Waves of Emotions



Early Friday morning, Cody & I got ready to head out on a 7-hour road trip to Daphne, Alabama.  As you mommas know, 7 hours in the car with a toddler are not so fun, so we decided that Manning should stay home with Dee-Dee and Nonna.  We were going to be at wedding festivities all weekend, and since Cody was actually in the wedding, we thought that Manning would be worn out from all of the craziness anyway.   Cody kept convincing me that being away would be good for me and our little guy, and that we should just enjoy getting some "us" time.  I felt the same way, until I had to tell that little stinker "bye bye".  In true Marci fashion, I burst into tears and had to make myself leave.  I've been an emotional wreck these days.  Going back to work has been a little harder than I thought it would be.  Staying home with my sweet baby for those 4 months spoiled me rotten...



@ the wedding

Anyway, on with the story... Once we were on the road, things got better, and we talked the entire way.  The 7 hour drive seemed to pass rather quickly, and I was doing just fine until we stopped at a gas station and played a video of Manning on my iPhone.  Cody came back from pumping gas and saw what I was doing, and he got a little emotional too.  Don't think we didn't consider going back home. ;o)

After telling myself to suck it up, we started enjoying the scenery on our trip.  We drove straight through downtown Mobile, and I loved seeing all of the beautiful Mardi Gras decorations.  I decided that even though I'm not Catholic, I'm going to decorate my front door for Mardi Gras next year!  Maybe something like this...

After going through Mobile, we arrived at our destination... Daphne, Alabama.  We were then ready to start celebrating Will and Amy's wedding weekend.  This wedding was a very special one to us because Will is one of our dearest friends.  He and Cody have been best friends since grade school, and his parents mean the absolute world to us both.  With my emotions as crazy as they were, of course, I got choked up during the wedding, but I wasn't the only one.  The other wives were crying too.  It was just great getting to see Will so happy!

Buddies since forever

@ the Rehearsal Dinner

Mother of the Groom "Bevo"

Jayson & Sandy (parents-to-be)

Our weekend was filled with great friends, wonderful food, reliving our college days through tons of stories, dancing, and just enjoying being together... I even managed to get a little shopping in (for Manning of course).  Although it was a ton of fun, nothing compares to the wonderful blessing of being a mommy to my precious baby boy, so I was more than ready to come home and hug and kiss all over him! 



None other than Will himself

"DATE"

Us with the groom

Brock & Lacey

Mr. & Mrs. Will Houston

Tornado Meltdown

Well, hello again!  I like to think that maybe some of you have missed me.  I have no idea if anyone actually reads my blog (I know my life is pretty boring), but in case someone does, here is a little update for ya.

Things have been great in the Moore household other than Manning coming down with the flu and double ear infections.  Since then, though, we have rebounded and are going pretty much non-stop.  It takes a lot to slow down a 27.5 pound ball of energy.  :o)  We went for Manning's 15 month checkup last week, and the doc says he's perfect.  He's in the 90th percentile consistently...  He's 27.5 lbs, 32.5 inches tall, and he's outgrowing his clothes as fast as I can buy them.  He's now wearing a size 2!!!  He has probably 11 or 12 teeth now, and he can read the word "ball."  He's a little obsessed with them.  Most children want a soft blanket or stuffed animal at bedtime...not Manning.  He wants nothing other than a ball.  He is ALL boy!  His vocabulary is also growing like crazy.  I would guess that's using 15-20 words regularly. 

Now that I've caught you up on little man's stats, I think I'll entertain you with a Manning story.  Last Thursday night, we had some scary, stormy weather here in Arkansas.  Cody was in Michigan for work, and Manning and I were doing our usual, nightly routine.  I put him in the bathtub as usual and thought nothing of the weather.  We have satellite tv, so I never see the local alerts and such.  As I was getting Manning's hair good and lathered up, I heard something... it was the town's tornado siren.  I'm not gonna lie... I was scared.  About that time, the lights started flickering, and I really started to panic.  I got that soap out of his hair super fast, threw a towel around him, put him on my hip (he was facing out...this matters for another part of my story), and off we went.  I ran to the living room and turned the tv to one of the few local channels we get, and sure enough, a tornado had been spotted less than 10 miles from our town.  As I was watching the radar, I heard what sounded like rain.  I thought, my gosh it sounds like it's raining in my living room.... That's when I realized that it wasn't rain... It was Manning.  He was "tinkling" all over my living room floor.  As I laughed and wanted to cry, I left the puddle (a tornado was coming!) and headed to get his clothes.  After throwing a diaper and pjs on him, I grabbed him in one arm, Gigi (our yorkie) in the other, my phone, and Cody's mag flashlight.  Off to our safe room/my closet we went!


Being Silly

Touchdown

I thought that Manning would be scared in the closet, so I pulled lots of tricks out of my mommy hat.  We sang, clapped, watched Barney on my iphone (in between weather updates), played with Gigi, recorded a video for Cody, played with scarves, clothes, you name it.  We were in there for over an hour...  Here are some pictures of our fun.



