Zoo Fun!

It was a cloudy, dreary day here so we headed to the zoo. Makes sense huh?!? We had the most wonderful time, just the 3 of us. We only have a single stroller now and it worked out better than I thought. L & S took turns riding and no one fought to ride but rather fought to walk! We rode the carousal right away when we got there. Next up was a walk to find where S's birthday party will be held. We found that after some detours to check out other cool things along the way. They really enjoyed the Wallaby Walkabout which included a spiderweb to crawl on, a cactus to slide down and even a wallaby to pretend play with. We eventually found the area where S's party will be. I was happy with it. Looks like a fun place to celebrate his birthday. We had lunch, which everyone ate well!! Then we thought about taking a ride on the paddle boats but after finding out that someone would have to sit alone, we decided to save that for a day when Daddy could join us. We had such a nice day with no sibling fighting and just tons of fun for everyone! Being home with my kids to enjoy days like this is truly a gift. I am such a lucky wife and mom!!!!

p.s. Isn't my new camera just the best!

p.p.s Last night L had a bad dream and wanted her mama, so I got to sit and hold her like a baby on the couch for about 30 minutes. I bet that hasn't happened in a year or more. I LOVED it!!

Nothing New

I haven't much new to write about here. I had a bad experience this morning but things seem to be looking up. Like one wise person said to me today "Hey - we read this book before and it came out okay!". Kids are great. Still loving the new puppy. Daddy Piper has work tomorrow and we have plans to go to the zoo with a friend of ours. We painted more trim this week (about 1/2 way done!).

Hopefully something new and insightful will come to me for a great post tomorrow!

p.s. One thing to be grateful for - S is eating much better. Maybe his clothes will start fitting again soon!!!

Tons of Fun

We had a fun day!! Daddy Piper had work (wahoo!). L went to school for the morning. S & I played at home together. L had soccer practice this evening so S and I took her. S has become OBSESSED with keys lately so he wants them the minute the van is shut off. He played with them the whole time at the park without ever setting them down. I watched him with my eagle eye because I just knew that he was going to lose them and then how would we get home. But he didn't, so all was well!

It was just a nice overall day in Piper Paradise!

Bubble Fun in the Arizona Sun

We had some great weather here today so this morning at Tarjay we got a bubble machine. After lunch, we headed outside to enjoy the weather and this fun new toy! Both kids and new pup Jay-Jay LOVED it!! I was able to try out my new camera in the wonderful daylight. Here are some shots from this fun playtime!

My New Camera

My new camera arrived today!!! I was so excited to get this new camera. It is a Canon Digital Rebel Xti. The coolest thing is we can use the lens I bought Daddy Piper for Christmas about 10 years ago with this camera. So far so good. I was able to take a few pictures of the kids playing indoors but no outdoor shots because it was too rainy to be out playing today. Look for some new pics soon!!

More Good News!

So I found out today that my other best friend in the WHOLE world is PREGNANT!!!! She has 3 girls: a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 9 month old. This was an unexpected surprise but very happy one indeed!!

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!!