Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for 2008

Maggie is now required to go 8 hours at night without being fed. She does this very well, but that isn't to say she doesn't wake up crying at night for other reasons. However, other than a few peeps at 10:30, she slept for 9:45 hours last night. Good Girl.

I was invited to a Recipe Swap with some girls in the ward. It was a lot of fun and I got a few cool new recipes. It was nice to feel included.

We spoke in church on Sunday, about Spiritual Gifts. Susan came to our Sacrament Meeting. Maggie crawled right over to her Grandma and sat on her lap.

Maggie has a tendency to crawl away rapidly whenever she is bare-bottomed. She gets her excited face on, her mouth in a big "O" and she can really move. Maybe it's a desire to mark her territory. Last night we were getting her PJs on and she crawled right out the door, then right back in like she'd lost her mind. John said, "Maggie you have BabyD" and I couldn't stop laughing. (Say it out loud.) Heehee.

Saddened as we all are by the Post Office's eating of Leonard's inheiritance, I found a bright spot today. I decided to go through my trunk of "stuff I insist on keeping" and make an inventory, so that when Maggie is old enough to play with my pink crystal doll tea set, we'll remember we have it. When packing this sort of stuff, Rachel and I insisted on keeping some of Leonard's things he refused to admit he will want. I have a yellow outfit, an embroidered baby sheet, a sweater from Germany (ugly), a sweater from England (really cute, if you are a nerdy little boy like Leonard was), and of course, a Lederhosen Mom made for him.

I also found my christening gown which I KNOW I looked for after we found out we were having a girl. It was at the very bottom, smushed under another baby dress, so I must not have seen it. Oh well, the dress Jamie bought for Maggie is cuter.

I also insisted on keeping: green glass grape salt and pepper shakers that hang on a brass stand (Grandma Rosie's), one of Sprite's horseshoes, my xylophone mallets and a teeny dress from my first Christmas. And I found a beautiful teacup and saucer from Grandma Lorna which I don't remember putting in there, or ever seeing before. Sharon recently brought us three little Christmas dresses my Mom made which I added to the trunk. Since Maggie was born about the same time (of year) as Rachel, she should fit into one of them next year.

I also took Maggie to the doctor to get weighed. She gained seven ounces this month. We also went to the PO to buy postage for various packages (!) and to the "Cuddle Time" at the library. People at this story time were much more friendly than at the one in Newport Beach. Maggie really enjoyed it too, and made some friends. There was a woman there with kids aged 2 1/2, 14 months, and baby. Y-i-k-e-s.

This was our first day out and about this week, as we are still on a spending freeze. We had fun, and she is worn out.

John gave her two clangy balls he bought on his mission and said, "these are from China!" Then Maggie (through her daddy) said, "Big deal! All my toys are from China."

I also made an eclair cake at John's request. I made chocolate sauce from scratch because I only use it for eclair cake and I am out of money in my grocery budget this month. It was easy and super yummy. I couldn't find mom's recipe, so I 1/3-ed one I found online:

1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
Boil for 2-5 minutes.

PS: I uploaded some cute pictures of the bug to our picture blog - click on "Pictures" to the right. And read all my latest articles while you're at it!

Since we will be watching Jazmine while Brook's family goes to Florida next week (or I will, at least, since John will be out of town as well), Erin has been bringing her to the lessons. Maggie just loves Jazmine (she also chased Jodi's cat Princess around), but she slept right through the lesson today, and kept on sleeping for 2 1/2 hours. I think poor Erin was a bit bored, but I did get some books from the library on decluttering and simplifying that she looked through.

Anywho, the really awful storm that was supposed to make the morning commute (and everyone's trip to the airport, and flights) miserable hasn't shown up yet, so I may get to see Grandma June today. If you recall, we got 14 inches of snow last Monday and didn't get to go visit.

Maggie stood on her own for a while today, and also I saw her stepping from furniture to furniture. She's getting so big! This morning the kids let me scrapbook for a bit. I posted two completed layouts in my scrapbook gallery (link to the right) if you want to see.

I also had a bunch of articles published today, so read up!

So, with the spending freeze, I was able to keep $25 under the budget last month. Making a menu plan for the week really helps me save money and stick to my budget. Plus, it's nice to already know what I'm making for dinner.

John and I are also trying to stock up on some food storage and other items, according to a little schedule we got in our ward. I cleaned out the cupboard in our laundry room to store some extra stuff in, and I found a card telling me that my washer costs $8 a year to operate - based on 8 loads a week and we only do about 3. It will certainly pay for itself soon.

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
2 T unsweetened cocoa
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
16-ounce package chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Beat together sugars and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until well-blended. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand on sheets 3 minutes. Remove cookies to racks to cool.

Susie the Chef says: 16 ounces of chocolate chips is a ridiculous waste of money and chocolate chips. I put 1/4-1/3 that much. I also didn't put nuts. Even though the batter was pretty dry, I felt like the cookies had a lot of butter in them so I might use a few tablespoons less next time. Next time: yes, they were very yummy!

Today was a nice, warm day with no snow. The sun didn't come out so our snow didn't melt as much as we'd have liked but we went for a nice walk around the neighborhood. John did a little bit of work and I worked on some articles. That's about all we've done today.

Oh, and I made brownies (from a mix) and some homemade mint frosting. I just made buttercream frosting (2 T. melted butter, dash of milk and as much powdered sugar as it would hold) with a few drops of peppermint extract and some green food coloring. It was really yummy!

Also, I think Maggie has croup, but luckily not very bad.

This morning I was packing him a lunch of leftover Tamale Pie and sugar cookies and he said, "Best cookies in the world!" and gave me a big smile. That made my day. Happy Valentine's Day, Sweet Baboo!

In other news, Maggie continues to be a human snot machine. I took her to story time at the library yesterday but I wouldn't let her go near any of the other kids, toys, or books. She still had fun, and we got invited to a play date.

John came home with chocolate-covered caramels and mint-covered Oreos for me for Valentine's Day. How spoiled am I?

Maggie also is taking a few steps like such a big girl.

Today I had someone come adjust our furnace and water heater, and Maggie and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries and an oil change. We were all done and home by noon. Still to come: cleaning the floor and an experimental dinner recipe.

Maggie does not have an ear infection. In fact, the doctor described her ears as "stunning" and "sparkling." She has the flu. Not exactly shocking news, but there you have it. Her fever is down and she is feeling much better today.

Poor little Beet. I hope she feels better soon, and not just because I can only move one hand.

1 lb stew meat cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 small onion
1-2 T curry powder
1/2 t salt
Simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours. Serve over hot rice and garnish with flaked coconut.

Maggie decided today was a good day to take some real steps on her own. So Big!

In accordance with her new tradition of hardly gaining any weight, Maggie now weighs 17.5 pounds and is 27.25 inches long. She remains in the 10th percentile there, but moved up to the 90th in her head circumference.

While you're browsing my links, check out the new pictures I posted of our trip to the zoo on Saturday and Maggie's birthday party on Sunday. I also just got some pictures developed and have been scrapbooking a little, so look in my gallery too. There's a cute little cover I made for Maggie's photo book, her latest favorite toy. A bunch of the pictures I developed were for that, and it also occurred to me to put in her photo book pictures from Christmas cards that I kept, but am never going to scrapbook.

ETA: Two things I really like about her writing are her descriptions of facial expressions and the chapter names.

We also bought Maggie lots of clothes to last her through the summer (if she ever grows into them). She spent the morning watching and dancing to her new Wiggles DVDs. She loves them.

I'm getting some bingo words ready for April - I'm going to do an Earth Day theme. Check out Earthday.net for a depressing ecological footprint quiz among other things.

Mix dough and rise until double. Divide dough into 11. Roll until about the size of a pita it will be VERY thin. Brush dough with melted butter and put aprox 1/2 c. of filling in the middle. now bring up both the sides and pinch together. Gently turn it over into your hand and place on greased baking sheet pinched side down. Tuck the ends under. Let rise for 10-15 minutes.

