Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2009!!

We had a great Halloween! Fresh home from a night of trick-or-treating with great friends, I sit here enjoying a cold Bud Light (thanks R!) and eating freshly toasted pumpkin seeds (my first attempt).

We started the day super chilly (lovin' Fall!) and a fire was a necessity to ward off the crisp air. I love having a fire and it's not something we get to do very often so I do it every chance we get. Thankfully Daddy Piper spent most of his Monday morning chopping wood so we could keep warm without the use of our heater. S had a soccer game. He and Daddy went to his game while L, J and I stayed home. I have been feeling under the weather - not sick but run down. This morning's rest was well deserved and very needed. J took his morning nap and L did schoolwork on the computer. I learned how to make a souffle and creamed spinach thanks to Food Network : -) The boys came home from soccer. S didn't do very well and was outright rude to our neighbor so he nor Daddy Piper were very happy when they got home. Pumpkin carving took the edge off their bad moods. They made some cute pumpkins. J was thrilled with getting his hands in the pumpkin and feeling all the gooey stuff inside. At first L nor S wanted to get their hands in the pumpkin but L stepped up and dug in. S still wasn't too excited about the icky factor but tried to help the inside but quickly came back inside to clean his hands :-)

After pumpkin carving, L helped make sandwiches. S jumped in to help too so I didn't do anything but cut the tomatoes with the sharp knife. I fed J while they had sandwich making fun. I heard the sandwiches were yummy. I opted for a steak and cheese burrito! I laid back down for awhile and Daddy played Uno and Cooties with the big kids while Baby J took a nap too. After naps, we were in a conundrum about what to do for the evening fun. We decided to head to a friend's house for some authentic Trick-or-Treating. We have done Halloween festivals in the past but never actual door to door stuff. This is the stuff Halloween was made for. L & S had a great time with 4 of their friends (and their baby brother of course - who tried to take a header off the wagon... not once....not twice... but THREE times!!). But having their friends along and getting free candy - who could go wrong with this kind of fun! We did a couple minor bumps. J started out kinda fussy but calmed down in the stroller ride from S.G. L liked to run ahead and get away from the crowd. It took 2 times to remind her to stay with and a quick threat to head home but she did listen. She was a grabby girl at times but did always manage to say thank you. At one house the guy asked S "What do you say?" he was asking for him to say Trick-or-Treat. S replied with "Please - Thank You - Trick-or-Treat". He got it right but in the the wrong order : -)

So today was a success. No crabby attitudes - great times and great friends ....who could ask for anything more?!?

Daisy Troop

I had so badly wanted to co-lead a Daisy Troop for L. This dream went south when one leader I tried to co-lead with turned psycho on me. I couldn't find enough homeschool girls her age to start our own troop. L ended up joining a troop at a local elementary school. I really wanted her to participate so she could get some girly interaction, something I find lacking in our everyday life. The troop already had a leader and co-leader. I was so disappointed not to be more involved. I thought it would be great to have that activity for us girls. It was not meant to be. I let her join, thankful that she would have this opportunity that I so wanted when I was a little girl her age.

Today was her investiture. I took her to the school to meet up with the troop. Daddy Piper, S and J joined us to witness her investiture. They dropped us off and headed to the park. I was just going to walk her in and then head over to the park myself. The troop leader cornered me and asked if I was still interested in co-leading. Seems they wanted to have 2 co-leaders since there is just so much work involved. I answered YES! I am so excited : -)

L was officially inducted in the Girl Scouts as a Daisy. The girls made fun field trip shirts with their handprints on them and decorated trick-or-treat bags. Then the ceremony began. L was first. It was super cool to see her with her vest and saying the Girl Scout pledge (or promise or something like that...). L enjoyed every second of the 2 hours we were there. She is loving this girl stuff!! She has a best friend already. Another little girl with 2 little siblings. I hope there are lots of fun, girly things planned for the year!!

Another Family filled day!!

