Even a day's worst beginning can turn with extra effort. Despite the exasperation dripping from last night's post and an episode of shrieking this morning, Daddy and I opted for a bit of social roulette. We decided a bit of time outside could do the entire family good and drove Hip Chick and Big Sis to a local pumpkin patch.
Fueled by adrenaline and caffeine, we arrived mid-morning and assembled the wheelchair with a sliver of cautious optimism. The sunny weather and buzzing crowd were contagious. We saw a few familiar friends as we entered the grounds and stopped to say hello.
Big Sis quickly spied a hay bale maze and conquered that under Daddy's watchful eye while Hip Chick and I visited a few more animated favorites. After time for photos and fresh kettle corn, we visited the face painting tent. It was Hip Chick's first time! She selected a smiley ghost and Big Sis was rather pleased with her squiggly-mouthed pumpmin.
A few well-timed reinforcements soon arrived. They cheerily walked the girls to the property's horse pasture for an introduction. Mommy and Daddy held back and relished a few minutes of silence. We treated the girls to a hay ride, then selected a few small pumpkins for a craft project and soon bid the patch adieu until next year. Our experience far exceeded our expectations- success!
After a quick lunch on the way home, Hip Chick had her afternoon nap. Big Sis and I seized our opportunity and went shopping. I relished the "big girl" time. We planned and plotted our day's remaining activities and returned home in the late afternoon.
We kicked off our evening with pumpkin decorating, courtesy of our morning's spoils. Hip Chick decorated a Minnie Mouse pumpkin, Big Sis a Hello Kitty pumpkin, and Daddy a Darth Vader pumpkin. Mommy's monster pumpkin drew a collaborative effort.
Big Sis and I soon executed on our spooky "Monster Day" dinner plans. We happily worked together to make "snakes and brains" (spaghetti and meatballs), "boo-berry punch" (blueberry and lime punch with sparkling water), and "graveyard pudding" (chocolate pudding with gummy worms and a giant candy eyeball).
Hip Chick began dinner on a sour note, but ultimately could not resist Big Sis and Mommy's cheer up efforts. We sung the Indiana Jones theme song as we slurped our snake noodles. We hit all of her favorite slapstick toddler favorites. In the end, Mommy's goofiness helped push her mood back into favorability. We ended with a "monster smash"- everyone smashed cookies into crumbs with which to dust their pudding. I may regret this decision during tomorrow's cereal breakfast, but the girls loved the permission to beat their dessert into submission with measuring cups.
We ended the day with a monster-themed movie for the family. Much to our relief, Hip Chic's demeanor was drastically different by bedtime than her morning had hinted. She is wrapping up her fifth week of casting in this current spica, which indicates that a cast change is nearing. We can only hope the next cast form will offer her more comfort and peace.
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