Pumpkinliner to where?

Today was an exercise for me in many respects. It was an exercise in motivation, boredom, patience and photography. A couple weeks ago the Mom's Club I just joined had an event schedule for the Fillmore Pumpkinliner. It sounded like a great idea and I had been meaning to go for ages. It involved a train ride and a trip to the pumpkin patch, two of Erik's favorite activities and two activities I was sure Elliot would love.

Today we left the house bright and early at 8:30 am to catch the 10 am train and everyone was very excited. Here are two factors that I didn't consider, the length of the train ride and the length they left us at the actual pumpkin patch, I thought somehow the people running the thing would be a little more with it than they were.

When we got there Erik was super thrilled and couldn't wait to get on the train. He was walking all long the train maybe trying to find a way in, or maybe just exploring.

The trip is even more exciting because Grandma decided to go along for the ride and better yet, she bought cookie and much to mommy's dismay gave it to both boys.

So the train ride was the most fun and exciting part of the entire trip. I bought a seat for Erik and Elliot was suppose to sit on our lap, but there was enough room for him to have his own seat. Thank goodness, because Elliot was really into showing off what a big boy he was that day and was definitely proud to be sitting in his own seat.

Today was just one of those off days photographically. Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, maybe my expectations are more than they should be, but whatever it is I really struggled to take pictures inside the train. I tried my flash, I tried manually metering, I tried different focal lengths. The results are great, but it was definitely something I had to work at today.

Although I struggled, Elliot was super adorable on the train. This was his third train ride, but the first one where he really got excited and got to be a big boy. It was so much fun sharing and watching his expressions that day. I only captures 1/8 of what he was doing.

I have a lot more pictures, but they will be posted on my family blog if anyone else is curious.

So we got off the train and my initial impression is a feeling of being underwhelmed. The entire pumpkin patch is TINY and then if we wanted to do anything extra we had to pay $3-5 per person. Also the location was completely uninspiring photographically and I really had to search and dig deep in myself to find something I liked and take pictures. After taking pictures the first 20 minutes we were there I ended up putting my camera away because I was underwhelmed.

What I wanted to shoot was some cute shots with interesting vegetation or flowers in the background or pictures of the boys browsing rows and rows of pumpkins to pick out the perfect one. BUT we didn't even take a pumpkin home with us.

They had a lot of extras at the pumpkin patch, but either Erik was following our less than excited reaction, or he just didn't want to try anything today, but whatever it was he just didn't like the pumpkin patch very much today. He did enjoy the hay maze which luckily was free.

So there are a couple things I learned on this Pumpkinliner trip. First, is that I should not expect much for the pumpkin patch. Second, they leave you there with no way out and we were stuck at the pumpkin patch for two hours with not much to do since Erik wasn't interested in the activities. (an hour would have been enough) Third, some days you really need to reach deep inside yourself to find your photographic inspiration and some days you won't have it. This is especially true when you are emotionally affected in a negative way to an environment. With all the negatives I have to say about the pumpkin patch itself, the kids did have a good time and enjoyed spending time with their family, which is all that really matters sometimes.

A Crazy or Brilliant Idea?

My kids have been stuck at home since Sunday with a terrible stomach bug. Not only that, but it has been raining so we have been stuck indoors which is not fun when you have two kids sick with the stomach flu. In this time we did one trip to Target, but they haven't been able to go to their classes or school or visit friends this entire week. So today there was a change in illness and a change in weather so I thought a trip to the zoo might be a brilliant idea.

Or so I thought, and then Erik got sick again last night and the weather still looked pretty bleak this morning, but I was determined to go. My obstacles of the morning were Elliot throwing tantrum after tantrum and wanting to be held constantly, I think he is teething again. Then there was Erik who said he didn't want to go anywhere and was refusing to get dressed, but a bribe got him out of the house so away we went. I figured of all the places we could go the zoo was the best idea because if they got sick it was outside and easy to clean up.

As soon as we got there I realized the zoo was a great idea, but the sky seemed so ominous. Both of the kids started getting excited when I started unloading, Elliot started making his happy noises and Erik said "I am so happy" so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Also as soon as we were outside their runny noses stopped. It is amazing what a change in scenery does to a cold.

So I am going to digress and say from a personal standpoint this zoo trip was a big deal for me. I have never gone to the zoo by myself with the kids. We live 5 minutes away from the zoo so friends are always with us, but for obvious reasons I couldn't ask anyone to join us today.

The day started off really well. Erik was super excited and wanted to walk instantly and Elliot was content to ride which makes life simpler. Also Erik was content to stay near me and follow the stroller so a very good day with Erik's wandering tendencies.

I also made a mental promise to myself to not take too many pictures because I get tunnel vision when I do photography and can't always keep the best eye on Erik. So immediately I tried to get some pictures of the boys together at the zoo. It didn't work because of course seals are way more fascinating than their mom taking another picture.

This is why today was really a brilliant day to go to the zoo. It was 62 degrees and almost raining. Where we live this is extremely rare, but it also meant the zoo was empty AND all the animals were out. I have been going to the zoo since Erik was 6 months old and we go a lot because we live five minutes away. In all my times, I have never even seen the bear or tiger and we saw both today.

As you can see by the abundance of animal pictures I did not keep my promise to myself to not take pictures. Fortunately Erik behaved so well and stuck with me and listened so I could take extra pictures. I love it when those days happen, I feel like a good mom for once instead a mom who has to yell constantly.

