Aging and still having fun!

A friend of mine is turning 30 today (Happy Birthday Michele!) and she is having a hard time with it. Having turned 30 a bunch of years ago I don't think that it is a big deal but I got to thinking about it and remembered how tough it was for me. When I was in my early 20's I thought that I would be settled down and have kiddies running all over the place (at least) by the time I turned 30 (b/c that was SO OLD). Well, my path didn't quite follow what I thought it would and I didn't even meet my wonderful husband until I was 28 and it took him FOREVER to ask me to marry him so I was single and without children on my 30th birthday. The topper was I was in a place I didn't really know many people and my husband was out of town so I was alone. A girl ended up taking me to a local pizza/brewery and I had a decent time but iat the time it felt like a bad birthday. Now since turning that magical number I don't think that I have ever been so content. I am comfortable with myself and now I am glad that life turned out the way that it did b/c I am able to stay home with my kids (even though it can be tight) and I think that I am more patient now than I used to be which makes me a better mama. So Michele, if you are reading this I think that at first it is hard to swallow (hello you are not in your 20's anymore) but life just gets better from here.

The girls and I met a few mamas and their kiddos at the park yesterday, parks are always so much fun. It was overcast so a little cooler than what has been the norm here of around 95-100 everyday! I was still sweating with my hot babe sleeping contently in my PANEL KOZY while chasing my 2 year old all over the place but it wasn't running down my back so all was good. Piper wanted to swing, wait no she wanted to run and jump, hold on did you see that spring rider? She is so carefree and happy at the park, I wish that this one was closer because it is fabulous for the younger children as well as older ones. Unfortunately I didn't really get a chance to hang with the other ladies because my daughter was go go go but hey we got a wonderful afternoon nap out of the deal :) A huge group from the Christian school came over to play and almost trampled our kids so that was our cue to leave. We weren't the only ones though because I noticed all the other mamas at the park packing up their kids b/c the older children were really running over them. Too bad that the teachers weren't watching that a little better. Anyway check out the fun and have a wonderful Friday!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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And she's off

Crazy little girlie that she is Violet has been working on crawling (or walking) for some time now. I didn't catch very good video shots of her attempts but they're not bad, you get the idea anyway. If you sit though it bless you but it is only just a hair over 2 minutes so not too long. It has actually taken me most of the night to do this so I am posting this and then heading to bed - will blog tomorrow about today and tomorrow :) Good Night!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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So, are you ready for some contests???

Football season is upon us and that Hank Williams Jr. song will be playing like crazy now. Lucky me I am not married to a football junkie, lucky you I found some fun contests for you to go out and enter so you don't have to watch football! Or, you can watch the games and not enter giving me an even better chance of grabbing all of this great stuff!

Eliza Grace Designs
Want a beautiful new diaper bag or knitting bag for fall? Check out Eliza Grace Designs before heading out and buying some mass marketed bag. They are gorgeous, I would love one myself and actually have a chance of winning one. Musings of a Housewife is having a contest and giving one of these beauties away, hopefully to ME ME ME!! Get on over there to enter for your chance to win. Contest ends on Friday so hurry!

7 Loaves Purse
My online friend Darcy had this contest on her blog and this bag is no less than PHENOMENAL! It is a work of art to use everyday, how fun would that be? I love things that aren't run of the mill and the 7 loaves purse is definately different. Confessions of a Housewife is hosting this contest and it is one I want to WIN! To enter stop by Confessions of a Housewife before August 31.

Hooter Hider
I was lucky enough to have another mama sell me her bebe au lait or Hooter Hider after having Violet. It works so well and the fabrics are so pretty. I have a very good friend who I would love to give the Kimono print Hooter Hider to when she has her babe in November - pick me pick me for this contest! This contest is hosted by MomViews and ends on September 2.

Win a HP Photosmart A626 Compact Photo Printer
So HP has a new Photosmart printer and it couldn't have come at a better time b/c my (to remain nameless) photo printer is dying very slowly. Well, the mamas over at 5 Minutes for Mom are having a contest to give one lucky mama one of the all new HP Photosmart A626 Compact Photo Printer. To get in on the action stop by 5 Minutes for Mom before September 10.


Who doesn't love an apron
When I was growing up I used to watch my Great Grandmother cook her wonderful Italian recipes and she would tie on her full sized apron before heading into the kitchen. She finally gave me my very own and it is a habit that I have to this day. I love aprons - you know the old fashioned looking ones? I actually have one right now that has 2 different patterns of skulls on but it is still very fun! If you are a collector or if you would just like to win this one Multi-Tasking Moms is having a contest you will surely want to enter. Winner will be announced on September 3!

