This year we went to two pumpkin patches. I went with my son with his class to Honeysuckle Hill Farm and then we went to Christian Way Farm during fall break. I really liked both of these places, probably better than Riverview Mounds where we have been in the past.
Here are some photos from Christian Way Farm! I really liked how the farm was laid out and my kids seemed to have a ton of fun there. Christian Way Farm is about an hour from Clarksville though so a bit of a drive.
My boys LOVE the Lego store. Drew will talk your hear off about it. Since I knew that the Lego store in Downtown Disney was pretty big, we planned a trip there. Unfortunately we had to wait until one of the last days of our trip which was kinda hard for Drew. But it was worth the wait.
Now I knew that the store was two stories but I didn’t realize one story was just a play area but the boys didn’t seem to mind.
I love Disneyland and I knew we couldn’t go this trip. Daniel begged me to go and said, “Can’t we just go on one ride?” I kinda wish it was still like that but of course I had to tell him “no, it doesn’t work like that.” I am hoping I can take them when we are out again in February/March.
When my husband deployed for the first time my oldest son was 23 months old…click here for the rest of this post 🙂
I had the opportunity to review some yummy snacks for toddlers by Happy Family Organic Superfoods. With a toddler in the house I am always looking for new and fun foods for him. I am lucky in that he will eat a lot of things his brothers were too picky to eat at his age.
We tried the Happy Yogis Yogurt snacks for babies and toddlers, Happy Munchies canisters and Crocs, Happy Tot pouches, Happy Tot Plus pouches, Happy Tot toddler meal bowls and Happy Times snack packs. I have to say that Baby J’s favorites are probably the Happy Munchies and the Happy Tot Plus pouches. He just gobbles them up! I love the pouches because they are easy to take with us places or pack in a lunch for him. The yogurt snacks and munchies are perfect for a little snack in the morning and afternoon.
You can find Happy Family products at the Commissary Publix and Target…at least around here in Clarksville.
HAPPYBABY is committed to making baby and toddler food as healthy and delicious as homemade with the essential nutrients needed for optimal growth and development.
Their products are allergy free with all organic, 100% natural ingredients.
You can visit them on Facebook or Twitter too!
How would you like to win a Happy Family prize pack? You will receive two coupons for each of the products I have listed, recipes, Nutrition Guide and Happy Family FAQ.
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I also wanted to share that Happy Foods is hiring on these Military Bases/Posts-
Camp Pendleton
Fort Lewis
Growing up in Southern California I have such fond memories of going to Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland as a child. That is why I love taking my boys. Now growing up we usually went to Disneyland during the year and not at all during the summer. We would have yearly passes and most of the summer was blocked for us anyways. So as an adult I refuse to pay all that money to go to Disneyland in July. So this summer, since we were in CA in July we decided to go to Knott’s Berry Farm. It is a cheaper option and not as many people. They also had a Military discount too. I also wanted to mention that I just went to their site and read this…
We were able to meet up with one of my best friends and two of her kids. We spent the morning with them and then had lunch and stayed until about 7 that night. The boys had such a great time, even little Joshua. He was pretty done by the end of the day though.
My boys on the Log Ride, one of our favorite rides
We got to see the Snoopy show
The kids were amazed that the jailer knew their names
Most of our kids
The boys loved this ride, I felt like I was going to barf but it was worth it
No room for Mommy on that ride
My cool toddler
The bigger boys on a kids roller coaster
I really feel like I need a vacation every single weekend. This is the third week of school I think and my son is having a hard time. This is normal and expected and I know this, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me.
Every morning once I get him on the bus, I burst into tears. It is always SO difficult. Then I hear how he is doing during the day through text or phone calls. The last couple of days haven’t been going as well. It is like he is realizing that this school this IS happening and not going away and he is going to fight against it as much as he can.
I am very very thankful that 1) We have an amazing ABA team working with him. 2) The school is really working with him. Excellent teacher and staff. I really think God made sure we bought a house for this school for a reason. THAT part of it is all working out.
I know how normal it is for an Asperger’s child to have trouble with changes in his life and this is a big change. Although he went to preschool last year, this Kindergarten thing is different and he has to go every single day. He was never a really clingy baby or toddler but lately he says he just wants to be with me. I went out for a walk last night and he flipped out. I think he is missing our time together. I can understand that and it is something a lot of new kindergarteners go through.
I struggle with thinking, “If Only…” about my life. I caught myself thinking, “If only he didn’t have Asperger’s. If only this wasn’t such a challenge for him.” and then I think about who he is and all the things he is and I get mad at myself for thinking that way. Yes Asperger’s is a hard and challenging thing to deal with but it is apart of who my son is. It will never go away and it just means he needs extra help with things like school. He doesn’t see the world like I do and that is hard. But he is a great little boy who loves Star Wars and Legos and playing with his brothers.
