The only way to make iced coffee

In my naivete I used to think that iced coffee was simply made by pouring leftover cold coffee and milk over ice.  Believe me, I've tried that *several* times with varying success.  Mostly it made me grimace and I'd swallow the mix down wondering why so many folks liked to drink the horrid tasting stuff.

UNTIL a good friend of mine introduced me to the cold-brew method of making coffee that is.  Her cold brew coffee was absolutely scrumptious!  My friend's system for cold brewing was slightly intimidating since she had purchased special equipment to concoct the yummy cold-brew java.  After seeing her system, I never considered making my own at home.

The beauty of cold-brewed coffee is that it's MUCH less acidic than the traditional hot-brewed drink.  When you've made your cold brew coffee, you end up with a coffee concentrate which you can then use to make individual cups of hot coffee or any number of cold coffee drinks.  Cold brew concentrate is therefore more versatile than traditional coffee not to mention much smoother in taste due to its low-acidity.

Then another friend of mine (I have amazing friends, don't I?) recently told me about her homemade method for cold-brewed joe.  It's super simple and doesn't require any fancy schmancy equipment.

The cold brew process is ridiculously easy.  Just mix up 12 oz. of your favorite ground coffee and 10 cups of cold water in a large neutral container (I use a stock pot).  Stir the grounds into the water so that all of the grounds are wet.  Cover up the container and let sit for at least 8 hours.  After 8 hours, drain the wet coffee dregs by pouring the mixture into a paper towel lined colander which is sitting atop your storage jar/container.  (I use a big glass jar with a cover.)   The draining part can get kind of messy; do NOT try to dump all your coffee sludge into the colander at once.  I did that the first time and made an ugly mess.  Instead, pour the coffee water mix into the colander about 1/4th at a time.  Give it some time to work it's way through the colander then throw the paper towel liner away and go again until you've strained all of your coffee sludge through.  Be sure to refrigerate your cold brew coffee concentrate. 

There's one more thing you need to make a delicious iced coffee.  Make your own sweet cream to go into your homemade coffee drink!  Simply combine one can sweetened condensed milk with half-and-half or milk.  The ratio is taste-based so if you like a really sweet cream add less milk and if you like a less-sweet cream add more milk.

Now you've got the ingredients you need to mix up your first glass of iced coffee!  Pour 1/3-1/2 cup of cold brew concentrate into your glass.  Next add about the same amount of sweet cream (or cream, plain milk, half-and-half, creamer, etc.) and fill up the rest of the glass with ice cubes.

Enjoy!  And if you try this out, let me know how you like it! 

(The Pioneer Woman has a fabulous step-by-step with loads of photos tutorial on exactly this same process.  Check it out here.  Smitten Kitchen has a similar tutorial using much smaller quantities.  See her tutorial here.)

Was I dreaming?

It's been a little more than a week now since we arrived home from our whirlwind tropical vacation.

Now that I'm fully into the at-home routines again, it's odd to think of where we've been and all that we did a few weeks ago.  It was momentous really.  I'm so glad we captured it all on camera or I'd be tempted to think I dreamed it all up. 

One day on the beach Clive asked me in typical 4 year old earnestness, "Am I dreaming right now mom, or is this real life?" 

While the vacation was dreamy it wasn't exactly restful.  And that's ok; I wasn't expecting to relax.  The numerous foreign dangers put me on hyper-safety-mom alert.  Thankfully, none of my worst fears materialized.  We didn't get torn apart by sharks or fall off any boats.  (You laugh but I truly did have those kinds of crazy irrational fears!) 

Despite my hyper-ness, the trip was thoroughly wonderful in almost every way. 

The biggest downside of the trip was that we couldn't experience it as a complete family.  Due to his teaching responsibilities, Matt couldn't come with us. And since Matt was staying home it logically followed that Solomon should stay too.  Dragging a 2 year old on four separate plane rides, three of which ended up majorly delayed, would have been nightmarish.

But how I wished I could have somehow beamed Matt and Solly onto the beach to join us!   Though Matt is kind of scared of the ocean's immensity (and having swum in it so recently, I don't blame him) I know he would have loved standing there beachside.  It's very humbling and place-putting to physically be in such a vast body of water and to see how small you are in comparison.  (More ocean theology thoughts to come soon.)

For now though, it's good to be home.  I don't miss the daily Clive meltdowns due to lack of naps or the sandy ears of our St. Thomas getaway.  I am again relishing the mundane routines of family and stealing away bits of summer afternoon quiet with occasional siestas or reading time with Chloe.

