Baby gets a Haircut

Baby J no longer looks like a baby... he got his first haircut today. We went to a fun kids place where S got his first haircut. You get to sit in a cool car while the stylist cuts your hair. Baby J did wonderful. He started to fuss for the first few minutes but quickly got over when he realized I wasn't going too far. Even the clippers at the end didn't bother him. He watched the Elmo movie for a second but it didn't really interest him that much. Now his long mohawk hair shouldn't hang in his face anymore.





p.s. 12 years ago I met Daddy Piper on a blind date... who knew this is where we would be when we met at Red Robin all those years ago!

Sha-Zam

S:

"Daddy learned me a new word, Mama. Sha-Zam!!" He had a bit of trouble saying it but after being reminded once how to pronounce it correctly, has smiled his goofy cute smile and hollers... "SHA-ZAM!"

Plans Change....

Things change, plans change, nothing stays the same... on and on it goes.

Today's plans were changed at the last minute due to a birthday party being cancelled (poor sick neighbor girl had a high fever!). We finished breakfast (homemade blueberry pancakes and bacon) and lessons (reading for S and math for L; she's learning subtraction and S is making great strides in the reading lessons) and it was time to finalize plans for the morning. The kids were able to choose between the water park or venturing out to ToysRUs to find the ever elusive Transformers we have been hunting for. They picked the toy store. We found the toys they wanted and spent the next hour looking around the store. I enjoy doing this with my kids. They don't have the gimmes yet (hopefully never!) so it's fun to look and touch and feel and then leave with only what we came after and sometimes not even that. There have been times we have come only to browse and left with nothing and no tears or anything. We came home, had lunch and played Wii together. Naps followed shortly after. J slept for 3 hours. I was able to close my eyes for about 20 minutes - just enough time to feel rested but not groggy!!

Then after baths, I headed out to our homeschool group planning meeting. That went better than expected. So now I here I sit, blog hopping, posting about our daily life and feeling so lucky to be a wife and mom.

We picked our first watermelon over the weekend. It was left on the vine too long so it got dumped in the trash. It was sure looked pretty though : -)

Daddy and S taking turns with the massager.

J taking his first turn on the bouncy zebra.

Splash Pad

We went to a splashpad today after taking care of some paperwork stuff (it sucked but it's done for now!). Pictures from the fun time. It was fun anyway until more people showed up and S can't handle loads of people sometimes. L was great with him. When she realized how upset he was (he just sat on a bench in overload mode), she told me she was ready to go. S felt better as soon as we left the splashpad. But just before we left, J was crawling around and got caught in the rainbow sprayers just as they turned on - he wasn't too appreciative of this!!

Tonight, L chose to bathe by herself. She decided to read a book while in the bath, similar to what I do every chance I get!!

Scattered Memories

We went swimming with some friends today. It was a blast. Lot's of other stuff I want to write, like how yummy our dinner was tonight for 5 people and it cost a whopping $3.06. Another thing - I spent $2 at the grocery store and saved $84. My couponing has been wonderful lately!

2 things I want to remember: S actually read a word today during his reading lesson. He sounded out "ME". It was phenomenal to see the lightbulb go off for him!

2nd thing: Making dinner last night was a momentous occasion - I had to make 5 potatoes, 1 for each of us. J is now eating mostly what we eat : -) He will holler and squeal until he gets the same thing to eat. He is a fun kid these days. So full of personality.

The 5 potatoes for dinner.... our family has grown : -)

L just came in - she had to go potty and needed me. I helped her and put her back to bed. S was concerned with her whereabouts. He said "he doesn't like sleeping without nobody". It explains why when L woke up at 1 this morning and came out in the living room to be with J and I, S followed soon thereafter and I had all 3 out in the living room with me. Just another joy of motherhood. There are plenty of those, the joys that noone explains or tells you about.

Family Fun Time

We had a nice, quiet Saturday.

