Happy Valentine's Day 2008

We had a nice Valentine's Day here. Daddy Piper didn't have work so he was home to celebrate with us all day.

The kids and I woke Daddy up with cards and See's candy. He seemed to enjoy the interruption. Daddy Piper and S went to the grocery store and The Depot. So after I dropped L at school, I came home to an empty house. This has happened 2 times in 2 years. I LOVE being home alone!!! I got some dishes done and some computer time in and then back to school to participate in L's party.5 little 4 year olds exchanging Valentine's is just too cute. They are so excited about everything at this age and it takes so little to make them happy. I sure wish this is something we could bottle and save for the years to come. Then L and I hit Sonic on our way home. We had a nice lunch together then off to nap. I fell asleep within seconds of hitting my pillow and found out 2 hours later that the kids did not. Thank goodness Daddy Piper was here to hear their cries. I woke up at 4:00 and felt pretty rested. I am so tired these days. My only request for Valentine's was that Daddy Piper cook dinner, so he grilled steak and shrimp. It was super yummy and then he cleaned the kitchen to boot!

We ended the day snuggling on the couch and talking about past Valentine's Days (a scavenger hunt, a marriage proposal and a bed & breakfast being among the best ones) and pondering future Valentine's.

Life is what happens when you are not paying attention

Things are good around here. We got some GREAT news on Sunday - couldn't be happier actually. Daddy Piper has worked 3 days this week so that relieved some of that stress. Kids both have cold but seem to be getting better. It is just a nice atmosphere right now. It has been one of those weeks when I am so thankful to be home with my kids. L has been doing reading lessons everyday. She truly enjoys school. Yesterday, we did her reading lesson and at the end, she decided it was her turn to be teacher. So we switched things up and she taught me how to write my "s" and my "m". Thank goodness she knew how to write these because mama needed to be shown over and over! L also got her Valentines ready for class tomorrow. This was fun. I remember getting these cool cookies when I was in school from one boy's mom who decorated each cookie with our names. It felt so good to have a personalized something - made us feel special. We made sure and put each kid's name on the buckets L is giving out tomorrow.

We found out on Monday that one of my best girlfriends in the WHOLE world is having a boy. What awesome news!! She already has a girl so this is just perfect for them. I sure hope they decide to name him Sebastion.

I helped Daddy Piper paint some of the trim today. We are trying to get the house "spruced" up a little. Hopefully work picks up and we can get all the home improvement to-do's done soon. All in all, life has progressed just as normal. We are a very lucky family to have each other and such a great network around us!

Souvenir

I got my souvenir! 'Nuff Said!!!

Yes, Indeed

This has become L's new phrase. Very cute coming out of a 4 year old's mouth. She is also a sweet big sister to S. She had grapes for half time snack at soccer and bit the grape in half to give S so he didn't choke. What a thoughtful big sister!!

S is just the most appreciative little boy these days too. He always says "Thank You" when given something. What a little sweetheart!

I started the day out by volunteering at the co-op where we get our fruits and veggies, then came home to get L ready for soccer. Her game was at 9:30 then we got home about 10:45 and I got some housework done. Did the library run and came home and made those yummy Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich's. Dang those are so good!! Then I got my hair done. I LOVE it! I actually have cute bangs for the 1st time in awhile, along with a style that seems easy to take care of - hopefully! Then back home for approval from Daddy Piper (he loved it!!). Some laundry and then cooked dinner. I made spaghetti and snuck some squash into the sauce. Of course, Daddy Piper noticed but both kids ate it without complaint. It is so hard to get everyone to eat at a meal these days. I wonder if this is what other mothers go through about this age?

This was such a productive day for me! I got to spend some one on one time with S while dinner was simmering on the stove and the other 2 Piper's were outside playing in our gorgeous sunshine.

Off to snuggle with Daddy Piper for a bit and enjoy the peaceful quiet of a house with 2 sleeping babies!!!

Girl Just Wanna Have Fun!

I love having a daughter. In the most coolest and possible way, being a mom to a daughter is so much fun. Okay - true enough I might not think this when she is a teenager but right now, IT ROCKS!!

We went to Tarjay today because L thinks she no longer wants shorts for Spring but "pretty princess" dresses. Tarjay had some cotton ones on sale and fortunately, she liked them. She had found a cute little change purse in her toy box this morning and decided to have her Daddy fill it with "cash". She has also been interested in purchasing her own things so I let her do it today. I gave her $20, explained how much the dresses were and how many she could get with $20. She decided that she only wanted 3 dresses so she could use the leftover money to buy her sick brother a yo-yo. How sweet is she!! The funnest (not a word right?) part of the day though was when we get to the store, she has her sunglasses on and hops out of the van and throws that purse over her shoulder and marchs into Tarjay. It was so much fun to see her go. I wish I had a picture of how cute she looked with the sunglasses and purse. It was a fun shopping excursion. Really gives me a glimpse of the fun to be had in our future (I hope!!).

