Mundane Monday

Thankfully things are pretty uneventful around here. We do things everyday but I just don't seem to have the time to post about them, which totally stinks!

Monday August 17: School lessons and hanging out. No details - can't truly remember this day for some reason.... SAD! I only remember getting the final paperwork together for L's online curriculum. And S's reading lessons. He is doing just phenomenal reading these days. I can't believe how quickly he has taken to these reading lessons. He can sound out a few words and most of the sounds with ease. I guess this day wasn't too mundane - just a normal day for us.
Tuesday August 18: We hung out with our friends, the K family, this morning. It was fun to do the craft box together and enjoy just hanging out. L took an art class at a local art/music studio. S was happy he didn't have to participate in this activity - one of the reasons it's nice to have Daddy Piper home these days. S was able to hang out with Daddy and enjoy some bonding time. L was sooooo into the art experience and comfortable in her surroundings. She ended up painting a totally cool picture too! Then at 5:00 that night was dance and she was like a different child. She was nervous and clingy, which is very unlike her. I know she was uncomfortable since the class is made up of 12 girls, 10 of which go to church together, live in the same neighborhood and attend the same school. It was hard for her to go in there not knowing any on of these girls, but within a short time, she was laughing and having a ball. I could see this through the mirror. She left class excited about going back. After dance, we had our homeschool MNO to discuss the latest drama. Some of the parents have decided to send their kids to public school but still want to remain in the homeschool group. It has been blown way out of proportion. I said some things that inadvertently hurt another mom's feelings and had to be brought out in the open and discussed. The whole meeting was tense to begin with but ended nicely. We have gone so long with no drama or crap in the group and this was bringing out some ugly things. We talked and talked and talked and everyone ended up feeling much better about things. It was mainly the insecurities of homeschooling that made this one mom question her decision, or that is how I perceived the situation. She felt personally attacked by me and I felt the same by her. It is amazing how just airing our feelings openly cleared up so many things. Our group is back on track. We have some fun activities coming up and the focus back on educating our children, the main goal of our group.
Wednesday August 19: PEECH day. We went to a local bear stuffing place that is American made - how wonderful!! It started out with a lesson on the history of the teddy bear, then a tour of their factory, then stuffing a bear (even Baby J got one!) and then lunch in their school room. I think all the kids had fun. It was extremely rewarding to be supporting an American company!
Today also marked the first day of L's curriculum. She had to do a 2 hour online orientation and was so bored by the time it was done. It helped my side of things when I explained this is how real school would be everyday. The curriculum looks easy but it should get more challenging soon. Her new computer should be here next week.
Thursday August 20: Today is my FIL's 70th birthday. We sent some cookies to him to help celebrate. Hopefully his birthday was wonderful with 70 more to come : -) Daddy also found a dove sitting in our flower box next to the house. It was a baby dove.This afternoon L's Daisy troop leader came over to go over the requirements for being a co-leader. She is uber-bossy. I was okay with that - to a point. But after hearing her go on and on for 2 hours about how wonderful she is, I was not feeling the groove in this partnership but still okay to go along with it for L's sake - so she would have a Daisy group. Then the freako emailed Thursday night about me needing to pick up her nanny on my to a required meeting I knew nothing about. Then she wanted to be reminded who my daughter was, like to be mean to her for me not picking her nanny. Anyway I found L another troop, maybe without a psycho leader. The only downside is my amount of involvement might diminish. I really hoped to be leader or co-leader for her troop as a way for her and I to do something together. After the "fun" Girl Scout time, I headed to Costco with a girlfriend - mooched off her membership. We didn't renew this year to save the $50. I only go a couple times a year so thankfully friends let us go with them : -) I was able to stock up on flour, sugar, salt and pepper. I also got S a cool Christmas gift. He will be so totally excited when he sees his Grave Digger Monster Truck!!!
