What A Difference A Day Makes

Dustin and I decided to go get him some new work clothes the other night. He NEEDED them desperately as he has to wear nice clothes to work everyday and basically rotated between two pairs of suit pants and a few shirts that required him to keep his tie strategically placed to cover the stain. Anyway he had a very *** interesting reaction *** to his new wardrobe yesterday and I thought I would share it with all because it was quite funny. Apparently he has reached a new level in grooming!

My Favorite Things

I just wanted to do a quick post because I have come to some conclusions recently that I wanted to share. I have realized how lucky I am to be able to stay home with my kids. I am sorry to say this but I don't think I ever felt "lucky" to be home with my girls. My mom was home growing up and most of my friends moms were home and I grew up with the attitude that that was just the way it was. It wasn't a sacrifice it was just the way it was. So consequently when I got married and had kids it wasn't even a decision for me it was just something that I expected would be the way it was. I can't say either that I had huge aspirations to have a career in anything (other than be a singer or actress or some other non reachable goal). Honestly I always wanted to be a mother. I didn't realize then how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom. I didn't realize the monotony of it all or the fact that you are cut off from the world for a large chunk of time when your kids are little. I didn't realize that all I was going to do was EVERYTHING and nothing at the same time........ I have been known to complain about this on occasion. And the fact that I had never consciously made the choice to stay home or ever thought that I was "lucky" didn't exactly help with the feelings of occasional resentment.

There have been times when I have had jobs, mostly part-time, during my motherhood career and I felt conflicted about not being with my kids for a few hours a couple times a week! But even then I still wasn't appreciating the fact that I was home with my babies it was more that subconsciously I knew home was where I was supposed to be. It hasn't been until I started my current employment that it is hitting me how lucky I am to be here at home. This new job has been a blessing and I am so incredibly grateful to have it but it has also been very challenging for me at times and has made me feel very out of my comfort zone. I have had to relearn how to talk with adults other than friends and teachers. And I have had to deal with stresses that I haven't had to deal with in a very long time. And all I keep thinking is how glad I am that I don't have to do it full time every day and have my mind caught up in my work instead of my children. Don't get me wrong I LOVE having something other than my children on my mind occasionally but really they are what I love and what my passion in life is for and what I want most of my energy wrapped up in. Dustin and I have had conversations about our different roles and I have commented how I would not want to go to work everyday and he has commented how he would not want to stay home every day. So I guess our roles work for us! But I am very thankful that he takes care of us enough that I have been able to stay at home and be the mom that consciously I WANT to be. I remember my youngest sister saying to me once that she hoped that she got lucky enough to marry a man that made enough money to let her stay home like my older sister and I had. I had never thought of it that way.

Anyway my point in my "short" post was that I am thankful for my husband who works so hard for us so that I can be here everyday for my girls. But I am also thankful for the job I have and the( albeit small) contribution I am able to make monetarily at home without taking me away from my favorite things. And I don't really know where all this is coming from as I look at the PILE of laundry on my couch and the disaster that my family room is. But for now I am actually feeling grateful to be here to fold it and to be here to watch my girls grow up a little every day. BUT you might not want to ask me how I am feeling about the pile of laundry that will probably still be on my couch and the family room that will be a disaster again TOMORROW.

A missed Twilight.....

Okay I am SO mad! I am mad because I just found out that I missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime! I don't know how many of you have been following the Twilight website about the movie that is being made. I personally haven't checked it much. Well it turns out that Twilight is being filmed in PORTLAND! Who knew?! Not me! AND they had an open casting call for extras in the movie......and I missed it! I think that would have been so fun to have maybe been in Twilight! I could have been an extra! Or who knows maybe I could have been a teacher or a parent or the receptionist at the school office........DANGIT! There were a couple of young women in my ward that went down and got their picture taken (of course it was only young women) and I heard that there were TONS of people there. But I would have still liked to try. Oh well. Anyway, maybe I will have to go see where they are filming it and take some pictures! Anyone that wants to come and join me is welcome. They start filming at the end of this month and maybe they will still be filming when Maddy gets baptized in May. Just another reason to come and visit!