It started out with a trip to the co-op to get fruits and veggies for the week. It wasn't so good this week. I think I am going to stop this for the summer again. It always seems to be better in the fall and winter. I had a kinda situation while there though. A man was walking his dogs and I think he got a bit friendlier with my kids than needed while on the playground. I don't believe a grown strange man should have contact with children and my internal radar agreed. It was innocent enough I suppose but I still got my kids right back by me and finished our business and off we went. My gut was hollering and screaming at me and I listened. I may have overreacted but oh well. After co-op we came home and had breakfast and I did some housework while the kids played. Daddy had his usual Saturday morning truck stuff to do. Noon time brought haircuts for 2 of my 3 boys - J is scheduled to his first haircut next week, which won't be a moment too soon.

After everyone having naps, S and I headed out to do some couponing. I got some free pens and saved 67% at the grocery store. Not too shabby. It was fun to have some alone time with S. He enjoyed the extra attention and I enjoyed the company. I sometimes get so frustrated when I want to run out alone and one or all the kids want to come with but today, I didn't even get a bit upset when he realized I was leaving and wanted to come along for the ride. I am trying to relax and enjoy their company more. They are getting so big, so quick and the days of wanting to be with their mother are numbered, I am sure. We had some fun conversation about PeterBilt trucks for his cats and dogs, listened to Cars Cars music and I spent the time soaking in his 3 year old wonderfulness.

Tonight the impending storm prevented us from swimming so we spent the evening playing Wii as a family. It was FUN!!!! "Okay Family - get MAD!" direct quote from S when I wasn't playing so hot and I said playtime was over. I was totally kidding and playing around. The kids were jumping on and off my back while I was bowling. Everyone had a great time. It was relaxing and enjoyable. Daddy beat the pants off everyone. After playing as a family and putting the kids to bed, Daddy Piper and I played some golf and tennis together. He won at golf (even on a video game, his natural athleticism comes through) BUT I whipped his butt at tennis!!

L is enrolled in a computer based curriculum and that starts not this coming week but the next. She and I are both excited to start this next phase of homeschooling. It will be great to challenge her more. She was a bit upset when she learned of some of her friends going off to a big school on Monday but when I explained they would be gone all day not just a few hours, she was better. There is a 1 day a week thing though at an academy I am thinking of enrolling L. I think she would enjoy the social aspect of it. She is a butterfly when it comes to other kids. She loves to be with them. It is getting time to settle back into routines around here. Dance and Daisys starts soon for her and Soccer for S starts right after that. L isn't playing soccer this time. She had to pick her activities since they will all be at night now and I wouldn't allow her to do 3 night things. So she picked to try Daisys, which is the beginning of Girl Scouts. J will be tagging along to those fun events :-)

J still isn't sleeping the best. Right now, he is in bed with Daddy, S is in the queen bed in J's room and L is snoring the night away. I should be sleeping but after my wonderful nap earlier and then sleeping the first part of the night, I am not tired. I better try to settle down though and get some shut-eye.....

Boring

But Boring is good!

We hung out with some friends at ChikFilA today. Swim plans were changed due to a crazy storm that rolled through. A quick Walmart trip (spent $12 and saved $44!!!) and then an even quicker trip into Target looking for Transformers and we were headed home. For the second day in a row, all 3 have napped simultaneously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes that deserved all those exclamation points : -) That really makes a difference in my attitude, getting that mid-afternoon break. J has slept so much better. I think me cutting caffeine out almsot entirely, minus a morning jolt has helped tremendously.

Nurse Jackie is on so I gotta run but I have mention that J is walking behind a push toy now - Where's my baby!?

Family Staycation

I was thinking while showering a few minutes ago (the only time I have to think, it seems), I never did a play by play of our mini staycation so here it goes!

