Week-ending

I was just telling a co-worker of mine that things are really great in the Hauck's nest

right now (aside from the occasional melt down/tantrum and paci obsession).  But

honestly, we have a pretty good routine. It's predictable (mostly) and I love it.

I know that when I come home from work - Max will run around the corner

with some tale about school (recently it's been, "Miss Jessi says when Addie

or baby Sam have a toy I want, then I can get a different toy") but ultimately,

he wants me to jump right in and play with him.

 

 

Rob will usually use this as a cue to take a quick bathroom break

and then start prepping whatever low key meal we have planned. 

By the end of the week, I have usually forgotten to thaw some

meat and we opt to go out (read: less kitchen clean up for the win!)

This past Friday we did just that.  We loaded up the car

for some dinner at Chick-fil-A and Max played in the play space.

 

When we got home, it was getting dark and our friendly "peek a boo"

spiders started to emerge. We called them this mostly because they would hide

around the siding of our door and you could only see half their bodies.  When

you got to close, they would dive back in.  Well, this Friday night, Max was in

bed, Rob was watching Supernatural, and I was talking with my friend Candice

(all the way in Oregon).  I was standing outside so as not to disturb Max or Rob

and I noticed this horrifying beast of spider had fully emerged.

It could have literally wrapped up a small bird in the enormous

web it was weaving in the corner of porch. After hanging up with Candice,

 I promptly went in and told Rob we needed to move.

Case closed. 

 

 Oh, it's fall you say?  And it's Saturday?

You can find us at the farm!

(In our overalls no less).

This particular farm was called Lehners Pumpkin Farm

and was located in Radnor, Ohio. It was a bit of drive (Max was once

again lulled to sleep on those country roads) but once we made it -

the fun really began!

 

 

They had all your pumpkin farm staples - bounce pillow,

giant bales of hay, animals (with the addition of a llama!!),

barrel train, slides, and push carts...but they also had a

kiddie corn maze. This maze was actually just tall

pieces of plywood glued together (or something) with

twists and turns but they had painted it really cute and

added all these stuffed animals, tree stumps, pretend pond,

and then slide down from the Eagle's Nest at the end.

It was pretty cool!

 

Side note:  this llama was soooo cute!

He was making all these cute little noises

and basically begging for me take him home.

If you know of any local llama farms - point me in the right direction!

Saturday afternoon we left directly from the pumpkin farm, stopped

at a McDonald's for lunch, and then drove to Dayton.

We ate dinner at the Greene and shopped around for a bit.

Did you know they have a TV in Gymboree just for kids to watch

while their parents shop?? It was crazy. Also their stuff is crazy

expensive.  But they did have Thanksgiving undies, so clearly

we were coming home with those.  After we tucked Max in -

Mims and I went back out to Target. She was in search of some

"work out clothes" and made me promise not to laugh as she tried

on a million pairs ten pairs of stretch pants.  She did find some she

deemed appropriate to wear outside of her own living room and we left.

But the fun continued on, because when we got home - we used our

essential oils to MAKE OUR OWN HANDSOAP!

It was wild and awesome, and I will probably send you all your

own bottle of "sweet sweet hand soap" (which is of course the clever

name I came up with for mine).

 



 

Another Sunday, another pumpkin farm - only this time in Dayton.

We went to Windmill Farms (which is sort of weird in that I have

memories of going there as a 1st grader with my elementary school

big brothers and sisters program - and that was like over 20 years ago).

The farm hasn't changed much - same apple cider slushies, carmel apples,

haunted hayride (which we did NOT do this year), and pumpkin king.

With the addition of lots of Amish built playground structures.

I'm talking like a school bus, pirate ship, train, tractor, and castle.

 

It's tradition - you have to get your picture with the pumpkin king.

You probably can't tell from this angle - but Max agreed to some

face paint (a green tractor of course) - but was a little freaked out

by the fact that it was being painted on by a witch in full costume,

standing next to one of those creepy butlers who looks half dead.

He kept telling us, not to stand next to the butler.

 

 

We made a tiny pit stop at a garden center called

"Grandma's Gardens" - mostly so Mims and Mama

could take 500 more adorable pictures of Max picking

out gourds and pumpkins.

 

Max and Grandpa were repping their beloved Browns.

Although, sadly this did not help them win.

It's tough to be a Cleveland fan I tell you.

 

 

One final stop was made at "Treadway's" Farm Market.

Max was perplexed by a scarecrow that appeared to be standing

on it's head.  He kept asking me, how they were going to get

it's head out. I said they were going to have to tug, and tug, and tug.

This seemed to suffice him. He picked out a giant pumpkin for Mims.

And a much littler pumpkin for great grandpa Poppy.

He also managed to pick out 20 miniature gourds (though the total

would have been more like 50 had I not put the majority of them

back when he wasn't looking).

 

 

Papa Rob and I left during his nap on Sunday (much to

Max's chagrin as he woke up quite pissed according to Mim's).

But we did get to enjoy a little evening to ourselves

and Papa got to eat his beloved chicken wings!

 

What wild weekend of fun indeed!

I promise more pumpkin farm adventures in the weekends ahead.

