Top pic is today, New Years Eve and bottom 2 pics are Christmas Eve before we left for church. I wish you all a safe and prosperous new year full of blessings and love!

So, the holidays are UPON us! Wow, only a few days to go. Not really ready. I just want to enjoy this time of year and focus on the reason for it all, our savior Jesus Christ. The meaning gets lost in all the shopping and fuss. I kind of want to do presents in February or something and focus on Christ in December. Would that be a weird tradition? I just don't want the kids growing up all focused on presents and all of that. I want us all to take in the meaning and meditate on that during the season. I remember when I was a kid I was solely caught up in the gifts and decorations and things. And my little sister is pretty much the same, gimme, gimme, gimme. Christmas is about Jesus Christ, period.

So, as you can see by the little widget, we're expecting! And I only found out about a month ago, we're already 14 weeks! So, I got a root canal and all of that while pregnant! : ( I can't believe I didn't know but I didn't. I just got really sick and was sick 2 weeks with nausea and thought I had the flu, an ulcer or many other ailments I had googled. So, I made a dr appt and the first thing they did was order a pregnancy test. The dr came in the room like, "So, what do you think, pregnant or not?" I said, "Not?" He said, "No, yes you are! Is this a whoops or a congratulations?" I said, "Well, its both!" So, there you have it. We decided to wait this time until we at least got an ultrasound and could see all is well before sharing the news. It was so hard not to tell! The ultrasound was on Monday and at first I thought I was due June 19th but the dr changed the due date based on the baby's measurements to June 10th. At Antelope Valley its an automatic repeat c-section and if I want to try a VBAC I have to go to Panarama City. No thanks, so I'm having a c-section at 39 weeks. I don't have the date scheduled yet but the first week of June, our 2nd little one will be here! Less than 6 months, I guess not knowing your pregnant has its advantages, this time around is going quite fast! : ) Oh and don't laugh, but I thought I saw a tiny penis on the ultrasound screen (If you turn out to be a girl, mommy is sorry! lol)

I have been slacking, okay I'm going to update, at least with our halloween pictures : ) Maddy got sleepy so I ended up just taking pics of her and leaving her at home with her Daddy. I took my little sister Debra to the harvest festival at our church but it turned out to be for really small children. I took her to the mall but it was too late for trick or treating so we came back to our neighborhood and I drove her door to door : ) She got a lot of candy, the good stuff too, and she shared with her sister, good sis.

Please take a moment to read, this could be any of us and we need to show compassion and help one another: From Justin:

I hope all is well with you and your family.

Right now I need your help. You see, my 2 year old daughter, Amaya, has autism and we have a window of opportunity to get her into the world renowned UCLA ECPHP program on November 10th.

Please take a few moments to read Amaya's Story: (written by my wife)

http://www.not-autism.org/life-with-autism

My wife, Pattie, and I are working diligently to reach our goal of raising as much money as possible between now and November 10th so that we can give Amaya this wonderful opportunity.

I am offering 1 hour of my time to anyone that donates $25 or more to support our cause. This hour can be used to leverage my decade of experience in hundreds of different IT environments by you and your team to answer any technology questions you have, review your 2009 plans and give recommendations, or for other IT consulting needs you may have.

Thank you for your consideration and helping us spread the word!

Justin Lofton
VP of Engineering
Tredent Data Systems, Inc.
justinl@tredent.com



Now please everyone, donate anything you can. We all have different financial situations but if enough of us donate what we can, Amaya can be a part of this life changing program. PLEASE HELP. God bless you all, love the Moores.

Maddy's cakes....I was going to do a tiered cake but decided against the added stress. These were rushed as it is and I covered them w/fondant and decorated them while our guests were here (I was running behind all day!) I plan to practice with every upcoming holiday and by next year, she'll get her tiered cake : )

Well, Madison's party was a lot of fun, Maddy had a great time! The weather was miserable, 5 people flaked via text message the day of (which sucked because I bought way too much food. It was 17 people total, THE DAY OF). I had bought favors for all the kids and lots of food. I just think unless its something you could not forsee, you can flake in advance! Most of our closest friends did show up though and they made it wonderful. It was fun just sitting around with them and laughing. And Becca and Mike even helped me decorate and get favors ready since they arrived first. We do have the GREATEST friends ever and we thank God for them everyday. The people who are our friends, are our family and we are so blessed!

