It's Fall

Fall has arrived here in Wisconsin, and after a brief return of the humidity of summer last week (which this pregnant lady is beyond done with) we're back to breezy, sunny days and chilly nights perfect for snuggling under a blanket. I love fall!

I'm in full blown nesting phase, which is currently manifesting itself in a need to plan and store food for when this baby arrives. This morning I'm not sure what possessed me to get these yesterday, but they were beautiful, free, and I'm blaming it on the nesting bug.

Not looking forward to all of the peeling, seeding, and cooking down that awaits me today, but the end results will be worth it. Nothing better than homemade tomato sauce/marinara on a cold winter evening. :)

I've got a bunch of other nesting-related projects going, but I'm running out of energy long before I accomplish everything, so I don't think this baby should count on being the first of my babies to have a nursery finished BEFORE she arrives. I'm pretty sure she'll have to wait until 4-6 months just like the other two. Though all the essentials are there and the clothes are even washed and in the drawers and the changing table is stocked, so we're prepared on a supplies front. (In fact with the deal-hunting/couponing I've done for diapers over the past months, if I cloth diaper ~50% like I did with Lydia, I might never have to buy a diaper once she arrives...a girl can always hope, right?)

I'm also trying to soak up these last few weeks of "just" being mommy of two of the cutest kids on the planet. I've been trying to be more intentional about getting an extra hug here and a snuggle there before this next little one arrives. They're just so precious, and while I know I won't love them any less as we add another, they may feel a little less treasured for a bit simply because of all the attention and energy getting through life with a newborn takes. So, I want to pour into them now while I can, and really, I just can't get enough.

Anyway, a sure sign of fall at our house is always the arrival of the pumpkins. I know it's only September, but pumpkins are way ahead of schedule this year, and our CSA farm hosted their annual pumpkin party and end-of-season crop gleaning yesterday. We've been members of this CSA for two years now, and the pumpkin pick was a highlight of our fall last year, so we knew we'd be back. We spent much of the afternoon yesterday wandering the farm, picking crops that were at the end of their production (past the point they were "worth" the farm-worker's labor-hours to try to get more saleable harvest, but with much tasty, usuable produce remaining) and opened up to the CSA members to take whatever they could use for their families. Sadly, the peppers around here have had a bad season, so none of the beautiful red peppers got last year, but the tomatoes made up for it. Oh my, so many. :)

We also picked broccoli, lettuce, a stray onion or two, and carrots.

Then it was off to the pumpkin patch. Joshua was really into it, trying to make sure he had "the biggest one." He wants to decorate his pumpkin right away of course, but we're trying to convince him that he should wait a bit closer to Halloween. He's also looking forward to roasting and eating the seeds. :) Lydia looked at us a bit incredulously when we told her she could just walk into the field and pick any pumpkin she wanted. She settled for one right on the very edge of the patch anyway... As always, no matter what they choose it makes for some fun pictures. :)

So, now I guess all we need to make this fall complete is the little pumpkin waiting to make a debut and making mommy think 6 weeks sounds like a long time!