sam g fotografie

Brother will you

play catch

shoot hoops

tell me stories in the dark

always be my friend?

Holiday Randomness!

First off, I just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

I've been off work for 8 days, and on the day I was supposed to go back, they put me on call. No complaints on my end, though. Hmm...seems like maybe they are as ready to get rid of me as I am to leave. Totally kidding! I really am going to miss all my work friends.

Anyway, in other news, I've been home with all three boys all day. My mother-in-law stayed the night last night because she was going to keep the boys all day today, but when I found out I didn't have to work, we just decided to clean! We got it all done (expect the bathrooms, which is Mikey's area of expertise, I figure, he wanted three sons, so he can clean up after said sons). Anyway, we are hosting my dad's entire family the day after Christmas which is pretty huge (think one nana, four brothers, all their wives, 11 grand kids including significant others, and 10 great grand kids), and also Mikey's family on Christmas Eve so I'm trying to clean EVERY bathroom instead of just the downstairs one because I'm sure that at some point, they will all be in use (hopefully just for some thorough hand washing, lol). Anyway, we vacuumed all the floors, mopped, dusted, put up laundry, cleaned counter tops...and cleaned soot off the fireplace and stockings...don't ask.

It's looking really good! Turns out I needed this day off just to get things done because the rest of our week is packed full!

.

On to more excitement. Isn't our Christmas card to die for? And please don't think I'm bragging. Seriously, I made the card on Shutterfly, all I did was drag and click. And while I did take the picture, I stole that idea from someone else's blog, too. But still, isn't it cute? I could look at it all day! I love rear view pictures.

.

While I type, Charlie is glued to Dino Dan...anyone seen that yet? It's a nice departure from the regular cartoon mediocrity that we are used to around here. He's been watching it for like an hour now. Huett and Sam never watched TV at that age. I know, I know...TV before age two is looked down upon, but if that's what it takes to get a moment's peace around here, then so be it. I may be worst mother of the year to some, but I am mother of the year to him ;-) Meanwhile Huett and Sam are playing some sort of pretend and I just heard Huett tell Sam that he was going to take him to Stix for lunch. That's my boy. Also, pretty sure Charlie needs a diaper change...

ponder that while I take a diaper break.

.

Okay, I'm back.

In Santa news. Huett and Sam have been asking for costumes from Santa for quite some time now, and lucky for them, Santa has obliged. Under our tree (on Christmas Eve b/c I have to work on Christmas day) will be a Dash (from the Incredibles) and a Batman costume, complete with superhero gloves, and boots. Granted the boots cost more than the costumes themselves, but it is those boots that will put my boys over the edge. They may stroke out when they see them, and I am confident that they will be wearing these costumes until they go back to school January 4th.
.

Well, I guess that about wraps it up. As soon as I give out our Christmas gifts, I will post the proofs of our first professional photo session ( I have to wait 'til then because the pictures are the gifts, duh). We didn't necessarily knock it out of the park with a whole family picture ( what do you expect, it was fuh-reezing, and there were 3 small boys which doesn't really bode well for nice photogenic pictures. We got several good ones, but there was just a little something wrong in each one and I'm too much of a perfectionist for my own good), but their individual pictures, and the pic of them together are b-e-a-utiful! My boys know how to work the camera, what can I say?!? We just got a taste because the photographer is backed up b/c she's so busy, but she rushed me a great one of each boy, and then one awesome one of them all together. Of course I'll include the ones of us all together too b/c they are still really good, but i know everyone will love the other the most!

I told the photographer that our next session would definitely be in the summer or fall. I think that will be even better!

.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope that our blessings (and yours) will continue!

Thank you lord for a happy family, our health, and our home!

Merry Christmas!

There seems to be a recurring theme of me apologizing for the blogging absence at the start of every post these days...Sorry! Such is the life of a mom of three little boys (four if you count Mikey...and just between you and me, you should definitely count him, but that should just be our little secret).

.