Today began after a restful night of sleep sans my hubby. I woke up about 5 with a baby snugged to my boom, drinking his milk peacefully but no hubby next to me. After Baby J got his milk fill for the time being, we went in search of Daddy Piper. I found him under a way too short blanket in the recliner in the living room. I gently woke him and asked what was wrong. He couldn't sleep with J's white noise machine in our bedroom (remember we are sharing a room with J while my in-laws are visiting). So Daddy couldn't sleep with that noise and instead went out to the living room. Fortunately for me, I got a great night of sleep in our bed....unfortunately for DH - he didn't. He did head back to bed for a couple hours of rest before the day began.

I already had J up with me and a bit later, L & S joined us. I enjoyed a yummy cup of coffee while the 3 munchkins had Count Chocula and milk for an early morning snack. They need a snack and milk within moments of their little piggies hitting the floor. They just can't wait for breakfast to get cooked so they usually have a snack and then a bit later, we have breakfast together. J is now part of the morning tradition, with his milk and Cheerios! He will search and scavenge for their milks and the minute they put it down, he is there to suck it down so he gets his own milk now. We got schoolwork done by 8 or so. It was a fun school morning. S is learning to write his letters and we did a lesson on smell - fun times. Oh fun times except for J being MAD as hell that he wasn't getting any attention during the school time so he was hollering and clamoring for attention. He was so noisy that my SIL commented on it a few times when she was awaken for the day : -)

We hung out for the morning and then headed out to go to Joann's to get stuff to finish Halloween costumes then lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We did the lunch thing first. I love that place. L & S enjoyed a burger sans tomato and lettuce and shared a choco shake. J ate off my burger and had a half a container of fries and then he tried a shake for the first time. He sucked and sucked and sucked. I had to pry the straw from his lips and he wasn't happy with me! L, L & N enjoyed the lunch. That place is delicioso!!! Then Joann's where we found just what we needed to make the costumes. I already had the clothes - just needed the felt and lettering. I took the 25 cent felt and wrapped it around the party hat to make the tip of a crayon. Oh goodness - so cute!! Total for 3 crayon costumes - $24!!!!!!!

This afternoon was art class. I actually sat in on the class. I am not impressed with the music portion of class. The art portion is fun, although today S didn't want to color. He is not a coloring kind of kid but loves to paint. We did renew for November but probably won't do it after that. I think L is headed back to dance. We watched the DVD from last year and she wants to rejoin again. She can't do both since they are on the same day and it's too tiring to do both.

This evening was fun with a chicken taco dinner, a trip to the ice cream store and then a impromptu photo session with L and I taking self portraits. The giggles and cries that potty was imminent was so wonderful. I love my girl!!! S has soaked up the attention from Cousin N. He has loved having him around. And both him and L have enjoyed his Zune :-)

Family Visiting....

My SIL and niece and nephew came from ND to visit us. They arrived late last night. We let L and S stay up late to go get them. They go to bed every night at 8 on the dot and by 8:30 last night, S was asking if it was almost morning since he was up so late : -) They were uber tired by the time 10:00 came and they left to get them from the airport. It was about 11:30 when they got home and closer to 12:30 when they went to bed. We stayed up till 2:30 talking. J was up by 4 and L & S were up by 6. It was an extra long today. We went to a friend's birthday party at a local bounce place. L, N & L joined us and Daddy Piper stayed home with J so he didn't miss another nap. It was so much fun. We were surrounded with tons of good friends and had a great time. I even climbed to the top of a spider climbing thing. I went down the slides and did the obstacle course with L and S. I missed J terribly but I did enjoy the playtime with L & S. It was over the top fun for everyone. After enjoying the cake and ice cream (no ice cream for S though!), we headed home for naps. I had some ribs ready to go so I threw them in the oven with some potatoes and took a nap myself. It was the most delicious hour of rest :- ) L & S took long naps themselves. I got up and made a scrumptious dinner. BBQ ribs, twice bakes potatoes, green beans with seasoned salt, strawberries and fruit dip. YUMMY and even better - my SIL did the dishes!!!!!!!

