Who knew I could make three posts about the potty..here's a side by side comparison. The lighting is a bit dodgy but it gives you an idea. We are still working on painting the upstairs bath, I ripped down the wallpaper six months ago but we need to remove the super glue that the old owners used to re-attach the floral border...ugh! Our goal is to get rid of the fluroscent light fixture that makes it feel like a hospital, but we are working on one thing at a time!

We'll need to work faster if we ever want to get a sister for Piper, with two toddlers in the house we'll never get anything done!

Can anyone say DISASTER!!! This was our main level powder room when we bought the house...the wallpaper was horrific, in fact I think it's what killed our poor cat Abby! We knew it had to go, but it took us a while to get it fixed up. The toilet didnt flush well (not good if you have guests over for chili night!)...We hated everything about this room. Now it is much more pleasant and we got a loo that can handle 12 golfballs in one flush! Who flushes golfballs? I guess it makes you think.

Who wants chili?

We did however get the guest bathroom fixed and painted. It took a monumental 4 months from start to finish...yes, I said FOUR months, but we did it a little at a time. We ended up having to replace the toilet and sink as they were in pretty bad shape. Mike did a great job with the paint. We added a tile floor and a few photos from NZ. I know it's weird to put a picture of our potty on our blog but seriously, who picked the bloody wallpaper?? You'd think this house was built in 1895 not 1995!

Getting there. We started this at the beginning of April, sadly we haven't had enough time to finish it. Mike has worked into the evening hours on his computer and collapses exhausted into bed around midnight most nights, I can truly say I am not upset that we haven't finished the room because I know how hard he works. However, we do plan on getting it done this weekend. I'll post pictures if we complete it!

If we dont I'll post a photo of Mike asleep on the sofa with his laptop on his knee!

Newly green. We have been planning the move to a softer palate for months, maybe even a year if the truth be told. We have managed two walls and hope to finish the remaining walls this weekend. It's not easy to get painting done with a 2 year old!

A week ago we went to see 'Ralphs World' in concert. It was a blast and Piper had a great time joining in with all the songs and dancing with her pint sized peers. Mike and I actually had a good time too. We like the 'coffee song' the best, it was even featured on Pipers birthday cd. Ralph is a rockin' dude.

So, now that the sun is shining we broke out the Barbie jeep for it's first run. Mike & Piper trotted off to Toys r us for a new battery ($90!!) and set up the Jeep. We were given this by some friends in Vermont back in 2005 just before we moved to Minnesota and it has been sitting under a dropcloth for the last two years.

Piper was a bit freaked out by being able to drive, the 'gas' pedal scared her and she said "too scarey", so we will probably put it back in the garage until the end of summer. She had fun sitting in it though, and climbing on it. Thanks so much to Brad, Melanie and Suzanna Hogg for this wonderful toy!

FLASHBACK TO EASTER.....

Hello, good morning, bring on the sugar!

It was freezing here on Easter, no tulips, no sunshine, no pretty Easter dress. Just snow, rain, and lots of chocolate.

Hello my liddle frieeends. Let me assure you, you dont stand a chance of survival...what? you can't hear me? Oh, is it because I already ate your ears off? Perhaps I will tempt all of the bunnies out of the basket with my chocolate carrot?

Piper loves chocolate, she doesnt quite understand the real meaning of Easter yet. She's just all over the chocolate critters.

So we made cookies, okay we didn't actually 'make' them, but that's a technicality. We purchased a lovely package of premade sugar cookies and icing and sprinkles from one of the nicer supermarkets in the area...it sure was a lot of fun. Piper loved spreading the icing all over the cookie and dumping sprinkles on them.

Okay, so pink icing looks yummy, even though it's consistancy suspiciously screams non-biodegradable...Piper seemed to like it until 9pm Easter Day when she broke out in hives. Not just "oh lets give her some Benadryl" hives, I mean "holey cow, she needs to see a Doctor, rub 10 gallons of excema cream on her body hives"...no more pink store bought icing. Ever! That'll teach Mummy for going all non-organic on me!

Greetings Family and Friends

Well, I guess it's time to let you all know that we are in the process of adopting another child from China. We are so excited!! Piper is pretty keen on having another kiddo in the house, as are we.

We submitted our paperwork to China late 2006 and have an official LID (log in date with the Chinese government) of 12/08/2006. The wait times have increased dramatically since our last adoption, when we applied for Piper the wait was six months from LID to referral, now we are looking at 30+ months, as much as five times the wait. This comes with it's fair share of burdens, including having to renew much of our paperwork, clearances, USCIS filings up to two more times. We didn't quite bargain for that when we started out so we are starting a fundraising effort to help defray some of the costs of the additional paperwork, as well as raise the $3000 orphanage donation fee.

We are also on the list for a 'waiting child', which could mean a referral later this year, which would be wonderful but also brings with it the possibility of additional expenses. For those of you not familiar with the 'waiting child' program, it is set up so that children who have mild to moderate special needs can find homes, most of the special needs would be considered minor in the USA, like a cleft lip, club foot, minor heart issues, birthmarks, anemia etc, but they often disqualify these children from the non special needs lists because they are not considered 'normal'. We are in agreement as a family that we can't let one more child go without a family, regardless of a health issue.

We are trying our best to raise the $25,000+ for the adoption and have cottoned on to this dandy little fundraising helper called chipin. Even a $1 donation will help us work towards our dream of bringing another Hoppe home.

This is the official beginning of the 'Hoping for another Hoppe' campaign!

Donations are made through paypal and are completely secure.

Blessings

Hayley, Mike & Piper

Virginia Tech Tribute - 4/16/07

A week has passed, millions of tears have been shed, these are the faces of Virginia Tech...We will prevail.

The tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday leads me to this brief posting, I'd like to post a photo of the beautiful campus at Blacksburg, but one photo doesnt tell the story of being a proud hokie in times of despair. Mike attended Virginia Tech for 4 years and earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering. He had classes in Norris Hall with one of the Professors that did not make it on Monday morning, he gave his life protecting the students in his class. He is deeply wounded and profoundly proud of the students, faculty and alumni that call themselves 'hokies', I too have become a 'hokie' through marriage, and have visited the campus, seen the beauty of the valley and felt the passion of the home team while watching a football game.

We are proud to be part of the Virginia Tech family, we hope Piper will someday be a hokie girl and make her Daddy proud!

All our prayers and well wishes are with the families of the lost, the students and the staff at VT.

We are Virginia Tech, We are the Hokies!