(old) a little Moore everyday

Mosey on over, ya'll

2009-11-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, I woke up one morning and thought, "I'd really like some banana pudding today." But there was no banana pudding mix in the pantry, no nilla wafers, no bananas, and only a quarter cup milk. Poor me.

So I did the next best thing. I created a blog and titled it bannanapudding! I even purposely misspelled it on accident.

Since then I've had plenty of banana pudding, I mean the really good kind left in the fridge overnight so it's all mushy. And so the blog url has lost it's quirky charm. And seriously, the misspelling has been bothering me for 2 years and 364 days!

So the blog has been moved! it is now at- appropriately- http://alittleMooreeveryday.blogspot.com And while I may not share a little more everyday on alittleMooreeveryday, I'm sure to share a little more every week or so.

So mosey on over ya'll.

Petrie Park

2009-11-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the weather was fall fabulous, so what does that mean? Picnic at the park!!! We have our own custom names for the parks in the Madison area that our kids have created- this helps when trying to decide where we're going.
Dublin Park- the Castle park
Palmer Park- Pizza Park (we met Richard for dinner, with Little Ceasar's)
Windsor Park- y'know, that New One

The Land before Time is not how Petrie Park got it's name.

No, Petrie park is where last year Sam learned for the first time that if boys have really got to go, the nearest potty may be as close as the nearest tree. I am not telling anyone which park or which tree.

We had a competition to see who could get the whale's tail to touch the ground, and Richard won. What a man.

Yes, he needs a haircut. But I still can't help but love the way it sticks up all over the crazy place.

Seriously, could this boy get any cuter? And his two little teeth? too much.

Treats. just lots of treats.

2009-11-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone has posted cute pictures of their kids in adorable costumes trick-or-treating.

I do not.

I only have a picture of what Halloween does to my kids:

Ahhh, candy.

He did it!

2009-10-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Richard successfully defended his dissertation. He has a few revisions to the text, but the professors on his committee all approved his research. So for all intents and purposes....

He is now DR RICHARD MOORE!

He had a great group of professors at the University of Memphis, especially Dr. Halford, who have helped him along the way. Thank-you!

Where the wild Things Are

2009-10-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am almost hysterically excited about this movie. Hannah and Sam are ready to go with me, too!

Richard's more excited about this book adaptation, however. Hannah, not so much. Warning: Richard thinks this is funny.

When I was your age, Pluto was a planet

2009-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I have a running line:

Me: Hannah, I love you.
Hannah: Well Mom, I love you all the way to Pluto.
Me: I love you all the way to Pluto and back
Hannah: I love you all the way to Pluto and back and back to Pluto again.
Me:I love you all the way to Pluto and back and back to Pluto and back again...

And this continues until we reach our destination, or the chicken nuggets are done cooking, or Josh does something distractingly cute.

So today from the backseat of the car Sam announces:

"Mom, I love all the way to Pluto. And I love you all the way to Micky Mouse. And I love you all the way to Minnie Mouse. And I love you all the way to Goofy. And I love you all the way to Daisy Duck"

