Fall Is In The Air

****I just realized that this post never got posted! Is this any indication as to how crazy our lives are this time of year? So I apologize that this is so late, but I must record it for my personal reasons!****

You know what Fall means to the Collins Family?



Fall in our house only means it's time for our Annual Pumpkin Carving contest. It's a sort of new tradition in our house that started last year - some of you should remember! We had such a fun time and the girls loved it so much, that we could not wait to carve our pumpkins this year!



So with no further avail, PLEASE VOTE for your favorite pumpkin in our poll on the sidebar! Just like last year, I will not tell who carved which pumpkin - to keep it fair, since Sam claims I stacked the votes last year! We will keep the poll going until Halloween night - so what are you waiting for? VOTE, VOTE VOTE!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the Pumpkin Patch Saturday after all the rain, the cold, the church group canceling the trip. We were supposed to be going with my SIL's church group, but they decided to cancel the trip Friday morning. So, me being the determined Mommy that I am (knowing the disappointment my girls would experience after talking about it ALL week), I called the farm myself and asked if they would be open or not since it was so wet and muddy. You know, a little persisitence goes a long way, because the owner of the farm said that they would indeed be open to the public. Yipeee! It was hopefully going to be a great day for the Pumpkin Patch, just a little wet and muddy! A little mud never stopped us Collins's! So, we continued on with our plans to pick the girls up from school and drive to Fayette to spend the night with Sam's brother and family. Sam and Matt had planned a long day of putting out 1300 lbs of fertilizer and rye grass (and who knows what else) to get ready for deer season that is rapidly approaching (BOO!). And we were planning on getting up and out the door to the Pumpkin Patch since it was about an hour away from Fayette (in Tremont, MS). So, we layered clothes, loaded blankets and coats, packed a picnic lunch and headed off to MS. We had a ball and they had so much to do at the Pumpkin Patch - we could have stayed all day, but Heather and I had had enough after about 3 hours. Not to mention it was COLD!!!! So after giving up after 10 minutes in the corn maze (a little hard with young kids and especially since Anna would not walk), a hayride, picking our pumpkins, playing on the HUGE slide, playing in the corn box (like a sand box, only full of corn), climbing on the hay bales, and eating lunch, we were DONE!!! It was so much fun and I'm sure we will go back next year! I'll be glad to give anyone the name and address if you're interested - it was well worth the drive! With no further ado. . .

That is MM and my niece at the top - yikes!

All the girls (minus Anna, of course) climbing hay bales

MM making "corn angels" in the corn box


My Sweet Girls!

Meredith's "Prized" Pumpkin

MM's "Medium" Pumpkin

This one totally cracks me up!

Anna's Outlook on the whole day - she hates cold, hates getting dirty, hates being outdoors which equals NOT A FUN DAY FOR ANNA!

MM hunting for the perfect pumpkin

The beginning of the Corn Maze

Group Shot - See Ya Next Year!

Birthdays and Makeovers

Anna's room BEFORE

Anna's Room AFTER

I found a precious hot pink chandelier thing that will be over the chair in the corner.MM's Room AFTER

Last week was a very busy and fun week for us. It all started on Sunday when we got to attend and celebrate our neice's baptism at their church in Fayette. I can't believe how old she is and so grown up. I remember her 1st birthday which was not long after Sam and I started dating. She is so good with our girls and it is so nice to be able to let her "watch" them both (mostly Anna) when we are all together. She always lets me know that she is going to babysit for us! It won't be long before she really can babysit, FOR REAL! That night, Anna started running a fever. She had had a runny nose and all week so I was not really surprised. Long story short, after being up all night trying to get her fever to break and listening to her cough (or bark - yep, croup!) and MM waking up with fever on Tuesday with fever, I took them to be tested for the flu. Thank goodness it was negative. Both girls ran fever off and on all week. I finally let them go back to school Friday - mainly so that I could get ready for MM's birthday party.

On Thursday, we scheduled to have Anna's new "big girl" furniture delivered. We have been prepping her for this day for a while because she really liked her baby bed and REALLY still loves to be rocked at night before being put down (she calls it Rock-Rock). We really built it up that she was getting her new princess bed and she was the first to tell anyone and everyone about her new "pwincess" bed that Daddy was building (or so she thought). I had spent the whole week before painting her room to get it ready for the furniture and it turned out perfect! I included a picture of MM's room too because I couldn't remember if I ever posted the completed room.

