Be Back Soon

I've been in Utah for Thanksgiving and I'm still here.
I'll probably not have time to blog until I get home. Then there will be a MASSIVE post on the goings on...

7 Things...Tagged

I had a hard time starting this...then I couldn't stop at 7. So here's a list of random facts about me.

1. I love to read and have recently decided I truly use it as an escape--the characters and their lives saturate every facet of my life while I'm reading their story.

2. Patrick added this fact: I'm a better cook than I think I am. This might be his attempt to get me to cook for him more. Poor guy does most of the family cooking.

3. I've not worked since moving to CO so I bet most of my every day associates don't know that I graduated with a degree in finance and worked in the tech industry as an analyst before becoming a SAHM. Now I just putz about and attend Mommy & Me events.

4. My two front teeth were broken in a small playground accident when I was quite young and I've had veneers/crowns since. I wonder what my smile would have looked like with my natural teeth.

5. I obsessively q-tip my ears. Always have. My mother obsessively warns me not to. I obsessively q-tip Maggie's ears now too. She loves it. And my mom warns me not too.

6. I've recently discovered what, apparently, everyone else already knew about me--I'm a homebody. hm.

7. I love vampires. Anything to do with vampires will draw me in. Yes, that makes me an unabashed FAN of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There, I said it.

8. I despise surprises. I truly do.

9. I have a deep desire to write. Yes, a book. No, I won't. Ever. This makes me a little sad.

10. Most people know this about me but I rarely shave my legs which is not ok on any level because I'm extremely hairy.

11. Much to Karla's dismay, I eloped. In Reno. Classy. I don't regret avoiding the "all eyes on me" feeling, the big dress, etc. but I sometimes wish I'd had a beautiful cake and a fantastic photographer. But having a good marriage makes it all ok.

12. I have no patients for yoga and prefer faster, more intense forms of exercise which is odd considering how generally slow I prefer the rest of my life.

13. In high school I worked at a candy kiosk at the local mall--The Sugar Shack. (We had an old fashioned taffy pull.) This is where I developed and refined my sweet tooth. Every Halloween I buy all of my favorite candy bars in excess expecting lots of leftovers for me. As the kids come and the basket starts to empty I think to myself, "they're taking all of my candy!".

14. I'm hyper-sensitive and get my feelings hurt a whole lot.

15. My method of fighting with someone? The silent treatment. Julie tells me I've done this since I was a small child.

16. I have a dent in my left thigh. I don't know where it came from or what causes it. I can even find the dent through jeans--its big and obvious. I'm self-conscious of it when in a swim suit.

17. I almost always overreact.
18. I'm very cynical and have a hard time believing anything--especially if it involves statistics. If there's one little thing I learned from all my statistics classes in college it's that they are so terribly easy to manipulate.

19. Every time I go to the nail salon I think the Asian employees are talking about me.

20. I love everything about Sharpie markers. I love the smell most of all.

21. I take reusable bags to the grocery store and drive a gas guzzling SUV. I feel guilty about it.

22. I'm an embarrassing over-sharer. It gets worse if there's a lag in conversation.

Babble and Tears

That's a burp cloth on her head she found her room.

Here's a video of her babbling/reading. She bursts into tears in the middle--maybe teething??

Knitting Class

I signed up for a knitting class--Make Your Own Christmas Ornament--at a Boulder yarn store. I think if they had displayed a sample of the ornament I would NOT have signed up for the class.

This is the result:

I think my entire upper body was cramped up from the strain of working with what cannot possibly be called yarn, but thread, on super slippery aluminum needles. I came home in pain with cross eyes and a headache with two strange looking things I doubt I'll put on my tree...

I had visions of doing something like this:

Or this:

Both of these would have worked for me. Oh, well. Another time.

Weekend Review: Fondue, B-Day Party, and Dancing

Most of Friday was spent preparing for the Crapo's to come over for a fondue dinner. Since I'm extra lazy these days there was a lot of house cleaning to do. Maggie stayed out of my way by getting in the tote that holds diapers and wipes. I didn't take many pictures of the dinner. Fondue requires constant attention. It was VERY tasty though. Afterward I snapped this of the girls. It was a great night. Good food, good friends, fun games. Even the kids were in a great mood. They played peacefully together most of the dinner giving the adults a relaxing moment or two.
Saturday was the big Ohio State vs. Michigan football game. You can breathe easy--the Buckeyes won. Later that day we headed to our neighbors house to celebrate Owens second birthday. Here he is with his mom (my walking partner Marisa) and his truck decorated cake.There were lots of people there yet all the good shots of Maggie are of her alone.