Having 8 people in our house makes for some tight quarters. We moved J into our room and put L & L in his room. N is in the playroom with a twin mattress. It has been a heartwarming visit so far. Very relaxing and enjoyable. It's neat to see L, J & S interacting with L & N. J has taken right to our visit ND family. It's cool to see him just drawn to them like a magnetic. He wasn't nervous or reserved at all - even at 1:00 this morning when he first met them. He was snuggly with Daddy and a little while later, he was walking over to them. I have taken a ton of pictures of them together. Can't wait to look through them and recall our visit together!

Sitting Here Waiting.....

We have had a week full of fun, crabby attitudes, more fun, less crabbiness, lots of cleaning and even more decluttering. Things are not so peachy around here at times and at other times, oh so fabulous.

My SIL and her 2 kids are coming to town tonight so lots of family memories to be made these next 5 days!

Pumpkin Farm Visit

We went to a local farm today for a fun time with our homeschool group. This farm has pumpkins to pick, rides to enjoy, delish food and lots of things to explore. Daddy Piper joined in the fun. It was fun but super warm out. That hindered our visit some. Daddy Piper and I had some cross words in front of everyone. UGH - I am so bothered by this display. I hate when we act like that in public. It was dumb but still. I see the other couples and they seem to happy and problem free. Oh I know everyone has their problems but from the outside looking in, everything is greener on the other side isn't it?!?

But back to the farm visit. L, S & J had a ton of fun. We rode the train, had super yummy pulled pork sandwiches, rode the bumble bee ride together, L rode the swing while S had to potty (Daddy had him potty in the maze!!), L & S rode the crop duster plane that wouldn't fly, S went down the slide a million times, L rode the crop duster again and it flew this time, everyone rode the tricycles (including Daddy!) and in general had a great day in the sweltering heat!!

Productive Day!!

I had such a productive day! Our bedroom is cleaned, laundry done, the oven is cleaned on the sides and behind, top of fridge cleaned off and living room vacuumed!!! I enjoy the feelings of a fruitful day. I played with the kids throughout all of this productivity. J is walking more and more. He is more balanced and speedier every second. L helped me sort laundry so I could have more playtime. S asked for more books at bedtime and enjoyed the storytime immensely. I had some disappointing news this morning but after some discussion with my sweet husband, I felt better. I am still disappointed but it will be okay. It's best for now but maybe someday??

Smooth Saturday

Saturdays hold such promise around here. It usually means Daddy doesn't have to work and we get the day together as a family. I enjoy these days. Saturdays also usually include soccer but not today. S still had a cough 2 days ago so we canceled out on soccer for the week. He doesn't have the cough anymore but still, we stayed home just in case. The H1N1 swine flu thing really kicked our butts (not mine through illness but lack of sleep) this past 2 weeks. Today was a run to Lowe's for stuff to repair the ceiling in the playroom, a quick trip to the grocery store for cheap rib eyes steaks and then a super cheap lunch at Quiznos. The secret to this money saving, penny pincher mode I am in is to do the same stuff but for much less. A normal lunch at Quiznos cost us $23 in the old days. Today's lunch was $11 and we had the same food - I just had a coupon!!!!!

J got his first pair of shoes last night. He got these super cute blue ones from Stride Rite. He is wearing a 5 1/2 X-tra Wide. A whole 2 sizes larger than S's first pair of shoes and a 1/2 size bigger than L's first shoes. Pretty funny coming from my smallest baby yet. He doesn't like his new shoes. Not one little bit. He pulls and tugs at them. I think it makes it harder to walk but with winter coming (it is coming right???), he really needs to learn to wear shoes when we are away from home.

