Happy 3rd Birthday Violet!!

What a lucky little girl to have her birthday on such a fun day, she just doesn't know it yet :) This morning we let her open 1 of her presents sent to us from family in Ohio. It was a finger painting set - woo hoo - Color Wonder even so no messes :) I tried to get her to wear her favorite little tutu given to her when she turned 2 so that I could get some cute 3 year old birthday pictures but she wasn't into it at all!

Funny though that she is probably the sickest out of the family but still insisted on coming with me to run some errands. Crazy girl! We picked up some steaks for supper and a little something for Piper so she wouldn't feel left out. Next came naps,

making cakes,

do NOT get stainless appliances if you have kids under 4. They are clean for about 3 minutes and then the hand prints magically appear :)



decorating,

OPENING PRESENTS,



I think she will LOVE this!


supper,

and CAKE!!


Happy Birthday Violet!!

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Her Cross

Piper started preschool this year at a baptist church near our home. Since going there she has an infatuation with crosses. The other day while going through some boxes Matt came across this cross that was his when he was younger. She doesn't want to take it off :) I imagine seeing many pictures of Piper in the future with this particular piece of jewelry.

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Wordless Wednesday - Thank You Santa

I received this beautiful poppy necklace mysteriously in the mail right before Christmas. The card said it was from Santa. I love it, thank you so much Santa!

More WW @ 5 Minutes for Mom

Looking at this shot of me I wish that I would not have greased myself down with baby oil in my teens and twenties. If this isn't an ad for sunscreen I don't know what would be :)

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She's getting excited...

for her birthday! Violet is the last birthday of all her friends so she has had to go through probably 8 parties waiting (im)patiently for hers to come and FINALLY it is almost here! We were invited to a playdate today but I had to decline b/c the girls are all still sick. I sure hope that they are over it before Violet's party on Sunday. Today I decided to tackle a few things around the house. I am washing my kitchen floors and stuffing gift bags. You know you can't do too much before hand when you have 3 little mess makers around. I can clean their playroom but it will be trashed before bedtime again. We already took down all Christmas stuff inside the house but will leave the outdoor lights up until next week. I love those! I love having my tree up longer but there are going to be a bunch of people here and our little house can use all the room we have.

Anyway, I have to take advantage of baby Ruby sleeping and start stuffing. Maybe I will get these 2 sweeties to help me. Without bribes though it is unlikely :)

Here is a picture that the girls took of their dolls on Christmas night (ish). They were using the remote control to do them and thought they were pretty darned cool. Most of Violet's babes were resting on her bed. This is Taylor Swift and a loaner babe, Sally. Grandma lent it to her on our last visit to Ohio. Also shown are Kit (Piper's gift from Santa) and Lilo. The animals pictured are Coconut the dog and Licorice the cat given to them from Matt and I. We figured that their dolls needed pets too right?

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The Zoo (2009)

We debated if we should actually go this year b/c of illnesses with Ruby & Violet but in the end we decided to venture the 2 hours and see what happened. The girls weren't running a fever anymore and pretty much just had snot noses and coughs. They handled the zoo great and all in all it was a wonderful day!

We got to see so many cool things while we were there. The handlers were feeding both the gorillas and the elephants so we got a front row view of that. They have the elephants do "tricks" while feeding them their snacks to make sure they are ok. It was neat b/c we have never seen elephant tricks before :)

The gorillas are a stubborn bunch. They are too aloof to even look our way. In fact the big one of the bunch sits with his back towards us most of the times we've been there so we see a giant butt crack (excuse my french lol). No pictures of that even though I have probably made it seem so attractive :) Here is the only one that would give us the time of day lol :)

The girls rode the merry go round and we saw our favorite koala bears. Next to the koalas are the Lorikeets. Previously the girls have been quite afraid of the colorful birds but not this year. I am just so proud of the both of them! After a few minutes they sort of freaked Violet out so she quit holding the cup of nectar but not Piper.



Way to go Piper!



I think that Matt had the most birds on him out of anyone there! It is b/c he is so sweet :)



I love our now annual "Day After Christmas Zoo Trip"!

