we made it and we are alive.. barely

We have finally made it into our new home. Praise be to God! We broke ground in May of 2010 and after nine long months, I thought the day might never come. But alas, we are here. I did convince Jamie that movers was the way to go and thank goodness we did because we ended up moving on the coldest day of the year. I don't really know what the actually temp was that day but it was below zero with windchill. Brrr..... I felt awful for the two young men who were moving all our junk. We moved on a Friday and my sister and her family came up from Indy on Saturday morning and went home Sunday afternoon. They were a HUGE help. Jenny and Mark unpacked the entire playroom and Mark put together three pieces of furniture that were out of the box new and the guest bed. He also hung the shower curtain in the guest bath... I was impressed. They left and my Mom was here Sunday though Friday morning. She, of course, was a huge help. So a BIG THANK YOU to Jenny, Mark and Mom for all your help! Much appreciated!

After being in the house exactly one week we broke it in Moore style, with puke all over the kitchen floor, and then the couch, and then the carpet. You guessed it, two sick little girls. Lauren got it first on Saturday morning. Hannah followed as expected yesterday. I think Lauren was started to turn a corner today. No more throwing up but still running a fever. Maybe tomorrow....

We are bracing for this big storm they are talking about. They are saying 16-18 inches. Oh my! Jamie is working (of course) and was supposed to get in tomorrow at 1:20 but they have closed Midway airport as of noon tomorrow. They have rerouted him to get in at 11:15am. We shall see. Say a little prayer that his flight gets in and he makes it home safe and sound before it gets too bad.

The girls managed to keep themselves entertained while we were packing up the house.

Hannah crumpled up a bunch of packing peanuts to make "snow" and then made "snow" angels.

Daddy made them a tent out of all the boxes

And of course, playing hair salon!

the many faces of hannah

Hannah is really into making faces these days. You pull out the camera and the faces start! You don't have to do any prompting, her sweet little face changes with each click of the camera.. with her little face squealing "lemme see, lemme see" after each shot.

And she is always willing to give me a cute, sweet, innocent smile at the end. Ahh.. what more could a mama ask for!

11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids

I got this from my sister and thought it was hoo-larious! I had to share!

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

the next Taylor Swift, french fries and other pics that make me smile

Some random photo's from my Iphoto account..

Lauren on New Years Eve. Typical Lauren. She was rocking the glasses, crown and blow horn in typical Lauren style. The more flair the happier she is. And I love this about her. It is hard to get a "real" picture of her these days. If I go to take her picture she has to "pose" or act silly. I know I have and post more pictures of Hannah simply because 1)she is with me all the time and 2)she is still innocent in all the pictures. Never posing, just being Hannah. Which is my favorite kind of picture to take. And I know one of these days she too, will start posing.
Hannah eating her favorite thing in the world. A french fry. She isn't picky. Any french fry will do. She is our champion eater. She will eat any vegetable you give her, including raw broccoli. But man, does she love a french fry.
Audrey Nicole Shobe and Lauren. For those that don't know, Audrey is a family friend that I have known since the day she was born. She is 14 now (yeah I am getting old). I kept Audrey a lot when she was younger just because I loved her to pieces and loved spending time with her. Then she started school and those times get fewer and far between. But we got her over Christmas Break and it was fabulous. My girls have grown to love her just as I have. AND she is going to Disney with us in March! Yippeee!!!
And why is this picture in my Iphoto? Who knows! It is funny though. I don't even know this kid.
Watch out Taylor Swift, here comes Lauren. Yes she is singing her heart out here to either Tik Tok or Freak Out.. not sure which. She puts all her heart and soul into her singing. Don't get me wrong, she could use some vocal lessons ;), but the passion is certainly there.
Look at my Grandpa! Such a sweet, loving man. We lost Grandpa this past fall at the age of 91. He was wearing this wig of dreads because one of the grandkids had put it on him. We all loved it and he wore it the entire day! Miss you Grandpa!

