Keeping Up With The Moore's

2010-09-11T15:11:00.001-07:00

Hi Fam! I have been so bad at blogging since I discovered FB! Fun and easy way to stay connecting with friends and family! I can't write all I want on there so I am going to make a sincere effort to start blogging on a regular basis.

So, Chase is 15 months old and has 5 1/2 teeth (lol). He weighs 26lbs as of yesterday. Maddy will be 3 on the 26th and weighs almost 28lbs. He's going to catch her eventually. She's long and lean and he's short and stout (awww!) I'm busy planning Maddy's 3rd birthday party. I tend to go all out on their birthdays, who knows what I will do when they turn 16, better start saving now, lol.

2010-07-23T19:56:00.001-07:00

Phil & Teds giveaway http://cupcakemagsprinkles.blogspot.com/ @cupcakemag @philandteds

2010-03-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

Munching on Pizza after "Do The Potty Dance" playdate at Christina's.

Chase and Hailey playing on the side while we make masks at our house for the "Mardi Gras" playdate.
Maddy at the "Elbow's Mac n' Cheese Creations" macaroni tasting event we had with our AV Wine & Foodie Enthusiasts group.

2010-03-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

Poor Chase (In the pic above he is 2 months old at Preston's birthday party). Okay, I'm going to start blogging again, thats just not right that I haven't blogged on him. But I have Facebooked on him, lots and lots, I love you my little cuddle bug!

So, where to begin? I'll start with now, lol. Maddy most likely has asthma. She's on some meds and breathing treatments and I hope she starts to feel some relief. Poor kid sounds awful and is always struggling for air.

Chasey is doing great. He is starting to thin out a bit but he's still my little linebacker! We will know his stats on the 15th when he has his 9 month "well baby" appointment. 9 months already. Where did the time go?? I have no idea. I have TWO kids. One of them is almost 3 and the other is almost 1. Wow. I've been focusing the majority of my energy on raising them, keeping Maddy active and going to playdates. I haven't focused much on my real estate business but I'm going to start and find a happy balance. I really want to move out of Palmdale and to Valencia so that means I need to do something to contribute financially towards that goal.

After Chase's 2nd haircut (yes, Fabian cut it the first time when he was 6 months old, lol. This is on Sunday the 28th of February)

Maddy's pose here was just too cute so I had to catch a pic of her off-guard.

Maddy and Mommy saying "CHEESE"

2009-03-16T12:22:00.001-07:00

So much has happened! I don't update on here like I should : ( follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/carealtormommy or Facebook...

Maddy is great, really big and busy, Fabian is great too. I'm just getting exhausted fast again but the baby is almost here! The time is really flying! Maddy has 2 playdates this week, a St. Patricks one tomorrow and an open play one at My 1st Gym on Wednesday. She loves her playdates so maybe those days will be good days : )

2009-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Ours was pretty uneventful. Fabian worked and Madison was sleep and so was I until the fireworks started going off : ) We've just been hanging around the house. Fabians off running errands and I'm home with Maddy. I've started trying to potty train her which is a little bit funny, lol. I know she's young but she is pretty smart and I'm hoping she will catch on. I would rather not have 2 little ones in diapers that need changing all day come June. Fabian's birthday is Sunday and although his phone is barely a year old, he wants a touchscreen (and so do I!) so I upgraded him to a Blackberry Storm which should be here next week. Then Sunday we are taking him to Steer n' Stein here in Palmdale for steak because I think thats his favorite meal on earth. They have a 1lb steak which I think is the perfect birthday treat. I want to get him a cake from Coldstone so I probably need to sneak off today and order it. Tomorrow we're going to his parents house and hopefully Madison will warm up and play with them this time. I feel so bad that she's not close to them but they don't see her that often.

2008-12-31T13:03:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-12-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-11-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-10-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

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 : )

2008-10-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-07T14:54:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-07-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

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 : )

2008-06-16T21:18:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-05-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-05-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-05-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-28T11:58:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-03-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

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 ; )

2008-03-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

2008-03-16T11:01:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-03-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

My first cake!