7/3/09: We woke up on this bright and sunny Friday ready to enjoy some family time. Our vacation "Up North" has been postponed due to finances, the hotel vacation we planned was scrapped as well due to the same concerns (damn Recession 2009!) and in their place, we have planned 2 days of fun! We headed to a local museum we have been wanting to explore. But first there was the trip to PeterBilt for truck stuff (not fun nor vacation like at all!). We didn't get the breakfast we had planned before we left so after the truck stuff detour, we were hungry. We ran through a fast food joint to grab something before the museum. Daddy ordered and I was flustered not knowing what I wanted and he was crabby about it so I got nothing and we left. It was not the most pleasant way to start this family staycation :-( It did get better though! We hit the museum and spent about 2 1/2 hours exploring the dinosaur bones, the desert exhibit and a supercool Mars exhibit. We witnessed a flashflood event which included thunder and lighting. We also got to pan for gold!! Daddy helped with this fun experience. After panning for gold, there was an old jailhouse and holy moly - the kids were TERRIFIED here! It was noisy when anyone opened or closed the jail doors and all 3 of my babies were crying by the time we left this part of the museum. (p.s. I recognized this museum as one I had been on a field trip too, when I was in 5 grade... 20 years ago!) During this whole time, Baby J was along for the ride in his new (piece of crap-I returned the next day) stroller. He did wonderful just hanging out. He is a very easy baby. Just wants to be a part of everything and right up in the middle of the action. After we left the museum, we got lunch from Quiznos and headed to a local waterpark. One quick stop for some sinus pills though since Daddy Piper and I were both getting a headache - where I almost hit a speedy black car... OOPS! The waterpark was super empty for some reason. We all got changed into our swim clothes and ate lunch under a tree on a grassy knoll. I got sick right away from taking the pill without eating (remember me not eating earlier?). I hurled and back to the festivies I went. J enjoyed his fresh baby food and everyone else devoured their yummy sandwiches. Off to swim and enjoy the afternoon we go. Daddy Piper was a huge bucket of fun for the kids. He took them in the deep water, where I can't touch, and they got some swim lessons for the day. Then L & S started going down the small slide, the very one S wouldn't even attempt 2 weeks ago. L and Daddy went down the big slides a ton of times. She gets braver & braver every trip to the water. She even went down the dark, fast slide this time!! She didn't like it so much but at least she tried it. Back to the little slide. J and I hung out in the water and my headache just got worse and worse. He was beyond ready for a nap by this time so he and I packed up our stuff and went to the van. I drove him around the block and he fell fast asleep. I curled up and took a nap as well. We slept for an hour in the air conditioned van!! When I woke up, I crawled in the back and he was still sleeping. He woke up a few minutes later and we went back in the waterpark in search for the rest of our family. I couldn't find them anywhere. Their stuff was no longer under the tree and they were no where to be found. I started wondering if they called a cab to go home. J and I headed back to the van to call Daddy Piper and there they were walking out of the park - what timing!! We headed home to get ready for the rest of the fun events of the evening. L, S and J fell asleep on the way home :-) We moved everyone to their bed for a late naptime. Even Daddy and I got a nap in!!! The evening didn't go as planned either. I had asked for no outside stuff nor computer time to make it still feel like a vacation and the outside stuff still happened - which royally t'd me off. I hate to be so negative about this time we spent together. I just set up such high expectations for things like this and nothing usually lives up to it. I should learn by now not try to organize fun times but to just let them happen, since that's when they usually do. Dinner was brats and chips and dip. It was supposed to be by the fire pit up front but it was too darn hot, so it was inside - nothing special again not like I had planned.

7/4/09: After a restless sleep and being superbly irritated at how things have gone so far, we went to breakfast at a local cafe. It's a new place near us. Breakfast went wonderfully, even with all 3 kids. It was delicious food and great service. Back home to plan the rest of the day. It was decided to skip the movie (again I get so irritated with the change of plans!!). Daddy Piper took L & S in the pool and J and I slept for 3 hours!!!!!!!! I woke up refreshed. The dinner plan was scrapped (we were supposed to go out and watch fireworks and decided to stay home - AGH!). I bought KFC for dinner since staycation agreement was no cooking for mom. We all laughed and joked during dinner which was a nice change of attitude from the earlier afternoon around here. I got J down for the night and L and I played games and watched fireworks on TV for a bit while Daddy Piper and S looked around outside to see if our local ones had started. We played round after round of Uno. The 2 of us played both the regular version and the kid version. Daddy Piper and S were heading up on the roof to watch the fireworks and L wanted to stay inside. She has a very cautious spirit and the dark was scaring her. I was happy to just hang out with her. Playing Uno and laughing together was so wonderful. I thank God for giving me a daughter. Oh how I hope I am saying this same thing in 10 years : -) Well after playing hand after hand of Uno, L wanted to join the boys up on the roof so we brought along the monitor for J and headed up. We enjoyed the fireworks together for about 30 minutes. The kids loved seeing them and it was nice not to have to shield their ears from the sound (both have such sensitive ears). Back inside for bedtime!!