Friday August 21: We spent some time today making some planets out of Rice Krispie Treats for our upcoming solar system lesson. J hung out and cruised around waiting for scraps : -) I surprised L with a cute matching apron. It's hard to see the cute matching aprons in this picture but I loved it. I love how smiley, happy we are in this picture together. I hate how old and wrinkly I look. I never pictured myself looking this way. Stress has wreaked havoc on me this past year... The next picture shows the cute aprons. It was fun to spend time with her in the kitchen. Our planet decorating was interrupted by Daddy wanting to swim so he took the older 2 out swimming. They swam for almost 3 hours.
Saturday August 22: Shopping with my sis and my baby girl (child in tow - see the pattern here?). Coupon shopping that is!! We hung out and shopped for 5 hours. It was wonderful to be helpful to her for once. Hopefully it took a bit of the stress off her for the time being. I also scored another Christmas gift for S. He is almost done now. I have to focus on the other 2. L is always so easy to buy for - she loves everything. J will be a bit tough since he has all these cool toys from the older 2.
Sunday August 23: Woke up early to do a CVS run alone. This was the plan and the plan didn't go accordingly. For some reason, the kids always want to go with me everywhere. Mostly, I try to be okay with this but CVS is hard to do with extra people in tow. When they don't have stuff in stock (which seems to be always), it's hard to figure out a new deal when you have 3 little ones clamoring to look at this, touch that, come see this or ooohhhh look over there. I was irritated and frustrated but managed to keep things in check. I have been so angry lately. I hate the rage that boils just under the surface constantly. Anyway - in the afternoon, it was a quick Target run to get Pullups for S. I agreed to let the kids bring their shopping carts and doll strollers. They love to do this. I calmly enjoyed the walk around the Target, taking our time to enjoy the afternoon shopping. I do try to remember that these are things their childhood memories will be made of - Mom letting them bring their carts shopping. I hope these are things they remember and not my angry outbursts. L learned how to pump her legs on the swing today!!!!! Major accomplishment for her.
Monday August 24: L woke up howling and screaming about 3 this morning. She was spooked by the air freshener in the bathroom. It is a sensor spray thing and when she went to use the restroom in the dark, it sprayed and completely freaked her out. She hollered for her Daddy, who went running for her. This screaming fest woke up J and I but amazingly not S. J was actually sleeping, something he has been doing more of lately. I got up and nursed him and put him back down. I spent from 4-5 AM on the computer looking at coupon deals. I had my list ready and was shopping by 6 AM. It was a very productive time. The store was stocked, no helpers with to distract me and home before everyone was awake for the day. Having Daddy home does have his advantages (financial aspects are not one of them - no work equals no money!!!!) I spent $59 and saved $134. I missed a couple of the coupons somehow (guess I do need the kids along to keep me focused). I took my coupons back in with my receipt and they gave me the cash back - extremely accommodating. We are so stocked on food and I am way under budget for the month. Today was another fun time with the K family. We had great time hanging out again. When we got home, I was able to get a nap. Another advantage of Daddy being home. This afternoon was spent making pizza for dinner (total cost for pepperoni pizza for the family... $1.11!!!!!!) and enjoying the company of our family. Everyone was in a great mood!! We are also getting things ready for our camping trip coming up with our homeschool group. Tonight I got to have a fun conversation with L while putting to bed. We discussed some of her wants for Christmas (Princess dressup gowns, Transformer Jammies, Transformers puzzles.....). She is such fun to chat with. She is happy to express her wants and desires so freely and openly. I love hearing her talk about just anything. She is wise beyond her years. The most exciting thing for her right now is her very own computer coming tomorrow!

