Pumpkin Patch

Jonathan and I finally got around to taking the kids to the pumpkin patch. We had a hard time coordinating our little venture because, according to the website, the pumpkin patch closed at 5 PM, well before Jonathan gets off of work. So we decided to get there when it opened at 8 AM before Jonathan went to work. We got the kids up and dressed for pictures, drove there in separate vehicles, excitement welling up in the kids, only to find that the pumpkin patch was not, in fact, open from 8-5, but rather from 12-dark. Perfect.

There was no way I was going to try to coordinate outfits another day, so thankfully, part of the mass of pumpkins were kept outside of the fenced area, ideal for photo ops. We snapped a few pictures...

And rode a few pumpkins...

And went home empty-handed.

Thank goodness our grocery store has a nice selection of pumpkins and is open til midnight.

xo

nessa dee

Happy Halloween!

We finally gt to the pumpkin patch a couple of days ago, and made it out with four pumpkins, one of which was the ugliest pumpkin I've ever seen. Leave it to my daughter to see potential in something that most people would quickly dismiss. There's a life lesson in there somewhere. 

Instead of carving pumpkins, we opt for pumpkin junkin' because A. it's a lot of fun, and B. my kids won't go near the vomit-smelling innards of a pumpkin. So, out comes the hot glue gun and a lot of craft supplies and costume jewelry and a couple hours later, we have our characters.

This year my kids wanted to be pirates, so we did a test run of their outfits this morning. 

Mr. Augustus didn't take too kindly to his bandanna. I'm not sure how happy he's going to be tonight when I get him in the rest of his outfit and draw a mustache on his face. Wish us luck!

xo

nessa dee

Pumpkin Patch

With all the craziness in our life right now, I’ve almost forgotten that we have a holiday fast approaching. I still haven’t made my kids costumes, I’ve eaten all the candy I bought on Friday, and themed craft projects have flown right out the window. We did, however, manage to make it to a pumpkin patch, thanks to my mom who asked us for help in carving a pumpkin. It was 5:30 PM, I hadn’t yet taken my morning shower, but I figured my frightful appearance would seem intentional given the upcoming spookfest.

This particular patch was at the Methodist church in Taylor, TX [if anyone’s interested], and they had quite a variety of beautiful and unusual pumpkins. The kids ran around like crazy people, picking up and examining each pumpkin, and I ran after them like a really crazy [and scary-looking] person snapping their picture.

I told them to pick out some unusual looking pumpkins since we can’t get those just anywhere. Finn was the first to snatch his up. He chose a beautiful blue-grey pumpkin to take home.

Audrie had a much harder time picking the perfect pumpkin. She couldn’t choose between the variety of rainbow colored pumpkins and red gnarly ones. There was also the butt pumpkin, who made its way into the final round of pumpkin picks because, well, it looked like a butt …

She eventually settled on a red knotty pumpkin.

And then I picked out a couple of pumpkins for myself. I chose the large, freckled, hairy pumpkins which already had silly faces carved on them.

I plan on setting these two pumpkins by front door to scare any trick-or-treaters away since I already ate and thoroughly enjoyed all of our Halloween candy.

xo

nessa dee

Crafty Friday: Painting Pumpkins

Well, fall snuck up on me this year and in an effort to get some autumnal decor around the house, I decided that we should make crafts dedicated to this season. Today, we’re painting pumpkins!

Here’s what you need:

pumpkins
paint
paintbrushes
glue
yarn or ribbon or faux fur
buttons or googly eyes

I ended up getting small pie pumpkins because they’re easier for little hands to work with. I don’t think this even needs any explanation…it’s pretty straightforward, you paint a pumpkin. Your kids can choose to do a face, or paint polka dots or a striped pumpkin, or even something that of the Dutch Masters or French Impressionists. The possibilities are endless. If your kids choose to paint a face, they can glue on buttons for eyes and yarn for the hair. A pair of old earrings stuck into the pumpkin’s “ears” adds a bit of flash as well as a hat or scarf. My kids didn’t go for any of this. You see, they have their own ideas when it comes to crafting, and who am I to stifle their creativity, especially since they usually have better ideas than mine. Oh well, on to the pictures…

Meet Larry, Pumpkinstein and his dog, Max:

Happy Crafting!

nessa dee