(If you're interested in seeing a pics highlighting our vacation, check out my FB photo album linked here.)

How 'bout you?  Any vacays planned for the summer months?

Happy birthday to my baby boy!

Our dear Solomon Asher Horn hit the two year milestone today.  I'm just astounded at him.

Solomon has grown SO FAST.  I know this is a common occurrence for youngest siblings but it's especially true of our Solly.  He abandoned sippy cups months ago and he's even trying to copy Clive in the urination department.  I'm hoping and praying having an older brother to model the process will speed the potty training process along significantly!

Keeping up with his siblings paired with his natural inclination towards curiosity and strong physical motor skills means Solomon is into a lot.  He's an explorer and experimenter, to be sure. (And now you know *exactly* why I've not blogged much in the last year.  Keeping Solomon safe and occupied is a full-time job!)

Solomon is also extremely joyful and loving.  He's also saying loads of words now and even trying to count to ten using his fingers.

Solly is also proving to be an opinionated and stubborn little guy.  God is certainly increasing my patience in working Solomon towards becoming a manageable and pleasant toddler!  

For Solomon's birthday soiree we hosted a morning playdate with some of his little friends.  Of course Solly's pals are also the youngest ones of their families so many older siblings came along to party too (which is just lovely for Chloe and Clive). We had such a blast partying together!

Since Solomon's absolutely favorite dvds to watch are old Sesame Street episodes (you MUST check out the vintage Sesame Street flicks available at your library -- hilarious, entertaining and educational in a truly old school and fun way) a Sesame Street party was the obvious choice.

We love you to pieces, Solly-wog.  Happy happy birthday to our crazy little Mexican jumping bean!  Can't wait to watch you grow!

Apparently two year olds don't really do birthday party games.  Get's too complicated for them.  Still it's fun to watch their little brains try to figure it all out!  This was for pin-the-tail-feathers-on-Big-Bird. 

The birthday bambino!

Opening gifts

This was an Elmo-faced strawberry platter whose lower portion kept getting nibbled on by children passing by. 

Broccoli faced Oscar the Grouch.  Obviously.  Or maybe not so obviously since he's sans mouth.

We had so many kiddos partying with us (15 in all -- only a crazy woman like me would dare attempt that many little bodies in my small house) that we did lunch in shifts.  This was the little kid shift.

Big kid shift.

He's a pro at blowing out candles.  Especially when they're only 5 inches from his mouth.

Crazy Clive and his equally crazy buddy, Sammy.

Sesame Street character party favor bags.  These took FOREVER but they were super fun to make!  Even if they look very little like the idea I pinned on pinterest.  Please tell me they at least vaguely look like Ernie, Cookie, Elmo and Oscar?

Playing outside and getting dirty.

So thankful for all these dear friends!

Chloe and the older kids chowing down.

I was extremely proud of my free-handing of Big Bird.  Though I realized later I forgot to give the big yellow guy any arms.  Guess I'm not cut-out for the world of illustration after all. 

February?

What happened to the month of February?  Seriously.  Even with the extra day tacked on for leap year, this February whizzed by for our family.

I'm sure that's largely due to the busyness of our February calendar.  And also due to the fact that most of my February was spent wiping runny noses, delivering cough drops and popping in dvds for whoever happened to be sick at the moment.  But thankfully, our February ailments did NOT include any stomach flu bouts.  THANK YOU JESUS!

Here's a photo highlight reel of our February.  And here's to a slower-moving March!

Lots of reading, playing and indoor shenanigans happened in February.  Chloe helped me out by reading to Solomon after he woke up from his nap.  So sweet to see them snuggling together and enjoying a book!  (Believe me, this kind of sight doesn't happen often in my house.)

Making a band out of pots and pans.  Who needs toys, right?

I instituted a new chore chart for the minions this month including dish duty for the two oldest.  I can't tell you how much happier my heart is now that the kids can share the load of cleaning a tiny bit more!  More on the new chore system to come.  It's working famously for our crew so far!

Like most holidays, I feel compelled to celebrate using themed food. This was V-day breakfast.

My Clive devouring his Valentine's Day pancakes with strawberry syrup.

Chloe (notice the red sniffly nose) posing with her Valentine's Day lunch of heart shaped toast, heart shaped cheese and pink smoothies. 

February makes us all a bit stir-crazy.  In an effort to make our indoor days more fun I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards and let the kids go wild with dishes.  That's super fun, right?  :)

To celebrate Chloe's completion of her January reading chart we ate cheap pizza and subjected ourselves to the insanity of Chuck E. Cheese.  This horse ride was Chloe's favorite.