Hodge Pdoge

I was downloading pics from our fun day (more on that a minute) and remembered these pics from a couple days ago. Both boys were just up from naps and were snuggling in Daddy's chair. I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pics. From the playroom I heard this "Mom - what are you doing?" I replied with "Taking some pictures of the boys, L". She came back with "Well I am out here, why are you taking pictures without me???". I told her to come join in the fun but she was mad by this point because I was taking pictures of the boys and had not included her. I did explain that I was only taking pictures of them because they were impromptu hanging out in the chair together. It didn't appease her one bit. Here are those cute pics though : -)

Fresh from nap and not at all happy I dragged the camera out.Okay now they are warming up to the idea.

Baby J still a bit sleepy from naptime.

Oh what a smile my baby has and look at those teeth (he has 4 now)!!

Now the smiles are abundant but not at the same time ;-)

Yesterday we went to a local museum (where I talked about the coincidence or what is it?). The museum was so much fun as always. I have some pics from there too (I know surprise, surprise!!)

Baby J in the baby crawlers area.S popping out of one of the bubble type of chairs in the reading area.

L & S in the dark room area with a black light on. They loved how their clothes glowed.

More modeling of the cute hats in the black light room.

Baby J watching the puppet show put on by L & S.

Puppet show from 2 of my favorite monsters!!

Today was a trip to the Zoo! I'll post about it later though because laundry is calling my name (and loudly too!!)

Peach Pickin'

We went peach pickin' today!

I was up with the sun (and Baby J, of course) and was anxious to get out of here at 7:30 to get to the peach place to pick those peaches. Daddy Piper decided he wanted to join us and that put us leaving here at 8:30. The extra hour was not wasted though - L and S got their room cleaned : -) S choked on his medicine during that hour too. It must have gone into his lungs some how and he stopped breathing for a second or two. I was so scared. It took a long time for him to get his breathing back to normal.

While snuggling with Daddy Piper this morning, L came in to get me because as she put it "J was into the milking stuff". What stuff I wondered? Oh I quickly found out - my pumping stuff. Guess I am the resident cow around here : -)

We picked 22 pounds of peaches. I had no idea it was that heavy! The kids so enjoyed picking those peaches. The day was perfect for it. Very rainy and cloudy - a nice change for these parts. The hardest part was getting the kids to understand to check for ripeness before plucking the peach off the tree. Baby J got his first taste of a peach. Daddy gave him some right off the peach. Of course when I did it, he bit off some. We were told to eat as many as we wanted and enjoy the experience so we did! We came home and I made peach freezer jam.

Later this afternoon, we went to Lowe's and purchased a much needed BBQ grill. It wasn't money that needed to go out right now but our 12 year old grill needed replacing. This is my birthday gift and I couldn't be happier. We (I!) use our grill at least 3 x week so it'll be fun to get used to a new one. We christened her tonight with rib-eye steaks and boy were they good (although honestly they tasted about the same coming off the new one as they did the old one!!).

Tonight to go with the steak dinner, I prepared my first peach cobbler. L helped with this. It even included 1 farm fresh egg from our neighbors. Peach cobbler is something I remember from my childhood thanks to my "adopted" mom. She made frequently in the spring. I would beg for it constantly. I hope to instill the same type of memories into my own children.

I read tonight on a wonderful woman's blog the saying "Start as you mean to go". I LOVE this. I think I am going to print it and hang it up to see regularly. What a great way to live life, especially when raising children. Another great point to the day was talking to a dear friend from MN for a bit. I was so lucky to have worked with her for a few friends and we have remained friends, despite the distance. I had really thought we would be back in MN by now, damn economy get better already!!!!

Also tonight I ran some peaches and some of that wonderful cobbler over to our neighbor as a thank you for the eggs. It was nice conversation. I am really trying to enjoy life these days.

As it is now getting late and Baby J has been sleeping for 3 hours, I suppose it's time to wrap up. I just finished getting some peaches ready for the freezer - why did we get so many peaches??!?Oh I wanted to record that Baby J is now taking formula too. He is doing great going back and forth from nursing to a bottle. His u/s came back normal today so we are to increase his liquids and hope that makes up for the dry diapers.

Okay now off to bed!!

My boys were playing around on the kitchen floor today. S has really taken to Baby J lately. I suppose it has to do with J being more fun and interactable (is that a word?!). S is very attentive to J and enjoys being a being brother to him.