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Wordless Wednesday - Sisters

Here is a photo of my sister and I, I was Piper's age here and Jenny was 18 months older. The second is a picture of our girls who are just shy of 18 months apart. Family has been on my mind a lot lately so that is why I chose these as my Wordless Wednesday photos, and I just got a bunch of my old photos scanned in :)

For more Wordless Wednesday fun check out 5 Minutes for Mom and join in!

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They do watch don't they

Matt is a little under the weather today and slept in a bit before he left for work. In the morning I have my morning coffee while Piper watches The Wiggles and then Higgly Town then we try to start our day. We have been waving goodbye to Daddy every morning since she was an infant, of course it was me back then doing the waving. This morning I picked up Violet to wave goodbye too and Piper picked up her baby doll and sat in the window waving her baby's hand the same way that I was waving Violet's, it was so sweet! The other day I just about cried when I saw my daughter pick up her ring sling, put her baby in it (I have to help a little with this) and then pat the baby's bum while kissing it's forehead. I guess it is what I do with Violet and she has been watching closely. Now I also have a story about my oldest in the back seat saying "D*** it!" which I am having to work on and hope that it doesn't stick in her brain the same way. It is so cool to me that my child has picked up babywearing though, I made her the ring sling and some day will make her a mei tai but she can't tie the ties yet and it would just be a mess taking it off and on right now. One thing that we don't have though is a pouch sling but The Crunchy Domestic Goddess is giving a reversible one away so maybe we will have one in the near future if we win! Here is my little baby wearing mama to be...

Oh, another thing that she has picked up is putting a diaper on her baby. None of her diapers fit that little baby so I found a free pattern to make her some out of some scrap material that I have laying around. The other night she took some of my cloth wipes and a (too big) diaper and cleaned her doll up and then diapered her. Crazy stuff because I keep thinking "She just turned 2!" Children amaze me constantly - I just love being a mom!

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Sunday at the (petting) Zoo

I have been wanting to get back over to Patterson Farm to get some more jelly and honey so today the Zoo took a little ride out there. Earlier in the morning Matt and I took the girls to our home improvement store to get some things for their playroom and by the time we got them home they were both worn out. After unsuccessfully trying to put them both down for a little nap we decided to just leave and take our chances. Matt and I were on each other's nerves already so 2 unhappy babes didn't help. Poor Megan! Little did we know that Patterson Farm was having a Wild West Day or something like that but ok we were there so we thought what the heck. It is still 185 thousand degrees here and they don't have much in the way of shade out there. Poor Piper was so hot and I had Violet in the mai tei that I made on my back sleeping but they were such troopers for most of it. Patterson charged $3 a person ($12 for our group which I thought was ridiculous) for the "activities". We basically fed some goats, pigs, and a peacock, Piper got her face stamped with a cutie duck, and finally she got a chance to play on the big boat (slide) that they had there. After all was said and done she was tired out and if you take the time to watch all the pictures I have a great sequence of photos where she didn't want to leave the tractors and finally had her total meltdown. We have great kids and they are relatively easy going about things like this so we are very lucky that way. It was Piper's nap time when we left and once in the van both girls were out cold (btw, it was the best nap Violet has taken in at least a week!). The last picture is Piper eating on some of the corn we got from today - she loved it! Another good Sunday in my book!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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Photo Friday - Friendship

CHBM asked to see our friendship pics and here is a favorite of mine. This photo shows part of my large group of dear friends at the Halloween party we had where I used to work. I am so fortunate to know such a great group of ladies and have them in my life. I was pretty lonely the first few years living here because I didn't have anyone to really hang out with but they changed my life. Each one of them cares so much for our family and would do anything for us (as I for them). Another reason I chose this photo is because I *LOVE* Halloween and have already started mentally deciding what I need to make my home spooktacular - I can't wait! This picture is also one of the first that I have of being pregnant with Piper so it will always be special to me. Thanks for sharing my Photo Friday with me, head over to Crazy Hip Blog Mamas and see other pictures of friendship.