7/5/09: The movie was rescheduled for today so off we went. We saw Ice Age 3. I didn't see the option online for the 3D show so we saw the regular one. I was disappointed at first but think it worked out. I am sure after 2 minutes of the 3D experience and my kids would have been ready to split!! About 30 minutes into the show, J was done and ready to be moving again. He and I walked around the mall and window shopped for awhile together. We got back in time to watch the last 15 minutes. He has done so well for movies before but it was not to be this time :-( When we walked back in the theater, I could hear L laughing so I know she enjoyed the show. Daddy said S was ready to go home shortly after I left the theater with L. He is my homebody. When we leave, he has started asking how long until we get back home. The rest of the day was naps, pool time again, this time the whole family, a yummy steak dinner, baths and bedtime.

Our staycation didn't live up to my expectations but thankfully it did live up to the kids'. They had tons of fun. It never felt like a vacation for me. I still had to clean, do laundry, stay up all night with J.... all the usual which doesn't make for much of a vacation. Ugh - such negativity. The time spent together was fun, just not vacation-y.

Checking out the space stuff (I can't really tell - sorry!)

J was wondering what the heck was this new stroller and why wasn't I holding him,
like I normally do. I almost always "wear" him in some fashion or another but
wanted a bit of freedom to take pictures for this trip.

Again with the lip curl. Elvis reincarnated??

Getting ready for the flashflood. They are worried it will be loud!

Daddy and his boys. When will this flash flood start??

Okay it started and it was loud. Both my older kids have sensitive
hearing and it seems like J is following in their steps.

"Hang on Folks - it's gonna be a doosey!"

Weighing each kid to see what they weigh on Mars. No - I didn't
see how much I weighed, no need to know : -)

There was tons of fun contraptions to play with in the Mars room.

A loud dust cloud gadget and both kids were racing to cover their ears!

Panning for gold. They even got to bring some home. Fool's gold though, I think.

The boys had the gold fever.

L just wanted to play in the water : -)

J chewed on L's phone while wondering why he's still stuck in his stroller : -)

More panning for gold.

The very loud and scary jail. Hopefully they'll remember it sucks to be in
jail and they'll never break the law!!

My 3 babies at the waterpark after some yummy lunch and tons of
swimming, just before J and I bailed to catch a nap in the parking lot : -)

Brothers Two - S has really come to love his baby brother lately.
He has always tolerated him but lately has become so free with the hugs and kisses.

S put this big puzzle together alone 4th of July morning.
It was his first time completing it with no help!!

Lesson #2

We did school again this morning already. It works out well to get the schooling out of the way before we go about our day. S woke up ready to do his lesson. L was introduced to adding this morning. She has been exposed before but it was still a fairly new concept. We used M&M's to learn adding - bonus she was able to eat them when the lesson was done!! I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching them both these last couple of days. How rewarding to be the one with them when they learn new things! Here are some pictures of all the learning going on around here:


I have L enrolled in a distance learning program that will start in a couple of weeks. I hope it has more the challenging curriculum I think she needs. She is just a sponge for learning and I want to encourage it the best I can.

J is otherwise known as "Godzilla" around here due to his destructive qualities. He loves to be in the middle of whatever everyone is doing, like reading the morning paper.

School Time!

S has been wanting to learn to read for sometime now. I got the reading lesson book back from my friend on Monday so we started his lessons today. He was so excited to be learning! L did her workbook while I gave S his first lesson and J ate his breakfast while we did the schooling. It was so much fun!! S did so great sitting and learning for 15 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by his eagerness to learn.

