Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for September 2007

Sat Sep 01 2007 12:04 You Are So Beautiful:

Having a baby is such a great conversation starter. People are always come up to us to talk to or about Maggie. We went to breakfast this morning and a lady came clear across the restaurant to see her. I think we had about 6 people come up to us at the farmer's market this week, and she is always making friends at Disneyland. So popular!

Maggie

(1) Sat Sep 01 2007 13:42 Crafty Mom:

I have been scrapbooking a lot lately, during Maggie's naps and while she plays sweetly on the floor next to me. You can see the finished product in my scrapbooking gallery on the Coordinates Collections website (That's Jamie's website where I help run contests, etc on the Message Board; links at the top of my page).

Also, here is a dress I made for Maggie. This is the first real item of clothing I've made, and also the first new thing I've tried without Mom to call for advice. The plus side of not having Mom means that I do have her sewing machine, which makes life much easier. We went to the fabric store last Saturday so John could pick out the fabric I make the next dress out of. Maggie is going to be so cutely outfitted... when she grows into them. All the cute patterns were toddler-sized!

Crafts Scrapbooking

(1) Tue Sep 04 2007 15:03 By the Mark:

Last night we went to Disneyland. There weren't a lot of people there. We got to see the abbreviated parade, went on a few rides and had a funnel cake. We went on the Mark Twain riverboat. John tells me (and wikipedia agrees) that the pen name of Mark Twain came from the riverboatman's cry, declaring a safe water depth. This made me feel better about the recording on the boat singing "mark twain". I thought it was some kind of tacky joke.

The first Tuesday of the month is free at the LA County Museum of Natural History, so I drove up and took Maggie today. I don't think I'll go next month. I still had to pay to park and the Dinosaur Hall is still under construction and Maggie wasn't too interested in things. It was nice to be out of the house in an air conditioned building though. They kicked me outside to eat my lunch, since I brought PB&J from home, but I found a nice shady place to sit on the North (cool) side and Maggie made friends with a little boy. Now she is finishing the nap she started in the car.

Fri Sep 07 2007 16:01 Big Girls Don't Cry:

We've kind of started making Maggie cry herself to sleep. I say "kind of" because sometimes we feel bad and cheat, and also we have neighbors. Despite our inconsistency, I think she's catching on. It seems like I finally think, "ok she's not going to sleep, I'll go get her when I'm done with this." and before I can get to her, she's stopped. The main thing is, I want her sleeping longer at night, which seems to be working.

The Title also refers to the song I was singing to myself to distract me while killing a cockroach. Sometimes I take off my glasses when I have to kill something so I can't look at it too closely. Yuck.

Parenting

(1) Sat Sep 08 2007 09:24 Talk About Self-Soothing:

Last night we got home from Disneyland at about 9:20. I fed her and put her in bed - she was already asleep and didn't want her pacifier. She woke up hungry at 5:10. When I went in her room, she was on her tummy, crying, with her pacifier in sideways.

Nice try, little one.

Maggie

Sun Sep 09 2007 20:33 Primary Funnies:

The place was a riot today.

Teacher: What did Nephi slay for food?
Matthew: Cantaloupe.

Chorister: What can we do if we need to hold a note out for a long time?
Meghan:Say a prayer!

Teacher:What does "murmur" mean?
KC: It's like when you kill someone...

Quotes

(3) Mon Sep 10 2007 17:32:

I went shopping at Disneyland this morning since we got a 10% discount today. I bought Ember a birthday present. I bought Maggie a little T-shirt with Nemo that says "Cute and Bubbly". I bought John some Mickey pumpkin ears to be a scapegoat costume for the next 10 years. I also bought a Mickey-shaped wreath made out of tiny bells. I had to wait 1 hour for the Christmas store to open - lazy bums. I was going to buy a Mickey shirt for my birthday present (besides our trip to Utah next week), but I have decided I would rather spend $25 on clothes at Target and get more for my money.

I just spent the last 2 hours posting stuff on eBay. I also listed a bunch of things to give away on Jamie's message board. My normal somewhat-under-control impulse to get rid of things is bursting with our pending move. Only 7 weeks!

Tue Sep 11 2007 12:43 History:

I have finished going through Mom's journals from 1987-2003. That's two peach boxes I've emptied. I'm keeping about 1 binder worth of stuff to scan. This project took a lot of time, but not as much as I thought it would. She stopped writing every day about 1991-2 (shocking) and it went a lot quicker after that.

This was a very enlightening project. I enjoyed reading about Mom's day-to-day life. It's hard to believe one person could accomplish so much in a day and still feel like she did nothing. Of course even at the end I was amazed at how much Mom could handle. For example, she had FIVE church callings at one point. Plus she worked, cooked from scratch, fixed up her home, gardened, took care of pets, took care of kids, worked on genealogy and scrapbooks, and had about 30 Scrabble games going on at once. What a woman.

The next thing that remains to be tackled is the Richardson genealogy. I did get rid of quite a few duplicate pages, but there's still piles of stuff. Most of it is entered into my file but it makes me nervous to get rid of it because I don't know where Dad and Grandma got some it.