It turned out okay, but it is only my first. I didn't know what to put on it so I dedicated it to Mad turning 6 months old on the 26th = ) This doesn't seem that hard at all, especially with a lot of practice. Next week we make a clown cake. I don't like clowns, they are scary to me, ewww. haha I guess I need to learn in case anyone wants a scary clown cake ; )

Madison is getting big! She doesn't like it when I lay her down, starting today! So, I had to sit her up on the couch and she held herself up. And she gets mad when she rolls on her tummy but I have to let her try and roll out of it. She's having peach oatmeal banana for breakfast. I'm saving all the jars so I can store food I make. My good friend Maurisa (love you) shared some tips w/me for making and storing baby food that I'm going to share for anyone who's interested. ((HUGS))

From Ris:

Basically all I did was take whatever fruit or vegetable I was making a batch of peel all the skin off and steam until soft. Even soft fruits like pears need to be steamed it adds to the nutrient value. I would then puree them in a really good blender sometimes using the leftover juices from steaming if a veggie was too thick (carrots) and put them in the glass baby food jars and freeze them. If you don't have many stock piled glass jars then you can also use ice cube trays. I for one tried not to becaus small scratches in the plastic trays leach bacteria into the food and the plastic breaks down and is an endocrine disrupter in our bodies. (Early puberty for some children among other harmful disruptions in growing bodies)

When I did a batch I would usually do 30 or more jars. So one day I would do sweet potatoes (which is more nutrient rich when baked in the oven, it brings out more natural sweetners in the veggie.) and freeze all the jars in a big zip lock bag for extra protection, another day pears, another green beans, whatever organic fruit and vegetables were on sale.

I rarely made applesauce only because I just bought it in the ready to eat containers for kids 6 packs, (like earths best or santa cruze) it was much cheaper that way. After doing this one fruit or vegetable a day for a week I had a great stock and was able to just keep up after that, once I ran out of all of a fruit or veggie I would then remake that food. I also made chile, corn and potatoe soup and spaghetti with tiny pasta and homeade sauce all of organic ingredients. My kids loved it all.

Don't let this overwhelm you. It really is a simple process. At one point I even wanted to make a company out of it. I really did enjoy it. There are many cookbooks that you can find for homeade baby food. And it is a commitment. If in the end you realize that it is more than you are willing to commit to, dont feel like your any less of a mom. Many great children grow up very healthy on jarred food.

2008-03-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay so the one day trip to Vegas was fun! We went to pick up Mom's order first, then Mom said, "I always wanted to go to Lake Mead" after we passed the sign. I said, "Lets GO!" So we went, it was beautiful. Then we saw signs, Hoover Dam 8 miles. Hey, why not? So we went, it was pretty awesome and beautiful.

Fabian spent the day with Mad and took her to THE MALL. I don't even have to say what happened.

2008-03-11T22:28:00.001-07:00

Nothing new today. Mad's pink eye from the yucky cold virus we have seems to have cleared up on its own so we won't need those drops the dr. prescribed, phew. I bought a lot of organic baby food today and hopefully I'll be making most of her food from now on (wish me luck!) Tomorrow my Mom and I are driving to Vegas to pick up some items she bought from a liquidation website. I'm excited because I get to have one of the sewing machines so I can finally start sewing! I've been making hair bows like crazy and I'm ready to start making cute little boutique outfits for my baby website and ebay. I make tutu's too so if any one wants one! I'm going to do a princess theme for Madison's first birthday party in September and I'm going to custom make tutu's for all her girly guests : ) I think that will be fun. And I'm going to try to make a castle cake and princess cupcakes. Friday we decorate our first cake in our cake decorating class, a rainbow cake. I'm going to decorate it for Maddy turning 6 months. I want to throw it away afterwards because I don't need all those calories in this house! I wish I knew a good place to donate all these cakes I'm going to be making! And who knows what I'm going to do with the tiered wedding cakes I'll be making in the level 3 class! haha, take pictures then get them outta here! I'm down 5 pounds under the weight I was when I first got pregnant! I think I want to lose 6 more pounds, but I'm getting kinda skinny so I don't know.

Our 1st cake is this design, this is someone elses cake, I'll post ours once we do them Friday after class.

2008-03-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

These are from Mad's first trip to church. I know its a long time, but we wanted to wait until we could all go as a family for the first time and this was Fabians first Sunday off in months.

2008-03-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I just love this commercial! haha, Stinky McStinkface! Who you callin a Cootie Queen you lint licker??"

2008-03-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today Madness had a follow up dr appt to check on her ears from the ear infection and make sure she is all better. She sure is! She's 15lbs 9oz's as of today. She has been extra kicky the past few days and I thought maybe she was ready for her rainforest bouncer my mom got her. I just put it together and boy are her legs long enough and bouncy enough! She is having the time of her life! What a great invention! I'm glad its unisex so we can keep using it on our future children. Definitely a must have, this is the longest she's been entertained by something yet!