Not much yelling went on around here today or yesterday actually. I hope by recognizing the signs, I can hold it in or just get away from the situation for a minute.

Swimming and Friendship

We had some friends (the K family) over to swim this morning. It was such a great way to start the week! We had some fun swim time, enjoyed lunch together and everyone soaked up the friendly vibes running through the atmosphere. L and SK are swimming great so swimming is more fun these days. S and KK aren't swimming much yet but it's getting close. S is getting better - he'll at least duck his head underwater without fuss. KK enjoys her Mama's arms : -) J floated around some but decided his Mama's arms were the place to be for the morning. He took a great nap after the fun and sun. S and L decided naps were overrated and were up after their mandatory hour.

The afternoon was spent folding laundry, watering the garden and trying to escape the horrible heat : -)

We had so much hanging out with our friends. The kids were so funny. The older 2 were running from the younger 2 at every chance. L & SK played so great together. Just like 2 little girls, playing with dolls and stuff. My heart was warmed by the site of the kids being kids. I love having our home filled with laughter, squabbling and the sounds that go along with 5 kids 5 and under!

Sunday Lazy Bones....

So Friday was a pool day and Saturday was spent with Daddy having work done on his trailer while I ran to co-op. We got the yummiest fruits and veggies this week!! I made a Walmart trip where I only spent..... 11 cents! I got 3 packs of water, 4 sunscreens, 2 deodorants, 2 wipes, 2 lotions and some lemons. What a bargain : -) Last night on a spur of the moment thing, my sis called and offered me $20 to bring my niece's friend to their house, well meet them less than half way. So that took about an hour but hey I got $20 and some coupons and ya can't beat that! I took all 3 kids with and they were sound asleep when we got home about 8:30. Such an easy bedtime that was : -)

Today was yummy breakfast out with some wonderful friends and then back home. S told me Daddy was yelling while I was gone - seems he couldn't find the tray for the highchair and was seriously agitated. I laughed, thinking how funny it is that S could tell me that. This brought up a conversation I had S yesterday. While talking with him about how much I love being a mommy, he asked the question "Then why do you yell at us all the time?". OOOHHH - out of the mouths of babes. I guess I have been yelling more lately, unfortunately. Even DH commented on this. I hate when I yell and rage, like my mother did when I was a child. But how to control that building anger inside???? Wish I knew. I just keep praying to get it under better wraps. I do know that I repeat things as an adult that I hated seeing as a kid.

J is pulling up and cruising along everything. He even lets go of things and stands alone for a nano second. S is asking to learn to read. He hates that L knows the words in a book but he doesn't. We are starting the reading lessons with him tomorrow. It worked with L so hopefully we can get it to work with S.

S is having potty accidents again so it's back into boxer/pullup things for him. I am sick of cleaning the bed and the sheets every morning. He wasn't to pleased about the boxer things but understands when he stops wetting the bed, we'll put him back into undies.

Tonight's dinner was so delish. We had steak ($3.97), leftover baked potatoes fried with green pepper and onion (no idea of cost since it comes in co-op), along with broccoli and cheese sauce (approx. $1.o0 for this), and cherries (no idea of cost since it comes in co-op). So for less than $10 we had a steak dinner at home for 2 adults and 2 kids. And oh my goodness it was yummy. I have been trying to get our meals down to $5 or less and have been pretty good at it. The only thing I give a $10 goal for is steak. We love our steak around here. S didn't each much dinner since he's decided he hates waking up from naps now. It took my an hour and half to get him up today. I would wake him and he would go back in his room. We did this up until dinner and finally he just stayed on the couch and snacked off his plate later. I didn't yell or get angry though - one victory for the day!!

So this week wasn't too full, I thought and reviewing the calendar - yikes! It is full. We have some fun plans though. I hope to hear back about girl scouts for L and get her registered for dance. S is registered for soccer again. And I think we are going to do the family music time again. Should be a full fall schedule filled with fun stuff!

Still Lazy

I seriously must get off this computer and go water our garden! It is horribly hot here right now and the garden is needing water three times a day now, UGH!

