Keeping Busy

It hit me over the weekend, I'm almost halfway through my maternity leave. I knew 8 weeks would come and go quicker than I'd like and that's proving to be true. For goodness sake, Emmett will be a month old next week! After realizing my "free days" are numbered with the kiddos, I was determined to find something fun to do every week (if not everyday!) especially while the weather is nice. Everyday I'm thankful to have this time at home with both Harper and Emmett. It really is precious and I'm soaking up every minute I can. 

With mission "get out of the house" in full force, I had a list of ideas to start our week. My apple orchard dreams were crushed Monday morning with the rainy start. That meant we had to go to "Plan B." The Children's Museum has a Thomas the Train exhibit through the end of the month and I've been meaning to bring Harper all summer. I convinced my Mom to make the trip to St. Paul with me, so we loaded up the kids and were off. 

As we passed the Children's Museum and turned into the parking garage, I saw a sign - "Children's Museum Closed." In a moment of panic, I parked the car and did some quick googling. Yep, closed. I had to inform Harper Thomas was "sleeping" for the day and asked how she felt about visiting the dinosaurs at the Science Museum instead. She jumped on that idea and we were off to "Plan C." We pulled into the parking garage at the Science Museum to read "Science Museum Closed." Seriously?? I couldn't win. With Harper yelling, "I want to see the dinosaurs!" I had to tell her they were "sleeping" today too. Thank to Mitch's calming text and activity suggestion, we were on to "Plan D." I had driven to St. Paul and we were going to find something to do! With a little more googling we confirmed Choo Choo Bob's Train Store was open - hurrah! 

We spent the rest of the morning playing with trains, reading books and looking at all the toys. It's a super fun spot and one we've been referred to by a couple people. Harper enjoyed herself and we were just happy to find something that was open! Afterwards, we stopped by Izzy's for some ice cream (which was delicious!). Our St. Paul adventure ended up being a success and I'll keep both the Children and Science Museum's on my list of "to-do" before the end of my maternity leave. 

Tuesday the sun was shining, so we decided on an outdoor activity. Deb had the day off after her recent trip to Arizona - so she accompanied us to Elm Creek Park. I had never been to the play area and wanted to check it out! It's a great spot and Harper had a blast running around! She requested we go back soon to show Mitch the awesome playgrounds, so I'm sure we'll be back before the snow comes. 

 

With a few days to soak up Monday's rainfall, my Mom texted me this morning to see if we wanted to venture to Delano to the apple orchard. Of course we were in! The apple orchard is one of my favorite fall traditions. Delicious apple treats, hay rides, pumpkins and plenty of adventures for the kids - how can you not love it? Being able to go during the week was amazing. The crowds were nonexistent and Harper was able to roam free! Even Emmett got out of his stroller for a couple photo opps. We had a blast feeding the animals, playing outside and eating our donuts and apple crisp. There were even a few things we bought to take home. Oh I love fall! :)

Besides fun activities to keep us busy, Harper started fall dance last week. Since she enjoyed the mini summer session so much, we decided to keep it going. Miss Hannah is still her instructor and she's enjoying similar dances she learned this summer. Last night I was a giddy Mama learning she'll get a costume and can participate in recital this year. I can't wait!!

It's not just the kiddos who get to have all the fun! Mitch and I had our first day out without Harper and Emmett this past Saturday. We purchased tickets to The Book of Mormon months ago, we thought it would be a fun outing for the two of us. With both our Mom's out of town for the weekend, Mitch's Dad took on the task of watching both kiddos. (Thank again Bob!) While Pop's was stuck at our house with Harper and Emmett, Mitch and I headed downtown Minneapolis to the Orpheum for the musical written by the creators of South Park. Knowing the brains behind the show, I knew we were in for some raunchy, offensive and not politically correct content. That being said, it was hysterical! We certainly enjoyed the show and it was nice adult date with Mitch! (For those of you who have seen the show - it's been 4 days and I'm still singing, "Sal Tlay Ka Siti!")

 

Since my Mom and Dad were both out of town Saturday night, Gracie got to spend the night with us. Harper was ecstatic, but I'm not sure Gracie felt the same way. Harper soaked up her puppy time, and Gracie wanted more than anything to lick Emmett's face. She's just about the easiest dog ever, so it's never an issue to watch her. We always enjoy our Gracie time! 

I'll continue to overly document our adventures over the next 4 1/2 weeks I have left on maternity leave. Please don't be annoyed by the excessive amount of Instagram posts I share, I'm just enjoying my time off with Harper and Emmett. I must say, I could never do all this without the help from my Mom and Deb - so thank you very much ladies!

Until next time…

The Helleen's