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(2) Wed Mar 17 2010 07:48 up with the moon: I get up early. I guess 6:30 isn't super early, but it's early to me. Especially when it's dark again right after daylight savings. Maggie's room is next to the garage, and she has set her internal alarm clock to the opening of the door at 7 am as I trot off to work. She screams for Susie to get her to wave good-bye to me.

Today I could hear her screaming from the garage. So I went back in to say good-bye. She kept telling Susie to go to work and me to stay home. Oh, if only.

I guess I need to forgo the luxury of a garage for the home stretch of busy season and just park in the driveway to help Maggie get her beauty sleep.

Tue Mar 09 2010 07:36 to her with love: Happy Birthday pretty! I have a 3 year-old now.

I had hoped to work from home today, but it wasn't meant to be. There's always next year, or the year after that, or the year after that. I do at least hope to cut out early.

Maggie already opened her present from us anyway. We gave her a portable DVD player, in anticipation of the car ride to Bryce Canyon and the plane ride to India. The added bonus is she can now be near Susie when it's time to make dinner, instead of downstairs by herself. She really likes it!

Thu Mar 04 2010 10:19 to sleep perchance to dream: Last night Dalton woke up about 2 am. Being sick and all, I opted to drag myself out of bed and snuggle him back to sleep, which seemed to quell him until about 8 am. We rocked in the rocking chair for about 30 minutes.

During this 30-minute interlude, there was silence, followed by a loud "No!" coming from Maggie's room, followed by more silence. I wonder who/what she was saying no to. It was probably me or Susie. I would love to experience a Maggie-sized dream.

(2) Wed Mar 03 2010 07:54 true love: Dalton is sick, so I got up 30 minutes early to snuggle him since he was whining, and also since I didn't see him last night before he went to bed. He smiled at me and fell asleep in a very akward position, basically staring up at me. I rocked him for 30 minutes then put him back to bed so I could get ready for work.

Then Maggie heard me so I got her up, got her some yogurt, and told her I had to go to work today, but that tomorrow was a daddy home day (ie daddy work from home day). That appeased her.

I get up and go to work early so I don't have to suffer saying to good-bye to the little ones, but they catch on quick. If they want to see me, they set their internal clocks for daddy work time I guess.

(6) Tue Mar 02 2010 07:56 the great leak: Word is finally circulating around the hood about the supposed-impending India extravaganza. Of course, my work still has told me nothing. People I've never talked to have come up to me to ask about India.

We got a new bishopric recently, which inevitably brings change on all fronts. New Relief Society, new callings, and, most importantly, rumors of a new Elder's Quorum Presidency. I told Susie I feel confident that, once released from the shackles of the guilt squad I will be left unfettered, due to the fact that our old Bishopric believed us to be teachers of false doctrine (their words, not ours. In retrospect, I should have asked them to define false doctrine, but I was blindsided, so who knows what I said). Susie doesn't think these kind of notes pass between bishoprics, but I'm not so sure.

This week I should enjoy a brief respite before I pick up for the last 5 weeks of busy season. I hope to enjoy it by spending time with Maggie, who tends to get quite cranky during busy season. She wakes up every morning at 7 when the garage door opens to bid me adieu out the window. I miss my kids when I work so much.

Maggie was sick last week and now it's Dalton's turn. It's hard to watch the kids be sick, but in some ways, it's also nice. They don't have the same energy for screaming as when they are well. They're so cute and pathetic that I actually find them extra-endearing. Is that horrible? It is what it is.

(3) Mon Feb 15 2010 07:58 throw the bums out: What with record budget shortfalls and all, I'm glad to see that the UT legislature can utilize their resources (ie my money) on such a monumental waste of time. I mean, who knew that climate change could be completely nullified by popular vote? It reminds me of a conversation Sumana and I had regarding people that spout things like "You can't be Mormon and support homosexual marriage" for example. It's as if they are saying, in other words, that I don't exist, since I am Mormon, and I do support equal marriage rights. The very idea.Link

Take that, climate change! In other news, Susie & I have taken a few breaks to watch the Olympics. I think the Olympics are a lot less exciting when the validity of the free world isn't on the line. I mean, wasn't it way more exciting when the notion of communism's existence hinged in the balance based solely on medal count? I suppose I wax nostalgic. Ah, yesteryear.

