The Great Pumpkin Hunt

The Owens Family took a trip to the Berry Patch near Nevada to get some pumpkins.
Judah enjoyed riding in the cart,
pulled by our good friend, Scott.
Scott's lovely wife, Krista, was
on camera duty, so we failed to get her in any good shots. But believe me, she is lovely! Mayah lasted all of ten seconds in the cart. I got to carry her the rest of the way to the patch. Our goal was to pick up a pumpkin per kid. Last year, Judah picked out the tiniest, white pumpkin in the whole batch. It was impossible to do anything with. This year, I didn't hold my breath as we set the kids loose.

To the right is a photo of Mayah with the pumpkin
man. Finally, something that she enjoyed!

Mayah took time out of the great pumpkin hunt to pose for the camera. The girl loves to pose.

I think our favorite part of the day was watching the kids struggle across the dirt clumps, vines, and enormous pumpkins.
Please note Judah's pumpkin carrying method: one arm at the base, one arm wrapped around the stem.

The challenge of the day was getting Liam to pose with a pumpkin. The ground was uneven, so sitting up was nearly impossible. We ended with Scott holding Liam. Liam only tumbled to the ground once. Success!

We came home with three tiny, discolored pumpkins. I believe our total was $2.75. It was almost embarrassing paying with our check card.


Another fall tradition under our belt!

Six Months Across the Board

Liam was a little late getting his six month appointment, but we finally got him in! We like to make comparisons. Yep. Go ahead and let us know how poor our parenting skills are. We can take it. Anyhow, here is what we got:

Judah Roderick:

At his sixth month appointment, Judah weighed 16 pounds and six ounces. He was 26 inches long, and his head was 44.4 centimeters.

Mayah Evangeline:At six months, Mayah weighed 20 pounds and eight ounces. She was 28 inches long, and her head was 44.5 centimeters.

Liam Garrison:


At six months, Liam is 19 pounds and three ounces. He is 27.5 inches long, and his head is 44.6 inches.
It is astounding to me how different all of my children look. Who are these kids? Judah is our little squirt. He didn't weigh what Mayah and Liam did at six months until he was twelve months old. He was still wearing 6 to 12 month shorts when he was two. Liam and Mayah were both in 12 month clothes before six months.

So there you have it: contrast and compare.

Pull Your Vestigation

Judah likes to sing. Judah likes to sing in repetition. Judah likes to sing the incorrect words in repetition.

Today I was entertained by a rendition of "Know Your Destination". You may recognize this tune from the beloved show, Thomas and Friends.

Judah's lyrics: Every time you leave the station, pull your vestigation.

Correct lyrics: Every time you leave the station, get to know your destination.

Thomas has some good moments, but man, are his songs lame...and a little creepy.

I enjoyed most of all how Judah ended on a high pitch, vibrato note. It was very final. Beautiful.

Sad Sight

So I have this problem...a disability one might say. For a reason unknown to me, I am unable to bring myself to grocery shop if there is still something left in the house to eat. Last night we had what was our final possible meal: oatmeal and apples. Nutritious and delicious!

This is a picture to give you an idea of how far this disability of mine reaches: What you see is not uncommon.

I really dislike shopping of all kinds. Grocery shopping is especially hard on me because of the amount of time that purchase stays with me. It is one thing to buy a coat I will wear for five years. It is a completely different thing to buy a pound of hamburger that I might forget about in the back of the fridge. I hate to waste things. In a perfect world I would make up a plan for the week of exactly what we will need and buy it and nothing else. But what mother of three children three and younger has time for that? I would like to meet her. It always baffles me when I see a cupboard stocked with chips, canned goods, and cooking needs like spices at a friends house. Do people really just walk through the store and think, "Hmmm...I might someday in a month or two need lemon juice and evaporated milk. Better buy it today!" This thought process is totally lost on me. If I see a fun recipe that calls for cumin, you had better believe I need to drive to the store to buy cumin.

This really is an unfortunate problem. Sometimes I am hungry for an item we don't have. Sometimes someone comes over to watch our kids and assumes we have fallen on hard times. Sometimes we get to the place where oatmeal is our only option. Will my children grow up and only remember empty cupboards? Will they grow to despise apples because I make them eat them all before I will buy a new type of fruit? Does Will make secret trips to the store just so he can eat something other than a pop tart for lunch?

I will go shopping today. I will go shopping today. I will go shopping today. My children need to eat...

Preschool Debut

Today was Judah's first day of preschool. I wasn't sure if I was going to send Judah to preschool or not until my friend, Cory, came up with a great plan. She and I, along with eight other moms, all have children who could be enrolled in preschool but are not for one reason or another. I know that it is important for Judah to have the preschool experience if I am going to enroll him in school later on...believe me, I am not anti-establishment. He needs to learn to share, take turns, raise his hand, and do all of those other great things he refuses to do at home.

So, my friends and I put together our own little preschool. We are meeting at the church in one of the classrooms on Wednesday mornings. We have a schedule set up so that each mom teaches, assists, sits in the nursery, and has five days off in a semester. I had this morning off. I spent my free time at Hobby Lobby. It was glorious. My favorite part of this arrangement is that I can leave Mayah and Liam in the nursery during my days off, so I really do get a morning to myself. Plus, I totally trust the moms who are teaching Judah.

Judah came home with a picture that was titled, "This is Me on My First Day of Preschool." It was a circle and some squiggles. I asked him what it was, and he said it was Gordon shunting some coal cars. Whatever.

The Roll

I thought I was safe. Liam was asleep. Mayah was asleep. Judah was occupied. It was time for me to shower. I took my time: washed and conditioned my hair, soaped up my dirty parts, shaved my legs..it was relaxing.

I stepped out of the shower, toweled up, and walked into my bedroom to find some clothes. Judah was sitting on our bed with what used to be a nicely put together roll of toilet paper.When I walked over to the other side of the bed, I saw where the rest of the toilet paper had gone. Judah explained that he was creating fireworks and putting them out. Whatever that means.

After he was finished, I discovered his end game. The little stinker just wanted to cardboard roll to play pirate. Aarrgh.

God's Gift

My sister-in-law, Caitlyn, was over the other day and captured this photo of Judah. I think I like it so much because it is such a picture of innocence. Believe me, Judah is far from innocent! Last night he was taking all of Mayah's clothes out of storage and making a pile to jump in. When I scolded him, he replied, "But I closed the door so you wouldn't see" as though that made it okay. Just this morning he pummeled his sister because he felt it was his turn to read Big Red Barn. Someday those incidents won't be so fresh in my mind. Someday I will see this picture and think, 'What a sweet boy I had.' Someday I will be content in the lies I believe.