I put Mad in her cosleeper last night. Boy was it weird not to have have her in bed all night w/us! She woke up at 6:30a and got in bed with us though, but she did a good job most of the night! Still woke up to eat 6x's or so though. I'm not sure when that will end. Sigh.

2008-03-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the instructions: Copy these questions onto your blog and answer them. Tag all of your friends by posting a comment on thier blog. Add links to their blogs on yours. Have fun, and learn more about your pals!

1.WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last week watching Oprah's big give
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Ummm, I guess so
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? One little girl, Madison Ashley
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Oh heck yes I would!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not a lot, but I definitely use it
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I don't think so.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Special K Redberries
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Mentally, yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Coldstone's Cake batter
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smile/Personality
15. RED OR PINK? Pink.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Sometimes I nag, and I know I'm doing it and hate it!
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My sister Renee
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO PLAY ALONG WITH THIS GAME? Only if they want to.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pink velour cargo sweats, no shoes
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Peach Yoplait Light
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Fabians wings sizzling in the oven
22. IF
YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Pink
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My baby girl’s breath
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Very much.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? On TV, Football, Live, Basketball
27. HAIR COLOR? Black
28. EYE COLOR? Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes but I hope to get Lasik this year.
30 FAVORITE FOOD? Most anything Italian
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, although I do love a good SCARE!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? John Tucker Must Die
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?White
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating, Course 1
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? We use laptops and I don't use a mouse other than the one on my lalptop.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Top Chef repeats
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Maddy's chatter
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? New York
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Special? Well I knit.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Long Beach Memorial
47. WHO'S ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING?Anyone who chooses to do this.

2008-03-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well today was weird with the time change. No matter how many times I've done it, it always takes some getting used to. We had planned to go to church since it was the rare occasion that Fabian had it off, but we couldn't get out of bed. Me, mostly because Madison woke up at 2am for 2 hours, and Fabian had just came off a double. We went for a drive and Mad is finally asleep in my arms. Yes, I type w/one hand on my laptop all the time holding her and I've gotten pretty darn fast! Ok, gonna try to lay her down now : ) This is her sleep in the car after our drive today, KNOCKED out after I fed her some squash (she LOVES it!)

2008-03-08T22:16:00.001-08:00

Joyce

2008-03-08T22:00:00.001-08:00

2008-03-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'm such a slacker on blogging!! Geesh, I let months and months go by between posts. I am not that busy people! I'm a domestic engineer so my day is full of feeding, playing with and caring for our little princess Mad. We have fun everyday. She is so cute (yeah, everyone thinks their baby is so cute and now that I'm a mother, I agree, babies are the cutest things on the planet and make life worth living!) Mad rolls from her back to her tummy and back to her back. She sits up for a few seconds and tries to balance herself. She pulls herself up from any position. Her favorite food so far would have to be apples with sweet potatoes a close second. I'm getting freaked out about pesticides so she is only getting organic food. I'm going to start making it now that I've got an idea of what she likes and needs.

This morning Mad woke up at 5am and stayed up! She went down for a nap at 2pm and guess who went down with her? Mom! I was exhausted. Daddy even more so. He went to work yesterday his regular shift, got home at midnight, went to bed at 1am and left at 5am for work today 16 hours straight! I don't know how he does it but he does and Mad and I appreciate Daddy working so hard so we can be together all day/night and I can raise our daughter myself.

Okay, Mad is scream playing right now, this little girl has some pipes on her! Heaven help our new neighbors : )

Mom and I started our 1st series of Wilton cake decorating classes last night, it was fun! Next week we are decorating our 1st cake. I'm excited, it should be cute. I would love to make a part time business of it with my mom.

2007-12-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

2007-11-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

Maddy had her 2 month vaccinations yesterday. Man that sucked! The nurse came in and said "Okay mom you hold her hands and talk to her while I give her the shots". She messed up my game plan because Fabian was going to do that. I felt bad like I had to do it so I did. My poor baby. I just kissed her the whole time and tried to comfort her. She's been in and out of groggy sleep ever since. I'm giving her tylenol so she doesn't get a fever. I think the vaccinations gave her a cold too because she has a dry cough and some boogies. I wish she could never be sick or feel pain and I could take it all! Ugh, now I know the pain mothers feel, and this is nothing. (Picc is Maddy waiting on the table for the nurse to come give her the shots : (

2007-11-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

You better believe it! I work 24/7! But I love it!!! = )

2007-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy the holidays are here! This is such a fun time of year. I'm not sure what our holiday plans are yet, but its going to be nice. We got Maddy's pictures back from Sears, they came out so pretty! When I get the CD I will post some of the finished pictures. Little Madison is now 10 pounds! I knew it though, I guessed that from lugging her around everyday and those chunky little thighs! She likes to kick her feet a lot and has been doing that a couple weeks now. Just this week she's added in flailing arms and fists, haha. Its so cute, she's slowly gaining control of her little limbs! Soon she'll be punching! She holds her head up so well, I think she'll be crawling next month, lol. Oops, she's waking from her nap, better get her...