For being by ourselves at the zoo it was a fun experience. Erik went up to everyone and started conversations and introduced himself. It reminds me of my mom's favorite story of me when I was little. She said I would be in the grocery line and just start conversations with anyone and tell them all the intimate details of our life. That is exactly what Erik did all day.

The best part of all is my ability to take Elliot out of the stroller, give him some attention and know that Erik wouldn't run away. It was liberating and made our outing less stressful and even happy. Definitely a good day for brotherly love.


Today I used my 50mm lens. I was in a hurry to get the kids out the door and conquer tantrum and mood swings so I didn't have much time to give thought to what lens I wanted to use. Having the day to do over and knowing all the animals would be out I would probably bring my 24-70mm lens. Although with the right focus and depth of field I was able to crop and still have good tack sharp images of the animals.

Baking with two

Before I had children I didn't really like to cook. It bored me, yet if I had company or a special occasion I liked to get in the kitchen and cook something elaborate. Although setting up the table and decorating for the meal fascinated me just as much. The everyday cooking during our marriage before children was actually left up to Carl most of the time. Ever since I had kids I have started to change my tune. There is something about having children that got me interested in eating healthy. Maybe it is because I wasn't taught the best eating habits as a child that I really want to encourage good and healthy eating in my own. So my children have turned me into a cook and baker.

We have several trips planned to the pumpkin patch so I thought I could use one of the pumpkins we got on Friday to make pumpkin bread. I thought it might be a good lesson for Erik on learning where food comes from in going from a pumpkin to bread. I promised him yesterday after his nap we would make the bread, but we were out of several ingredients so I had Carl go shopping last night and today we got to make our bread.

Cooking use to be something that just Erik and I did. It was our special activity, but sometime in the last month cooking its now an affair for three. At the same time my dynamic with Erik is changing as well. I am trying to let go and not worry too much about Erik making a big mess and by doing that he is showing me how much he can do by himself.

Believe it or not I can actually trust Erik to crack the eggs himself and he does a pretty good job. Of course there are shells in the bowl and one egg got cracked on the counter, but most of the time he does a fantastic job of getting the eggs in the mix.

Having two children at very different stages presents some interesting challenges while cooking. I want to start giving Erik more responsibility, yet Elliot wants it too and gets upset when he can't do the same things as his brother. Yet at the same time I do need to let go and allow Elliot to make a bit of a mess so he can learn in the same way his brother learned at that age.

The only reason my kids want to help me cook is because they get the lick the spoon after we are all done. They know it is going to happen every time and ask at every stage when I am done mixing if they can have one yet. I know that was my favorite part as a kid. 

 

One of the reasons we got to bake this morning is because it is raining so we can't go outside, also my kids are sick and had to miss school today. Due to his illness I let Erik watch a movie and this is what I found about half way through. I am not sure if either of my children have ever fallen asleep on a couch at home. It just doesn't work with our routines. Definitely a picture for the archives.

Finally made it to Boo Fest

I really do love Halloween. I love every aspect of this holiday from the books, to the decorations to picking out costumes for the boys. Now that I have kids I realize how much there is to do for Halloween. We seriously have an activity every week and weekend for the next few weeks and I can't wait for it all to happen.

So today was the first activity, at our mommy & me school where I take Erik and Elliot, they hosted their annual Boo Fest. It is open to the public and I have never been, but have been meaning to go for years. Per my usual I scheduled a play/friend date with my good friend Christine during Boo Fest, but convinced her to come and see me so we could go together and check it out. I made no promises, but said it sounded fun.

Oh my, there were a lot of kids there. It was totally mobbed and insane and crazy. I forgot that several of Erik's and my friends were going to be there and headed back to the story time that was starting. By chance that is where all our friends were so we got an extra surprise of seeing everyone among the craziness. Honestly it was too busy to go anywhere besides the story time playroom, so it ended up being just a big playdate for us.

There was a story happening when we first arrived, but it was almost too loud and impossible for the lady to read it, but she really did try.

After the story was finished we just hung out in the room and I talked with all my friends, lost my kids among the chaos and just tried to stay sane. There were seriously too many kids there that I could barely keep a conversation going or watch my own child. It was intense.

We all started heading out because it was a little much for us, and let the kids play games on the way out. Or more like the 3-year-olds play games and the toddler were just held and were ready for their naps.

We headed home for naps and had to say good-bye to our friends Christine and Enzo. Well I do have to add that we had a yummy visit to Taste of Chicago. Haven't been to that place in years.

For the afternoon we stayed with the Halloween theme. I have been meaning to try the boys costume's on for weeks. Now I have to admit I am not one of those mom's that is going to make the boys costumes or go to second hand stores in search of the perfect outfits. In September when the Halloween catalogs started arriving and we asked Erik what he wanted to be for Halloween, he was very clear on him being Buzz and Elliot being Woody. So one day I was at the outlet mall and they had the costumes in their sizes at the Disney Store, so I bought them. Just that easy and simple for me. So today after having these things for a month I finally put them on the boys. They were a perfect fit.

My favorite part about these costumes was Erik's reaction to his. He loved wearing the Buzz gloves and thought that was a special treat. Lucky for him I got the wings that light up and he would ask for me to push the button. Then he would get in position to explode and say "To infinity and beyond." He did this many times over.

Even Elliot understood that he was wearing something special and got upset when his boot covers fell off or stood with pride as I put on the bandanna. His body language said it all.