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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A public service announcement about pumpkins (and some other stuff)

The girls fell asleep about two minutes after bedtime tonight (which was about seven minutes after we had a minor earthquake, yikes!). We haven't scheduled much this week, but have had quite a bit of fun and they (and I) are tired. Yesterday was my mom's birthday and we had a little surprise dinner for her. The driving rain and insane number of freeway accidents made getting there a weensy bit too exciting for me. I think I drove at about 35 mph all the way. Anyhow, once there, we had a ball -- fun dinner, creampuffs for dessert, and plenty of playing in the rain for the girls. There wasn't a puddle they didn't jump in or a downspout they didn't stand under. They were blissfully SOAKED by the time we got to the car, I had to strip them down and crank the heat for the drive home). IMG_4331LRs IMG_4340LRs This morning, we eased into our day with breakfast in bed. Sippies of milk for the girls, and a sippy of coffee for me. Heh. Oh, and a little bag of Kix, pepperoni, and blueberries for them. (No cereal for me, I snuck a leftover birthday cupcake while I was downstairs heating up their milk.) DSC_5503LRs By the way, Ro and Ree will actually sit still for a minute and watch part of a cartoon in the morning (I think it's the allure of bringing every blanket they own into our bedroom and then burrowing under them). They'll do this unless "That Sheep Show" happens to come on. I don't know the real name, sorry, because when it comes on Ro runs out of the room screaming "Noooooooo, it's Dat Sheep Show, Dat Sheep Show!!!" and I have to fumble around for the remote and change the channel as fast as humanly possible. She HATES that show and has never given a straight answer as to why. DSC_5509LRs Once the channel is changed, Ree calls out that it's all clear and Ro runs back in. DSC_5510LRs My dad and I took the girls to get their flu shots today (normal flu vaccine by needle and swine flu vaccine by mist). They were kind of apprehensive until we brought out the candy bribes that we said they could eat during the shots, and then they were so excited they actually made us play what they call "the hide fingers" game to see who got to go first. (Ree won.) IMG_4345LRs Afterwards, Ro fell asleep in the car, so I stayed with her while my dad and Ree romped around a local pumpkin patch. She tried to get the biggest one she could see, but we broke out that mean old 1970s rule from when I was a kid that "you can only pick a pumpkin you can carry." Harsh, huh?! Hee! IMG_4347LRs IMG_4348LRs She finally found a nice-looking one for herself, and one for her sister, which was sweet, although she was quick to smirk and point out that hers was bigger. (Those cupholders came in mighty handy on the way home.) IMG_4354LRs And now, for the public service announcement part of this post, please take a good, close look at what we thought were pumpkins in the previous picture, and do NOT get that kind if you're hankering for some jack-o'-lanterns. After naps today, the girls were deliriously excited to carve their "punkims" and we got everything ready only to find that the pumpkins (which I guess must have been some kind of gourds) were completely solid! DSC_5516LRs Oops. That's right, no insides, no seeds, nothing to scoop, no way to carve them. Crud. Want a closer look? DSC_5529LRs Ro was a little vexed... DSC_5536LRs Guess we're making another trip to the patch tomorrow.

32 comments:

  1. Aww, the sheep show is Shawn the Sheep, by Aardman studios (the same as Wallace & Gromit). It's really funny, very clever and innocent, unlike many cartoons these days... Happy Birthday to your Mum, she's great! And oh, shame about that squash, better luck next time, maybe if both girls could carry that big one... :)

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  2. too bad about that sheep show. my 4.5 yr old loves it. maybe its an age thing.

    good luck with your pumpkin and thanks for the tip. we'll be avoiding those funny shaped ones. we're decorating our first one ever this year. Pumpkin carving is not so big a deal in miami, since if you carve them too early...like more than 2 days before halloween, they decay on your porch due to the god-awful
    90+ degree heat, and you end up with a soupy stinky mess.

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  3. Anonymous10/15/2009

    Shawn the Sheep! It's a classic. :)

    p.s. Happy Birthday to Wela!

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  4. Anonymous10/15/2009

    Come on over, our pumnpkins are hollow with messy "insides". Had a great BD, thanks.

    wela

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  5. Anonymous10/15/2009

    Shaun the Sheep! It's only on for like 5 minutes on D*sney here in the morning. Is it wrong that I think I like it more than my kids? I love that the dog and Shaun are always working together.
    I have never seen "pumkins" like that. Something to remember!

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  6. Yep...thems gourds. (We got ours, pumpkins too, and painted them.... pink!....what?)

    Hope your weather improves. What's with that? Enjoy your pumpkin picking - part II.
    :)

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  7. "Ro was vexed" ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

    I hate shawn the sheep too, my son doesn't seem to mind it but it just annoys me.

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  8. Anonymous10/15/2009

    You know it seems like the pumpkins get stranger each year. I saw totally white ones yesterday and really short flat ones. I wonder if you bought some sort of squash. Oh well, another trip to the pumpkin patch is always fun!

    Stace

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  9. Our daughter has the very same reaction to Shaun The Sheep. Runs screaming from the room and hides in her bed. Personally, I like the show but, there is apparently something 'scary' about it. If you ever figure it out, let me know. :-)
    M.

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  10. Gretchen10/15/2009

    Our 3yo also hates "that sheep show"! I don't know what it is about it either that makes her so anxious. I scramble to change the channel if she hasn't beaten me to it by turning of the tv entirely. Gracious!
    Thanks for the tip on the "pumpkins". We're headed out this weekend for ours.