The boys preferred riding anything resembling a vehicle or that required pounding. 

Chloe was the only Horn child brave enough to hug and pose with Chuck E.

Thank you, Pinterest for so many fun valentine ideas!  There were Chloe's homemade butterfly valentines for the girls in her class.

Not to be outdone, Clive and I decorated these car valentines for his buddies.

And because the boys could NOT receive butterfly valentines, Chloe and I made these cute swedish fish cards for her male classmates.  

Lest you think I have it all together

A friend of mine recently shared some thoughts with me from the book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson. This guy runs through a literal gamut of comparison and envy issues plaguing moms.

Check out the list of lies he says we believe:

• Everyone else's kids are better.
• Everyone else's home is cleaner.
• Everyone else fixes better meals.
• Everyone else is more disciplined and more spiritual.
• Everyone else's marriage is better.
• Everyone else can do it all.
• Every other mom loves homeschooling.
• Everyone else is more capable.

Yup.  I've definitely fallen for several of those whoppers in my weaker moments.

Summing the book up, I'd restate these unrealistic comparisons this way: Everyone else has it all together but me. 

And let's face it, judging by my online persona, I certainly seem to have it all together.  Snagging deals, making homemade fruit roll-ups, and creating crafty projects to correlate with our homeschool studies paint me as some homesteading do-it-all mom that is whistling a happy tune and enjoying every moment of domestic existence.

And that is NOT me.

I'm not purposely trying to fool you all.  I just get more excited about sharing my successes and mountain-top experiences than my low-points.  I mean, c'mon do you really want to hear about how my youngest broke our $250 air purifier?  Or how my floor hasn't been thoroughly mopped for 2 months?  Or how it took me NINE hours to bake said stupid homemade fruit roll-ups and then my husband was so miffed at my excessive use of energy that he went out and bought me a dehydrator?

Honestly, most days I feel fairly overwhelmed and tired.  There are always toys on my floor to be picked up, noses to wipe, dishes in some state of uncleanliness and unsightly scattered paper piles on my desk.

So, lest you think I have it all together let me assure you - I DO NOT.  And below there are pictures to prove it.

I'm inexpressibly thankful that regardless of my failings and inability to get my act together, God never lets me down.  I'm living proof that His grace is always enough.  

How about you?  Have you fallen for any of these lies?

Our dining room table mess during a typical homeschool morning. 

My son drinking milk from a bowl on the floor while playing puppy.

Trying to keep Solomon occupied by putting dry spaghetti noodles into a sieve.  Great idea, pinterest!  Now if only you would have warned me about what a mess this was to clean up. And how frustrated Solomon would get when the noodles broke.  (An even better picture would have been capturing what happened next.  Clive decided he was hungry for peanut butter and shared it with Solomon.  Both boys eating peanut butter out of the same jar with their fingers.  All this happened in the span of 2 minutes while I was working with Chloe on schoolwork.)

Yes, I let my son play with sewing pins.  While perched on the edge of my bed.  Not my wisest decision as a mom.  But he's my fine-motor-skill guy and he didn't prick himself even once!  Honest!

Chloe is my sweet angel.  But I'm afraid she might suffocate while she sleeps beneath her obsessive collection of stuffed animals.

We have an estimating winner!

CHRISTINA HAIRGROVE

You win the prize!  You came the closest to guessing my actual total in paying for the lot of brand new shoes pictured below.

Christina guessed $12.  VERY CLOSE, girl!  I actually paid $12.84 for the above 8 pairs of new kids' shoes from a Payless going out of business.

The rest of the guesses ranged from $15 to almost $30.  Nice try, people.  I wasn't kidding when I said I was Cheap (yes, I capitalized that word on purpose - I'm cheap with a capital C).

I fully realize my ignorance of retail prices in the twenty first century.  I'm usually the gawking shopper in Target who is talking to myself about "how expensive things are these days".  If this is me at 34, how cheap and annoying will I be at 64?  (Don't answer that.  That was a rhetorical question.)

Christina wins a fun little goodie package.  Contact me via FB or email (aliciamhorn at gmail dot com) with your address, Christina to claim your prize.  Way to estimate!  :)

Happy birthday to me! (and an exercise in estimation)

Happy birthday to me!  We celebrated my 34th birthday this weekend and though I didn't get to sleep in and I didn't wake up 10 lbs. lighter, it was a good day regardless.

