Pumpkin Picking in Peterborough

Try saying that when you've had a tipple.....

Well as you may have guessed from the title we did in fact go pumpkin picking this weekend.  A first for the Hill family and for a change the entire family all went together, even the grumpy teenager and maybe even grumpier mother.  Some of us where more prepared than others, to the extent that wellingtons where brought with, even though teenage daughter decided she didn't actually need them (she did, she really really did). As the last pair of wellies other half owned, accidentally ended up in the bin somehow (I have no idea, honest) he had to face the muddy fields in his trainers, bright white Nikes. Not a prospect he relished but he managed to put a brave face on it and forge on (will be purchasing new wellies asap).  The farm was set over 14 acres of land with a small orchard with plum, apples and pear trees.  A small area filled with sweetcorn and rows of raspberries and blackberries.  The kids made a half heart attempt to pick the fruit but it is a bit late in the season and so the plums left on the trees where quite high up (cue daddy pulling branches down for little arms and hands to reach) and the berry bushes had either been picked dry by the crows or had shrivelled up little bunches of yuck on them.  We weren't there for this petty distractions though, we and the few other families that arrived as we did where there for the main event, the big show, the massive veg. 

So once the troop was gathered back together from their various foraging or in Humf's case, shouted at to get off the tire swing for the 15th time. We headed over to the pumpkin patch, and yes that is exactly what it is, a patch of land with various sized pumpkins just lying on ground waiting to be picked.

Daddy and Humf where on wheel barrow duty which was working out fine until Humf decided he could "manage" himself, think, up turned wheelbarrow immediately.  Then when we finally got down to the pumpkin patch the kids got pretty freaked out by the scarecrow, it was a shop floor mannequin with the most realistic eyes I have ever seen..even had veins running through them.!!! So once recovered from the scare from the scarecrow the kids all wandered off to pick their special pumpkin.  While Daddy and I looked on not really wanting to enter the quagmire, chatting away, Daddy notices Humf out of the corner of his eye and as I look round at what he's staring out, I see Humf pulling up his trousers...yes, he'd just wee'd in the pumpkin patch...nice !!  After this little episode, we hurriedly got the kids to choose their pumpkins and promptly wheel barrowed them back to the till in the hut, where we priced our pumpkins by their size.  Do they fit in the hole £1.50 £2.25 £3.50 up to £9 of course all our pumpkins where too big for the cheaper hole but not quite big enough for the more expensive ones but of course we had to pay the more expensive price anyway.  £20 on pumpkins !!! I so need to use these for food not just for Halloween faces, so shall be probably blogging later on in the month about all these fantastic pumpkin recipes I have found and we have all tried. Defiantly going to roast those seeds though, they are a serious yummy treat :-) 

The dreaded toy store

Maybe should have stayed in bed this morning, but as 5 year old was so successful in getting people to hand over money to him yesterday at work with daddy, it felt mean to let it burn a hole in his pocket. He managed to bring home £12 in small change without even having to busk for it (don't ask me how he manages it, it must be the poor urchin face he pulls whenever he sees someone with a purse). It was decided that the best place to go to spend his hard earned (ill gotten) gains was the dreaded Toys r Us store. I hate that place. Back in the day when we were a single child family toys r us was a simple place to visit, when went it was to the girl aisle and there we stayed for an hour while daughter dearest tried to decide which barbie to get this time. Nowadays and two further children later its horrid. Nothing proves more that we are individuals than that place, its a mine field and its so confusing. Daughter dearest just gets the hump if we have to go there at all now, 5 year old seriously can not make his mind up, as he is a sporty, arts and crafty, gun loving kind of person and 2 year old just wanders around aimlessly pointing at things. We enviably end up needing to split up as 2 year old may think he's capable of playing 5 year old boys games he's actually not. So off Daddy and eldest boy trot off to try to decide if today is a gun, football or playdoh sort of day. I am left with toddler and the fireman Sam aisle. Which is fine, except today when were scared out of our wits. There we were happily checking out the new Dora doll (he likes Dora) when we heard a miaow. Thinking this was slightly strange considering we were in a toyshop not pet shop we turned round to found where the noise was coming from. As we turn 3 boxed up, glassy eyed pussy cats all winked at us and miaowed again. I don't know who screamed the loudest me or him. In animate furry things are not suppose to just come to life (granted they do in Toy Story but that is in America). He clung to me and I clung to him as we went over to them to investigate. Turns out the were FurReal cats £50 a cat and they respond to touch and sound, very clever toys that I suppose would be a lot easier to deal with when "I want a kitten" child does get bored of the idea of actually owning a real pet. They still freaked the hell out of me, I don't think I could sleep properly with it in the house knowing it could go off unexpectedly at any moment. So I don't think Santa will be bringing one home this Christmas. Eldest in the end decided on Plasticine and having been playing with it for the last 10 minutes I have much respect to the Creature Comfort people (my hands are killing me)..!!