We were talking about what he wanted to be when he grew up last night. He told me he doesn’t want to be a soldier because the Army scares him. I told him he didn’t have to be a soldier just because his Daddy was. He could be anything he wanted to be. He decided he is going to grow up and invent new Legos. He already has a couple of great ideas. I told him that sounded like the perfect job for him.
Even though deep down I know he is going to be okay and that he just needs more time to get use to school, my heart has a hard time with it. I feel sad that it is so hard for him. That he can’t just enjoy school like his brother does. That little things bother him. Things I might not even think could. And if I am honest I think I really just want everything to go smoothly. I want every day to be a good day for him. I don’t want to know he is at school during the day having a hard time. I cry a lot about this because I am his mom and really isn’t that what moms do? No matter what situation your kid is going through, if you are a mom and you know your child is having a hard time, you get upset about it.
My son will always have Asperger’s. Certain parts of life will always be hard for him. However, he won’t always have trouble getting on the bus. He won’t always have such a hard time at school. He will learn and figure things out. And I can be there for him. I can support him and make sure he is getting the best care that we can give him. Make sure he is getting the best tools he can be given to succeed.
I really have felt like a basket case lately and I am thankful that I have friends that support me and let me cry to them. This is a struggle but we can get through it. I know that we can.
A great place to go in Clarksville is the Clarksville Greenway! It is a great place to walk, run or ride bikes and the kids always love it. There are two paths you can take. Last time we went on the left so this time we went on the right. The boys had their bikes and the hills were too much for them. We didn’t realize that the right way is filled with hills. Next time we bring bikes we will go the left way. You can get to the Greenway by taking Peacher’s Mill Road towards Ft. Campbell Blvd. There should be a sign that says “Clarksville Greenway” and you will drive by a bunch of houses before you find it at the end of the road.
So pretty there!
Tired boy
Walking back after riding bikes for a while.
Cute baby!
Brothers!
Daddy and Baby J
Daddy and Drew
My boys!
On August 3rd we will celebrate 10 years of marriage! 10 years! A whole decade! During the last 10 years we have done things and lived places we never thought were possible. We have been through tough and challenging times and been through some pretty awesome times. I thought it would be fun to make a list of the top 10 most memorable moments from the last 10 years! I am not going to count our wedding day since it is a given that was pretty awesome 🙂
1. Finding out we were having a baby boy! In May of 2004 we had just gotten back from a really fun trip down to San Diego and Orange County. I still remember walking out of the hospital after the ultrasound with the name of our first child. As soon as they told us it was a boy, we knew he was going to be our Daniel.
2. The births of our 3 children. Having a baby is amazing, it really is. To know that we created these 3 little boys is amazing. I have always wanted to be a Mommy and will always remember the days that a new little boy join our family.
3. The homecomings. Over the last 6.5 years Ben has been deployed three times as well as a bunch of other times he has been away for different reasons. The homecomings are always so wonderful! Just to see him again and know that he is done being away from us for a while is so nice.
4. Packing up everything and moving from California to Kentucky. In 2005 we decided it would be best to head to Kentucky because of the high cost of living in California. It was so hard to say goodbye to family and friends and I do wonder what life would be like if we had stayed but I am glad we did it. Ben quit his job, we packed up everything and drove east to our new home.
5. Our Mediterranean Cruise. This cruise was amazing and our family got to see so much! I am so glad we decided to do this. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
6. Our trip to Catalina for our 7th anniversary. Sometimes the Army does crazy things…like giving Ben his R&R over our 7th anniversary even though he didn’t request it and it was pushed back from his original date 3 weeks earlier. We were able to get away just the two of us to Catalina Island were we went for our honeymoon. It was amazing and we had such a great time! It was so different from when we went the first time. I would like to go again sometime and take the boys. I think they would like it too.
7. Buying our first home. We bought our first home in September of last year. When we were looking at this house we just looked at each other and knew it was what we wanted. It was perfect for us and our little boys.
8. Moving to Germany. It took Daniel and I 4.5 months to get there but once we did it was amazing to think about us living there for a while. It was one of those, “Are we really living in Europe?” moments when Ben finally took me to our new apartment.
9. When Ben join the Army. When I met Ben, the Army was apart of his past. It wasn’t something we even really talked about until we had been married a few years. He didn’t join until we had been married 3.5 years. Making that decision changed the path of our lives.
10. Our 15 month deployment. This was probably the hardest period of time during our marriage. We didn’t see each other for 11 months straight as the deployment kept getting extended. I still think about how odd it is that we lived apart for so long without seeing each other. During that time our marriage looked very different because it was long distance but we made it through and became stronger because of it.