Filling ideas: I used ham, broccoli and cheese. Could also do hashbrowns, eggs and crumbled bacon, pepperoni and cheese with a little tomato sauce. These were very easy to make and so cheap compared to the real thing. They tasted just like actual Hot Pockets. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter and I sprinkled mine with fresh cracked pepper and cracked sea salt. Move to cooling wrack so that they don't get soggy. When cooled wrap in paper towel and put in a freezer bag. To heat, microwave on high 2-3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Wrap 7 green beans with bacon and place in prepared dish. Repeat, using all the green beans and bacon. Combine butter with brown sugar. Pour over green bean bundles and sprinkle with garlic salt. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Sweet Green Bean Blobs: Here's is how I will make it next time (a cross between how I made it this time and improvements I think it still needs):
1 can green beans
2 slices bacon, cut in half
1/3 c. brown sugar
Dump green beans in a 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over them. Lay bacon over the top and bake until bacon is crisp.

Thin strips of beef sirloin steak
1 T. cooking oil
1 can corn
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1 red pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
1 T. red wine vinegar
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. water
1 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
crushed red pepper
1/2 t. black pepper
Heat oil in skillet. Stir fry carrots for 2 minutes. Add corn and pepper. Stir fry 1-2 minutes more. Remove vegetables, add meat. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until meat is slightly pink in center. Stir together sauce ingredients. Add to center of skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat. Cook and stire 1-2 minutes more. Serve with hot rice.

I was telling Jamie about some of the recipes I've tried recently and she pointed out, "you never follow the recipe!" That's why there's always the real version and the Susie version. The Susie version is faster, cheaper and healthier (see Sweet Green Bean Bundles).

Last night was Girls' Night Out with the girls in John's extended family, which was tons of fun. I love getting to know some of his cousins better, especially since the same ones (and me and my sisters-in-law (and Susan and Grandma June)) are the only ones that ever go.

Today was Tyler's second piano lesson. He did great, especially considering it had been three weeks since his first one. Maggie's just about got the piano lesson thing down and was pretty happy to play with Jamie. Shortly after that, Jodi came over. We went to IKEA and looked around (ended up putting all our would-be purchases back). Then we came home and played with Maggie until she finally took at nap at almost 4:00. I think I'm liking Jodi having Fridays off work.

Edited: Apparently, it's really "You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk really fast or he'll die." My version was much funnier.

We are working on building our 3 month supply of foods from our regular diet. During March I've kept track of all the canned/packaged stuff I used. Now I can multiply by three and see about how much I need. Of course, I'll need extra canned meats, fruits and veggies since we eat so much fresh. We need to buy a 55-gallon water barrel and some sleeping bags.

About a year before I left, a couple months before I applied for the program, I stopped taking my medication, broke up with my boyfriend and decided I needed to do something with my life. I was volunteering at the State Hospital and learned about Recreational Therapy - consequently changed my major. I signed up for Run For Your Life. I showed up at Alyson's house in the middle of the night (sorry about that!). I became less needy and dependent (high school girls can't go to the bathroom on their own syndrome) and, related or not, got abandoned at a strange apartment complex by my roommates. I applied to devote four months of my life to service halfway across the world. I moved into a house with 9 people I didn't know.

I decided I was going to get on with my life and live it. So I did.

Today Maggie decided maybe walking could be a viable means of transportation, and not just a way of getting her parents to cheer for her. She wandered around the scrapbook room, dragging and tripping over her blankie.

Ember's 12th piano lesson was this afternoon and we finished her first set of books. She's really gotten quite good.

Rachel: she is growing so fat

The daffodils are popping up everywhere, so pretty and yellow, making me miss Mom and wish I had planted some bulbs last fall. I definitely plan on doing so this year.

We also went to Home Depot on Saturday and bought a push reel mower, a cordless electric weedwhacker and a garden hose. The salesman tried to talk us out of the push mower, but we think he thought we were just trying to get the cheapest one.

This reminds me of some tapes someone gave me and John for our wedding. We listened to them on the way to Utah from California one time. They gave advice on communication skills and showing your love etc. I still find myself using trite phrases from the tapes, such as "I can understand why you feel like that." It may sound silly coming out of your mouth, but just using the phrases shows that you are listening and paying attention. We learned a lot from those cheesy tapes.

Today began with Ember's soccer game at the park right near us. She did great and Maggie especially had fun because Jazmine came. Afterwards Brook and John worked on our sprinkler system. Maggie wouldn't nap today (spent quite a while playing quietly in her crib though) so we went to the mall and bought new shoes for Maggie and myself. We also went to Target and bought various things, including new clippers for cutting John's hair. Our other ones lasted five years but are getting worn down.

We have a week of more business ahead of us.

Maggie has a set of foam letters and numbers to play with in the bathtub. If I point to a yellow letter P and say "yellow", she can't have a clue if I'm telling her the color, the shape, or what order it's in on the tub wall. What if she has three letters lined up and I say, "1, 2, 3" while pointing to a red B, a green C and a blue X?

My meaning will come across more clearly with fewer variables. For example, if all the letters were the same color, or if I am counting 3 of the same item, or sorting blocks by color. Thinking about this reminded me of a game Leonard and Sumana gave us for Christmas once called Set. In this game each player tries to find a set of three cards from those laid out that either have all properties common among them, or different. The elements on the cards need to be of the same number, color, shape and pattern OR the elements can each have one or more different properties from each other.

Saturday I: Our shower handle broke Thursday night, so Friday morning we went to Home Depot to get a replacement, as well as some bark, some replacement sprinkler heads and a few plants. After Tyler's piano lesson we worked in the yard, planted our new plants etc. In the afternoon we went with Susan and Brook up to the cabin. There was no snow on the road and it was actually very pleasant up there. One of the neighboring cabins had a Little Tikes log cabin which Maggie had so much fun playing in.

Saturday II: Today we got up early and worked in the yard some more. Then we went to Ember's soccer game. Afterwards, Jodi and Franco came over and looked at pictures from our Alaskan cruise and my trips to Victoria. Then we went back out in the yard with Brook's fertilizer spreader. After noon we went down to take Grandma June to the cemetery and to IHOP. At the cemetery we discovered a flat tire, so we spent an hour there lying in the sun, letting Maggie have her nap (she slept 1 1/2 hours in the car seat). Once we got home we went back out in the yard. I mowed the lawn and John dug grass out of our beds. When we came inside we put The Wiggles on for Maggie and cleaned the floor. We are both exhausted from the heat and work of the day.

We are headed to California on Saturday to take advantage of our Disneyland Annual Passes before they expire. It is going to be so much fun with our little Maggie toddling around the place and getting excited at every little thing.

As we were walking in from the parking lot John said, "We're back to where Maggie gets lots of attention." Sure enough I overheard at least three people say how cute she was.

Maggie met Mickey today. She grinned and poked his nose. We went on lots of rides, ate lots of food and had a good time. We had to wake Maggie up for the parade in the evening. Jiminy Cricket tried desperately to get her to smile, but she just stared. He even made faces (wiggled his hands on his head; he's wearing a mask, people). She finally caught on, though. It's fun to watch her face light up when she realizes why something is exciting, or what we've been standing around for.

We're in for another fun day tomorrow. We haven't even set foot in California Adventure yet, so that's on the menu.

Saturday we went to see Prince Caspain, which I thought was really good. In fact I reread the book this weekend, and it was better than the book, I liked the changes. We took Justin with us and afterwards went to the Chadwicks' and hung out with Chad and Jodi.

Sunday afternoon we packed the car and drove up to the cabin to spend the night. It was a really nice day and we enjoyed a nice walk with Maggie.

