Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for July 2011

Mon Jul 04 2011 00:33 Oops:

"Mom, we forgot to go to Bangkok."

I counted that 11 of my last 13 blog entries (now 12/14) were just anecdotes from the kids, so I figured I'll just keep it coming.

Quotes Maggie

(2) Wed Jul 06 2011 05:55 Kingdom, Phylum, Unicorn:

"It's a kind of a place where giraffes and zebras live. And horsies. And unicorns. And ponies. And pegasuses. And unicorn pegasuses."

Quotes Maggie

(3) Sun Jul 10 2011 02:25 Puja & Friends:

I really like going to church in India. It's not like I look forward to Sundays, particularly. But every time we go, I remember how friendly everyone is, and how it feels like we don't stick out as much. We still stick out, but maybe people are used to us? It's nice to feel like I'm doing something useful when I accompany the Primary. I think my presence is making Maggie act out a bit, but she settles down for her class. And someone sat next to me in Relief Society. Like, right next to me, not one seat over!

Since I sometimes go the entire week without a meaningful conversation with anyone besides John, I really like the opportunity to hang out with so many people I have something in common with.

Tue Jul 12 2011 08:03 Poor India:

Number of theaters Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 opened on in US: 4125. Population of US: 307,006,550 (one for every 75,000 people - times the number of screens it was shown on).

Number of screens Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is opening on in India: 600. Population of India: 1,155,347,700 (one for every 2 million people - divided by the four languages it will be shown in).

So deprived.

John and I will be at one of those 600 theaters, but we're going a week later for his birthday. By then it will be showing in maybe 200 theaters. Movies move fast here, because there are so many being churned out in 4 or 5 languages.

Movies

Wed Jul 13 2011 04:28 All-American Horse:

Bullseye is making a mark in the sand (couch).

"He makes a square with his beak. Then he puts a W (from his webkins mark). Then he calls, 'USA! USA!'"

I don't even think Maggie knows what USA is, but now she is chanting it. And beak? Yes, even though she's playing with Bullseye, her focus is still birds.

Quotes

(1) Wed Jul 13 2011 05:41 Pros and Cons:

Con: Poor Sick Baby.
Pro: Sick Baby likes to snuggle.
Con: Snuggly Baby is hot.
Pro: Hot Baby sleeps off fever.
Con: Fever-free Baby up all night? Time will tell.

Dalton

Wed Jul 13 2011 07:33 Desires of the Heart:

Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for this day
Thank you we can see Daddy
Thank you for ours blessings.
Bless us to go to a dinosaur place to see a different dinosaur place with a pterosaur, a patosaurus, a triceratops, a t rex, a dinosaur I dunno.
Name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I realized later she was looking at her dinosaur rug and naming off the dinosaurs as she prayed.

Quotes

(3) Thu Jul 14 2011 07:30 TII:

This is the new phrase around here: This is India or TII. It's used when no other excuse or reason can possibly apply, or to vocalize frustration.

Today I was cooking quesadillas (with my suitcase-imported cheese) on our too-hot gas stove when suddenly it started POURING rain. Of course my laundry was hanging out still, so I ran to the balcony and hurriedly pulled off the pins and threw them and the clothes into the house while yelling at the kids to stay inside. Only in India - TII. Amazingly, my quesadilla did not burn.

People peeing on the side of the road. TII.

No stock. In 4 different grocery stores. TII

The electrician took one of our light fixtures to repair and never brought it back. TII

10 minutes to get to Indiranagar. 25 to get home. TII

Men wearing lungis and flipflops while doing construction. Oh, and babies taking naps at construction sites on the side of the road. TII

Dalton has perfected stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk (and the sewer). TII

(1) Sat Jul 16 2011 03:56 Sandeep Says:

"PG is also like same only." There's some Indian English for you.

Also, I think carrying wet cement in a shallow bowl on your head, barefoot might be the worst job ever.

(1) Sun Jul 17 2011 06:59 Worse Job:

I found one. There is a huge pile of muck, mud, trash, plant matter and sewage in the street outside our apartment. The canal/stream/sewer behind the building got cleaned out, and I'm sure it was done by hand. GROSS.