2007-11-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

Halloween Time!

This is my friend Dayna's daughter Aly w/my lil sis Debra on Halloween at Disneyland California Adventure. They were so cute! It was the longest I've ever been without Maddy. Mom came over and watched her for me until we got home, at 1am! Debra had a blast and got SO much candy it was ridiculous! I even got a ridiculous amount of candy that I'm not sure what to do with. I know I can't eat it, or this baby pouch I have will never go away, haha. I thought I took a pic of Maddy in her halloween onesie but I can't find it. I think I'll put it on her tomorrow and take a pic anyway. haha

2007-11-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Maddy Slide....

I'll update this often w/new Maddy pics!

2007-11-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

This is beautiful! I altered it a little of course, for the deputies out there, but this is for all the men & women of law enforcement.....

Judgement Day for a Deputy Sheriff

-Unknown Author-

The Deputy stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining.
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, Deputy.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To my Church have you been true?"

The Deputy squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord I guess I ain't,
Because those of us who carry badges
Can't always be a Saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my work was rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
Because the streets are awfully tough.

But I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep,
I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place
among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fear.

If you've a place for me here, Lord
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."

There was silence all around the Throne
Where the Saints had often trod.
As the Deputy waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, Deputy,
You've borne your burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

2007-10-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I have been slacking SO bad on this blog! This is my cutie daughter Maddy enjoying her towel (thanks Grandma Clara!) after bathtime. Last night she stayed up from midnight when Daddy got home, until around 6am. That was SO hard on me. I was doing all I could to stay awake with her. Today I tried keeping her up a bit so we'll see how that works. I need to work on getting her a steady routine. I was speaking with my friend tonight and she was telling me about scheduling music and story time with her, even though she's so young. I think that may help to entertain and keep her awake in the day. She's sleep now and I should be napping with her but I'm not. Tomorrow is Halloween and I'm taking my little sister Debra to Disneyland with my friend Dayna. It should be fun but I hope I can stay awake that long! Grammy will be here with Madison until dad gets home. It should be a fun day. Only a few more days until its the weekend! I need to get a life. haha

2007-10-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

So, every day as a Mommy has been wonderful & I feel so blessed. Waking up in the middle of the night to care for her, doesn't bother me. I haven't slept or ate since I've been home (last Sunday) but I'm happier than I've ever been. I have a little life that depends on me and loves me. Its been so great for both Fabian and I. As you know he graduated academy the day after Maddy was born so that was the best week of his life, and mine too. Now I get to stay home and take care of my baby, house and husband. Knowing me I will try to find a way to generate more business on my hair site and keep busy doing that as well. I can't help that business woman inside won't go away : ) Well, off to Babies R Us to get the last piece of Maddy's Cherry Blossom Graco set, the pack n play! So exciting!

2007-10-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Madison Ashley was born!!

Let me share my birth story....