Monday we were all working at the cabin as Mom's Mother's Day present. Unfortunately it rained and everyone was running late, which we didn't know. I helped Nathan put together the new BBQ so hopefully I can put ours together now. We were out of the rain in the unfinished basement, so it was a pretty good job as far as that goes. We all got nice and muddy and had a big lunch with cake for Chad's birthday. We got home around 4:30 and Maggie took a very long nap while John unpacked and cleaned and I did nothing.

Only three days left until our next weekend adventure; John is taking Friday off again.

I also wish I had a lot of her gardening stuff, but that just wasn't practical at the time. I am thinking of getting a flamingo lawn ornament for her grave.

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup brown rice
2 cans chicken broth
1/4 c. water
1/2 t. curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine the first three ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. While the beans are marinating, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic and saute until onion is soft. Add rice and stir. Add broth, water, curry powder and cayenne pepper and blend well. Bring everything to a boil stirring well. Reduct heat to medium and simmer until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes (REAL LIFE: this took almost an hour). Salt and pepper to taste and serve in bowls.

Rachel and I had quite the collection of My Little Ponies back in the day. She had a male with a cowboy hat, and I got a My Little Pony birthday party set from Santa one year - I specifically remember plastic cake pieces with candles. We also had some "teenage" ponies with clear plastic wings that you could make flutter. Leonard was not ashamed to play My Little Ponies with us either, although I specifically recall him being Evil Pony.

Ponies these days have much more exciting toys. Ember got a Carnival for Christmas last year with a carousel, etc. The Ponies themselves are not any more exciting. Will they ever run out of bum tattoo ideas? I mean, 20 years ago I got one with worms on it, that is pretty bottom-of-the-barrel.

I was reading last night in a parenting book that "learning" toys do all the work for kids and they like creative play. This is why young children are often more interested in the box a toy came in. A lot of kids lose some of this creative interest and ability as they get older, from having toys do all the creative work for them I guess. Yay for My Little Ponies and creative play.

Maggie still watches The Wiggles every chance she gets, but since I've moved the computer upstairs, that isn't too often. She is becoming a little bookworm herself and has developed a cute habit of "backing up" from her book basket to a lap, where she can sit and read comfortably.

I guess I am mostly afraid of making her go to sleep in her crib without it. We can put that off for a while yet.

This afternoon we had our playdate with Tasha and Colette because Maggie has a doctor's appointment during our usual time tomorrow. We were planning to walk to Thanksgiving Point and look at the farm animals (you can see nearly all of them for free from the parking lot), but it is insanely windy, so we just played inside instead. Tasha says John and I are "fine diners" because I make such fancy meals, but I saw the recipe for what she's making tonight and it's definitely fancier than the beef stir-fry recipe I'm trying out.

Tuesdays also mean piano lessons for Ember, and cleaning the floor (check and check).

Maggie can: walk (two speeds: plodding and “escape!”), climb onto a small chair, feed herself using her fingers or a fork, drink from a cup, climb up and down stairs, point to her head, hair, teeth, nose, ears, tummy and toes, go down the slide by herself, scribble, help clean up, open cupboards and drawers, ride her car.
Good girl: throws things in the trash, hangs up her towel, puts dirty laundry in the basket, puts books and bath toys away.
Naughty girl: Climbs out of high chair, throws food on the floor, slaps, doesn’t respond to “come here”
Sensitive girl: Cries when told “no.”
Cute girl: Talks on the “phone” (or calculator) to Grandma and Daddy; “reads” books; points to airplanes, the moon and hand gliders; loves to see flowers, dogs, and cars on walks; gives kisses; snuggles her stuffed animals; likes baths.

Also, I scrapbooked.

Jamie and I were able to finish up the kits, then I took Maggie to the library for a nice leisurely read (or, in Maggie's case, a chance to pull as many books off the shelf as possible). I was resigned to just dropping off our checked out items on the way home for her nap, so this worked out nicely. She took another very long nap this evening, so I got to read and take a little nap myself.

We did have to cancel our playdate with Tasha and Colette, so we're going to meet at her in-laws' tomorrow to play in the kiddie pool. And tonight is Girl's Night Out. Only Jodi is coming from our family, but it should be fun!

Also, on Monday I was scrapbooking and I heard her dirtying her diaper. Having already changed three diapers that day, I decided to wait a bit and make sure she was done. Next thing I know, Maggie is standing next to me with two diapers and a tube of A&D. So cute and helpful! Later that day she was playing on the porch while I worked in the yard, and wanted in the front door. I let her in, then spent a minute cleaning up before I headed inside. Maggie was there to greet me with a handful of diapers. (Yes, 5 dirty diapers, and I don't think that was the end of it either.) Even though there are plenty of times Maggie is screaming or pointing and I have no idea why, it's wonderful to see her new communication skills and independence bloom.

We had the best time today at Colette's grandma's house. They had set up a Little Tikes slide into the wading pool, so Maggie was perfectly happy to get in the pool - she loves slides. She spent a couple hours playing outside with Colette's cousins. Colette was a little more timid of the water, but eventually got in. In addition to the other kids, and slide and pool, they had a baby swing, a Cozy Coupe and Popsicles, so Maggie was in heaven. I wish I'd taken my camera.

I was a little sad to think that Colette's oldest cousin is the same age as Maggie's youngest. Maggie sure enjoyed playing with a bunch of kids more her age. I guess nursery will be good for her.

Also, Rachel made me happy today by showing my scrapbook gallery to a friend who loves to scrapbook.

Ember had a piano lesson also today. I was lucky enough to have Erin drop me off to pick up the Pathfinder on her way home (if a ride to spend $950 can be considered lucky).

I did grocery shopping, went to the library, did a little weeding and laid around the house reading today. Oh, and I also made a fantastic recipe called Layered Caribbean Chicken Salad for dinner. John loved it, as he should since it was chock full of his favorite ingredients. John is home for his "vacation", but with his strained ankle, he isn't having much fun. We were going to stay the night at the cabin, but he can sit on the couch just as easily here, and we think maybe walking on the uneven gravel up there last weekend is what aggravated his ankle.

1/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. cocoa
2 c. milk

Cook on low until thickened, stirring constantly. Add 1 t. vanilla.

Jodi was nice enough to come watch Maggie the entire evening (and half the afternoon). Franco even came over and painted one of the walls in our stairwell red while we were gone. It looks great, and he did a terrific job, putting the rest of the paint job in the room to shame. But back to our evening.

John wore his blue suit and I wore the navy lace dress that mom made me to take to BYU to wear to formals. I had to dig my beaded white flip flops out of the DI bag to wear with it. We showed up very early to set up name tags and then sit there. We just had to help people find their name tags as they arrived.

The whole event was like a fancy, fancy slightly less interesting Academy Awards. We got to check out everyone's fancy dresses, red carpet, spotlights, cameras, fancy pre-made video footage of all the finalists, celebrity host (ok, it was a news anchor I'd never heard of. He left at 9:30 for the 10:00 news (which I don't watch) but Jay Leno does the national awards). Seriously Fancy event. The food was pretty good, fancy but I was starving.

Anyway, it was lots of fun and John says he gets brownie points for volunteering, so I said, "sign us up next year!" Thanks again to Jodi for babysitting.

Some quotes: "That's 'penultimate' for all you English majors... but I don't suppose there are many of those here tonight." "To be successful, always be worth more than your employer pays you."

2 c. uncooked pasta - cook and cool
1 c. cubed cheese
1 c. bell pepper
2 green onions
1 small tomato
28 slices pepperoni
1/2 c. italian dressing

I used shell pasta (I think the recipe said tricolor spirals) and colby jack cheese (John recommends mozzarella). Next time I am going to add some olives.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and freeze for 1 – 1 ½ hours until the mixture starts to thicken.
Scoop out and press about ¼ c. of the semifrozen yogurt mixture between two graham cracker squares. Wrap each in waxed paper and freeze 30 minutes or until firm.
If using coconut, put some on a plate and dip all four edges of the sandwich to coat.