Anyway, I devised a plan to force myself into getting my Christmas decorations up first thing this holiday season by throwing our first-annual Christmas Kick-off Party the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I knew that if I was expecting company, I'd get it done. Nothing gets me moving like a deadline. Anyway, I started decorating about a week and a half before Thanksgiving (if you are one of those people who think that cheats Thanksgiving, get over it). Anyway, like I said a million times, if it takes me two weeks to get everything done (because I am still constantly having to tend to the children in the midst of decorating) then if I wait 'til after Thanksgiving, I'll only have it all up for about two weeks total and that just isn't worth it. I need to be able to enjoy it fully for at least an entire month, so that is my motivation behind starting the decorating so early.

.

This is THE HOUSE that you've all heard so much about! And, don't worry, we didn't put the lights up outside the house until after Thanksgiving.

These pictures make me so happy!!

I do get a little carried away with the Christmas decorating, but I just love it so much!
I even went so far as to wrap the faux candles on our dining room candelabra. It was super easy, cheap, and is beyond cute. Well, at least I think so.

Here is my dining room table. I threw this together about 1 hour before the party started Saturday night, and funny enough, it turned out to be one of my favorite things in the entire house!

This new house is full of stairs (much to the dismay of my mother-in-law, right Regina, lol). Anyway, they may be tedious from time to time (although they don't really bother me because the houses I grew up in all had staircases in them so carrying laundry, etc., up and down the stairs "ain't no thang") but they are so beautiful! Especially when adorned with Christmas garland and lights. The wrapping of the staircases prompted several people at our party to ask me how long I'd been decorating for Christmas. Of course I told them I threw it all together the day after Thanksgiving because I'm awesome like that...yeah right.

It was my party, I can lie if I want to.

The party was awesome, too, so it will definitely be a tradition that will be kept up every Saturday after Thanksgiving, hopefully. So, if you missed it this year, make plans to attend next year!

Moving on...this is my homemade (by my mom) tree topper! I love it! I am searching out a few more things to stick out of it, but I still like it as is.

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care... and yes, I know Charlie's name isn't on his yet. We are still not sure how we are going to fit his whole name on the top of his stocking. My mom hand-crocheted these stockings and my mom, dad, brother and sister had our own for as long as I can remember growing up. I just had to continue the tradition, as it is one of the most important ones from my own personal childhood.

Moving on outside, you'll notice our Auburn flag is still flying high! And it will be until the Tigers win the National Championship in January, so no Christmas flag for me this year.

This wreath is one of my fave decorations. I just love the square shape! I won it in dirty Santa a few years back and it is definitely the best dirty Santa gift I've ever been lucky enough to capture. Thanks, Aunt Camie.

Another wrapped staircase. Wrapping the garland around the banisters was very time consuming, but well worth it, I think!

Here is the house all lit up at night! We are business on the outside (white lights), party on the inside(colored lights). I hope that maybe next year we'll add some lights to the eaves and porch roof.

I did this post to

1. show off my Christmas decorations,
2. satisfy those few who are demanding that I post again

and

3. to document our first Christmas in our new house.

So, I think I've accomplished that.

Onto other business...

.

We had our first ever family pictures made by a "for real", legit photographer. I am expecting them back any day and am really excited.

Check out her website here.

.

Also, I have been working feverishly to get my Christmas cards out. I'm pretty pumped about them. Trust me, they will NOT disappoint.

.

I haven't mentioned it on here, but I am a huge Garth Brooks fan. I went to a Garth Brooks concert when I was in the fifth grade with my best friend Amy and her mom Gina, and despite that fact that I was probably ten years old, I still remember that concert vividly. I've been to lots and lots of different concerts, and to this day, that one is still the best, bar none!

.

Garth like NEVER tours anymore so I'd all but given up on Mikey and I getting to see him in concert until we were old. Then came the great Nashville flood of 2010!

Because he is so awesome, Garth and his wife...a little lady you might have heard of, TRISHA YEARWOOD...are putting on an eight show charity concert and Mikey and I have tickets! We are on the third row of the lower level, like right by the stage. We are counting down the days! We are treating ourselves to this because it will apparently be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but not only that. It will have a tri-fold purpose. It will be our Christmas gift to each other, it will be his 29th birthday present which is January 31st, and it will serve as our 6 year anniversary trip which is January 29th! Talk about getting our money's worth!!

.

Well, that about covers it for now.

Oh, the boys are doing great, too.