S is probably not sick. After having a fever for 3 days and not eating much, we realized tonight that he is cutting his 2 year molars. It was quite the A-Ha moment for the overworried mommy.

Sick kiddo

We are dealing with a one sick kiddo over here. We had gone through a similar situation with S back in May of 07 and found the root of the problem and we thought we had it licked but maybe not. He had to see the dr yesterday and since we have been working on potty training, that helped avoid the cathetar. He kept telling me "Mama, no potty CUP". He was so confused by this!! He was a trooper though and sat very well for the doctor's exam. If he still has the fever tomorrow then back we go. He didn't even eat dinner. He was so tired and felt so yucky. He went to bed 2 hours early. I hope for a better night than last night. And even more, I hope he gets over this little bout of fever/virus/whatever quickly!!

L is such a sweet, little stinker! When I picked her up from school today, she ran up to me and threw herself at me, wrapped her little legs around me and wouldn't let go - sweetest thing ever. BUT tonight she rode with me to take back some DVDs to the library and on the way home, she took a blue marker and COMPLETELY covered her face and hands with blue marker. When we got home, I hopped out to get her and saw this - I had to hold my laughter in and try to tell her not to color on herself. Oh the things kiddos do!! I threatened no bedtime snack for the misbehavior and being the supreme drama queen, she crying loudly how her belly was grumbling. Poor girl.

Now Mama Piper is feeling pretty good about another thing.... I sold my Canon Powershot and my Peg Perego stroller so now I have enough cash to by the new Canon Rebel I want without taking it from the household money - WOOHOO!!!

p.s. Daddy Piper had work today - thank you God!!

Mundane Monday

We still have a puppy! Yep - no one has come to claim the little rascal so I guess we are now the proud owners of a mutt named Jay-Jay. We have no clue what kind of dog he is but he is a happy, go lucky, friendly dog, so he's here to stay. We went to Petsmart this morning to pick up some of the essentials a dog needs to live comfortably.

We are still working on potty training with S. He is doing great going when you put him on but not at remembering to go by himself. He left quite the trail of surprise today in the playroom - poop! He pooped in the playroom and L found it, so Mommy had to come running to clean it up 'cause she was DISGUSTED by it. I want to know when did I STOP being disgusted by random turds lying about????

Daddy Piper has been slow at work lately so this has brought some stress upon the Paradise portion of our household. Let's hope this situation improves quickly. Financially it sucks to have work slow but otherwise it is nice to have his smiling face around here. Heck, I even got to sleep in until 10 today, awoke to bacon and pancakes and he even started to get my coffee ready for me (Thanks again Lisa for my WONDERFUL machine!). So it's not all bad having Daddy Piper around, just wish that lottery would fall in our laps and soon!

I have been doing much better at the organization thing. Someone could stop by at a moment’s notice and I wouldn't even be embarrassed to let them in. I've come a long way baby and I ain't going back! It has helped to have a weekly schedule and to keep up with it.

So now it's off to fold that laundry and put away the last of the dishes!!

Friday Fun

Puppy has decided to stay! L has named him "Jay-Jay". I wanted Blanco (Spanish for white) but no go, she found him, she gets to name him. I guess since she found him, she should have to clean up after him too, huh? We took him to the vet to be scanned for a chip but no such luck. My camera came back fixed today (darn it!) so I took pictures of him and posted them around our area. Guess he's ours for now. I really didn't want a dog but seems to be, we got one. I would not send him off to the pound because they are keeping dogs for about 5 days then "humanely" putting them down. That would make me so sad :-(.

S is talking more and more lately. He has taken to repeating everything we say, like a little parrot. Also I started this reading lesson book with L today because she is so wanting to read. We'll have to see how that goes. I am not too sure about her preschool situation, especially after going on the field trip.

All in all, an alright kind of day. I am really worried and concerned about some things right now so that put a shadow on the day. We just really need to start looking to our future and make some decisions about things. Sometimes being an adult just sucks!!

Puppy Love

Today Daddy Piper agreed to take L to school so I could take S to storytime at the local library. On the way out, L spotted a puppy in the yard. Seems to be overnight, a beautiful white dog adopted us! He hung around while I got ready and then took off or so we thought. When Daddy Piper came home, there he was wondering around the property. He has decided to make this his home. He is so friendly and GORGEOUS! I am not a dog lover by any means but this guy is so cute and lovable. The kids just love him, if no one comes to claim him, then I guess we are now dog owners!!

Tonight during dinner, I was asking Daddy Piper if he wanted to join us at the Zoo tomorrow and didn't want L to catch on to what I was asking so I spelled out "Z-O-O". She proceeded to ask why we were talking about the Zoo. Yep -she sounded out the letters and knew what I talking about. Guess spelling things is on the way out!!

