Back to School

I found that my diploma arrived this morning, it was sitting on our porch. Then I realized I didn't get the mail yesterday and it might have possibly been there for 2 days. Probably not though.
This is the first fall that I have not been getting ready for school and I kind of miss it. I like the part in "You've Got Mail" when they discuss bouquets of sharpened pencils. Buying school supplies, going to new classes and learning new things have always defined fall for me and I believe there is a feeling in the air that defines 'back to school' for me and I feared I wouldn't get it this year. Fortunately, today I was driving around and decided to switch CD's. The random CD that I chose to put in was titled, "From Jethro, Aug '07" I thought nothing of it but when the first song started playing it instantly took me back to that going back to school vibe because this was the very mix CD I was listening to last year when school started again. I remembered driving to school and hoping for parking, looking for Beetle in the halls or giving her a ride to her car, I remember dreading my first class (because the prof was ridiculous). It was great. Thanks J-ro.

Recipes that Don't Work - part the first

Just thought I'd give you all a heads up about some recipes that don't work.

- Improvised Muddy Buddies -

1 box of Crispix
1/2 cup of Butter
something close to a cup of chocolate chips, possibly semi-sweet but there might be some milk or dark mixed in there.
1/2 cup of Peanut Butter
1 teas. vanilla
1 1/2 cups of Powdered Sugar

Pour the Crispix into a bowl only just big enough to contain it all without spilling.
Microwave butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter for 1 1/2 minutes, then realize that the original muddy buddies recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of butter. Try to pour out the extra melted butter and add more chocolate chips because you're not sure you put in a whole cup in the first place. Add vanilla. Microwave continually until it smells scorched.
Pour mixture over cereal, stirring as much as possible, spilling handfuls because you didn't pick a big enough bowl in the first place. Eventually give up, leaving huge conglomerate chunks of weird chocolate and cereal mixture. Pour the mixture into a plastic grocery bag because you don't have any quart size ziplocs.
Discover that you are out of powdered sugar... Scramble around for something similar in density and sweetness...not cocoa...not granulated sugar...not cinnamon...Hot Cocoa Powder! Find a half empty Stephens Chocolate Raspberry Cocoa tin and pour it in the grocery bag then shake until well coated. After pouring it all back into the bowl sprinkle some granulated sugar on top hoping that it will get rid of the bitter aftertaste.

Don't Enjoy!

Inauguration

So I just returned from my first ever trip to Costco as a member. Wow. I feel so grown up.
I feel like I've been inducted into a Mother's of America program where you pay this company where you take your kids so that they will misbehave, you can spend a lot of money for a lot of extraneous items and where you can stand in line after walking a half mile around the store.

I managed to only spend $75, (on 7 items) but that was for 2 meals that we're having friends over to share with us.

I don't know what to say about it but it was a rather bizarre outing for me to do with only Anna for company. (She was just interested in eating my new membership card).

Are You Smarter Than a Cat?

In addition to the myriad of canines on our street, there is next door an exceedingly bold cat. He climbs over our fence and poops in the backyard. He climbs on cars - I even saw him exploring an open trunk. He left a dead robin on the sidewalk in front of our house just long enough for me to see it and get totally grossed out.
I appreciate cats who wander and eat all the mice, but I'd rather not have them playing (read: pooping) in Anna's future sandbox. So Ben and I have decided to face the challenge - and teach that cat not to mess with us.

So far in my research I have found some hopeful home remedies

• Spray with water - cats hate being wet, so get them wet at every chance
• landscape with pricklyness - mulch with pinecones, lay chicken wire down on top of the soil
• use cat deterrent plants - Lavender, rue(?) and Pennyroyal(?)
• put mothballs, ammonia or cayenne pepper out (some of those might be lethal)

So I'm thinking first of ways to make it less appetizing to jump our fence, maybe some gothic spikes or something

give us your suggestions, or pinecones, if you have them.

The Generals Agree

We moved into our house last night. I don't know if I have much to say about it.
it still smells like dog. (that might be psychological, before I knew that the previous owner had a dog, I didn't notice any smell)
I can't believe we are actually homeowners
It's hard to get used to the idea of having two bathrooms.

We painted all yesterday morning, we turned Anna's room from a dark blue-grey into a pleasant sage green with one cream wall
And we turned the master bedroom from a puky brown to a less puky brown with one cream wall.

We are running out of cupboards in the kitchen and are thus looking for a stylish bar/hutch that won't break the bank.
Right now I'm waiting for the Sears guys to come deliver and install the fridge and laundry appliances.