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Oh those darn teeth

My poor youngest daughter is having such a hard time with those 2 front teeth and as for me I am saying "Come in ALREADY!" I never really could tell when Piper was teething because she never really showed any of the signs besides maybe getting up more at night but Violet is a whole other story. She is waking up all night, has a fever, runny nose, and is more clingy than Saran Wrap. She is napping in our Didy right now because she won't even let me put her down in the bed - poor thing. I gave her a frozen bagel this morning to knaw on for awhile and that seemed to help her. I don't know, call me a freaky mama, but I won't give her those frozen teethers after there were some that were recalled when Piper was a baby. We got rid of the ones that we had back then and have never bought them again. When we got up I did however put some water in old nipples and they are in the freezer right now so hopefully they will be done soon. If you don't know about that what you do then is put them in a bottle and the babes can chew on the nipple which has ice in it. I learned that trick from my Super Baby Food Book. Today would be the day that we could really use a Teething Key Ring from Playskool. Maybe we will win that contest before she starts cutting any more.

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Hurry and enter...

before these great contests end!

Peekaboo Pouch
A great contest to win a sold-out Baby Dagny-exclusive multi stripe Peekaboo Pouch. If you would like to enter head over to Adventures in Babywearing and sign up! After you get in on this contest make sure to check out Baby Dagny where they are having a 75% off moving sale - that is right EVERYTHING is 75% off!! Crazy huh? Hurry, this one ends tonight - August 22!

HUGE CVS Playskool Giveaway
Andrea over at Fina' Drea is have an enormous contest giving away over $75.00 worth of Playskool products! If you have read my blog you know that I am not sleeping lately because my youngest is getting her 2 top teeth so we would love to have one of their Teething Key Rings to help her so that she can quit knawing on her poor hands. If you want to enter this contest get on over to Drea's Blog for details - you have until August 25.

$25 Gift Certificate to Polkadot Platypus
Mums the Wurd is giving away a $25 dollar gift certificate to The Polkadot Platypus. They have very cute things on that site - go check it out! Contest ends on August 26.

Bows for Babes
My daughter has decided she loves bows and loves lots of bows so when I saw this contest to win $50.00 worth of No Slippy Hair Clippys from Hairclippy.com I was all over it! The fabulous mamas over at MomViews are having yet another contest so head over there before August 26 to enter this one.

Olive Kids $25 Gift Certificate
Since we are a co-sleeping family we have decided to turn the girls bedroom into a playroom - so I get to decorate because right now it is just pretty plain. So, I found this great giveaway from Olive Kids and HAD to enter. Who couldn't use some of their cute things in our homes? I'm thinking tea party. This contest ends on August 27 so giddy up over there!

Last one ...
Are you a Glass Globe mama or maybe The Velvet Lounge is more your thing
Either way you could be a winner over at Moving Mama. Want to win a beautiful glass globe or a hot little Velvet Lounge tee to wear hanging in the park with your kiddies. Moving Mama is giving away her vacation souvenirs to if you haven't been lucky enough to get on a summer vacation (like me) you can live vicariously through her *wink*, both contests end on August 30.

Good luck to everyone!

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Wordless Wednesday - Camera Shy

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom

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Cool Monday

Yes, that is right - our home is cool! Matt went this morning and got the part on his way to work and the best part was it only cost $11. I can't even begin to imagine what the bill would have been if we would have called someone yesterday. It was rather noisy last night with box fans in windows circulating the somewhat cool air that was outside, makes me appreciate how good we have it.

I dug out our cd player today to try and download them to our computer - not an easy task as my husband hoards cd's and we have a 400 disc player, small by some standards but excessive to most. While moving the cd player I must have accidently tipped it because one of the discs was not in its place and the table wouldn't turn. I took all the discs out by hand and then realized something, without them in the correct numbered spots I can't use my handy index that I created when we got the player and now I have a ton of cd's that I have no clue what they are - UGH!! Could be worse though and I could have broke the thing. So anyway, job will be a little harder but it will make me even more proud when it is done.

Can you believe this is our baby?


Last but definitely not least I won, I won, I won! My husband read my blog the other day and asked me why I was pitching products (aka contests), he said that he liked my blog more like a diary so that someday the girls could read it and know what we did when they were tiny. Well, I *heart* contests and love telling people about products that they might not have ever known about had it not been for word of mouth. Who doesn't love to win a prize or two you know? Well, not only did I win but it is a prize for MY HUSBAND - yeah! We won the diaper vest from Dad Gear! Now my husband will be styling when taking our daughter out and it is all because I blogged about it - thanks MomViews for having such a fun contest and for picking us! Check out the cool new button on my sidebar - woohoo!