S always asks "How does the workers make xyz?" He asks this about all sorts of things from the house we live in to the plastic toy he might be playing with at the moment. He is really an inquisitive soul, who has a temper right now. A very feisty temper. I know it's only copying what he sees so we are trying to work on our tempers too. But YIKES - he can really really throw a fit these days!!!

L is going through a "Love my mama" phase. She wants to be with me, by me, near me all the time. I am not complaining though. It is nice to have her close. I really hope to keep our relationship like this. I love having her chatting and talking with me. It's fun to be a mommy to this little girl : -)

Fun Family Times

We spent part of the day making cookies. It's always fun to bake and decorate cookies together. Messy and sugar together = a completely great experience!!

J was super upset when the kids headed out to play. He hates when they leave him behind. So he and Daddy walked out together. Daddy took the kids on a wild wagon ride around the yard. He has been doing these rides with L & S for awhile now. He included J this time. J LOVED it!! He squealed and L and S seemed to enjoy it even more riding along with J. The have been doing more on a threesome level now that J is mobile. It's fun to watch them interact and develop relationships amongst themselves.
J found some of L's glasses from her dress-up stuff. He has played with these things over and over and over lately. He and L played together with them today. Here are some pictures:

It's our annual tradition to get little pumpkins and paint them. It's a fun activity the kids really enjoy. This year J got to participate. I put his bink in so he wouldn't be tempted to taste the paint :-)

The kids heard a loud noise while Daddy was working on his truck. It made
all 3 jump out of their skin.L was a very helpful big sister to J while I was taking pictures.

S loves to paint. He gets into at first and then 5 minutes later, just starts
getting messy. The messier the better for him!!

J did great painting. No tasting and only a minor
mess. L and S were way messier than he was : -)

Now L is getting the bright idea to start using her hands.....

YIKES!!!!!

Then S has to join in on the fun so his hands were super
messy too. Thankfully we were outside with this painting project!

And here's the final products!!!

Next up was swinging fun but not before J threw a hilacious fit when I took him to clean his hands. Oh my goodness - he was MAD when he realized everyone else was staying out to swing and he was going inside. I washed him quickly and back out we went.

J loves to swing but too high.L just learned a few days ago to pump her legs and get herself going on the swing.

S learned tonight to pump his legs. Only one left to swing themselves :-)

S has the coolest eyes. They are totally multi-colored. I usually can't capture this with
the camera but got kinda close tonight.

Flashback

I have been on Facebook for awhile now. I just opened it up though so I have reconnected with some old frineds. It's crazy how seeing these people from 15 years ago or more can bring back such fresh memories. I reconnected with one friend in particular recently and we had a quick IM session last night. She was my best friend for years and years and due to some unfortunate (STUPID HIGH SCHOOL) stuff, we let our friendship dissolve and I have had many regrets about this over the years. We "chatted" for a bit last night and it felt so very good. I have missed her and it sounds like she has missed me too. It was great to hear about her as an adult, a career woman, a wife and a mother. We are hoping to get together for a drink soon and catch up face to face. I am looking forward to that!

More Sickness

I had to take two of my 3 sickies to the dr today. L & S started running high fevers again so I took them in this morning. The fevers are really worrying me. Then I hear over and over about a 5 year old who died from the swine flu with no other health problems so that contributes to my fear of this illness. After getting chest x-rays we know there is no pneumonia - just a nasty case of H1N1. I had a horrible case of motherhood guilt though while doing the x-rays. I had L & S and had to wait outside with one while the other had the x-ray done. Oh I felt so guilty not being able to be there for each of them.

We all took a wonderful nap this afternoon. I even got a 2 hour one myself! S slept from 3-6 and J slept almost that long. L only slept an hour but Daddy Piper said she woke up well rested.

I hope everyone starts getting better soon. We have so many fun things coming up - family coming to visit, family photos with a friend whose honing up her photographer skills, a trip to a local pumpkin farm and Halloween.

Bunch O'Sickies

We took advantage of the nice weather and took the sick Piper kids outside for a walk. I thought it would do everyone good to get from fresh air - it did!