All in all, I'd say we're pretty dang happy.

Here's a picture of Anna to keep y'all happy

ps. I still can't find the box of bathroom stuff.

I'm on Fire and I Dance!*

CARNIVALE
was the theme for Ben's summer work party at Thanksgiving Point.
It was great, we could go anywhere in TP for free (or discounted movies) so we went to the Farm Country and got some pictures of Anna with baby goats.
then she tried to eat a cow

Then we went over and got the party started. They had carnival rides, clowns and booths everywhere with free food and drink (churros, cotton candy, snowies, coke products, popcorn)

almost as soon as entering, there was a baby conference with Maliya, they are two weeks apart and both very 'petite' though Anna was a little jealous of her head of hair.Then we all went around and found a baby friendly ride - the COW TRAIN!
Then Anna got sad because we wouldn't give her any cotton candy or churros. Or hamburgers, or cookies.
There was a lot of food, and we had fun hanging out with some of Ben's old friends who he got jobs for, and their babies. Which led to ...Another Baby Conference! Anna, Maliya and Daniel, in age order.
Then the camera ran out of batteries, so we left. Actually, Anna was ready to go, they weren't giving out naps at the party.



*if you can tell me where I got that line, you will get a pat on the head.

Anna's Video Diary

As Anna was playing on the floor this afternoon, I thought I should get some video of her attempts at crawling, she's getting her legs beneath her but forgets to move her arms, so it's pretty slow going and a lot of face plants.

My attempts at getting it on video were thwarted as Anna saw the computer on the ground and her desire to type took hold.


So this video is her crawling over to the computer


The second video was actually taken entirely by her, she pushed the play and stop button herself.



The third video was started by her, but she moved the mouse so I had to push stop. It's not totally interesting, but you get some good close ups of her hair and eyes.

Silent Plea

If someone wanted to buy our computer this week, so we don't have to move it to our new house, that would be great.

$200-$250

Thanks

Chat Stew

As was clearly evident in a previous post, Anna is quite a computer aficionado, in fact, the keyboard is one of her favorite toys now. She has typed emails to her grandma's and chats occasionally with Ben. Today she started chatting with my friend Marci. Marci knew all the right questions to ask, Anna considered carefully how to answer each.

me: tbg dfs gh;djsj9j.8u

from, anna

Marci: oh hi anna!

how are you?

2:57 PM me: b kdwtn n bgu gnbv n

Marci: oh fascinating. what did you do today?

me: j vmmmmm m

Marci: fun!

2:58 PM so how are things with that boy next door?

me: fxd c zccw

o oo

Marci: ooh scandal!

me: ccws iu

2:59 PM /a,wrs'xc i8zzzcbv dbb

3:00 PM Marci: well just remember who you are and what you stand for

Thanks Aunt Marci.

Consistency

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, I don't have any skills that way, but I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to organization and consistency.
As we've discussed earlier, in Toniland, everything would be on shelves and hooks, only similar things together, no mixing, in order to prevent confusion.

Unfortunately, we do not live in Toniland. yet.

In coloring books, when I was younger, I never liked mixing mediums, like stickers and crayons, or even markers and crayons. I thought it gave it all a very unorganized look. That's why I have such a hard time scrapbooking now. I set off doing a bunch of scrapbooking with the supplies I have, I'm okay with mixing mediums now, but they styles are what I have a hard time with. I can't just go to a craft store and buy some highly stylized chipboards or rub-ons or diecuts (a pretty gruesome term if you think about it) because it would ruin any vibe I might have had with the pages I have already made, and I don't want to go through my scrapbooks later and have an obvious break in which I use super fancy things for awhile until I run out then go back to the plain and precious. It just doesn't work that way. So I either have to stop scrapbooking altogether, or buy everything and try not to forget how everything works together, or just deal with whatever crappy style I have now and abandon all hope for having cute pages.

A Revelation

I have come to believe that mothers, when required, can carry infinite number of miscellaneous items.
the other day I went to the mall (with Anna), I stopped at the food court for a hot dog and Orange Julius. After I paid I figured out how to carry:
Car seat (with sleeping child)
hot dog (in shoddy paper tray)
Orange Julius
napkins
knife and fork
Diaper bag.
and I made it all the way to the table without dropping, spilling or waking.

Last night we went out to sit on the lawn, when we got tired I picked up:
Wiggly baby
toy blocks
giant outside blanket
and was able to keep everything up off the ground.

