Family, Life, Suburban Life, Travel

Weekend Recap: Pumpkin Patch

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Fall in the suburbs is quickly turning into my favorite season. The gorgeous fall foliage that blankets our surroundings is beyond breathtaking. I drive around everyday in awe of just how gorgeous mother nature can be and how lucky I am to live right in the middle of it.

This weekend we took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather and went to Silverman’s Farm for a day full of fall activities. We visited the farm over the summer to visit the animal farm and knew we had to come back this season to get a taste of their apples as well as pumpkins.

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While there we got to take a hay ride through their gorgeous apple orchard. The family-owned farm is huge and sits on hundreds of acres in Easton, CT. While on the hayride, they took us to an overlook where we were able to see for miles and miles.

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Macks had so much fun watching everything around him. He is so observant these days.

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And you would’ve thought that this pumpkin was the best thing he had ever seen. He was much more interested in touching it than he was smiling for the camera.

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The girls were able to pick out a pumpkin so that we can carve it for Halloween. Harlan found the biggest one she could and knew that was the one. Avery on the other hand had a bit harder time choosing hers. She searched and searched until finally sitting down on one to decide that that was in fact “the one.”

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And while Avery sat on her pumpkin, I tried to get the kids together for a photo. I’ve got many more takes than this, but these just happen to make me smile (mostly because Avery was just being so funny.)

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As we were leaving the farm and getting ready to pay for our pumpkins, the cashier asked us how much we thought that they weighed. She told us that if we guess the exact weight we can take the pumpkin home for free. MacKay carried both pumpkins so I let him guess. He was off by two pounds with Avery and then sure enough, he guessed the exact weight for Harlan’s pumpkin – 28 pounds!

This type of fall day used to be an entire weekend for us when we lived in the city. We had to rent a car, drive hours to the nearest farm and would end up making a trip out of it because of all of the costs and time involved. Now that we are in the suburbs, it’s only a quick 20 minute drive to the local farm and to enjoy all of these festivities. It’s so crazy how our lives have changed so much in just a few short months, but I can honestly say that it makes me so happy. And it’s weekends like this that prove we made the right decision.

 

 

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Family, Life, Suburban Life

Back to Our Old Stomping Grounds

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Last weekend we went into the city for the first time as a family. We’ve been a handful of times since we’ve moved, but it’s always been just me and the kids or by myself. This was the first time that we were going back with all five of us.

We spent the morning at a friend’s birthday party and I mentioned to MacKay that I’d like to stay the afternoon around our old neighborhood. I told him he could go to a bar and watch the Florida State game and I would take the kids to the playground by our old apartment.

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As soon as we told the girls what we were doing, they were thrilled. It was like they didn’t skip a beat. It’s only been about three months since our move, but you wouldn’t have thought it had been three days with the way these girls adjusted back to the city, which is exactly what I want to hold on to.

See that little speck in the photo above? That’s Har running as fast as she could to the playground. She’s been going to this playground since she was nine months old. It’s one she holds near and dear to her heart and I don’t blame her at all.

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I never thought that I would voluntarily spend three hours with three kids alone at a playground, but we had so much fun. It’s so nice to be able to go into the city with absolutely no agenda at all. The girls played, Macks played, and I had a blast watching it all happen.

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While we love our playgrounds here in Connecticut (they never crowded,) there is just something I truly love about a New York City playground. 

And while we were there, Harlan showed us what’s she been practicing on her playground at school. I am so proud of her!

Our move out to the suburbs has made me truly grateful. I feel like I have the best of both worlds. For that, I am truly a lucky girl.

 

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Events, Motherhood

6 Back-to-Flu Tips

While I was generally excited about the girls starting school full-time this fall, I was super nervous because it generally means that they are bound to get sick. I remember when Harlan first started preschool it only took her a month to come down with a cough and the sniffles. It seemed like we were at our pediatricians office or an urgent care facility every other week because she or Avery had come down with something.

A couple of weeks ago MacKay and I took the kids into the city for a morning at Haven’s Kitchen to spend time with the lovely ladies of Cool Moms Picks, learn how to cook delicious and healthy snacks, and  check out more about LiveHeath Online, an app that offers a way for parents to get one-on-one time with a doctor from the comfort of your own home.

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With cold and flu season upon us and both girls in school, this was the perfect opportunity for me to learn about this app. Sometimes coming down with a cold is unavoidable and because you know kids always have the best timing, I’m sure they will wake me up at 3am letting me know they are sick (because doesn’t it always happen that way?)

Thankfully rather than searching for a place that does 24-hour care or trying to schlep all three kids to their pediatricians office the next morning, LiveHealth Online is a safe, fast and easy option. With the app, you can talk face-to-face with a doctor to get a diagnosis and treatment (even prescriptions) for every member of your family all on your phone. The LiveHealth Online app is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

At just $49 a visit, it’s less expensive than most urgent care facilities and you don’t have to get all of the kids dressed and in the car for the visit.

And while LiveHealth Online is a great option for those times when our family gets sick, ultimately we want to do whatever we can to avoid coming down with a cold or flu this season (crossing fingers.)

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At the brunch I had the chance to meet with Dr. Mia Finkelston, a LiveHealth Online doctor, who gave us some everyday health and wellness tips to reduce your family’s risk of getting sick from seasonal and school-borne illnesses this fall and winter.

  • Rest up: Make sure your kids get between 9.5 – 12 hours of sleep each night to restore their bodies, improve their ability to help fight off germs, and reduce their stress levels.
  • Hands off: Germs are lurking everywhere during the school year and are transported mostly through our hands. Teach your kids to keep their hands away from their face, and make sure they wash hands often, especially before eating.
  • Eat for wellness: Stock up on nutritious foods to help kids and parents function at optimum levels. Kids love to snack. Pack nuts, whole grain crackers, and fruit in their school bag so they don’t head to the vending machine.
  • Don’t skip breakfast: Studies show that eating breakfast helps kids focus better in school, and they are less tired and cranky.
  • Immunize: Make time to get the flu shot for your family because studies show it safely protects against the most common strains of flu.
  • If your kids are athletes, it’s even more important that they get enough sleep, eat healthy and stay hydrated!

Great news! You can get one FREE visit with a LiveHealth Online doctor by using the code MommyinCity. Simply register for your free  LiveHealth Online account by downloading the app from iTunes or the App Store or Google Play store and sign-up in one quick step. Or, you can visit www.livehealthonline.com and register.

(Code is good for one free visit. Expires 12/31/14)

 

{Disclosure: I was compensated for this post as a part of my partnership with LiveHealth Online and attended the Cool Mom Picks event solely because I wanted to. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.}

Photo Credit: Aaron Adler Photography

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