So, these were incredibly delicious and easy to make. I got tired of making sandwiches halfway through and we ate the rest of the frozen yogurt from the bowl. Also, I used lime instead of lemon because I had some leftover from the Caribbean Chicken Salad. So it tasted like key lime pie. This recipe is from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, but there is nothing weird hidden in it.

John: What is this green stuff? Broccoli?
Susie: Yeah, it's from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. (It was actually lime zest.)

I love coming home with groceries to unload, and putting them away in my neat, organized (and full!) pantry. Maggie usually plays on her car in the garage while I'm bringing them in; she also likes to take things off the bottom shelf of the pantry and put them back on. Today we went to the store much later than usual because we went to the PO and the library first, so she fell asleep in the car on the way home.

After everything is put away, I got to Mommysavers to record how much I spent vs. my budget. I was under budget $5 last month. Not so impressive considering my budget keeps going up!

As I have been making more and more things from scratch, some rather experimentally, I created a spreadsheet to help me calculate the cost of making an item at home. (I'll admit I got the idea from the Tightwad Gazette, just about the only thing I got from the book.) I put the cost-per-ounce and weight of ingredients, and formulas to show me cost-per-cup, per tablespoon etc. It is about 40 cents for me to make chocolate pudding from scratch (plus milk). Even the house brand pudding is more than that, and my pudding is much more delicious.

Also, it cost about 1/6 as much to mail Leonard's birthday present as it did Rachel's.

After the pool we went up to the cabin for a giant BBQ. Maggie got dragged around (literally) by John's cousin's 3 year old. They were pretty cute playing together and I think it was good for Maggie who will soon be subjected to such things in nursery. We need to get her around more kids in that age group. We spent the night at the cabin and took a few nice walks with Jodi. Saturday morning Maggie came with us and got to pet a horse! She was just tickled.

John and I are lamenting the attitude of the kids (including, most likely, ours in the future) at being at the cabin. Whatever happened to going for an exploration hike, or playing hide and seek? When did kids start moping about and begging to go home because there's nothing to do? Of course there's nothing to do! There's supposed to be nothing to do! In the past John has made exciting treasure hunts for the little ones, but James and Hannah are gone.

Speaking of James and Hannah, Nathan dropped off SIX BAGS of hand-me-downs on their way to Las Vegas. Of course, it'll be years before Maggie grows into some of it, and now we have 8 years worth of boy clothes to store, but I'm still excited. Maggie has claimed the Care Bear Halloween costume as her new snuggly.

I am getting ready to go to Chicago for CHA with Jamie later this week. A new state to visit, if we don't have major air travel trouble. I'm so excited; I love CHA.

I also dropped Maggie off for Erin, Ember and Jazzy to babysit while I went to the temple.

Leaving for Chicago very early tomorrow. I'm very excited for trip, but I will miss John and my little baby.

First of all, I would like to say that I love my Rainbow sandals. Yes, I wore flipflops to the show. Don't worry, I checked with Jamie first and she insisted she wouldn't be embarassed. I wore flipflops for two treks halfway across the country, walking all over downtown Chicago, and two days of the trade show, and my feet loved it. Way to go, Rainbow.

I didn't read a thing about Chicago or what we could do there ahead of time because for some reason I thought we weren't arriving until 6 pm, either because that's how long the flight took, or because Jamie had me convinced we'd be delayed. So when we arrived at our hotel at noon, we were a bit bewildered. After a chat with a friendly concierge, we set out (quite unprepared I might add) for a sight-seeing adventure. We paid $5 each for a transit pass and rode the train 1 hour into the city. Hmm. Should have asked how long the trip would take. I think the subway was a cultural experience for Jamie.

We were intended to take a free shuttle to Navy Pier and have lunch, but we were starving, and finally ate at a Corner Bakery. The free shuttle had a huge line and was no where in sight, so when a bus that said "Navy Pier" drove up, we thought "hey! transit pass... let's take the bus," and did. We walked around the Pier, hot and sticky (me wearing jeans and flipflops and *gasp* no sunscreen). We used a BOGO coupon on a speedboat ride out on Lake Michigan for a quick tour and view of the city. It was great and refreshing (Jamie got splashed). Then we made the 2 hour trek back to the hotel.

Thursday night we went with Jamie's friend Ashley to some sneak peek events - one was SEI, the other some company we weren't interested in, but they had better free food. Ashley won a small prize, and we all got a pack of an older line, a mini book and an album.

Friday morning we got up bright and early to march around the show collecting catalogues. We did the catalogue thing, aisle by aisle, I made an adorable Halloween book by Little Yellow Bicycle, and we shuffled back to the hotel. I should mention that the convention center has zero eateries anywhere nearby (although O'hare has the best airport food selection I've ever seen). Yuck. We ate in the bar for dinner and didn't eat lunch at all.

Evenings are spent with catalogues covering every inch of flat space, planning out kits. Overall we got about 4 1/2 months of kits planned, which is awesome and record-breaking. I got to do exciting jobs like picking out Bazzill (this is not nearly as exciting as it sounds and is also very difficult) and copying down what we ordered. I also kept a running list of places to go, people to see, stuff to buy, mistakes to fix, orders to make, papers to match etc.

Saturday was more of the same only a little more refined. We'd visited all the booths and looked at all the new products. This day we ran around making sure things matched, picking things out, coming up with embellishment and add on ideas, and doing the occasional make n take. I made a notebook using Basic Grey's new Eva line, a recipe book by Teresa Collins and a wooden mini book at Kaiser Craft. Kaiser is awesome because the art director stands there and throws out stuff while you're waiting in line (and I had to wait a while). I got 8 packages of their rhinestones and pearls, which I know love. Don't worry, Jamie ordered ALL of their new sparklies which I now get to enter into the store. Saturday night, more sprawling, more order making, more Bazzill swatching.

By Sunday we were killer organized. We handed in orders, made a few changes, did a make n take and ended up sitting in the lobby going through our free stuff because we had nothing else to do. CHA=free stuff to me. Seriously. I won a huge prize, plus a lot of companies give you gifts/samples when you order. Basic Grey and Scenic Route handed out a sheet of each one of their new papers. So that's all in addition to the make n takes. I took pictures on Jamie's camera, although that was before we'd turned in most of our orders and gotten more. I am only keeping about 1/3 of the stuff, so CC prize winners will be seeing some of it soon!

We ended up going to the airport 4 hours early because we were tired of eating hot tamales for lunch. (Thanks, Bazzill!) We ate a Macaroni Grill, then sat around reading for hours. I'm so glad to be home. Maggie was kind enough to sleep three hours so I could sleep a bit in addition to getting laundry and unpacking done. I missed my baby and it's good to be home.

The other nice thing is that she sends nice presents to Maggie. I miss having my sister aound so I'm looking on the bright side.

Poor Maggie is quite sick. John was up with her most of the night and had to go teach Sunday School this morning. I hope Maggie will take some semblance of a nap because we are having a Chadwick July birthday party this afternoon.

I'm typing on the beautiful new computer we got for our anniversary. I've never used such a large screen before, it's very nice on my poor tired eyes. I'm so excited to have a working computer again, and a nice one at that. Hooray! Thanks, Sweet Baboo!

Maggie and I went to Wal-mart to get some groceries. I am trying hard to stay in my budget this month. One forthcoming difficulty in this is the Pampered Chef party I'm having on the 13th (Come if you're around, and if you're not and want to order something, you can do that online). I am determined to stay under budget though.

After the store, we dropped by Jamie's to get some stuff from mom (there helping Jamie move), dropped by our house to unload the groceries, and headed to Lehi to visit Grandma. We had a perfectly lovely visit which included watching Cameron and Hillary move out of the house next door and Maggie playing with Taylee on the swingset. We also went to McDonald's. Maggie got a late start on her nap for the third day in a row, but seems to be taking it better today.