UPDATE: Picture here.

(3) Sun Jul 17 2011 21:00 Scarf it Down:

I bought a colorful scarf for $.75 and now I am one of those people (Rachel, Indians) who wear scarves in the summer.

Mon Jul 18 2011 01:02:

Mom, you like to look at the Tomatoes?
Tomatoes? Does she mean the pizza sauce? Maybe the red nose? What tomatoes?
The tomatoes right there. Pointing at Mr. & Mrs. Potato/Tomato Head.

Quotes Maggie

(2) Tue Jul 19 2011 22:47 There's a message in here somewhere:

Maggie has started beginning each monologue with "Mommy! Listen to me." and ending with "Do you understand, Mommy?"

"Mommy! Listen to me. How about we get a leaf off a tree when it's little and we put it in a cup and when it gets big we eat it. Alright? You understand, Mommy? And we'll use the binoculars so the water doesn't get in our eyes and we see a thing. You try to catch a fish, then you catch a fish, when you get hungry, Mommy, I will give you a fish. You understand, Mommy? And when you see any fish in the water with the binoculars you will see when you see any fish and when you see a fish you try to catch a fish. When you didn't catch it they are too fast."

Etc.

Quotes Maggie

Thu Jul 21 2011 04:40 Factoids:

I bought Maggie two new books today - coloring books that also included "facts" about the animals. One was dot-to-dot birds with up to 70 dots to connect per bird - great counting practice. The other is "how to draw" dinosaurs. We spent much of Dalton's nap lying on the floor coloring.

The dinosaur book claims, "Pteranodon was the largest flying reptile. ... It didn't had teeth." [sic] It also contains the sentence "Baryonyx fish."

TII, and this book was published here.

Books Maggie

(1) Thu Jul 21 2011 04:49 Boy:

Dalton is the same age Tyler was when I joined the Chadwick family, which may explain why nearly all his clothes are Tyler hand-me-downs. He's grown out most everything else. Little blond boy!

Some new words: rock, help, stop, wait, and "night night", which is especially cute when he pretends to sleep, or tucks Pooh into bed. Oh, and "head", as in "head shoulders knees and toes." He also says "Dinosaurs" but it sounds like "iss", which is also what he says for Maggie (sis).

Dalton

Fri Jul 22 2011 08:28 Wrong Kind of Wax:

I cleaned out Dalton's ears and found little pieces of blue crayon. Hmm.

Dalton

(1) Mon Jul 25 2011 06:44 Puddle Fun:

I just posted some pictures of the kids playing in the rain puddles outside. We were bad examples and had half a dozen other kids splashing around by the time the building manager came and cleared the drain. No worries; there'll be more puddles tomorrow. It was totally fun. I only heard one person say they could get sick from it, and it was a little girl, shockingly not one of the maids.

Now the kids are having a "giant" bubble bath in their little inflatable pool. Really, it's still smaller than a regular bath tub, but they don't need to know that. They can figure it out for themselves in 3 days in Bangkok!

(3) Tue Jul 26 2011 06:02 Rachel on Hair Bands:

Leonard sent us a box of necessities as John's birthday present. Rachel accompanied him on a trip to Target to get everything on my list.

me: did you get me some nice hairbands? I am tired of these thin cheap Indian ones
Rachel: i got you the goody kind
the thick black ones
me: I knew I could trust you with that
Rachel: :)
i was like, to L, let me handle this

I still laugh thinking about this conversation and picturing Leonard in the hair accessories aisle at Target. The box arrived today, and I immediately redid my ponytail. Also included, in case you are wondering what "necessities" are: brown sugar poptarts, marshmallows, taco seasoning, ranch dressing mix, sugar-free drink mixes, bobby pins, goldfish crackers, black beans, and two Handy Manny DVDs I got for free from Disney Movie Rewards. Leonard and Rachel also included some postcards, which Maggie and I enjoyed reading together.

Quotes

Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for 2011 July