I was going for a nice walk. Daddy turned it into an adventure. I think Dads are so much better at that. He pushed the kids fast and furious and they squealed with excitement!







I was going for a nice walk. Daddy turned it into an adventure. I think Dads are so much better at that. He pushed the kids fast and furious and they squealed with excitement!

AGH - H1N1 GO AWAY!!!!

This has been one of the longest weeks of our lives. My kids have never been more sick or slept as much (at times) or as little (at other times) in their short lives. J is actually sleeping right now. He has been asleep since 4 this afternoon so going on 6 1/2 hours. He never sleeps that long. In fact, he's only slept 1 night through the night in his 1 year here on Earth. S took a nap and slept from 2 till 6 then was back down by 9 for the night. L took a quick 2 hour (HAHAHA) nap and was back up by 4. It was kinda cool to have her alone for the 2 hours before S woke up. We don't get alone time with her and Daddy at the same time. She helped scrape the ceiling in the playroom. The ceiling leaked and now we are trying to fix it before my SIL comes to town in 2 weeks. We are going to repaint the ceiling white and then paint the walls each a primary color and then square off an area in L's school corner and make it a chalkboard.

Earlier today L & S played with flour outside. Oh that made such a mess!!! L has played with it in the sink before while I was cooking but the weather was gorgeous so outside it went. They made a huge, slippery mess with that flour. But the sounds and sights were marvelous to me. I love hearing their giggles and playing together. It was a mess to clean up off their bodies though since it stuck like glue and I had to scrub them, which they didn't like.

Another thing - J is so cute when he reaches up for me to pick him up. He shoots both arms way up high, straight above his head and looks down to stretch his arms higher. I hope to get a picture of this, as I want to remember the pose forever. I can't believe my baby is one!!!!!

Out Germs Out

I think our household is on the mend!!!! This has been a nasty virus that laid up my baby girl for 3 solid days, S only 2 days and J seems to be the least affected by it. Daddy Piper had work yesterday and today and went like the great provider he is. He isn't feeling that grand but off to work he went anyway. I am blessed to call him mine. I have not gotten anything from it other than a severe case of sleeplessness : -)

Funny story though. Things were so crazy around here Tuesday night/Wednesday morning that I had to start keeping a chart of who's temp was what when and who got what medicine when. It was hurting my brain to remember these things and I just started writing them down. So that's a tip for moms that have more than 1 or 2 - just write it down : -)

But as I said, we are on the mend and very thankful that it wasn't much worse than it was. I was a bit concerned about L going into yesterday though as she was still very sick and it was going on 72 hours without much relief but she took a turn for the better in the afternoon and that alleviated my fears.

Now I as I sit here, I am watching Baby J walk around the house like a mad man on a mission. The older 2 are sleeping and he is the king of his castle for the time being. He is such a walker already. Can stand from sitting without help and can squat down and stand right back up. He can even walk with his sippy full of water!

Darn Flu

Here I sit after a long night and day taking care of sick kiddos. I should be sleeping yet sleep alludes me. I feel punch drunk from the lack of sleep I have had over the past 24 hours. All of my babies are sick now. Thankfully J's fever seems to be the lowest grade of all 3. I had an awesome friend bring dinner over this afternoon for tonight and tomorrow night. I am blessed with good girlfriends! L seemed to be a bit better this evening. I hope that this thing is almost over for her. It's the worst sickness I have seen in my children yet. Horrible, crappy virus - GO AWAY!

This morning S puked. Luckily Daddy Piper had a bucket in the living room ready to go. I put a bucket in his bed during his nap this morning (S must be truly sick. He was laying in the floor watching cartoons and asked "I want to go to bed please?!"). I go in later to move his pillow down to prop L up some to help with her horrible coughing and bumped his bucket. Yea - he had puked in it and puke spilled over me, the bed, the floor and L's bed (they have bunk beds). Oh my goodness, I had no trouble cleaning up poo from J yesterday when he decided to play with his poopy diaper but cleaning up that puke took everything inside of me not to barf all over their room.