(1) Sun Jan 31 2010 20:33 the power of the middle: I just bought a new vacuum. Our wedding vacuum was dead. We bought the middle model. I do this a lot. The cheapest model seems to me to lack quality and/or important features may be missing, and the most expensive model seems too offer nonessential features and/or seems overpriced for my needs.

I do this a lot. This is how our blender purchase went down (when our wedding blender died over Christmas). This is basically how I shop. I wonder if other people feel the same way. And if not, why not? Anyone out there who always buys the top of the line? Or the bottom of the line?

(2) Mon Jan 25 2010 21:00 California by rain: We survived the flood without an ark! Oddities on our trip include:

While waiting for the Pixar parade with Dalton asleep in his stroller, an Australian family attempts to share the bench with me. While their sons were supposedly bothering the father, he turned to his son and said "Stop hitting that man next to you. He's getting mad and he has a gun in his pocket." Sure, make me the bad guy. I didn't even care what his son was doing.

Maggie being a daredevil. She loved the ferris wheel, including the swinging gondolas. I should note that I have teenage nephews that won't ride on them! She also wanted to go on the roller coaster, but is too little. Instead, she went over and over again on the Gadget go-coaster and loved it! It's nice using parent pass with Dalton because Maggie gets to go on everything twice that way.

Going to Disneyland only to find it closed! I guess some people can't handle getting wet.

Flying in virtual peace. Both kids were the epitome of manners on our flights. People complimented them left and right. Our flight home was also full of MLM'ers coming home from a convention in Anaheim. Glad none of them were sitting next to me; the last thing I needed was a sale pitch for sludge juice.

I think the final tally on rides was thus: Winnie the Pooh, 14 times; Dumbo, carousel, and Teacups, around 10 times; kiddie roller coaster, 4 times; but the oddest of all was only riding twice on Doors, otherwise known to the rest of the world as Monsters, Inc. Maggie is obsessed with that show but apparently not the ride.

It was a nice winter getaway just in time before life becomes nothing but work again for the next few months. Anyone else ready for spring?

(1) Sun Jan 17 2010 22:02 for the children: I'm exhausted.

Friday we flew to the OC. We made it to the gate just in time to board, but luckily our flight departed 15 minutes late so we got a slight reprieve before take off. Airport security was a cakewalk, since apparently families get to go in a separate, and shorter, line. The only hassle was that the stroller wouldn't fit in the scanner and I had to get in another line and try again in a bigger scanner.

The check-in process was horrendous. We checked 3 bags and 2 carseats so of course it took a while. I apologized to the couple in line behind us but they just mumbled under their breath something or other.

Maggie and Susie boarded on time, but I opted to be the last on the plane so that Dalton wouldn't get antsy waiting for takeoff. He did quite well on the plane and fell asleep during take off and didn't wake up until landing.

Our rental car is a Nissan Murano. It is one of those push button starters, which I find silly. I mean, like it was soooo hard to turn the ignition key? I also learned that the car won't start unless your foot is on the brake pedal when you push the button. Susie and I assume this is to keep kids driving cars. It's a nice car otherwise, especially since my company said they would only get me a sedan.

Disneyland has been fun. Maggie seems to enjoy it, though it seems too busy for Dalton and easily overloads his senses. No matter the ride we pick, Maggie refuses to go on it at the last minute. Thus I've become one of those parents. Yes, I have forced her onto Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo, and Autopia, but she has enjoyed them all in the end. I think her favorite is Winnie-the-Pooh, with Dumbo and the Teacups rounding out the top 3, though she really enjoyed the Bug's Land attractions today. Maggie also changes her mind in line for the Teacups about 5 times, on average, on what color cup to ride in.

Maggie has also met Mickey, Eeyore, Pooh, and Tigger. She's been very shy with the characters, but they love her anyway. Pluto in particular gave Maggie and Dalton a good sniff-over. Maggie got a lot of attention in the parade, as we were front and center thanks to the awesome seats I procured.