Later this evening, the older 2 ran through the sprinklers outside. They had a ton of fun getting wet and cooled off before their shower and bedtime.
I have no idea what L is doing here. When I uploaded the pics, I found this one. I guess it will remain a mystery what she is thinking at this moment.

Today

We attended a b-day party of a girl in our homeschool group today. It was nice to be around other's today. J was the hit, as always. He is such a wonderful, happy little guy. S had fun, even if he did have a potty accident (WTF??!) and L was her usual charming self. When we get in a group with other women, she will turn to them for help and playtime. It makes me insanely jealous that she doesn't turn directly to me. I wonder why that is - both her not turning to me and my jealousy. She is well behaved though so that helps. S is always near his mama and that makes me feel good. He does play well with others but doesn't let me get too far away. J was happy and content to be held. He did get down to roll a bit. He does like to get up on his arms and then he raises his knees but not together yet. I am in no hurry for this one to get moving yet!! While the kids were busting open the pinata, I drove J around the neighborhood to help him fall asleep (another thing I swore I would never do!!). I weighed him on our home scale tonight and he came in about 19-20 pounds - woah doggie!

This evening we had my mom over for dinner. The kids enjoyed her company. J pooped and made a huge mess. Daddy Piper picked him up from his Bumbo and there was poop all over - GROSS! It even dripped on the trip to change him. Daddy needed a new shirt after the ordeal was said and done. Thankfully, everyone was in a good mood. It was a nice evening. Now it's off to bed while everyone is asleep.

Thank you God for another wonderful day with my children and husband. Thank you for lifting me out of my funk from last week. Thank you for the emails from some good friends that reminded me to keep talking to you and things would work out. Please watch over and protect us through the night. Amen.

Much Better Today

Things are getting better here or rather, my attitude is better because nothing else has really changed. I feel so wonderful about a few emails I got when I posted I was feeling crappy the other day. I have some wonderful friends (especially my MN gal-pal, J). Thanks ladies for the boost!!

Today was a nice day. L had dance class. S, J & I ran to the store to get our 88 cent bread. We got fuel money for Daddy and picked L up and headed home. This evening, I finished the cute bags for S's party this weekend, played football outside with L, practiced L's dance routine with her (and how cute is that dance going to be in 2 months!!), put a puzzle together with S, played Wii tennis with L and entertained J during all this fun. Daddy had to work on the truck (it's had piddly things wrong lately and has taken up a ton of his time - I feel bad when he works all day just to come home and work on his truck some more.) While we were out playing, 2 rottweilers from down the road thought about coming in the yard and joining in the fun. Thankfully they changed their minds and mosied on down the way. The kids saw the dogs and ran straight for the house, with me yelling for them to go faster. Seems their Daddy told them the other day if they were playing outside and something like that happened or if strangers approach them to run for the house and what great listeners, they did just that tonight. It did mess up the mini-photo session I had planned though : -)

It's amazing when I quit worrying and thinking too much and set about the business of living how much better I feel.

Return of the Waterpark Adventures!

It was back to the waterpark today!! Thankfully the pool was heated : -) It was tons of fun. It was J's first time in a pool. It was a bit chaotic with 3 but I managed okay, thanks to help some from the K family. Everyone had a great time. Baby J fell asleep about 20 minutes into the fun. I think the sun and water wore him out. He slept soundly snugged into my carrier for about an hour.

I was able to capture this one picture showing all 3 kids at one time - no easy feat anymore!!

J snoozing after the hard day at the waterpark

When Life Hands You Lemons....

We make lemonade! We made fresh, homemade lemonade tonight. The kids & I squeezed lemons for about an hour to get enough juice to make a pitcher of lemonade. Both L & S were helpful during the whole process : -)

Baby J loves his toes. They are his new favorite toy these days!!

Look at my brown-eyed thumbsucker!