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Feeling hot hot hot

Why did I quote a Buster Poindexter song? Well if you read my blog yesterday I said that our air conditioning was out and hubby was trying to fix it at 10 pm last night and sadly we need a part that he couldn't just run out and get. This morning he ran to our local home improvement store and they didn't carry it either. When he got home he asked if I wanted him to call someone to come and fix it (how sweet to ask) and I said no b/c it is SUNDAY and the bill would be ENORMOUS! So we have been roughing it today and boy oh boy is it warm. Outside is pretty toasty too and humid so that is actually what is making it seem worse in the house. Most of the Zoo members moved outside today as it was probably 10 degrees cooler out there and once in awhile we felt a faint breeze. Here is everyone, Zoo dogs included, enjoying a Sunday afternoon.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So tonight I was sweating my butt off while putting the girls to sleep when all of a sudden a memory came to me that I hadn't thought of in so many years. Growing up with my Great-Grandparents in Wisconsin we didn't have much, like air conditioning. During the days in the summer my Grandma would close the house up tight. She would actually clothes pin her heavy blinds shut and we would play in a darkened living room so the sun wouldn't make it any hotter. At night she would open the windows in the bedroom and we would sleep with our heads at the footboard so that we might get a stray breeze coming through on our faces rather than our feet. Her ancient oscillating fan would hum in the background and we would listen to all of the activity happening on our street. It definitely brings me back to a really great time growing up, my Great-Grandparents were the best and I am sad that at the time I was so embarrassed of them because now I feel so fortunate and lucky that they chose to give up so much to raise me.

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Have you ever grabbed the dented can?

My husband told me once that if there is a dented can I will find it. He also says this about boxes and my luck. Somedays my luck just isn't there. I haven't been a bubbly person in a long time and I am really trying to find good but some times life makes it difficult for me. The girls and I picked up my friend Amber and headed to Southpark Mall, the mall where the other half shops. We got there and looked around for awhile, Amber is going away next weekend and wanted a special little dress to wear on her trip so we actually had somewhat of a mission while there. I was so psyched to see that SP added an Illuminations store which was a favorite of mine when I lived in CA. The house needed some more hand soap and it just so happened that when I went to Bath & Body Works they had them on sale. I found the perfect card for my husband, it was one of those that plays music - I needed to try and make him smile because I have been a pain in the ass lately to him. The Cheesecake Factory was too packed so we took the girls to Maggianos where I had a FABULOUS salad and Piper had wonderful chicken fingers with garlic mashed potatoes - YUMMY! Nothing could go wrong right? Well, this is me that we are talking about. Amber found the perfect dress, but they didn't have her size. The nice associate found 2 at other stores so we headed to one of them. After driving all that way we find out that they did not have the dress and on top of it all the sales lady was rude to my friend. I got home and found out that my air is broken, so I go and dig out our fan and plug that in broken too! Thinking that maybe there might be something wrong with the outlet I decided to try unplugging our nightlight and try the fan in that one - nope no go but then when I plugged the nightlight back in it was broken now too! I got out the card that I bought that played music to show to Megan and it was broken and didn't play - I tested it at the store! The last straw for me was when I realized that the chocolates that I got for my husband had melted into each other! What a day! The girls wouldn't go to sleep because our bedroom is a balmy 90 degrees so I let them get up and wore them out playing until 9:30 when I finally got them to go down. That was the beginning of all the good things that happened though. My neigbors are having a block party at their house with a band and even though that is part of the reason the girls wouldn't sleep I went outside in the cool (ish) air and listened to the band play with a glass of wine to relax a little. My husband came home safe and sound from a trip and I got him to dance with me for a song on the deck - no tequilla shot though. After showing him the broken fan he did something with it (plugged it in) and it miraculously came back to life. The chocolate is now hard again after spending some quality time in the refridgerator so I will be enjoying a piece of that in a minute while again listening to my own personal concert on my deck. He is working on the air and *pray pray pray* hopefully it will be working again before I go to sleep myself. Good night all...

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The Ailing Zoo Dogs

Today I took our black and white dog to the vet because she has been running around only using 3 legs for the past 3 days. The first day you aren't sure what happened but then you watch them the 2nd day and finally have to call the vet if it is still happening on the 3rd day, at least that is what we do at our house. So off I go with a gimp dog and the two girls - sound fun? Thankfully they got us right in to see the Dr., who we really love and you have to love your vet when you have as many animals as we do in the zoo. They weighed our little porker, 18lbs, and gave her the shots she needed. After all of that was out of the way they concentrated on her ailment - it has been diagnosed as a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Poor thing, I just thought she had a splinter that I couldn't see and here it is something pretty painful. We talked about what we can do for her and decided to hold off on any surgury until at least the end of September to see if just having her take it easy will help. She got some pain drugs and as I type is living the good life laying on the couch. This is actually our 2nd vet visit in the past 2 weeks because we had to take in our Chihuahua to get a gland popped (tmi I know). Matt decided to get the Maltese in for shots at the same time and the vet decided that she needed to run some blood work on her because she is losing some of her hair. Our little white dog has hyperthyroidism (or was it hypo??) and will most likely have to be on some medicine for the rest of her life - I tell you when it rains it poors over here. I think that we have paid the vets rent and all of his employees wages this month and we still have 1 dog to bring in there - ugh! Our dogs and cats were our practice kiddies and we love them so much. We will do whatever it takes to get them back to perfect health.