So we got to the hospital on Weds 9/26 and were checked in at 3:30pst. (I had a dr. appt. earlier that day to monitor the baby and my amniotic fluid level was low so they sent me to the hospital to be induced) I was a direct admit so they had me on monitors in triage while they waited on a labor room for us. Everything was fine. We finally got our room about 5:30 pm. They hooked me up to an IV for fluids, we got settled and I turned on the tv. Fabian was hungry and hadn't packed snacks for himself. We waited on the nurse to come in. She finally came in around 6pm and told us what was going on. She also told me not to worry and that the monitors monitoring the baby's heartrate (which was always in the mid 140's to 150's) were set up to the nurses station out front and if there is a dip, they will all rush in and try to have me move around and get the baby to shift so don't worry if that happens (premonition??) She told us she would be right back w/Pitocin and since I was already dialated to 4, that was a great place for me to start and I could have the epidural at any time. I was relieved! Then I told Fabian to go quick and get a sandwich before she came back w/my Pitocin. I got on my cell w/my sister Renee and then the nurse comes in the room w/the Pitocin (10 min after DH left). I hung up w/my sister and immediately the heartrate monitor starts beeping. I looked over at it and it said 85bpm! My heart dropped. I thought the monitor must have moved and its picking up my heartrate. The nurse ran over to me and started having me rotate sides and then put an oxygen mask over my face telling me to take slow deep breaths. Okay so I was officially freaked out. Then 5 nurses run in and they all start telling me to rotate sides and then they immediately started to unhook me from everything, saying call the dr, which OR are we taking her too, "honey we're taking you to the operating room for an emergency c-section to deliver your baby okay, don't worry" as I'm being wheeled down the hall in my bed. I try not to cry but tears start falling from my eyes and I keep breathing through my mask. I just started praying. As soon as I got to OR the anesthesiologist was there already and he immediately started administering the epidural. The nurses were sweet talking to me, holding me, telling me what I was feeling. They were saying "wheres her husband, whats his number honey, oh we got it, I called him for you". My dr comes in and he tells the anesthesiologist "your 2 minutes are up", he says "I'm done already she's all yours." Then my dr starts, I say, "I'm going to throw up", my stomach heaves, I'm worried that is messing up the dr while he's cutting, I throw up in a bucket. 2 minutes later I hear the suctioning and Maddy crying (born at 7:05pm, 7lbs 1oz). Then I hear my husband, "Is my wife alright??" They checked Maddy out, wrapped her up and brought her over to me so I could kiss her. Then I was off to recovery. From the beginning to end of the ordeal they had her delivered in 5 minutes. The dr. still doesn't know what caused her heartrate to dip like that for so long (5 minutes if I didn't mention it already), no cord around her neck, nothing wrong w/her heart or anything.

SO, thats why I'm just home today. They could have released me yesterday but said I can stay one more day. I opted to stay because my bleeding was still pretty heavy and pain level fluctuating. And I needed to see the lactation consultants again for HELP!

The c-section and everything went great and my dr was awesome. I had educated myself just in case but nothing can prepare your mind for a c-section done in an emergency situation. I've been managing the pain and the baby is great as well, yes I'm in LOVE.

2007-09-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Madison's Baby Shower, August 18th, Polliwog Park, Manhattan Beach, Ca

2007-08-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Madison is almost here! Still not nervous! haha. I'm determined not to get nervous until I'm in labor and actually start to feel contractions. I still watch every baby show on Discovery Health Channel and The Learning Channel with no fear. I must have seen over 100 births in every possible situation you can imagine! Its not freaking me out. I feel like I'll be better off if I know.

Fabian has a yucky cold and has had it since Tuesday poor thing. And then Wednesday and Thursday they had to drive out to the range and do their qualifying shooting w/their shotguns and pistols! We're pretty sure he qualified for everything, in 110 degree heat, full gear, with a cold. Thats my baby! Only 4 weeks left until he graduates academy! I'm hoping Maddy will be born so she can be there for daddy. Either way she'll be there whether its in utero or not. haha

2007-08-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Week 37: And we're ready for take off! (From www.baby-gaga.com)

Fetal development in pregnancy week 37:fetus in ninth month It’s the calm before the storm. Changes in your baby's weight have leveled off with only a few ounces of fat added this week. At this point your baby should weigh in at around 7 lbs and 20 inches (with boys somewhat heavier and longer than girls). Happily, as far as internal organs go, they are now developed enough to function in the outside world although the oh-so-important immune system is still developing and will continue to do so after birth. With a large boost of antibodies provided by breast milk when nursing begins. Fighting infection and staying healthy should be well within their physical capacity when your little fighter is born.

And how's mom doing? Your health care provider will assess the likelihood of where you are relative to your upcoming birthing process—seeing as you’ve now arrived at that waiting phase that could turn into labor at any time. Various charming indicators such as loose stools, expelling your mucus plus (along with the bloody show – see week 35), a dilated cervix and increased Braxton-Hicks contractions are all signs that labor is only a few days away. The infamous water breaking may or may not be your first true indicator that labor has commenced. However, water breaks for only 15% of mothers and despite what Hollywood would have us believe, is more frequently just a slow leak rather than a large gush.

Be patient: if labor doesn’t start this week, or even next, keep in mind that only 4-5% of women actual deliver on their predicted due date. What’s more if this is your first pregnancy, you can expect to be anywhere from two days to two weeks late. You can distract yourself by keeping track of fetal movements, mostly to reassure yourself that all is well with your little miracle. In the off chance that movements do start to decrease substantially, try not to freak out and instead, call your doctor of midwife and discuss it with them.

