Fishkill Farms

IMG_9432_Layers_v1

I look forward to the fall and harvest season every year. So yeah, maybe I’m basic and I like pumpkin spice lattes. At least I own it. But before my coffee drinking days growing up, I always loved the fall. The new school year was always exciting to me…starting fresh (with brand new school supplies…am I the only dork who was obsessed with school supply shopping? I craved it!), seeing my friends again or meeting new ones, football games, tailgates, parties, social events, soccer season…I loved all of it. And now as a mama, I look forward to the excitement on my little boys’ faces (or at least one of them this year…the other slept in the carrier the whole time) as they run toward the pumpkin field. Those big, bright eyes lighting up when I tell him he can pick one out for himself to bring home. His joy brings ME joy, and I love seeing him so happy and running free in the great outdoors.

We had a fantastic time upstate at Fishkill Farms where we not only got to pick out a pumpkin for each member of the family (and some extra exciting indoor white pumpkins for mama), but we also got to explore the apple orchards and run around from tree to tree looking for delicious fruit to take home and dream about what to make with them. Speaking of…stay tuned for an apple butter post in the near future! 😉

It was a little hectic getting inside the farm with the traffic…definitely not rainbows and butterflies…more like milk and tears and stopping along the side of the road to nurse. But that’s life these days and as crazy as it may be, it was worth getting in there and seeing that little boy’s smile.

IMG_9429_Layers_v1

IMG_9439_Layers_v1 IMG_9447_Layers_v1 IMG_9452_Layers_v1

IMG_9421_Layers_v1

IMG_9480_Layers_v1

IMG_9461_Layers_v1

IMG_9487_Layers_v1

IMG_9492_Layers_v1

IMG_9502_Layers_v1

IMG_9493_Layers_v1

IMG_9490_Layers_v1

IMG_9501_Layers_v1

IMG_9510_Layers_v1

IMG_9514_Layers_v1

What are your favorite fall traditions?

Yesterday, Nico and I did pumpkin painting for the first time which he thoroughly enjoyed. I am looking forward to doing some more fall and holiday themed art projects with him throughout the season.

Yesterday also kicked off Week 3 of the 21 Day Fix for me. Haven’t missed a day yet and going strong. Really loving being back in action, and this program is keeping my nutrition in check on a whole different level than ever before.  I may even do another round when this is over!

Hope you are all having a great week!

XO,

Gina

Pumpkin Patch

IMG_0629_Layers_v1

This past Saturday, we celebrated the fall season by taking our first family day trip to the pumpkin patch.  We trekked outside of the city to Alstede Farms in Chester, NJ where we found a sprawling PYO (pick-your-own) farm littered with TONS of people.  The crowds were a bit overwhelming as we didn’t know what to expect, but once you got out to the fields for picking, it was a lot less crazy.  There were tons of crops for the taking including pumpkins, apples, corn, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, and more.  And these items were just currently what was in season.  Other seasons of the year you could pick strawberries, peaches, black raspberries, and so much more.  It was definitely a place for kids with a moon bounce, corn maze, hay ride, farm animals, etc, and even though Nico is still too small really remember the experience, you could tell he was enjoying himself.  He was looking around and in a happy mood the entire day.  This adventure was our first foray into sharing and experiencing the world with our little guy, and it only made us more excited for the future ahead.

IMG_0615_Layers_v1

IMG_0635_Layers_v1

IMG_0581_Layers_v1

IMG_0626_Layers_v1

IMG_0638_Layers_v1

IMG_0580_Layers_v1

IMG_0624_Layers_v1

IMG_0662_Layers_v1

Nico’s Pumpkin Outfit: Absorba via Gilt

My bff, Meg, is arriving today to hang out for a few days and meet little Nico.  I am so excited to spend some quality time, since we rarely get the opportunity these days to hang out with just the two of us.  We head down to Maryland on Thursday to meet our new nephew Nathan, and to celebrate the wedding weekend of another one of my best friends, Teri.  It will be our first long weekend trip with Nico, and being the obsessive compulsive paranoid person that I am, I’m a little nervous about how it’s going to go.  I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t forget anything and that it all goes smoothly.  Either way, my new mantra is “just go with the flow!”

XO,

Gina