Friday ended up with a trip out to the pool. S is really getting into the swimming thing now. He was so scared 3 months ago doing lessons and now he'll jump in and go under without a problem. Daddy Piper has been so patient with him, teaching him how to swim. I don't know how to swim properly but thankfully Daddy does. He's the resident swim teacher now : -)

Will come back later and update more... J is currently climbing on the train set!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lazy Bones

I am sitting here with the laziest bones known to man right now. I just can't seem to get off my duff and get anything done!

I had to do some accounting for the business this morning. Boy was I nervous. I am pretty good at that stuff and it seemed we were owed a pretty large amount of money and the contractor's information was contradictory to this but alas, after adding each and every check and each and every invoice for the year, we are owed the money - WOOHOO!! Now just get them to cough it up, right?!?

I better get done here. L wants to play, I need to clip my Wednesday coupons, laundry needs switched, S wants to play.... and on and on it goes!

Another Musical Bed Post

Tonight/this morning has been rough again, to say the least. I haven't gotten but maybe 15 minutes of continuous sleep in the last 6 hours. Daddy Piper's lunch box is packed for the day and all 3 babies are settled back down, for the time being. So in a few minutes it will be time to kiss my DH and send him off for another long day of work and then I can snug back down into the covers and maybe get some rest myself, before facing my own long day of work. Today's agenda includes making J's food for the week, another load of laundry and since it's Wednesday that means its homeschool group day so I will need to prepare snacks and our activity to bring with.

Memory to recall later, with laughter hopefully: About 1 this morning, I am nursing J in his bed when I hear a blood curdling scream that was heard around the world I am sure. I rush into L & S's room when I realize it was a double scream. L had a bad dream and woke up S so they were both freaked out. I tried to cuddle and reassure them and eventually tucked them into one bed together, after sending S to the potty for a midnight deposit. All is well, right? I settle on the couch this time to finish nursing J when I hear the swishing sound of S's boxer/pullups walking down the hall. Seems L is crying and needs me. Back down the hall with both boys to get L. I am holding J at this point and just as I get in her room, he pukes all over me! I clean up the floor and attempt to clean myself up. I don't want to go into my room and get clean clothes because it's about 1:45 AM and Daddy has to get up in 45 minutes and I don't want to wake him up. I rummage through the dryer only to find napkins and towels, darn it! I suffer through and wear the pukey clothes, get the kids all out on the couch and begin to get J settled down in his bed. He goes back down fairly easy and I head to the restroom. Remember how S used the restroom a little while ago? Yep - he forgot to lift the toilet seat when he went so when I sat down I found myself covered in his urine - ICK!!!! I clean myself again and back to the living room to hang out until Daddy gets up in 30 minutes....

This minute I am very thankful Daddy Piper has work. There is another man he knows in the same line of work who is now submitting applications because there isn't enough work to keep his own truck going.

Family Time

Our family weekend ended with a trip to the movies to see Ice Age 3. I messed up and got the tickets to the one without 3D, which ticked L off but I think it was better in the end. J didn't do so great sitting for about 30 minutes of the movie so he and I cruised around the mall while Daddy stayed with the other 2. J fell asleep and I snuck back into the show. It was fun times!! S wasn't too impressed with the movie and L totally dug it. She was laughing out loud when I walked back in - such a wonderful sound to these mother's ears.

Sunday morning was a memory to keep. Sometime during the night, I migrated into J's bed (as is custom these days) but early before the sun came up, S came in there as well. I thought he just needed some comforting but later I found out that he had potty'd in his bed and started to sleep with Daddy only to throw a humongous fit wanting his mama so his daddy sent him my way. I had both boys in bed with me (thank you God for convincing us to keep the queen bed when we bought our new one this spring!!). It was around 6 when I woke up to J snugged up to my breast, S snoring logs laying on my arm tucked into my neck and thinking "I am so lucky". It made for a memory to last a lifetime. I get so bogged down in the day to day and forget to enjoy those small moments like that. The year will come when not only will we 3 not fit into a queen bed but it won't be okay to have your mommy sleeping in bed with you : -)