If you still haven’t decided whether to breastfeed or not, here’s a good reason: some experts estimate that mothers excrete between 400-700 calories a day while breastfeeding, and to compensate, you should be eating roughly 500 extra calories a day (mmm that’s like one spoonful of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream).

2007-08-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

New Years Slide! We had so much fun, can't wait to go back, miss you Nish! Love Cameron and Owen ; )

2007-08-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

What happened on Tuesday....

OMGoodness! Ding Dong, I couldn't even see the poor UPS guys head behind all the boxes! Wow, we are truly blessed, the gifts keep rolling in! Thank you Lesley, Des and Artem! You guys are awesome, our baby is so blessed and she has no idea how much love she is being born into! I can't wait to introduce her to you all!
XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!
Joyce, Fabe and Maddy!!

Dr. Appt. Tuesday night....

36 week check up went well. I'm measuring 35/36 weeks and she is in the head down position and has been since my 34 week checkup. Heartbeat is great, still high 150-160. I gained 24lbs so far in this pregnancy. My goal was 25 total but I just want the baby to be healthy and so it doesn't matter how much more I gain. I heard it levels off around now though and I shouldn't gain much more. I packed my labor bag for the hospital and I hope to install the car seat base this weekend after I get my seat protector.

2007-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

From my myspace blog regarding our babyshower:

Wow, we had the most awesome baby shower on Saturday! I was amazed that all of our family and close friends showed up to support us in this great milestone in our lives! It was such a great gathering of people who all got along so well. Although some people didn't show up, there was still at least 50 people there. We got everything we wanted and more, and thank you to everyone who got us gift cards, I got everything else we needed with those! I appreciate all the cute outfits, now I am definitely not buying her one more outfit until she is here, her closet is completely packed with every size up to 9 months! She will be stylin'!

I love my girls, thank you Charace, Dayna and Deborah for throwing me the shower. Thank you Leticia & Mary for helping out so much and taking over the games when C had to leave! You guys were awesome! Thank you Mo for coming out only a couple of weeks after having your baby and for bringing him, what a cutie! Same to Nikki, thanks for coming out a couple of weeks after having your baby! Girls, you could have used that "just had a baby, I'm too tired, run down, etc" excuse and I would have been fully understanding! But you didn't, thanks! Thanks for coming Des & Kedren, you girls didn't have to but you did and It means the world to me! Mike & Rebecca, WOW, thats all I can say. Fabian put it together today, its soooo beautiful!!!! And the swing to match, Des its on the way I'm too excited!! Thanks!! Maria & Ryan, thank you for coming, I'm so glad we became friends, and I meant it when I said our daughters will be too! Thanks Nat, your son and nephew are too cute, and polite! Thanks Nephew Dimari for representin' and bringing your little posse with you! Too cute. Thanks Tony & Deb for driving out from Ontario and she is going to love her music groovin table! Thanks Alma, although you couldn't stay long we appreciated your appearance! Rori, you are a sweetheart, I'm keeping BOTH pumps and my girlfriend gave me rave reviews on the one you got me and thats the reason I got it. Let, wow, that is so cute how you got her little nickname in those wooden letters, they are soooo cute, we all oooed and aweeed over them! You're so thoughtful. Thanks Pat, although you couldn't be there, you shipped us that awesome glider!! C.C., love you! I love your gift, you guys and Dayna didn't have to, she did enough by working on the shower! And Deb, thanks for the Denio wear along with everything you did. Thanks to all the boys for all the gift cards, you guys are awesome!! And Serge, super special that you actually shopped for her, you too Bob! And no Rich, we won't be going with Lanersa, I'm so sorry to disappoint ; ) Vee, too cute that your gift card was addressed to "Maddy". Everyone, thank you, thank you and we love you!
Love you all!!! Thanks again for your love and support, we will always be there for you too! If I didn't mention you, don't worry I am sending out thank you cards, writing them as we speak to let you know personally how grateul we are.
Stay Blessed!Joyce

2006-09-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, my last post was June 23rd?? I have SERIOUSLY been slacking and I apologize to anyone who has been taking the time to check in. I promise to post more religiously from here going forth.