I interviewed with Keller Williams and Coldwell Banker out here in the AV and I've decided on CB. I just really like the broker, Conrad, and I feel like they could help me grow my career best. So, I'm waiting for my license to come, it will take a while to get, especially since the post office sent it back to me because they damaged it and that delayed it another week!

AND my back molar broke and I have to have a root canal! By a specialist because my roots are curved. Argh!! I was supposed to go meet up with Becca and Preston Friday but now instead I'll be getting drilled : ( I'd rather them just pull it but with those curved roots I wonder if that would even be possible! Last night I took a vicodin to sleep but I am going to try not to use anything tonight to sleep. Its really starting to hurt though. Wish me luck Friday!

Oh, and I passed my real estate sales licensing exam! I blogged about it on my real estate blog: http://topcaliforniaproducer.blogspot.com/ I'm going crazy with it, I registered my domain too but I'm waiting on Fabian to build my site! www.joyceamoore.com I plan to spend next week interviewing with different real estate companies and hopefully I'll find the right fit.

Not to mention the finishing touches on Madison's birthday party! It should be a lot of fun, I can't wait! Maddy just fell asleep with Daddy on the couch, awww! Now maybe I can try to take a nap myself. My one year old STILL does not sleep through the night.

Don't use Sweet-N-Sassy Inc http://www.sweet-n-sassyink.com/ owner Kristen Amodio, untrustworthy, makes up stories and keeps your money.

Begin vent....

Okay, so I normally would never do this, but I am so mad. I ordered Madison's birthday invitations almost 2 weeks ago and still haven't even received a "proof" that you are supposed to get within 24-48 hours. She claims it was a computer glitch and she didn't get any orders made that day. I understand that, but its not the case because I emailed her immediately when I paid, and it was a response to ALL the order info I received so she would have received it that way if her order system glitched. No response. I emailed her a week later telling her I was trying to be understanding, knowing she is a SAHM just like I am but I still haven't received proofs and I need to get the invitations out. Thats when she responded with the story about the computer glitch and she would refund my money. Days later, still no refund either! I had to file a dispute with Paypal 3 days ago and STILL no refund! I emailed her saying, please refund my money, nothing. So, the lady has my money, and I get no invitations! This is my babies first birthday! Invitations were very important to me. I'm so glad I sent out an evite or else I'm sure not many people would even be able to make it. I'm so frustrated and mad at the whole situation. I mean, I have an online business, you can't do that to people and expect to stay in business. I have dealt with many SAHM businesses and they have all been professional and very quick! I ordered Maddy's birthday outfit from one and she made it and shipped it within 3 days!

SO, all that to say, Sweet-n-Sassy Ink, STINKS. Don't use them, stick with someone reputable. I won't say only use a big company because like I said, I understand the SAHM, just use someone honest and trustworthy, not someone who lies to cover their end and then keeps your money!

Vent over.

Its been so long again! I'm ashamed! Well, lets see what happened. Bubby turned 13, Renee gave birth to Mackenzie, I turned 30 (had a great party!), I'm studying for my real estate salesperson exam that I'm taking next Friday. This weekend my mom and I are taking a crash course from Prudential. 8 hours both Saturday and Sunday! And on top of it, I'm watching a video crash course flash review that I bought last year. And taking care of Maddy and running after her. She's still crawling, but about 2 weeks ago she started climbing up the stairs and she wants to do that all the time! I let her do it maybe twice a day because its hard bending over while she strolls up at whateve pace she chooses. She copies everything you do and she tries to copy the words you say. She says hi, dada and mama and she's been trying to say "red".