It's a Small World is still decked out for Christmas, which I found odd. But Maggies likes Jingle Bells so I guess it works out. Maggie is too small for all the adult rides except for The Matterhorn. We told Maggie the Yeti therein was the one from Monsters Inc so that it wouldn't scare her. She says she wants to ride it again.

Disneyland is a lot of work when you have two kids. If Dalton is asleep, Maggie gets to ride everything twice so both Susie and I can get a turn. And if it's an adult ride, it's a duanting tale to watch two children in a sea of chaos. But Maggie has been super accomodating. For example, while Susie rode Indiana Jones, Maggie walked all the stairs in Tarzan's treehouse on her own so that I could hold Dalton. That thing has to have over 100 stairs. Maggie also doesn't complain when she asks for a certain ride and we tell her no (and the only reason we would tell such a cute thing no is if the ride is on the opposide side of the park). Maggie also has not once asked for a single toy. She found a magnet on the floor while I bought her a shirt so I bought it for her. Never seen someone get so excited for a magnet! She can't be too spoiled yet with such low expectations, right? We come home exhausted every night.

The weather has been in the 70s and is heaven. I can't believe I ever moved. But today a huge rainstorm moved in that is supposedly here to stay through the week. Even with the rain, it's still nicer than UT. I have hit the hot tub each night after the kids go to sleep.

Tomorrow is off to work while Susie is off to SLO to visit Pat and family. Then we'll hit Disney again this weekend and head home from there. Still on our list to do: Big Thunder Mountain, ToonTown, the Ferris Wheel, Toy Story again (it's a pretty cool ride!), California Screamin for Susie, the Redwood Forest. We did everything else in two days. That should tell any Disney connosiour just how exhausted we are.

The hotel is not as great as we had hoped. I swear online it said complimentary breakfast, yet here we are with a $12.95 buffet. And today our room didn't get cleaned. Dalton screamed in the lobby the whole time while they cleaned our room so I guess that's a mild payback.

Maggie is snuggled in our bed so I gotta go move her.

All in all, I highly recommed the post-holiday winter escape. Wish I could make it a yearly tradition.

Wed Jan 13 2010 20:00 like sissy like brother: Dalton likes to sleep just like Maggie did as an infant; that is, with his arms above his head. I wonder what kind of dreams they have....

(1) Sun Jan 10 2010 19:51 child's play: Maggie has named her horse "eat hay." I'm not sure if the hay portion is a surname or not. This is exactly why children should not be allowed to name pets. You end up, like my brother, with a dog named "Cheat" and a cat named "Mr Big."

Sometimes when we are trying to steer Maggie in a certain direction, we give her choices. For example, if I don't want to watch the ever-monotonous Baby Einstein, I'll hold up Toy Story 2 and Winnie the Pooh and tell her to choose one. I think this is how I would let my child "pick" a pet name. That is, make a list of acceptable selections and let her pick from the list. Incidentally, Maggie now brings me a selection of movies to watch and let's me pick. The girl catches on quickly.

Maggie also calls "Green Eggs and Ham" "peas and ham."

I spent the weekend being sick and trying to recover before the trip this weekend. It was boring but restful. And Dalton and I enjoyed a 3-mile jaunt while Susie & Maggie were communing with God. It was a bright sunny day and actually felt good to be outside. Dalton must have agreed as he didn't mutter a peep the whole walk.

Sat Jan 09 2010 10:11 happy thought: "If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.

"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

--Roald Dahl

(2) Wed Dec 30 2009 18:29 one day at a time: Since Christmas, I've tried to have an activity each day to keep our family active and happy.

Saturday the 26th: Susie & I left the chillens with Grandma and went to the Harvest restaraunt at Thanksgiving Pointe. We eat way too much junk and I start a more intense exercise routine.

Monday the 28th: We went bowling with Tyler, Chad, Brook, Ember, and Logan. Maggie actually beat Ember and Tyler. We sat on the floor and rolled the ball down the alley, and finished with an 84, only one point behind Logan. We even managed a spare and a strike, which is not easy to do when you roll the ball so slowly.