Well, what can I tell you? We have decided to start TTC (trying to conceive). Our first month trying was August, so now we are on month #2. We're ready to add an addition to our family. I'm still in school full time (although all my classes this semester are online) and I'm still doing the appraisal course. Or maybe I wasn't even doing that course yet in my last post. I don't think I was. Well, I'm in an appraisal course so that I can become a licensed real estate appraiser. Also, I'm working really hard on my hair business and business is really starting to pick up! Orders are coming in, emails are pouring in, and I'm just trying to stay on top of it all!

Mr. Moore is still studying hard for the firefighter exam process. He will be taking his CPAT within the next 6 weeks and then focusing 100% on his written exam. Pray for him! He can do anything with determination and God on his side. If its his will, it shall be done! :)

We went to Temecula for my birthday and stayed in the most gorgeous suite at the finest winery and resort out there, it was gorgeous! Southcoast Resort & Spa if anyone is interested. We had our own villa that was like a giant one bedroom apartment with 2 fireplaces and 2 jacuzzi tubs and our own private patio in the vineyard! And we wine tasted like no tomorrow, we think we are pros now, LOL.

What else? Yes, we are still commuting. We're actually looking into buying a new custom home next spring and either renting out the townhouse we bought in March, or selling it. We want to get in while the prices are still low out in the Antelope Valley, and you can still get a beautiful home in a great area for a reasonable price out there so we need to get on it!

Love you all, will post next time there is something of interest to tell! :)

2006-06-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

This goes out to my husband....

2006-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

I have SO much to tell you. Gosh, where did I leave off? First, we took the day off on Tuesday (Monday the 12th was our anniversary, 2 years!). We just chilled out and kinda waited for the service man to come fix our AC. Awww, life w/the AC is so much better! It gets humid hot like death where we live and AC is a necessitie out there.

Saturday I met up with Charace and we ate at PF Changs in Manhattan Beach and played catch up. It was nice. Then we went shopping for Father's day stuff. Then, we headed off to Kedren's bacholerette party....

Kedren finally had her bachelorette party. Mine was small and intimate and a lot of fun (thanks Mary, exactly what I wanted, good job honey!)....hers was LARGE and off the chain. There was at least 30 girls there. Tons of food, and when the drinks arrived we had Karmelia bartending and she was doing a good job! I only had one drink because I had to drive home to Lancaster afterwards. Charace and I had planned to leave at 11:30 but ended up staying until around 1am. I was so tired when I finally got home. I gave Fabian my PF Changs food (yes, he ate it at like 3:30am) and I crashed out.

Sunday was fathers day. I normally call my dad super early and try to beat the other kids calling, but this time I was TOO tired. I stayed in bed until 11:30am and then I called him. Turns out, I was STILL the first one to call him! WTF kids?? And they live 2 and 3 hours ahead of us on time so I don't know what was up. Whatever though. I was going to just stay home and rest because it is tough driving on Sunday and then starting off our week of commuting. Then my fam called and said they were headed our way and what were we doing! I was like, YES! We didn't have to drive out there, and we got to see them. I like living in Lancaster. My family always comes out that way to Palmdale and now I get to see them all the time. Its great. We went by Fabian's parents house on Monday afterwork and spent some time with Alton before hitting the freeway. I love him, he's so sweet.

2006-05-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend! Fabe was sick on Saturday so Yollie and I headed off to Deb's show bright and early Saturday morning. Deb looked great and she did a great job! We wore our Denio clothing and represented! We all went to lunch at Jerry's Deli and I had a humongous burger that caused my stomach to SWELL :) Then Yollie and I headed home. We chilled and got ready to head right back out to LA to go out with Deb and the gang. We went to World Cafe and then some bar/club next to it. That dance floor was as small as my dining room but you didn't hear it from me yall.

Sunday, went to the Moore's. It was fun and my parents really enjoyed themselves. I warned my little sister that Clara (my mother in law) would comment on my weight (FYI, I weigh 118lbs, I'm 5'7" and wear a size 26/3). She was like, "yeah right". I informed her, she told me my ass got big or my hips spread THREE times in a two hour span. I'm glad I don't have it in me to get an eating disorder or she would drive me to one. I don't say anything but thanks now. I'm tired of answering to it. Okay, enough of that! We finally met Mo' and Fatmeh's baby! He is SO cute! The cutest baby boy I have ever seen! The Kamara's looked hot as usual, that couple always represents, love them!

Monday we stayed home all day and chilled out. Then that night we went to see Xmen 3. That movie was tight, 2 thumbs up, 4 stars, A+! All I can say is I love Jeans hair!! It was so hot. Loved her.