I rejoined Mary Kay too! Just for fun, I'm not going to be high pressure sales or anything with it. I'll order stuff if people want it and other than that, I'll be doing personal shopping : ) They have so many great new products since I was in it 10 years ago! The compact is sleeker and I need an incentive to do my makeup when we go places. I have not been doing my makeup unless we go to a special event. So sad, I used to be so girly and wouldn't leave the house w/out it!

Okay, gotta go, I think we might go to Best Buy or somewhere, I want to use my birthday giftcard and get some cd's!

Well, we are finally settling into our new home. Yes, we still have boxes with things that need sorting through, but for the most part, everything is unpacked and organized. My birthday is next Friday and we are having a party next Saturday to celebrate. It should be fun, we're doing an in home wine tasting. We hired representatives from our local vineyard to come host it. Madison has been sleeping in her crib since we moved in. If she wakes up I do take her out and let her sleep in our bed the rest of the night though. I know thats a habit I have to break! I really need a rocker in her room so I can put her back to sleep and back in her own bed! I need to paint her room, we got all the paint but I'm nervous I will just make a mess!

Madison is huge! She crawls super fast and pulls herself up on everything. She is really starting to get into trouble! She's attracted to plugs and extension cords, great huh? I put plug protectors in every plug and I just chase after her every day. Debra is here right now and they love each other and have a great time. She is such a big help!

Sigh, we're finally moving on the 15th! I can't wait, I'm ready for more space! Last night we went and bought our furniture for the dining room, living room and family room. I can't wait to get it all and have it all set up in its new space!

Today my little baby girl is sick. She woke up puking, puked 2 hours later and puked 2 hours later. Fabian went to the store and got her pedialyte and I am checking her temperature and monitoring her constantly. This is the first time I haven't taken her to urgent care when she's sick. I'm trying to monitor her and take her only if she needs to go. She seems to be getting better and back to normal but she's tired and keeps laying her little head down. So, we spent our 4th tending to our little one, I doubt we'll go see fireworks and thats okay : )

Okay, you are right Eesh, I just don't have much to talk about right now : )

Well hmmm, Maddy started trying to crawl on Saturday, it was so cute, she had the motion down and was gone across the floor. She uses all modes to travel though, she drags herself on her side, rolls, goes in reverse, she's mobile little girly! She still wakes up several times a night and I think it has something to do with us still cosleeping. I don't want to make the transition to crib until we move, there is just too much going on! This cosleeping won't last long so hopefully as soon as we move, she's moving in her own room! Things changed with the house. We ended up not getting the KB Home and its a long story. But, it all worked out in the end because God blessed us with a bigger, better house in the same community! Ones we had looked at and I spoke of in a previous post but didn't think we could afford, John Laing Homes. I don't have any pics yet, but we are DEFINITELY moving in on July 15th. Here is the link to the homes and community if you're curious : )

http://www.johnlainghomes.com/desertrose-residence1 (ours is just like the floorplan on the first floor w/the 3 car garage, 2nd floor has the optional loft and sans the opt deck off master)

When we do finally get moved in, I look forward to setting up my sewing machine and baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes! My friend Deborah's birthday is the end of this month and I'm making her cake for her. She loves sunflowers and suns so my idea is a green bottom tier and a skyblue top tier, making sunflowers to go all over the green layer (like its grass) and making clouds and a sun to go on the sky layer. I'm going to draw it out and I hope it turns out like it is in my head! I will definitely post pics!

Okay, Maddy woke up a while ago and won't go back to sleep, me on the computer isn't helping so ta-ta!

My first wedding cake! My mom and I worked on it together and I "designed" it. haha. The design I was trying for didn't work out, our layers were not doubled so its not as thick as the cake used for the design I was going for. We bought ivory icing color to tint our fondant and I love how it looks. Its a white cake w/strawberry cream filling. It took a lot of work, but not as bad as I thought. I shouldn't have a problem making my 30th birthday cake or Maddy's 1st birthday cake. I want to try to practice as much as possible so I can get better and better.

