Pumpkin Carving With Our PUNKins...

For the first time, we let the kiddos "help" carve pumpkins. It was yucky, messy madness and it was GREAT!

Our four little peeps are sooooo proud of the pumpkins they HAND PICKED and NAMED...

"Mommy, MY pumpkin is named Spider Man!"

- Just like his costume, such a goof ball

"Mine is named Cinderella!!!"

- Libs, going with Russ' theme

"Look mommy, it's Belle!"

- Sweet Ally Boo Boo

"Meet Snow White!"

- Miss Molly

I cleaned out all the guts and roasted the seeds while kids "helped." They were FASCINATED! I forgot how much work pumpkin carving is! Ha ha!

Auntie Barb arrived just in time to help with the carving and we got to work. The kids picked the eye and mouth shapes and we did the heavy lifting.

Our own little indoor pumpkin patch

Molly and Auntie Barb

The jack-o'-lanterns turned out just the way the kids wanted....

"DUDE there is a candle in here!!"

-Molly

Molly and "Snow White"

Little B LOVES her pumpkin THIS much!

Libby and "Cinderella"

4th Halloween for the gang!

Ally, kissing her beeeeautiful creation.

Allison and "Princess Belle"

"It smells like success....oh yes....."

-The always mischievous Russell Man

Russ and "Spider Man"

In all their illuminated glory....

Belle, Snow White, Spider Man and Cinderella!

I hope you all had a great week! Halloween is almost here, have a GREAT weekend!

Troubie Pride

"Troubie" pride is alive in Quadville! Ok, ok, I've never been lacking in school pride...but we had a nostalgic trip down memory lane this past weekend. The gang even got to visit my Alma matter, St. Francis High School, and all the great Troubadours.

I was honored when they asked me to attend and participate in Revelry this past weekend. It's the school's biggest annual fundraiser, and as a former scholarship student, I jumped at the chance to help. Having the opportunity to speak as a representative, who thrived at St. Francis, was in indescribable feeling. As I stood on the stage, I relived my high school and college years, and shared my heart. I know that the future scholarship dollars will change many girls lives, just like they did mine.

It was an amazing night! AMAZING. Conor and I even got to call it a date! My sweet mom held down the fort.

Conor and Me

Tanya, is a teacher at SFHS! So, we got to hang with her too!

Before the big night, the kids and I paid a visit to campus. I hadn't been there for a while, and it has certainly changed quite a bit! Naturally, being an all girls school, our daughters were in HEAVEN! Poor Russ... well, he was along for the ride and made sure to get some good "guy time" in with Conor later that night!

When we arrived on campus, we spent some time with Ingrid and Janis, in the front office. Then, we headed out to find my sweet friend, Tanya.

"Now this is the kinda place a guy can hang out!"

-Russ taking up post at Tanya's desk

Tanya's class was so cute with the kids and gave us a tour. Oh my gosh, it is so beautiful and the kids LOVED it! The girls even walked away with "Future Troubie" t-shirts.

"Seriously, really, ONLY girls allowed...? I might as well be home!"

-Russell Man

Noodle tag anyone?

When we got home I couldn't resist a little fashion show. It's never to early to introduce my girls to SFHS school pride! It's in their blood! Russell is sporting his Jesuit tee, representing all my brothers and cousins who attended the all boys campus.

Thank you to all the St. Francis staff and girls who made our visit and time at the event wonderful. Our girls are already counting the years to their own troubie experience... only 10 more to go! ;)

4 heads are better than 1!

Me and the munchkins

" Three Troubies & a Marauder"
Foreshadowing in Quadville?

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I hope your having a great week!

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Preview!

We're gearing up for Halloween around here! How about you?

For the first time, we let the kiddos pick their own costumes. It's not as much fun for us... BUT.. watching them choose was VERY sweet! They are so excited and have anxiously started counting down to the BIG DAY! I love this age.

Keeping up with our annual tradition, Tanya, and I took them to the pumpkin patch. It was an absolutely perfect day in every way.