And if you want your own sweet sweet soap you should probably let me know.

 

xoxo

 

The Orchard Co

Fall is definitely in the air in Ohio!

And for the Hauck family that means hitting up all

the pumpkin patches in the Central Ohio Area (we also do garden centers

and really anywhere that has fall themed decorations). 

This past Sunday we visited a new (to us) pumpkin farm - 

and while it was a bit further away - it was totally awesome!

It was made even more awesome because the Dotson family joined us!

This new fall wonderland was called The Orchard Co - 

and while you can definitely pick apples - we decided to just

go for the fun kids stuff...can't go wrong there!  The ten 

dollar wristband covered nearly everything  - and

was totally worth it in that I brought home a very tired/worn out Max. 

We took the tractors on a pretend spin around the farm while

waiting in line to buy tickets.  Max still loves to "pretend drive"

which is kind of hysterical and almost fell off the seat

while reaching for the clutch. 

The first order of business once we got our wristbands was

bouncing.  Now, this is no ordinary bounce house at The Orchard. 

It's called a bouncing pillow - has no sides - and it safe for both adults

and children. You have to sort of run up the side to get on the top (the sweet spot for jumping)

and by the end - the boys were running around the edges, sliding down and running back up 

and generally just loving life. I have to say it was really fun (and a good work out)!

 

We loved the bouncing pillow so much we went back several times! 

Another super fun activity they had was called the "corn box" - which

is fitting since it's literally a wooden box full of corn kernels. 

Max was hesitant at first and definitely did not like it when the 

corn kernels went in his shoe - but the allure of the tractors/diggers/dumpers 

proved to be too much and he was soon knee deep in kernels himself. 

This corn box would have probably kept them busy for hours...

He loved filling up the bull dozer and then dumping them in the truck. 

At one point Max had to go to the bathroom and Rob took him. 

Upon their return, Rob said that when Max took his pants off

to use the toilet - lots of corn kernels came spilling out too... :)

Later, I found some at the bottom of the washing machine too....

So basically we have enough kernels now to make our own box!

There were also delicious pumpkin donuts too - those 

didn't last long. :)

I didn't feel bad about the donuts though because I'm pretty

sure I burned off all those calories by either the jumping

or racing up this enormous hill. (seen below)

The hill had HUGE tractor/truck tires wedged into the side of it and 

filled with sand.  Max wasted no time climbing up the tires, 

sliding back down the tube at the top and saying "let's do that again"!

He came zooming out the slide and raced right back up the hill

for another go round!

We also made a stop in the animal barn - which had goats, 

pigs, cows, and one bunny (although they had indicated

there was a "bunnyville" activity on the paperwork so maybe 

there were more bunnies at one time?). 

Max still loves to get right down and pet them.

The boys rode the "Moo Town Express" with the dads. 

At first we were going to let Max ride it alone -but thought 

better of it - and Rob ended up saying it was probably a good thing 

because the pasture and orchard were bumpy. And, the tractor

driver did some figure 8's...so it was one wild ride!

We capped off our afternoon with a wagon ride.

The boys enjoyed their snacks (and even shared)! 

We saw some more cows but overall it was pretty chill. 

This was the only time when they were actually sitting sill too!  

We stopped by the pond on our way out - the boys just content to 

gaze out at the water. I could tell Max was getting ready for a nap

(hello yawn city) and so we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

Max fell asleep two seconds into the car ride and 

we made the transfer to his crib seamlessly (which isn't always the case)!

This place was pretty great - and we had such a lovely time with

the Dotson's.  Can't wait for some more fall fun!

xxoo

Making Time for Friends

The other day when I dropped Max off at "school," I gave his teacher a little

composition notebook for essential oil recipes that we had tried and liked

and some others that we were planning on trying. It was no big deal.  But, it was

the kind of gift I could have definitely used when I first got into essential oils. 

As I was making it - I didn't think much of it. 

When I handed it to her, she said "thank you so much" and then she said, 

"you're like superwoman". And I just stared it her in disbelief. 

If she could have only known that I hadn't showered that morning. 

I had not made myself breakfast or lunch (but I did for Max, so that counts, right?). 

I had two library books that were overdue in the car.  We had eaten out two out

of the three nights that week. And on and on. 

My friends, I'm here to tell you that I'm not superwoman.  

Not even close (though, I think my own mother might be). 

Here's what's working for me.

Get yourself a pretty great husband.  

I can vouch for that.  He needs to be someone that 

is cool, calm, and collected at almost any given time. 

He needs to be able to help you tackle the to do list and

get you out of those crazy situations where you've agreed it's your

turn to clean the bathroom (times two) but you really want to make pumpkin

chocolate chip cookies, and oh did I mention all the laundry needs put away?

(You can't have this guy though, he's already taken). 

Also having a sister with endless patience, an eye for parks in her neighborhood, 

a dog your little one can't resist, an understanding that you 

can't stay in your own house one second longer, and introduces you to her own friends                which later become your friends too...yeah - that doesn't hurt :)

(the best sister in all the land!!)

Beyond your husband/partner/significant other etc. and family - 

Get yourself an army of friends. I'm not even joking a little bit. 

