Day 16

Today I'm grateful for...

1. Essential oils.  Today was the first time I tried them for my hay fever.  They cleared them right up.  Thanks Amberly for introducing me to them.
2. Simon being willing to take it easy this morning while I got rid of my migraine after a rough night sleep.
3. Chex Muddy Buddies
4. A tidy house
5. Being able to make dinner for friends who just had a baby

11.15.12 - Birthday edition

1. Lots and lots of lovely birthday wishes and surprises
2. Naptime - I told you this would be a frequent one on my list of thanks
3. Delicious homemade corn, potato, and ham chowder
4. Despite Rick having to travel today and all this weekend, he woke up with the kids this morning and also brought me a scrumptious kouing aman (it's a French Breton pastry) and hot chocolate from Bouchon Bakery for breakfast
5. An awesome visiting teacher - she asked what I would like for my birthday.  She came through tonight with Baskin-Robbins ice cream and a long, fun chat.  Tiffany, you rock!

11.14.12

1. Lovely early birthday dinner with Rick
2. Working the book fair at Piper's school
3. Easy lunches
4. No Doubt concert tickets!!!
5. We received the final pictures from our family photo shoot.

Going on a Fieldtrip

I was selected as the parent volunteer to accompany Piper's kindergarten class on her fieldtrip.  There were only four parents who volunteered to go from her class but I think that being friendly with her teacher helped my odds.  I remember my mom being a chaperone on my first grade trip to the zoo and loved the circle-of-life aspect of me going with Piper.

Piper's fieldtrip was to the Star Eco Station is a wildlife rescue center that focuses on education.  We were treated to a little demonstration and then a tour.  We saw all kinds of lizards, snakes, birds, and a few bigger cats.  Very fun.

Enjoying a graham cracker snack before getting back on the bus

Today's Thanks

Today I am grateful that:

1. I started my Christmas shopping.  Is that possible?  Well, with Thanksgiving being next week (how can that be?!) I figured I should get a move on.  Plus, I had a great idea for one gift and we just happened to be in a store that sold it.
2. Chocolate
3. Lovely packages.  Both were expected, one I ordered and the other was from a friend who told me it was coming, but it's fun to get non-bill mail just the same.
4. Rick took the kids birthday present shopping for me tonight which gave me about an hour of alone time.  I see See's candy in my birthday future.  Yes!
5. Freebies.  I don't tend to buy expensive makeup, AKA department store stuff.  That said, I do buy Clinique lipstick, eye liner, and recently I've started buying their moisturizer/sunscreen.  So yesterday I went to stock up.  I figured I'd get a gift tote but that, as usual, it would be a few items and things I don't use, like wrinkle cream.  (I probably should use wrinkle cream but I don't.  I'm holding out hope.)  Lo and behold, I open it today and find SIX things - all of which I love and will definitely use.  Lipstick, mascara, Happy perfume (a moderately-sized bottle, not a sample-sized one), an eye shadow duo and blush (in shades I like), moisturizer, and foundation - yes, please!

11.12.12

1. Lazy mornings with the kids
2. Teaching Piper how to sew a button
3. Having Piper help me lay out the pattern for my first ever quilt.  We even threw in some math and pattern practice too.
4. Steel Magnolias.  I was watching it tonight while I sewed and it brought make fun college memories from when we use to watch it.  "My colors are Blush and Bashful.  One shade is much deeper than the other."
5. Rick's safe, if late, arrival home tonight from Texas

Piper Turns Six!! (June 2012)

You gotta have the special yellow birthday plate on your special day.  This is us having chocolate chip pancakes.

Lovely marshmallow flower mini-cupcakes with Piper's kindergarten class.  These were her request.

Her lovely "Dorothy" ruby slippers.  Unfortunately she never had the occasion to wear them before her feet got too big.

Piper's birthday party was a topsy-turvy party.  Everything was either backwards (hence Rick's clothes), inside-out, or upside-down.  We started by handing out the goody-bags and then proceeded to having upside-down cupcakes.  We sang "You To Birthday Happy!" and Piper blew out the candle before we sang.  We played Twister and Whirlyball Basketball.  We ate Totino's pizza rolls (they are inside-out pizza after all), Twizzlers, twisty cheese sticks, and drank "dnLs" (upside-down 7Ups).  At the end of the party the kids took to breaking the leftover ice cubes with bats from our garage, kinda fitting to "break the ice" at the end of a topsy-turvy birthday party.

On a side note, I was terribly sick with a head cold on Piper's birthday.  I was a very grumpy mama, especially at dinner/cake time on her actual birthday.  Piper knew I wasn't feeling well.  She blew out the candle on her cupcake and told us that she would only tell me what her wish was.  I had a sneaking suspicion what she'd wished for.  As she sweetly whispered in my ear that her only wish was that I feel better, I had tears in my eyes for the blessing to be mom to this kind-hearted, sensitive girl.  

Happy birthday sweetie!