I've been feeling down today. I sure am glad to stay home with my little Maggie, though.

Maggie's new favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus". I also sing her "The Fish in the Sea" which makes it longer and less boring (for me).

We went for a walk this afternoon to get the mail and deliver some visiting teaching assignments. We saw about 15 kids outside playing and looked at flowers of every color. Maggie loves to point at something and say (or shout) "da!" until I tell her what color it is.

Happy thoughts: I love having a mouse with a scroll button, a 10-key, and a visiting teaching companion who actually wants to do something.

This evening there was a block party for our neighborhood. There was hot dogs and potluck food (I brought Spicy Oven Fried Potatoes, which were a hit), games for the kids and a magic show by the Bishop. The kids all got cool magic wands. I can't say that I met anyone new, but it was fun.

Some people in the neighborhood invited us over for dinner. They have two little girls and a new baby boy. We all had a good time (John opted out of Boggle by holding the baby). Maggie enjoyed the company and the new toys, including a talking ride-on horse. They also offered to lend us their hiking backpack, so we'll definitely be giving that a try soon.

I hosted a Pampered Chef party in the evening. It was a lot of fun. We made a yummy dessert and I made hummus. 10 people came, plus 5 babies (not including Maggie and Ember who played downstairs the whole time). I love Pampered Chef and I'm excited to get some free stuff.

This afternoon we are going to Park City for a work activity with EY. I haven't had time to get excited about it, but it should be a lot of fun!

Overall, a fun activity-filled afternoon that I never would have paid for myself. Thanks, Uncle Ernie.

Also, I found the rack of bobbins I kept from mom's house. Somehow I've been using two bobbins for four colors over the last month. I'm so glad to have 20 more!!

Off to go pick out my free Pampered Chef stuff.

On the back of it I wrote, "5/31/06 haha."

As soon as we got home Maggie went down for a nap and Erin dropped Ember off. I did Ember's piano lesson, then she watched Peanuts while I did some CC work. After naptime, Ember watched Maggie while I did more piano lessons. Then we took Ember home and said hi to Logan and Jazmine.

I made Tortilla Cigars for dinner, which Maggie loved, then we went to Enrichment which was a Talent Auction. Maggie had to come because poor John didn't get home from work until 9:00 (and is back at it again in the kitchen).

The talent auction was awesome. Everyone got or lost points based on things like having read your scriptures, or what colors you were wearing, or if you'd eaten any chocolate. Everyone also brought a talent to donate. I donated a dress like this one. There were things like desserts, baby quilts, wreaths, haircuts, jam, a pumpkin from someone's garden, etc. I scored big time with a set of fabric pumpkins (now I don't have to make my own not-as-cute ones!), a baby wipes/diaper holder (now I don't have to make my own not-as-cute one!) and a set of cards (now I don't have to make my own not-as-cute ones!). I got a lot, and I am really excited about the pumpkins. When we decorate for Halloween I'll post a picture. I was planning to make some, but these are way cuter than what I would have done. I was pleased to see people wanted the dress I made - makes a girl feel good! I'll feel even better when I see the baby wearing it to church in a year (she's teensy).

We got there before it opened and staked out a prime spot on the "beach". I decided to go on a waterslide before there was a line. Well, I climbed all the way up there without a tube and was left with Scary Slide #1 or Scary Slide #2 - you know, the plunge to your death slides? What was I thinking? The Lagoon website says "plunge nearly 70 feet straight down". Yikes. I hyperventilated the whole way down, but managed to survive. Barely.

We basically floated around the lazy river all day, and I mean all day. Maggie and Devan both fell asleep! I got a bit sunburned in places I missed, either because I couldn't reach or Maggie was distracting my sunscreen-putting-on. We rode the fastest merry-go-round I've ever been on, and waited in line for the train to take us around Utah's Second Largest Zoo. Then we came home.

Today we went to Grandma June's and Susan picked the three of us up and took us to the cabin. A day at the cabin with my in-laws and Maggie's great-grandma? Fun, I promise! We sat around doing nothing and chatting while Maggie played with cars. I took Maggie for a little walk to pet some horses, which she loved. I haven't been for a walk up there without someone to talk to maybe ever. I really enjoyed the peace and quiet. Maggie was exhausted but propping her eyelids open and was perfectly content with my occasional commentary of butterflies and flowers.

Tomorrow we are going to Logan for Jamie and Dave's "reception" so another fun and long day for us.

I taught Sunday School today. 5 of our boys came. I read them The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. The lesson was on peer pressure, and I found a Recreational Therapy protocol using this book to teach about cliques and figured it would be close enough. It was. I've never had a class of such respectful teenage boys as when I was reading them The Sneetches out loud! Afterwards we talked for a bit and then played Pass the Pigs with each of them answering questions from the lesson before their turn (name an example of pressure (good or bad) from the scriptures or church history, etc.).

iTunes $ (i'm willing to admit I want (need) to spend it on Wiggles songs for the car)
money that I can spend on sewing stuff
sewing lessons
IKEA: $7 lazy susan, $4 mesh strainer, $15 table lamp, $1.50 trash can, hippo fabric
book recommendations
gift certificates for restaurants
a trip to visit my siblings (or for them to visit me!)

You can view my Amazon Wishlist and buy me stuff from there too!

ETA: I could also use some substitute parenting/grandparenting. Aunt Anne is coming to visit me! Maybe Aunt Pat will decide Anne won't do a good enough job and bring Rachel up in October? Like I said, I can dream!

1. Do you know the song, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"?
2. What words do you sing to "Pop Goes the Weasel"?
3. How much of The Music Man can you repeat off the top of your head? And how fast?

Think about it before you respond.

Today we went up to the cabin after church. We got to see everyone (except Jamie and Dave who are in Mexico), and Erin's parents were there too. We laughed about the teenage boys who came running out the door to see Maggie, and played with toy cars under the pool table even after she had lost interest. It got very cloudy and rained hard on the way home.

Hopefully, Maggie will go to nursery by herself next week. She did even better today, so long as no one else was playing with the toys she wanted to play with.

Rachel: her daughter wants to be a mermaid not human?
i guess the seaweed is always green
er

Thanks a LOT, Rachel, for getting me hooked on Twilight Parodies. Make it stop. Seriously.

and it was the best series starting with a teenage girl in love with a mysterious boy in her class that ended up with a teenage girl defending her growth-accelerated mutant hybrid baby from an ancient clan of evil vampires with her magical psychic shield that I ever read, THE END.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

ETA: I can't help myself. This is re: Midnight Sun.

Also, he still has her Snapple cap in his pocket, because Edward Cullen is a thirteen-year-old girl.

Mowed the back yard. Worked on making a counting board book for Maggie. Cut a sign out of chipboard to decorate for Thanksgiving. Picked up some leaves. Pulled some weeds. Put 3 sets of paper packs together for Jamie. Did the dishes. Cleaned the table. Unloaded the dishwasher. Cleaned the countertops. Watered the plants. Cleaned both upstairs bathrooms. Painted Maggie's toenails. Removed nail polish from Maggie's toenails. Took an adorable video of Maggie. Got the mail. Took Maggie to the park. Mowed the front lawn. Cleaned up after the neighbors dog. Picked some free peaches. Went through the mail, including all my new coupons. Call Leonard about a suspicious package which arrived for me. Changed two dirty diapers. Changed the batteries in two of Maggie's whiny electronic toys. Chatted with Rachel. Cleaned up toys.

Oh yeah, Maggie and I also walked to the grocery store, about a mile away. It was a little too long in the stroller for Maggie, and of course, it was uphill the whole way home. The weather was nice so it was a good day for it, but I don't think I'll be doing it too often. Mostly because that store is so much more expensive than Wal-Mart. I just needed lids for my canning jars (Wal-Mart didn't have the right size) and my prescription, so it wasn't like I needed groceries.