Today was a full day, even if it wasn't supposed to be. I had grand plans for staying home, doing some housework in the AM followed by craft time/schoolwork, outside Slip-N-Slide time, lunch and naps. It went more like this:

3:00 AM - Get up & make Daddy Piper's lunch and send him off to work with a hug and kiss (Thank you God for work again today!!)
3:15 AM - J woke up, nursed and back down
4:00 AM - Mommy back to bed
6:30 AM - S is up for the day while L is yelling from their room that it isn't 7 yet so he's going to be in trouble and to come back to bed!
7:00 AM - Up for the day, smelling my yummy coffee ready to go. Get milks for L & S
7:15 AM - J up for the day. Nurse and change him
7:30 AM -Morning call to Daddy while watering the garden with 2 kids - L stays inside to get her hour of TV time started
8:00 AM - Septic calls due to a messed up septic tank - run and hide from 3 kids to be able to listen to repairman
8:15 AM - Septic is going to be EXPENSIVE to repair so we think of a temp bandaid to get us through for a bit. Keep running from 3 loud kids who are playing and enjoying the game playing with mommy : -)
8:30 AM - Make pancakes - flag pancakes to be exact with whip cream, blueberries, and red cool whip for the red stripes.
8:45 AM - Try to clean up the red mess from the cool whip. Put dishes away so I can load it back up with dirty ones. Begin to get dressed for the day. Do some chores from the list, like changing the towels.
9:00 AM - Kids done with breakfast - teeth brushed and dressed for errand running (guess no staying home)
9:30 AM - Finally leave (everything takes so much longer with 3 these days!)
10:00 AM - Walmart run to get septic bandaid stuff. Now need car charger for phone since it's stone dead.
10:30 AM - Found everything we need including the necessary charger after checking and rechecking that it will work - check out and get to the van - load everyone in and get ready to head to the grocery store for some last minute sale/coupon shopping.
10:35 AM - Charger fits my phone but is a WALL CHARGER not a car charger. Back into Walmart, which means unloading all 3 kids - UGH!
10:50 AM - Exchanged charger, found right one, paid and now heading to the Grocery Store
10:55 AM - Unload all 3, grab coupon binder and off we go. Get all we need (everything in stock - WOOHOO). Quick potty break and we check out. Entire shopping experience goes exactly according to plan. Kids were wonderful and rewarded with some yogurt. Thankfully they are easy to please.
11:30 AM - Run by dance class and get DVD from recital in June. L completely and totally excited to see herself on TV. Must drive like Bandit to get home quickly before she combusts from excitement.
12:00 PM - Sprint into house to let 2 kids go potty again (all that water ran right through them today!). Load DVD up and start to unload van. J is sleeping by this point so I pull the van under the carport, crank the A/C to high and leave him be (we live in the country with a fenced acre of land so he's fine, I swear!). Kids eat yogurt while watching recital.
12:10 PM - Listening to the recital DVD while putting away groceries. L has watched herself and is now watching the rest of it and giving me a play by play of what each costume looks like. S is immersed in the dancing. I think he would like to take dance too but Daddy ain't having it.
12:15 PM - Niece calls and is coming over so now it's a mad dash to clean up too!!!
12:30 PM - Niece shows up to hang out until time to catch her flight. DVD watching marathon continues and J is still asleep (why can't he sleep this good in his crib?!) Start crockpot chicken for dinner.
12:30 - 2:00 PM - Enjoy visit with niece, have some wonderful conversation about her 16 year old life, able to dispense some pretty useful advice, corral 2 kids, keep checking on sleeping J, play accountant for Daddy Piper's business discussing some billing issues with his main contractor, re-do and submit a statement to the contractor, put 2 kids down for naps, introduce niece to Metromint water (YUM!), unload awake J from the van, nurse him again, remind kids it's naps so please no talking, and finally walk niece down to gate and say goodbye
2:15 PM - Discuss billing issues with Daddy Piper and hope they are worked out like they should be. Play more with J. Now L & S get split for naps so it's actually quiet in the back part of the house. Try to eat something finally and do some more dishes.
3:00 PM - Daddy Piper home for the day. Check on garden - YIKES! Water garden again. I think this heat is going to kill everything :-(