Sunday morning Maggie was looking so sweet in her little footy pj's. I turned on some music and picked her up to dance. She immediately curled up in my arms and nestled her head on my shoulder and let me dance her around the kitchen. Every time I twirled or dipped she would do a soft giggle or coo. Oh, my!! I was in heaven. It was so dang sweet!

When I go to Coscto I usually end up with a lot of boxes. I stack them inside one another. This stack also had a bag with handles:

Yesterday we hit the Gobble Gobble Story Time at the mall. Maggie has somehow turned into an insatiable social butterfly. I couldn't keep her in one place. Can you find her in the pic? Her back is turned to the camera as she takes off to make some new friends.

Afterwards, Julie and I took the kids to the play area since it was quite clear they were not done playing.
This is such a sweet photo of Julie and Luke!
The play area was very crowded so Maggie ended up on one of the smaller, more boring "rocks" to avoid getting squished by the bigger and MUCH more aggressive kids.

Play Date with Luke & Julie

I don't know why it takes me so long to get Maggie out of her pj's every morning. But since the weather has turned, we've been putting her in some very soft, sweet little footie's. Don't ya just LOVE footie's??
I did finally manage her out of the pj's so we could meet Julie and Luke for a play date. So much fun!
Maggie zeroed in on the swing and spent most of the time in it. Julie was really great about letting her play in it. She even helped Maggie load up on stuffed animals too!
Here's Luke showing off his walking abilities.
And here he is asking Maggie to please get OUT of his swing and play.

Cozy Spot to Play

Maggie somehow got into her toy basket without tipping it over and spent about 30 minutes in there going through her flashcards. Patrick was fixing food in the kitchen and every few minutes he could hear her name something.....banana, cock-a-doodle, fish, meow, etc.

Mommy and Maggie Pic

I love her happy face in this!

Weekend Review: Parade Fun

We brought the tricycle our neighbors gave us into the house. Maggie is still a little small for it but she still hops on and walks it around the kitchen island.

Saturday morning we went to our town's Veterans Parade. It was VERY cool and had a good turn out. They had a black hawk helicopter and a couple of jets fly over. Maggie only caught the helicopter because it was so low (and slow). During the parade Patrick informed me that he could have (and was ASKED!) to participate and walk in the parade. Uh, hello! I didn't even know there was a parade until I read a local mom's blog! I was more than a little mad at him for not participating. Next year it's gonna be mandatory.

After running some errands we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas on tv while eating dinner. I thought it a bit odd that this was airing on tv a good three weeks before Thanksgiving but we enjoyed it all the same.

By the way, have you had the vegan pumpkin mousse from Whole Foods? Holy COW it's good. Even Patrick liked it! He said it put him in the mood for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal. Me too.

Patrick has now become obsessed with his stamp collection. Every time I turn around he's at the kitchen table working on it. Maggie bugs him a lot so we went to Target and got him a craft table to set up in his office....I'm a little worried he'll start blowing off meetings and work assignments to "stamp"....

With Patrick busy working on his stamps, Maggie is left to be entertained. She makes herself helpful in the kitchen.

Purses and Finger Puppets

I've posted before about how much Maggie loves playing with my shoes. Now she seems to have picked up on my love of purses. I rarely carry a purse--just a big old diaper bag--but she somehow found my stash.

Patrick is teaching Maggie exactly what a finger puppet is. She's learning that it belongs on a finger. Here she found one and had her dada demonstrate.

Morning Shake

Every morning Patrick makes a breakfast shake for us ("us" now includes Maggie who simply can't be left out).

When you open the fridge to get the shake ingredients she gets in.

We let her drink out of our glass. She gets mad when it's my turn to have a sip. Don't ya love that shake mustache?

The recipe? Ha! Patrick NEVER uses recipes for anything. He dumps soft tofu, soy milk, banana, and whatever frozen or fresh fruit we have into the blender. It's very precise and scientific.

Jam Packed Day

Yesterday was an unusually busy one. After I put Maggie down for her morning nap I headed over to my neighbors house for a scrapbook session. Don't worry--Maggie was not left alone in the house--Patrick was there. I was able to get quite a bit done which usually never happens.

After that I came racing home to spend the day with my friend Julie and her stinking adorable son Luke. I have a video of Maggie and Luke HERE.

We ran all sorts of errands. Here are some pictures of the kids around town.

I came racing home from that in time to have Micaela and Addy over for dinner. Whenever we get together it's a flurry of conversation to make sure we get everything out. Good times. The kids were hysterical but I didn't take even one picture!

I dropped into bed praying Maggie would sleep better. She complied--sort of. She only woke up a FEW times...