Fantastic Friday

my monkey girl

need a plumber

Another morning walk another great day.
I do love living here in ventura but I do sometimes complain about the weather
it is too much of one thing
and especially this winter which has just felt like summer
it annoys me, silly I know but really I would like some type of change as moderate as it would be.
Any way today way beautiful beautiful beautiful and i couldn't grumble about it, it was just way too nice and not too hot.
After our walk dakota and I came home and she got right to playing in the backyard totally in her own little world, happy as could be.
Dakota is not a fan of clothes and usually she would have stripped down more but for some reason she has been into just taking off her shirt so there she is in the back yard just having a blast picking grass and making mud and mixing in acorns, getting dirty, how every day should be when you are four.
I love watching her when she is in her zone like that there is something different about it and I am not sure what it is.


Then to make the day even better in the afternoon we met up with some friends at the park. And there were a lot of us there and again it was this beautiful day all the kids were playing and running and having a blast, the parents were chatting, the ease and comfort of it all felt so good and again I feel like a lucky little lady.


she has been really working so hard to do those monkey bars she turned four and watch out her own room, doing monkey bars what next.

Wonderful Wednesdays

We started of the morning with a great walk, which I so needed, because on tuesday I was planning to go but woke up texted aubrei that I was not going to make it and crawled back into my warm bed and proceeded to NOT fall back asleep.
So yes starting off with a morning walk was a great start.
After Marie arrived Maya came over as well before heading off the the clubhouse (an indoor play place) there was ice cream to be made...

the girls were taking turns being the ice cream maker. I just love playdough in all shapes and forms. After some ice cream fun we met up with Sara and Abby and we were off to the clubhouse.
I felt mildly guilty because it was a beautiful day and playing inside didn't make total sense but it was nice to change it up and dakota absolutely loves it and she didn't seem to mind one bit.
That is the end of the slide they would go down holding hands, screaming


Marie is here till 330 on wednesdays so there was no nap, I did put on a movie after lunch for some down time (in hopes they would fall asleep HA) but once the movie was over they were up and adam outside playing peter pan probably one of their favorite games.
One of them pretends to be wendy the other peter and they run away from each other and then rescue each other and they love it.
As usual for wednesday we headed off to my parents for dinner. It was my turn to cook and while I must say I really look forward to the nights it is not my turn, last night I didn't mind so much because I made PIZZA and really it is so easy and yummy I excited when it came to mind.
what appeared to be left but really it was only one of each I couldn't stop eating it

I was going to do a build your own pizza bar but decided to go ahead and throw them together so we could eat sooner, I LOVE EATING. I did some sauteed mushrooms, olives, sun dried tomatoes, pineapple (for d), and yellow bell peppers oh and goat cheese yummy. Then I did three pizza's with different combos of the above and let me just say I was stuffed but the end of dinner.
It didn't help that my mom and dakota made chocolate chip cookies either.

i'll take five please and some milk

Derek got a ukulele for christmas so he has been bringing that with him on wednesdays and dakota loves it almost as much as derek. Then we had this funny/interesting conversation about that started with my dad's jury duty experience, well not jury duty but...his experience with the a government office. Then he and derek started talking about government and cutting the fat from it and how to go about that and then is there corruption in government it was a great night for conversation. I love my family how blessed and loved I am.

Painting with Brushes and Fava Beans

So awhile back I was planting some fava beans to help put nitrogen back into my soil getting it ready for the spring, yay summer garden, anywho dakota was helping and she decided to start planting her own and I was obliged to let her and off she went with the bag. The bag had still maybe twenty to the thirty seeds in it and I told her she could take the bag on the condition she listened and planted only four or five...

So still working on listening and trusting take a good look there are a couple more than five maybe like 20 or so sprouts. Hahaha she came running inside today so excited that her beans were growing, so really take all the seeds you need honey
even as an adult planting something from a seed and seeing it come out of the dirt is pretty darn awesome.
So our second week with marie and we did some painting this morning and I was in a mood so I said that the brushes were the only utensil to be used today no hands.
Which is really lame in hindsight the sensory experience for them is so awesome but I just needed to not have a big clean up. They did great and really didn't seem to mind the one rule.

just getting started

in the thick of it
five minutes later, okay maybe seven

I guess one of the reasons I wanted easy clean up is because I wanted to make it to the 1030 story time at the library, which we did and I think dakota really enjoys it and for the first 15-20 minutes so did marie. I think one of the reasons that dakota enjoys it is because the times we have gone her old patagonia class is there as well and she so badly wants to go to school with them that it makes her feel like she is still part of them. Mind you the last time I did a small stint with patagonia was like 8 months ago for two days, I have not worked there full time since she was one and a half but because we have gone back here and there she absolutely thinks of it as her school, very sweet.
After the library we were off to the park for some good old run around and play time in hopes that good naps would be in our future....

BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA and a sleeping update

I will do the update first. Last night she started in her own room and again 2am there she was flash light in hand and cute as can be. She still has her toddler bed next to our bed in this room but had no intention of climbing into it. Then I tried to lay down with her in her bed and let me tell you for a pregger woman not so comfortable so that lasted about five minutes and I uprooted us again back to my comfy bed where we promptly fell asleep. She is snoozing in her bed now and each night she says she is going to stay there until morning so I am happy that she is enjoying it and has high hopes. I had hoped to ship her off to gaggi and papa's and I was going to do her room up so she would come home and it would be done and fun and wonderful but have realized it is going to take some time. Oh well she is still enjoying it and I am enjoying having my living room back even just a little.