Getting sleepy

When we got word that it was safe to leave the closet, I realized that Manning's bed time had come and gone.  I grabbed him and thought I'd go straight into our bedtime routine.  But, Manning wasn't having that!  He started kicking and screaming and had a fit... well fit doesn't quite describe it.  Let's call it a meltdown.  He wanted back in the closet.  I guess he had a little too much fun waiting out the storm.  After he had finished his fit, I finally got him to sleep, and I was exhausted.  Whew!  It was exciting to say the least, and I just laugh now thinking about it.  Things as simple as a scare from a storm turn into such an adventure when you experience them with a toddler, a tiring, but fun adventure, I might add!


Manning's Meltdown



Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Add caption

I feel so out of the loop in the blog world, but I have been busy with the hustle and bustle of the season, the best season, that is!  Christmas is a holiday filled with many different traditions and meanings...

This has been my best but busiest Christmas ever... 

Usually by this time, I've watched a dozen Christmas movies and sat and looked at my Christmas decorations for hours at a time.  I'm one of those people who loves Christmas lights and looking at my tree to just soak up the holiday.  I just realized that I haven't had a chance to do any of those things, and I can honestly say that this has been the best one yet, even though it was a little different.

I've spent my Christmas chasing around a toddler and viewing this holiday season through his eyes (and we've been fighting a double ear infection... *tear*).  Even though I may be a little exhausted, I am blissfully happy and so very thankful for him and for all he teaches me every single day.  Here's what I've enjoyed and learned this Christmas...

1.  Christmas is a time for lights, Santa, presents, decorations, etc, but more importantly, it's a time to worship Jesus and teach your children about Jesus.  Manning loves to read his Christmas story books, and he always brings me the one about the first Christmas story.  I'm so thankful that he does.  It kept us from overlooking the most important person in the entire world, Jesus!  A couple of our friends from Wilson celebrate today by having a birthday party for Jesus.  I think that's a wonderful idea, and I'm planning on borrowing the idea for next year, if they don't mind.  Thanks, Nickie & Kaci!

2.  I no longer care about presents for myself... I only care about those belonging to a precious little boy.  When Manning's face lights up, I'm reminded that he is my special gift!  Thank you, Lord, for him!

3.  Christmas is a time of thanksgiving.  I am so very thankful for my family and my Manning.  Children make Christmas so much more fun!

4.  I just thought that Christmas was exciting when I was a kid... Just wait 'til you're on the opposite end.  I never dreamed I'd be too excited to sleep waiting on Santa at the age of 27... :o)

Santa came!

5.  I think I'll end my list with #5.  I'm even more thankful today that I'm a mother than I ever have been before.  I get emotional thinking about how blessed I truly am to have Manning.  I think I'll go check on him right now and whisper to him that he's the best thing that has ever happened to me.  

I love Santa!!!

P.s....I have so many pictures of Manning's second Christmas, but I'm just going to post a few tonight.  I'll be putting some more up soon.  I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas, and that you thanked Jesus for being the very first gift to all of us!  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

'Tis the season



Christmas is my favorite! :)

Well, as promised, here is a picture of my finished tree before the presents.  I took this a couple of weeks ago.  Now, I have tons of presents around it, because... drum roll please... I'm finally done with all of my Christmas shopping! :o)  I'm happy to be done, but I love Christmas and shopping so much, that I get a little sad when it's all over.

I feel like I have fallen off of the face of the planet because I haven't blogged in so long... I have been super duper busy.  Cody has been away for work in a snowy little town in Michigan for 2 weeks, so it's just been me and my little man at home.  I love Manning and cherish every single moment I get with him, but that little stinker wears me out, especially when I'm a single-parent due to work trips.  I am so very thankful, though, that I am the one that gets to stay home and be with him every single minute of every day, instead of being the one thousands of miles away for work.  Thanks, Cody, for all that you do for our family!  We love you and miss you VERY much!

I am thankful...

Well, I haven't posted in forever for a couple of reasons...

Playing @ Chick-fil-A on our way to Columbia for Thanksgiving

1.  I am off of work for the winter, so I'm now a stay-at-home-mommy until March.  Don't get me wrong, I'm loving every single second with Manning, but my free time is pretty much nonexistent.  :o)  He keeps me BUSY!

2.  My internet has been completely messed up for over 4 weeks now.  I've felt soooo disconnected.  Thank goodness for my I-phone and my parents' internet service. 

You haven't missed a whole whole lot in the life of the Moore's these days.  We had a pretty good Thanksgiving holiday....minus the rotten dumplins.  Yes, leave it to me and Cody to get food poisoning on Thanksgiving.  After a full day and a half of being sick, we rebounded just in time for Black Friday!  We decided to head out bright and early to hit up those sales.  We made it to the first stop at about 4 am and didn't stop until 2 pm.  Cody was such a trooper, and we really had a great time together shopping for our family & little man.  It's a tradition that I think we'll continue from year to year. 