Once John was done working I tried a new recipe and we walked to the park to play on the slides with Maggie. She had fun giving kisses through the railings.

Also, Grandma gave me her garden rake (which I "borrowed" several months ago and haven't returned) and some crochet hooks I found (she never crocheted: one was still in the package). This worked out great since I lost my size F between finishing my frosting and sewing it on to the donut. She also tried to give me her knitting needles and the entire contents of her curio cabinet. And I won't deny that Maggie took Catwoman's car home with her.

So, for those not in the loop, Grandma is 90 years old and anxiously awaiting death. She also wishes she has more kids because (in retrospect) it was so easy. Ahem. Actual honest-to-goodness words coming out of her mouth:

Grandma June: Before I go out of this world, I want to hear you say you're expecting.
Susie: You're going to have to stick around a while then.
Grandma June: Well. I'm waiting.

I thought I would also record for posterity Grandma's description of a "game" people were playing over at John's cousin Sheryl's house. The room was dark. Everyone had an instrument. There was a screen with a show on it on a platform. There wasn't any furniture in the room. Um. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out it was Rockband - and another 5 minutes to explain it to her.

And finally - Grandma thinks Maggie and I are so cute because I am a stay at home mom and we spend all day together and are all attached. She figures she was like that also when she just had one litee toddler Susan. But anyway, we're cute. But Maggie still needs a friend (ie. sibling).

I brought home birthday cards for myself, Brook, and Ember. But I bet mine is the only one without any money in it. Cause I'm an "in-law". (Hmm. I can't seem to find if I posted about the time I asked Grandma to come live with us. She said "that's the nicest thing anyone's ever offered. And you're not even related to me!")

Since the issues I care about aren't really issues in this election, I am voting for spending money in our own country, rather than Iraq. Not that it matters, because I live in Utah.

We went to the pediatrician today. The office ladies loved my purse and Maggie's candy corn pants. Maggie loved the turtles and fish, but that's about it. She was 20 lb 10 oz (5%) and got two shots - hopefully now she is flu-proof because last year was awful.

After the doctor we went to JoAnn and the nearby grocery store (to pick up some loss leaders and Eclair Cake ingredients). I bought 1/4 yard of 8 different colors of felt and JoAnn. I don't know if I will bother making fake food for her, she is enjoying playing with the felt as is. She also loves the embroidery thread I bought. They were out of white t-shirt knit, so my experimental Maggie-long-sleeved-shirt-making will have to wait. Jodi is coming over to scrapbook tonight, so I had to put my sewing machine away anyway.

The good news is she gets over it, one item at a time. I counted eight times that she wore her pink Croc knock-offs ($5 at Wal-Mart) before she didn't cry when I put them on. She didn't complain the third time she wore the candy corn pants, and for the most part she's stopped randomly complaining about what she's wearing hours after I put it on her.

I mentioned it to the doctor (who had never heard of such a thing) and he agrees that I should keep doing what I'm doing - distraction and "you're wearing it anyway." I should mention that I'm pretty sure it's not a texture thing. Same comfy pants in a different color = scary.

I made an eclair cake, which was entirely gobbled up. "If God woke up early and made a cake today, this would be it." Yum. Also, Ember played two songs on the piano, which was very sweet and a good experience for her.

John had to leave early to go to work (against his will and better judgement). The guy making him come in showed up over an hour late! grrrrrrr. Also, Maggie's been quite clingy/fussy around other people lately. I'm wondering if it's because poor John has had to work so much. She wailed in nursery today and kept pointing towards the door - while I was in there with her. She just wanted her daddy.

Also: "I figure if things can't cook reliably with only a little guidance from me, they get what they deserve."

John thinks maybe Maggie is just a hand-me-down snob. I bought her some pink elephant pajamas and a kitty Halloween shirt at Target yesterday, and she was perfectly happy to wear the new shirt with some new black pants today.

Nine years is a long time. My blog has seen me through 13 moves, 3 boyfriends, 56 roommates, 5 countries, 15 states, 2 internships and 9 jobs (plus temp stuff, writing, and being a mom). It was there for me during the deaths of Danny, Grandma Jessie, Uncle Larry, Grandpa Dalton, Grandma Rosie, Mom and Jellybean. It saw my brother and two sisters-in-law get married (figuratively speaking, in Leonard’s case (especially since apparently I didn’t blog about it)) and my siblings both move thousands of miles away. I’ve had one wedding, one marriage, one pregnancy, one baby and one awesome husband.

I now have three blogs, so I've hopefully become better at blogging in the past nine years. Thanks for the 18th birthday present, Leonard.

She also learned two words (besides "dada" and "bye-bye" (which sounds suspiciously like "dada")): "bubbles" and "no". She just says "no" because it's fun to say not because she doesn't want to do anything. So far.

Other fun Maggie facts: She is obsessed with stop signs and points them out everywhere she goes. Sometimes when she is crying and I can't figure out why, it's because her shoe is coming off.

Worked in the morning. Maggie and I went to visit Grandma June. It was raining, so it wasn't a terribly exciting trip. I brought a piano book so I could play her some non-hymns. When we got home, Maggie ate a terrific lunch of peas, cheese cubes, yummy balls, texas sheet cake, pear walnut muffin and puffs. Then she took a three hour nap.

During Maggie's nap I did some more CC work and painted in the garage a little. About the time she woke up I started on some Christmas presents for Rachel. Then I vacuumed and made potstickers for dinner. John got home pretty late so we took Maggie on a ride on her car to get the mail, then bedtime. Now I am relaxing. Sigh.

We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is thatwe know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace. - Marjorie Hinckley

Maggie slept in the car, then we went to Cornbelly's corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. Tasha had called and said they had coupons to get in for $1 today! This was the best corn maze I've ever been to. There were so many fun activities for Maggie and Colette to enjoy. We took lots of pictures, and John took lots with me in them too!

As soon as we got home I hurried and changed for the General Relief Society broadcast. Everyone I know had tickets and we don't have a stake center, so I was actually quite surprised to see someone I knew there, a new girl in the ward. I had fun talking to her and I got a lot out of the meeting. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's comments on the inherent, divine desires to create and show compassion. I wish the congregation got to sing more at Conference though.

In unrelated news, Rachel will be visiting next week and I can't wait!!

This week we got a fancy new shelf for our laundry room. We got it to help organize our food and water storage. I am such a nerd and I love to look at my pretty, organized pantry and shelves all day long. And not just mine - I admired Tasha's for a good ten minutes the other week. She was pleased that she's not the only nerd.

Yesterday for our playdate we took the girls to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. We had a 50% coupon. Since it wasn't nearly so crowded as last time, and Maggie was begging, we took the girls on the pony ride. They were such big girls, bobbing along on the ponies. So cute.

Also, I am being more organized this year and I wrote everyone's name on a brown lunch sack and lined them up on the shelf in the laundry room. Now I can add stocking stuffers as I collect them without rummaging through a pile of unmarked grocery sacks. Also, maybe the lunch sack size will keep me from overbuying. We'll see.

We went to Jon and Sharon's last night. Maggie had so much fun playing with the dogs, the kitties and Sarah. We had yummy stirfry and Rachel made lemon bars. Also, Maggie loves flamin' hot cheetos; Uncle Jon says babies don't develop spicy taste buds until 3 or 4, so that may explain it. Or she developed a taste for them in the womb.

We are having Girl's Night Out at my house tonight, and I have piano lessons, but other than that I will be sewing.

Today we are going to the zoo and s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g.

Will it really injure our children to learn in school that some men love men, some women love women, we still love those people, and in some places it is legal for them to marry? Let your children learn what's legal at school and teach them what's right at home - just like you do with everything else.

Religious Freedom is Intact! (near the end of the page). Amazing. Don't use lies to prove your point. It reminds me of the lies and fearmongering going around about Obama. "He's Muslim!" "His middle name is Hussein!" "He's black!" Who. Cares.