Nothing much new happened over the weekend. We went to see the Martha Stewart KB homes in Lancaster just for design ideas. WOW. They are priced from the low to high $200k's (amazing!) and we also saw the Desert Rose by John Laing homes, gorgeous! They are priced from the low $300k's! I took my parents back to see both today and they loved them. We are really trying to sell them and Fabians parents on moving out to the AV. I think people don't realize you can buy a gorgeous new home and not live in the woods and stay in the state of California, without having to move out of state! I swear people must think AV is 2 hours from LA when its only 45min from the valley and about 60 minutes from every other part of LA. And there is so much to do out here, I really love it. Even if I had 3/4 million dollars to buy an average, small, not new home in LA, I could never do it. I'd much rather get my money's worth and have a new home, nice neighborhood, great schools, friendly people, new stores and restaraunts and LA a hop, skip and jump away. I really wish I could convince all my friends to move out here too! : ) The prices won't last though, its totally under priced right now. More people from LA are discovering it and soon the prices are going to be outrageous, just like Valencia/Santa Clarita, etc.

See, nothing personal, nothing happened over the weekend! : ) xoxo

Updates on us, life....

We went to Preston's dedication Friday, it was so cute. And the lead singer of the worship team at their church is none other than Michael North, the lead singer of the Shushybye Band that Maddy watches at night on Babyfirst TV (premium directv channel, like HBO for babies, haha). It was so funny, Fabian and I recognized him right away! His voice is SO beautiful!! http://www.shushybye.com/

Mother's day was awesome as well. I went to church with my family and it was nice. It was a good sermon as well. Madison is doing great, just grabbing and pulling everything and rolling like crazy! Her new obsession is all things paper or plastic! I have to watch her like a hawk!

Oh and my computer died along with all the files on it! First my cell, now my comp! I'm going to see if the hardrive can be saved. I'm using Fabians laptop now.

Arrrrgh, so our townhouse is flooding today! I woke up and came downstairs and notice Maddy's boot on the floor didn't look the right color. I stepped closer and SQUISH! All on the side w/our electronics and pictures. Lots of things are completely soaked including the package holding all of Maddy's first pictures from Sears. Its okay because we have the disc, but those still cost us a lot of money! And the water is still running, the next door neighbor moved and left it on! On purpose? Probably, had problems with her from the beginning but never really complained to her about it. But how do you leave water running full force by mistake and then move out?? You don't. It came through the walls on the side we share and its ruining the downstairs. Thank God we are moving but now we have a mess to clean up and floors to get shampooed. Arrgh, and we called the water company and they said we have to call our association, called the association and got voicemail!! I'm going to have Fabian call the water co again right now and try to be more forceful about it. Ay yi yi....

Well here is my basketweave cake from my Wilton level 2 class. I was really proud of it because we were always late and slow to catch on and I know it could have been so much better. I know if I attempt it again, it will come out even better. Honestly, I don't know a bakery that makes flowers and then crafts them onto the cake! We are learning a lot, I guess we can charge a lot if people want this special stuff on their cake. Finally Friday our level 3 class starts, fondant and tiered cakes! We get to make a wedding cake! My teacher had said we could make a topsy turvy cake so I could learn how to do it. I can't wait because I definitely want to do a topsy turvy for my 30th cake.

Well, Maddy is feeling better! I'm so glad, that was awful. I made a pretty awesome cake on Friday, it wasn't the best in class and still looked great to me! This friday we start on fondant and gum paste w/tiered cakes! That is going to be fun! I talked to my dad and he's getting my mom the red stand mixer for mothers day! She doesn't read this blog unless I tell her to so I feel safe mentioning it here : ) I can't wait until I can get my stand mixer. Right now I want pink but the red one is too cute too.

Soooo....

Maddy's been running a fever ever since she woke up this morning. She likes to be held a lot when she's sick so I know my body heat isn't helping. I'm giving her Tylenol and it seems to be helping. I have her laying on my bed right now in just a onesie and she's playing with a teether and actually making happy noises for the first time all day. She still has a fever so I need to give her Tylenol in a bit. I had my lil sis over because I thought I would be able to get out and take her to the Poppy Festival but that didn't happen. I'm super congested, sneezy and my eyes keep watering. Maddy is feverish and coughing every now and then. No congestion and I hope it stays that way!