Seriously, he was at Goofy before I realized- he thinks Pluto is a dog.

~~~

There haven't been many pictures lately. That's because we keep our pictures on our desktop, named HAL. We recently tried to install Ubuntu on it, and the conflicting Windows/Linux commands have made him a bit crazy. Don't worry. He'll make it.

But we do want to get a new computer in 2010, just so we can name her SAL.

And to anyone who understands why that is funny, well, it's okay to be a geek.

Does it make you a bad parent when...

2009-09-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

You turn to your husband at 10:45 Sunday night and ask-
"Richard, did we have dinner tonight?"

and he replies:
"huh.

no.

...and neither did our kids."

And you realize that you sent your son to bed earlier complaining about being hungry (which he does every night), and you told him sorry, it's was too late, and now it's bed time. And you are suddenly even more grateful to the Horrocks for showing up with cookies after bedtime, because that's all your kids got to eat tonight.

What inspired friends!

Perspective

2009-09-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am humbled. True, I did brag/complain about Josh and his 9lbs 13oz birth weight, but that's nothing compared to this kid:

"An Indonesian woman has given birth to an 8.7-kilogramme (19.2-pound) baby boy, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said. The baby boy is pictured here next to a baby of average size at a hospital in Medan, North Sumatra."

This momma deserves a trophy. And Josh is suddenly such a cute little thing.

from the mouths of babes

2009-09-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

With the addition of a third child seat to our minivan, Hannah and Sam have been banished to the back bench seat. The reason being two-fold: Josh's seat has to be easily accessible from the side door, but if one of the child seats was next to Josh, battle lines would be drawn for a daily fight. Second, with both of the talking children in the far back, Sarah and I might enjoy conversation with fewer interruptions (in theory, at least).

This has led to Hannah and Sam conversing more directly with each other in the car. This morning as we drove to church, I heard them begin to discuss the merits and flaws of a certain coloring book that had been placed in the church bag. Hannah succinctly expressed her opinion of said coloring book.

"I hate that book."

Sam, remembering a recent scolding, shot back with:

"Hannah, don't say 'hate'!"

Realizing his lack of power over his sister, he found the need to cite a higher authority. I expected a 'Daddy said' or even better 'Mommy said,' but no, he went straight for the ace of spades:

"Or Jesus will kill you."

Sam had recently become obsessed with Jesus. This is a good thing, I think. At a recent family gathering, aunts and grandparents asked him repeatedly to rattle off his list of Jesus facts, some learned, some invented. Giggles would always follow Sam's new bits of doctrine. That was cute, but I felt the need to intervene now:

"Sam, that's not true, Jesus will not kill you."

And realizing the need for clarity:

"or Hannah"

But still wanting the previous lesson to stick:

"But saying 'hate' is still bad, just not quite that bad."

Hopefully the threat of a punishment other than death will be sufficient to shape behavior.

Edit: For more Gospel According to Sam, visit Julia's blog (Richard's sister)

underwear is fun to wear

2009-08-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sam got new underwear, so everyone had to try them on, of course. We have pictures of certain grandparents wearing "funny hats" too, but we felt that the pictures were too incriminating for the web. These people are, after all, still gainfully employed at present. By some parental magic these pictures may make their way into high school year books....

60 Percent

2009-08-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Josh went in for his two month checkup last Friday and there was the usual drama: anxiety, shots, then tears from both mom and baby. Little boy went from an impressive 9 1/2 lbs at birth to a mind-boggling 14 1/2 lbs. That's a 60% increase in just two months! I didn't even grow that much the whole 9 months I was pregnant! No wonder all the kid wants to do is eat and lay around. Okay, that's basically all he can do, but still...

I think he's got to be big just to survive all of the lovin' he gets from his big sister and brother.

Millenium Odyssey

2009-08-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my hunk of a husband fixed the hyperdrive on the van. That is to say, he put rainex on the windshield. So now I'm looking forward to rainy days, because when I get going fast enough it looks like this:

Thank you, Han Richard.

Caution: You are about to look at a lot of pictures

2009-08-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

We just (okay, not just)

revise

We recently, as in two weeks ago, got back from a glorious vacation in the state of Washington where this babe (Richard's sister Julia):

Married this hunk of a man (her now husband Sloan Rehder):

The wedding was wonderful; cupcakes and candy, archways and flowers, family and friends. But that is not what I got on the computer to share today.

The Olympic Peninsula is the most beautiful place on earth. I had a hunch I would like it there, and so convinced Richard that we needed to go early and look around. I'm glad we did, because we were able to play in the beach at Port Angeles, and don't let Sam fool you, that water was cold.

We drove through Forks on the way to the rain forest, but didn't see any vampires. (It was rather sunny out.) The Hoh Rain forest was the most vibrant place I have ever been. It was crowded with life, and absolutely beautiful. We walked through a mixture of old and new growth, where moss clung to trees and ferns covered the ground...

saw an immense spruce tree...

pause by the Hoh River...

and climb up some really big roots.

We went to Hurricane Ridge, and we were so far up we could see a (very far away) glacier in one direction and all the way to the Puget sound in another. The mountains are beautiful...

and Hannah reminded me of, well, me on the trail...

and saw plenty of deer, who were apparently very accustomed to having people around.

Lake Cresent, with its sparkling blue water...

was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. I absolutely cannot adequately describe how perfect it was. Josh liked being held by Dad, but did NOT like the cold water...

Last we went to Rialto Beach, which was no Florida beach. It was misty, even at noon, and had huge driftwood logs, smooth rocks instead of sand, and haystack islands...

The waves were gargantuan (most were bigger than Richard. He had just gotten pummeled here) and loud and cold cold COLD...

But Sam had a blast.

When can we go back?!!!

Harry Potter and the...

2009-07-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Most of you know my husband, and many of you think of him as the mild mannered, soft spoken man he appears to be in public. This is not so. Not at all. When Richard comes home from work, our dull, rather mundane routine sparkles with new witticisms, which he will repeat until he gets a genuine laugh.

So to celebrate the release of the new Harry Potter movie, here's some of our favorites: (these are best read quickly out loud, between fits of giggles. Maybe you should drink some milk, so it can spew out your nose..)

Harry Potter and the Horse Header's Phone (Sorcerer's Stone)
Harry Potter and the Stranger at Recess (Chamber of Secrets)
Harry Potter and the Whsitlin' Turd of Pakistan (Prisoner of Askaban)
Harry Potter and the Goblins on Fire (Goblet of Fire)
Harry Potter and the Odor of the Beatnik (Order of the Phoenix)
Harry Potter and the Bloody Half of a Prince (Half-Blooded Prince)
Harry Potter and the Lefty Waldos (Deathly Hallows)

I actually habitually refer to book four as the Goblins on Fire, some of these jokes have been going on for so long.

Has it really been three weeks?!

2009-07-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Richard has rewritten the lyrics to Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz to describe the color and consistency of Josh's poo and so has taken to wandering through the house humming:
You're givin' me (givin' me)
nothing but cottage cheese (cottage cheese)
mixed all up with broccoli (broccoli)
served up in your paaaaaaaants...

Anatomy according to Sam

2009-06-29T12:16:00.001-07:00

Sam is recovering from a pretty bad sunburn, and so his skin has started to peel off. When he noticed this, apparently he had this conversation with Zannah (Grandma):

Sam: Ohno, my skin is coming off!
Zannah: Oh, don't worry Sam, it's okay.
Sam: No it's not! because if my skin comes off then my insides will fall out!

And how can you argue with logic like that?

And now, Introducing....

2009-06-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Just keeping the blog updated, ya'll. So it's been a week and everything is going smoothly. Joshua continues to be one of the sweetest babies I have ever seen, Richard is (absolutely) the most wonderful husband and father in the world, and my recovery is progressing well.
Josh is like a mix between a newborn and a one month old baby,probably because of his weight. He still has all the quirky newborn mannerisms- like mystery smiles, bizarre hand gestures, staring into space, and my personal favorite: "what do I do with this huge noggin?" But he also eats plenty, sleeps better than we expected, and has the most patient, calm disposition that I have ever seen.
Richard deserves a gold star. He's been staying up with Josh at night so I can get plenty of rest, he comes home early from work just to check on us, and he's never once lost patience with me, even though I'm a bit of a mess right now. He's one truly great man.
I'm recovering better than I expected, but it's slow going for sure. It's frustrating to be home and be unable to do the many things I am accustomed to, and I have to keep reminding myself that a c-section is a major surgery. Sometimes I feel like I went through this:

But mostly I feel more like I was attacked by these two:

So don't ask me how I'm doing unless you really want to know! love you all, thanks for your prayers and support-

a little more Moore to go around

2009-06-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hello cyberspace. This is Richard at the microphone. Usually my wife shapes clever little blog posts, but with an urgent need for baby pics fast, my ham-handed blogification will have to suffice. Joshua David Moore was borne at 12:27 PM on June 16, 2009. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 13 oz, though he's surely broken 10 lbs by now (investment hint: buy enfamil stock, sales are heading up!). He's healthy and beautiful (who says "we just had an ugly kid"?). The extra weight may make him sturdy enough to survive the often lethal play techniques that Hannah and Sam continue to develop. Sarah is in a lot of pain, but she is recovering well. We hope to have her home Thursday or Friday evening.

