August goes out with a bang!

Today was an uneventful yet nice day around Piper Paradise. I got to sleep in a bit (although waking up and walking out to the living room and being immediately accosted by 2 kids who wanted breakfast and hot chocolate NOW didn't start the day out all the best). I made yummy pancakes and hot cocoa and finished the dishes while the fam ate. Daddy Piper headed out to do truck stuff while the kids and I went to get groceries. L has become quite the helper lately. Very nice to have the extra help. I do have to learn to be more patient though and let her have the time necessary to help, to not be in such a rush most of the time. I have been having more and more contractions lately and am burying my head in the sand about the baby coming early. I am not at all prepared. Anyway, we got groceries and grabbed a paper and some lunch. We came home and enjoyed a nice lunch together and Daddy Piper spent some time playing GeoTrax with the kiddos. I had bought some more track while out yesterday and that has really made it more fun since there is more room for 3 trains to run around. After the train fun came nap time. Thank goodness both kids still settle down and take naps - that is going to be real important here soon :- )

We went out swimming after nap time. Both kids are doing great in the water still. Daddy Piper pulled out this caterpillar thing we have and tried to load both kids on it and they lost their balance and fell within seconds of sitting on it. L enjoyed falling into the water - S, not so much! Here are some pics:I came in and cooked dinner while Daddy Piper had some alone time with the kiddos. We followed up dinner with ice cream sandwiches - a first for my babies. How very deprived they are :-)

I have spent the week getting things ready since the hospital visit about 10 days ago. I think I am more prepared - extra supplies, extra meals froze and my bag packed just to name a few. I am so excited to greet this new baby. I am, however, getting so nervous about the c-section again. Another thing I am struggling with is having my tubes tied. The dr is recommending it due to medical concerns of having more but I am just not sure. I have loved being pregnant each and every time, even with all the problems. This has been my easiest pregnancy so far. I have had very little symptoms and have just enjoyed the entire time. I am not rushing for this pregnancy to be over. I will certainly miss being pregnant!

Homeschool Group

I attended a planning meeting for a local homeschool co-op today. This got me totally jazzed for homeschooling. There were tons of experienced homeschool families along with some newbies like me. There were even 3 other moms that are just starting out with their 4 year olds! I can't wait to get to know these other moms better and have L and S get to know their kids!!

Great quote

I saw this over here.

"Everything will work out and be okay in the end; and if it's not okay, it's not the end."
Eva Conde

1st Time to the Dentist!!

Daddy Piper has been hounding me to take the kids to the dentist. I have never had a pleasant dental experience and really didn't want to take the kids. I mean I REALLY didn't want to take them. We got an advertisement flier in the mail the other day and it was for a kids dentist, so I made the appointment to take them. It didn't turn out to be a half bad experience. The office was decorated to the hilt in a race car theme so the kids liked that right away. L did wonderfully and had a great time. She even let them do the x-rays without a problem. Now S - 180 degrees from his sister. He was crying and didn't want them to do anything. He did get a cleaning and a general checkup. His crying lasted about 5 minutes and then he was fine - could be the prize that helped him feel better. Both kids got an A OK from the dentist. Mom got a reminder to brush them twice a day. Not such a bad first experience!!

Nice Day

Today was a very nice day and the evening was even better!! We had an awesome dinner that everyone ate, the kids enjoyed a bath in our bathtub - the big one and then it was time to get ready for bed. At this point, I usually "sneak" away to play on the computer (browse blogs, email, IM w/friends, etc.) but tonight I participated with Daddy Piper and the kiddos during their Guitar Hero time. It was so much fun!!

I had a lucrative job opportunity come about this afternoon. It is right here in town (I used to have to travel for work). I talked a bit with Daddy Piper and after some careful thinking, it just isn't the best time. Maybe in a year or two but I just don't want to leave my babies right now, especially Baby #3. I am excited to experience that first year full of development, wonder and growth with this baby - just as I have the other 2. I IM'd with a good friend tonight and her advice was similar to what my heart had been saying all along. The money would be great but the timing is wrong. I expressed interest in future projects, just not this one at this time. It was nice to be wanted though. This particular gentleman went through some hoops to track me down :- )

p.s. Both kids went to the dentist today for the first time. I have some stuff to write about that but now it's bedtime so more tomorrow!!

Backyard View & Other Stuff

This is what I saw from my kitchen window while cooking dinner tonight...I also went to the new hospital and took a tour of the OB department. Since they didn't allow little ones on the tour, Daddy Piper stayed home with them while I went alone. I hate going alone to this stuff but we didn't have much choice since the tour wasn't until 7 at night. It was nice to see the area where we'll be delivering #3. It is a very nice hospital. I really liked our old one but the dr isn't delivering there anymore so we had to switch to the new one. I know it's more important that I like my dr but boy I loved that hospital where my first 2 were born.

When I got home, Daddy Piper was outside with both kids looking for the dogs. They both escaped, which was a first. Kazoo never leaves the yard but for some reason decided to follow Jay-Jay.