6 interesting things about me

Olivia my niece tagged Maddy on her blog spot to tell 6 interesting things about her. Then Maddy tagged Josey. So we sat down and I just typed verbatim what they said. It is pretty entertaining. If you want to read it go to the link of Moyes Girls their answers are there.

Public Apology!

If you look closely down below you will notice that there is a picture missing. I didn't realize that Dustin was in HIS "G'S"! I wish someone would have said something! So I took the picture off obviously. Sorry about that everyone.

random pictures

Lilly has developed the bad habit of not eating in her high chair at dinnertime but waiting until daddy gets home to eat all of his dinner. Honestly if it wasn't so cute we would put a stop to it but she is just so excited when daddy gets home that she won't leave his side. She usually gets most of her dinner from his plate at night. Luckily daddy likes the bonding time as well. The other day Josey decided to play mommy with Lilly. She was asking me if we could trade places and she could be the mommy and I could be the daughter. So one of her things she decided to do was to change Lilly's diaper. This was the outcome. Lilly just idolizes Josey though and just having her pay attention to her made her SO happy! She just layed down and let her do whatever she wanted to her. She just followd her around when they are together just trying to play her all day. Too cute!
We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day on Saturday since payday was Friday (kinda sad I know). So Daddy brought Maddy and Josey home a rose and a little frog fro Lilly. Well anything that Maddy and Josey have, Lilly has to have as well, so she started getting very upset that she didn't have a flower. So we pulled a bunch off of mommies pretty little roses and gave them to her and she was happy as a clam. This picture cracks me up though. They all look a little crazy or seomthing.
Tonight we were having pizza for dinner and I set the pizza down on a table in the family room and went and turned on the oven and then started doing something else. Well I didn't notice but Lilly had gotten the pizza and taken it into the kitchen and this is how I found it at the foot of the oven, after I spent five minutes looking for the missing pizza. She was running around the house saying, "Tymma eet josey! Tymma eet Manny, Tymma eet mommy!!" But it didn't even register to me. Too cute!

Mormon Idol

Is anyone surprised by this?

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695254151,00.html

If you have been watching American Idol this season I think that you could deduce that Brooke White was Mormon by the fact that she has never seen a rated R movie and doesn't drink or smoke or drink coffee. But David Archuleta I didn't know was Mormon. The funny thing is when I watched him sing and they interviewed him I told Dustin that I REALLY liked him. He seemed like the nicest kid and could really sing. He then was so polite to the judges in every situation and we both commented on what a nice kid he was. We should have guessed! Isn't it funny how that works sometimes. It is like Mormon's have mordar (mormon radar) or something. The other day we were walking back from the park and this family pulled up to their house down the street from us. Josey and Mikayla (the little girl) recognized each other from kindergarten. They had just moved in a couple of weeks earlier. Well they proceed to get their four children out and they were really nice and friendly. I started thinking that they maybe were Mormon but then I realized that I hadn't seen them at church and Mikayla started in Josey's class a couple of weeks ago. Well we went to stake conference that next Sunday and lo and behold who did we see there.......Mikayla and her family. They are Mormon! I KNEW IT! They said they were thinking the same thing about us but weren't quite sure. They just hadn't been to our ward yet because of their recent move. Anyway I love that we can pick out Mormon people because of our friendliness and curtiousness. Now I know this isn't always the rule but it comes pretty close!

hohhh--puuuurr

Well if you look at when I am posting this you will notice that it is shockingly early in the morning. I am not awake because I needed to get up or because I am a natural early riser but I CAN'T BREATH!! I developed asthma when I was like 25 or something out of the blue. Never had it before and then BAM my oxygen supply is cut off. It is so annoying. And as I have gotten older it has gotten worse. The fact that I am allergic to dust and trees doesn't bode well for any living conditions that aren't in a bubble. So despite the fact that I have to take two different medications everyday and carry around an inhaler in a holster I still wake up at 3:00 in the morning not able to breath. I have come to the conclusion recently that I think this is how I am going to die. Can anyone think of many things that are more annoying? The best part is that in about four hours my kids will be up and there is no school tomorrow. yeah......