I woke up to sweet and thoughtful gifts from my Matt.  New and improved travel coffee mug -- yes!  Then I got most of the morning to myself (HEAVEN), took Chloe to lunch and out shopping to spend some birthday cash.  Then I cooked up EXACTLY what I wanted for dinner.  Steak with mushrooms, homemade wheat bread, oven-baked potatoes topped with plain yogurt and cheddar cheese, pear/cranberry/walnut/blue cheese salad and peach cobbler for dessert.  And while I LOVED partaking in last year's dark chocolate and cherry pavlova I didn't feel like putting forth that much effort this year.  (If you've never attempted a pavlova, I highly recommend it!  Read about my pavlova journey here.)

It's good to be 34!  I don't even care that I'm seriously close to the 30's midpoint.  Whatever.  I could care less.  My life is stuffed to the gills with blessings; the biggest being that all my sins are forgiven.  What can top that?!?  If my life had a theme song, Psalm 32 would be it!

So, on to the exercise in estimation.  During my birthday shopping spree I happened upon a Payless that was going out of business and liquidating their inventory.  I almost didn't stop.  I was seriously disappointed with Borders' so-called liquidating sale and was skeptical that the Payless sale would yield any actual bargains.  It's tough to impress this super-cheap-coupon-clipping-bargain hunter.  But the sale was indeed worthy of my time.  8 pairs later I was one happy cheapskate!

What do you think I paid for these puppies?  Closest guess to my actual total will win . . . . something.  Really, I promise to put together some kind of fun mystery prize for the winning estimator.  I won't divulge the percent off I netted here but I'll give you a tiny clue.  Think more than 50% off.  Put on your estimating caps and give it a go!

Solomon was very excited about the new pile of footwear.  He spent a good 20 minutes (which is nigh an eternity for my busy boy) trying on shoes and stomping around the house in them.  Cuteness!

New Year's Hopes

I'm not making resolutions this year.  I'm making a list of *hopes* instead.  And I'm making my *hope* list small and simple in the hope that I'll actually accomplish a few of them in 2012.

Hopes for 2012


1. Get my hair cut.  I can't even remember the last time I got my hair cut.  Seriously, it's probably been a year and my mane is looking mangy and limp.  And I'd like to up the ante a bit and actually get my hair cut at a real salon and NOT a place with the word "Best" "Clips" or "Famous" in the name.

2. Get to bed before 11.  I'm a much more pleasant mommy and wife when I get a full eight hours rest!  And if I sleep a full eight hours at night, there's a greater possibility I won't need a nap in the afternoon and instead I can spend that time doing enrichment activities with Chloe.  Poor girl has been rather neglected in the afternoons.  That's time I envision us reading aloud, playing games or working on craft projects.

3. Exercise consistently.  I'm not putting a lot of pressure on myself here but I do want to be more physically active in 2012.  My mom gave us a Wii for Christmas and the Wii Fit games are a blast!  I'd love to shed 10 pounds but my overall *hope* is for a healthier more energetic and active me.

4. Read more.  I've got a stack of classics waiting for me on my dresser.  Once upon a time, I used to read for fun.  For hours on end!  I realize I won't be able to read for hours at a shot but I can certainly plow through some good tomes if I designate 10-15 minutes as reading time before bed.  I've been reading a few pages each night of Mark Twain short stories and it's been whetting my appetite for more reading.  This is one goal I'm going to thoroughly enjoy.

How about you?  Did you resolve, hope or make any goals for the new year?

It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas

Every year one of Matt's cousins whom I've never met sends us a huge basket of her homemade Christmas cookies.  Yes you read that right, she SENDS them to us.  Her yummy sweets come to us all wrapped up in individual cellophane baggies and packaged in a lovely red basket.  All sent to us from several states away.

Her goodies have been a HUGE blessing and encouragement to me over the years!  Especially so when I was a huge pregnant lady in 2007 and ended up delivering our dear Clive just 5 days after Christmas.   That year I wasn't so much into cookie baking as I was into waddling around.  It was so handy to have those homemade cookies to give out to neighbors and to wolf done myself in my last throes of pregnant gluttony.

This year though, Matt's cousin isn't feeling so hot.  She's been seriously ill for much of the fall and not even able to care for herself.  So I thought it would be thoughtful to send HER a big ole box of Christmas baked goods this year.  Great idea, right?  Yes!  But now I have to find time to do all the baking required to send out this festive cookie box.  THANKFULLY, I have a truly helpful 6 year old and a large freezer.  We've been baking up a batch here and a batch there and then thrown them in the freezer so it's not felt too high-stress.  Not yet anyway.