Why I love my husband - we are alike and he gets me :) Not everyone gets my humor, probably because I am not very funny, but my husband does. Today while I was talking with the vet assistant about Mabel she was telling me about some things that we could do for her, I said "Or we could just amputate it right?" - well, when I told Matt about what had happened at the appointment he said "Wouldn't it be easier just to cut if off?" Of course we were both kidding but the assistant's mouth dropped because she thought I was serious and my husband would have done the same thing as I did to her. See, not funny to anyone but us - love you honey!

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I am on a roll with contests lately...

We have a busy year coming up. I am always trying to find a better way of keeping track of appointments and playdates for the Zoo Members and hubby's schedule needs a calendar of its own to figure out when he will make it home for supper. How does a busy mom keep track of all the comings and goings of her family? The MomAgenda that is how. It is a day runner but what makes it special is that it is for a mom to keep track of her kids, her hubby, and herself (I would also have to add Zoo Dogs and Zoo Prowler to that list) all in the same planner. The awesome mamas over at Multi-Tasking Moms are having a contest and are giving one of the MomAgendas away to a lucky lady (or guy I guess) on August 19 so head over there and sign up - good luck!

I was over at Mums the Wurd and saw a fabulous little contest that they are having together with Supermomz. What mama of young kiddies doesn't love a tray dinner plate? Now, how about one that is totally cute too that any little girl or boy would love to have? That would be these adorable dinner sets by Baby Cie. I would love for Piper to get to eat on that sweet little girl set! Contest ends on September 22 - good luck!

My last contest to write about tonight is offered up by the mamas over at Pink & Blues. One Lucky Loop mama will win a Dooney & Bourke Circle Hobo Bag and a Victoria's Secret tote filled to the brim with products. It is super easy to enter this one, just head over to the Pink & Blues Girls Blog and sign up for their Lucky Loop to get your daily fix of trendy, ultra-hip and unforgettable gift, personal, travel, creative, seasonal, age-, gender- and species-specific ideas. This contest will end on August 27 - good luck.

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More contests to check out...

I have found a few that would interest me and thought that they might interest anyone (anyone there????) reading my blog :)

First, there is a contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom to win a Comfy Easy PC for your kiddie. How cute would it be to see your little 2 or 3 year old next to you playing learning from a toy! Head over there and leave a little comment (and a link in your blog maybe) by August 24 and then sit back and see if you and your tot is the lucky winner.

Second, Love Shak, Baby and Gymboree are giving away a $250 gift certificate to use at either the Gymboree store or Gymboree online. Stop by Love Shak, Baby and leave them a comment about what your child's favorite thing is about going back to school and then link back to their post using the "Back To School Giveaway With Gymboree" banner in a post on your blog or website. They will choose 2 lucky winners (I hope it is us) on August 17.

Last one for tonight because I am beat today (which is why I haven't really blogged). Skimbaco has a custom Tuuli Tunic, from Riiminki Design, to give to one lucky Mama. Leave a comment on the giveaway post mentioning your favorite Riiminka Design product and your link by August 19th.

Best of luck to whomever wins these fabulous contests and now good night.

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Dad Gear Diaper Vest Contest

I was checking out MomViews tonight and saw that they are having another great contest to win this...

It is a diaper vest from Dad Gear, what a neat idea huh? There are pockets, pockets, and more pockets on this vest and there is also a jacket version. Not only do they have these vests and jackets but they have very cool diaper bags and backpacks for Dad to carry around. I don't know about you but my husband really doesn't like going out and about with my Kate Spade - not sure why b/c it is so fab! Anyway, the mamas over at MomViews are giving one lucky winner one of these vests for the man in their life and I hope that it is our family!

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Wordless Wednesday

Peace After Playgroup

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

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Whew

Well, as I have blogged about before we have a new addition to the zoo. Megan, Matt's cousin moved in this weekend in our basement. No matter who it is company is company even if it is family. I read on another mama's blog that and agree with her that you are still cooking, cleaning, and serving so it isn't relaxing. I am tired, as if I am not tired enough with my youngest not sleeping. Ah well, family is gone now and Meg will try and find her place in with our crew.

