Hi, It's Me.

Just your average friendly slacker blogger.

I won't bore you with all my excuses.  Just know that my absence is not personal.  I like you.  I really do.

So.

First things first.  It's the middle of December.  How the heck did that happen?  Christmas is barreling down on me like a high speed train and I'm completely stuck on the tracks.  I'm not done Christmas shopping, I haven't made my list of goodies to bake nor have I begun to bake said goodies,  and I'm fairly certain I'm going to forget something in this mad rush of the last week of school before Christmas break.  It wouldn't be the first time.

It's challenging to keep perspective in December, isn't it?

And this is the part of the post where I was going to write about the second thing:  our photo shoot.  But Blogger is acting all funny and I can't post pics!  Let's just say the whole afternoon pretty much went down exactly as I predicted (do I know my kids or what?!), but somehow our amazing photograph er and sweet friend was able to capture them doing what they do best: being kids.  Love the pics.  Love them all.  Can't wait to share them!

Guess you'll have to check back again soon!  *wink wink*

D-Day. Or, Picture Day.

Sigh.  It's been 3 years.  The last time we did them (professionally), Princess #4 wasn't even in discussion yet.

It's time.

I'm completely stressed.

One of our first attempts at a family photo.  Notice our dog made the cut.  This was the good old fashioned run and jump timer shot.

I can totally see how it's all going to go down.  First we'll all be running around the house, looking for lost shoes, crying over hair tangles, trying to keep from getting wrinkled, stuffing bribes in various pockets and bags, changing last minute diapers and forcing certain 3 year olds (and possibly 5 year olds too) to go potty because, no, there won't be a potty where we're going.

We'll fight traffic as we head downtown to the uber cool urban location we scouted.  We'll meet our photographer and pray that Princess #4 warms up to her quickly because if she doesn't it's going to be a looooong shoot full of stubborn refusals to smile and lots of "mooooooooooommmmmmEEEEEEEE!!!"

The classic, forced smile JCPenney special.  This looks like it belongs in a church directory.   I did love Princess #1's dress though.

We'll say over and over to Princess #1 and #2 to STOP trying to make your little sisters smile, we'll take care of it.  Just mind your own business and stop pulling on your dress.  Turn your face towards the sun a bit,  and stop squinting, the sun isn't that bright!

Princess #3 we'll have to keep from trying to jump off the platform of the abandoned building onto the gravel below.  We'll probably pull Princess #4 down from the fire escape stairs 2-3 times before we finally move on around the corner and out of sight of the pseudo jungle gym.

At that point I'm sure we'll be taking a break to duck into the corner coffee shop so that Princess #3 can go potty because you know, her bladder is the size of a pea.

Finally a professional photo on location.  We even got close to smiles on everyone!  Poor #3's toes.  It was FREEZING that day and for some reason I had no shoes for her??

If we haven't already frozen because we've spent the last hour outside in December trying to get shots, we'll keep going, pushing our luck because by this point it will be dinner time and no one is in a good mood when they're hungry and cold.

We'll stop the Princesses from digging in the sand with sticks, keep hold of Princess #4 so she doesn't dash into the street, fix hair ribbons and straighten hems, smile when told to and (hopefully) at the end of it have at least one decent photo to show for it.

Our photographer is going to earn her money today.

I Like The Sound Of Free!

Are you a procrastinator like me?  Who hasn't even thought about Christmas cards yet?  Go on, raise your hand.  So, here's the deal:  Shutterfly.com is offering bloggers fifty photo Christmas cards for free, just for blogging about their site and sharing their products.

FIFTY FREE CARDS!

Um, sign me up please!

I'm super excited about this.  I love Christmas cards.  I love giving them and I love getting them.  Friends, family, my vet - it doesn't matter.  I love them all.

I'm not the greatest though, at getting my act together.  First of all, getting photos worthy of a card is sweat inducing at best.  We have a family photo shoot set up for this Thursday and I've been stressing about it for a month.  A MONTH people!  Two words:  FOUR KIDS.  Yeah, you're breaking into a sweat just thinking about it too, aren't you?

But then, once I have the pictures in hand, I have to decide what sort of card I'd like to send.  Traditional?  Inspirational?  Timeless?  Quirky?  Whimsical?  Have you been to Shutterfly.com and checked out their cards?  The options are endless.

Right now I'm really liking this How Holly Story Christmas card:

It's got the right amount of photo openings for our family, and I love how I can add a couple lines about each of the girls.  It's a little more traditional looking than I usually go for, but it's definitely a top contender.  This is a flat card option, which is nice and simple.

I'm also loving this Joy Wishes Folded Christmas card:

If we can get the right family shot of all of us, this might be a keeper.  No pressure, right?  And with this one I love that if I'm a little behind in getting the cards out, it would sorta work for a new year card too.  See, look how practical that is!

Finally (I'm totally digressing from cards here), have you seen Shutterfly.com's calendars?  

I have to tell you, these suckers are the best.grandparent.gifts.ever.  Seriously.  What do your parents or in-laws really need that they don't already have?  A calendar full of pictures of your adorable children of course!  We do one of these every year for our parents and grandparents and they are a huge hit.  HUGE.

So, I've got a big decision ahead of me.  Which card to choose?  Hmmm... it's going to take a bit to decide.  I suppose first I should survive the photo shoot.  Deep breaths....

In the meantime, do you want to spread the Shutterfly.com love and receive 50 free cards yourself?  Check it.  It's too awesome to pass up!

So Blessed

Happy Thanksgiving from The Planet Pink!

No, The Reunion Did Not Do Me In

Might as well have I guess.

Sorry for my slackerness.

I've started feeling guilty.  I hate guilt.

The reunion was way more fun than I thought it would be.  Lots of reminiscing, food, and no mums.  Also, strangely enough, no pictures of anyone other than my kids.

I guess it's official that you're a parent when you go to a college reunion and only take pictures of your kids and the kids of your former classmates.

Speaking of, we apparently now need to get a horse.  Thanks to my class lunch at the stables.  Princess #2 is in L.O.V.E.

So many pictures of her on that horse and I cut off the poor horse's head in nearly every shot.  A photographer I am not.

The hubs and I snuck away one night to go to the coffee shop where we had our first date 13 years earlier.  Well, it wasn't the EXACT coffee shop since Starbucks (who is taking over the world) moved into the space at some point in the last 13 years.  But still.  It was a coffee shop.

Ever hear that song by Landon Pigg?  (I know, unfortunate name)  I think it was written for us.  Check it out:



Sorry, that was a HUGE digression.

But I do love that song.  It's my ringtone for when the hubs calls.

And here's a pathetic self-portrait of the hubs and I reliving our first date:

What do you think of the bangs?  The jury is still sorta out for me.  I can't decide.  They don't look great in that pic.  Don't judge them by their end of the day-ness...  Cuz you know, that's not fair.

So here's the deal.  I have no idea how frequent I'll be with blogging in the next month or so.  But you all know the drill right?  Crazy busy time of year.  Got to focus on getting the family through the holidays.  Our calendar is stuffed full of parties, programs, rehearsals, etc.  And we don't even have teens yet.  Sigh.  If anything exciting happens I promise to let you know.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this little gem of a conversation I had yesterday with Princess #2 and Princess #3.

Princess #3:  Mommy, how do you draw God?

Me:  However you like, honey.

Princess #2:  Because we don't know what he looks like.

Princess #3:  Oh come on!  He has a HEAD!