Getting in the spirit of things, I had fun making another slide show. I thought the theme song was fitting and ended it with a sneak peak of this years costumes!

ENJOY!

Halloween Preview from Gen McNulty on Vimeo.

Happy Monday EVERYONE!

To check out our other Halloween posts, click the links below!

Our first Halloween

Our second Halloween

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE - Last year

More Halloween fun

4 Little Things...

There are so many moments throughout the day that our kids, just being themselves, make me stop and smile. Those are the moments I remember, no matter how challenging it may have been.

Me and the gang

4 of our favorites...

1. The fact that Libby is perfectly content quietly reading a book, while chaos surrounds her.

She gets this from her Grandma Deb ;)

2. Molly's habit of wiggling her toes in the holes of her blanket.

3. The fact that Russ is happy to cuddle with me, even when he has better things to do.

4. Ally's natural comedic timing- PRICELESS!

" what? it needed to be re-seeded..."

Happy Friday! Have a GREAT weekend EVERYONE!

Russ and HIS Girls..

We spent last Friday with our favorite trio! When Casey has a day off from work, a play date is a MUST!

Casey and I have been friends since our babies were born. You can check out the story about our first meeting here. I adore Casey and LOVE her beautiful little girls. She's the kind of friend who you can't imagine life without. She never judges, is never critical and she just gets me. She is such a great mommy and is raising her trio with grace, patience and love. I admire her so much.

We've had many play dates over the last couple of years. When our two tribes get together, you never know what might happen. One thing is for sure, we ALWAYS have a good time!

"What's that you say, a day with 6 girls? Let me think about this for a second......"

"Do I have a choice?"

This time, we headed out to their neck of the woods. We had a BLAST at their fabulous park and the kids ran wild. They had space to ride their bikes/scooters, play soccer, dominate the play ground, dig in the dirt, do somersaults, climb and enjoy each other. I, of course, took LOTS of pictures!

7 wild kiddos

So grown up!

-Molly

Libs, our little monkey

Makena, Lissy, Libby and Ally
Russ, Riley and Molly
"If I lay very still, they might give me a break..."

-Russ, resorting to drastic tactics

Diggin for dirt

Molly and Libby

Chillin in the dug out
Russell Man

Our four monkeys
(don't worry, Casey & I were spotting them from just a foot away!)

Ally Boo Boo

"I see them...yes...it's...testosterone! Fellas - over here!!"
Russ, escaping to higher ground..

Happy Wednesday EVERYONE!

IKEA and Stuff

We had a super busy and very productive weekend! Conor and I made some major progress in the home improvement department. I'm ALMOST ready to share some before and after pictures, almost! ;)

We also tried something different! We took the kids to IKEA, in search of some new bar stools and other nick knack stuff. After browsing around the show room and testing the strength of some of their furniture (x4), we hit the market place to pick up our items. As we were walking by, the kids noticed the day care/play area and REALLY wanted to go inside. Conor and I looked at each other and shrugged.. "let's give it a shot!"

They have to be a certain height and potty trained... check, check, check and check! We signed them in, had a little chat about how to behave and off they ran! We took our pager and were FREE!! I have to admit, I was a little nervous.

But, I got over it.

Holy HEAVEN! For one long and fabulous hour we checked out every last item they had in stock. When we finished, we picked up our purchases and our SUPER HAPPY KIDS. We ended our trip with a yummy lunch in the cafeteria. It was perfect.

Lunch at IKEA

If you have an IKEA near you, and haven't tried out the kids zone, go for it!! It's one hour AND it's FREE. The kids had a great time!

In other news..

I've been a bag blogger and need to upload pictures from our awesome play date with the triplets last week... coming soon!

Have a GREAT week EVERYONE!

I Can See Your Halo....

With a little help from the cast of Glee, I thought I would share my four favorite reasons to smile.. even when it's raining outside! By the way, if you haven't seen that show yet, YOU HAVE GOT TO CHECK IT OUT!

And YES.. Molly IS that much taller... she has been since birth! ;)

I hope you ALL have had a great week!

I LOVE this song...

Untitled from Gen McNulty on Vimeo.