it's game day . . .

and we are all ready for some monday night football in the superdome!

we made it home safe from our thanksgiving vacation in missouri . . .
recap of all the fun to come soon!

friday night and time to party . . .

friday night partying takes on a whole new meaning when you have 4 little ones!

it all started when the girls' (and boy's) big 12 yr old cousin came over to see if we might have a white little cardigan she could fit in to wear over her fancy dress. she was about to go to a friend's party and was dressed up in the cutest little chiffon-y dress and silver flats. as soon as shrimp saw her dressed up she was begging to go to fancy party!

well . . . as i'm sure you can imagine there isn't much time for fancy parties in these neck of the woods! so what do 3 little girls with the biggest imaginations do . . .

they raid mom's closet and their dress up trunk . . . and create a fancy party of their own!

in case you wondering if it's all about saying cheese, crafts, and sewing around here. . . it's not! this picture is about as real as it gets . . . little miss with her finger in her nose every waking minute. shrimp dying to put makeup on. and brown eyes crying or screaming about anything and everything.

those moment never seen to last too long . . . and then they are back to being best friends again and fixing each other up for the big party!

this is really a funny picture . . . it looks as if i sat them down and said say, "cheese!" but i didn't . . . really! they are on the "bus" headed to their fancy party. as i'm taking this picture i'm singing the wheels on the bus . . . in the silliest/craziest voice and they aren't sure whether to laugh or run off . . .and little man is thinking his mama has totally gone off the deep in!

after little man made his get-away from the crazy mama . . . the girls made it to the bus stop and headed to the party!

well almost all of them headed to the party!

{insert title here} . . .

so the weekend came and went . . . and only 1 thing that i wanted to get accomplished got accomplished! it was the most important though . . . sunday sean took the girls to his brother's house to watch the saints game. while they were gone . . . i got the house cleaned! i mean really clean (except i didn't go upstairs). would you believe me if i said it's tuesday and the house is still clean? it really is . . . i can't believe it! but it's tuesday and i still haven't made it upstairs. that is on the agenda for this week though. we are getting ready to head to missouri for thanksgiving and i'm trying so hard to get the house totally in order and keep it in order before we leave . . . and actually get the christmas tree here and up before we leave. and when we come home to a clean house . . . we can turn the christmas music up and get it decorated! this is the first christmas in i think 3 years that i will get to put my christmas tree up and all of my decorations up that have been sitting in storage since we moved to new orleans. we are so excited!

my brain feels like mush right now . . . notice i couldn't even come up with a title for this post? i'm still plugging away on my photography workshop and this week just really challenged me and made my brain work in ways that it hadn't worked in years! but things are starting to click {pun intended} and i'm really starting to feel more confident with my picture taking.

and it doesn't hurt to have a handsome little model!

happy birthday pops . . .

today is friday the 13th . . . and today is my dad's birthday!

if you have met my dad you know what a great, funny, charming, special person he is. he deserves the best birthday in the world for everything he does for his family. he has 7 grandkids that love him more than anything . . . 3 kids that think he is the absolute greatest dad in the world . . . and a wife that has been in love with him since they were in high school! today i hope he has a wonderful birthday . . . and i hope his next year is blessed beyond measure!

happy birthday pops!
we love you!

first gift . . .

i started my shopping today . . . and it is probably the most meaningful gift i will buy this christmas.

read more here and here . . . and then make your way to water for christmas and make your donation today!

happy weekend . . .

seriously . . . could the days go by any faster? i don't know how it's already the weekend again! the weather is absolutely gorgeous here . . . couldn't be any better. if you haven't been to new orleans in the fall . . . it's the best time to come! i have lots of things i want to accomplish this weekend . . . the main thing is getting the house back to a presentable state! please tell me i'm not the only one that can't keep up with the house work???? i need to get back to the stack of fabric on my sewing table and finish up my to-do list. we have a couple of birthday party invites for this weekend . . i don't remember going to a birthday party every weekend . . . both days of the weekend when i was little. when did birthday parties have to be such a big deal??? the weather is so perfect . . . i'm thinking the zoo might be on our agenda this weekend too. and of course . . .