David and Goliath

2009-06-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Months ago we decided on naming our cute, adorable little baby boy Joshua David. But after my doctor's visit Friday, we're thinking of renaming him Joshua Goliath. Because the kid is estimated to weigh a whopping 9 pounds 8 ounces. (probably more, the doctor confesses, these estimates tend to run low)

How a little girl like me made a behemoth like that is beyond my understanding. But it sure explains why I have been feeling so ridiculously tired and hurt-y (a hannah phrase). Oh, and why my belly is so huge it has it's own orbit. Why I got stopped in Wal-mart by a lady who wanted to know when my twins were due.

Tuesday is the day. Wish me luck.

Slip and Slosh

2009-06-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a summery and sunny day, so we slip and slid. They had a blast, so much so that later, at seven, after dinner, and bathtime, and storytime, Sam wanted to go out and play again. Nice try kid.

(I tried getting some motion blur with Hannah's slide...but it ended up being just mostly blur.)

The sliding was fun, but it was more fun to splash in the pool at the end.

Medusa Hair, anyone?

The Great Birthday Debate

2009-05-29T05:57:00.001-07:00

So here it is...
You know how every pregnant woman in the world dreams of going into labor early, because they are so FED UP with being IMPOSSIBLY BIG and UNCOMFORTABLE by those last few weeks? Well, my babies don't like to be born. Hannah and Sam were induced, and it's looking like Josh is going to be the same way. I don't know where my kids get this stubborn streak, really. I just hope it's not this hard to get them to move out of the house in a decade or so...

The up side is that this means I get to pick a birthday for Josh. The debate is currently between June 16th and June 18th. The exciting twist? June 18th is also Richard's birthday. What do you think??

Just Duckie

2009-05-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Dublin park to feed the ducks. But first we made a nostalgic trip to Krystals (the hamburger joint people, not the shop in Cordova...) since neither of us had eaten there in years. Of course, after a few little square burgers I remembered why I hadn't eaten there in years- but they sure are good.
I think in this picture Hannah is trying to be a duck. or just being weird. probably the latter.

Then we fed the ducks. Chief will be pleased to know that Sam was seriously disappointed that we were not going to ride bikes there; more specifically, that Chief was not going to pull them in his bike trailer. It's hard explaining to that kid that some things are in Memphis, three hours away.

Then we went rock climbing.

Sprinkler fun

2009-05-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Summer time is here! I think the pictures speak for themselves. Avery was cute- she wasn't exactly sure about all that flying water.

The messy end:

I'm Pregnant and Allowed to do this sort of thing.

2009-05-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had chocolate fondue for dinner tonight. Hannah declared it her new favorite dinner, although she was a bit concerned that it wasn't clearly either a meal or a dessert, and spent a good amount of time and words trying to classify it. Sam just sighed in utter bliss. With every bite, he would roll his little eyes up and smile; it takes so little to make him so happy. I think he liked it even more that Krispy Kreme donuts, and that my friends, is saying a lot.

Not long afterward all three kids, Hannah, Sam, and Josh went N-U-T-S. At one point, Hannah pretended to be fireworks, while Sam galloped around on an imaginary horse, and Josh did flips off my rib cage. It was a great evening.

30 Weeks round

2009-04-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed when I reach this point of my pregnancy. I mean, just over three months ago I was, literally, concave what with all the puking and sickness. Now even some of my favorite maternity clothes don't make it around that belly. sigh. How did I do that?

One Hail-luva afternoon

2009-04-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Really, it was a beautiful springtime day. Except for that half hour or so of hail...and the tornadoes in the neighboring county. It never fails to shock me to be standing outside, without a coat in 60 degree weather, watching chunks of ice fall from the sky. Sam and I collected a few to show Hannah when she got home.

Mario Kart

2009-03-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our awesome friend Matt came down this weekend to audition with the Brimingham Orchestra. We loved having him here!! Just a bummer that Treesa, his wife, couldn't come too. Anyway, before he left he got Mario Kart for us and the kids. It's a hit! Seriously, this is going to make me a worse driver; I'm going to start wanting to zap people that pass me on the road.
Check out Hannah's racing headband...

The Shoe Tree

2009-03-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Just off Highway 72, approximately halfway between Memphis and Huntsville, and precisely between mile marker 5 and 6, lives the fabled shoe tree. Once thought to be extinct, scientists are baffled by its sudden re-appearance in Northern Mississippi. "According to botanical recoreds, product-specific trees all withered in the plague of mass disillusionment of the late 1920's." says horticultural expert Dr. Smarty-plants. "Now we can hope that other species, such as the money-tree, book-tree, non-battery-operated-toy-tree, and comfy-bra-tree may still be in existence somewhere." Local residents of the town Iuka, self-appellated Iukeans, have their own theories. "It's just a buncha teenagers tossin' old shoes up in tha' tree. No good." Says the town skeptic. Others are more believing. "Every spring me and my family walk down to the shoe tree and pick us a couple new shoes for the year. We alway leave our old shoes by the roots for the shoe elves to mend." Elves or teens aside, there is no denying that this has been a good year for the shoe tree. There are matching sets and even a few buds of baby shoes dangling in the lower branches, a sure sign of a thriving legend.

Three decades

2009-03-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

I did it. I actually turned thirty, despite all the tantrums and sulking and denial, the inevitable happened. And thanks to some great friends both in Huntsville and Memphis, I am convinced that although it is the end of my slightly irresponsible and reckless 'tweens, it is not, however, the end of everything. After all, even a hobbit doesn't officially come of age until thirty-three.
So I cajoled almost everyone into throwing me a series of birthday parties and had a blast. I have got some seriously GREAT friends out there.
We had a Rock Band party (after a docile book group meeting) Thursday in Huntsville. Here's the band: Lisa, Sharon, Dana, Shante, Marie, Natalie and me. Dana was the mastermind and got everyone together. THANKS!!!

The cute bass chick herself.

Dana can really shred the guitar. That is, once she figures out what those buttons are for!

Friday I had a family party with my parents and brother Tim in Memphis. My dad had thoughtfully littered the house with every "thirty" decoration Party City had to offer.

The best was the party blowers. Oh, and the awesome shades.

It SNOWED Saturday in Memphis! But that didn't deter these party girls. Catherine, Joleen, Susan, Jamie, Valerie and Lindsay all braved the weather. That's some seriously great friends!

Jamie made the most amazing cake I have ever eaten in my entire life ever ever ever. And it was Word Girl, too!

We made Joleen hold up the piñata so we could kick it. Amazingly, none of us took this opportunity to "accidentally" kick Joleen.

THANKS EVERYONE! you're next, Valerie!

It's a...

2009-02-14T18:56:00.001-08:00

Surprise! We're having a baby boy!!!!!! Joshua David Moore, Josh for him, David from my dad, and Moore from the whole family. The ultrasound was Friday and everything looks great. Strong heart. Good lungs. Legs and arms, check. and..Definitely a boy.
Hannah's been expecting a sister, so I knew her reaction to the news would be, well, memorable. Don't worry, she's over the shock now and excited about little Joshie.

Pickwick

2009-02-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Saturday I drug (dragged? drugged? drudged?) Richard and the kids to Pickwick. To make a long story short, or, in other words, to compress a lifetime of stories and memories and obligations and unfilled expectations into one sentence: my mom owns some land in Pickwick, TN. When she was growing up her family would go there (almost) every weekend and sleep in a gutted out school bus, ride horses (my mom had horses!), and tend the garden. She always wanted to do the same with us, but we never made it. Now she and my dad are rediscovering the land, and since it is exactly halfway between Memphis and Huntsville, we are all very excited about it, with visions of family camp-outs dancing in our heads.

My dad and Bruce staking the territory.

My cousin Bruce came as well with his family and four wheeler, much to Hannah's excitement. She thought it was great, of course, and wanted to go faster, of course, and Sam found the whole prospect absolutely terrifying, of course.

I really, really love walking behind the kids on the trail, because they inevitably take someone's hand, and my heart just melts.

Sam tromping through the woods. Wait, where are his legs?! I can't see them with his camo pants on!

No one knew whose trike this was, but it was buried under the remains of the old horse shed, and just begging for a picture.

My mom's ski from when she was my age. Wait, I mean from when she was a teenager. Sometimes I forget how decrepit I am becoming. She only found one, but that's okay, because she would always ski slalom; she claims it's easier that way.

Dana's number seven

2009-02-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I got tagged by Dana, and the rules were to post the 7th picture in the 7th folder on my computer. But wait, I have pictures on two computers. And some folders within folders, and folders sorted by date, and others sorted by name. And ACTUAL folders with ACTUAL pictures in them in an ACTUAL desk drawer. Seriously, this is too complicated. The rules should go something like this: Check your friends blog and discover that you have been tagged. Read disarmingly simple rules, begin to form reply post, panic at overwhelming unclear possibilities, turn off computer, leave room. Come back in a few days, begin to organize picture folders, breathe deeply, refuse to succumb to the monster, turn off computer, leave room. Come back yet again, driven by the nagging need of a task unfinished, quickly and unthinkingly select the 7th picture from the 7th folder sorted by date. Pause. Take the 7th picture from the 7th folder sorted by name for good measure. Stop. Absolutely refuse to go further. Go fold clothes; it will make you feel better.
