A Little Catch Up!

Sometimes, it seems life is just one big catch up game. That being said, there are so many things (okay, mostly just pictures) I've wanted to share in the last few weeks, but I simply haven't had the time.

I can blame it on several things--but it's mostly been due to this sick blogger and all of her grading. Both have been quite time consuming, honestly. I've been fighting a nasty chest cold for two weeks, and I also had the stomach bug for two of those days. Really, coughing and stomach stuff---just shouldn't go together!

Anyway, I finished up one class last Thursday and I am starting a new one tomorrow. So much for the break I was so desperately wanting, but at least I can have a little Christmas fun money. I do get a break for the holidays, so it won't be totally time consuming around the important family times!

Speaking of important family times, we have celebrated two birthdays!

Nope, not hers. But she certainly enjoyed the cupcakes!

Brownie turned 4 and Bug turned 3. Here they are in their costumes as Super girl and Minnie Mouse. We celebrated with a costume party, friends and family and of course some chocolate cupcakes.

And here's my other two cuties in their Ariel and dinosaur costumes. Peach bragged about not having to buy a wig because her hair was already red. And as far as our dinosaur, we actually got accustomed to calling her dinosaur that week and she actually listened and responded. She also liked to ROAR!!!! any chance she got!

The next day was Halloween. So we endured day 5 of wearing costumes (we attended several functions for Halloween this week)--knowing it would be the last day. Of course, these costumes retired into our dress up collection.

And here we are enjoying the brisk evening of Halloween. We posed for a few shots and then headed over to a friends house for fellowship, food and fun! This has become a tradition for us. Of course the kids loved every bit of the candy they collected that night. I'm glad my kids are little enough that they get plenty of thrill by walking just one cul-de-sac.

Once the time changed, the leaves on our big tree in the back yard finally changed as well! Here is our favorite tree. It's the biggest one we have and it shields us a bit from our neighbors--unfortunately, we lose that shield once the leaves fall.

This tree turns a fiery orange; and, then within a few days the leaves are all but gone! I hate to see them go :-(

But that's why we get out there and play, run, jump, dig, and pile about in the leaves that fall to the ground. This is one of my favorite times to just sit back and watch the girls.

I don't pay attention to how dirty they get.



There is no fighting.


But there are giggles---and plenty of them!

That's as far as I'll catch you up for now. This brings us to just 10 or so days ago. I'll have to add more soon though, because this will be a week full of some nice memories to record.

Too Cool.... The only words!

This promotion from shutterfly is just Too Cool! Shutterfly has so many opportunities for you to create all types of gifts, cards and even home decor on just about any budget. If you have some family and friends who'd love some personalized gifts (especially with your kiddos' picture on it), go check out their calendars. Those are always a hit!

I first heard about this awesome deal from a blog I read My Crazy Life with Four Boys. She shares an amazing story about customer service and that is what made me investigate further. What she did is something that I could totally see myself doing after spending a fun-filled day with my many hooligans! Thankfully, Shutterfly was incredibly understanding and nice.

Speaking of my many hooligans, Shutterfly offers several options for larger families. I love their options for including several photos on your holiday card. You can customize your search for what kind of card you wish to create--for instance, I click the 3+ photos link (because I obviously need more than three photos for my brood). I also choose to have a folded card. That way we can include a little message with our photos.

Here is the card I'm thinking we'll choose to share this year. I cannot wait to get my pictures loaded and get to work on this bad boy! I love that it offers a larger slot for a group shot of my girls, and it has four smaller places for me to include an individual shot of my four girls!

Here's to a happy holiday week. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, remember to get your cards ready to go. I know that's what I'll be doing!!