Does a blogger cease to exist if she doesn't post anything?

Nah...just thought that I'd get all philosophical on you for a second. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I do still exist. It just turns out that the whole myth about having tons of free time once your children start school is a big bunch of cr whooie. Granted, choosing to be the room mom has been a large source of the free time vacuum in my life, but alas, I have no one to blame but myself. The shortening of naps has certainly played a part. The fact that blogging (when compared to playtime with my boys) is pretty low on my priority list plays a substantial role as well. C'est la vie! I'm here now, and that is what counts!

Now, you may ask, what is the oh-so-momentous occasion that has plucked me from obscurity and beckoned me back to the keyboard?? Not a rotten thing. I just felt a bit guilty. It is as pure and simple as that. So, I’m going to break all the blogging rules and load this one post with a million unrelated comments and pictures which will succinctly catch you up on our lives.

BEHOLD, the last few months in a rapid succession of 13 key points:

1. Mommy Money = maybe not perfect, but pretty good.

2. Fall is and always will be the very best time of year!


3. The Pumpkin patches yielded a huge harvest of good memories and pumpkins this year.




4. Halloween turned up a few tough characters who were ready for some action.


5. C had his starring debut as a rather spicy pepperoni in his first kindergarten musical.


6. E made his very first (of many, I'm sure) pilgrim hat for Thanksgiving.


7. Little fingerprints (and a tad of patience) created some memorable Thanksgiving place cards for Grandma's holiday tablescape.


8. More holiday crafting with some special friends (you can meet them over at Grasping for Objectivity) led to E finding his true love and "locking it in."


9. The kindergarten class Christmas Party consumed my life for several weeks but resulted in a pile of cozy snowman scarves, a small mountain of candy cane mice ornaments, a zillion decorated cookies, and a lot of smiles!


10. Since the holidays wouldn't be complete without a few more projects, the boys undertook some papier-mâché candy bowls as a surprise gift for their grandparents.


Complete with more fingerprints!


11. After all the kiddie crafting, I tried my hand at making a scarf that I had seen in a picture for Watoosa's Christmas present. The ruched ribbon flowers were super fun, and I can't wait to find other uses for them.


12. Christmas arrived with a bang...starting at B's parent's...


...moving on to Christmas morning at home...


...and wrapping up with enjoying presents from my parents.


13. The pièce de résistance of the gifting was a helter-skelter scavenger hunt on Christmas morning which led to the discovery of an unexpectedly HUGE trampoline in the backyard. B and his brother Santa's little elves spent a long, cold night putting it together, but it was SO worth it!!

That's pretty much what's been going on in a nutshell.
We're all still happy, healthy, and blessed to have each other
and all that God has given us.

Until next time...hopefully sooner than you think!