Wonderful Wednesday

We started the day off with hopes of going to a local storytime, only to find out we needed to make a reservation. So after scheduling this for next Wed. off to the grocery store we went. S hasn't been old enough to enter the play area yet but today I wanted him to do something fun with L, so I put him in. They didn't ask his age and I didn't divulge this info. He went right in without a look back. Oh where did my clingy, Mama's boy go?? I hung out so they could play for about 45 minutes and then off to Tarjay for S's medicine (only 2 more refills then back for a re-test, I pray all is well!). I decided to look for a shirt for our upcoming family pictures and this was quite fun with "the whole crew" as I have started calling my 2 kids. L loves hearing this and uses the phrase often. One might think we had more than 2 chitlens, like 10, the way I carry on sometimes. It was quite the adventure trying on the shirts in the dressing room. L "just loved" that one and her and S both had fun looking trying on my glasses and dancing around in front of the mirrors.

Home for lunch and naps. But before the requisite lunchtime routine, I noticed some water running at the neighbors. Well sure enough, a pipe had busted. I crawled over the fence (after checking to make sure the live wire was not active) and tried to find the shut-off valve. I couldn't find it so Daddy Piper called the neighbor and told him what was going on. By this time, I was sunk up to my calves in horse poo and urine - YUCKY!!! I kept sinking so I finally took off my shoes and just carried them. Neither kid even missed me for the 10 minutes I was off carousing through horse manure! L had requested a picnic for being so good all morning, which she got (kids are so easy to please at this age). So PB&J's, blueberries and white cheese for all, while enjoying another rendition of CARS the Movie. It was super easy to convince them of naps after all the fun of the morning.

Mommy cleaned while kids napped (and looked at houses in MN!). Then when they both woke up, we played play-doh for about 30 minutes. I wanted to get the kids' coat rack stained and sealed so we all got our shoes on to head out and Daddy was home! We all went to the shop to work on Mommy's project. L even got to help - she is such a great helper these days. Off for tractor ride (scared Mommy but not either kid) and then dinner, baths and bedtime.

I truly feel so lucky to be a SAHM. I got to talk to one of my bestest friends in the whole world this morning so that was another bright spot of my day. I am the luckiest chicka in the whole wide world these days!!

"Do you understand me?"

So these words came out of my beautiful daughter's mouth tonight and they didn't sound so nice. I say this often to make sure she is "getting" what I am saying but hearing them come from her, they don't sound so great. Guess I need to find a new phrase and a better way to say it.

Typical Tuesday

L went on her first field trip with her preschool class! Daddy stayed home with S while Mommy and L trekked up to Petco for a (amazingly) fun time at the "Furs to Feathers" demonstration. L got to touch a bearded dragon, a couple of turtles, see some fish, check out a Pongo twin, get passed over to touch a guinea pig (later got to feel the guinea all by herself!) and then play with a ferret. Petco does a great job tailoring the program to the age group so this was about a half hour of hands-on entertainment. I think we are going to try this with our mom's group!

We came home to a potty training S and Daddy, both ready for some lunch. I got S's birthday booked while Daddy handled lunch duty. Then it was naptime for the curmudgeons while Mommy spent time cleaning - yep, cleaning! I am trying to get better about the daily cleaning... trying for 1-2 rooms a day. Also another New Year's resolution is to spend more time physically playing with the kids. So L & I spent about an hour doing playdoh while S napped. She enjoyed it and you know what? So did I!

A Usual Monday

Today was such a nice day. Nothing special, just the ordinary stuff that makes up life. L and I ran errands while Daddy and S stayed home for more potty training. We made a quick stop first to get Mom's makeup. L has so much fun looking at all the girly stuff and sniffing the perfumes, so we spent a few minutes doing that and then off to WM to get groceries. I get so frustrated wanting "mommy" time that I forget how much fun I have when I get some alone time with one child. We had fun getting groceries for the week and the stuff to start my " The Home Management Binder: The Housewife's Best Friend ".

As I sit here right now with dinner cooking on the stove, I hear Daddy playing soccer with L & S. I wish I could bottle these moments to save for the future. Such pleasure I derive from listening to those giggles outside!

Then tonight during shower time, I open the curtain to start the washing process only to find both kids already washing their own hair!!

Ta-Ta For Now!!

January Update!

I had wanted to start this blog as a way to "journal" the fun and ordinary happenings in our life. I have been HORRIBLE at doing this, both online and in the kids' journals. So instead of going back and trying to recapture things from the last few months, I will try to post here daily from this point on. (Side note: Here is one pic from Disneyland!).



Saturday, Jan. 25th L had a soccer game and scored her 1st goal!!!! She started soccer through Arizona Soccer Club on 1/12/08 and has been enjoying it but this game last Saturday was so much fun to watch. The kids were jumping right in there and just having a ball (pun intended!). After the game, we stopped at the little tot lot so the kids could play. A few minutes of playing and both kids needed to #2 so off we went. After a quick stop at home, HD here we come! We got the paint to repaint the house and other goodies, lunch @ Q's, Tarjay stop for pictures and home for naps. It was the perfect day!!



Sunday - a rainy day - WOO HOO!! Laundry, housework, puzzles and boardgames was the solution to this indoor day. Also it was a perfect day to work on S's potty training skills. Such fun in the Piper household.

More Tomorrow!!