Fall in Love with Fall

It's been a busy couple of months around here and the next couple look to be even busier.  There have been a lot of overnight travel days for Corey and we really needed a couple of days to focus on our new family.  Plus Oliver is getting to that age where he is much more aware of his surroundings and so outings are becoming more enjoyable (usually).  So we planned a trip to a pumpkin farm and apple orchard.  This tradition isn't one that has ever required children, Corey and I have enjoyed going to pumpkin farms and apple orchards about every year since we've been married but I know that bringing along our baby and making it a family tradition is only going to sweeten the deal.

Our neighbors referred us to this little gem of an apple orchard.

We are kicking ourselves that we didn't know about it sooner.  It was kind of a drizzly day but we didn't let that ruin it for us.  The 45 minute drive to get there was like discovering a side of Indiana that we didn't know existed.  I have to be honest with you, Indiana is not always the most beautiful place in the world (shocking news, I know!) but the drive from Bloomington to the orchard just south of a tiny town called Trafalgar, was downright idyllic.  We passed a llama farm, a charming barn that was actually a country farm stand, horse stables, and lovely fences that went on and on.  I have to make another confession, the trip didn't start off in the most pleasant of ways.  Ollie was cranky, mom and dad were both exhausted and cranky and some not so nice arguments conversations happened on more than one occasion. As we drove, giving each other the silent treatment and one beautiful scene after another unfolded in front of us our crankiness faded and we realized that we needed to embrace the day that we had together and enjoy every minute.  The charm of this place made me anxious for the day when Oliver could actually enjoy the activities the orchard has to offer.   For now we were just spectators.

There was a lovely little train.

Rows of sunflowers bowing their heads and submitting to another year come and gone.

And this one little guy hanging on a bit longer.

Squash blossoms that look like fingers clenched in a fist.

Pumpkins waiting to be picked off the vine.

A charming covered bridge.

A petting zoo.

Baskets of gourds and squash.

Apples ripe for the picking.

These cool crisp mornings and mild sunny days make me want to read cookbooks, drink cider, eat soup that has been working away all day in a crock pot, and hunker down in my kitchen and bake.  But baking and cooking have brought on a whole new meaning with a little one in the mix.  The days of being able to spend hours in the kitchen are long gone.  Now I have to plan a lot more carefully, you can't really master an intense recipe that calls for "stir constantly" when there is a solid chance that at some point during the process there will be crying that needs to be attended to (the baby's crying, not mine...usually). I've had my eye on several recipes on Pinterest but most of them just wouldn't be the same if I was making them in the middle of summer, they practically require temperatures in the 60's, rainy day optional. Cue, this weekend. The forecast showed a 60 percent chance of rain both Saturday and Sunday so I decided this was to be a weekend of baking and cooking. I tried new recipes and also made some good ol' comfort food.

This chicken enchilada soup was super easy.  You pretty much just toss everything in the crockpot and 8 hours later you have a warm bowl of soup with a perfect balance of spiciness and a little bit of sweetness from the corn. This will definitely be in our fall/winter crockpot rotation from now on.

I baked this almond cake on Friday.  It was pretty delicious, how couldn't it be with 3 sticks of butter between the cake and the frosting?  However, you definitely need to add some tart fruit to the top to cut through the sweetness of it.

I wanted to make these caramel apple cider cookies but I couldn't find the instant apple cider mix anywhere in the two stores I visited.  Irritating!!  I have a 5 month old, I don't have the luxury of visiting 5 stores to find a simple box of instant apple cider.  Soooo, I'll keep you posted.  As soon as I run across a box (I know they have it in the stores in Iowa and I'll be back there in a couple weeks) I'll make them.  Stay tuned!

I used these beautiful apples from the orchard to make a big batch of applesauce for Oliver.  I never knew making your own applesauce could be so easy! Following the advice of a helpful worker at the orchard I chose Jonagolds.  They have so much sweetness on their own, I didn't need to add any sugar.  I peeled, chopped and boiled them for about 25 minutes. Then threw them in the food processor and added a bit of the cooking liquid to thin them out a bit.  That's it! My grandma used to make applesauce for us when we were kids and I guess I envisioned a much more involved process.  In reality it probably was for her, I'm pretty sure she did it all by hand and thinking of this gave me a whole new appreciation for her and for my food processor.