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  11. Happy birthday to Wela!
    That's funny about the sheep show thing! My son REFUSES to watch Dora (well not that we watch it, but my niece loves it and when she's here I used to put it on) and cries when he sees Dora things. It takes everything in me not to burst out laughing when I see him crying over a Dora backpack though!
    Hope the girls weren't too freaked out about the minor earthquake!

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  12. curious about the vaccine aftermath. any symptoms?

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  13. Wanda: Great idea!! I'm breaking out the pink paint and we're going to save those dang uncarvable pumpkins!

    Mahmee & Gretchen: No way!! If you get a chance, see if your kiddos will tell you what they don't like about the show. It perplexes me...

    Shauna: They didn't notice the earthquake, thank goodness. I was sitting in Ro's room at the time and thought "oh no!!!" but I didn't say a word and neither did they. Whew.

    Barbara: Ro had bad nightmares last night and Ree had a tiny fever this morning (actually she might have yesterday also but I just didn't check). Might have been related to the vaccines?

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  14. My 4 kids love love Shawn the Sheep! (and I have to admit that Shawn the Sheep and Peep and the Big Wide World are my 2 favorite shows!) They are hilarious!

    Hope your Thanksgiving goes much smoother than ours..Lily decided to practice her french words at the table, with our priest beside her...
    translate "rooster"..
    I was mortified!!

    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Krista

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  15. Happy Birthday Wela!!

    Heh...had to snicker at the pumpkin fiasco but then laughed when I saw how big they truly were! From first description I thought they were teeny, tiny, hold in your hand punkims.

    Did you get new ones to carve today with lots of guts and seeds in them? Mmmmmm!!!! Me want pumpkin!!

    Looking forward to Pumkin Patrh: Round 2 pics!

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  16. I don't know about the nightmares, but being as the nasal mist vaccine utilizes LIVE virus, i am leery of it, and injection vaccine utilizes nano-particles that gravitate to the lungs, so, again, i'm leery there as well.

    one of the guys at my husband's work site got both in one day and ended up in the hospital. he passed out, cold, less then a half hour later.

    i'm taking a silent pole, i guess. Every time i have taken any kind of vaccine i have ended up sick. and i spent time in the military (read: over seas = numerous 'vaccines')

    anyway, i do have what i think is a decent "post vaccine" work sheet by a doctor, if you are interested send me a note. It's mostly a lot of vitamin C and B complex.....

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  17. heh....silent POLL, i mean...

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  18. Oh my. Those are squash, not pumpkins!

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  19. How did you decide to give your girls live virus mist? I thought it was specifically not for children.

    No one tells you about all these decisions you have to make do they?

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  20. Your pumpkin is a squash, and the cartoon is Shawn the Sheep... and is a HUGE request in this house!

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  21. Nasal mist is licensed for the 2 - 49 age groups, see: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167145.php

    i'm to old for it so i don't have to decide and i have no young children, so, again, no decision....

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  22. Hey Kristi: I just went with what our pediatrician's office said. They said the mist is approved for kids 2 and older and it builds a slightly stronger immunity in kids than the shot does. The girls couldn't get two doses of a mist vaccination in one day, so we went with the regular flu shot and the swine-flu mist. To tell you the truth, I'm slightly petrified about all vaccinations in general. I try to space them out as much as possible and am scared to death that they'll cause problems. TubaDad says I'm paranoid, but...

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  23. My girls lose their minds over those sheep. We have the same mad dash for the remote while they scream, "CHANGE IT! CHANGE THE SCARY SHEEP!" Funny!

    The Hoosier in me was wondering why she picked gourds. But then I finished reading your post. They are large for gourds; I'm impressed. Knowing me, I would have made it worse by trying to bread it and fry it!! You know us Midwesterners: whatever grows from the ground, we'll eat.

    Good luck getting those Jack O'Lanterns. We're off to find ours this weekend as well.

    Best, Indiana Lori

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  24. For someone with not much scheduled you sure know how to keep busy and have fun!

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  25. BTW, Shaun The Sheep has a special Halloween video!!! I'm so tired of watching it...

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  26. Haha!! I thought they were awfully skinny pumpkins!!!

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  27. My 2.5 year old also hates the sheep show! Doesn't run out, but really announces her dislike everytime it comes on. Strange!

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  28. Anonymous10/15/2009

    I'm lovin the rat. It's kind of like a challenge to find it (it needs a name!) in your posts! Where's Waldo? kara

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  29. I LOVE SEAN THE SHEEP!!! You've got to watch it, it's actually really sweet.

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  30. oh I LOVE Shaun the Sheep! It is THE ONLY kids show I will watch :) whenever it is on my kids will yell out "Mom, Shaun the Sheep is on!" and then all of us watch it. Bummer you can't as it is hilarious :)

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  31. Hi,
    My daughter really hates "That Sheep Show" too! BTW, I've been following your blog since "the wait". We were waiting for our China referral at the same time, we traveled to China about 1 month before you, and our daughter just turned 4 the day before your girls did. : ) Your blog is great, and we just got the lap desk for the car that you recommended and we love it. Have a great weekend!

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  32. Krsitina10/16/2009

    Happy Birthday Wela!!! Ree is going with her "new" fav. color of outfit I see! I would have totally thought that those things were carvable!!!

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