Saturday I received a much anticipated piece of fluffy mail. It is my, da da da dummm, Panel Kozy Mei Tai! This beauty was made by Kelly over at Kozy and at one time there was a "special" list you had to be on to get one of these and as far as I know that is done. I never thought that I would ever be lucky enough to be online when one became available (over at TBW) nor did I think that I would ever be in a position to be able to afford one. Well, my sweet sweet husband told me that I could get it as my push present since he hadn't gotten me anything yet and V was born over 7 months ago. So without further ado...

I love the rich maroon velveteen fabric and the straps by my shoulders have some padding so that was an added surprise. The panel is so pretty and will match so many of my clothes. This is not going to be one of those carriers that I hide in the closet so that I can say I own one, heck no (!!), this is going to be worn like crazy! I am now blessed with what I believe is a perfect stash of carriers for my girls (until I find something else that I have.to.have *wink*)

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No Sleep for Mama

I can't remember the last time that I slept more than 4 hours; it is all part of being a mom but sleep would sure be nice. When I was pregnant I had to get up all the time to pee so I would guess it was sometime early 2006 that was the last time I slept through the night. After Piper was about 3 months old she started really sleeping good and still does. She has never been a long napper but she goes down early and wakes 12 hours later. Now, our youngest is a different story. She slept over 4 hours for I think a week of her short life and has never done it again since. Her teeth came in and that was when this every 3 hours waking to feed thing started and she just hasn't quit. I believe that she is snacking at night or just finding me for comfort, that is what I think but who knows. Any day now those 2 top teeth are going to pop in, I am trying to remain optimistic that this won't last much longer. Lack of sleep really affects a person though, there are days when I notice this especially in my moods or tolerance of Piper's behavior. I have to keep reminding myself that she is 2! A friend of mine told me that babes sometimes wake a lot when a big milestone is in their future - Violet has been standing a bunch lately so maybe she will walk (a whole other post will be coming if I have a walking 7 month old!!). Anyway, every once in a while they will nap at the same time and I will catch a few minutes with them. I guess it just makes me feel every bit of my 36 years when my butt is dragging like this - this won't last forever though and I do cherish all my time with the babes.

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Photo Friday - Carolina Blue Skies

Today is Photo Friday over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas and the theme is blue. Even though I have already posted today I thought I would share this photo from a few years back at the big hot air balloon rally we used to have at the fairgrounds.

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Introducing...The Lucas Zoo

Well, I didn't really CHANGE MY MIND about the name of my blog (Immagino Solo) I sort of didn't know what I was doing when I started blogging not so long ago. It was kind of like the same mistake that I made when joining various "Mommy" or "Diaper" forums, I use what I know, my name - duh! So without further ado here is my "new" name (since this is how it appears on various webrings) and now let me introduce you to our family...

The Zoo Dogs
The little white one is sticking her tongue out at you :)


The Zoo Prowler


The Zoo Kids


and The Zoo Owners
ancient wedding photo - looked for more recent but nothing b/c I am always the one taking the pics!


If that isn't all we will have another addition to the zoo as Matt's cousin Megan will be moving in with us to teach in our town at the middle school and we offered her our basement until she gets settled and more familiar with the area to find a place she wants to live. So there...hello!

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Ode to a Meerkat

Ok, so the crazy mamas over at CHBM are having a little contest and one lucky winner will receive a box full of fun Animal Planet stuff! What you have to do is write a little "Ode to a Meerkat" so I thought what the heck I would give it a try. This is in anticipation of the awesome Animal Planet show Meerkat Manor whose season will once again premier on August 10. I am no poet but here it goes...

Ode to a Meerkat

Oh meerkat so small,
You wander away,
The family can't call,
Or find you today.

But tomorrow will come,
And out they will go,
With the light of the sun,
Your family with gusto.

The time finally comes,
They find you at last,
Beneath all the blossoms,
Again danger has passed.

DON'T LAUGH (I tried)

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Why is brushing such a fight???

"Be true to your teeth and they won't be false to you"

My homepage is set to Dogpile which I love. I guess it is no better or worse than any other but when I go to search I like seeing Arfie. This month Dogpile told me that it is Dental Awareness Month and supplied the cute little quote that I listed above except that I put down the way it was originally said. When I went to investigate what someone would do to during dental awareness month I found that it is in AUSTRALIA! Ahh well...

