicknamed Ebola, shared germs with us. For an extra special touch, he got pink eye the second day in. He was fine all day long but hacked up a lung all night long. Between his hacking and husband's snoring I almost chose to sleep on the balcony with the Nor'easter. The weekend did get better. We got to spend time with the wonderful family who took care of my daughter before we were chosen to be her forever family. That visit is always the highlight of our trip. We didn't just gain a daughter, we gained an entire extended family. The kids were able to check out the aquarium with daddy. We all were able to spend time chasing the waves. As usual, daddy had more fun than the kids. Next year we will need to be in another hotel even if I have to pay the difference. No more yuck place.