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

Family Sunday

We were able to spend a lot of time together this weekend. This hasn't happened for the last couple of weekends due to all the truck work Daddy has needed to do. We were able to do just that this weekend though!

L just brought me a rose fresh from our garden and said "I love You Mommy" while giving me the greatest hug ever - life is great!

Jack's first outdoor swing ride.
Daddy, L & S hunting for ladybugsS found a ladybug!J sitting in grass for the first timeL looking closely at a ladybug on my pants.

Crabby

I was sooooo crabby this morning for some silly reason. I look back on this morning on such a waste of energy.

Look at this face - what was I thinking being crabby?!?

J had a horrible night. I got up at 4:30 to make Daddy's lunch for the day. Then I was set to hit the hay for another hour or two and S woke up crying. So that set the wheels in motion for L to wake up too. I made them stay in their beds until 7 though. I took advantage of the time awake to practice my decorating skills from last night. So at 6 this morning, I was decorating cupcakes and cakes :- )

We spent some time painting rocks per L's suggestion. This was fun!!After the morning was a wash, we took off to get a couple of things from Target and then visit Chik-Fil-A with a good friend and her 2 boys. This turned into a refreshing time. The kids had fun playing and I had some nice conversation as well!


L was reading J a book before I took off for the cake class last night. She is an amazing big sister to both S and J.
Tonight I had wanted to have a relaxing (read:ALONE) bath time and that was interrupted and I decided to relax and enjoy the time with S while he drove his cars along the bath. He is such a fun, thoughtful little boy. Today he made it through his nap without wearing a pull-up and woke up dry!!!

So the day ended in a much more happier mommy than it started out with : -)

p.s. In the bath tonight, we were talking about Grandma Piper having surgey next week. She is having her kidney removed due to a tumor. Here's the conversation:

Mom: "Grandma Piper is having surgery next week to remove her kidney"
L: "Why?"
M: "Because it doesn't work"
L: "What are they going to with it?"
Mom: "They are going to put it in the trash."
S: "Then the trash truck will take it away?
M: "Yep"
L: "Maybe they could recycle it?
M: "Uh-no, I don't think so!"

Recyling and reusing is a daily lesson around here. Guess it's sinking in!!

5 month old Baby J

I wanted to note some fun things Baby J is doing these days:

• He is laughing out loud while being tickled and just in general. He loves to be talked to and played with. He is especially in love with his big sis.
• He can stand for awhile, assisted of course. He can hold his weight for long time. I really don't want him walking too soon!
• He is enjoying apples on a regular basis. He has had bananas and avocados but really loves apples. We'll introduce a new food tomorrow.
• He can roll back to front and front to back.
• He loves his toes!
• He found his hands and loves to chew on them and reach for things.

Another Night Out

Tonight I went to a cupcake decorating class. It was a mini cake decorating experience, which I won't be doing for awhile, according to Daddy Piper : -) I guess Baby J didn't do so well tonight without his Mama. He went through all 4 ounces of milk and 2 TBSP of apples in the 3 hours I was gone. I suspect 2 nights in 3 days of going out with Baby J in tow was a bit more than Daddy or Baby J could handle. But the class was fun! I didn't get to practice much since I rushed right home to get back to the baby. I will try to get some practicing in tomorrow.

L's Apron

I made L an apron tonight. It took about an hour. I even made it without a pattern - woohoo! She was so excited to have her own apron made with love by her mama : -)

Nature Hike

I have had the most awesome week with my kids. I have tried to truly appreciate the SAHM gig this week. Monday was a storytime adventure at the library (sorry J for leaving with your keys!!). Tuesday was dance class and lunch picnic outside here at home. The neighbors dropped by for a bit with fresh kumquats and conversation. Tues night was a Bounce birthday party for a little boy in our homeschool group. I left J at home with Daddy and I took L & S by myself. It was so wonderful having that quality time. And Daddy had his first time alone with Baby J. Everyone did great. Baby J refused to look me in the eye when I got home. I remember L doing that when I left her alone once too : -)

We went on a nature hike with our homeschool group today. It was so much fun! And I loooove my jogging stroller. Having the stroller really helped me to stay involved with L & S and keep J nearby without having to wear him the whole time. He enjoys hanging out in his Moby but seems to like being "on his own" in the stroller sometimes too. Best of both worlds!! L and S picked some flowers along the way. I enjoyed watching L interact with the other kids today too - she was much more relaxed today. S still hangs back some but really enjoys his "journey". S was a wonderful Big Brother to J today. He was trying to comfort J on the ride back to the van. J was having nothing to do with it but S just kept on trying!