Huett, Ava Claire, and Sam are playing in Sumiton Christian's basketball league and they are doing awesome.

Charlie is walking around now and says a few words like night night, bye bye, da da, ma ma, and Trisha.

The boys are doing well in school, and I'm still moving to the operating room in January!

Hopefully I'll post again before the new year, but no promises!

Happy Christmas everyone!!

Something to warm you!

I've been holding on to these beach pictures for no good reason but today, for your viewing pleasure on these cool fall days, pictures of our warm fun in the sun!

We did a lot of burying in the sand.





My dad's a bigger kid than the kids themselves.

Now we can see where those blue eyes come from.

Mikey and ham-bone! Isn't my husband delicious?

Huett's time in the sand is always a little more subdued.

CCCCHHHHAAARRRLLLIIIEEE!!

MY BABY!

Geronimo!!!

Sam stayed true to his goggles almost the whole trip, despite the fact that they pushed down on his eyes like this all day.

I love the colors in these pictures!

One of the few times that I actually grace my own blog, and in a bathing suit no less. Blech!

Nap time for Archer Blaine. Look at his pout. So kissable! Oh, and Gran Gran, too!

Charlie was not a fan of this too much. He just likes the plain old pool right now. I'm sure if he could walk, it would be different.

Pretty girl! She ran the show on this trip...in fact, she IS a trip!

Diarrhea of the Blog

So, once again, I apologize for the blogging hiatus.

.

Work has been insanely busy (and I'm about to change jobs, more on that later). Home life has been busy, of course. There are so many things I want to do, successfully blogging on things more substantive than my kids or my own life being one of them, but there just isn't enough time in the day. I told Trisha just the other day that if I could have a second career, it would be in journalism. I've read Newsweek since I was a kid (nerds unite!!) and still do, and I have a lot of original thoughts and ideas on all things political, educational, entertaining, polarizing, that I would L-O-V-E to get paid for writing about, but that isn't in the cards, now is it?!? So maybe one day when some more time presents itself I will make that happen (well, not the getting paid part). I'm not holding my breath.

.
We are in our house and it is wonderful!!

We haven't ran the air conditioner or heat in over three weeks which is awesome! For some reason, when you open all the windows, a great breeze blows through there. My dad says it is like that because the house is so tall. It is a basement with two "livable" stories on top of it, but it is really more like the height of a three story house because the basement really isn't dug into the ground. I mean one back corner of it is completely underground, but the rest of it stands tall and even has windows. Anyway, something about the height gives us nice winds and on top of the lower power bill that will surely result, we have the openness and refreshed feeling of cool, crisp, fall air all the time! I love the start of a new season.

It always feels like a new start, a rebirth of sorts
.

(even if my entire family comes down with an awful cold/sore throat every time the seasons change...what's up with that?!?).

.

Kidsmarket just came through and this year, for the first time ever, I decided to work the sale with my friend Lisa, and because we worked it, we got to shop really early, before the stuff had gotten picked over. To say we racked up would be an understatement! I bought 99 items and spent $430 so that's about $4 an item. And, I'm not lying when I tell you that EVERYTHING I bought was brand name. I wasn't there for "play clothes", I was there for the stuff I want to dress them in, but could never really afford. Read: Ralph Lauren, GAP, etc. Anyway, of course I enjoyed the shopping, but I really did enjoy working it, too. There were some really fun girls there, and while the work was incredibly boring, the talking was amusing and entertaining. Definitely going to be doing that from now on!

.

While I was at Kidsmarket, I saw a woman that I knew I recognized, but I couldn't place her. Then I remembered, she blogs too, and I've been reading her blog for quite sometime. I think what really caught my attention was her minimalistic blogging style, awesome photography, and also the fact that her two sons are named Charlie and Sam (in that order). She is pregnant with her third, and somehow I doubt she'll name him Huett (that's if its a boy, of course) but anyway, I just thought that was cool. So, on other blogs, I've read awkward stories of how complete strangers have approached them saying that they follow their blogs, and silent, awkward pauses ensue so I just let that be that, and thought I would post a comment on her blog saying that I'd seen her at Kidsmarket. Well, a few minutes later, as fate would have it, she came to my line where I was removing her tags. So, not one to hold my tongue, I said," Not to be stalker-ish, but I'm pretty sure I follow your blog". There were no crickets, no awkward silence. She seemed genuinely pleased and not at all freaked at the prospect that a complete stranger would know her sons by name, and the recent goings on in her little family. Anyway it was a little surreal because in my head, the peoples' blogs that I follow are kinda like my own personal version of celebrity, so that was pretty cool.
.