I am not concered that allowing gay people to marry is affecting my marriage or my "definition" of marriage and I'm tired of people forcing their views of others (by passing them into law, or just by being annoying). Gay people aren't trying to ban you. They just want rights for themselves.

And who says gay parents can't raise children well? Or that they'll turn out gay themselves? Chances are their parents weren't gay.

Also it bugs me that non-Californians (ie. Utahns) are so involved in this. The [California] Church's involvement is one thing: they have every right to defend, define and try to legalize their beliefs (although I think they may be overdoing it and shooting themselves in the foot). Are Utahns jealous they didn't get such a big fight putting up the law here? Maybe it is annoying in other states as well but I don't have to live there.

I guess I am a bit of a hypocrite because though I may be a California Girl, I am not a registered California voter. But everyone must think I have some influence or that it's my business what California does or they'd quit pressuring me to vote "Yes" on Prop 8.

Hey, a Barack Obama ad on the Deseret News website! (/soapbox)

Sunday after church we went up to the cabin. We were lucky enough to have water the whole time we were there. Also, we borrowed a back carrier for Maggie and went on two actual hikes! It was so much fun and it was nice to see all the pretty fall colors. Maggie enjoyed the carrier and even fell asleep in it this morning. We made her walk mostly up the road back to the cabin after our hike last night and she was cleaning up, picking up leaves off the road and putting them on the shoulder.

Last night we stayed up late playing Dominoes with John's parents, so of course Maggie woke up at 5 am. Bleh. So I'm off to bed. We're home doing church stuff/errands/piano lessons for the next few days, then off for more fun, this time in Park City!

Tuesday: Erin was kind enough to watch Maggie all morning so that John and I could attend the temple together. Maggie had a great time borrowing some of Ember's toys and playing with Jazmine. What does Jazzy say? "woof!" of course.

Wednesday we went grocery shopping and took Maggie to storytime. Then we made some lunch and went to spend time with Grandma June. She wasn't doing very well and wouldn't let us leave until her son arrived so Maggie missed her nap for not the first or last time this week.

Thursday morning we got ready and drove to Park City. We went on a shopping spree at the outlets. I kept saying to John, "you're not spending enough" and "remember, we're saving money by being here." Sadly, the Geoffrey Beene outlet is closing. Happily, we bought piles of work clothes for John and shirt for me at 70% off there. We bought a stocking stuffer for each of us and another shirt for me and absolutely nothing for Maggie.

We stayed at Uncle Justin's condo for the low price of $5 in household products. Maggie enjoyed Meet the Numbers and John and I enjoyed our library books. We also took a long walk around the neighborhood. We went to dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, A Taste of Saigon, in downtown Park City, and walked to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory where we spent $6 on dessert and let Maggie play in the bookstore. Then Maggie went to bed (she refused to nap) and John and I watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Today we lay around, went for another long walk and watched some TV. (Cable! Playhouse Disney!) Then we walked around downtown again, bought a Christmas ornament, ate lunch at Pizza Hut, cleaned up the condo and came home. This was all cleverly planned to allow Maggie to nap on the way home.

It's been nice to have John home for this week and we'll miss him when he goes back to work on Monday. I am excited for Maggie to start napping again though. She's exhausting!

In the afternoon, since we hadn't returned the hiking carrier, we drove up to Suncrest and went hiking in Corner Canyon. This adventure was much more enjoyable. We try to take advantage of things like this nearby because you never know how long you'll be nearby. We need to get one of those hiking carriers. We went for a walk around the neighborhood to return it when we got home and Maggie talked us into taking her to the park. Sweet talker.

Last night I made a delicious pumpkin roll for dessert. It is so good that John wants me to bring it to the Trunk-or-Treat on Thursday, and also make it for Thanksgiving. I've been afraid of pumpkin rolls my whole life, but it was really easy and fast. Yum.

Today Maggie was unceremoniously left in the nursery (John waited until there were plenty of adults in there before taking her). When we peeked in after our Sunday School class she was happily playing and the report is that she sang, did some actions to the songs, and she also brought home a picture she had colored. Nursery Success! A happy day.

Last night was the ward Trunk-or-Treat. We had lots of fun, but not nearly enough candy. It was standing room only for dinner, I think most of the neighborhood was there. I think we would have given out more candy last night than tonight if we'd hadn't run out. Maggie was darling in her Candy Corn Princess costume, but grumpy by the time candy-getting came around.

Today Mom and I drove to SLC and went to a party at John's work. We had delicious sugar cookies, Maggie charmed everyone, and got to decorate a pumpkin with stickers. Afterwards Mom and Jodi picked up Zupa's and came to our house for dinner and trick-or-treating.

Unfortunately, the beautiful weather we've had all week turned into rain the moment we stepped outside to take Maggie trick-or-treating. She enjoyed it though, knocking on the doors and saying "treek-or!". She was willing to carry her wand, and said thank you.

I love being in a real neighborhood with kids who came trick-or-treating! I would have liked to do more trick-or-treating, not because we need more candy but I enjoyed meeting some new neighbors. It wasn't cold, but we didn't have umbrellas on the first trip, and the second one was nearing Maggie's bedtime - and she didn't get a nap. Maybe next year when Maggie is a year older it will be even more enjoyable.

We borrowed Meet the Numbers from the library to take to Park City and Maggie's picked up the numbers really fast. I got out her foam numbers to play with in her bath yesterday and today she grabbed the eight out of the bucket and said, "eight!" Seriously! I love these DVDs - Maggie also learned her colors from them. I requested Meet the Shapes from the library, although she kind of already knows them.

Speaking of speaking, Maggie apparently made up a sign for "sorry" - she puts her hand on the back of her neck. Not sure where it came from, but she does it whenever we ask her to say she's sorry. Also, "Aunt Jodi"="sss" ???, "shh"="binky" (because she only allowed it when she sleeps) and Thursday she said "Tuh" twice when I mentioned Colette. ETA: I don't know if I've previously mentioned that fish say "glub glub" or "wubwubwub" and kitties say "mmmm!"

In the 2004 Presidential Election, Utah was Bush's strongest state with 72% of the popular vote (Kerry 26%). While it comes as no surprise that Utah went for McCain in this election, I'm happy to say that he only had 63% and Obama 34%. Congrats to Leonard for correctly estimating a 10% drop in Republican supporters in Utah this election.

I'm even prouder to say that Salt Lake County was 49% McCain, 48% Obama (2004 Salt Lake County results were Bush 60%/Kerry 38%). The Obama votes were higher earlier last night. It seems as though highly Democratic precincts are faster in getting their data turned around. Interesting...

The next two years (at least) are going to be rough, but I'm glad we won't just be having more of the past eight.

Next summer we are planning a Grand Chadwick Yellowstone Adventure with John's parents and Brook's and Jamie's families. That's at least 16 people - more if Jodi's and Nathan's families are able to come. John's parents put down a deposit on a brand-new, fancy, 8 bedroom, 5 bathroom "cabin" for us to stay in. It's 7 months away, but I'm getting excited for it already.

Maggie's been playing with the numbers from her foam bath letters set and I remembered that the Four has teethmarks on it! There are three little bites. I'm pretty sure it was Colette who bit it because Maggie only had teeth on the bottom at the time. Also this Four is Orange. Nevertheless a little ironic.

Sunday night she cried for 1/2 hour, woke up for 1/2 hour at 1 AM and then woke up at 6:30. Monday night and last night she went right to sleep and I hardly heard a peep from her all night.

Naptime has been a different story. Monday on the way home from Logan she cried until I put on the Wiggles CD then went right to sleep, but she woke up as soon as we got off the freeway and was grumpy the rest of the day. Yesterday she cried for 1/2 hour, slept for 1/2 hour, then I got her up and let her take the rest of her nap snuggled with me.