L enjoyed all the wildflowers today.

Picking flowers - look at those eyelashes!!

S trying to console J.

Today was just a nice day. Exactly what I always thought staying home with my kids would be like. Other like-minded women with similar interests and ditto with their kids. Wonderful time!!!

Cutest Apron

I am doing another apron swap. The host to this swap is Sassy Apron Swap. She is a wonderful hostess!! Right now she is giving away an apron from a sponsor to the swap. Here you can go see the website. It is by J.Carrell Originals and I am dying to get an apron from her. My hubby was just looking over my shoulder and actually approved a purchase of another apron - that is a miracle : -)

Go check out the aprons ASAP!!

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!

Fire Station Trip gone Bad

We started the day with such hope and it went well until.... S puked at the local fire house : -(

We had a tour scheduled at our neighbor's fire house today with our homeschool group. We got there late (my MO lately - getting out of the house on time with 3 takes a ton of work!!). S was determined to bring in his Lighting McQueen car, I told him no, he won. He was glued next to me while L took off to play with her friends and Baby J hung out on my chest in his Moby. I didn't even think about S being sick, just thought he was acting shy like he does sometimes. We rang the bell to the fire house, they opened the door, we entered all pumped about the impending excitement... not 10 feet into the building, S puked all over the floor and not once but TWICE! I was so worried and a bit embarrassed as well. Not overly like I would have been even a year ago but still somewhat embarrassed. I already feel like I don't have a real handle on things sometimes, being the only one with 3 in our group. Poor S was mortified and upset because I was scooping him up to leave. The firefighters were awesome cleaning up our mess. I left L there with our good friend J from the K family we hang out with all the time. She was fine without me. I left her booster outside by J's car and S, Baby J and I headed home. I was bummed for S since he didn't get to see the fire trucks but we'll have to reschedule the tour for another time. L came home about 2 hours later, after a trip to MickyD's to get some ice cream (thanks again J for taking such good care of L - she had a blast with you!!). I asked L at nap if she missed me and she said "NO" very quickly. She must have been able to read the hurt on my face because she quickly responded with "I did miss you some Mama but I really had fun with my friends!". S feels fine now - hopefully no more puke!!

We are planting a garden in the front part of our property. I ran to the store tonight and got some seeds to start planting. We are going to start next weekend getting the garden area ready. With the economy in the tanks, I have been super concerned lately about the idea of not being to feed our kids or of us going hungry. I have slowly started stockpiling stuff. I like the idea of growing some of our own food, for the food and for the peace of mind that comes with having that knowledge, the know-how to provide for my family. I feel logically that the ability to feed my family, the money to buy food will always be there but still, the little voice in the back of my mind, that gut feeling tells me to do this. The kids are sure excited about the garden. Hopefully they'll be willing to help me weed it too : -)

We got a jogging stroller this weekend. Our other neighbor had one he found at a yard sale and $20 later, we have a jogger. It has been super nice on our dirt roads. It's a double jogger so one spot belongs to Baby J and L & S have to share the other spot, although today I stuck Baby J in the Moby and the older 2 both got to ride. What a work out for Mama - pushing 70 pounds of kids and carrying another 18 pounds. I sure hope that will help melt away this last 10 pounds!!!!

Happy 8th Anniversary to my Love

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe that we are celebrating #8 already. Time has flown by oh so quickly. I love him more today than I did 8 years ago and I never thought that was possible. Being his wife and a mother to our children is a dream come true for me. Thanks Daddy Piper for 8 wonderful years - I am looking forward to the next 8 (and the 8 after that and the 8 after that and the 8 after that.....)

L's Words

Kids say the funniest things.

Today at soccer it was blasted hot outside, L was running her little heart out, playing with all those boys (don't girls play soccer anymore?!) and she ran to me during the water break and said "It's so hot, you can crack an egg on my back!!" - what she meant was "It's so hot you can COOK an egg on my back". I was cracking up laughing so hard. It's the cutest thing when they get the phrase wrong and to hear it in their little voices. I wished that I had my video camera to capture the moment. Blogging about it will have to suffice!

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 : -)