ANYWAY, I was bored and checking blogs and my sister-in-law tagged me (and I am assuming I get to pick either of your tags to copy). So here goes at 3:30 in the morning.

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B: Each player answers the questions about themselves. C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 Years Ago: I had just moved home from BYU for the semester biding my time until Dustin returned from his mission in July, working at a mortgage company. I decided to take the winter off and move back to California and work for a variety of reasons. I think my mom was so in favor of it because it got me away from the guy I was dating (who she never liked. She was always a big fan of Dusti-poo).

On My To-Do List: Go to the store tomorrow with all three of my kids (there is no school) and buy the ingredients for cheesecake, get a salad for ten, and two dozen rolls. This is my assignement for our Valentines adult dinner for the ward tomorrow night. You may wonder why I didn't do these things prior to the day I would have all my kids with me? Payday folks, payday is the answer. Then we get to head into Portland to meet Dustin for lunch and then come home assemble the food stuffs and start cleaning my house for the babysitter.

5 places that I've lived: Cucamunga, CA; Downer's Grove, IL; Mountain Lakes, NJ; Las Vegas, NV; and Oregon City, OR

5 jobs I have had: Ice Crean scooper at Loard's Ice Cream Shoppe, Checker at Long's Drug Store, Server at the Rising Loafer Cafe, Apartment Manager for The Firs (Or better titled The Crazies and The Non-English speakers), and my current job, a scheduling cooridnator for a wholesaler representative manager with Prudential American Scandia (did I make that sound official enough?)

What I would do if I became a billionaire: First thing would be to pay off all these stinkin student loans. And let me tell you that would be a happy day indeed. Then I would want to pay off all our siblings student loans because it is such a burden. Then I think that I would buy homes for all our family (or at least those that didn't already own them or didn't want a new one). Then I would buy a brand new van that has those cool swivel seats and the satellite tv hooked up. Oh the things that excite a mother of three little ones. Take a vacation somewhere REALLY fun for a LONG period of time. And I would probably donate to the church a big chunk, that one probably should have come earlier. I would invest a lot of it. Then I would call my employer and tell her to take my job and shove it so that I could sit around and figure out how I wanted to spend my money! jk But I would tell my mom to quit her job!

Bad habits: I am not sure that I have any GOOD habits! Watching too much tv at night. There are too many good shows that I like to watch. Starting books and never finishing them, it has to be REALLY good. Too many to list.

Things I enjoy: Spending time with my husband. Road trips. A REALLY good book. Going on field trips with my kids or helping out in the classroom (I love to see my children in these settings). Going to the movies. Dinner group.

Things people don't know about me: I am not a natural red-head. jk For a while in college I wanted to follow in my grandfather's footprints and become a geologist and travel to Alaska looking for oil. When I couldn't remember what a luvial fan was or three quarters of the rest of the stuff I learned I thought maybe that wasn't for me. Then I thought maybe I would be a marine-biologist. That lasted for all of a couple of weeks. I know NOTHING about the ocean life. Then I thought I would be a teacher. Hated the classes and changed majors to a Pyschology major but kicked around Poitical Science and Theater major. I finally settled on the very lucrative and "high potential for a job" major of History.

Alrighty then. I am going to try and go back to sleep. That was fun, thanks Liz. I tag NONE of my sister since NONE of them blog more often than once a month if I am lucky (lame). So I tag, Debbie, Wendy, Gretchen, and Rachel (that is you Bentley).

Thank you Grandma Beth

Okay mom here they are! I need at least ten minutes from opening up the package to blogging about it! jk (We called my mom to say thank you and I had to call her back like five minutes later and she was asking where the pictures were!)

THANK YOU GRANDMA BETH!

Maddy is actually talking to you in this picture.
Well we can all see that Maddy had her tonsils taken out.
Josey said her favorite thing was everything and wanted a picture with it all.
Lilly loved any and all candy. She kept saying, "I lubba cahnnee". I have a cute video of Lilly trying to get her pez candy out but it is taking too long to load and since I have already taken too long to get these pictures up here I am just going to post...post....POST...POST!!!

toe-walking?

