Happy Fall (for about one more minute)

The kids and Daddy had a leaf-raking party last weekend.  We were waiting until most of the leaves had finally fallen before trying to get one of those giant piles for the kids.  I think we waited long enough, don't you?

And from the looks of things, fall is just about over.  Let's face it, Christmas music is already playing in all of the stores around town.  And I am NOT one to complain about Christmas music...ever.  So, yes, it's about time to say goodbye to fall and hello to that mean old winter.  Bah humbug!

Workin' Hard

The kids spent an hour with Uncle Tom and Auntie Karen and were busy helping him pull bushes out, rake, dig holes, bake cookies and play with dolls. Whew! All that in just an hour!

I tried to get a couple of pics as did Auntie Karen. They aren't the best but it helps us remember some fun they had today.

Toasted Marshmallows

A few weeks ago, we were invited to Nanny Barb's house to toast marshmallows. They had been talking about this for weeks, so Troy and I were pretty excited. Well, I was as excited about eating marshmallows as they were. I could polish off a bag on my own, so I was concerned that we were going to have enough for all of us. :)
They had a great time and enjoyed their s'mores. And it seemed that one was plenty for all of them but it was probably because of the hard work involved in eating said treat.

iPost

I have been running like a hamster on one of those wheels. I feel like I can't stop for fear of getting even further behind. It seems that I am about 4 years behind in everything and I am at the breaking point. Chaos is just not good...for anyone. And if I feel like things are chaotic, what must it feel like to the kids?
I struggle to get the work/life balance thing straight and often think that it isn't even possible. It is that pot 'o gold at the end of the rainbow. But I love working in some capacity and staying home didn't really work for me and the kids. I think I am a better mom because I do work outside of the home and it's just that time in our lives where it is necessary for me to work. I don't think it will last forever. I hope to be one of those "classroom moms" who is involved with everything.
I met the sitter at dance class and giggled at Kendall learning how to plié. The teacher would adjust the position of her feet (turning outwards). Then when Kendall needed to adjust again, she just bent down and turned theme facing out again. It was cute, funny and sweet all at once.
I promise to get pictures posted to morrow.

Who would ever have thought it?

Today is our anniversary. Our seventh anniversary. And we have three kids under the age of four. Sure, that isn't really very unusual. But if you had told either of us that we would have three kids by now, we would have slapped you. Ok, maybe "slapped you" is just a little too strong. But I would have definitely punched you in the arm and told you exactly how crazy you were for even thinking such a thing!

Yet, here we are. It's the ultimate in crazy. But I really don't know that I can imagine it any other way.

No pictures tonight because they are busy uploading to Snapfish so that I can print photos to be distributed with Christmas cards. Yup. Happy Anniversary to us. :). I am a wild woman!

Photo Credit: Tassi K Williams Photography & Design

I want to give photo credit for the shot of all three together at the top/description of my blog and in this post to Tassi K. Williams. She is a mom and Knoxville photographer who took pics of all of the children in the kid's preschool. She was so sweet to work so hard to get a shot of my crazy kids together! I wanted to be sure to give a shout out to her and recommend that you check out her blog/work at:

http://tkwphotography.blogspot.com/








I don't know if we will get winter/Christmas pictures done, but I am definitely going to call her next Spring and get the kids to the UT Gardens because I think she can help us get a family photo that we will be excited to share. :)

Thanks to Tassi!

Remember Us???

Yes it HAS been a while. I have started so many posts that just never made it. And I've thought about so many other posts that I needed to get onto the blog that never quite happened. But, here I am posting again after MUCH too long.
Today was just one of those days that I don't want to forget. Daddy had special time with Clark. He might have to elaborate on his own, but I do know that it involved some putt putt golf and then games, like Skee-ball, at Zuma. Afterwards, they dined at Long's Drug Store (up at the counter) on burgers, fries and a yummy vanilla milkshake. According to Daddy, it was one of the best shakes he's ever had, so that is certainly saying something. I believe that the one-on-one time is really important for most children and Clark certainly does seem to benefit from it.


The girls, Auntie Karen and I had other plans. We were going to Disney on Ice. It's a first for me, but Auntie Karen has been telling me about it for years. It was pretty amazing, especially for a Disney fan like me. I wish that I could have taken more pictures of the girls during the show, but I had the wrong lens since I was hoping to get some shots of the characters during the show too. And, once I looked over the pics, I realized that the girls were wearing their coats in almost every picture, so you can't see how adorable they looked in their dresses, tights and fancy shoes. :)
The "oohs and aahs" were so sweet and the squeals of excitement when Mickey and Minnie first came out onto the ice were something that I don't want to forget. Kendall would ask "Are we done?" each time they would skate off to indicate a change of story. She wasn't ready to go, but I think she was just wondering when all of the excitement would have to come to an end. They loved eating the cotton candy (and the girls would imitate the guy yelling "Cotton Candy Candy") and got every last drop of their snow cones in the super-special Disney on Ice cups. We chose a Shark cup for Clark because, of course, he HAD to have one. We also grabbed a souvenir program which will help to remind us of each scene throughout the show.
After experiencing the wonder and excitement of the Disney on Ice show with the girls, I am definitely ready to load them up and head to Disney World. I think they would absolutely LOVE it, but we are hoping to wait until they are past the nap-stage of their lives before we take such a big trip.

It was an amazing day and I hope that the girls will always remember their first Disney on Ice!

Trying to get a picture before the show but Kendall was too cold to focus.

Kendall enjoying what I believe is her first snow cone.

A snow cone, a fantastic up AND a super-cool spoon-straw?!?!

"See ya real soon!"

Burning off some of that sugar/energy after the show.

I just had to post a shot of the GORGEOUS fall colors that surrounded us today!