So, here's to motherhood and my new found appreciation for the "Responsible Woman"

Mac Daddy and Mac Mini

They say you have to start 'em young...

Baby's Busy Day

You think you can trust a baby...
But then they get all mobile on you.

Where I put her:

Where she ended up within 5 minutes:

Also, because she was wearing her Red Sox onesie, when it came time to eat some squash-rice cereal, Ben knew just which bib she should wear.
(Is "bib" short for something?)This was a homemade Christmas present from Aunt Jan.

Delirium

This is why you should get enough sleep, you don't want to end up like this.

Smurfette?

I know some people see it as an abhorrent vice, but I finally figured out that the secret to productivity in my life is having the TV on. I always knew I had this gift, but it wasn't until I had a Relief Society teacher tell us she had the same problem that I felt able to fully accept it.

I spent yesterday morning trying to avoid turning the TV on, but then I realized that I wasn't getting anything done, and that's not for lack of things to do. So I decided to cut my losses and turn the TV on, at least for background noise. I spent the next few hours doing dishes, working on my quilt and tidying the house. Other days I've used the TV to get caught up on scrapbooking. The only thing more inspiring is watching a movie - without commercials I feel infinitely more productive.

Oman, Omen!

I'm a pretty big believer in fate, omens and signs.

It's how I get around making decisions myself.

For instance:
House buying is a HUGE decision. If it turns out that we have to make a final decision between two houses, house A is mostly nice but needs some fixing up and house B that is nearly perfect but the faults we find in it are not at all found in house A, how would we make that decision?

Signs - Anna has cried in the realtors office for every visit EXCEPT when we went to make a final offer on house B.

We couldn't find the ward building for house B - we looked at 3 different buildings in the immediate area and it wasn't any of them.

House A, when we visited it, had a very spacious room dedicated to sewing and almost all the beds in the house had beautiful homemade quilts on them.

The current owners of house A have a potbellied pig. - not really a sign, just cool.
Not that any of these have actually swayed me one way or another, but in a dead heat, I might possibly depend on signs and coincidence to make a decision.

Some People

Some people, when they decide to buy a house, look at dozens of houses over weeks and months to find the perfect house in the perfect location with the perfect lighting.

Other people, when they decide to buy a house, look at one house, offer to buy it, and when they are rejected, look at another house, and offer to buy it, and when they are rejected, look at another house, and offer to buy it, but they are finally serious - it is just right

Would you call this the goldilocks method?

or the gaines method?

The ANNA show!

Tonight an event occurred that I've been waiting for for over 4 months,

dun-dun-dun.

Anna tried rice cereal.

I was really excited, she showed little emotion - then tried to eat her bib.

Let's go to the video.


That pretty much sums it up. Not too exciting, but baby worship is our game around here.

PS. her sleeper is super cute but I only found it last week and she'll only get to wear it twice because it's already too tight.

She might, actually be, a contortionist

This baby is the rollingest thing you ever did see. She has perfected this move, but she needs to work on getting back on to her back, which she used to do, but probably discarded as these new talents emerged.
I finally got her on video for any Grandmas or Aunties who don't usually get to see her.


On the 4th of July we went on a walk with my parents and used the stroller they have for such occasions when Grandbabies need to go on walks but their parents forgot the stroller. She was just barely able to lay down in the bottom so it was like a pram.
On our way home she decided she wanted to look around and so, without being caught in the act, she managed to turn herself over in the stroller so she could poke her head out or at least through the leg holes.

Happy 4th - Artifacts for All

Happy Holiday all -
Independence Day, is probably the only major holiday that is celebrated ALL DAY. This is probably due to the season, but think about it, most Holidays that we celebrate generally focus around one or two events, on the 4th there is a parade in the morning, BBQ's and softball during the day, and fireworks at night. It's ALL DAY.
That's all, no real revelation of truth, just conversation.

In other news, it is being reported that archaeologists have discovered the boyhood home of George Washington in Virginia.

This will undoubtably lead to a new historical theme park for which they will charge $45 per person to look at replicas of slave quarters - the homestead was called Ferry Farm.

When did they lose the location of George Washington's boyhood home? It seems like around 1800, they would have thought - "hey, we should keep that place from being burnt down or something." but they didn't.


Also in the news, members of the FLDS in Texas have launched a website where you can buy some of their homemade clothes. Apparently all the attention they got from the raid has garnered some notice from the fashion world. Either that, or it will be a great Halloween costume.