Above average, indeed

My friend has a photo on her fridge. The photo is of a doormat. It says,

The MOORES

Where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

In my family...Strong women? Debatable. Good looking men? Perhaps. Above average children? DEFINITELY. Here's the proof...





I'm one proud mama!

Good Intentions

As I was wandering up and down the booths of Swiss Days a week or so ago, I saw a vinyl sign that I loved. It said, "The smallest act of kindness is better than the greatest intention." This, of course, caught my eye because I am the QUEEN of good intentions. Over a year ago Darin and I had 5 nephews serving missions (one in Fiji, one in Brazil, one in Switzerland, one in Montana, and one in Japan). We had the great idea to send each of these nephews a care package. We filled the care packages, addressed them, and put them in our front hall closet...and there they sat. We have delivered two of them (in PERSON when they returned HOME). The other three packages are less full than they once were. The kids (and I) have eaten the candy out of them, Darin took the dress socks out of one when he got a new suit and needed matching socks, and I'm pretty sure the gum has been added to gifts for the kids' friends. I believe that our once decent packages have been reduced to a letter and a small package of Pop Rocks. I still have two nephews who have not yet returned, and one who has since left, so there is still hope that I can fulfill my good intentions. (If you are doing the math, I said there were three packages left. We have not yet delivered John's care package to him, even though he returned 3 months ago.) I share this story with you not to get down on myself, but to give us all a little chuckle (it's healthy to laugh at yourself, right?), and to give myself some accountability. My goal is that this great intention will turn into a small act of kindness by no later than FRIDAY (of this week). I will post about my success when the task is complete, and I encourage all of my faithful readers (all 10 of you) to find a great intention that you have, and turn it into a small act of kindness. Wish me luck!!!


Here is a picture of the remaining packages and their contents (or lack therof):
#1: Letter, pop rocks, and gum
#2: Empty
#3: Letter & pop rocks

Warren's turn

Warren has been talking about starting preschool since before the kids went back to school, and Tuesday was finally the day!!! I had a little shopping spree with him a few weeks ago since he was feeling left out of the back to school shopping. We had to buy a backpack, new undies, a pencil box, and a new school outfit. As we were walking around WalMart, he spotted this treasure of an outfit...it came with the shorts, the shoes, the orange soccer shirt, AND another white t-shirt all for $7. His eyes lit up, and he had the hugest smile on his face when he pulled it off the rack that I just couldn't say no. He has basically lived in it since we bought it (I do try to wash it occasionally). The cool thing about this outfit, Warren informed me, is that it is clothes AND pajamas! This little outfit can be school clothes, play clothes and pajamas, and it brings him more joy than one could imagine. Who knew that $7 could buy so much happiness! There was absolutely no question in his mind that he would wear this outfit to the first day of preschool. Here he is all ready to go:

He was in charge of the alphabet box for the first day. He was so excited to fill the box with all the "D" things we could find in our house. He ended up putting a duck, a dog, a dime, a dollar, Diego undies, a diaper, a dinosaur, a diamond, and a picture he drew of Dad, David, and Dan-o (his friend).

I love that the fake smile starts so early!


Watching for cars (what a good boy)

With his buddy, Joe


I received a phone call from Kellie about half way through preschool. She said that Warren was complaining of a headache. She felt his head and said he felt hot. While I was still on the phone with her she said, "Uh-oh Warren, are you going to throw up?" Warren nodded 'yes', our phone call ended, Kellie rubbed his back while he puked in her garbage can (what a sweet friend), and I headed down to her house with my stroller to pick him up. I felt so bad! He had no signs of being sick before he left, so it hit him pretty quickly. He spent the last half of preschool at home, on the couch with his favorite blankies. Luckily the flu bug (or whatever it was) passed really quickly for him. He took it easy all that day, napping on and off, had one more fever/vomit episode, and he felt fine the next morning. So far the only other person the bug has hit is me. Hopefully it will stop there. I've decided I'm not such a fan of being sick, but I do feel fortunate that we made it this long without getting sick. It seems like this particular bug has made it through our neighborhood a few times, so I will count my blessings that this is our first experience with it! Anyway, after all was said and done, the first day of preschool was still a thumbs up experience, and he was so excited to go today! Now if I could just figure out what to do with two hours all to myself while David takes a nap...

Things I learned today...

1) When the fridge door is open, David's arm fits perfectly in the crack by the hinge.

2) When the fridge door is closed, David's arm doesn't bend with it.

3) It makes David sad to have his arm shut in the fridge.

4) Even though David's mom felt horrible for shutting his arm in the fridge door, it did not prevent her from doing it not once, but TWICE within the period of an hour.

5) I will not be nominated for Mother of the Year anytime soon.