By name. This is a snapshot of Hannah, me, my mom Teresa, and her mom Esther. I took this picture as an afterthought one time when Grandma came to visit, and I'm glad I did. The four of us never got together again after this day.
By date. I have so many pictures of Hannah and Sam looking like absolute goofballs that I decided one day to take some more deliberate shots of them. They still looked like goofballs in most of the pictures.

Superheros

2009-02-06T11:27:00.001-08:00

It's Super Iron Girl and The Incredible Spider Hulk!

Super Crazy saturday

2009-02-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Richard is not a spontaneous man. So imagine my surprise over breakfast when I jokingly suggest that we drive to the Aquarium in Chattanooga and he replies, with complete nonchalance, 'sure'. And off we went!

But first, we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger for ther very first time ever where, while waiting for our food, Sam and I practiced our goofy faces. And the burgers? fabulous.

Very first thing Hannah got to touch a NOT snake, it's actually a legless lizard. Creepy. I wanted to touch some creepies too, so later at a sting ray exhibit I put my hand in the water and the rays zapped me, and then the staff medics showed up.... just kidding. These were friendly rays with the barbs removed just for crazies like me. They were slimy, but still, it was way cool, and they would come right to the edge of the tank just so you could touch them.

There was a cool tank with a bubble in the middle that the kids (okay, and I) crawled into. It was like we were in the water.

Okay, some of these fish were just stinking huge. Like this beluga sturgeon.

Sam had a hitchhiker in the butterfly garden, which he thought was pretty cool. The funny thing is that all the rest of us are all holding still, trying hopefully to get one to land on us, and who does the butterfly land on? the crazy kid running around like a maniac. right.

Hannah's bummed no butterflies chose her.

These jellyfish were my favorite part of the whole exhibit. Their beauty was stunning.

By the time we were finished, Hannah and Sam were exhausted looking for places to nap. What a great day!

Satifying your need to know

2009-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

That's right everybody. If you have an inquiry, this water bottle is ready to satify your thirst for knowledge. My question- what exactly does it mean to satify? Is that like when you sat on someone? Or an event scheduled for Saturday? Perhaps it indicated depression, but I think that would be sad-ify. Actually, it was quite sadifying to me to have this spelling blunder discovered by Richard. I had been obliviously using this water bottle for months.

And who is it that is willing to mass produce and distribute embarrassingly misspelled bottles? That's the best part- The Memphis Public Library System. Honestly, do I laugh or cry?

She's so CUTE!

2009-01-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is baby Avery, the cutest little girl EVER! She does this thing where she wrinkles her nose when she smiles, and she plays tiger, and loves her momma Laura. Hannah and Sam love their little cousin! We miss her already!

Let your voice (and regional dialect) be heard! Check out the name poll to the right!

Twister

2009-01-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend Laura, Jason, and baby Avery along with Chief and Michelle came to visit. Being the slave driver that I am, I forced them all to paint my house; and, being the nice people they are, they painted the den, kitchen, and hallways. THANKS!!!
Afterwards we had a family fun game of Twister. Hannah and Sam were champs; I think being lower to the ground helped significantly. And baby Avery was the wild card- you never knew who she was going to pull up on next. I joined in for the second round but did not make it very long at all.

I feel fantastic

2009-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

I AM BETTER!!!!
I AM BETTER!!!!
I AM BETTER!!!!

The funk is gone, the sky is clear, and I actually ate a PIZZA the other day! It was the best Christmas present ever. Now I can start unpacking and painting, and living in our new house. YEAH!!

Goonies

2008-11-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we've all been through the 80's and watched the movie The Goonies, right? Or at least you've heard it, if you've called my cell phone recently (yech). Remember this dialog?
Mike: Data, what are you doing?
Data: Setting booty traps.
Mike: You mean booby traps?
Data: That's what I said, booty traps.

So the other day I catch Sam winding string around a couple chairs and strategically laying out legos-
Me: Sam, what're you doing?
Sam: Making booty craps!
Me: You mean booby traps?
Sam: Yeah, booty craps!

Thanks-giving

2008-11-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

So this may seem a bit off, being grateful right now, considering all that has been going on lately. I'm now 10 weeks along, and I've managed to loose 12 pounds and have IV administered twice for dehydration. Currently I am receiving home health care and pump therapy, which means that I have medication being ministered via pump directly into my leg. Hyperemisis does this to me every time; it slowly eats away my reserves and it becomes a challenge just to stay afloat.

But really, I am grateful. This is my third time to go through this, and while it has been just as difficult as in the past, I have received better medical help than ever before. Dr. Fiore listened to me from the very beginning and his concern prevented my from becoming very seriously ill. What a blessing to have a doctor who believed me! And I have wonderful friends here in Madison- Dana, Sharon, Julie, Lisa, Natalie and many others have picked up and dropped off my kids from school, watched them for hours at a time (no small favor, that) cleaned, helped unpack, bring cards and food and comfort, and more than anything they have just called to see how I was doing. More than anything else I was afraid that I would move somewhere new, and nobody would notice when I got sick. I was so wrong!

And the grandparents have been heroes. When I was thoroughly incapacitated they took Sam to Memphis for 2 weeks for me. The crazy grandmas came to town and helped us move. And my mom has called me every day, to answer all my medical questions and remind me that she loves me.

But most of all I love my husband. He has taken on himself the mom job and not complained once. This amazing husband moved us from our apartment into our house, unpacked both storage units, has gotten Hannah and Sam ready for school every morning and ready for bed every night, and all the other million things that need to be done. And instead of moaning, he asks if I am doing alright. I think he must be perfect.

Thanks everyone! Just a few more weeks!

31 Flavors

2008-10-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here's 31 special ways to say I'm 6 weeks pregnant:
arf
barf
become a fountain of flavor
bhluuuugh
blow chunks
brack
call ralph on the big white telephone
call to the seals (arrrrrr aaarrrrrrrrrr)
Chuck your Cheerios
Chunky Belch
commode hugging
copiously cough one's cookies
curl and hurl
eating backwards
facial diarrhea
food flight
Gonna blow
Harf
Like, well, you know
liquidate your assets
Perform peristaltic pyrotechnics
porcelain projectiles
Pressing the reset button
Psychedelic belch
rainbow fountain
Ralphy McMalfee
reverse gears
Screaming at your shoes
shpew
Yack
and my favorite...Yawn in Technicolor.

Yeah! See ya in a couple months!

McCain vs. Obama

2008-10-19T16:53:00.001-07:00

Inspired by the recent debates, Richard and I had some Sunday evening fun. We took a turn with each candidate, and let me tell you, there was something extremely satisfying about a well aimed punch:

Crime and Punishment

2008-10-06T18:10:00.001-07:00

Legend goes that:

Yon yonder in the early years
The youthful, innocent, blithe, cheery, carefree,
Silly, happy, untroubled, slightly reckless
And foolish Timothy
Took the pen of power,
The instrument of doom,
The permanent black marker
And inscribed his indecipherable runes
All upon the white porcelain throne
In the Nickel home.

And the Father, in the throes of a just rage,
Condemned the thoughtless child
To a punishment suitable to his age
"Here you shall sit and scrub,
And scrub and scrub and scrub and scrub,
Until all the ink is off this tub.
Er, I mean toilet."

And so now Timothy still sits,
Wiping the years away,
Never to go and play,
Because permanent marker is, unmercifully,
Permanent.

So you can understand that when I saw that Sam had scribbled all over the wall with (thankfully) pencil, there was no doubt as to what to do.

He scrubbed, that boy did.

(Once my brother Tim wrote all over the potty in black permanent marker. Dad made him clean it for, well, what seemed at the time to be forever, until he learned his lesson. Then we got another lid.)

Madison Street Festival

2008-10-06T17:57:00.001-07:00

We went to the Madison Street Festival this past weekend, and it was a lot of fun. Okay, let me qualify that. Down one side of the street was a row of vendors selling nice crafts, albiet nothing like the cool stuff at the Memphis festivals- Pink Palace Crafts fair, Italian Festival, Germantown Festival, Overton Square...Memphis was pretty hip. But down the other street it was the Madison Church Festival! All the more prominent churches in the area each had a booth and were spreading the word with go fish games, clowns, ball drop games, bubbles, handouts, and all kindsa friendliness. Hannah and Sam had a blast. It was a good Saturday morning.

Trick or Treat?

2008-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

We just found out that we are scheduled to close on our house October 31st. Yeah!!!

Here's the plan: close at one, move in and be passing candy by that evening. We can totally do it, right!?

In celebration I spent an hour wandering around Lowe's and Home Depot, waiting for inspiration to strike and snatching up any color that looked good to me. Here's the somewhat overwhelming result:

Hmm, do ya think I like red?

Mr. Crawley

2008-10-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

Meet Mr. Crawley, our new pet. (Richard still thinks it's Mr.Crowley, y'know, by Ozzy...)

I knew it was time to get an official creepy crawley when Hannah and Sam started capturing bugs in our apartment and making pets out of them. And so far, he hasn't made us sneeze. Yeah!

Celebrate National Talk like a Pirate Day