The weather man is predicting another full day of rain tomorrow so I'm off to enjoy what's left of this sunny day.  A comfy chair outside, this cup of cider,

and this little punkin' are calling my name.

Happy Monday!

Thankful

It's not Thanksgiving yet but the past couple of weeks I have been given some pretty good opportunities to reflect on my life and be very thankful. We had the anniversary of when my husband I met, the anniversary of 9/11 and this past weekend we watched our friends walk down the aisle which like every wedding does, made me think of my own wedding almost 5 years ago.

August 31st was the 10 year anniversary of when Corey and I met.  Wowza, 10 years, a decade, one third of my lifetime! I'm very thankful for the night that wonderful man walked into my life.  Then 11 days later the airplanes hit the twin towers in New York City. I remember sitting in my living room with my roommate thinking how thankful I was that I didn't know anyone that was there.  But even though I didn't know anyone that was there the sadness was palpable. Whether or not you knew someone didn't matter, life as we knew it in the United States would never be the same. I took that opportunity to call all of my family and tell them how much I loved them because if anything this was a reminder to tell the ones that we love that we do. On the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 I think all of us took the time to think about where we were 10 years ago.  In a coffee shop, at work, at school, driving in the car. Regardless of where we each were, life was different 10 years ago. As I reflect on how different my life has become since those two anniversaries I think of the big and small moments that have gotten me here.

Big moments:

• What 14 hours of labor felt like, punctuated by a moment of silence and my baby's throaty cry
• Hearing my grandpa read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas Eve and my cousin Matt reading the same story 9 days after my grandpa passed away
• What my mom's laugh sounds like, what she smells like and how it felt to lay next to her on the couch
• What it felt like when my husband and I said "I do"

and little moments:

• Snuggling Oliver just a few minutes longer when I know I really just need to lay him in his bed to sleep
• How 10 years later I still get excited to see my husband pull in the driveway after a long day of work
• Laughing with my sister Edie, so hard we could hardly breathe
• Watching my sister Desi with her new nephew, changing his diaper and holding him like she'd been doing it for years
• Cooking for my sister Kiley, her freshman year of college when we were lucky enough to live in the same town

On the anniversary of 9/11 I didn't watch every single bit of coverage but I did watch an hour on NBC with Tom Brokaw and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. As I sat and listened to them sing Amazing Grace and watched clips of the beautiful scenery that our country has to offer I sat next to my son and couldn't help but hope that he always knows what a wonderful world we live in.  Sometimes it takes a tragedy to understand and be truly thankful for what we have.

Everyday life can sometimes bog us down with minuscule annoyances...the dog rolled in the dirt again, your husband came home late, the baby has been crying for an hour.  But what we really need to be thankful for is the life that we are allowed.  I have a husband who loves his family, my son won't be persecuted for his religious beliefs and will be able to go to a great school. Let us not ever forget how lucky we are to live in a country where all of this is possible.

When I met my husband 10 years ago little did we know what we had ahead of us. We fell in love, we bought our first house, we've moved three times to 3 different communities, we've met lifelong friends, we've lost grandparents and lost my mom, I gave birth to our first son and throughout the joys and sadness I know that regardless I live a very blessed life.

I hope that we continue to accept our joys and challenges with grace. So I have to admit that although I'm not thankful for what happened 10 years ago on 9/11 that changed us all, I am thankful for the reminder to reflect on our lives each year.

Tomorrow is the official start of autumn but around here it's been feeling like fall for a couple weeks. A couple of weeks ago we had what I hope is our last shot at above 80 degree temperatures. But it wasn't middle of the summer 85 degrees that you know has settled in and decided to stay for a while, no this was a pleasant visit from 85, just stopping by for one last visit to make sure you don't forget it while it's gone. So I was happy to oblige this one last visit but I was happy to see it go.  So in anticipation of tomorrow's arrival of fall, my mums have been purchased and the first of many batches of pumpkin bars have been made.