Ahhh... what a glorious picture to look at on this snowy, cold day. Hannah and I on the beach on Lake Michigan this past summer. We love going to the beach with the kids in the summer and we do it often. As I sit here typing, Hannah is hanging onto me crying "I wanna go to the water mama, pease, pease!"

the (dreaded) preschool application

It happened. This week I received a letter in the mail addressed to "The parents of Hannah Moore." It was from the school Lauren attends and our church. I had no idea what it could be. It honestly never crossed my mind that it could be. But it was. A preschool application. What???? Instant panic. Instant anxiety. Instant tears. All sorts of thoughts are racing through my head. She is too little, this can't be right. Now listen, it's not that it has never dawned on me that next school year would be when Hannah should start preschool. We have talked about it in the past. Talked about where we would send her. However, I pushed that to the back of my mind and obviously refused to fully acknowledge it. Instantly, I knew exactly where we were going to send her. It was without question. Our two options have always been Lauren's current school or where Lauren went to preschool in Chesterton. Lauren's preschool without question. The reason that decision was easy is because the teachers there are some of my best friends. They know Hannah, Hannah knows them. It's a drive now that we are moving to Valpo but an easy decision. Plus as a bonus, if I don't end up actually leaving the school until January, they will be more understanding. But back to the panic, anxiety and tears. I say to Jamie that we really don't even need to send her. I can teach her what they will, right? Jamie's reply, "you can also put a brick on her head and she will never grow." Fine. And really, its not so much that I dread dropping her off, that her days with me are over. It's more that part of my life being over. When I thought about my life growing up, this is what I envisioned. A mom to little kids. I never thought past it. Honestly, never have.. simply because I didn't want to. I still don't want to. So, yes, it's all about me. Don't get me wrong, I was super sad when Lauren started preschool. She was my only child and it was sad. I missed her. But it was a different sad. I knew she wouldn't be my last child. Even if we had to adopt, we would have another child. Plus, being an only child and living on a farm, Lauren needed the socialization and I was excited for her to get that.

It's the same reason why I won't take the passy from Hannah. Or make her go poop in the potty. I could take her passy's. She would be fine. I let Lauren have hers until she was 3. I planned to do the same with Hannah. And about 6 months ago I started limiting the passy use. But now that the time is coming I have been giving it to her more. How ridiculous is that? The thought of never having passy's again makes me want to cry. She pee's in the potty fine. Completely pee trained. She wants to poop in a diaper. She comes to us and says she wants a diaper. We put a diaper on her, she goes into her bedroom, takes a dump and comes out saying she is done. I have let this continue to happen. I don't fight her on this. Why? Because it keeps her little. I know what everyone is thinking and some of you have even said. "Have another one." I could, and we might. But at some point I have to face this fear. I have to move on. I have to embrace the next chapter. But for now, she's still 2, the preschool application isn't due yet and I'm going to hold her a little tighter for as long as I can.

new year reflections

I start 2011 off thankful. I am fortunate to have many, many blessings in my life. I told you I had resolutions for this year and focusing on my blessings and being positive in general is one of those.

There a some people I owe a HUGE thank you to.. in no particular order. ;)

*To my husband who is my best friend. He is my #1 fan. From him I get unconditional love and acceptance, and he always makes me feel like I am special and liked. I'm the luckiest girl in the world for having him.

*My daughters.. it is from the two of you that I have learned the true meaning of sweetness, patience and forgiveness. It is from you that I have learned that whatever you choose in life I will always be proud of you simply because you hold the key to my heart forever.

*My sister who has answered her phone every. single. time. I call and listened to me ramble on.. even the times when I am rambling simply because Jamie is on a 4 day trip and I haven't had an adult conversation in 3 days. I love you.

*Heather.. you accentuate the beautiful parts of life and remind me to also. Thank you for being an amazing neighbor and great friend. I will miss you.

*Nina.. for all that you do. Taking care of my dogs, my kids and my pot roast. You are there when I need you and then some. I will miss you too.

Of course I am thankful to so many other people and things.. the list goes on. I vow to focus on those things all year.

I sincerely appreciate all of you. I gratefully and humbly say

THANK YOU

from the bottom of my heart.