Tuesday the 29th: We bought a new high-end blender to replace our cheap $30 wedding blender, which died Christmas Eve. We haven't used it yet, but it's pretty and has the angled blades that are supposed to be an improvement over the blenders of yesteryear. We also visited Grandma & Grandpa. I also finished reading some EB White stories. Stuart Little was horrid (you call that an ending?) but Charlotte's web was a fun read. I showed Maggie the movie after and she likes it, but has no clue what's going on. I however had to fight back tears. Lastly, I got up at 6 am to make the first temple session, which is what I normally do, to be home just as everyone is waking up. It was actually full! I did washings and annointings instead. Though I was bummed, it's nice to know it was full that early. Usually there are only about 10 of us there that early.

Wednesday the 30th: We originally planned to take Tyler and Ember to the aquarium, but the other members of our party flaked and it was snowing, so we drove the 1/2 mile to Boondocks instead. They were offering a buy $20 worth of tokens get $20 free, so we did that. It kept us entertained for two hours, with both Susie and Ember winning "Deal or No Deal" and Tyler also showing a strong finish on the game. Maggie had enough tokens for a bowling set, a yellow die as big as my fist, and a Tootsie Roll bank (all junk, but oh well). We also shoveled a lot today, and got frozen yogurt with the kids. Tyler will be up half the night, thanks to his grande cup filled with skittles, swedish fish, sour patch kids, brownie bites, and sprinkles. I always just get the blueberry with fruit mixed in, but also noticed the pistachio today, which turned out to be quite tasty. In other news, Maggie learns to say "Oh my gosh!" today.

Tomorrow, Thursday the 31st: we plan to see the Princess and the Frog and go to bed early. We wanted to go see this with Brook's family, but the theater by his house charges for kids of all ages and the theater by our house lets Maggie in for free as long as she sits on our lap. What's up with that?

We're spending more $$ than planned, but I figure it's still cheaper than last year's vacation to Primary Children's medical center. The food's better too.

Sat Dec 26 2009 10:55 the day after: Still reeling from the aftershock of a whole lot of Christmas. Some of the highlights:

Steve, my cousin Sharon's husband: "Baby boys are never cute. Only baby girls are cute. But your baby is cute."

Maggie, after Christmas carloing: "Let's sing Daddy home now" (a primary song, not a Christmas song).

I'm not sure how old a kid has to be before you can simply explain to them that life just isn't fair, but I take every opportunity I get to tell kids that. Life isn't fair. Never has been; never will be. So why pretend? Incidentally, as much fun as Christmas was, I've decided that it was way more fun buying gifts for strangers than for family, especially since I am under the impression that the strangers are in need, whereas family not so much.

Maggie was fun, though. She got a $8 end table from IKEA, a $10 stuffed horse that apparently is web-compatible, a $15 easel that has been a lot of fun, and junk from the dollar store that she seems to love most of all. Dalton got a stuffed elephant, also web-compatible, because these were buy one get one free. His life does not appear to have substantially changed. So the real question is this: how do I get her to always view Christmas as icing on the cake and not as a list of demands, regardless of her age?

I look forward to 2010, and hope that recent legislation concerning the medical field and the curbing of immoral business practices will make life overall better for all. But as I said before, life inherently just isn't fair.

Tue Dec 22 2009 17:24 there's no business like snowbusiness: Snowed all day. I was made aware of said snow ahead of time, and worked from home. It's been great to watch it fall all day, knowing I had absolutely nowhere else to be. I guess it's just like in the song.

The snow is expected through tomorrow night. I just love a good white Christmas!

Mon Dec 21 2009 18:50 sleeping in: Normally I do not look forward to the late church schedule. However, having the last block, I've decided, does have some perks to it. For starters, we can have Sunday School in the chapel, relieving me of having to climb over people during the prayer because Dalton's diaper leaked. Secondly, Dalton tends to sleep in the afternoon and not in the morning, so hopefully he will sleep through it all. With Susie back in primary, I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get to sit through a meeting peacefully ever again.