It's been a busy couple weeks. We watched our first Iowa game of the season, the first for Oliver to watch in his life. We got all decked out in our Iowa gear.

 He's not quite as into as we had hoped.

So I thought he needed a napping buddy.

We had a weekend full of wedding events. Rehearsal dinners, ceremonies and rehearsals. It was a gorgeous weekend where glasses of wine were enjoyed with old friends. I was planning on bringing the baby to all of the events but one call after another rolled in of offers to babysit so we were happy to let grandparents and aunties get in their baby time.

Grandpa and Grandma Rekers took Ollie for the night so momma and poppa got a good nights sleep. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!!!

Grandpa Clyde got his baby time in during the wedding and boy does he love himself some Ollie.

And the aunties got their time in too.  I am so thankful for my sisters and how much they love my baby. (Not pictured: Auntie Edie, but she got her blog shout out last week).

With the onset of fall the groceries are filled with fall fruits and vegetables.  This prompted me to start making Oliver's baby food.  He won't be eating solids for another month or so but I figured while the fruits and veggies are fresh is as good as time as any.

I made a big batch of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and peas.  This weekend we are going to our first apple orchard of the season so next week the house will be filled with the smell of cinnamon and baking apples and for that I am very thankful.

A Random Smattering...

Last week was a crazy week filled with a fussy baby clingy from his second round of immunizations and a dog that chose to roll in the garden three times which means three baths in two days and to top it all off, aforementioned dog threw up twice. Oh, and did I mention my husband was gone all week on business so I got to balance this crazy household on my own?  So, I have to admit I was on the precipice of absolutely losing my mind so I had to take a brief blogging hiatus.

I'm lonely for my sister today.  Well all my sisters really but specifically my sister Edie.  But I'm lonely for her because I got a good dose of sister time a couple of weekends ago which I guess is worth being lonely for her today.  There really is nothing like seeing the ones you love love on your baby. 

And when she said "how about I take the baby tonight so you can sleep all night?" I gave the question a resounding "yes, please!".  But there is something about being a mother that even when you have the opportunity to sleep through the night uninterrupted you still wake multiple times to sneak into the room to watch your baby sleep. I do have to say though, it was a beautiful thing to have my bed back to myself.

Edie and I wanted to make these together but sunshine and picnics at wineries called to us with their siren song so I promised I'd make them for her this week.  They were inspired by this pin I found on how to make homemade coasters with scrapbook paper and tiles from your local DIY store.

I found this great Etsy artist via Pinterest a couple of weeks ago.  I finally ordered a nursery print and it arrived in the mail this week.  I love, love, love it!  She's got some great nursery prints and artwork and it's super affordable.  You can find her at her Bunch of Bees Etsy shop.  Here is the print I ordered. Did I mention I love it?

Each year I try really hard to make it to September before pulling out my fall decor and I anxiously await the day when I can find beautiful baskets full of mums at the local nursery. Fall doesn't officially start for another 15 days but I consider Labor Day the unofficial start of fall.  Labor Day has become a new tradition for us.  We get together each year with friends we met when we lived in Minnesota.  We only see each other once or twice a year but when we see each other it's as if no time has passed and we fall right back into place.  Afterall isn't that the true sign of a friend? Weeks, months or even years can pass and when you see each other you don't miss a beat.  Last Labor Day I was sick out of my gourd with "morning" sickness that lasted all day and this year my little boy got to meet their little boys. They made the long trip to visit us in Indiana this year and the week was filled to the gills with laughter and late nights spent drinking wine and catching up on life.

It's starting off to be one of those really great summer weeks.  I love fall so much that I'm always so anxious for it to arrive that I often forget how great the last few weeks in summer can be. Great summer days where the sun shines all day, the humidity is low and the swing in temperature provides great warmth during the day but nice cool evenings perfect for walking dogs and babies.

Hopefully this week will be a little less eventful than last week.  So far we've made it to Tuesday without any dogs throwing up or rolling in the dirt and Oliver is back to his old self.  Here's to the rest of the week going as smoothly!