2008-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Garrrr...Richard assures me this is a highly respected holiday amongst his crew. So go ahead, check it out here, and celebrate Talk like a Pirate Day. or not. probably not.

Sam: I'm a pirate!
Sarah: Oh, well, what do pirates say?
Sam: Ummm......hello.
Sarah: Ha! What else do they say?
Sam: Ummm...Where we going?
Sarah: Do they say Garrrrr, matey!
Sam: Oh yeah, that too.

The Hokey Pokey

2008-09-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sam must have learned this at preschool this week because he's been singing all kindsa variations for the past few days.
My favorite part is "you put your left head in"
What a ham.

Potty Train-ing

2008-09-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

Sam is still potty training, and this is our most recent tactic: each of those pictures, Gordon the express train, Harold the helicopter, and the Toll bridge represent a toy that Sam picked out from Target a few weeks ago. Each time he goes potty, he gets to add a track to one of the empty rectangles, but if he makes a mess he has to take one off. Once the tracks to the toy are complete, he gets that toy.

I totally get mommy gold stars for coming up with such a cool idea, right?

Germantown Festival

2008-09-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Richard went down to Baton Rouge, LA to help with hurricane clean-up (what a great guy!) so the kids and I decided to take a trip to Memphis. And while we were there- the germantown festival! yeah! Arts and crafts, rides and funnel cakes, life at it's fullest!

The one ride that both Hannah and Sam liked was the inflated slide. I think this thing was 10 feet tall.

Hannah liked the bouncy moon-walk...

...but Sam did not.

The fastest, wildest ride they had there were these swings that spun around. For me the scariest part was wondering how old this ride was, and how much longer it was going to hold itself together.

Don't let looks deceive you. Sam is only smiling because these race cars are rollin' slower than he usually walks.

This is the best. Sam liked the minature merry-go-round because it was excruciatingly slow. He's all proud of himself for being so brave. And in the background, I swear I can hear Hannah thinking "Are you kidding me?

This is the first ride they went on. Hannah loved it, and Sam cried through the whole thing.

We had a blast! We'll be back next year-

Quote of the Day

2008-09-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sarah: I don't understand Sam. Is he even thinking?
Richard: Oh, I think he's thinking. I just don't think he's thinking what I think he should think.

No kidding.

12 hours

2008-08-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

I received a call from not one, but TWO preschools Tuesday saying that they had openings for Sam. I went on toured both, and finally decided on Trinity Baptist. They have a very comfortable feel, and remind me a lot of Lord of Life back in Memphis. Sam is so excited that when it was time to leave I had to bodily carry him out kicking and crying. Poor boy, I had no idea staying at home with no one but me was so boring. They only had a MWF opening, so I am going to take it and hope that a T/Th opens up later.

So the question is... what in the world am I going to do with almost 12 hours a week of alone time? That's right, no Hannah, Sam, or Richard. You'd think I'd have all sorts of grand plans, but when it finally comes down to it, I just don't know what to do with myself anymore. Give me some good ideas! The more crazy they are, the more likely I am to actually do it!

We have a slab!!

2008-08-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we know that absolutely no one is going to be nearly as excited about this as we are, but the builders poured the foundation for our house this week!!! YEAH!!!! And Friday the lumber pack arrived, which means it should be finished in 70 days!!! Woohoo!!! This paragraph gets the award for blatant overuse of exclamation points!!!

We went and hung out today on our slab. Richard and I sat in the master bedroom while Hannah and Sam ran races from the front porch to the back, repeatedly. And then Sam started picking up big chunks of Alabama red clay and throwing them on the slab, and (of course) Richard admonishes "hey- no throwing dirt in the house!". He then started sweeping the clay out with his foot, which was, in one word, hilarious. and silly. Okay, that was two words.

I really wanted to play hopscotch in the den, but didn't want to go to the store for chalk, when Richard (inspired by sam, no doubt) suggested drawing a hopscotch with the red clay. So there you have it. The moores, spending the afternoon on a slab of concrete. they really need to finish our house; I think the apartment life is getting to us.

Wii boxing

2008-08-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I threw Hannah and Sam in the Wii boxing ring together, and they really, really liked it! I'm not sure which was more funny- watching their little characters flail about, or watching the real kids spin and punch and jump and shout. And since the best way to win is to just keep moving...they were pretty well matched. Sam floored hannah a couple times.

Who needs real boxing gloves anymore?

Nantahala Falls

2008-08-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

We went to Nantahala Falls last weekend with the whole family, and then some. Richard's parents, my parents, julia, Laura, Jason, and Avery, Michelle, and Hannah and Sam. We all had a great time- The first day most of us went kayaking while Sweetie and Zannah stayed behind with the little kids. We all came back claiming to be soooo tired but I think that the grandma's had the hard job! The Nantahala is a good river to ride even if you don't know anything about kayaking, and it has a pretty exciting class 3 rapid at the end. Everyone else made it through fine- but I went sideways halfway through and flipped! That was the best part!
The next day we went tubing on a milder river and took Hannah with us. Let me tell you, this girl is a little thrill seeker. There was enough white water to flip most of the adults that went down, and this girl was totally game to float the "waterfall" twice! She was so excited the second time that she danced up the trail. Of course, she could dance only because dad was carrying her tube for her!
The last day we hiked up Clingman's dome before saying goodbye to Laura, Jason and Avery. Supposedly there is a spectacular view from on top this highest of peaks, but only on clear days. Most days, like ours, are cloudy, and since we were high enough to be inside the cloud...visibility was not so great. But the hike was fun!

A big thanks to Chief for making this trip happen! He's the best!

Error 18

2008-08-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a big apology to all the avid bannappudding blog readers (that goes to both of you): I'm sorry. My computer hard drive, after years of faithful service, failed. It keeps giving me Error 18 messages and telling me that there are unreadable logical blocks, and that device sda3 and sda2 have irreconcilable errors on them. And we all know what that means, don't we?
Richard keeps telling me that it's okay to use his computer, but I can't shake the nasty suspicion that alien buggers came in one night and implanted magnets into my fingertips, a sure fire way to destroy any hard drive. So I don't want to mess up his, too. Right now I'm booted from a linux flash drive, but I can't access any of my files. Which are, thankfully, backed up safely, secretly, and separately from my magnetized fingers.

So I haven't posted any of the exciting things we've been doing, like kindergarten, kayaking, rick climbing, Children's Museum visiting, Wii boxing, Kung foo panda, playgroups, stranded by a dead battery, alien encounters, and all the like.

Does anyone know what error 18 is?

Sam is nuts

2008-07-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's another reason why I love Sam. My parents have this game, Flippin Frogs, and it's a big hit, you know, flinging frogs through the air. But sometimes it's not so easy to share:

Sam: (screaming incoherently)
Me: (firmly, having already counted to three) We're going outside. now.
Sam: I wanna...gasp...(screaming continues)
Me: It's okay baby boy. calm down. tell me what you want.
Sam: (wailing) I want the FLIPPIN' FROGS!!!
Me: (laughter restrained with difficulty) you want the flippin' frogs?
Sam: (subdued, now that someone understands.) uh-huh, I wanna all the flippin' frogs.

The clairvoyant genius who named this game can only be admired.

Our almost house

2008-07-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the floorplan! You'll have to click on the image to be able to really make anything out.

We choose to wall in the dining room so it could be the music studio for Richard. That's right- no more garage band! This way he won't have to thaw his equipment in the winter, and we can all listen to him jam. We're also hoping one day to make the humongo screen porch (3) a sun room.

That's about it! They haven't started construction yet because they're waiting in permits and such, but it should be done by Thanksgiving.

Blue Angels

2008-06-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

The Blue Angels flew over our swimming pool! (they wanted a better look at some hot chick:)

There is an air show this Saturday (today) in Madison, and so the Navy Blue Angels and a few other planes have been practicing for the past few days. Since we live rather close to the airport, we've been watching while swimming in the afternoons. Needless to say, Sam did NOT like it when they would scream by right overhead; and the first few times I was cowed down as well! We finally agreed that it was just Big Blue Jet (from Little Einsteins) being a show off. Hannah, being hannah, thought it was awesome, and delighted in trying to figure out what they were writing in the air.

We're not going to the airshow today, incidentally. It would be hot, and crowded, and loud, and we can watch it from our pool anyway! Click on the pictures for a larger view:

Hannah is Five!

2008-06-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hannah turned five years old!!! Such a big girl in such a little body!

Needless to say, we had a princess party for Her Royal Majesty. She was absolutely delighted, especially with her new dress-up clothes. Zannah got her some fabulous new church clothes, but hannah was most excited about the glam clear sandals with jewels on top, and of course, the new panties (not shown).

I took her to the store earlier that day to get stuff for her party, including princess plates, cups, baloons, streamers, and all sorts of other accessories. I also had to get her presents, and this girl managed to CLOSE HER EYES while I picked out her present, and NOT LOOK at the princess doll sitting under the basket the WHOLE TIME we were at Target. What child has that kind of self control?