2006-05-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a happy memorial day weekend! Mine is set to be pretty busy! My lil sis, Yollie, is staying with me tonight and tomorrow. She's getting her hair braided right now and I'm beside myself with excitement! I can't wait to see it! I'm about to take off and head to Deb's to pick up an outfit from her clothing line to wear tomorrow for her show. I hope the midriff is not too high, my stomach is not right! ;) Saturday we are all going out after Debs show to celebrate. I wonder where we'll go? Dancing she said so we'll see. Monday, to the in-laws. My parents really really want to visit them so we are. Monday, stay home and chill and go to the movies to see Xmen! Can't wait!

2006-05-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Our night out at the Melting Pot over the weekend. This was in celebration of Al and Le's engagement. They arrived fashionably late of course ;) I'm not sure how I feel about the Melting Pot as we waited 2 hours before we got seated! I mean, there weren't even other people in the lobby and we had a reservation. I've never waited that long with a reservation. Okay, but let me stop. I will definitely be back for just cheese, drinks and chocolate. No main courses though, its weird cooking your food in a pot of boiling water....We had a good time though. I love to see this group of friends. They are so sweet. Our husbands have some funny inside jokes with each other....they never stop laughing and I love to see him so happy :) And Becca, oh my goodness, baby Preston is just growing and growing in there! I got to feel him move! I don't think I have ever felt a baby move before inside a mommys tummy! Ever!! It was a trip....kinda made me think of the movie Alien though...;)

2006-05-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Cookie Lee Rocks!!

Okay, yes, and I sell Cookie Lee Jewelry too! haha, I'm such a freakin hustla! I rock! Here's some crazy pics from our first and second convention that I went to, we have fun!! Cookie Lee is a great business if you want to earn extra money, or if you work hard at it, it can be your only job!(As the gorgeous Dayna Gomez pictured below is about to do, Go Dayna!) And I'm not going to lie, its one of the funnest jobs you could have, selling jewelry?? Please. I love it! And their jewelry is high quality! If you break a necklace can you take it back to Macys for repairs or exchange?? I think not! But with Cookie Lee you can! Ask me if you would like to know more on how to join this exciting family!

2006-05-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

Oh hey, in case you're wondering what a blog is! :)

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.

2006-05-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary is quickly approaching! June 12th 2004. Thought I'd share some wedding pics with everyone....what a fun time this was! We had a humongous wedding party! Mo, Mike, Vee, Serge, Al, Momoh, Rich, Nisha, Charace, Kami, Nee, Yollie, Deb, Mary and the little ones, Dimari (not so little!! He's 6'4" now and almost 18! Watch out ladies!), Patrick and my heart Debra! We had this at Edwards Mansion (www.edwardsmansion.com) in Redlands, Ca. Boy, it was about 95 degrees that day! And the guys had to do black. I told Fabian to let me put them in white suits w/pink ascotts but he was like NOOOOO!! We aint wearin pink! And who was rockin' pink 2 months later?? I won't mention any names but...Fabian....I didn't say nothin....

2006-05-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'll light the fire, while you place the flowers
In the vase that you bought today.
Staring at the fire for hours and hours,
While I listen to you play your love songs
All night long for me, only for me.

Our house, is a very, very, very fine house.
With two dogs in the yard,
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy 'cause of you.

Come to me now, and rest your head for just five minutes,
Everything is done.
Such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated
By the evening sunshine through them,
Fiery gems for you, only for you.

Our house, is a very, very, very fine house.
With two dogs in the yard,
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy 'cause of you.

(I changed cats to dogs because I don't like cats)

CROSBY, STILLS and NASH

2006-05-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hey! Okay so most of you know whats been going on but just in case let me fill you in really quick! We bought our first place on March 2nd! We got a townhouse in West Lancaster California. It depresses me a lil how fast real estate is shooting up! Its a good thing for us now that we are owners, but its still a scary thing. We would like to buy closer to LA, like in the Valley, even Santa Clarita Valley, eventually but for now, this is what fits our budget. I also created a blog for my Indian Hair business but it will just be talking about hair. haha. Thats interesting for me and my friends though because we talk about hair...a LOT! I'm trying to get into a Cal State this fall without my math requirements fulfilled! Pray for me! I have a good gpa so I hope they look past the math and let me finish it up there. Over the summer instead of summerschool I am going to get my real estate appraisal license. I think it would be a good job that is flexible and would allow me to be to go to school (and do well) and be a stay at home mommy when the time comes. Fabian is going to practice more on his web design stuff because that is his heart! We're looking for him some schools or courses to get into.