3:30 PM - L awake from nap so she gets 30 minutes computer time. S is still sleeping and J won't go back down even though he's obviously tired.
3:45 PM - J back down for nap. I head out to chat with Daddy for a bit.
4:00 PM - L comes and gets me. Her computer time is done and both boys are awake and crying for their mama. I head in and try to calm down S. J is still freaking out so Daddy comes and gets him. This is when it's hard to be a mom of more than 1. Both want me at the same time and what's a mom to do?? I hold S for a minute and then get him involved in craft time along with L and then take J. Start making jam from all the strawberries we got from co-op on Saturday. Daddy gets involved in craft time (read: takes over for Mama). I finish the jam and start with the rice and fruit for dinner.
5:15 PM - Dinner time. Daddy washes the table, L sets the table, and Mama puts the food on the table. The kids are responsible for setting the table and clearing their own dishes. Hopefully teaching them young will help in the long run. Get J set up for dinner. Tonight he eats carrots, peaches, rice cereal and some Mama's milk. He is a great eater, similar to S at this age. Not picky but you better make sure you have plenty of it ready to go - he doesn't like to wait!!
6:00 PM - Table cleared. Head out to work in the garden for a bit. L & S come gardening with me while J and Daddy hold down the couch. We have cucumbers growing along with 7 tomatoes, a watermelon, and some squash. I am having trouble though. Once the fruit or vegetable gets so big, they start to die so any advice??
6:30 PM - Get bath water started. We are trying to get things going earlier in the night since Daddy is going to bed earlier himself these days.
6:35 PM - S is already in the bath and L is about to get it. I hear her screaming and crying. Run and check on her. She knocked down and broke my vase that was in her room filled with her flowers. She is freaking out because she is scared I am going to mad at her. I feel like crap on a stick because she is genuinely scared I am going to be mad. I explain it was an accident and I understood that. I held her and cuddled with her, hoping to convey I wasn't mad nor would I be mad if things like that happen accidentally. I herd her into the bathroom to get ready for bath. I check the water to find "stuff" floating. S is now frantically wiping down the side of the tub. He farted and some "stuff" came out. Okay move kids to our shower and fill theirs with bleach.
7:00 PM - Finish showering the kids, fold some clothes, clean the "stuff" filled tub, run the water in the sink to bath J, bath J, need to use the restroom, get the sink filled with water to wash the pots and pans from the day, put drinks in for Daddy's lunch tomorrow, play around on the computer for 10 minutes, clean both toilets, read books to L & S & J tonight as well, put stickers on book reading chart for library, remind myself I need to use the restroom.
8:00 PM - L & S are hugged, kissed and tucked into bed for the night after a million questions about what we are doing tomorrow. Finally remember I need to use the restroom an hour after I really needed to. Realize it's the first time today I even cracked open my book for a minute (Big deal for me, I used to read a book every 2-3 days now I have to renew them at the library since it takes weeks to finish a book!) Stay in the bathroom for an extra 5 minutes reading alone : -)
8:15 PM - Nurse J and put him down for the night (or a couple of hours - whatever!), wash the pots and pans, clean the stove, put clothes away, straighten the living room and our bedroom.
8:50 PM - In bed for the night, reading book for a bit, talking with Daddy Piper about the necessary stuff for the upcoming weekend.
9:00 PM - J wakes up so snuggle time with Daddy is done for and off to try to get him back to sleep.
9:30 PM - J is down again for who knows how long. Computer time for me, where I now sit and describe my day.

Now I am off to read my book, uninterrupted for about 2.2 seconds before falling fast asleep for as long as I can, until one of the my blessings needs their mama!!

Happy 4th of July

Things didn't go as planned around here (do they ever now that we have 3 babies?!). We were able to get some cute pics of the kids though :-)

Happy first 4th of July J - we truly live in the best country in the whole world!!!!

Evil little smiles

The boys were DONE with pictures while L could sit all day and smile for me : -)