The nice part of the evening was I had brought DQ home for us and we sat on the couch and ate some yummy ice cream while chatting about the events of the evening. It was a nice way to end the night!!

Nice Day

Our morning started early with returning the rented tractor Daddy Piper used all weekend (and when I say all weekend, I mean ALL weekend!!) then we had to go get the dogs some food since they were completely out. We got the stuff the neighbors use (think this will keep Jay-Jay home??). Then the we had some friends over to play, the K family. It was fun. A bit chaotic but fun. The kids have fun together. Can't wait to throw #5 into the mix :- ) I bought some Cars Cars pasta over the weekend and made homemade mac-n-cheese with it for lunch. I have never made homemade mac-n-cheese before and it was surprisingly good! Now I need to figure out what to made for dinner. While I type this both kids are devouring their food while watching their allotted TV time. They didn't watch it this morning due to the busyness but made sure they fit into their lunch time :-)

L made the funniest yet saddest comment this morning. She was playing with their train set and they were dropping someone at the airport and I said "Oh that sounds like fun" and she replied with "It's not fun Mom, when you have to drop your daddy off at the airport - it's sad". Okay - guess Daddy Piper being gone a few weeks ago was really traumatic for her.

Car seat and hormones

With all the baby excitement over the past week, I thought I had better get the newborn car seat out of the garage and cleaned up. Daddy Piper brought it in for me tonight and I totally melted down when I saw it. I haven't really taken this whole baby #3 seriously yet or rather it hasn't seemed like reality yet until I saw that car seat. I was crying and a million thoughts were running through my head - all pretty positive ones. I am getting down right excited about this baby!!!

Friday Faves - My Top Ten

I read this blog and she had a neat idea so here are my Friday Faves - My Top Ten. Head over and read her's!!

1. Fave Shoes- My flipflops (easy to put on @ 31 weeks pregnant)
2. Fave Room in my House- My laundry room, since I have my new washer
3. Fave Soda- Starbucks Caramel Machiatto
4. Fave Treat- Brownies
5. Fave Pastime- Blogging, reading, playing with my kids
6. Fave Household Chore- NONE
7. Fave Car- Chrysler Town & Country (gotta love my new van!!)
8. Fave TV Show- Desperate Housewives, Jon & Kate plus 8, Any wedding show, any baby show, Weeds, Californication
9. Fave Store- Target
10. Fave Time of Day- Naptime

Oh yea and about Tuesday

I forgot to come back and write about the excitement on Tuesday. I had to visit the hospital to check on baby. I woke up with more bleeding and called the dr. While L was in dance class, they called back and instructed me to head right to L&D immediately. Well I let L finish her class and called a friend to watch the kids (thanks Erica!) and dropped them off. Now first off this was upsetting in itself. I never leave my kids. They did great though and it was nice to know they were in good hands. Daddy Piper was working quite a ways away and anyway, any time off for him is loss in wages so we handled it pretty well without him. So I headed to the hospital for a 4 hour stay. I had blood work, an exam and an u/s. Things looked fine and they couldn't find the source where the bleeding was coming from. I guess I am having more contractions than I was aware of, so they watched those too. Baby looked great on the u/s. 3 pounds 3 ounces - right on schedule according to my weekly pregnancy newsletter thing. Still don't know what it is but man is he/she cute : -) I got to see it sucking on its toes. It is pretty well folded in half in my belly right now. They let me go about 4:30 with instructions to take it easy and they would probably see me back sooner than mid Oct. I picked up my babies and while they were super happy to see me, they were just fine without me for the afternoon.

Thank God for good friends, health insurance and a hubby who has really stepped up to help since Tuesday!!!

Tired...

I am 31 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow and sooooo tired. UGH - this week has been so long and now Daddy Piper has a full day of yard work ahead of him tomorrow, so much for sleeping in. I just don't remember being this tired at the end of my other 2 pregnancies. I realize I am now chasing 2 little ones instead of just 1 or none but still this bone aching tiredness is crazy!!

We had a nice day. We over and spent the morning with the K family. We have known them for about 2 years now. We became friends when the younger 2 were just weeks old. It has been so much fun to watch them grow together. The older 2 girls are about the same age so it's built in playmates for everyone!!

Now it's off to finish the laundry (I LOVE my new machine!!) and then settle down for the night. I have been trying to get things caught up and stay that way since this little one just might be making his/her appearance early.

Another cute story

S was so tired after 3 hours at the waterpark this morning, he literally fell asleep while "reading" his Little People book at naptime.
p.s. I LOVE that my kids are such avid "readers" even at this age. One of their most favorite activities is to read or be read to!!

Back to the Waterpark

We went back to the waterpark today with a group of friends this time. It was as much as always - maybe even a bit more because of all the friends we had to hang out with today : -) S is now going under full-on!! He will try to swim to you even. He got a couple mouthfuls of water but then he figured it out. Of course he had to be wearing goggles, just like his big sis.

Here are some pictures:

Hospital

I have a rather legnthy post about going to the hospital today but can't get my arms around it right now. Baby is okay - just upsetting. More later