lots of smooching all over those big chunky cheeks! (and his sisters too!)

books and breakfast . . .

sean, little buddy man, and i had a lovely morning at little miss' school! the kindergarten and pre-k classes had books and breakfast this morning, followed by an international feast. i love her school . . . love, love, love it! when the norm is go to catholic school and you put your child in a public school . . . i'm sure it's normal to be worried if you made the right decision. well . . . we are 110% confident that we made the right choice for little miss! we have yet to be dissappointed with anything at all!

so back to books and breakfast . . .

the parents were invited into the classroom to be introduced to the reading program that her school uses. we got to see first hand how the teacher uses the program in the classroom setting and then she gave us intstructions on how to implement it at home with the children. following that . . . parents and students and teachers made way to the gym for an international feast. every family was to bring a dish of their choice. it was great! so fun . . . little miss didn't even want to sit with us!

when it was time to go home . . . her attitude changed. she didn't want to leave our side! about 1/2 of her class went home early with their parents . . . so of course i had to bring her home too! we made a stop at the girl scouts store and picked up her daisy scouts journey book for her first meeting tomorrow night!

nature at work . . .

i started a photography workshop last week that i have been wanting to do forever! for my birthday . . . my super awesome husband let me sign up for it!

i have always loved photography . . . maybe because i grew up with parents that always had a camera around their neck . . . so i am so excited about what all i'm going to learn!

this picture was one i took for the first homework assignment . . . i was so stressed about it because i haven't had time to really sit down and work on it much this past week. so when i went out to take this picture . . . i was pleasantly surprised to find a busy little bee hard at work.

from the mouth of a 4 year old . . .

little shrimp: mama . . . when will it be st. spongebob day?
me: huh?
little shrimp: yeah . . . st. spongebob day.
me: i don't know what you mean sis.
little shrimp: you know . . . like st. patrick day!

warning: this post contains a lot of photos . . .

happy weekend!

we're home again . . .

we made it home from our little get-away. on our way home we made a little detour because i heard that there was action at the original/future site of little miss' school.
sure enough . . . there are workers present and i guess you could say construction has started!

in case you are confused . . . the school that little miss goes to was lost during katrina. they tore down the school and temporarily relocated it to another campus that was empty in a different part of the city . . . and for 4 years people have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the new and improved school to be built! so it is a very happy sight indeed to see this! the school is projected to be finished for the '11-'12 school year!

just what we needed . . .

a little quiet time to ourselves . . .
enjoying the beauty of one of god's greatest creations!

i so want to live on the beach!

things are much calmer around here now . . .
i think we will stay an extra day!

playing hookey . . .

i picked the kids up from school yesterday . . . and we headed east to the gulf coast for some fall fun in the sun and sand for what's supposed to be a few days. however . . . the girls are seriously out.of.control. so, we might be heading home sooner than expected! let me just say we finally got them asleep last night around 10-ish and they have been awake (all 4 of them!) since about 4:30 am!

i'm not sure what all we will do while daddy is working here . . . but first on my list is to find a mcd's and get a very large ice coffee! we do know we will make a stop at little miss' fave restaurant for sure! i'm hoping sean can get away from the job for a couple hours and let me slip away to the old towne for a little window shopping.

happy wednesday!

a monday mosaic . . .

1. DSC_0626, 2. DSC_0627, 3. DSC_0628, 4. DSC_0632, 5. DSC_0633, 6. DSC_0635, 7. DSC_0636, 8. DSC_0637, 9. DSC_0640, 10. DSC_0642, 11. DSC_0645, 12. DSC_0648, 13. DSC_0649, 14. DSC_0650, 15. DSC_0653, 16. DSC_0654, 17. DSC_0655, 18. DSC_0657, 19. DSC_0659, 20. DSC_0664, 21. DSC_0667, 22. DSC_0668, 23. DSC_0669, 24. DSC_0670, 25. DSC_0671, 26. DSC_0672, 27. DSC_0681, 28. DSC_0683, 29. DSC_0684, 30. DSC_0686

happy halloween weekend . . .