You can visit her Sam and Charlie by clicking here!

.

Mikey has two more classes and then he'll (or we'll) be through with his associates degree in elementary education. I've been his tutor, I guess you could say.

.

I have decided to take a job in the Main Operating Room where my sister works. There are a number of reasons for the change, the main one being that it will allow for me to have a schedule that will be more family-friendly. Much fewer weekends, a small fraction of the holidays that I currently have to work, and more options as far as what shifts I can work. Also, I've been doing babies for six long years, and I need a change.

Anyway, I was supposed to be starting there on next Monday, and the powers that be just told me that my transfer (along with some of my coworkers) will be stalled until the New Year.

The only feeling that I can liken this to is when I was younger and in gymnastics. Sometimes you would prep to do a back-handspring or some other tumbling pass, and your mind would be cocked and ready, you'd run or prepare to spring, and for some reason your body just wouldn't follow through. It gives you this dizzying "I'm seeing stars" kind of feeling. Like my adrenaline was all pumping and then I had had to unexpectedly slam on the brakes.

I am disappointed, but also happy to spend one last holiday season with the girls that I have grown to love as family here on the Mother-Baby unit, before I will surely miss them to within an inch of their lives :-)! They'll keep my blog blowing up, I'm sure. I'll have to do a better job of updating for you girls...especially you Brittany, even if I am just a sort of blogging hub for you!

.

Anyway, how's that for a giant run-on post that covers a wide variety of topics? It took me all of twenty minutes to write this. Man, maybe I really should pursue this journalism thing. You know, it's in my blood. My mom did write the Bagley/Corner section for the Community News back before it folded in the late nineties. I mean with that type of family experience, I should be writing speeches for the president.

my heart

I love this kid. Who knew?!?

I could eat him with a spoon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

No sharing!

lazy morning at the beach!!

We woke up pretty early, every morning at the beach, thanks to Archer. One morning, everyone left but us, so we relaxed for a little while (or tried to).

You can see Charlie licking his gums here. He had a tooth that was just about to pop through.

Yes, he was 12 and a half months old before he cut his first tooth! So was Huett. Sam was almost 10 months old before he had any. It always freaks me out when I see a six month old with a mouth full of teeth because I've never had a child with teeth when they were little babies! Everyone tells me that it's good to teethe late, so I hope they're right!


L-A-Z-Y



Lazy, too!




This picture was taken after a long morning at the beach!
Paw Paw, Sam, and most importantly, Baby (Sam's stuffed elephant lovey).

Charlie was trying to wake Mikey up.

There wasn't much relaxation to be found on our beach trip, but we tried to get it where we could!

I know one day we'll probably have to beg the kids to take a trip to the beach with us, so we just enjoy it while we can!

pretty beach pics

On our annual beach trip, we took some photos at dusk (with the help of my mother)!

Some turned out great, some notsomuch. I posted my faves on here for your viewing pleasure!

None of these were going too well...

Charlie was not a fan of the sand, just like his biggest brother.

The pictures I took unplanned seemed to turn out the best.

I adore this picture of Mikey and Archer!

Ava looks like a vampire who just stepped out into the sun (for all your Twilight fans, you know what I'm talking about).

She had a fine layer of sand covering her!

I love Archer Blaine so much!

He is going to be such a big (handsome, laid-back, lovable) boy one day!

Can I just tell you Sam has all the girls in his class excited about him, which has me a little worried!

His teacher said she is going to have to split him up from her daughter because they won't stop talking, and another little girl told her grandmother that when she grows up she wants to be a cheerleader, and she's going to cheer for Sam!

I am in love with this picture! He is such a beautiful child (even if I am a little partial).

It's easy for me to take such pretty pictures when I'm given such easy subjects!

I love this one and the next one!

My boys!

And me!

Yay!