Giggles

Baby J giggled out loud tonight when Daddy Piper took a Q-tip to his belly button to clean out the lint and fuzz that has gathered there lately. The giggle was so wonderful to hear - such music to this mama's ears!!

Soccer Saturday

Today was a fun soccer game. Especially after the disastrous practice the other night, I was happy today went well! I took L and Baby J alone because Daddy had to take S to get haircuts (we are doing family/group pics with our homeschool co-op tomorrow!). A moment I don't want to forget: Helping coach L at the goalie box while holding Baby J. It was so surreal to be holding my baby and coaching L at the same time. I just had this snapshot of time in my mind. This is what I was born to do. Being a mom is the best job in the whole wide world!!!!

Fishing!!!!

Took the kids fishing today. Not catching but fishing : -) It was fun!!!! I forgot to add one little memory:

Daddy Piper was looking at something floating around the lake. At first he thought it was a feather then no it must be a fish then no he thought it was a sea horse! It was a feather after all : -)

Baby J and the Bumbo

This third baby of ours is growing by leaps and bounds. He is now enjoying hanging out in his Bumbo, watching me cook or sitting at the table while we eat. It's crazy to think he'll be eating with us soon! He even fell asleep in it tonight :- )

Chunka Monka

Baby J is getting so chunky and I LOVE it! He is now enjoying his exersaucer too : -)

Who Put The Lime in The Coconut?!?

We got a coconut in our fruit and veggie basket yesterday. We have never tried fresh coconut before so we investigated on the Internet how to open it (thanks to this site!). We got the coconut open and milk draining while we ate dinner. After dinner, Daddy Piper and the kids headed out to crack it open. We all tried the milk - no one liked it and then we all tried the meat from inside the coconut - again no one liked it. I think the meat tasted like a Brazilian nut, sorta. It was fun to experiment with a new fruit together. We agreed that it's thankful that we will probably never be stuck on a deserted island and dependent on coconuts to survive : -)

Best Things in Life

I just got my baby boy down for the night after some much needed cuddle time. Nothing better than holding a snuggly baby. Then my girl needed to go potty. She got up all confused, almost sleep walkingish (not a word - I know!) and I guided her to the bathroom. Nothing better than holding her and carrying her down the hall to tuck her back in. I don't get many chances to carry her anymore. Then my boy, S, needed his back scratched and wanted the bathroom light turned on (which he asked for in that cute little whiny voice he uses). Nothing better than being there for him when he has such a want. I am such a lucky mommy tonight. All 3 snugged down for the night. Life doesn't get any better than this!

Thank you God for my children you have blessed me with. Thank you for their father, my husband - a wonderful provider and loving man. Thank you for your ability to put up with me when I get "down and out" at times. And thank you for being loving, even when I am not.

Big Boy S

S has learned to undress himself! This was no small feat for him. He has been my baby for so long that he just wasn't even interested in it. He can now take off his shirt and pants all by himself!!!

Visit to the Farm

A local farm had a homeschool day today so we joined in the fun. It included a hayride and a trip to their "milk bar". It was tons of fun for the kids. They got to feed a horse, the goats and hold a rooster. As I write this S is sitting next to me saying "I Love You" over and over and over - how much better could life get than this! Now he just told me he loves me when I am in the kitchen : -) We brought along our lunch and enjoyed some time with our friends, the K family and the B family.




Baby J hung out the whole time, snugged up next to his mama. Taking 3 out to events like this is hard sometimes but I am getting better at it. Baby J is wearing a onesie here that S wore when he was 7 months old. Baby J is growing so big, so quick - too quick for me!! He is a very happy baby. Not as sleepy as he was but still a better sleeper than S was when he was little.

I am in a huge funk. Even a close friend noticed and has brought it up. I can't shake this depressing feeling for some reason. The economy and personal finances are a huge stresser for me right now, as for many other people. I just need to enjoy what we have and try to not project down the road too far. I just get so depressed and upset and it affects my attitude with my family. I wish I could just compartmentalize things and focus on the task at hand and enjoy my kids. I have lots of wishes and one of them is to hop off here and play with my boy that is begging to play cars with his mama right now!