My parents are in Bakersfield doing some shopping and they just called to tell me they are on their way here to bring Maddy something! I told them its okay just wait til I see them next but they are insisting! I wonder what it is? *carseat, carseat, carseat* One can only hope ; ) XOXO Edited: They got her a carseat! Phew, one less thing for us to worry about! We don't need a thing as of now. Here she is taking a vapor bath yesterday, still sick today but no fever, thank the Lord.

So this morning I took Mad to ped urgent care so they could check her out. She threw up a couple times, felt really warm during the night and was cranky/not herself. She didn't have a fever though. She may have a virus the dr said and she's really drooly and teething. We finally got her a highchair yesterday. Finally broke out of girly mode and got a unisex Chicco Polly "Candy". It snapped together with just a few clicks and its really cute = ) I sat her in it for a few minutes and she just chewed the straps, lol(I added pics below, you can tell she is sick, just look at her little sick eyes). Ok, I typed this entry w/one hand, she is sleep in my arms, so I'm going to post pics later. I've gotten pretty good at this one handed typing, but I'm tired! haha

Soooo....

Well last week we missed our cake decorating class because little miss maddy had a fit the minute we turned the corner and freaked out on Yollie. I have no idea why but she did so we turned around and headed back home. This week we're going though and hopefully she won't act up. We get to make up the class for free in may though, woohoo! I'm lovin these classes, I'm so inspired! I think it would be cute to open a bakery boutique w/my baby clothes I wanted to open, is that a dorky weird combo? I figure a lot of people going to a place that sells cupcakes, cookies and cakes would be women and have or know small children whom they might want to buy outfits for. I would just sell limited items like handmade outfits, tutus, hairbows, shoes and things and sell the rest online at www.xoxobebe.com I'm constantly brainstorming! Now I'm selling on ebay and my goal is a consistent $500 a week for now and I'm doing it : ) My friend Deb also has the cutest baby clothes, tye dye at her site www.debdenio.com I'm going to put some on Mad and have her modelling it on here.

Today is our Friday. I'm so glad, Fabian will be off the next two days! He's been working so much and so many doubles lately, I won't be surprised if he wants to sleep the whole day away! My lil sis Deb is here so I'm thinking of trying to get Alvin & the Chipmunks since it comes out tomorrow. It seems kinda cute. Madison is acting so moody lately, smiling and laughing, then she'll have a crying outburst. I think she may be teething finally? It is about that time! She is so crazy though, she is laying across my lap playing with a teething ring right now. This is a tag my friend made me on Myspace, its the typical "Myspace" pose I always make fun of, haha.

Debra, Mad and I decided to go to LA and visit with Fabians Mom. We had a great time. We all went to the mall together and she let me pick a few cute outfits for Mad and we had a nice dinner together. We got size 12 months. Well, M freaked out in the car after a few seconds strapped in and before I could get to her, bleeeeech, she puked all over herself. We didnt want her to get sick and stay wet so I stripped her and put on one of the new outfits (I know, I always prewash but this time I didn't, and so far, no reaction from the chemicals of the new clothes). Anyway, it FIT! So now my little girl is 6mos old barely and wearing size 12 mo. I guess because she is so tall! Her torso is where all her length is at and she is bottom heavy w/short chunky legs and butt so that makes bigger bottoms fit, just a little longer. Anyway, wow so I need to start getting size 18mo because she barely fit that 12 mo. Ok, going to bed now, well, not really whenever M finally goes to bed I will!

Mad had her 6mo vacc today. She is average for weight but 95th percentile for height so she is tall! I need a new car seat! She also gave me a food chart, she should be eating solids 2-3xs a day and milk 3-4 bottles a day 6 ounces each. Juice diluted and only from a sippy cup, no more than 4 ounces/day. It also said solids should be 30% of her diet or about 1/3. I got work to do! I gave her Tylenol before her shots and she is sleep in my arms now.