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Ahh, Christmas (2009)

Christmas is always such a fun and magical time of the year. If you are unlucky enough to be out and about the day or two prior however you might disagree with me. Some people are so focused on the items that they "need" to get that they forget common courtesy. By no means am I saying I am perfect and haven't been one of them but this year I promised myself to concentrate on the holiday and not the gifts as much. I ventured out to Walmart at approximately 4 pm December 23rd to food shop and met a lot of those crazy people but also many, many extraordinarily nice ones. Lesson learned though - don't go to Walmart the week prior to Christmas lol :)

A quick look back on the holiday shows Ruby still struggling with a bug. Her nose runs the worst in the mornings but a cough is making it very difficult for her to sleep at night. Violet getting a bug. Last night she swapped beds with her Daddy and slept with Ruby and I b/c she needed to be near me. Matt thinks he is feeling the beginning of an illness coming on - ugh! It won't stop until it makes it's way through our family I am sure but hopefully won't prevent us from heading to the zoo in the morning for our annual "Day after Christmas Zoo Trip" :)

Here is our baby with her runny nose yesterday - bless her heart :(


Last night we opened our pj's, drove and found a new place that had fabulous Christmas lights (thanks Dana), spread out our magic reindeer food (thanks Steph), and decorated Santa's cookies. He asked for chocolate chip but I already had made the sugar dough so we gave him a few on the side.

Violet & Piper's cookies


There was happiness all around this morning. The girls got the present that they asked for, I got a pedometer, Matt a new jacket & hat - life is good. Check out Piper pointing to her new doll Kit in both pictures - do you think she LOVES her much?





And our little photographers...


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night :)

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Just our beauties

Just for fun.
Just b/c I haven't posted many pictures lately.
Just b/c today they melted my heart with their sweetness.

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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I moved AWAY from the snow b/c of how much I dislike it. Since having kids I do enjoy it in VERY small quantities and I do like that it normally only lasts on the ground a few days and then *poof* it's gone again. We were supposed to get hit yesterday with 12-14 inches of snow. You know who got hit? 15 miles north of us and we got a measly 2". That is ok b/c 2" to a 4 & (almost *sniff sniff*) 3 year old it is like 10 feet. They went out last night and rode down our driveway on sleds, threw snowballs at their Daddy, and made beautiful snow angels. What fun! This morning they were back at it again. They were out so long that they needed a mitten change b/c it is melting already so it is very wet. Got to love a southern snow storm :)

Frosty was covered in ice.



Southern icicles

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Jack

Once upon a time there was an elf named Jack. He worked diligently every year for Santa visiting homes and reporting back all the good things (and some bad) that the children he was in charge of were doing. After many, many Christmas's Jack found himself living at The Zoo. Lucky him :) He moves around nightly to get different views of the behavior from the children in the house. Each morning the girls search for him first thing, I am certain that it is amusing to Jack how much they love to find his new lookout spot.

How excited were they this morning when he covered our Christmas tree with candy canes? We enjoy him and hope he decides to return for many more Christmas's.

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LA Originals Knitted Baby Hat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love, love, love the carrot hat :)

LA Originals Knitted Baby Hat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Santa 2009

Ruby would not sleep for me yesterday during the day at all. She is sure ornery since she started cutting those 2 top teeth. So much for that Christmas song right? We made an errand just to get her in the car and get a few precious moments of shut eye from her. After we were done we decided to run through a little shopping area that had a Santa Claus. No line! The girls have had no interest in talking to him yet this year. He had some extra time to chat with them which opened them right up. Both of them told him the present that they wanted and we even got a picture. This visit with Santa was on a whim and it was raining out so I had no camera. Some people may think I keep one tucked in my bra but I don't. So we shelled out the $15 (Really????) and got a picture where ALL 3 girls were looking and 2 were even so proud of themselves for talking to the big guy that they smiled!