Happy birthday to my big girl!

A Sample

2008-06-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a sample of a recent conversation in our apartment:

Richard: Okay Sam, enough washing your hands. Stop playing with the water- you're making a mess.
Sam: Daddy, soap tastes like Yucky.
Richard: You ate the soap and it tasted yucky?
Sam: Yup, I put the soap in the cup and I drink it and it taste like yucky. but then I put water in the cup and it taste Good!

The Mom Song

2008-06-04T20:48:00.001-07:00

Get ready to pee your pants, you are going to laugh so hard:
(Lyrics beneath)

Get up now
Get up now
Get up out of bed
Wash your face
Brush your teeth
Comb your sleepyhead
Here's your clothes and your shoes
Hear the words I said
Get up now! Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you wearing that?
Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat
Don't forget! You gotta feed the cat
Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today
Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play
Don't shovel
Chew slowly
But hurry
The bus is here
Be careful
Come back here
Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside, don't play rough, will you just play fair?
Be polite, make a friend, don't forget to share
Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare
Get along! Don't make me come down there
Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away
Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay?
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone! Get off the phone!
Don't sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table
No more computer time tonight!
Your iPod's my iPod if you don't listen up
Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you're coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You'll appreciate my wisdom someday when you're older and you're grown
Can't wait till you have a couple little children of your own
You'll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate
Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate
Use your fork, do not burp or I'll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A, get the door, don't get smart with me
Get a grip, get in here, I'll count to three
Get a job, get a life, get a PHD
Get a dose of,
"I don't care who started it!
You're grounded until you're 36"
Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven's sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too?
If I've said it once, I've said at least a thousand times before
That you're too old to act this way
It must be your father's DNA
Look at me when I am talking
Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything and everything must be in place
Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about
Oh!
Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on
Get in bed, get a hug, say a prayer with mom
Don't forget, I love you
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom's work never ends
You don't need the reason why
Because, because, because, because
I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so
I'm the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!!
Ta da!!!

Rock band

2008-06-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

My friend Julie Wingert's husband Jarome got her Rock Band for her birthday and and then rented out their apartments clubhouse for the most awesome party ever. We were out late, and the video shows it; check the post on her blog for a good laugh:
http://jjwingert.blogspot.com/2008/05/rock-band-birthday-party.html

Seriously, I have got the best friends in Memphis. I love these peoples!

Dublin Park

2008-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

So, Madison Alabama has the most amazing kids' park I have ever seen in my entire life of being a mother on the prowl for awesome parks to take her crazy children to. It has bendy slides that come out of a dragon's mouth, it has twisty tube slides, tire swings, lounge chair swings, regular swings, wood xylophones, balance beams, cinderella'a coach, an alligator, and a castle and a fort made of crayons, and all kinds of places to crawl around and explore. And the best part is that there's only one entrance, and the rest is fenced, so you can let your kids loose and know they're not gonna escape. This playground was inspired by elementary school kids, and build by volunteers in the community. I LOVE IT!!!

And so do Hannah and Sam

Sam Is 3!!

2008-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

My younger brother Tim had the misfortune to be born on June 13th, and he has complained every year that we always go on vacation on his birthday, instead of staying at home so he can party. Admittedly, I have never really had much sympathy for his plight- I mean, what could be cooler that your very own birthday family vacation? Who doesn't want to sing happy birthday to themselves while riding in the back of the brown Astro van, (and be sure to stay on your half of the bench seat!)

I think Sam has him beat, though. Every year for his birthday we've moved for the summer to an apartment we've never been in, to a city we're not familiar with, and left the vast majority of his toys behind in Memphis. And when he's older, his birthday will be right in the middle of exam week.

But this year for his birthday we were already settled into our summer apartment, that is, we had finished moving in the furniture that morning. So later we had a party for sam, who wouldn't have even known it was his birthday if his sister hadn't told him several times over. We decked the room with balloons and presents and a cake and he walks in and exclaims "a party for meeee!!" He even had his own personal party manager, hannah, telling him what presents to open next and when it was time to eat cake. Afterwards we went to the playground to play with his new bubble blower, and in true Sam style he dumps out all his bubble solution while looking down at something in the grass- but this time he didn't get it all in his hair!

love you all-

Bama

2008-04-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

We're Moving to Huntsville!!!

Richard got the job with RTTC, so we're packing up and driving even further south. We are all seriously bummed to be leaving family and friends in Memphis, but we console ourselves by saying that we're just 3.5 hours away, not 14 hours (like in DC).

Yeah!!!

Disney World!!!

2008-03-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Moores attack Disney World:
Day One: Magical Kingdom
Day Two: Epcot and Hollywood Studios
Day Three: Animal Kingdom
Day Four: Magical Kingdom Revisited
FAQs

Day One: Magic Kingdom
Before we left, Hannah watched a "plan your Disney Vacation" DVD and made a list of all the rides she wanted to ride, Dumbo being number one. She was so thrilled to actually see the ride that she started jumping and yelling. With the new Fastpass that Disney has started, we managed to ride 10 rides the first day. Yes, TEN RIDES in peak season. It took some planning, but we had to make sure we got all those rides on her list!! Hannah and Sam also really liked It's a Small World (as did I).

Snacks were a well-planned relief. I brought a small cooler that fit in the stroller, and after a couple hours in we would sit down for some cookies and juice. It was good down time and got us to lunch time. In just a few seconds, hannah is going to try and stick her oreo onto Sam's cheek.

Day Two: Epcot and Hollywood Studios
We spent two hours in Epcot tuesday morning, and both were spent at the new Nemo ride. After a cute little jaunt in a clam shell, we were herded into an aquarium of sorts. They had dolphins!! I have never seen them live before, and it was beautiful. There were also Manatees (Barbara was there), and all sorts of tropical fish, including, of course, Nemo, Dori and the gang. Hannah was excited to be the one who found the elusive clownfish- he was darting about all through the coral.

There was also a shark exhibit, and daring kids could crawl into Bruce's mouth. Sam, well, not a chance. But Hannah stepped up after a while and let me take a picture of her being eaten by a friendly shark (kids are friends, not food).

Day Three: Animal Kingdom!!
I LOVE THE ANIMAL KINGDOM!!! It is by far my favorite park. The tree of life is spectacular, as well as the safari (the best time to go is first in the morning). We had a white rhino just a few feet from our jeep, and Hannah loved spotting the birds for me. I don't think I'll ever make it to a real savannah, but this is pretty good. And for the thrillers, the new Mt. Everest ride is by far the best roller coaster I have ever been on. My dad and I rode together, so we have exclusive bragging rights. It makes me smile just thinking about it. It also makes me loose feeling in my legs thinking about it!
Aside from all the rides, there were great places to stop and rest. Hannah and Sam really loved these elephants- sometimes it was hard to get them going agian! In fact, after a while Sam just gave it up and slept for a good hour or two. All that fun can just wear you out!

Day Four: Magic Kingdom Revisited
We let Hannah choose where she wanted to visit on the last day, and no surprises she chose Cinderella's castle. We rode It's a small world again, along with a few other favorites, including Winnie the Pooh and the Teacups. Hannah agreed to ride on any color teacup, except yellow, which was just not pretty at all. To her elation she got a blue teacup with blue stripes, thanks to some pretty serious maneuvering by her mom. Silly, silly mom. I let Richard take control of the spinning wheel so I could take some pictures- and, well, he took his job seriously. Sam was so funny. He would start to panic, then look at me and Hannah, who were having a blast, and give a few nervous chuckles. Those kids literally wobbled out of the teacup when it was over.

No kidding, that sword came out of the stone just seconds after Richard took this picture.

FAQs
Did you drive? Yes. We consider ourselves professionals at 14-hour trips now, and so far the kids have always been surprisingly good in the car. But, I think I will fly next time.
Were there any major Meltdowns? Yes, but only one, and on the first day. Hannah, while in line for the Mad hatter's teacup ride, decided that she wanted to ride in a blue teacup, since blue is her favorite color. As fate would have it, some bigger, faster, purely malicious (I'm sure) kids got to the blue teacup before her preschool legs could carry her there. We opted to wait for the next go around, until a nice worker found another blue cup for her. We all happily climbed in until Hannah realized that this cup, although blue, had purple stripes, and so she cried through all the spinning madness. After she got off the ride and had calmed down, I asked her if she wanted to try again on the condition that she would be okay with any color. Her reply: "Maybe we should go back to the hotel."