Nothing New

I just can't get the energy together to blog lately for some reason. I have things to record from our daily life but nothing seems to come out when I think of blogging. Weird for me not have something to say : -)

Wednesday was our homeschool day. I didn't feel like going to that (similar to not wanting to blog - what is up with me?!) but going was the best decision. It was great time. I get worried about L when she hangs out alone instead of interacting with the other kids but I let it go this time. I checked on her from time to time to make sure she was okay and having fun - she assured me she was. I guess I have to back off sometimes. S had a blast but again mostly played alone. What's that all about??!?

Baby J slept from 9 Tuesday night until 5 Wednesday morning - his longest continuous sleep yet. He woke up and ate and then slept until 8 o'clock. We did put him in his crib tonight for the first time, in his room. We'll see how that goes.

Wednesday I got to go out for sushi with a good friend of mine. The service was rushed but the food and company was enjoyable. I haven't seen this friend nearly enough lately and that's horrible of me. We did have a great time chatting and eating. Baby J joined us since I haven't kept up pumping. He was a bear for the first hour then fell asleep, giving me time to talk and laugh and relax some.

Thursday was spent at home, doing school and home chores. L also had soccer practice. S goes with Daddy Piper to Daddy's chiropractor appointment while Baby J and I take L to soccer. The time chatting in the van with her is irreplaceable. She had a fun time at soccer. She got another Bounce U invite - 2 birthdays there this month. She'll love that! We are experiencing some lying issue with her. I am not sure how to nip this in the bud. Timeouts and expressing my deep disappointment about how only naughty girls lie doesn't seem to be working.

Today was a fun day spent at the park with some friends, the K family and the B family. We are experiencing the most wonderful weather and being at the park was just divine. S starting asking on the way home with letter certain words start with. He is starting to get interested in things like that. Like combine starts with a "C", things like that. The morning started out with me having hives. I had to take some Benadryl (I took a kids dose for less effect and less sleepiness) and I was drowsy. I showed L how to answer the phone and how to call her dad if needed. She was a big helper during this time. She even straightened Baby J in his swing when he got all squirly. It was after the drowsiness wore off that we headed to the park : -) I got to get a massage this afternoon. Oh and how delicious was that! It was nice to be away from all the stress for an hour. But Baby J was starving when I got home and had already plowed through the milk I pumped so I had to contend with a hungry, hungry hippo for a bit. I went to Target in hopes of finding a swimsuit that contains these big ol' jugs of mine. I struck out the first time but managed to find a top that will go with some bottoms I already have. Main thing is to hide my booms and this top will work. I need to lose some weight and tighten up some flab. I remind myself that this will all come together soon enough.

Daddy Piper had work for the WHOLE week. It's been awhile since he's worked a solid week - thank you God for a week of work. Things are always better when he's working. Keeps the house on a solid routine - allowing everyone to know what comes next. We are no good on a routine when he's home, for some reason.

Okay there's a quick summary of the past few days. Hopefully I can get back on track and my daily posts. Things happen everyday and I want to capture every second of it!!

Play-Doh fun in the Sun

We had some extra gorgeous weather here today. So after running Daddy Piper's paperwork to its spot and getting some feta cheese for dinner, we set the Play-doh table up outside and enjoyed the sun. I put Baby J in his Bumbo so he could get some sunshine on that pale skin of his. He is squinting in these pics since he not used to the sun yet. L and S really enjoy Play-doh and I enjoyed it more than usual because I wasn't concerned with cleaning up all the eensy-weensy little pieces when we were done!

Another fun fact from the day: I started shooting my images in RAW format to kinda step out of my comfort level some. It sure makes a difference in the quality of my pics or I think so anyway.
Third fun fact: Baby J rolled over from back to front today for the very first time. He has been trying this for a few weeks but couldn't get that arm out of the way. Watch out world - Baby J is rolling over!!! L rolled over for months before she crawled so rolling was a mode of transportation for her. I am not ready to have 3 on the move : -)