Santa said that since they were such good little girls he was pretty sure they would get what they asked for :)

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Some Violet Time

Even though it isn't under the best of circumstances I am trying to find the positive of hubs being home for awhile. I have written before about Piper LOVING her Daddy. How cool is it for that little girl to have him bring her to preschool these past 2x? This gives me a little extra Violet time which I love myself. Yesterday after a game of swimming ducks (don't really know the real name) she pretended to go to the store. Where else would Taylor Swift be but on her back? Just like where Ruby rides :) I love raising babywearers :)

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Thanksgiving 2009

We spent Thanksgiving with family and had a fabulous time. Matt's Grandma fell and broke her hip so it was great seeing her and seeing how upbeat she was (even though we crashed her pad at like 7:30 pm). Piper and Violet LOVED hanging with the cousins - as usual. We got to spend part of an afternoon with Matt's other Grandparent's and they got to enjoy our kiddos.

We found out before we left that Matt was losing his job. Sort of sucks you know? Happy Holidays kick in the nuts from his employer. We dealt with this 4 years ago right around the holidays then too. Different economy then. Makes you nervous. Real nervous. Must stay positive and know that He has a plan. Being a natural worrier I would like to know that plan if at all possible - lol :)

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Chubby Baby Car Seat Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Chubby Baby Car Seat Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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I hope I don't eat the whole turkey :)

I just love Thanksgiving and everything that goes along with it. We will give thanks but we will also stuff ourselves until we must unbutton our jeans. Actually I will probably wear an elastic waist this year just like when Joey wore Phoebe's maternity pants on Friends - LOVE that episode! Anyway, I am going to try and catch up on blogs tonight but will unplug until next week. Every so often I do this so that my internet addiction gets back under control :)

Speaking of turkeys here are a few cell phone pics of the Turkey Vultures that the girls and I see every time we walk. They give me the willies.

Piper had her big Thanksgiving celebration at school today. Her class will be the indians. I can't wait to see her pictures and hear about the fun that they had.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Finally!

I have been waiting for this moment since 5:30 this morning. Ever had one of those days? Now to put them all to bed. Yes it is 6:08 pm :)

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Can she do it?

Our Violet is a paci addict!! You know I didn't even introduce it to her until she was a year old and the only reason that I did was that she was still nursing and using me as a paci all.night.long! It was crazy and I was sooo tired so I thought that it was a good idea. Well, I was right she LOVED it but she would take it out and still nurse throughout the night. I have thought about taking it away these past (almost) 2 years but something always comes up and let's face it sometimes us parents just go with the "easy button". Lately I have started to notice that it is affecting her teeth which bothers me so we are going to try and get rid of it starting with her nap today. I am all about the reward system b/c quite frankly it works on our girls. Violet's reward for becoming a paci free girl? The most awesome Tinkerbell party that I can put together. We have a few mini rewards happening too though for instance today she gets to pick a piece of Halloween candy if she makes it through her nap. I will probably dig out some stickers if she can do tonight but after the first few days it is back to the big prize of the party. Lesson learned - Ruby doesn't get one :)

This was out front this morning and I interrupted their play. I was trying to get the front yard that Matt planted. I can't believe how nice our yard looks now - next up Christmas decorations :)

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The Handmade Dress Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Oh my, winning these patterns would surely force that machine out of hibernation.
The Handmade Dress Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Love these!
Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Who needs a pot of gold?

Look what was at the end of the rainbow this morning, a beautiful little girl! Piper had school pictures today but she looked so cute I had to take one of her before we left. Not the most perfect shot but her and I both liked the rainbow that appeared next to her. Fun!

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Check this out!!

My post yesterday was about boredom. Ida came and hit us with some incredible rain and wind these past 2 days. Today while the children napped (instead of cleaning) I surfed. I don't do this as much anymore b/c well, I am busy. What did I find? I found this incredible blog Everyday Chaos. While checking out her mad sewing skills I found a gem. A site that will let you create your own font from your handwriting. What! Immediately I shared with hubs who shared with the others in his office who all got fonts before me :) Here is mine!

I am so going to use this for something, I don't know what yet, but something. If you are forever looking for that PERFECT font (like me *blush*) create your own at Font Capure!

