Braidy's End of School

The last Monday of school, Braidy's class went on a final field trip to the park for some playtime and a picnic! I think Braidy was MOST excited about his lunch that I packed him....it was his favorite, a LUNCHABLE! Doesn't take much to please this kid! Quin and I went to the park with his class and of course, Quin had as much fun as Braidy did! Braidy was so sweet and played with Quin and helped him. Sweet brothers! I love watching him play with his friends. 

These are Braidy's teachers for his first year of school. His teacher was Mrs. Ford and I just adored her. She was precious and absolutely LOVED my baby, which of course means the world to any momma. She loved ALL of her sweet kids, and told them she loved them everyday as they left. I love that about her. She was very loving, yet expected things of them too. Perfect teacher for our first experience at a school! Braidy loved school and loved Fridays, because that meant it was show and tell. He loved his friends and loved showing off his lovely art projects that he brought home everyday. We couldn't have asked for a better preschool experience. Mrs. Odom was his other teacher who floated in and out of the two 3-year old classes. She was super sweet and Braidy loved her too! Braidy learned so much, but the things I loved hearing most from him were his new songs and Bible verses he learned.

 This was Braidy's first day of school and last. He definitely "GROW'D UP!" His baby face is no longer and his legs look twice as long!

John's End of School

Well 1st grade has officially come to an end! The week before school ended they had "Buddy Field Day". The boys, Ryan and I went up there to see John and watch him play a few games. It was a hot day and the kids were having a blast. John's buddy was Sladen and they were quite a pair!

The last week of school they had their awards and an end of year party outside. We went to watch him get his awards, and it was fun to watch all of the kids be so proud of themselves, and they should be! John had an awesome year....Mrs. Ward was a great teacher and we just loved her! John learned SO much this year, and reads really well now! He loves math and loves to play math facts games with you. He really enjoys school and loves his friends he has there. I can't believe John is now a 2nd grader! He is growing up WAY too fast!!

New Sandbox!

We got a new toy in our backyard!!! If you don't know it by now, let it be known that my husband can do or build ANYTHING. He seriously amazes me that he could just build something like this with no "PLANS" to be found. He's talented, and one day, I think he will probably build us a house or something. Who knows, but he's a man of MANY talents...

The boys are super pumped about this latest project of his! They finally have a place to dig other than daddy's flowerbeds! We love spending time outside and now we have another fun activity to do! Thanks Daddy! You're the best!!!

Mother's Day!

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new. -Rajneesh


Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.  ~Pearl S. Buck


The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.  ~Honoré de Balzac


She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along.  ~Margaret Culkin Banning


When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren


If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?  ~Milton Berle


I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.  ~Terri Guillemets


A mother's heart is a patchwork of love.  ~Author Unknown
With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood.  ~Isadora Duncan


Mother's love is peace.  It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.  ~Erich Fromm


Mother is a verb, not a noun.  ~Proverb


Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

my most embarrassing moment thus far in parenting...

So...just so Braidy can read one day about how he made me want to DIE, I have to record this in a permanent place.

Today we had lunch with our weekly lunch buddies (Christiane, Ava & Jake)...at McAlister's...we always go there. We were patiently waiting on our lunch, when Braidy disappears. Not super out of the ordinary. I asked C where he went and she said he was just on the other side of this bricked wall that divided one group of tables from the next (we were outside). She notices several of the people at the group of tables away from us laughing....I go to find him and he is PULLING UP HIS DRAWERS, proudly smiling, as he has just WHIZZED in public. in front of several people trying to eat lunch. right in front of the main doors to the restaurant. Did I mention IN PUBLIC?!? I grabbed him and turned BEET red, and immediately broke out into a hot, messy, sweat.

I didn't know what to do? Do I go apologize to the poor folks that had to see that while eating? Do I go find a water hose to clean it up? I chose what any humiliated mother would do, I did NOTHING. Nope. I just hid behind that wall and hoped to God no one I knew saw what had happened, and that the people that did see would soon be leaving.

Did I mention one of the onlookers was taking a picture with his Iphone? I am sure Braidy is "famous" on facebook or twitter by now.

Ok, I feel better. The blood is slowly leaving my face...and returning to a normal shade of "skin". If he does it again, CPS may be called. I'm just sayin....

braidy-boo

Braidy. Braidy. Braidy.
This boy keeps life interesting and fun. He is a ball of fire, but a tender-heart also.

Lately he's been saying and doing the funniest things and I want to remember them forever....so here we go! And I have some funny pictures that need a place to go!

1. When he tells me I love you, I say "I love you more"...and he then says "I love you most". Name that movie!! I love it though, it is just about the sweetest thing to hear from a 3 year old mouth.

2. Lately, he's told Ryan and I a few times to "shut up"! What?!? I think I figured out where he's heard that many many times. From his mom. Yep, mother of the year right here! During the day, Scout barks her head off if she sees a person or dog walk by (and usually during Quin's naptime) So I tell her to SHUT UP! HA! So...I guess he thought that was appropriate, but he was quickly told that we do NOT tell anyone to "Shut up!" I guess I should tell Scout to be quiet instead!