(4) Thu Sep 13 2007 13:04 Messy Girl:

I got tired of handwashing Maggie's bibs so they wouldn't stain and bought some plastic ones at Target. Unfortunately the velcro is so cheap that she can yank them right off. We have some really nice bibs that Sharon made for my baby shower: a dish towel with a T-shirt collar sewed in the middle. I like them enough that I will keep handwashing them. Maybe she can show me how to make some more.

Tried carrots today. No verdict yet. She kept spitting them out, then opening her mouth for more.

(9) Thu Sep 13 2007 20:39:

1. Enlisted Member of the Armed Forces
2. Stock Clerk
3. Housekeeper
4. Cook
5. Magician
6. Health Records Professional
7. Painter
8. Picture Framer
9. Professional Athlete	
10. Musician
11. Furniture Finisher
12. Dancer
13. Composer
14. Telephone Operator
15. Hospital Service Worker
16. Butcher
17. Pet Groomer
18. Massage Therapist
19. Postal Clerk
20. Upholsterer

Here are my career matches. I bolded what I've considered and done. Administrative Assistant was number 21. I don't have the talent for 6 of these. And what is with all the furniture jobs?

Sun Sep 16 2007 20:01 (F)re(e)cycle-able:

Today was stake conference and we didn't go. Instead we enjoyed some time together as a family, which has been rare these past couple of weeks. Last night we went out to Mexican food (on the firm). We woke up at 8:00 to gentle cooing sounds from Maggie's room as she played by herself in the crib. We had leftover pear walnut muffins for breakfast and did some going-through-stuff. We went for a really long walk at the lake, John took Maggie for a walk at the Back Bay and we went for a long walk around the neighborhood.

In other news, I used Freecycle for the first time today. I listed some plants, craft paints, really old electronics, our old comforter and a couple other things and got tons of responses. I'm amazed that someone would drive from Huntington Beach (CM doesn't have a group) to take my half-dead plants, but whatever. Add me to the freecycle fan list.

Lots to look forward to this week. John's busy season ends tomorrow (although another one starts next week), Tuesday is my birthday and he's hoping to take it off. Wednesday we fly to Utah, Thursday we are househunting, we get to spend lots of time with the fam and hopefully-cross-your-fingers will be buying a house. John will finally get what he wants for Christmas - Real Estate.

(1) Tue Sep 18 2007 20:42 Merry UnBirthday:

Maggie got invited to a tea party with the Mad Hatter. He came over, pulled a teapot out of his coat and offered her some. She smiled and held onto his glove with her slobbery finger. Then she grabbed her foot and he said, "After tea yoga!"

Fri Sep 21 2007 10:24 It'll Do You Good:

On Wednesday night I went to the monthly Holbrook Girls Night Out with Grandma June, sisters- and cousins-in-law etc. A gentleman at a nearby table overheard some chat about Grandma's upcoming 90th birthday and surreptitiously paid for our meal! There were ten of us, so it certainly wasn't cheap. I've got to pass it on now.

Fri Sep 21 2007 12:04:

I just signed an offer on a house.

(4) Sun Sep 23 2007 10:59 We bought a house!:

We're having a very busy visit in Utah. So far we have bought a house, gotten pre-approved for our loan, and John got an awesome job offer from one company. He is meeting with his current company tomorrow. We've also had lots of fun hanging out with the family. Yesterday we took Dad down and visited with Brook and Erin for a couple hours, then hung out with Jodi and Franco all evening. This morning we visited Grandma June and are headed over to Jodi and Franco's once John picks his parents up from church. This afternoon is the party for the September birthdays in our family (Brook, me and Erin). It's so fun to be near our family!

So, we bought a wonderful house in Draper, right at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley - so south it's just a bit up the mountain, but right near the freeway, so it's not too far for John to drive to work. It has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, hardwood floors, a nice yard and (yay!) an awesome kitchen with lots of cupboard and counter space and a pantry. There's living room and 3 bedrooms on the main floor, and the basement just got finished with a playroom, family room, 2 bedrooms and a big storage room. It's so lovely and spacious and in a great neighborhood. Can't wait to have our own place to raise our little family in!

(2) Tue Sep 25 2007 20:40:

Once we got home to lovely California and got Maggie fed and down for a nap, I ran off to the store. I was really frustrated when I got home and my sweet husband gave me a baby to snuggle and made dinner for me. *love*

(1) Thu Sep 27 2007 11:57 Niblet:

At the farmer's market I won "Hazelnut and Cocoa Nib Brittle." It is kind of weird tasting. I think it is something Leonard would like. The market was the first time I was able to give Maggie a snack from foods generally lying about - I let her gnaw on a piece of apple.

I'm thinking I should start packing but I don't quite know where to begin. Also Maggie is attention-hungry. Or tired. Or teething. Mom (Susan) said all her kids were late teethers - Jamie at 13 months! So I looked in my baby scrapbook and found that I got my first tooth at 7.5 months. Supposedly late teething can be very hereditary.

(4) Sun Sep 30 2007 09:50 And the Streets are Paved with Cheese:

John tells me there are no cockroaches in Utah. Hurray!

Last night I went to the General Relief Society broadcast. I really enjoyed it. The stake had a dinner afterward and I got to sit and chat with some ladies from the ward. They had posters and a slideshow with pictures from the playdate I went to a few weeks ago. Little Maggie so cute in the swing at the park.

Update: Apparently Maggie caught a (very slow) cockroach this morning. YUCK! Can we please move???

Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for 2007 September