Are you feeling alone? Neglected? Out of touch with what's been happening the last 6 months? Well you're not alone because so is my blog.
It's wasn't so much intentional as it was.... pregnancy. Since my last post I have experienced nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dry mouth, headaches, dizzy spells and no, this is not an ad for Xanax. I'm pregnant, people. Six months pregnant. And the blog was forgotten mostly because I needed to curl up in the fetal position. Or nap. Or eat. Or pee. All those things happened a lot the last six months.
And then it got to the point where I was feeling better but on what subject do I make my grand re-entrance to? Pregnancy? That'd be a great one. Trip to Charlotte? Another excellent topic. I wanted something big. Something with some pizzazz.
And when some dear friends nudged me in the right direction, I decided that there was no better way to make my comeback than with my Annual Loewen Family Pumpkin Carving. Pizzazzy.
I'm pretty sure I don't need to remind any of you what occurred the previous few years we tackled the pumpkin carving. Disdain. Hatred. Abandonment. And this all happened within the first five minutes.
But, as I state EVERY year, Ruby is getting older and with age, can come maturity. Sometimes. In certain areas. Apparently, though, not so much in the pumpkin carving area of life.
May I present to you the first picture taken after the 2013 Pumpkin was first cut open:
Yes. I'm not even sure I can adequately describe the look on Ruby's face. Fear? Shock? An irresistible urge to flee? And as the smell permeated the air, her face says it all.
Greta, at this point, has realized that hey, that pumpkin isn't smelling half bad and she actually decided to taste one of the pumpkin seeds, pre-roasted, mind you. That didn't go over that well. While Greta gnawed slowly on her lone pumpkin seed, Ruby's five-year old innovation skills kicked in and she came up with this:
She kept this on for the remainder of the pumpkin carving. At least she didn't abandon the project. Progress, I say.
While Papa did his thang,
(Can I just point out the intensity by which that studly man of mine carves his pumpkins with? If you've never seen a picture of what focus is defined as, this is it right here. That man was BORN to carve pumpkins, yo.)
...we hit up a wonderful compromise for the girls. A friend of ours gave us a few tiny little pumpkins and so the girls set to work painting them.
This was a happy middle ground we found where all could still participate in the Pumpkin activities and not have to endure that pungent pumpkin odour or feel the sloppy innards.
And the best part? At the very end, when the pumpkins were carved and painted and the candles were glowing brightly, Ruby stated - AND I QUOTE - "The smell of pumpkin isn't that bad."
Our little girl is growing up.