Zoo

I ended up joining the family on the zoo outing, with L's blessing : -) It was fun! We met the K family there and cruised in areas that we don't normally visit. I forgot our stroller and we rented one there for the first time. The only stinky thing was that it wasn't set up for a baby so I had to hold Baby J in his Moby the whole time. Fortunately, I wrapped it different somehow and it was super comfortable for the 4+ hours he rode in it. The kids got to ride a camel, which they loved. I don't normally spend the money but Daddy Piper was there and feeling generous. They enjoyed that immensely. We were able to witness some true "wild" loving when the baboons started feeling frisky and got busy right in front of us - YUCK! Fortunately our 2 kids were too wrapped up in their snacks to ask questions but J's daughter, S caught on and the questions started FLYING!!! After that fun experience (not), it was off to see some other animals. We did get to see the wolf today. We had lunch and a carousal ride and it was home to take naps. The kids did wonderful, as usual. I am very blessed with 2 good listeners. And it was fun to have Daddy Piper along for a change.

Things Kids Say

We were planning an outing tomorrow since Daddy's work was canceled and we settled upon an trip to the Zoo. L said "Daddy can take us." I said "I want to come with too." She then informed me that I can stay home, feed Baby J and do the dishes - isn't she thoughtful! What a stinker she is : -)

Dance Recital

We got to see L's costume for her recital in June. Can you say OH SO CUTE!? It was adorable - pink & black with tons of sparkles. She's super excited about her recital now!

Baby J roller over!!

Baby J rolled over from front to back for the first "official" time tonight. He has done it before but tonight was on purpose and he was most pleased with himself : -)

Super Saturday

Do you ever have a day that you want to remember forever? I had one of those today. It was great family time all day. Kids were on their best behavior, Daddy Piper was a pleasure to be around, I was in a good mood and we had great company from friends later at a birthday party. We had an overall great day together. It started off with L's soccer game. She did so good. I was very hesitant when I saw the coach put her as goalie for a period but to my surprise, she did wonderful blocking the ball. 2 players didn't show so all the kids had to play the entire game. She was gassed by the time the game was over. She did push down one player and was elbowed later by the same player. She was upset over the elbowing but stayed in the game - what a player!!! After the game it was time to play on the playground for a bit. We had intended to watch L's friend play soccer but she was having some health issues so we didn't get to. The playground was packed with other little ones and we still had a birthday party to attend. We headed home (after a quick detour to look for our missing dogs). Once we were home, I set about trying to get some breakfast cooked up since we took off so early for soccer. The kids quickly took off for the neighbor's house to play with their friends. Daddy Piper and I enjoyed some quiet time with breakfast burritos and time alone with Baby J. Our friend's daughter was better so the party was on. I ran over and got the kids, we came home and got Baby J and Daddy and headed off.

The party was fun! It was a bugs and snake party. The kids got to see a snake eat a mouse (GROSS!) and make bug catchers and cute name tags. After they wore cute safari type hats and searched out bugs with binoculars, the party leader tried to have the kids dance like animals, like butterflies and lady bugs but they weren't up for that so we headed back inside to plant watermelon seeds. During all of this Baby J had an explosive diaper so Daddy took him out to change him. Well he went through to his clothes. Unfortunately, I hadn't updated my diaper bag and the only thing that fit him was a onesie. The poor guy was a bit chilly but after settling down in the Moby, he warmed up. The rest of the party went off without a hitch. It was fun to see all the kids playing together. Most of these kids we have known since they were little babies. They only downside to the party and other things lately, is my having 3 kids. I get a ton of negative comments about it for some reason. It just little comments like why have 3, I look so tired, don't I miss how easy it was. Gosh if Daddy Piper would agree, I would be pregnant with #4 already : -)

This afternoon we all napped and got up without me laying out anything for dinner. We did need to get L some soccer cleats so we headed out to dinner and to the sporting goods store to get her cleats. Dinner was yummy. The cleats were almost a disaster. S was upset because he wasn't getting any. They didn't have any to fit him and besides, he doesn't start soccer for 2 more months!

The only downside to the day was a phone call canceling Daddy Piper's work for Monday. It sounds like there might not be work for the whole week and beyond. I sure hope not. I worry so much about the financial situation in our home as well as the economy in general. I did get directed to a blog today and one thing I kept reading was the statement about God will provide. It was almost like a God thing that directed to me to that site to begin with - super weird. I do have to have faith though that all will be okay - just have faith, while continuing to do with footwork.

All in all, a nice family day filled with quantity and quality time. I think one of the things I enjoyed most about the day was hearing Daddy Piper be so encouraging to L during soccer. There is just something about praise from the father to really impact the lives of our children.