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Veteran's Day

We will be paying homage to all those who have served our country as members of our Armed Forces today. Instead of shopping Matt and I will talk to the girls about all the great people that have fought for our country and those that are still fighting everyday to keep us safe. God bless them all. Piper learned the Pledge of Allegiance at school this year so on our walks I taught it to Violet. Don't mind the clapping at the end, they were just happy for a job well done. Getting them to do this together only took 2 tries so they deserved a little applause :)

More Wordful Wednesday at 7 Clown Circus

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Boring

*Yawn*, I'm bored. There is a basement that needs cleaning out but I just don't feel like doing it. It's raining today. We have to run out to the store for toilet paper. Hubs likes to tell me when there isn't a scrap left in the house. If I can get motivated to do my chores maybe I will dig out that sewing machine - the cleaning out of the basement will always be last on my list. Oh wait I do want to say how excited I am that my friend is having a baby girl! That is going to be such a spoiled little girl :) We love little girls here at the zoo :)

So Piper is 4 1/2 and starting to want to give up her afternoon nap. I know, I know I am lucky that we have gone this long but mama would like it if they continued a little bit longer. I finally have all 3 napping around the same time. Did I mention it is raining? We can't get outside to wear them out so that doesn't help my cause any. Just sleep child.

Enough ramble. I have laundry piling up to my waist - think I am kidding? Oh, and I have a basement to clean :(

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Becky Mae Poppy Fields Necklace and Earring Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Love, love, love the poppies.
Becky Mae Poppy Fields Necklace and Earring Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Try 1

Not sure if we got it or not but since it was a balmy 75 degrees today we tried for the ever elusive Christmas card picture. This year I actually dressed the girls in nicer clothes b/c Piper is all about the velvet and Violet is all about what Piper is all about :) Piper got a new skirt, Violet and Ruby get hand me downs. Ruby gets lots of hand me downs :)

While out we saw this crazy looking caterpillar. I have never seen anything like this just out and about in town before, generally you have to find woods but there was none to be seen at the college campus nearby.

We bribed the heck out of the older girls - we'll just have to wait and see what we got. Every year it seems that I am snapping a few weeks before Christmas and just once I wanted to be on the ball. Afterwards we fed them ice cream and headed to Lowe's. We got a dwarf blue spruce - Matt's we are on a planting spree and now it will be Christmas every day around here! Now I sooo want a bird bath so that we can watch the birds fly around from our front window.

I am off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day with the family. It has been awhile since we got a Zoo girls shot so we got one today.

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70 degrees. In November. Really?

We woke up really early this morning. But we have done that since this whole time change so this morning was really nothing new. Last night I called an outlet store about 1.5 hours away to find out if they had the drapes that we want for our living room - that's right I said drapes. They did - really, am I really getting excited to save money on DRAPES and drive 1.5 hours to get them?

After breakfast the girls and I were off. We left the house by 9 am so that Ruby could sleep on the ride :) As we were driving there I got to thinking, today was supposed to be a really beautiful day so how about if I made this a fun day by adding a zoo trip? I haven't been to the Greenville Zoo but, what the heck, let's do it! We found our drapes - yeah! We also found the zoo - not hard. Not my favorite zoo but the girls LOVED it. Siamangs were very vocal and active. Tarantula was as big as Violet's hand, ask her :)

Today was a good day.

Now for the obligatory photo of the children from my less than stellar backup pocket camera b/c this was an unplanned trip :)

I encourage unplanned trips, they are the best fun!

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Who doesn't love a giveaway?

5 Minutes for Mom rocks the holidays every year! Check out their giveaways all month long :)

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Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

*sigh*

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Harvest Festival

Burrr, it is cold out this morning! We will take it since it is just sunny and cold, last week was rainy and cold - yuck! Piper's preschool had to cancel their Harvest Festival b/c of weather last week so it is today. They are having the kiddos dress as farmers. She has been talking about this outfit for weeks! I vowed to never dress my girls in flannel since my grunge period so we did the best we could with what we had in the house :) I sent crocs to school in her book bag b/c I don't expect her to last more than an hour in those boots. Happy Fall Ya'll!