So January 18th dakota lillie moore turned three and I cried. Three and four look feel sound so different to me and I had a real hard time with it. Hahahha had am having even last night I was said it is just too much her own room four years old.... Okay getting sidetracked.

The celebrations started on the 15th we headed to disneyland. Me, randy, uncle derek, auntie tisha and dakota were on our way.
She had a blast the weather was awesome, it was not busy (that being relative to being at disneyland) and it was just a great day.
I think one of my favorite parts was the tea cups I have not been on anything like that in years and randy was spinning us and I was laughing and trying to tell him to stop and dakota was laughing it was great.

After disneyland we had a nice mellow friday and then saturday we had a small family party with a good old burrito bar and a yummy cake made by yours truly. I love mexican food I could eat it everyday!


Then on sunday which was her birthday we went to marie's birthday, she and dakota are one year apart to the day.
Which Sierra did a tostada bar, go more mexican food. Marie had a pinata and dakota was a hoot she was really trying to whack that thing.

Then monday we had another small party with some friends really mellow but really nice. I made cupcakes and then andi brought some sprinkles for the kids to use to decorate and man do kids love sprinkles.







My thinking was I would have a couple small parties so as not to have as much work for me and it worked out really well and still dakota welcomed four in a great way and I was not a grumpy stress case which sometimes happens even when not party planning.

the rest of night one and night two

So at about 2am in walks my little lady, flash light in hand, proud as can be "i slept in my bed" and then climbed into our bed and was out for the rest of the night.
It was pretty darn cute.
Then when she woke up she said she was going to sleep in her big girl bed all night tonight (last night). She was really pleased with herself.
And because of that I felt much better.
Then last night she was not into it but I think it has to do with that we were not home
it was our wednesday night at the folks and we stay there past her bedtime
so I think it threw her off.

We will try again tonight but two step forward one step back, right.

Sierra went back to school this week so Marie is here with us a few days a week. I decided I am going to try to have a plan/schedule. I am all for little ones just playing but have found that they bump heads just as much as they play. Both Dakota and Marie are alpha females
so watch out world.
My plan is to have some sort of sensory/art project in the morning
and then outside they go either backyard or the park or both, followed by lunch and then quiet time (hahahah that is just funny) but I need to at least try for my sake.
So today we made slime

purple slime

and they loved it.
Don't ask why I have no photos of the girls with the slime, my brain didn't start working until they were done.
Then it was off to the mall. On wednesdays they do kids shows, the shows are hit or miss but it is always an experience and live performances are fun. We met sara and abby there hung out with them for awhile it was very fun for all of us. Every time we go to the mall shows dakota wants to help or be a part of the show and sometime that is not an option but yesterday the guy brought instruments for the kids and she was thrilled. Although in the photos she really looks like she is focusing.

It is crazy Sara and I have been friends since elementary school Dakota and Abby are three months apart and for some reason we only get together once a month if that, so we have claimed wednesday's as our day.

It drives me crazy how that works with friends you love, not seeing them nearly enough when these are our times. We are both so lucky to be home with our girls, we should be living it up. So here is to spending more time with our friends, all of them.

So I think I am going to do the birthday post tomorrow or tonight if miss d sleeps in her room.

She is out

So she is out she is sleeping in her bed in the "her" room. And part of me is thinking yes she is awesome the other part is just sad and then the other part knows this is going to be a long night of listening and not sleeping for me.

The Hold Up

So we are going through some shifts here in the moore house hold. Dakota has her own room and while it has been coming for awhile tonight is the first night that she is going to "sleep" in there. In turning the second bedroom into her room we moved the computer into our room where she has her toddler bed and sleeps and has slept all her life so once the computer came in here night time blogging went out the door. We shall see how tonight goes I have VERY mixed emotions about this whole thing but I asked her if she was ready and she said yes so I am taking her lead and to be honest I don't like it one bit. It was enough that the little lady had to turn four but come on sleeping aaaaallllllllllllllllllllll the way in the other room, okay so our house is only 850 square feet, when she has been next to me or within arms reach for the last FOUR years the other room seems VERY far away. I would be so okay with a family bed through the teenage years, I think, but we don't always get what we want now do we.

As I am writing I have to say that it was also an awesome day, our new president is in office and I am so beyond ready for that change and I am so please to be alive during this time, I am filled with hope.
I hope and feel there is a shift in America, where family values are not just buzz words but we as a people realize that putting our families first will do wonders for the world. I don't mean that in a selfish look out for yourself way but more .... lets remember how to treat our family members and by doing so lets teach our children how to treat us and their neighbors and the people in our community and in doing so we create change on a very human level, at least that is my hope.
Wow apparently I had more to say on the matter than I was anticipating.
Belly is growing and baby is a mover and a shaker.

I am going to post about birthday festivities tomorrow wow was it a wonderful whirlwind.
But for now I am done.