Well yesterday we had a stroke of luck or an unfortunate accident, however you want to look at it. Lilly and I were playing out on the trampoline and she caught her pinkie toe somehow and hurt it pretty bad. She was so upset and wouldn't walk all day. I finally got her up and around that night when we turned the music on and she couldn't resist but to dance. BUT she can't walk on her toes!

Lilly has been a toe walker since she could walk. People are constantly commenting on how she walks on her toes and she looks like a little ballerina. Unfortunately it isn't all that cute when you are a little worried that something is wrong. Her pediatrician referred me to a pediatric orthopedic doctor last week to get her checked out.

Anyway I am kinda glad the toe thing happened because I want to see if it stops the habit of her toe walking but I do feel bad because I know how much that hurts! I know that some of you have had some experience with toe walking children. Can you all give me any advice or tell me what your doctors have said about it? I am not sure what to do about it or if I need to worry.

tantrums

Okay so Lilly has been sick with a double ear infection the last week and has been a total nightmare! At stake conference I had to stay out in the foyer with her the first hour and then we switched and Dustin was out with her the second hour. I should have just taken her home. But we sat out there and for no reason she would just fall on the floor and scream for a minute and then make sure I was watching and then get up and start all over again. Fairly embarrasing. This lady was sitting next to me and commented, "Your daughter is very entertaining". I think what she was thinking was "Your daughter is very annoying". She asked me if my boys or girls were harder. I told her I have only girls, three of them, so I guess they are all hard. She said she had five boys (!!!!) and one girl and that she had found that her daughter seemed harder than her boys. (While I am not one who perscribes to this way of thinking in general I can concede that girls emotional and dramatic tendencies can be harder to take than boys rambuctiousness.) So I told her that she was sick and that she isn't usually THIS out of control. She complimented me on being so calm about the whole thing. I think what she probably wanted to say though was, "GET UP! And take your daughter home!" Because that is what I was thinking. Anyway, approaching the terrible two's with full force I found these videos that really made me laugh and I so want to try the first video's tactic and see if it works. I have been tempted in the past but can't quite seem allow myself to perform like that in a store. So funny though!

hilarious tantrum

This totally cracked me up! This is totally Lilly. She throws a tantrum or pouts and then looks up and makes sure I am watching. Hope you enjoy, I know we can all relate!

more basketball

This video is more for the granparents than anyone else but it is still pretty cute. You can get a feeling of what it is like at one of Maddy's basketball games. I think that she takes four steps to eveyone esle's one step. If you watch the video closely you will see many a hop, a cheer and even a turn that she has integrated into her game! Do you guys see more basketball player or cheerleader? I am not sure yet!



She had another great game! She didn't get any baskets but she turned into an aggressive animal on defense. They put wrist bands on all the kids with matching colors from each team. That way they learn how to guard their one person and they don't all gang up on the one with the ball. But Maddy took that to heart and manhandled the little boy. I was actually a little bit embarassed! The boy that she was covering was pretty good with the ball but the defense has to wait behind the midcourt line until the guy with the ball crosses the line. The boy finally got to the point that I don't think he wanted to cross the line because Maddy was in his face so much that he would just end up chucking the ball somewhere like, "FORGET IT!" Which is what is going on in the picture below.
At one point Dustin and I watched our sweet little girl's face contort into a determined animal! You could just see it in her eyes as you watched her that she was going to get that ball away. She ended up just grabbing the ball and stealing it from the boy dribbling! She would not give up until she got that ball away and she got it, which is the picture below. Anyway it was pretty fun to watch and she loves it which is the most important thing!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Moyes

We got our valentines early from grandma and grandpa Moyes and the girls were so excited! Thank you so much. Lilly walked around with these for the rest of the day. She didn't necessarily eat them all she just wouldn't give up the box! We even took a walk down to the park and she had to bring them. It was SUCH beautiful day on Saturday the girls were begging to have a picnic outside. So I finally said okay and they started working on setting up the picnic scene. They said they wanted to have a special valentine picnic. As you can see it was complete with shade umbrellas and flowers. They were so proud of themselves and very excited. Josey even cut out paper hearts for everyone. It was so nice to have such a warm sunny day. A break from the clouds and rain until it hits again in a couple of days.