I'm grateful for the holidays and the time to spend with my family. Dalton has been a great conversationalist of late, often cooing and smiling at me in the evenings. And, as Maggie's Nursery teacher put it, she is a "tiny girl packed with lots of personality" and has also been fun to be with lately. She's been very endearing to me and we've been having fun. She loves our Chuck E Cheese outings, visits to see papa, going shopping at IKEA, watching new Disney shows in anticipation of our trip there in January, and turning on the Christmas lights. She's asking Santa for a yellow present with a horsie in it, and I can't help but think she will get just that.

For Christmas this year, I would just enjoy some peace of mind. So if anyone knows where to get some, I'm all ears.

(3) Mon Dec 14 2009 07:57 no place like home: Lately Maggie has been saying "No go home" anytime we are out and about the town. She apparently finds home boring and would rather be in Nursery, shopping, at grandma's et al. Maybe we should get one of those bumper stickers that says "I'd rather be in ___" for her.

I delivered Christmas cookies to friends and neighbors all weekend. Yesterday, someone at church told me my cookies were deceiving. Now, my cookies have been called a lot of things, but deceiving? I think it was a compliment, but you never can tell, really. Deceiving? Did I purport they are non-fat or something? Deceiving. Apparently I am quite the cunning cook.

Sun Dec 13 2009 08:49 Christmas weekend: As previously mentioned, Susie & I spent Friday shopping for a one year-old boy through the Salvation Army Angel Tree. We were able to get everything on his list, except for shoes. We accomplished this by going over budget. Charitable budgets are mere estimates anyway, as it's way too easy to overspend. After seeing "The Blind Side," I felt it was the least I could do anyway. It was fun shopping for a one year-old because: a) he didn't want gift cards; and b) it was like shopping for Dalton. He's getting a coat, shirt and pants, pajamas, diapers and wipes, socks, a Winnie-the-Pooh doll that Maggie wanted, and a Winnie-the-Pooh book that Maggie and Dalton have and adore.

We also went way overboard on our neighbor basket. We went generic so it can be given to a boy or a girl, and went with a light green jungle theme, including jungle pajamas, a jungle board book, a jungle blanket, a toy giraffe that is unfortunately rather loud, and then soap, wipes, and diapers. We didn't actually put it in a basket, but put it in a storage container that is hopefully more useful.

Yesterday Maggie had breakfast with Santa, wherein she actually sat on his lap and told him she wants a yellow present with a horse in it. Santa also held Dalton and it was quite the photo op. I realized this year that Santa's helper is the neighbor at the bottom of our street.

After Santa we went to an elderly breakfast at my sister's ward. Susie, Jodi, Ember, and I played and sang Christmas songs to them. They ate lunch at 10 am, which I found odd, but it was perfect timing for us, as we ate lunch around 11:30 after we performed.

Then we visited Grandma & Grandpa and walked around IKEA to get some exercise. We didn't buy anything, except for hot dogs for dinner. But Maggie had a blast. She loves that store. Incidentally, they have lockers where you can put your coats while you exercise, i mean shop, which was really nice.

It must have been an exhausting weekend, as everyone is still asleep at 9 am. Normally Maggie is up before the sun.

So for anyone wanting to give charitably in lieu of presents, you can always send us cash and we can go shop for another angel! It's supposed to snow today. I can't believe 2010 is upon us.

(1) Thu Dec 10 2009 16:15 7 days: I have 7 vacation days I must use or lose between now and 2010. I plan to take one tomorrow to Christmas shop, including our yearly sub-for-santa run.

Sub for Santa gets more depressing every year. More and more the items on the wishlist are listed as cash or gift cards. If I'm going to donate items for others, at least give me the pleasure of shopping for you! I promise to include a gift receipt so you can return it all and I can pretend that you kept it!

That's why this year I'm creating a gift basket full of baby stuff to go to a family with a newborn in our ward (of which there are plenty to choose from). Then I get to buy and decorate. Susie refuses to try this new experiment with me this year and insists on doing Sub-for-Santa. Well, she can get stuck buying gift cards then.