Where was Richard? He was at an engineering SPIE conference. But he got to come with us to the Magic Kingdom Monday and Friday
Do you have the coolest parents in the world? yes, absolutely. they dropped everything and came to play with us. Incidentally, Hannah and Sam have the coolest grandparents as well.
Will you go back? YES! I am already planning our next trip. In fact, I asked Sam what he wanted to do today, and he said he wanted to go to Disney world.
Did Hannah like the characters? Not particularly. Both kids were happier to look from a distance, which was good because as soon as a character made an appearance an hour-long line trailed after.

Any mom taking kids to Disney World needs a Super Mom shirt.

It Snowed!

2008-03-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

It snowed! and in March! and we thought spring spring was on it's way!! We took, no kidding, 231 pictures. Here's the top 25:

Actually, it was the best kind of snow. Warm on Thursday, cooler on Friday, 17 feet (er, 3-4 inches) of snow on Saturday, and all melted by Sunday. It was light and fluffy in the morning, good packing snow in the afternoon, and slushy by late afternoon. We had so much fun! We woke up early and make an igloo big enough for all of us to crawl through, and then we went to Johnson road park to go sledding, er, slushing, well, mudding. There is a huge hill there with a lake at the bottom- Richard went down a little too fast and almost flew into the water, but he rolled off at the last second...but the sled kept going! He had to wade a few feet into the water to rescue the sled. Fortunately by then it was warm enough outside that there was no danger of frostbite and we could keep playing. Hannah went down several times, and took a tumble once with Sweetie. Sam was scared, of course, but I made him go down with me and he laughed the whole way. Towards the end a snowball fight turned ugly and Richard grabbed me and we went rolling and sliding down the hill together, met Mimi at the bottom and stuffed snow down her coat. Then it was time to go home.

Trampoline

2008-03-07T15:57:00.001-08:00

We have a compromise in our house: It is permitted to jump on Hannah's bed. It's old and sturdy, and kids have just got to jump on beds. Of course, you can't jump on mom and dad's bed, you can't fly off the couch, and you can't hop on pop.

Every kid that comes to our house thinks this is the coolest thing ever ever ever ever. And it's totally safe, because well, let's face it: Hannah usually has a layer of padding about a foot thick on the floor made from stuffed animals.

Here's a picture of Chandler (Hannah's boyfriend, with superhero glasses) and Sam going at it.

Soon..

2008-02-28T19:52:00.001-08:00

Springtime is coming, just around the corner. Our daylillies are pushing on up.

CMOM

2008-02-28T19:45:00.001-08:00

Hannah, Sam and I have recently, thanks to Courtney Santo, rediscovered the Children's Museum. We've gone twice this week, all because Hannah woke up at seven, got dressed all by herself, and started asking if it was time to go every 15..no, 5 minutes or so.

She is the CMOM pro. She just walks in, says "follow me, mom" and moves from one exhibit to the next. Today she was especially enamored by a station all about bees.

All your wildest dreams will come true..

2008-02-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Richard and I are filling our American Parental Responsibility this spring by taking our kids to Disney World. Richard has a conference in Orlando and the kids and I are going to tag along.

I'd like to take this opportunity to be cynical, but actually I AM SO EXCITED! It will be magical for them, and a whole different place for me than the one I frequented as a high school band geek. I remember going with my family as a kid and having a blast.

I told Hannah we were going, and later a commercial came on which claimed: Disney World, where all your dreams come true! Not long after we had this conversation:

Hannah: Actually Mom, all my dreams come true at home.
Me: Awww, really?
Hannah: Yes, because when I'm at preschool I dream of being at home and having fun with my family, and then I come home and my dream comes true!

I love her so much.

Happy Valentines

2008-02-14T16:26:00.001-08:00

My dear husband's Valentine's card to me. He found this picture on the matrixsynth blog, and no Hallmark could ever hope to rival such an honest sentiment. Always and forever, baby.

I thought it was definitely worth sharing.

Baby Avery, not the stationary

2008-02-13T14:06:00.001-08:00

I confess, I am totally in love with this baby girl. She's sweet, she's adorable, and she's my niece, so I can give her back when she cries!

Helmet Head

2008-02-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hannah got a bike for Christmas, and (Hooray for Memphis) we had some pleasant February weather about a week ago so we went to the park. Hannah and Richard rode up ahead while Sam and I lagged behind. Yes, Sam still prefers riding Fred Flinstone style (feet to the ground, running while sitting) even though he can reach the pedals now.

Of course, the downside to the pleasant weather meant tornadoes the next day, but what else could have been more portentous on the 2008 super-duper tuesday?

Baby Judd

2008-01-29T20:48:00.001-08:00

Baby girl Judd has arrived! Weighing in at 7lbs 5 oz and 20.5 inches, and doing what new newborns do best- sleep. for now.

A Sampling

2008-01-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Kayleen, here's an example of what happens when we've been inside together far too long:

Hannah: (holding up a Kellogg's Tony the Tiger cookie jar) What's his name?
Sarah: Tony.
Hannah: What? Tony?
Sarah: Yeah. Tony the Tiger. He's grrreat!
Hannah: Tony? but that's so silly! it's like a foot name!
(get it!? toe-ny!)

------------------------------------------------

Hannah: Arrrgh! We found the buried treasure!
Sarah: Arrrgh captain Hannah! What's in the chest?
Sam: Garrr Matey!
Hannah: Jools and pretty things!!!
Sarah: Just what a girl pirate captain wants! Arrrgh!
Sam: Garrr Matey! GAARRRRR Matey!
Richard: Arrrg! Hand over that treasure! I'm Captain Crunchin' Numbers and that booty's 98% mine!
Sam: Garrrrrrrrrrr Matey!

Trust me...

2008-01-21T20:17:00.001-08:00

The infamous (that means really, really famous) Nickel duo! Sarah didn't steal all her insanity, she came by it honestly! She got a little from her dad, and a lot from her mom...

(No, this is not a recent picture. It's from three years ago, when it actually snowed in Memphis. We spent the entire day sledding, all of us, on the golf course behind my parent's house.)

Pup, the super-puppy

2008-01-16T12:01:00.001-08:00

Matt and Treesa Gold came to visit a couple weeks ago (YEAH!!). We always like seeing our favorite people.

Rubeus and Ringo came too, the legendary canine duo from Virginia. To help Hannah and Sam remember the visit, Treesa gave each of them a toy puppy. Hannah has since named hers "Pup" and takes it with her everywhere.

Yesterday Pup learned to fly in circles, lassoed with a pink leash.

the after-bath

2008-01-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

It is a long-standing tradition in our house that after bath-time Hannah and Sam get to remain wrapped up in their towels and watch a show on TV.

This is understandably more fun in the summertime. Now that it is winter, I wrap them up in our huge, warm, cuddly comforter as well.

It's quiet...too quiet

2008-01-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today I made the fatal parenting error of assuming the best while my kids played quietly. "Such wonderful kids I have," thought I, snuggled deep in my blanket, "playing together so sweetly, so innocently, that I am given a moment to enjoy the morning's solitude. Listen. They're pretending like it's snowing. How nice."

Ah.

Well, they were playing together sweetly, but not innocently. It turns out they were playing with one of Hannah's Christmas gifts- a porcelain nativity set carefully packaged in styrofoam. And it was snowing that Christmas day, long ago:

There is styrofoam everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Hannah later explained "but mom, we just love making a mess!"

Merry Christmas Y'all

2007-12-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

Well, we've had a great year. Richard graduated with his Master's in Electrical Engineering, and will periodically insist on being referred to (or deferred to) as Master of All Things Electronic, or, Moate. He rolled right into the doctorate program with a slightly stressful entrance exam week. Once again we spent the summer in Lorton, VA just south of DC while Richard worked at Night Vision Labs at Fort Belvoir. We made some good friends and are looking forward to going back this summer. Richard is also happy to report that the music scene is going well, that is, he's acquired a couple more keyboards (including a long sought after Wurlitzer) and a twelve-string guitar. One Way Ticket, the garage band, has recently lost some members but we're trying to hold it together. Richard also has joined me in the River City Band playing the bassoon.

Hannah is everyday becoming a better person, and I am ridiculously proud of her. She is really enjoying preschool and has mastered writing her name, and so now it can be seen on almost every scrap of paper in our house. She has also become Sam's teacher, friend, and on occasion disciplinarian. As she says, “I love to share and I love to take care of you, Sam!”

Hannah and Sam are definitely each other's best friends. In fact, the only reason this post is possible is because they have played together so well this morning! Sam is now an official “big boy” and will no longer let us call him baby boy. He is in the middle of the terrible twos and is not afraid to throw himself on the floor screaming, but usually he is still a sweet kid.

I'm doing great. The River City Band continues to be a wonderful creative outlet for me, and I look forward to pursuing my graduate degree in the near future. I am surrounded by family and friends, and glad to be home. We are all very happy and hope that you are too-

the moores

(by the way, the video quality on blogger is, well, not spectacular. If anyone wants a better video I can email it to them. The file is about 42mb)

Indigo Girls

2007-12-18T20:23:00.001-08:00

The Indigo Girls are coming to the University of Memphis on New Year's Eve and we have tickets!!! YEAH!

Okay, actually I am a dofus. they are coming January 31, which is not new years eve, which I did not realize until December 31st at about 6 pm. But we are still going!!

Queen of the Cuddly

2007-12-08T13:17:00.001-08:00

In an effort to perfect her morning cartoon experience, Hannah gathered and piled everything soft, fuzzy and cuddly onto the couch. Sam was invited only after much debate.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hannah and I decorating the tree. Merry Christmas all!

