fall holiday
The Bee had the day off from school today, so I kept the Potato home from daycare too, and made a mommy-kid day of it. The Bee had a playdate this afternoon, but the morning was mostly relaxing at home, marred only by the ginormous temper tantrum that the Potato threw in the coffee shop, forcing me to carry him home the four blocks. There’s nothing quite like hauling a screaming, back-arching two-year-old to bring a certain luster to your day.
After that ended, we all sat on the porch for a while, me with my coffee, the two of them with their pumpkins.
Yes, my kids spent an hour this morning playing with the leftover Halloween pumpkins (whole, not carved). First, they carried them down the front steps and lined them up on our walk. Then, they carried them down to the sidewalk to ‘wait for the bus.’ Then, the bus came and took the pumpkins to the airport, where they flew to Florida to visit my mom. And so on.
It was definitely one of those moments where I thought, “and why do we buy toys?” But at the same time, I was amazed by their (particularly the Bee’s) imagination. It would simply never occur to me to send pumpkins on vacation, and it was truly wonderful to see her invent a game that her brother could play too.
The afternoon was slightly more difficult, as the Bee and her friend decided that they had to lock the Potato out of her room (and when I put her to bed tonight, I found a note they had written that said, “my brother is being a pest,” which I was amused by, partly because I didn’t know she knew how to spell ‘pest’ or ‘brother’). But then they ended up all playing soccer in the back yard, so it was okay.
It felt like today is going to be one of the last nice days of the fall. I’m hoping that it’ll stay okay through the weekend, because I have my first blog play-date on Sunday, and we made a plan to meet at a local playground. If it turns into a rainy day, I’m not sure what we’ll do.
I’m kind of curious about meeting someone that I only know through her blog, especially with her kids in tow. Metrodad had a great post about blogfriends earlier this week, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Will let you know how it goes!
Bumblebee Sweet Potato 
The Scarlett replied:
I’m impressed that they played with the pumpkins that long! It shows some seriously good imagination as well as attention span.
What is the age difference between the Bee and Potato? I ask because my own version of Bee is twelve now and my own version of Potato is seven (nearly eight) and they still can play great except when a friend is over (which is every opportunity).
Good luck with the blog playdate! I’m impressed that you have the kind of readership that can inspire such an event. I’m looking forward to reading about it.
January 7, 2007 at 8:20 pm. Permalink.
Fidget replied:
The pressure over finding the perfect gift for teh holidays should be lifted from your shoulders now. If they are content with pumpkins i’m sure they’ll love whatever you find. Fabulous that you are going on a blog playdate. I recent went to play pool with a handful of folks from my sweepstakes site, it was a blast.
January 7, 2007 at 8:21 pm. Permalink.
Suzanne replied:
I love the pumpkin travelogue! I wish I could tap into some of that imagination. I wonder if I ever possessed that kind of mind? I sure don’t have it now.
Weather forecast for tomorrow is still favorable!
January 7, 2007 at 8:22 pm. Permalink.
landismom replied:
Scarlett–the Bee is six and the Potato is two–they are just under four years apart. It’s an interesting age difference, but most of the time it works out favorably. Glad to hear that yours are still able to play reasonably well during one-on-one time.
Fidget–yes, in addition to the pumpkin play, the Bee also wanted to look at varioius toy catalogues yesterday, to start her Christmas list. She doesn’t seem to be aware that she was undercutting her own argument that she needs more pink plastic crap.
Suzanne–yeah, me too. I’d have a lot easier time writing if I could imagine thinks like pumpkins on vacation!
January 7, 2007 at 8:23 pm. Permalink.
Comfort Addict replied:
Wow. What a great idea (the pumpkins, that is). I love to hear about kids with imagination.
January 7, 2007 at 8:23 pm. Permalink.
christie replied:
have fun with the blog-play-date!
January 7, 2007 at 8:24 pm. Permalink.
Jessica replied:
I hope the pumpkins had fun on vacation! My kids still play together like that but when A Girl has a friend over, they inevitably (and understandably) want time alone without M Girl. We have a picture of M Girl prostrate in front of a closed door, trying to look under the door at her sister playing with a friend. It’s so sad!
Have fun on your blog playdate – my own experience with MIM was fabulous and I now consider her a good friend!
January 7, 2007 at 8:25 pm. Permalink.
chip replied:
ah yes, the arching back screaming toddler, how I do miss that. Not sure how that stacks up to the sulky teenager who wants to provoke fights with her parents in public…
January 7, 2007 at 8:26 pm. Permalink.
Library Lady replied:
Four years is a mixed blessing. My 10 year old is now very frustrated by her younger sister–she’s a pest. Meanwhile little sister is upset because she wants to do everything her big sister does. One moment they’re battling and the next they’re giggling together in the back seat to the point where I wish they were back to the “I hate my sister” bit!
January 7, 2007 at 8:27 pm. Permalink.
Jessica replied:
I’m always so jealous when I hear of my favorite bloggers getting together (pouty face). If only you were closer!
January 7, 2007 at 8:27 pm. Permalink.
BBSP at five years, the remix « Bumblebee Sweet Potato replied:
[…] kids can be awfully creative, when they want […]
February 2, 2010 at 10:25 pm. Permalink.