Wed Dec 02 2009 17:54 ecocomics: I just watched the latest episode of "The Office" entitled "Shareholder Meeting." I think they finally hit spot on what is wrong with the world in 2009. I couldn't help but clap when Michael ran out to take the limo home after all that had happened. Maggie now thinks I'm wierd (she was watching Dumbo on the telly while I watched my show on my laptop next to her).

I highly recommend this episode. Maybe it's not so wierd after all that my eight year-old niece says this is her fav show. No. It's still wierd.

(3) Fri Nov 27 2009 19:04 kiss the cook: Yesterday we had a nice Thanksgiving feast at the cabin. I made pumpkin creme brulee and cranberry smoothies.

A few months ago, when Rachel was here, she read Julie & Julia. I mentioned that Rachel should try the cooking experiment and write a book. She could mimic Rachel Ray, and it could be a Rachel versus Rachel book. We also observed that, one day, Dalton could do the same thing with Alton Brown. Now we just need to find someone whose name rhymes with Barefoot Contessa and we're all set for a mini-series!

The tree is trimmed, the house is decked, and the lights are hung. Incidentally, most of the Christmas presents are already wrapped and under the tree.

We also bought filled our stockings with a trip to Pirate-O's today. How that place can still smell like wet dog a year later makes no sense, but there you have it. The owner kept foisting marzipan on me, even though I was already purchasing some. We're ready for Christmas in Draper.

(2) Fri Nov 20 2009 08:51 misnomer: In-n-Out officially opened all their UT stores yesterday. I'm told the wait time was approximately 90 minutes. For a burger. Granted, my favorite burger, but still. When I went to the dentist this morning for the wisdom tooth extraction, he said clients were late for appointments waiting for said burgers.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I really need a break from work, and Maggie just loves "Daddy home day." I have a self-imposed list of things to do, including decking the halls, possibly re-painting our bedroom, setting up Dalton's college fund (started it last night), and planning for his Christening after-party. Hopefully there will still be time to relax and snuggle my children.

(1) Mon Nov 16 2009 09:38 just wikipedia it: Maggie has learned the word scary, but doesn't seem to understand fully what it means. Sometimes the table is scary. The other night, the song "Little Drummer Boy" was scary. The Care Bears are scary. Problem is, I'm not sure how to correct her definition of scary. Should I show her "Pet Cemetary," for example, to illustrate that the Care Bears really aren't all that scary? I think not.

I will tell you what is scary, the Christening clothing market. I refuse to spend $150 on white pants, vest, cufflinks, and hideous bow tie, on an outfit Dalton will wear for 30 minutes. I checked the handbook and it doesn't say that the outfit even has to be white, so he's gonna wear a white shirt, grey pinstripe pants, and a red vest. This outfit was only $20, and can be worn again until he grows out of it.

(2) Sat Nov 14 2009 08:56 miss communication: For my birthday, Rachel bought me a Patagonia shirt with a whale on it that says, "protect your elders." I suppose it is in a similar vein to "respect your elders" but for endangered species that tend to have life spans much in excess of the homo sapien. But if I had a nickel for everyone that thought it referenced the LDS church Elder's Quorum, I'd have a handful of nickels.

Then Thursday I went to the dentist. Apparently I have sprouted a baby tooth in the very back of my mouth. But I've had my wisdom teeth out, I proclaimed. Are you sure, asks the dentist? Um....who can really forget the 3 painful days of a jell-o diet and chipmunk cheeks. His assistant said they can grow back. Just like tonsils, she announced. There you have it.

I have to get it pulled. Sounds painful, I exclaimed. No, you won't feel a thing, she reassured me. We'll give you novocaine. Oh, since when does the shot of novocaine not hurt?

(3) Tue Nov 03 2009 19:56 gimme a break: Every time someone congratulates me on having a baby boy, they always follow it up with "Oh, and now you have a boy and a girl, so you're all done!"

What, may I ask, is wrong with having more than two kids? And what, may I ask, is wrong with being content with what you have and not keep making babies in order to get the gender numbers you desire? I expect some of these comments from some people, by when it comes from a Mormon, it is especially irksome. Be warned.