Et tu, Brute?

2007-12-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, as I was blithely pouring a cup of chocolate milk, Hannah, in response to something Sam did, suddenly exclaims "Great Caesar's Ghost!"

I almost dropped the milk.

It turns out that that is a favorite expression of Tasha the hippo on the Backyardigins.

Monkey with a typewriter

2007-11-19T13:48:00.001-08:00

Richard went ahead and gave me a Christmas present early this year- the Canon 100mm macro lens. I feel rather like a monkey with a typewriter; I just keep clunking away and eventually I catch something good! It's an incredible lens, fast, stunningly sharp, no aberrations to speak of, great for macro and portrait.

I won't subject ya'll to all the crazy pictures we've been taking lately, but here's a sampling

Penny

2007-11-19T13:35:00.001-08:00

Here's to Penny, the best dog I have ever met. She is great with the kids, she won't run off when you open the gate, and she's always happy to see me, even if I don't pet her (allergies).

She's officially Brian's dog, but like all the others it's dad who really takes care of her. :)

A day in the park

2007-11-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

pumpkin cookies

2007-11-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

Halloween day Hannah's preschool had a party and we decorated pumpkin shaped cookies. It was fun to see how each of the kids iced their cookies- the boys mostly heaped a buncha on, a few used the orange and green icing to make it look just like a pumpkin, and Hannah created an intricate purple-blue pattern with a pink center.

Mr. Princess

2007-11-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

The perils of having an older sister....

If the cute, pink, butterfly watering can wasn't in the way you could see his belly poking out over the skirt.

Michelle's Pumpkin

2007-11-03T15:06:00.001-07:00

Michelle made an AMAZING pumpkin from a picture she found of a tiger. I'll let her tell you about it:
I call this peace of art "Awesome Tiger Carving" well because I did it. It took a lot longer than I thought it would.

Here it is lit up Halloween Night:

And here's the pic that inspired her:

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

We went trick-or-treating three times this year, once at church, once at Nick and Sweetie's neighborhood (Sarah's parents) and once at Chief and Zannah's neighborhood (Richard's parents). The result was a LOT of candy; so much so that I made Richard take half of it up to school to share! Hannah and Sam were both pirates- Hannah was the captain, and sam was the matie or the schwabbie, depending. Enjoy the snapshots!

Mmmm Mmmm candy nerds! the best part of trick-or treating is dumping out all the booty!

Trick of Treating at the spooky house! So brave! (anything for candy)

Hannah the pirate Captain

The best part was when Spongebob answered the door, especially since we were expecting a princess!

Awwwww....

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-30T13:51:00.001-07:00

They sure are cute, those two...urmmm...errk..I can't help it....Pumkinpatch kids.

We've been tagged!

2007-10-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Kayleen "tagged" me a long ago, and it is a testament to our friendship that I am finally following through! Here you go!-

Sarah
4 jobs I have had

1. Full-time nanny for four ADORABLE kids
2. Bursar assistant at Christian Brothers University
3. Closing assistant at Fearnly and Califf Real Estate Law Office
4. ummm... mom? does that count?

4 movies I can watch over and over

1. Sneakers
2. Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson)
3. Pride and Prejudice (6 hour BBC version)
4. Star Wars, of course

4 places I have lived

1. Anaheim, CA
2. Salt Lake City, UT
3. ummmmm......Memphis, TN
4. Lorton, VA

4. Guilty Pleasures

1. good books that you just can't put down
2. Salt and vinegar chips (yum)
3. Old school video games
4. taking a hot shower until all the hot water in the neighborhood is gone

4 Favorite Foods

1. Breakfast: Everything Bagels, buttered and toasted to perfection
2. Lunch: Cream of Potato soup, with cheese melted on top
3. Dinner: Sarah's legendary Lasagna, secret family recipie
4. snack: Bryer's cookies and cream ice cream

4 websites I visit

1. Photo.net
2. Homestarrunner
3. Ubuntu (linux) help forums
4. Random Blogs

4 places I'd rather be right now

1. enjoying naptime (oh, wait, I am)
2. The Main Library
3. an Iris Symphony concert
4. Hiking the AT in the spring before the bugs are out

4 Books I love:

1. Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
2. East of Eden (Steinbeck)
3. The Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff)
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

4 Things ~~I would like to know~~ I'm learning how to do

1. Stunning photography
2. Play clarinet...better
3. Write something (anything) that won't embarrass me when I re-read it
4. control my temper

4 things I worry about

1. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AFTER RICHARD GRADUATES!!!!!!??????
2. what if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
3. It's too quiet. What are Hannah and Sam doing?!
4. Actually, pretty much everything. especially the kids. everything. yep.

4 Happy Moments

1. "Mommy!" and a big hug
2. Sitting in the comfy recliner in front of the warm sunny window, reading, and just..dozing..off...
3. Watching the kids play nicely together
4. Listening to an orchestra warm up

4 things I want to do this year or in the future

1. Get my graduate degree
2. Add a baby to this already crazy family
3. visit freinds
4. finish this post

Richard
4 jobs I have had

1. Movie theater grunt
2. Pizza man
3. cage fighting champion
4. Researcher with the U.S. Army's Night Vision Labs

4 movies I can watch over and over

1. Thomas the Tank Engine
2. The Blues Clues Movie
3. Cinderella
4. Veggie Tales: Lord of the Beans

These are the only movies that I have see over and over. For this reason, I know that I CAN watch them repeatedly. Since it is untested, it is possible that my repeated viewing of other movies would prove physically impossible for me.

4 places I have lived

1. Murmfus, TN
2. Bakersfield, CA
3. Provo, UT
4. Lorton, VA

4. Guilty Pleasures

1. Scaring the elderly
2. Faking Tourette Syndrome
3. Biting things
4. Vigorous nose picking

4 Favorite Foods

1. Breakfast: sausage and egg biscuit
2. Lunch: cheese steak
3. Dinner: Sarah's quiche
4. snack: Snoopy fruit snacks

4 websites I visit

1. slashdot.org
2. musicthing.blogspot.com
3. craigslist.org (still waiting for that $100 clavinet posting)
4. www.homestarrunner.com, to help cheer me up after I check craigslist and there are STILL no clavinets for sale in Memphis for under $200

4 places I'd rather be right now

1. out in the electronic music dungeon (our detached garage)
2. in my state-of-the-art mansion on a Lunar colony
3. in Hans Zimmer's modular synth studio
4. 5 years in the future, when I'm done with school, have a job, and there's no longer anything to worry about

4 Books I love:

1. Fourier Optics, by Joseph Goodman
2. the Burle Electro Optics Handbook
3. The Day of the Locust, Nathanael West
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

4 Things ~~I would like to know~~ I'm learning how to do

1. Program in C/C++
2. Play bassoon
3. Kill all of the mosquitoes in the world
4. oh yeah, be an electrical engineer

4 things I worry about

1. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AFTER RICHARD GRADUATES!!!!!!??????
2. When will someone claim the pass the Turing test and win the Loebner prize?
3. When will we have consumer-level quantum computers?
4. What if music on the radio never stops sucking?

4 Happy Moments

1. Hearing the kids giggle when I tickle them.
2. Spinning Hannah and Sam in the office chair really fast.
3. eating
4. When I write a program and it works the first time I run it.

4 things I want to do this year or in the future

1. Finish my PhD
2. kill all of the mosquitoes in the world
3. build a harpsichord or clavichord
4. build a modular synthesizer

Absolutely revolting

2007-10-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to all of you living in the DRY, mid-west, like Arizona and Utah. Especially those who used to live in muggy Memphis! Here you go- one mound of mushrooms, a foot in diameter, fresh from the backyard.

We usually get a few good 'shrooms when it rains, but I have to admit I am particularly impressed with this batch. I didn't even kick it over.

I get the heebie-jeebies whenever I look at this one.

Catepillars and Curiosity

2007-10-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

One day we're going to do some research and keep a caterpillar so we can watch it change into a butterfly, but until then we'll just have to be satisfied with chance meetings at the park.

Sea Lion Bubble

2007-10-02T19:58:00.001-07:00

The Memphis Zoo, really and truly, is a great place. They have a (relatively) new exhibit- the Northwest Passage- that has the new Polar bears, as well as the sea lions and bald eagle. The polar bears are so great. They will swim right up to the glass, beautiful and huge. But what is really neat is the sealion exhibit. They built in a "bubble" that's about three feet deep, and when you're sitting in it you really feel like you're in the tank! Today one of the sea lions was doing a loop, coming right up to the bubble an flipping around. The first time that sea lion appeared and flipped Sam just about fell over! We must have stayed there half an hour, just watching him come and go.

Painting the Garage

2007-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have seen our garage out back know that it is...ummmm....tired. Now that we've gotten the house pretty much how we like it, we've been spending most of our free time (okay, not most of our free time. just enough free time to make us feel like we're working really hard) fixing it up. Now we can walk into the garage without kicking things out of the way and actually find stuff (we had a camper in there! who knew?!). Richard replaced the outside door, since the old one was, quite literally, falling apart- he's standing on the remains. And today we painted the outside of the garage. Well, the front of the outside. One coat. We had to stop sooner than we planned, because Sam was using all the paint on himself. Hannah and sam each have a small tupperware and a watercolor paintbrush. They were a BIG HELP!!!

Magnolia wings

2007-09-15T20:02:00.001-07:00

This evening Hannah took to flight. She grabbed a handful of Magnolia leaves and announced that she was going to fly right now! I don't think the tree begrudged her the leaves too much- she's just too cute!

(I think this is a cool shot because I kept a relatively long shutter speed to capture all the movement from her flight- but I also let off a burst of flash to freeze her expression as well. It was my first try at this)