Lots more fun stories from today including finding poop on L's foot (she poo-ed in the bathroom and had a hard time cleaning it up and didn't tell me). Oh such are joys of motherhood. I am off now to try to get some rest!!

We have it :-(

We have the dreaded H1N1 flu in our house :-( L came down with it late Sunday night and by Tuesday night J and S have it too. I am up right now with L and S - thankfully J is sleeping. Seems Daddy Piper might have it too. Unfortunately (fortunately?) he has work today so he'll be bucking up and heading off to work.

L's symptoms and S's symptoms are a bit different. S woke up puking about 30 minutes ago. He is better now. L has a sore throat and the body aches. Both have high fevers and coughs. J just has a low grade fever at this point. L got some honey for her throat and S said "I don't need any of that stuff". It was so funny how he shook his head and was adamant. They are both snacking on pretzels and drinking watered down Gatorade right now while watching a cartoon.

I took their temps and S needed to know the numbers right away. He is in good spirits at least. L was too the first day and then the second day was really rough. I don't think she left the couch Tuesday for very long except for warm baths and potty breaks.

There wasn't sleep for me tonight. I went to bed at 9 and fell asleep some time later only to be awoken by 11 by a sickie needing their mama. I hope I can nap at some point today!

Outside weather!

Our weather has finally taken a turn for the better and we are able to enjoy the great outdoors once again. Daddy Piper finished the flagstone in the back and we placed our grill there finally. Our backyard is taking shape and looks like a tropical oasis. He even got the wood fence finished or at least with the wood we have at this point. His time off from work isn't helping financially but it sure does get the projects around here finished.

We were out enjoying this gorgeous weather this evening while I was grilling our dinner. It's so nice having the grill in the backyard : -) J is able to walk so far now. He's quickly loving the outdoors as well. He does like to shove rocks in his mouth though so I have to watch him pretty closely. The kids all took turns sliding and then were sliding together a few times. Daddy also chased L & S on his bike. They ran screaming all over the backyard and would hide in their plastic playset. He ran into at one point and it popped apart. The screams were CRAZY :- ) The giggles that followed closely behind are like music to my ears.



Here I busted J putting a rock in his mouth and the he quickly threw it away.

I ran to Target today to get batteries for some of J's new toys. When I got home, S ran out and threw his arms around me like I had been gone forever. I am loving this snuggly phase that S is in. He loves hugs and kisses constantly.

Oh and while outside playing tonight S and L were on the glider and S told L "Don't start your SH*T with me". Now where did he hear that????????

We opened J's gifts this morning from his party last night. He got some fun stuff, like a helicopter, a Parent's gumball toy (pretend gumball), a ball popper, some super cute clothes, a Little People Farm building thing and a few other things. The two toys he loves are the Gumball toy and the ball popper. He has chased the balls around the house and played with those two toys off and on all day. The helicopter has delighted his big brother. S has taken that away from J every time he goes to play with it. We make S give it back to J and then a few minutes later, we'll catch S giving J a ball and taking back the helicopter. Oh to have a big brother who steals your toys - such joy!

Baby J is ONE!!

My baby turned one today. Yep ONE! It was a fun filled day ending with a BBQ with about 50 of our friends, who came to celebrate with the birthday boy! He enjoyed his yummy hot dog (turkey dog) and then DESTROYED his birthday cake : -) J enjoyed the attention from everyone. He is content to just be around people. He is definitely an extrovert at this point - loving the noise and chaos that surrounds us.














The party was everything I hoped it would be. I looked out in the backyard at one point and there was laughter, chatting and kids running and playing - just what I love seeing. I love making memories like this. The group of friends that surrounds us is such a blessing to our family. J, L and S are loved beyond belief by so many people. We are one lucky family!