i am exhausted . . .

i stayed up entirely too late working on their outfits . . .

but those happy faces give me the energy i need to make it thru the day!

hope you have a safe and
happy halloween weekend!

dear super yummy ice coffee . . .

thank you!

without you . . . i don't know how i would have stayed up until 2:00 am tonight making 2 sweet girls their fun and funky halloween outfits! they have a party at school tomorrow . . . and if you know anything about them you know they have to look sassy if they are going to a party! i'm hoping for big smiles . . . hugs . . . and kisses when they wake up and see their halloween surprises.

until we meet again mr. ice coffee . . . which is only 4 hours away!

what was i thinking??!!

i'm in good company . . .

but i'm not getting nearly as much as i had planned on done today!

my little shrimp was coughing a bit this morning and said her head hurt . . . so i decided to keep her home so she could rest up for the big weekend. only problem . . . she isn't too interested in resting! tuesdays and thursdays are my long days. the days that i actually am home longer than i'm in the car. i planned on starting and finishing shrimp's halloween dress today . . . and finishing brown eyes' halloween skirt . . . and cleaning. so far . . . i have only started shrimps dress. but that's ok. i got to color hello kitty with shrimp! i'm hoping for early bedtime tonight . . . so i can get back to work on the to-do list! we had a later-than-usual night last night at little miss' school with math and science night . . . so the chances of 4 sleepy heads tonight is pretty good! at least i'm keeping my fingers crossed!

we're getting ready . . .

this . . .

this . . .

and this . . .

could only mean 1 thing . . .

we finally got around to carving a pumpkin!

totally melts my heart . . .

i've said it once . . .

i will say it a million times . . .

everyone needs a little buddy man!
this little guy has me wrapped really tight around his little fingers!

this is calling my name . . .

and i hope i get a chance to plug in my machine this week . . .

it's been way too long!

on the to-do list:
a pump rocker costume (aka punk rocker)
halloween outfits for the girls
a warm and cozy cord jon-jon for little man
and some flannel jammies for the little people

i'm glad people think i have it all together . . .

having 4 little people . . . with the oldest being 6 and the youngest 1 . . . i get asked a lot how do i do it all. i hear multiple times daily . . . you have your hands full. i also hear . . . you really have it all together. and i hear many, many rude and unneccessary comments from people that have no idea how blessed we really are to have 4 children. that could be a whole blog post in its own!

but here is proof that i don't have it all together . . .

i do try to keep it together . . . or at least pretend i have it all together.

but i don't stress myself out over a spotless house.
and the proof is in the pictures.

i long for the day that my house stays clean after i pick it up. but for now i am comfortable with knowing that when i clean one room . . . another is being destroyed! and that there will always be dishes in the sink . . . and most probably on the counter too. and that the laundry is never done. and breakfast dishes might not get cleared from the table until lunch . . . or maybe even dinner.

so if you plan to stop by . . . please call first so i can at least keep up the image that i do have it all together!

a super suite saturday . . .

weekends are usually more busy than laid back for us . . .

saturday was no different . . .

we started the day with a birthday party . . .

at storyland . . .

one of our very favorite places . . .

my girl who doesn't like pictures wanted to pose for not 1 . . .

but 2 pictures . . .

then we went to another birthday . . .

*******

but i forgot to bring my camera in . . .

then we went home to get cleaned up . . .

for a very special surprise . . .

so special . . .

that i took pics of the girls in the bathroom . . .

then it was time for the show to begin . . .

so we sat in our super suite seats . . .

until the intermission . . .

and then i spent a lot of money on 3 t-shirts and a program book . . .

(i completely and totally love this pic of little miss! she never wants her picture taken. she isn't into fashion unless it involves cotton cheer shorts and t-shirts. she put her new abby cadabby shirt on and her face lit up. she said, "it looks so cute and it matches my outfit so good mama!" i'm not trying to raise vain and self absorbed girls but it sure is nice to see her smile like that and feel good about how she looks!)

but that's okay . . .

because it was a very special girls night out . . .

and the tickets were free!