Gotta love the rain

It is a cold rainy day today but I am ok with that. Our area still is in such a horrible drought that this steady rain that we are getting is a blessing. Piper heard her first thunderstorm this morning and experienced lightning paired with a short power outage. She has been around for other storms but didn't really know or ask what was going on, today she did. I am very thankful to the rain today for yet another reason though. We have had a mild winter so the dogs spend more time outside than in previous years - they just love sunning themselves on our deck. Today however they were inside when I noticed a visitor to the zoo's yard...

I have seen them in the area but never in our yard! How grateful am I that the chihuahua and maltese were safely sleeping on the couch? My gosh, that would have been heartbreaking if he would have got to them. So thank you Mother Nature - I owe you one!

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and here it is

Thanks to a SUPER creative mama I made this dress for Piper from an old button up shirt purchased at the thrift store for $1.25. Her tutorial was so easy to follow too. It turned out better than I thought it would and Piper just LOVES it. Hopefully the next time we visit the store we will find another shirt and I can make one for Violet. Anyway, on to Piper's new dress!

Pretty cool huh? How about those jelly shoes that I got for her too? Gosh, I wore them when I was a tween and now to see her too is hilarious to me. Our little fashionista actually asked for those the other day when we were at Old Navy. They are super cute though - come on mary jane jellies :)

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Co-sleepers

Don't they all look comfy? Now imagine another dog and 2 adults and let me tell you it gets just a bit crowded, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We attended a baby shower today and the girls are WORN OUT! It is rainy and icky outside but I need to go to Target so I would love this nap time to end (did I just say that out loud?).

Piper and Violet played so well last night while I was making the cake and the dip for the party . Some days they can't get along with each other for anything but thankfully when I really need them to (usually) they help their mama out and don't fight. Check out this picture of Piper, once I got it on the computer I realized that it looks like she is wearing Dora's cowboy hat. I will have to print this out for her to put in her little photo album, she'll love that!



I have a fun little sewing project that I am going to work on tonight after the girls are sleeping - I am so excited and hope that it will turn out. My machine has been acting up lately and I am afraid that by me trying to save a few dollars bought the wrong one for what I need, poo!

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Lunar Eclipse

If only my girls were a little bit older I would have let them stay up to see it. When I was younger I had no interest in gazing up at the stars but now I think it is just really cool. It was so clear out last night and the stars were so bright - beautiful weather here in the Carolinas. These are the times that I wish I knew more about the different features on my camera b/c I so wanted to capture this on film but my photos were blurry and just down right horrible. Here is the best one that I took (*blushing as I hit ctrl V*)

Goal for this weekend: learn how to use the night feature for next lunar eclipse or maybe for a meteor shower :)

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Here we come zoo!

That is what Piper was saying when we got on the highway this morning
"Yes Piper, here we come zoo"
"Here we come Giraffes" (then elephants, monkeys, lions, etc. etc. ending with meerkats)
I am not sure who has more fun when the girls and I do a field trip to the zoo. There is Piper who loves all the animals so much, Violet who is on my back most of the time making sounds (sss, fish kiss noise, elephant noise, monkey noise) when she sees the animals, or me getting to watch my girls have such great times! Thank goodness the meerkats were out today, it was ALL Piper could talk about on our trip down. I think that a mother/daughter craft project in the form of a little book that she can bring in the car with her or read at home to remind her of all the fun animals that are there and some things about them will happen before our next adventure. Today Piper learned that alligators will put their young inside of their mouths when the babes are in trouble, this was on a sign at the zoo. I didn't know that fact so I tried to look it up but can't find anything about it online, hmmm... The Galapagos Turtles weren't out today so we had to settle for this guy.

Tomorrow is Piper and Daddy date night. They are going to attend a gym type class together - she has been asking to go back since we went to a birthday party there this weekend so "yippee" we might have found her a class after all. I am getting ahead of myself though b/c I think that she will LOVE something and it ends up bombing, but Daddy is going with her - update to follow.

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Monkey See Monkey Do

I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard Piper in the living room say

"It's ok baby, it's ok"

Well, Violet was in with me so who was she talking too? Her doll. She had her shirt just slightly raised and the doll against her belly, when I asked her what she was doing she said "Nursing baby" - AWWW!!! Now, this photo was taken during our morning tv time so she was in a trance and wasn't moving which was how I was able to get a quick picture.

There are so many times that I beat myself up as a mother, I don't know if I am doing things right or wrong. Am I yelling too much or not enough? Will my daughter fall horribly behind b/c I am not sending her to preschool when she is 3? Will our decision of a family bed bite us in the butt when they are all still in there at 10 and we have 2 king sized beds shoved together so everyone can fit? Who knows the answers but then in 1 moment of sweetness I see my 2 year old nursing her baby doll (she also nurses her duck) and I just feel like we are doing OK. I will also see Piper in her playroom putting one of her stuffed friends in the ring sling that I made for her and love that her father and I (hopefully) have taught our girl to be a future babywearer. We have seen Violet screaming and all Piper has to do is go over to her and pet her head whispering "Shhhh baby" and the baby's mood lightens, she just has that soothing effect on her sister. Those are the times when I figure that we must be doing something right :) On the funny side the other day when we were pulling out of our driveway a car was coming and we had to wait for them to pass and out of the backseat I hear "Move it people" - darn it they do listen to everything :)

This last picture is just b/c it CRACKS ME UP when Piper tells you to "Just listen" and puts her hand IN FRONT of her ear :) She makes me smile a million times a day.

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Ballet anyone?

Nope! We brought Piper to a trial class on Monday and that evening her father and I asked her about it.

"Did you have fun at ballet class Piper?"
"Yes, I am a ballerina"
"Do you want to go back and dance some more?"
"Nope, I want to go to the zoo with the animals."

There is it, why could we not have a zoo closer so that she could go there more often? Obviously the creatures in our house are not enough for her anymore as she LOVES visiting the meerkats, monkeys, and lions. I guess I will be planning a trip next week as the extended forecast is for close to 70. We will try again with the ballet maybe when she is 3 b/c the teacher said she really liked the outfits :)

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Park Day Saturday

We ended up taking the girls to a state park near our home on Saturday to play. Well, neither of us had ever been there since having babes and didn't realize that they don't have any playground equipment. We improvised and ran around a big open area and then took them down by the water so they could play in the sand for a little bit. Hopefully we will start up our routine of going to the area parks on Sunday mornings again pretty soon since the weather is starting to warm up nicely. I can't wait to get our swing set out of the boxes and set up at our home - we will get so much use out of that this year!

Come on girls - smile PLEASE!!


Rocks taste GREAT!!


My HOTTIE husband


Cheeseball!

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Wordless Wednesday - Just Us Girls

It was 80 yesterday in the Carolina's and the babes and I decided it would be fun to make it a zoo day. This shot was taken by a kind woman (with a really big camera) near the Siamang's. They were so vocal and active in the morning when we got there that they had quite a group watching their antics - Piper and Violet loved it. I am wearing Violet in my Beco Carrier - I just love the print on it and it is so easy to get her on my back with it. We can't say enough good things about the Beco right now :) So much for wordless....

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

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A day later

Not so bad anymore but now is when it will start turning ugly. We went to an outdoor antique show today and everyone commented on it (and also how beautiful our girls are but we know that hee hee).

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Tile floor meet Violet

Violet meet tile floor...

It looks much better today and I took some more pictures this morning but don't have them on the computer yet so I may post again today. Ah, the life of a beginning walker :) Poor baby Violet!

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