It is pretty easy to brush a baby's teeth but when they start getting older it gets really tricky - or maybe it is only in my house (gosh I hope I am not the only one). We started out with a little kiddie brush when Piper had a few bottom teeth to try and get her used to it. I don't really know what happened but ever since about January she fights me brushing her teeth like crazy! When I brush mine I normally let her come in and use her brush to do it herself but I still need to go over them - she has actually started biting down on the brush and not opening her mouth back up! I have resorted to getting one of those finger brushes and although I try to make it seem like a "fun" thing end up with her crying and me begging for her to keep her mouth open. Such a pain 2 times a day, makes me dread it! Now, she will let me floss her teeth - how crazy is that? The next one in line has had a few teeth now and we are starting all over again. I am not sure what to do to make her enjoy this experience more. I am really careful about my teeth; I floss daily and brush morning and night. I had hoped that watching me do it would just naturally make my kids want to (those crazy pre-children thoughts again). Anyway, if anyone has an suggestions please pass them to me because they would be appreciated. Now, everyone in Australia go floss!!

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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I can't believe the my 7 month old is STANDING (with support), wasn't it just the other day that I first held that sweet girl in my arms for the first time? Everyone - go and give your babe a hug b/c tomorrow they will be off to college :)

This photo is from today - I just got done nursing Violet in the boat so that is where we were. Look at the little boy and our dog Sadie both intently watching the ball. They had a ball - hee hee literally!



Until tomorrow...

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Two bow or not two bow

My husband and I are pretty clueless fashion wise and this will unfortunately get passed on to our babes. Give me a skirt, a tee/tank, and my Birks and I am good to go. Poor kids, they actually are kind of starting to look like mini-me's. Piper just turned 2 a few weeks back and a friend of ours MADE her 3 bows - WOW! They turned out super cute and are very well put together. Here is the deal, we have never actually put a bow on either of our daughter's - we just aren't bow people ya know? One day I showed them to Piper and she loves them. Here and there she has been wearing them around the house but yesterday decided she wanted to wear them all.day.long! Matt came home from work and laughed about it but when we decided to take the girls to get some ice cream can you guess what was in her hair? Not 1 hair bow, nope 2 :) My husband tried to get her to take them out but no go and here she is with ice cream still on her chinny chin chin...

She asked for them AGAIN today when we went out but I talked her into just the cute pink one and not both. OK, I could have done it last night too but I like to torture my hubby all the time sometimes. What are your opinions on hair bows? Do your girls wear them or if you had a little girl would you put her in them? Just curious about that and wondering if my dh and I are in a minority.

Because it seems like I talk about my oldest more (don't mean to) and because I *heart* this shirt so much here is the babe last night being a rockin girlie girl with her big sis's necklace and Mom tattoo tee.



I would also like to post about a FABULOUS contest that Andrea is having on her blog sponsored by Four Peas to win one of their cool backpacks. If I am the lucky mama who wins I would love the Rock Star. I am such an orange lover! How hip would your kiddos be walking into school with one of those?

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Memory Lane Monday - The Two Lines

I was checking out a new site (to me) called Moms Blogging and for Memory Lane Monday they asked for us to share our feelings or story about when we first found out we were pregnant so today I am going to share my story about finding out I was pregnant with my oldest, Piper.

We had been trying for sometime to get pregnant and it just wasn't working. I was crazy about it and my wonderful husband was so calm and reassuring telling me that it would happen if I just quit worrying. That is hard to tell a 33 year old woman who is wondering all sorts of things about herself, ya know. Anyway, back to subject, I bought pregnancy tests constantly and like a day before AF was supposed to come I would test and was so dejected when it would come back negative. The day that I found out I was pregnant with Piper AF was 3 days late (and surprisingly I didn't test yet) and I thought what the heck. Matt was in the kitchen and I took the test in the bathroom and sat with it until the time was up. Have you ever had such a faint line that you thought maybe it wasn't there? I saw the most faint line but hoped I wasn't just seeing things. When I brought it to Matt I was crying when I asked him (almost begging for him to agree) if he saw the same line. He did, then we sat and held each other because it was a dream come true for both of us. I will never forget how happy I was at that moment, as I am writing this I am reliving the anticipation and joy that I felt in that short 3 minutes while waiting for the results. Others write much better than I do but I hope that you enjoyed my precious memory a little bit, it was one of the best days of my life.

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Toes Mama?

While sitting on our deck sipping my morning coffee and watching my beautiful little girl fill her tea cups over and over again it dawned on me that a perfect opportunity to paint my toes was presenting itself. The last time that I had a pedicure was in December before having Violet and that polish was hidden for a few months under socks. My feet needed a little bit of TLC and this was a great time to do it. Well, I got everything set up and ready to go when my daughter decided what I was doing was much more interesting than water - unbelieveable if you know my daughter. I agreed to do hers and she sat so perfect letting me paint each one, it was such a great moment! We finished and I was blowing on them with her help and then when I finished mine she came back over to blow on my toes. I am so enjoying having my girls and look forward to sharing experiences like this with Violet someday.

