Sam's classroom celebration

I took some Rice Krispies Treats up to Sam's class yesterday for a little birthday celebration. When I got to the room the kids were still on the playground. So I took a picture of what was under Sam's chair. It's so cute that he has a little school supply box full of things to use throughout the day. I TOTALLY remember having one myself!

He was a little giddy while the kids sang Happy Birthday to him.

He picked out a toy from Mrs. Darden's Birthday Bag. He loves his new slinky.

Happy Birthday Sam! I love you t-h-i-s big!!!

I have a towel hair wrap that I use most every morning. Let me say as a side note... this thing was given to me by my sweet Aunt Debo around Christmas '05. I've kept it every time I've moved (which we all know has been a lot) even though it was still in its original packaging. For some reason I never used it. But I decided to open it up and give it a try after this most recent move. I hate that I waited so long to use it. I love it! Laney kept trying to take it off of me this morning. So I let her play with it while I was changing her diaper. She tried putting it on her head, so I decided to give her what she wanted. Here's Laney, looking uber-cute...

Let's Go Lions!

Today is Briarwood Homecoming! The whole family has shirts (yes, even Ron) and we'll be wearing them tonight as we dine on hot dogs and hamburgers at the Alumni Dinner. I took a few pictures this morning before school. I know every mom thinks their kids are adorable, but seriously... these kids are too much for me some time! (Notice Laney is saying "cheese" in the second picture. She has quite the pucker!)

dining room lighting

so i already showed you my new shiny chandelier in the foyer. here is the before and after in the dining room.

you asked for it, becky. here's the finished bookshelf.

iPhone images

yesterday i was trying to put a new bookshelf together for the boys' room. laney kept crawling around the cubicles. i told her to say "cheese" for the camera and she obliged.

today is the last day i get to answer "1, 2, and 4" when someone asks me my kids' ages. sam turns 5 tomorrow. i told someone at church i'll miss the looks i'm given when i answer. somehow, "1, 2, and 5" doesn't sound quite so crazy...

Montgomery

We went to Montgomery Friday night to hang with the Philleys. It was so fun to hop in the car and arrive at cousin Jackson's house in less than 1.5 hours. We're definitely enjoying being closer to our families. Freddie and Christine met the rest of us at the St. James football game. Let me just say that running after 4 toddlers at a football game is exhausting! I took the babies back to Bekah's for some much-needed sleep while the rest of the crew didn't get home until 10:30 or so.

The next morning we took the kids to the zoo. It was sweet to see the boys playing together...

Luke enjoyed watching the white tiger cubs play.

Sam compared his height to that of an elephant.

The chimpanzees were the highlight for me... the boys laughed at them as well.

Sam and Luke got to feed the giraffes. The zoo worker was so generous to give them a huge hand full of little branches. Sam laughed every time the giraffe took a bite. Luke held on to me for dear life.

We rode the train before making our way to the exit. I captured my 3 kiddos. Yet again, the pictures are true to their personalities. Miss Laney is chillin', Sam's deep in thought about something, and Luke is showing off and trying to make us laugh.

Sam has "room time" for an hour every afternoon. He stays in bed and rests for an hour. He usually takes his doodle-pro and a few books to bed. I guess he had food on his mind, because this is what he wrote the other day:

"go to the refrigerator"

"that" mom

Last week I got to decorate Sam's classroom door for the month of October. I am happy with the overall result, although I wish my letters weren't crooked. I arrived at school thinking it would only take an hour. After being there 2 hours, I decided to hurriedly finish. Thus the crooked letters.

A couple of weeks ago I went to help the room mom organize the kids' workbooks. I told Ron what was on my schedule for the day. After hearing of my plans he said "Oh, you're gonna' be "that" mom..." He meant it as a compliment and I took it as one. I'm so glad my day isn't full of business meetings and stuffy suits. I get to decorate doors and pull pages from workbooks.