Get some mom friends - those with kids that you can talk all things

toddler about.  You can ask them questions like "my child won't sleep - do you 

have any ideas"?  And other things like "he cries when I drop him off at daycare

and it breaks my heart - what can I do?" (and they will suggest 

an amazing episode of Daniel Tiger called "parents come back). 

You can arrange play dates, park dates, and fun around town times!

(This is my numero uno mom friend - she's mine - but 

I can share :) We go waaaaayyy back.)

But go beyond mom friends. Really truly. Because your 

single childless friends - they are super important too! 

And your married without kids friends. And older friends

who have done the mom thing and can pass on some more advice. 

And friends who married but never had any kids. 

And even younger friends who are just trying to make through

college or are newly married themselves. 

(Here's the supper club gals - we meet once a month

at restaurant around time to catch up!)

More than once I've said to Rob, "I'm just a better wife/mother/teacher person in

general" when I make the time to connect with all these people. 

Admittedly it's more work to have more friends. It takes flurries of emails

and text messages just to nail down a date for coffee or dinner. 

Everyone has different schedules and different priorities. 

I totally get it.   

(Here's a friend I made at work - and even though

she's moved on to a new job, we still keep in touch

and our boys go to the same school)

(Hit up your husband's friend's girlfriend too!

It's fun to make new friends!)

The "extra work" is absolutely worth it.

I try to schedule things around Max's nap time

or even after he goes to bed. And it's really good for me. 

It's nice to focus on something other than my child for a little bit.

We can talk about our latest Pinterest find. Or, a concert

we are excited to go to.  Or, where they got that cute shirt. 

Or, what's new on campus. Believe it or not, it's easy for me to 

fall instep with these friends, no matter the time that passes. 

(ZooKids for life friends!)

I like the perspective I gain from hanging out with all these

different types of people. And I like how their 

friendship enriches my life in different ways. 

(Far away friends - even time differences can't keep us down!)

Bottom line - friendships are important. 

I know as a mom that I have to choose to say yes to some things and 

no to others. I do find though that the more I can say yes (after

talking with Rob and making sure we're on the same page) - the more

I'm rewarded personally.  They are nurturing me and raising me up

and making me feel like I'll make it. 

And I will. We all will :)

xoxo

10 Things Right Now

Haven't done one of these posts in a while - so here we go - ten things about

we three Haucks right now!

1.) Max loves books and this makes me happy!

He wants to read about four or five of them before 

bath and then he cons Papa Rob into three more 

after bath.  This might be a bedtime stall 

tactic -but who can deny this kid?  Not us it seems. 

His favorites are My Bike, My Bus, and My Bicycle. 

2.)  My people - I got my hair done again at the 

Blow Out Bar for the wedding we went to last weekend.

I'm gonna toot my own horn here - but it looked 

pretty amazing.  I wish I could get this service once a week. 

(They have gift cards - hint hint!)

3.)  This little fella loves himself some park time!

(But you already knew that).  

Usually the only way I can convince him to 

go is by saying "the park is closing". 

He might be on to me soon!

4.)  For the longest time, he would not go on this

slide at the park, claiming it was too high (and it is!)

But, he rocked it last weekend! Go Max go!

5.)  This picture makes me laugh because 

he is totally pulling a Titi.  He requested

the "soft green blanket" and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. 

He put his hands over his head like that - all on his own!

6.)  The adult Haucks went to a wedding! 

It was great fun! We stayed out SO late.  

Like 1 AM - the last time we did this was

Christmas Eve because we were trying to set up

Max's kitchen.  So yeah, we slept until 11 the next day. 

6.)  I'm trying to work out more - and so I'm going to 

Zumba class with my friend Kellie.  

It's so much fun!  I have to stand in the back though 

because I'm just not that coordinated (yet). 

7.) Baby Piper starts at daycare in two weeks - so they 

had a little trial run this week. Apparently Max loved her. 

He told me "she had little teeny tiny baby toys". 

I told him, he used to be that small and he looked at me 

and said "no mommy, I'm a big boy". 

Also, he has started requested a sister AND a brother. 

Lord help me. 

8.) My mom, dad, and I went to the Springfield Flea Market. 

It was so much fun (and hot). I scored some sweet deals 

(with the help of my mom and dad because I still can't 

do any bartering alone). 

9.) One of my sweet deals was this tractor

with bin on the back.  He really likes it! 

First he gathered up leaves in it. Then, 

he wanted to carry around the kettle corn in it. 

Finally, he settled on his gourds (because the pumpkins

were too heavy). 

 

10.)  Max has been hanging out with Titi and Penny quite a bit!  He spent the night at her house 

for two nights (one for the night we went to the wedding and then the next night too because

he wanted to and also I needed to clean my house)! haha!  I just love that he loves her so much~

And Penny is a really patient dog because Max loves to pet her, tug on her leash, and generally get in her way.  But, she never seems to be mad about it. 

Bonus pics for making it this far!

Max loved the apple orchard (Lynd's Fruit Farm)

and ate a whole apple down to the core all by himself! 

Also - doesn't Auntie Stacy look so beautiful?!

xoxo