A visit from Grandpa

Grandpa just left from a two week stay at our house. We LOVE it when he comes! The house seems a little empty (which should be difficult with a house full of little kids) with him gone. Here are some of my favorite things about my father-in-law:

-His moustache
-His white "Members Only" jacket. I'm sad we didn't get a picture of him wearing it. He upgraded to a sport coat for the journey home.
-His smile and his laugh
-He loves the sound of children. I kept apologizing for the noise in my home to which he would reply, "Oh, I love it. I miss it. My house is too quiet."
-He is willing to bend the truth a little bit about loving the noise of children.
-He is CONSTANTLY doing projects. Last time he was here he prepped and painted two rooms, helped me put together a dresser, helped install a microwave at Darin's brother's house (and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few). This time he got his sister's car working, helped his cousin with her computer, pulled weeds at his sister's house, hooked up a cable in our guest room, and almost fixed a broken chair (we didn't have the right supplies, and we ran out of time). He says that projects are what keep him going. He loves helping people.
-He is the Dance Club President in his retirement community. He sends us the e-mails (complete with clip art and music) of his jokes and speeches he gives at all the dances. He has the rest of the year planned out, and is constantly thinking of new ways to improve attendance at the dances.
-He loves buffets. His favorites are The Home Town Buffet and the Asian Buffet. I like to go with him. (We made it to Golden Corral this time)
-I love how he underlines (twice) and capitalizes important things that need emphasizing when he writes something down.
-He helps me be related to Wilford Woodruff (Wilford Woodruff is his great grandfather--only one great, which means that he is Darin's great great grandfater, and my kids' great great great grandfather).
-He is one of my very favorite people.

Here is Grandpa with Darin, Warren, and David (Olivia and Sean left for school before Grandpa woke up).

Darin with his dad

G.W., Me, and David

We love you, Grandpa, and we miss you already!

Church notebook

Yesterday at church I was looking through a little notebook that we keep in the church bag trying to find a blank page for Warren to write on. I finally found a clean page for him, but before I did I came across a couple of gems that made me giggle. I have no idea how old Olivia was when she wrote these particular entries, but here they are (I kept all the spelling and punctuation the way it is written in the notebook):

#1:
Dear journal,
my uhm...my brothers are not sick but my mom says they are so they can't come to church

(for the record, I've never read her journal. As stated above, this is a family notebook, not her journal.)

#2:
She was by the door she shut it on her Big toe on her Left Foot and she dosn't know if she can do cheerleading Practice for a week her name is Kersala

So there you have it. This is what she thinks about during church. Good to know.

Back to School!

Have a fun summer! check. Stay Cool! check. Call me! check. See you next year! check. Here we are. Back to school. It's hard to believe we're here, but ready or not, here it came. I loved summer, but to everything there is a season, and I was also ready to get back to the structure of a schedule. I think my kids were, too (even though they won't admit it). The night before school was full of butterflies (the nervous kind and the excited kind), labeling & organizing school supplies, packing backpacks, and little sleep. We all woke up early, and had a great start to the day. I think you morning people really have something going! (I'm not quite ready to call myself a morning person yet, since it has only been a week, but I have a feeling I'll join your ranks very soon!) Our morning routine has gone smoothly all week, and I have loved it! I'm hoping it doesn't fizzle out. Here's how it goes:

Step One: Mom and Dad awake and ready

Step Two: Kids awake

Step Three: Breakfast, scriptures, and prayer

Step Four: Kids make beds, brush teeth, get dressed, comb Sean's hair, lunches ready

Step Five: Sean to bus stop (usually accompanied by the entire family. When David hears the door open he yells, "ME, ME", and we all end up taking a little walk.)

Step Five: Olivia's hair, Olivia practice piano

Step Six: Olivia's carpool comes (She is participating in a pilot A.L.L. program in the district, and goes to a different school)

It really makes me look like a put-together mom, doesn't it? (Keeping my fingers crossed it lasts the whole year--don't hold your breath!)

Here are some pictures from the first day:

Sean at the bus stop

With his buddy, Ryan...

GOING...

GOING...

GONE.

Deep breath, big sigh. There he goes. It was harder than I thought. I put on my brave face, knowing that he was in good hands and that all would be well. I think it's our job as moms to worry a little bit. It just means we love our kids, right?
After the bus was gone, we headed home to get Liv ready. Here she is sporting her new camo outfit and backpack (apparently these bags you wear over your shoulder are all the rage, as I have seen a plethera of them this year. Is this a new fad, or have I just been out of it? Anyway, I like them, and think they're cool, too. Good choice, Liv).

David was sad his sister/second mom was leaving for school.

Her carpool came right on time. Another deep breath, another big sigh. I think the first day of school was the longest day of my life! I can't count how many times I looked at the clock, wondering when they would be back. They finally did, and they brought with them mostly happy reports of the day (except that Olivia spent recess alone- that broke my heart! She knows maybe 3 kids at the school, and I guess she was feeling pretty lonely. I assured her that it would be better the next day, and even better the next. I suggested that she called her friend, Brooklyn, from her old school. She did, and I cried while she was talking to her! I just want to know that I am doing what's best for my kids, and it's hard to know that all the time, especially when they struggle. I told her to keep trying, that she would make friends in no time, and gave her a hug--more for me than for her. The rest of the week has been fabulous, and we are both feeling a lot better. Sorry for the tangent.). Sean had zero complaints. He is loving every second of it. He is thrilled that he has TWO recesses, and loves his new lunch bag. He's feeling pretty big (and he is). It will be summer again before we know it. Until then, we'll enjoy the structure, and be ready for the summer when it comes. Happy back to school, everyone!