Monday, October 18, 2010

Pumpkins, Shmumpkins and Voting!

Tiny with his baby pumpkin.

On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch nearby our house. Though it is cooler than full-blast summer weather here in Houston, it's still hot when you are standing in the sun and your forehead feels like a hot plate. The Hubs claimed he could fry an egg on his "balding" spot. It's nowhere near the fall I remember growing up in Kansas City. But I remained optimistic about capturing precious moments of Tiny's first pumpkin picking and Bubba and Boo's enthusiastic chirping over which pumpkins to get.

Well...let's just say, it was nowhere near the romantic picture I had painted in my mind.

Weighed down like a pack-horse of all things baby/toddler and memory capturing devices, I waddled up to the front of the church with my brood and Hubs, where the pumpkin patch was set up. As we get closer, we see a young girl on her knees retching into the soft, well-maintained grass below her. Her mother, in her smart, designer clothes, looked concerned and confused as just what to do. The Hubs and I looked at one another, not as in "aww, poor kid" but more as in "great, now our kids are going to get a virus." Horrible isn't it? When you become a parent, this is what you think. So my visions of frolicking through rows of pumpkins was now slimed with the vomit of a sick child.


I was murmuring something about how we were going to wash there hands with rubbing alcohol before we leave and then we see the pumpkins. Even now, at thirty-three years of age, I still get excited by large quantities of pumpkins. Pallets and pallets of large, happy orange orbs. I immediately get out the camera and start clicking away.

Surrounding the patch, faux-patch really, were tents of different attractions- more like distractions. I wanted my kids to focus on the pumpkins so I could capture all I wanted to capture, because it was, afterall, all about me.

One of the many distractions, foiling my plans for portait quality pictures.

To the left, a sweet grey-haired woman was trying to lure my children into her tent with Bible stories. To the right was a sno-cone stand and a huge swingset diverting their attention. Then there was an even bigger tent with music and then...the bounce house. Oh God. I hate bounce houses. Why? Because my two oldest will beg and beg to go in. You take off their sock and shoes (any parent of a toddler knows how ANNOYING putting socks an shoes on is), they get in there for two seconds, get bumped into by a child who has no business being in there with their 5 foot-tall body and come back out bawling. We steered clear of the bounce house and distracted them with baby pumpkins and face painting.

Yup, that's about as good as it gets.

No one wanted their picture taken. The distractions were far to...distracting. Everyone refused to look directly at the camera, or if they did, their face was facing me but their eyes were on the sno-cone machine. I got a couple of Tiny with his pumpkin, but it was short-lived as the pumpkin pallets, made great bumper pads for 15 month-old children who were still wobbly in their walking abilities.




The best part, and I think the kids would agree, was the face-painting. Amazing how having a cool, wet paintbrush dance across your cheek can calm hyper 3 year-old children. They sat like zombies as the super sweet teenage girls completed their requests for a football for Bubba and a butterfly for Boo.

So my lovely friends, it's time to cast your vote! If you enjoyed my Reuben Saga-ish entry, please click on the link below. You have sent me half-way through this competition, why not send me through to the next round? I keep telling you how much I enjoy this, because it's true. I am learning so much, stepping outside my comfort zone and creating things I've never dreamed. My writing is getting better as are my photos, because of this contest. So THANK YOU!


Love ya, Foodies!

15 comments:

  1. Lauren...I didn't realize you lived in Houston! I grew up in Galveston and my mom lives in H-town; Dad lives in Kemah. How did we not discuss this before? Now It seems so obvious that you're in Houston, looking at the sleeveless shirts and dresses your kids are wearing! Would it be presumptuous for me to request a get-together next time I'm in town?

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  2. oh girl, you crack me up....I'm hitting "the patch" this weekend...it's a big patch with tons of crazy stuff going on, so we'll see how that goes...there is a smaller patch in the valley here that I went to last year mid week with some of my mama friends and it was quaint and quiet, and we got some stellar pics...I'm hoping I can do that again the week after we visit the "big patch" hugs to you sweet bella

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  3. LOL, your post made me crack up! You sound just like me when it comes to stuff like this, hate bouncy houses (they are a pain in the arse to retrieve your kids from when it's time to go home as well) and when I see a sick kid I'm always worried my kids will drag it home. Hilarious! I'm glad you still managed to get great pictures though and the first one of Tiny with the itsy bitsy pumpkin is just too precious for words :o) I'm off to vote now!

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  4. Hilarious. I wanna get my face painted and eat a sno-cone and hear a Bible story...but I can't go now because of barfy-kid. Ew.

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  5. How funny. Here in Phoenix I can totally and completly relate to your pumpkin patch woes! I loooove pumpkin patches and so every year we used to drive 3 hours up north to the closest thing resembling one in Prescott. Of corse it has shut down and turned into a factory or something equally as upsetting.
    Girl, of corse you know I'm voting for you... spreading the word too!

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  6. Voted and wishing you the best of luck! I loved the pumpkin patch!
    -Gina-

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  7. Boy, that is some adventure!! Got my vote!

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  8. Lauren you are doing a great job in the competition!! I am glad you had time to just be a mommy, thanks for sharing it with us!

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  9. You have my vote...and your post brought tears to my eyes. You are a such a great mother (despite all of the pumpkin patch woes). Your kids are beautiful, and I'm praying that Ryan will one day be able to enjoy something like this. Thank you for your kind words today. They meant so much.

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  10. OMG. Whenever I see a kid coughing, vomiting I say the same!! Ha. I, too, hate bouncy castles...though now because my kids will not leave them! But you're right there's always some big ol teenager in there doing backflips with no consideration for the minis inside. That gets on my nerves! My children, as messy as they are, refuses to have their face painted. They'll smear bbq sauce or ketchup on their face, but paint? ewww yucky. i love my weirdos.

    Best of luck in the competition, you have my vote, fo sho.

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  11. Oh it sounds like a FUN FUN day . . . ours is old enough to roll eyes at that sort of fluff and fun (still loves a snow cone through) so enjoy it while it lasts! Vote in of course . . . ages ago. Cheers, Michelle

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  12. Lauren, you crack me up always!!! You are doing great in the competition too! Love it...Love you!
    By the way, since it has been a while since you gifted me with that sweet sunshine award, I thought I'd like to gift it back to you now! :)
    So even though it is already present on your sidebar, just know that I am thinking of you and thanking God for the sunshine you bring to my life. Stop by and read my new post and feel the love! xo Lorraine

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  13. Of course I voted. And this post is as cute and funny as it gets! I am cheering for you!
    LL

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  14. Hi Lauren,
    Thanks for helping me find your blog! The wonderfully efficient Chinese internet has been coming and going for days, and every time I tried to vote for you: *poof* the www disappeared. Do you have capitalist roader leanings or something?? Are you a close friend of the Dalai Lama?

    Your blog is fantastic. I have enjoyed reading it and I wish you well in future rounds (btw: managed to finally sneak in a vote about 1 minute before closing time!!)

    Cheers, Fiona

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  15. Yay, you advanced!!! I'm so happy for you :o) Can't wait to see your next round post!

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