Since Thanksgiving, we've really been focusing all of our time on preparing for Christmas.  I finally have the inside of my house looking great (not clean, but decorated nicely lol).  Stay tuned... I will take some pics of my decor and post them within the next couple of days for those of you who like looking at that sort of thing.

Up in a cloud of smoke...

Well, the Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game has come and gone now, and for once, I can honestly say that I don't care about the end result.  Can you believe I just said that?  That is sooo out of character for me, but lots of bad things happened that day other than our loss to the pigs.

I'm going to do my best to catch you up rather quickly, so here's the story in a nutshell.  On game day, during the first rain delay, my mother-in-law started yelling for us to get out of the house because our propane tank and fence were on fire.  Yep, on FIRE!  So, of course in a huge panicked rush, we all ran outside barefoot.  I had Gigi in one arm and my cell phone in the other.  After calling 911 and EVERY fire dept within a 20 mile radius, we watched as our fence and storage building went up in flames.  I've never seen such big flames, and honestly, I was scared to death.  I just knew that our house was going to be gone, but somehow, I remained somewhat calm.  I sat on the sidewalk shoeless at our neighbor's house and just prayed that God would protect my family and my house too (if it was His will).  Sure enough, miraculously, my house didn't burn and the fire was stopped literally as it reached my roof.  Of course, our privacy fence and the storage building and all of the contents are gone, but our house survived, and we couldn't be any more thankful!  We lost a lot, but we could've lost so much more.  The only things I'm really gonna miss are my custom-built dollhouse that Mom and Dad gave me on my 5th Christmas, all of Manning's baby clothes and memorabilia, and of course, my gorgeous Christmas decorations.  The rest, we can live without.  They are just "things," after all.

With that being said, we do have a little trouble sleeping at night.  I've installed fire detectors all over our house, and I now have a phobia of fires.  But, I do know that God protected us and our home for a reason, and that I don't need to worry.  He will take care of us.  Some nights, I just can't help but pray 'til I fall asleep for God to watch over my sweet baby boy and protect him all the time. 

As I mentioned earlier, ALL of my Christmas decor is gone... and if you know me very well, you know how much I love Christmas.  If you don't know me, here's a short recap.  I love anything and everything Christmas, seriously.  My tree goes up the day after Halloween every year, if not before....  With this being Manning's second Christmas, but the first one that he'll actually be able to take part in, of course I had to continue with my tradition.  No fire is going to dampen my Christmas spirit and take away from all of our traditions.  So, Manning and I have been shopping up a storm trying to replace everything.  After 5 shopping trips and a lot of time spent online, I have finally finished.  I bought lots of beautiful ornaments like these...

And got a gorgeous new tree skirt...

And, of course, I lined the stockings up in Pier 1 to make sure I liked them before I purchased them...

When my packages arrive, my Christmas decor will be complete and all will be right with the world.  :o)  Enjoy the pics of our shopping adventures....

We bought a sock-monkey @ Wolfchase in Memphis...

Mommy's lil' elf :)

Shopping is a tough job!

Of course, we stopped for dinner after one of our many trips...

Now, my backyard is a different story... it looks like a junkyard.  I can't wait for the insurance adjustor to give us the go-ahead so we can get all of our burned memories off of our lawn.  Until next time, have you decorated for Christmas yet?  Why wait?! Stay tuned for some photos of my finished tree. 

Do you smell that HOG stench?

Praise in the Park



Fun in the park with Ella

Well, first and foremost, let me say Happy 11 months to my Manning today!  In one short month, my little baby boy is going to be a 1-year-old.... WOW!!!  I so can't believe it.  I am having a blast though planning his first birthday party.  It's going to be such a fun day!! :o) 

Fun in the leaves

For all of you Ole Miss fans, the HOG stench is getting pretty strong in our little town... We woke up yesterday morning to find a surprise on our lawn.  Cody went to the door to leave for work, and I heard "Marci, you might want to come to the door."  We found our Colonel Reb statue had been "hogged"... See for yourself...

Later, when Mamaw Joyce showed up.  She informed me that not only our Colonel had been tampered with... Turns out, Mom's and Melissa's got a new look as well.

Mom's Statue

Melissa's Statue

As for the neighborhood pranks, I'll post more about this after this weekend.  As you all know by now, I'm a pretty humble Ole Miss fan.  I know our faults and know that we have the tendency to make major mistakes.  But, oh how I'd love to WIN this weekend!  This is the most important game to me of the whole season because I'm surrounded by so many HOGS and have to listen to the jokes year-round.  As fun as it may be to have this ongoing SEC rivalry, a win would just make this football season spectacular for me.  So, Rebels, Masoli, and my boy Melvin Harris, don't let me down, ok?!  HOTTY TODDY!  Go Rebels! 

You probably noticed that I haven't mentioned our mascot change.  I purposely don't want to elaborate on it.  Colonel Reb will always be the Moore family's mascot.  Here's a picture to explain how I feel about those black bears.....