Here's my cookie baking list:

• Snowballs
• Double chocolate cookies
• Ginger molasses cookies
• Thumbprints (you must try this recipe, it adds cream cheese to the traditional batter and is simply scrumptious!)
• Sugar cookies (decorated by the kiddos of course)
• Cranberry orange cookies
• Fudge (peppermint, chocolate/cherry, peanut butter)
• Puppy chow (not your regular garden variety -- I have a recipe for a super yummy peanut butter/chocolate one)

I feel like I'm missing some obvious Christmas cookie in the above list . . . What cookies do you usually bake up for the holidays?

Caption contest

I think this photo I snapped of my curious Solomon is absolutely roll-on-the-floor hilarious!

Lemme esplain . . . .

I often plant Solomon on the counter while I'm mucking about in the kitchen.  I like to keep a close eye on my busy boy.  Of course, the problem with this counter-top set-up is that there aren't many toys up there to play with.  Believe me, I've TRIED providing Solomon with cars, spoons, bowls, travel mugs and Tupperware to keep him occupied but those items usually don't hold his interest long.

The coffee pot is obviously a different matter.  Since babyhood this boy of mine has always LOVED taking things apart and then putting them back together.  He often sits there happily removing and replacing the coffee pot lid while I'm cooking away. 

As you can see from the photo, Solomon noticed there were some drops of liquid remaining at the bottom of the pot.  And he was thirsty.

Is it bad that I grabbed the camera to capture this hilarious moment before taking the coffee pot away?

So, here's where you come in.  Write a clever caption for my coffee-gulping Solomon photo and you could win a prize!

What's the prize?  An apropos prize would involve coffee, no?  The author of caption I like best will net a bag of locally roasted yummy java beans.  And I WILL ship overseas so international entries are welcome.    I'll keep the caption-writing contest open through next Friday, November 11.

Happy penning!

And the winners are . . .

Thanks to all of you who commented on my recent Christmas Card post!

And I'm happy to announce that the three fortunate winners of 25 free cards from Shutterfly are:

Suzanne Dobbertin
Kelly Glupker
Tracy Hall

My kids chose these names randomly out of a bowl.  Really high-tech, I know.  :)

(I'll message each of you on Facebook with your unique promo code to use at Shutterfly.com for 25 free cards.  Email me at aliciamhorn (at) gmail (dot) com if you'd rather I email the code to you.)

And remember if you're a blogger, you can still register yourself with Shutterfly to get 25 free cards.   Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

Happy card-making!

A Heinous Injustice

My Solomon hit the 18 month mark a few weeks back.  He's growing and developing in every way imaginable!  He's a spunky (read: a disciplining challenge), independent, joyful, interactive, book-loving, dancing, rough-housing toddler. 

The Heinous Injustice, you ask?  He STILL wakes up in the middle of the night.  And I'm certain it's my fault.

Thankfully, he doesn't wake up EVERY night.  Whew.  And despite the occasional teething or sickness episode his sleeping habits were lovely between 6-14 months. 

But now he's up once a night 2-4 times a week.  For this nap-loving narcoleptic mom that's almost more than I can handle.  It's not like we're up for a long period of time.  Just long enough for him to suck back his sippy cup of milk while we lay on the couch together.

I'm pretty sure the problem with this boy's restless nights is that he's a milk addict and not taking in enough regular food during the day.  This week I cut him off (almost) completely from his sippy cup of milk in hopes that the milk-absence would force him to eat more solid food.  That seemed to help him eat a bit more than usual at mealtimes but still not as much as I expected.  I've also been feeding him a snack before bed in an attempt to fill up his toddler tummy.

The other complication in the Solomon sleep issue is that he shares a room with his older brother, Clive.  So, while I'm a 100% believer in the crying-it-out method my stubborn Solly can really wail and often wakes up my sweet sleeping Clive.  And then I have two boys to soothe back to sleep.  Said soothing sometimes translates as Clive crawling into bed with us.  Which means I end up sleeping on the couch since I don't enjoy being kicked or have my knees used as a pillow. 

All told, I'm not getting as much sleep as I'd like.  :(

HELP!  What else should I try?

Solomon's coffee consumption may or may not be linked to his sleepless nights.

Christmas cards already?

I don't usually start thinking about Christmas cards until mid-November at the earliest.  But this year, Shutterfly is getting me started earlier than normal.  Last week they emailed me offering me FIFTY FREE CARDS if I blog about their holiday card selection.  That's a no-brainer for this cheapskate!  