Quick information about a contest that you can enter to cover those little toes...

I love Umi shoes! We are lucky enough to have a pair of cherry red maryjanes that Piper wore last winter and someday Violet will inherit. They are so cute and so well made! Here is a chance to win a pair for your babe - good luck!


Umi Shoe Contest at MomViews

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Bounce Bounce Bounce

The girls were invited to a birthday party today. The family decided to rent one of those huge inflatable bounce houses for the kiddos to play in. Piper had so much fun! She is jumping all the time these days (which was why it was so easy for me to get her to do the jump photo shoot for me. Then, they did something that even topped the bouncy house. They set up a sprinkler! It was like the party was for Piper and not little Vance, who was also enjoying the bouncer and water. What a fabulous time they all had and then mama Kenda made with her own hands the most phoenomenal looking tractor cake. Some gals (and guys too) just have the most incredible talent when it comes to artsy things, wish I had it :) Before we even left their neighborhood both kidlets were out cold in their seats and slept the whole way home (all 20 minutes of it) and that would be Piper's nap for today. Oh well, Wal-Hell (I totally am stealing that from another mama's blog isn't getting any less crowded and I HAVE to get to the store because we are out of almost everything.

Looking back at my other posts it seems that I am becoming a photo whore...well, here are some more.

I am not really a gardener. Trial and error is normally how things survive (or die) out there. Helps that we have an irragation system at this house so I don't have to go out and water the beds everyday. I am sure these rose bushes have some sort of insect that is eating it up and making it have holes on the leaves but I am still proud of these roses because at one point this year I thought this bush was a goner. If you have any suggestions on what you think is eating it up let me know - thanks!

Piper walks around with Mrs. Potatoe Head's mouth in hers all the time. She also loves when I let her put on my chapstick, she is so going to be wearing makeup by 4 years old.


Have a happy Saturday!

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Ahh summer...

I love summer but ever since I became pregnant with Piper I have not been the same person dealing with the heat. There was a time when I loved it, the hotter the better, but not anymore. I found a link to enter a fabulous contest at Mums the Wurd to win a rockin tattoo tee by Betty & Dean for the babes. Enter by leaving your favorite quote in their comment area, AFTER READING MY BLOG :), Mine was heat related because it feels like if I walk outside I will be well done in about 10 minutes! I decided to hunt down some other hot quotes to try and find some humor about our scorching weather . Here goes...
~ "Weather out there today is hot and shitty, with continued hot and shitty in the afternoon..." - Good Morning Vietnam
~ It's so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
~ It's hotter than two cats fighting in one of Darcy's wool socks.
~ It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog.
~ It is so hot today I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking.
~ It's so hot I just saw the devil dancing buck-naked in the middle of the driveway.
~ I hope you brought the champagne glasses because it is TOASTY out.
and lastly...
~ It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

I took the girls outside this morning to burn off some energy and play. Piper loves her Step2 Water Table and would stay out there and play with it all day everyday if we let her. She will drink about 1/4 of the water inside of it each time we set it up - crazy girl!

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to my Diaper Swapper friend, Darcy. I am so glad to hear that your recovery is going well from your surgery and I can't wait to get the email that you are back to your old self again. Until then, enjoy bed rest as much as you can and have fun knitting those socks mama! BTW, how funny was is it to see how similar our sites are?? CRAZY!

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Throwback Thursday

Here is a picture of Piper last year at this time with her Grandma and then again a few days ago playing with bubbles, what a big girl she is getting to be. But SASSY!! Oh that darnl "NO" comes out more and more. Just a phase, just a phase, just a phase...back to subject.

I made my maiden voyage husbandless on our boat today. I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself b/c we got there and home safe and sound. Another mama and her 2 boys came with my girls and I - such a nice day to be on the water. I think that I will try and do this at least 1 time a week b/c for the first time this week P and V were BOTH sleeping before 8pm. We have been pretty laid back these past few weeks about bed times (especially for P) and I can tell a difference in their behaviors. Anyway, here are the kiddos playing at the island today. The boys were trying to catch fish with the buckets, they were throwing bread and cheese to the panfish but the fish were pretty smart and escaped every time.



Here is a little contest for you to try and win - good luck to everyone (especially me!!)

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Wordless Wednesday

Flower Power

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