More WW (like mine ever is wordless lol) at 5 Minutes for Mom

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Daylight Savings

Ugh! I wonder how everyone else's homes are doing with the time change. We have early risers normally but now our home is getting up SUPER early! She doesn't sleep through the night yet but after her last feeding Ruby would sleep until 6-6:30ish before but now she hears the other girls get up with Matt at 5:30 and is "let's go!" Ouch! She has been ready for a nap by 7:30 which obviously isn't possible b/c of responsibilities so we have a crabby babe. Yesterday Matt had a day trip and got up at 4:30 to get ready. Piper and Violet got up with him and NEVER went back to sleep until their naps. Piper was already starting to feel the effects of getting up so early by 9 when she had to go to school. I almost thought about keeping her home b/c who wants to deal with an overtired child? This had to stop! I spoke to both of them when I put them to bed and after he returned home Matt and I made our plan and knew that there might be some tears shed this morning when they were told they had to stay in bed. Who could have known the amount and volume of the tears. We'll try again some other day :(

All of the blogs I go to have buttons so I made our blog one. I hope it works :)

<br/><a href="http://thelucaszoo.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLapsX_KiepSpCXnj2dpbIaHIXo_1offS9-twLhxJKLfXaFgjubPMRqXASfwM01x0iHH4IOXeeoSSVeHZJ19HzLlNbbg5OChy694xtrnrXe4tjrax6SAT6AswDkMDihRTU1vy8qVGGDT4/s144/fb10.6.09%20(1%20of%201)%20copy.jpg" /></a><br/><br/>

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Party in the USA!!

After the festivities of Halloween were over we were having our own little party at home. The girls were on a sugar high as you will see with Violet running around the room in circles like a crazy woman :) Even baby Ruby got in the act :) Last week I said that she was taking a break from pulling herself up on things. The truth is I took away the things that she was pulling herself up on. Is that wrong? So I set out that table again on Saturday and she is right back at it. Piper and Violet learned who Hanna Montana was on our trip to WI this year. They don't watch the show but like her music. Music is good.
Aloha :)

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Halloween 2009

The neighborhood that we live in isn't into Halloween very much so this year we took the girls to our downtown to "trick or treat". It was an opportunity for them to wear their costumes which they love to do and since Matt was home this weekend he took an hour off work to come do it with us. The candy was pretty lame but they had fun regardless.

Last night we went to a fun Halloween party and then when we got home just brought the girls to our immediate neighbors houses so that everyone could "ohh and ahh" over them :)

Bring on Christmas!

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Indian Summer

We must be having a little indian summer here in the Carolina's b/c it was warm today and it looks like the next week is going to be beautiful! I was outside with the girls doing a little fall maintenance on the flower beds. This summer there was a brown snake in our veggie garden and after that freaking me out I am a little jumpy when putting my feet in the beds to tidy them up. I am about 95% positive that I killed a black widow while outside just today. We have major spider issues and actually have a bug guy come every 3 months to try and keep them somewhat at bay. They totally skeeve me out so I really like my bug guy. Here is one of the ones that I knocked down - this was taken a little ways away b/c it was up on the garage and still looks huge to me!!

These girls will ride their bikes all day long if we were to let them. I haven't mentioned our fabulous find at Goodwill a few weeks back. This will sound very hard to believe but I promise true story. Our friends lent us their daughter's bike to see if Piper should move up to a 16". She did need a bigger bike so we decided to look around for one. It was a Sunday morning and we all went to a sporting goods store to try and find Matt a new pair of shoes. While there we checked out the bikes and saw this Diamondback for $139. There is a little bike store down the street and we looked there too where the same bike was $149. On our way home we had to drive by a Goodwill where I thought I saw some bikes out front so I asked Matt to double back. He went out to check them out and came back with the EXACT bike and in really great condition for being used all for the price of $10. Yep, $10. We never get deals like that. Piper loves her bike and so does our pocketbook :)

Here are our happy girls enjoying the day. Big fun tomorrow and this weekend. We love, love, love Halloween!

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Minivan Schminivan

Family of 5 going to get a tree and bushes. 1 Ford F150. 3 Britax Marathons. Why did we buy a minivan again?

More WW at 5 Minutes for Mom

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