Saturday was the MM's big Horsey Gymnastics party. Yes, I was not sure how to incorporate horses into a gymnastics party, but we had the decorations, cake, etc. with horses. It was just what she dreamed of (that's what she said). We had a huge turnout for the party. We invited both 4 year old classes at her school and then a few extra friends that don't go to school with her. A total of 29 kids showed up and ran around having a ball at the gym.

Saturday night (after opening presents, napping, and watching the Bama game, we had planned a surprise birthday party for Sam's dad's 60th birthday. We had it at the lake house and it ended up not really being much of a surprise, especially after PawPaw called him to ask what time they were supposed to be there for the party -OOPPS! All of Sam's siblings and children and spouses were all able to come as well as several friends and extended family. He is not much of "party" kind of person, but he told us later that night that this was the best birthday ever!

This week has been a little more low key, but we may go to a Pumpkin Patch in MS this weekend so I will be sure to post pictures if we make it.

Happy 5th Birthday Mary Mac

I cannot believe that our first born is 5!!! Wow how things have changed in 5 years. It feels like it was yesterday and at the same time a million years ago.

To Mary Mac:

You are our little ray a sunshine and our Little Sweet Pea. You have grown up so quickly in the last year.

This day 5 years ago is a bit of a blur to me because Mommy had been so sick for the past couple of weeks. After being sick for 2 weeks, you decided that you may want to make your Grand Entrance a little early. I guess you were tired of fighting in there. After trying to stop you from coming for several days, the doctors finally figured out what was wrong with Mommy and decided that the best thing for both you and Mommy was for you to be born, even though you were 6 weeks early. So late the night before your birthday, they gave Mommy medicine that would help my body along in your delivery. We, and I mean the whole family (Gran, Pop, Nanny, Pop, Daddy, Uncle Tyler, etc.), were all VERY scared. We did not know what was going to happen to you or Mommy. After several hours of trying to deliver you, the doctor decided that we needed to get you out NOW! After lots of tears and hugs and prayers with our family, they rushed me to the operating room with Uncle Tyler in tow (thank goodness for Mommy. . .Tyler will never know how much that meant to Mommy and the comfort he brought me) and you were born 27 minutes later at 1:37 am at a tiny 4 lbs 4 oz!!!

I was not able to see you for the first time until the next afternoon and it was a feeling you will only know when you become a Mommy. It was Wonderful! Daddy was so sweet and was so in love with you as soon as he met you! I remember him just staring into your sweet little eyes and smiling with pride from ear to ear. You had to stay in the NICU for 8 days. You were such a little fighter and determined to prove everyone wrong. They just wanted you to gain a little weight before you went home - that's a battle we still fight daily with you. You are such a gift to Mommy and Daddy and have made life such a joy!

Today, you are so sweet and kind, but with a little spunky side that keeps us on our toes at all times. You are already so independent and have always been able to entertain yourself anywhere and anytime (unlike your baby sister). You may be tiny (you only weigh 33 lbs), but you are the strongest little thing I've ever seen. You are easy-going most of the time, but get really irritated if someone disturbs your territory. I also call you my little tornado. You can turn your playroom upside down in minutes and then complain that it takes too long to clean up. It has been so much fun playing with you and learning with you. You are starting to enjoy things that "big girls" enjoy and it is so much fun! I cannot wait to see who you will become!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!!

Texting and Driving

I confess!!!! I am a habitual (no, not just casual) texter while driving addict!!! Ah, I feel so much better admitting this! Seriously, though, I have realized that this really is a problem. I know that I use this blog to keep a "journal" of our girls' lives, but I am using it today as a sort of accountability, so please feel free to ask me anytime you see me or comment anytime on the blog to ask how I am doing in this area of my life.

So here it is . . . AS OF TODAY, I AM GOING COLD-TURKEY AND WILL NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING ANYMORE!!!

What made me come to this admission? Well, let's just say that after all the studies and reports and news stories of people having tragic accidents while texting, I have decided that it is definitely in the best interest of my children (and others on the road) to stop this ridiculousness immediately! My family's lives are WAY more important than texting with my friends and family. For those of you know me personally know that I am not a phone talker, so texting is a perfect means of communication for me. This is will be a huge challenge for me and I've already tried to "test" it the last couple of days. I know I can do it! So, if you are trying to get in touch with me via text, just know that from here on out, you may not get an immediate reply if I am driving! Ok, if it's an emergency (such as trying to get a tennis match together for the next morning - just kidding!) and I feel that it requires an immediate reply, I will be pulling over FIRST! So, if you see me swerving off the roads here in town every couple of miles, now you know why! I know I'm being humorous, but I am seriously committed to this change in my life!