And the coolest part of the promo is that I get to offer YOU some free cards too!  Three fortunate commenters to this post will be chosen at random to receive a promo code for 25 free cards of their choice from Shutterfly's expansive holiday card collection.

To prepare for this review I spent much time browsing and exploring Shutterfly's holiday card site.  And man was that fun!  Since I want to send out Christmas cards with a strong religious message I spent most of my time searching through the religious section. I wasn't too disappointed.  Shutterfly's religious card section has 68 choices and many include Bible verses.  I'm quite choosy when it comes to religious cards.  I want my card to have a clear, strong and Biblical message.  My favorites were as follows:

Seal of Christ.  Love the red and brown combined with black and white photos.  Sepia photos would look great with this design too.  Also like the cool square shape and impacting cross-centered verse chosen for this card.

Mighty God. This is my favorite one because of the verse choice and light blue paired with traditional red and green.  Now to snap a picture of all three kiddos smiling simultaneously.  That's going to take a miracle.

Open your hearts.  I really dig the personal call-to-action of this card's message.  And I LOVE the rainbow colorful-ness on the black background.

Rejoice.  Brown and light blue is such a classy color combo.  And the verse is a powerful statement for Christmas. 

There are MYRIADS of unusual and vibrant designs at the Shutterfly website.  I'm especially drawn to the colorful and non-traditional color choices of their cards.  There's an entire "Merry and Bright" category of cards that is just that!  Super fun rainbow colors are usually paired with black and white photos to make for playful and festive cards.

And they have some unique twists of format on the traditional Christmas letter.  If you're into writing Christmas letters or family highlights from your year, Shutterfly has some cool options like top 10 lists and story bubbles to position around photos.

I also appreciate how many different ways there are to navigate the options for photo cards at Shutterfly.  You can narrow your choices by clicking checkboxes for 1, 2, 3 or 4+ photos per card design.  You can narrow the choices further by color or collection style.  And if you're indecisive like I am, you can use their "compare cards" feature to select favorites and check them out side-by-side.

To enter my giveaway for 25 free cards from Shutterfly, just answer the following question in your comment: What do you do with the Christmas cards you receive post-holiday?

[I'll pick 3 winners at random by Friday, October 28.  And by the way, Shutterfly did NOT pay me for this review -- unless you count the 50 free cards that is.  These are all my own thoughts and opinions.]

Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

The pumpkin patch racket

Like the rest of America I aim to take the kiddos to a pumpkin patch every fall.  There's just something nostalgic (even though I don't recall visiting pumpkin patches growing up) and so autumn-y about pumpkin places.

After researching various nearby pumpkin spots, I realized what a money-making racket the pumpkin-experience has become.  Every place I checked offered a variety of super-fun fall themed activities but all for a price.  Hay rides?  $3 a person.  Corn maze?  $5 a pop.  Climbing on straw bales, scavenger hunt and leaf-raking?  $5 each for an activity wristband (including accompanying adults).  And of course that doesn't even include the cost of the pumpkin itself.  Ay-ay-ay!

So, instead I found a happy cheaper medium for the pumpkin experience.  I knew the kids would really enjoy a tractor-pulled hay wagon ride -- especially my machine-loving boy -- so we spent the $9 to do that.  The leaves and rakes were available for raking so we did that for free.  There were wagons sitting around for toting pumpkins which functioned as toys for the boys.  Add to that a few cups of apple cider, noshing on cheap cookies and wandering around the pumpkins (couldn't bear to buy any as I know my local drugstore sells them much cheaper) and we had ourselves a lovely morning!

I know I'm an uber-cheapskate but I really am glad folks were dishing out so much moola for the pumpkin pandemonium today.  Way to support a local farm, people!

Have you visited a pumpkin patch yet this season?  If so, I'm curious . . . how much did you pay for your pumpkin?

All tuckered out from the pumpkin morning.

My cutesy Chloe posing nicely for the camera.  Why don't the boys follow her lead?!?

Rakin'

A rock is truly as much fun as a ball.  Just duck when Solomon comes your way.

Who knew raking someone else's leaves could be so enjoyable?

Waiting patiently for the hayride.

Sizing up the tractor wheel.

Hayride!

This boy LOVED all aspects of the hayride!

Wagon pulling and pushing

Pumpkins in a bathtub?  What?

The best shot of the three rascals I could get.

Checking out the pumpkin selection.

Balancing on the bridge over a sea of pumpkins.