I guess a grumpy naptime can take it's time to be worked out, so long as she sleeps at night when John gets home and needs to get up early for work.

UPDATE: Maggie went right to sleep with no fuss at naptime today and appears to be doing the same for the third bedtime in a row. If I'd known this would be so easy I'd have done it a while ago.

Me: I've been good about updating my Amazon wishlist, although a lot of the things on there are for John and Maggie. I have need of some kitcheny things and some extra-cushy slippers.

Maggie: See my wishlist above as well.
Big girl bed
Big girl bed sheets
Toddler slide
Coloring book
Church shoes
Healthy treats like yogurt-covered raisins, graham snacks, fruit
Baby doll (nothing fancy)
Wooden alphabet puzzle with pegs

John:
Amazon wishlist
child hiking carrier
Thumbdrive
Digital picture frame

Non-Wishlist - please don't give us any:
Lotion
Books not specifically requested. Except Maggie. Buy her all the books you want. I have a really hard time getting rid of books and we prefer borrowing them from the library.

But why not? Probably because they think children can't learn them so young. We introduced the Meet the Letters DVD this week and Maggie's knowledge of the alphabet is rapidly expanding. At the beginning of the DVD the creator says "most learning tools miss this window [of opportune time for learning such things] by a year or two." Most parents too, apparently.

I should also mention that Maggie loves to learn. From the moment she was born she's been alert and attentive to the world around her, soaking it all in.

"Urf!"

So last night (I actually typed "Sew last night"...) I was making a little make-up bag and I broke the needle on the zipper foot. Oops. I ended up sewing the zipper in by hand.

My point is, today, 2 quilts, 15 pairs of boxers, 30 baby announcements, 2 sets of felt food, 7 rice warmers, 3 dresses, a skirt, 2 tutus, a pair of pants, 2 purses, a wallet, a makeup bag, and some other stuff later, I finally changed the needle.

Wednesday we went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch, then spent most of the day cooking. Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner at the cabin. On Friday Leonard watched Maggie (who was asleep) so John and I could score a Black Friday deal on an elliptical machine. Check it out! John put it together himself. We've also been going to lots of walks in the cold (but non-snowy) weather.

This afternoon we are going to see Twilight with Brook, Erin, Chad and Logan. Nathan is being kind enough to watch Maggie and Ember (in addition to his own kids). I love going out without Maggie once in a while.

I also helped her with her December birthday cards ($10 for grandkids, $5 for great-grand-kids, $0 for Susies-in-law). She wishes she could give more (at least to some people!) but wants to be fair. So remember that when you receive $10 for your 38th birthday - or $5 for your 15th. I offered to help her do cards for all of 2009 but she thought that was ridiculous.

I lead a small life. Well, valuable, but small.

John's surgery went very well. In 7 days he'll be back to normal. Maggie counts as heavy lifting, unfortunately. He slept it off while I went to Chadwick GNO at Erin's house. I was 15 minutes late, having dropped John into bed with his jell-o (smart girl: I made it this morning) and I was the first person there. When Jodi arrived with Maggie, she didn't even care to see me. "Jazzy! oh, hi mom. Here, doggie!"

We made peanut brittle, exchanged cookies (I made Grandma Lorna's Swedish Pepparkokar), and planned fun things to do next year.

Our tree looks a bit naked underneath, with only a few presents and I don't feel up to making a tree skirt this year. I suppose we'll be using our boring old stockings from a few years ago too. Maybe next year I won't be doing as much gift making and I can do more decoration making.

Tonight is John's work Christmas party and I'm so excited! It's nice to get out on a date once in a while, and last year they gave away tons of prizes, so maybe we'll come home with something free.

Maggie's fancy new word I'm making her tell everyone (including Aunt Rachel on video chat!) is "walrus".

Also, apparently one of my library books is overdue. Ack! My first fine.

Also, we got a package from Aunt Pat and Uncle Alan with presents!. Maggie's pile under the tree is growing. She has 5 presents now, plus one she already opened: a 12 Dogs of Christmas touchy-feely book from Erin and Ember. She loves it.

A snow storm has begun in earnest here so we will be sitting tight at home for the weekend.

We also went to visit Grandma June (who turns 91 tomorrow) and had lunch at IHOP. Maggie was excited to see a bottle of ketchup on the table and proceeded to "dip!" her eggs and pancakes and was a great eater and very well-behaved.

After we went to the store, Maggie and I played in the snow a little bit. We drew pictures and letters and shapes in the snow that was on the driveway. We also went for a walk today to deliver treats to my visiting teachees. Don't worry, the sun was out by then.

It was a lot of fun and we kept Maggie up well past her bedtime. She enjoyed running around with all the other kids, rolling cars back and forth. The adults played a "Celestial Newlywed" game, which John and I lost miserably at, but it was fun.

Maggie and I also had a playdate where she and Colette exchanged presents. Also, it's been a few days and I am still hating my haircut. I guess I won't be waiting my usual 6 months in between. As soon as it grows out a little I'll go in and have them cut the layers off.

We also got a box of gifts from Leonard today. And we had a pre-Christmas get together with John's family so that those who won't be here on Christmas could open their gifts. Jodi also bought a little something for each of the cousins. Most of the little somethings were "Flurp" a gelatinous noise maker (can you guess which noise) that we spent the next 2 hours playing with. Maggie got a teeny plastic Piglet figure which she has not released her grip on yet. (Really - she still had it in her hand when I got her up from her nap.) Way to pick 'em.

For dinner we went to Jamba Juice, and then drove around a few streets to look at lights. We're looking forward to a low-key (and probably boring) Christmas morning - only 5 shapes on the tree away!.

Two monks, Tanzan and Ekido, were journeying in the mountains on their way to a neighboring monastery. At a certain point they arrived at a stream and were greeted by a beautiful young woman who was attempting to cross to the other side. She asked if they could help her, for she did not wish to get her kimono wet. Tanzan picked her up and carried her across. The mountain paths diverged and the monks silently went on their way. Some hours later they came to a resting place.

Ponderously, Ekido spoke: "Our order strictly forbids bodily contact with women. How is it you disobeyed the rule and picked up that woman?"

Tanzan replied, "I left her back at the stream. Are you still carrying her?"

I had two piano lessons today so Christmas Eve will be free. A 7-year-old student said, "Hmm, Maggie has the most presents. Well, don't be glum! Remember: Santa!"

Maggie got a Snoopy toothbrush and some baby puffs in her stocking. She was thrilled. My stocking and John's were overflowing with sugary goodness and other fun stuff. He gave me running shoes, Breaking Dawn, two family DVDs and a Sudoku book. I gave him some new clothes for work (and an elliptical of course). Leonard and Sumana sent us $ for Maggie's college fund, a child carrier for hiking (woo hoo!) and a Meet the Letters DVD. Jodi and Franco got us a gift card for dinner and a movie (and free babysitting of course). Can't wait to use that! Maggie also got bath books, felt food, two accessory sets for Mr. Potato Head and a book and a darling outfit from Pat and Alan. Grandma and Grandpa got her a baby doll (Our first attempt to supplement the boy hand-me-down toys) and $10. Chad (ok, Jamie) gave Maggie jeans that light up and little patent leather church shoes. No more sneakers to church.

Maggie is downstairs playing with Mr. Potato Head and watching Meet the Letters. It's hard to say which of those is her new favorite (the doll went home from the hospital with Grandma and Grandpa). Put I think I'll put my money on mini-Piglet who hardly left her fist during the hospital stay.

Logan and Ember spent the night last night, so we had a giggly evening. John and I got up at 5 to go to the temple. Maggie was perfectly happy to wake up and find her cousins there to play with her, and we were home before they were done eating breakfast.

We stopped by Pirate-O's on the way taking the kids home. We bought treats for the kids for babysitting, and dessert for tonight. Hopefully, it'll be a fun party with lots of games! I usually get a good game fix on New Year's Eve.