I have an incredibly crappy history of epic fails when it comes to giving gifts to my husband. He is impossible to shop for. I mean, IMPOSSIBLE. He will not tell me what he wants, leaving me guessing. I've been guessing and failing for the past 6 1/2 years.
One year I bought him a set of really nice wireless headphones. We lived in an apartment and Sophia's bedroom was right off the living room. So when she went to bed, he couldn't listen to his beloved collection of old punk vinyl. I knew he was missing that, thu...
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I just turned 40.
FORTY.
Thankfully I am married to a super sweet guy who planned a romantic trip for just the two of us last weekend as a birthday present. It was WONderful. I mean, I am totally in love with the guy, but there's a lot going on around here to keep us distracted. We talk a lot about the kids, who's turn it is to put the chickens to bed, how much half and half is left, what we're having for dinner, who can pick Sophia up from Brownies...on and on and on. So to have 3 full days of, "Oh yeah! H...
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I have a date tonight!
With my husband. 
First we're having cocktails with friends at The Wit's rooftop lounge, then we're going to Moto, a restaurant I've been dying to check out for the longest time.
Our friend Steph offered to babysit Will for us tonight. It's our first date night out alone since before he was born. I was so excited that I went and picked out a new outfit, mostly from Old Navy since they're running a 30% off Get and Give sale for the next couple of days. If anyone needs a coupon, let me kn...
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Taking care of the winter birds, originally uploaded by Alana Waters-Piper.Dave and Sophia tending to the feeders in the backyard.
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Nothing phases Wilbur, originally uploaded by Alana Waters-Piper.
Dave blows raspberries on Will's marshmallow cheeks and he doesn't flinch a bit.
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Pulling up the carpet: Will supervises, originally uploaded by Alana Waters-Piper.Dave spent Sunday afternoon pulling up the carpet in the living and dining rooms. We lucked out and it's all in pretty good shape. PS: Unexpected perk to hardwood floors--skidding cats.This is what the same area looked like the day we bought the house:
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Stupid icy sidewalk. Poor Dave tried to fold his foot backward.
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Warm inside, snowy outside Finally sitting up well enough to play in the high chair. Napping with Daddy
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In these times, I've been finding myself going back to how my grandmother did things. Big pots for dinners, freezing part of it for another day, laying low on the financial front, making time for creative and free family fun.Something I think we could all go back to is seeking out the good ol' layaway plans. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I had forgotten about that option. For example, I had been wanting to get Dave a new bike for years. His 6'5" body needed a proper tall frame and they were all so expensive. So when S...
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When Dave and I first started dating, I was driving one of the new VW Beetles. They didn't come with CD players, only tape decks. So when I went over to his apartment for the first time and saw his vinyl collection and tape deck, I jokingly asked him to make me a mixtape, then forgot about it. Later, I went to Thailand for 17 days and left my keys with Dave in case the car needed to be moved. After I returned, I got in my car the next morning to go to work and there it was, a tape sticking out of the player labeled "...
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Dave spent the past few days ripping up the old cream carpet in our room and then painting the walls Celtic Gray, a really pretty light grayish-blue. After eyeballing our lonely old bed in there, I started thinking that it would be nice to finally have a real bedroom. We've always stashed ourselves in whatever space is left and never really bothered decorating for ourselves. Dave loves visiting hotels, so I'm taking inspiration from a couple of our favorites. This clip from Elle Decor pretty much pegs what we're goin...
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Hi guys! Hey! I won the lotto! Anyone want to go to Great America? Hey! Free kittens! Fireworks! Candy!
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Over the weekend Sophia really rolled up her sleeves and decided she was going to take on some extra chores to help out around the house. Dave and I were so impressed and touched by her initiative that we decided a treat run to Toys R Us was in order. So last night we all piled up in the car and made a couple stops, first to Babies R Us to look at a glider and other sundry items for "our baby" (according to Sophia). I had spotted this chair at MakingItLovely.com and wanted to see it in person. So insanely comfy and s...
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Dave and I just got back from our 33 week checkup today with our OB. I watched "The Business of Being Born" one very early morning a few weeks ago when I couldn't sleep and it left me with a lot of anxiety and questions about birthing techniques. When I had initially brought up the topic of a birthing tub with her nurse practitioner, she shut me off immediately with, "The hospital doesn't have any and we don't do them. Your doctor will decide what's best for you." Every question I asked got shoved back at me with "Th...
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I've been slacking and so much has happened!A couple of weeks ago, May 23rd to be precise, we had a bunch of friends and their kids over on Memorial Day weekend. Toward the end of the afternoon, Sophia spontaneously decided to conquer her fear of being up on 2 wheels and within a couple of minutes was cruising through the park like she'd been doing it for years. We were so excited! She's been dreading learning to ride her bike, putting it off each summer for the past couple of years, fighting lessons and crying about...
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You are kicking my bladder so hard today. The last couple of baths I've taken have been spent watching my belly roll around like a 70's water bed. Your daddy still hasn't really felt too much, but your kicks are getting so much stronger every day that I know it'll be soon. He's out of town for work this week and I feel like he's going to miss the first big ones, which is a bummer. He and I went to the store the other night and he was uncharacteristically happy shopping around for little boy outfits. -Uncharacteristic...
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Any discussion with my husband regarding the name of the baby is destined to turn into a Zappa-esque diatribe of suggestions. Here are his leads:Wolf Blitzer PiperGeorge Washington PiperBear PiperJefferson Clinton PiperEarl Campbell PiperMike Ditka PiperApparently these selections apply well to either sex in his mind because there were no girl name suggestions.I like Celia Ann Piper for a girl and James Ian or James William Piper for a boy.
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