3. He is ALWAYS asking what time it is. After I tell him, never skipping a beat, he will say, "What does that mean?" Then I tell him it's almost lunchtime or almost bedtime, or whatever we are about to do during the day.

4. Last night I was at bible study that we do every Wednesday night with a few girls. I get home fairly late (girls alone time = lots of talking!) So I went into check on him, and it's a good thing I did. He had somehow snuck into the kitchen and got the entire bag of tortillas, and had eaten a chunk out of several. He fell asleep mid-snack though....geez!

5. Speaking of snacks. He is a SNACKER and it drives me crazy! Not 5 minutes after a meal he will ask for a snack. If I say no, he will just get one anyways when I'm not watching. 9 times out of 10 it will be a hamburger bun. He loves all bread products....obviously.

6. When daddy leaves for work in the morning, we will tell him by, give kisses and hugs, and then daddy will leave. Well almost every morning he will freak out when he leaves and say "WAIT! I just have to tell him one more thing!" So we'll go out to the truck and who knows what he says, probably telling daddy how much he loves him! I know Daddy loves this!

7. Mom of the Year....again! Well the other day I noticed a tooth that looked like it might be a cavity, so we scheduled a visit to the pediatric dentist. Sure enough...he had SIX cavities! Six! Who has six cavities at once??? Anyways, since then I've turned into a tooth brushing nazi and no juice or milk to bed or after brushing. I didn't know milk to bed is as bad as juice. Why don't they tell you these things in child birth class? So...we've gotten 3 of them filled...he had to have a crown (SILVER...EEEK) but after I put it all into perspective, it's ok. He's healthy, he's happy, he just has a stupid silver tooth in the back that will fall out one day. So, whatever. I was super upset about it for a while, but in the big scheme of life it's not a big deal. Learn a lesson from me. Brush. Brush. Brush. and NO milk OR juice to bed! These are pictures from his appointment...first one he is super loopy from the Versed (miracle drug) and the other is at home recovering. He was a rockstar!

8. Every morning, he will ask "Do I have school today?" and if it's the weekend or T/Th I will say NO...and he will say "Do I have church today?" and if I say no, "So school and church are cwosed today?" Um...sure. Whatever. Yes, they are closed today. And then he asks the same questions about Crockett. I think next school year a visual calendar will be in order. He likes to know what's going on!

9. Gifts from God. We have discovered the yummy goodness of ROLO MINIS! If you haven't tried these, you're missing out. They are amazing, and you don't have to unwrap each one like the regular Rolos! Bonus. Anyways, I brought a bag home the other day and Braidy asked Daddy what they were called. Daddy told him they were "Gifts from God". So that is what we call them. Braidy will say, "Where did the Gifts from God go?" "I want ONE more Gift from God!" "Are all the Gifts from God gone?" We think this is pretty funny and really cute. And, really, they ARE Gifts from God! Sometimes he will call them "Gifts from Jesus" but then correct himself! Aunt D even brought Braidy his own bag of "Gifts from God" the other day....he has shared with us though, thank goodness!

Ok that's all I can think of at the moment. Braidy, I love you dearly. You're a big 'ol MESS but I wouldn't trade you for all the stars in the sky!

Crawfish Boil 2012

Our THIRD Annual Crawfish Boil was this past weekend, and what a great day it was! The weather was beautiful, the company was the best, and the spread was DELISH! 

The day started out with an early morning trip to the airport to pick up the 120 lbs of crawfish that we had flown in from Louisiana! The boys LOVE playing with the crawfish, that is definitely the highlight for them! Quin was FEARLESS and just grabbed one crawfish after another, sticking his arm all the way down in the water, and even put a live crawfish in his mouth once...EWWW! I am a boy mom and not much grosses me out, but that did it! I caught him almost in time. Crockett did NOT like the crawfish and wouldn't get close. His momma and I tried bribing him with 2 new toys if he'd hold a live one, but he didn't go for it. You can see in a picture below his feelings toward the yucky things! Braidy loved them and John did too...what a fun day these boys had!!

The boys stayed with a sitter for the first part of the boil so the adults could actually enjoy ourselves - without kids...and it was a fun fun time! Lots of friends came, some have been there every year, others it was their first time! Danielle and Ty came for the first time! Every year before they've been either across the pond in Europe or across the country in LA...but this time they were there! They had a blast, and Danielle, being the silly girl that she is, loved playing with them and was very brave and held a live one! Our "quartet" from high school/college was there, and I LOVE a chance to get a picture with the 3 of them....I was so glad they all came, it was a blast hanging out with everyone! After a couple hours the kids came and joined us. Braidy ate TONS of crawfish. He ate and ate and ate. While the other 5 kids were inside eating cheese pizza, he was outside eating CRAWFISH. His Nena and Pops would have been proud! John had a few, and Quin tried some corn that burned his mouth (the seasoning we use is pretty spicy), so he was done after that. 

The party ended about 9, and we were pooped. It was a blast, and although we were exhausted it was worth every last ounce of energy! This is probably our favorite thing we do all year! So much fun! My husband does a fabulous job of cooking and getting it all perfect. He's a stud!!!!