Mad's New Expression

Okay so today she made this face, I made it back to her, and she imitated me! Excuse the blurriness, cell phone cam ; )

HAPPY EASTER! I took too many pics to post so I just made a silly slideshow. The end pics are my lil sis and I posing like people on Myspace in the car. Can you tell we were bored? haha. Easter was a beautiful day spent with family and church was wonderful. Mad was a good baby as usual. She does have little outburst of crying now for seemingly no reason and she stops in an instant. I think its because she exhausts herself and won't nap. I'm going to ask her Ped on Friday at her appt. All I got M was that giant bunny for Easter, no pics w/the "Easter Bunny" or anything like that.

Today I baked the cake I need for tomorrows creepy clown cake we're making in class. The cake is yellow so I made a lemon cake and a lemon pudding filling, I hope it taste good because I love lemon! The white cake was TOO sweet. The wilton buttercream frosting recipe is all sugar. They have a whipped icing recipe that has WAY less sugar, instead of 4 cups, 2 tablespoons! I'm looking forward to making that one instead. Hopefully I will still be able to decorate on top of it.

Lost is on, you know its on my dvr so I don't HAVE to watch it right now but I think I might, I'm so addicted! But I'm ready for these dam people to get off the island already, its been 3 years! haha, well only a couple months in "Lost" time.

I'm such a slacker. I got Maddy's Christmas dress before she was even born and now its Easter and I didn't get her one : ( Now the dresses are picked through, of course, not to mention shoes and all that. I'm going to try to find her one tomorrow after class anyway. I have to get new batteries for the camera so I can put up new pics of Mad.

GOOD NEWS: I went to Verizon tuesday and they told me the same thing, phone damage not covered under warranty because its not internal. But the lady was so sweet she ordered me a replacement anyway! So, phew, I will have a new phone tomorrow. And Fabian rigged my old one to get it to charge and I transfered all my phone book and pics/vids of Maddy! I was so sad about that but now I have it! And its time I invest in a REAL video camera and stop relying on my cell phone, thats so sad. haha



EDITED: Okay, heres that cake! I can't wait to start working w/smooth fondant frosting and no more buttercream. I want a smooth fake looking cake. haha

Mad ate pears for breakfast and carrots for dinner, did I mention she loves carrots?? I hope she will start to love green veggies!

I give up on peas! No, not really, but it is like pulling teeth trying to get Mad to eat them. This time I gave her peas w/brown rice and she still didn't like it. She holds her mouth tightly and when I managed to get some in her mouth she would spit it all over me and everywhere.

My cell phone broke last night! I don't qualify for an upgrade until 2/2009! That phone was barely 6 months old! Beware the LG Chocolate! The spot where you plug the charger into the phone, broke off the phone! I pulled out the charger and it was attached to it! Freakish but I'm a phone addict so I'm going through withdrawels right now : ( I want a pink blackberry pearl or a XV 6800 so I definitely need to wait for an upgrade, no good deals on ebay either.

You Are Totally Like Your Mom

You and your mom are practically clones. You think alike, and you even seem to read each other's minds. You're definitely you're mother's child... and that's just fine with you.

Are You Like Your Mom?

Your Leprechaun Name Is:

Stinky Potfiller

What's" Your Leprechaun Name?

You Communicate With Your Body

This isn't as bad as it sounds, it just means that you're a "touchy-feely" person. You need a lot of affection in your life. And for you, this means both giving and receiving little touches. Warm hearted, you bond with people easily. In fact, you often feel a little sad when you're not in the company of others. A little moody, you tend to be controlled by your emotions. But a bit hug always comforts you!

How Do You Communicate?

You Are A Good Friend

You're always willing to listen Or lend a shoulder to cry on You're there through thick and thin Many people consider you their "best friend"!

What Kind of Friend Are You?

Today...

Maddy ate a whole tub almost of organic carrots, she really loves them! She didn't care for the organic peaches/oatmeal/banana combo though. haha Ok, she is cranky, ready for a bath and shushybye!