Farewell Mitt Romney

If you are anything like us in this house we were voting for Mitt Romney and we are so disappointed that he had to resign from the race last week. BUT I love that Joe Scarborough stuck up for the obvious fact that EVERYONE in the news media and the other Republican candidates hated Mitt Romney. It was so frustrating to hear SO much about Mccain and ever Huckabee but hear nothing about Romney. At least nothing positive. So maybe I came upon this a little too late but I feel a little bit vindicated. And I hope Mitt does too.



Does the female news anchor seem very defensive?

The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy:

1 . You know the state flower (Mildew).
2 . You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
3 . Use the statement 'sun break' and know what it means.
4 . You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
6 . You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant or to church.
7 . You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the 'WALK' Signal.
8 . You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it's not a real mountain.
9 . You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle 's Best, and Veneto 's.
10 . You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.
11 . You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup , Haceta, Yaquina, Yachats, Issaquah , Oregon , Yakima and Willamette . (almost forgot Ohanapecosh)
12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13 . You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.
14 . In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark while only working eight-hour days.
15 . You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
16 . You are not fazed by 'Today's forecast: showers followed by rain,' and 'Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers.'
17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
18 . You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of Mind.
19 . You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
20 . You notice, 'The mountain is out' when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
21 . You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22 . You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.
23 . You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24 . You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
25 . You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the
old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.
27. You often switch from 'heat' to 'a/c' in the same day.
28 . You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
29 . You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter (Winter), Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk season (Fall).
30 . You understood these jokes and will probably forward them.

And if you don't understand ANY of these, then you don't live in Oregon or Washington!!!

Baby......EVERYTHING!

Lilly is obsessed with baby things. She loves to put everything in a family. She isn't so much obsessed with actual babies, as she throws them out of the crib every night because she DOES NOT want them in her crib. But anything that is small she immediately says, "aaah cute baby: sock, doll, kitty, rock, or in this case grape. She had grapes for lunch the other day and she only wanted the babies. Then she would promptly eat them.....maybe we shouldn't have anymore children. But then she would pick up the bigger ones and they would either become mommy grapes or daddy grapes. I would try to convince her that mommy is as small as the baby grape and not NEARLY as big as the daddy grape but she didn't like that. She has been carrying around her baby duck and her mommy duck for the last couple days. She constantly hugs the little baby duck and just loves it. She was even looking for a baby sister for one of the "baby" dolls. So cute. Don't you guys think that we should give her a little baby brother or sister to play with?I mean she loves babies so much, who are we to deprive her of that love?

Our little hoopster!

Well I guess soccer wasn't her sport! Maddy had her first basketball game on Saturday and I am proud to report that she was good! She was really good! She even made a basket during the game and a free throw shot and a few assists. She completely held her own with the boys (they are co-ed teams). Thay have only had one practice before the game and I wasn't even sure if she would inderstand how to play but I guess I was wrong. I am realizing now that soccer may have been a little hard on her legs. You are constantly running up and down a field that is pretty big. While she is still running up and down the basketball court it isn't nearly as long and I think that it is better for her to keep up. She still complains of a few aches in her knees and she has never been a very fast runner I think because of the arthritis but basketball seems to suit her and Dustin couldn't be more thrilled. He isn't the biggest fan of soccer and would much rather watch a basketball game than a soccer game! And I am excited because dribbling a basketball is one of the activities that the optimetrist said would halp with her vision therapy so it is a win win for everyone. It has been really fun because there are two other girls that are on her team that are in our ward and we played our good friends son (also in our ward) on Saturday. So Sunday was full of compliments for her about how well she played even from the big brothers that were impressed with how well she played. She jammed her finger in the last quarter and was so funny about it when we were heading home. It hurt but she told me she has done that like a million times it was no big deal! I don't know what basketball she has jammed her finger on considering that this week is like the first time she has ever dribbled a ball but whatever! Anyway it was lots of fun and we are excited to see how the game goes next week.