one mango tree

lub

2012-02-16T12:44:00.002-05:00

"lub" is how we're saying it this week, our pockets a'bulge with kleenex.

(my valentine shows his lub by taking on the majority of little-nose-wiping
since snot is my nemesis.)

(enough about snot)
on to lub day.

lub day eve family card making: (pardon the lighting. . .)

jane made a special card for elliot, her true lub. she told me earnestly, "we're going to marry for ever and make all our dreams come true."
she dictated this card: "dear elliot, BE MINE. have lots of hugs and kisses, from jane."
excellent.

lub around the house:

pillows and bookmarks for little lubbies:

hearts:

including one of malan's love notes from a secret admirer this week. it says, "to: malan, from: you know who. here is a hint. i start with e. you are nice. you can read."
(caleb bristled a bit at his little girl's first love letter, but had to give the lad credit for prioritizing personality and brains.)

lub in the kitchen:
it seems i'll have no need to go out to eat ever again because caleb has mastered all my favorites.
this go 'round it was fresh spring rolls (2 dipping sauces) and thai pineapple chicken curry.
what?! so so good.

my dippy little card seemed a pittance after that feast, but tradition is tradition.
i dedicated this card: "to my valentine, because when life gets crappy, you make me happy."
i know. i'm expecting contact from hallmark.

would you like a peek?
of course you would.

no, heart girl does not have a mustache. i just stink at art.

i guess valentine's day can seem contrived. but i tell you what, in our frantically busy life right now, it was SOOOO nice to have an excuse handed to us all to pamper each other. and it was sweet my friends, so sweet.

to all of you:
i value your niceness and reading skills.
have lots of hugs and kisses.
lub, kate

more love here and here and here and here

winter weekend

2012-01-31T00:03:00.006-05:00

it began like most weekends, with one, then three. . .

. . .then four babes piled in our bed.

later, a little music. . .

some art. . .

some eats. . .

and a few fairies, as per usual.

a well-rounded, bountifully enjoyed weekend by my measure.
though clearly, as witnessed by anyone (hello neighbors) who stopped by today, we did not get much cleaning done.

worth it.

hope you, too, have a mess to show for your weekends' revelries.

i've seen it both ways

2012-01-28T16:50:00.003-05:00

emme prefers. . .

to wear her bib. . .

as. . .

a cape.

super.

also of import:
emme's hair is now long enough to sport a single pony and bow,
further discouraging unobservant folk from calling her a boy.
super duper!

buddy the elf sleeps in my bed

2012-01-24T00:35:00.005-05:00

bit of a self-indulgent post, really. but down the way, i want the girls to remember how their dad
snuck into our garage-turned-santa's workshop during the weeks preceding christmas and, with
a pile of wood and his own bare hands, made their little dreams come true.

and then how he snuck onto my pinterest board and with his own bare hands
(and some help from gifted seamstress mom w.) made my little dreams come true.

i'm beginning to be sure there is nothing that man can't do.
well lucky, lucky me.

the annual loss of reason leading to the attempt to take a family photo

2012-01-19T22:30:00.009-05:00

each year with the crisp smells of autumn that i cherish so well comes another, subtler stench. it wafts up my nose and prickles its way into my brain as a single thought: "why not take a family picture at this lovely time of year?"

outfits are assembled, naps and feedings carefully arranged, bribes negotiated,
tripods erected (we are, by necessity, cheap), and dreams of a christmas card sent by thanksgiving are born.

and the results are in:

i know what you're thinking. "will you LOOK at kate! she is a picture taking MACHINE. she barely flinches from frame to frame despite the bedlam all around her!"
yet if you look closely there, in my eyes, you'll see:
the dying of that feeble flame called hope.

i jest.
it's all worth it, because i'm so glad to have this:

big thanks to sis-in-law lisa for manning the tripod/camera and sis wendy for her mad ps skilz.

and a few of my honeys:

if you're still with us, and since we did NOT send a christmas card by thanksgiving (does seem a bit redundant these days thanks to social networking), here are a few bullet points on the wilson clan:

•emme loves olives and beans and is obsessed with boxes and sitting in them
•olivia likes pentagons and string cheese and wants to go to dora's house
•jane is kicking arthritis in the joints (doing well) and gets love notes from classmates daily
she enjoys meat and hearing stories from her parents' childhoods
•malan loves raspberries and her friends, likes to invite people to church,
and wants to meet a real fairy
•kate is getting the house ready to sell, would like more sleep,
and would also like to meet a real fairy
•caleb graduates in may with his m.d.
re: residency- we'll find out where in mid-march and if all goes well, we will be moving in june to:
dallas TX, memphis TN, philly PA, shreveport LA, chicago IL, or danville PA,
unless we match here in the burgh.

that's about it for the wilson update.
thanks for reading. and for not smoking.

great art

2012-01-18T13:31:00.012-05:00

jane has entered a phase with her art that in years to come i believe will be referred to as her "flippin' awesome period." here are a few of her most recent works:

"portrait of the artist's mother, otherwise known as m♥m."

the number of fingers is stylistically exaggerated, likely to represent the artist's mother's attempts to multi-task. the hairstyle, however, is not exaggerated.

from the artist's "studies with mice" series-

"lonely mouse on sunny day"

and "kissing mice on sunny day"

from her "birds" series-

"red bird"

and "birds on a walk"

and finally, a rare self-portrait of the artist, entitled "if i had antlers i would use them to bird feeder"

it would take some brave birds. . .

while we're on the subject of jane and greatness, here are a few choice jane moments i'll certainly hold dear-

a conversation between jane and the elderly neighbors we stopped by to visit:

jane: "where are your kids?"
nice old lady: "we don't have any kids."
jane: "are they dead?"
me: (elbow jane in ribs) "jane!"
nice old lady: (chuckle) "no, they're not dead."
jane: "then, can i have their toys?"
me: "jane!!"
jane: "if they're not dead, then where are they?"
nice old man: "i'm shooting blanks, kid."
jane: "what's that?"
me: "well! webettergetoutofyourhair. thanks for letting us stop by!"

(during our 20 minute visit, jane also downed 2 bottles of their water and asked to use their bathroom three times.)

finally, jane on a car ride to our friends' house for dinner on sunday:

jane: "mom, malan is skeedooshing me. (kung fu panda style) stop skeedooshing me, malan!"

caleb and i then proceed to start laughing because it sounds like she is saying "seducing me" and then we just couldn't help sending a simultaneous double skeedoosh in her direction, which sent her over the edge:

jane: "stop it! i'm going to BUST you up! in REAL LIFE! i'm going to spit on ALL of you!
plbbhhtt! phhbbt! plllbbtht!"

we really did feel bad at this point for goading her on, so we called a truce. plus, caleb could hardly see to drive he was laughing so hard.

oh my, oh my, we love our spicy little jane, her art, and her moments of comedic genius.

play time

2012-01-15T16:58:00.006-05:00

*we've disabled comments. see here for details.*

my favorite mornings are the rare ones where the sun is shining through our back window and i have nowhere i have to be except on my living room floor in my jammies with my two homegirls.

"don't jump, piggie!"

olivia arrived in the nick of time to talk piggie down, but then accidentally bumped him over the edge.

poor pig.

it looked like he was going to be ok. . .

. . .until, tragically, the building collapsed on him.

with such mayhem afoot, emme was more than content to just watch from her new #1 top favorite place to be: in a box.

"you pushed the piggie."
"no, you did."

too many mornings find us rushing off to this or that, usually more stress and less peace.
i plan to keep more of them looking like this one.

emme takes off

2012-01-10T20:44:00.002-05:00

*we've disabled comments. see here for details.*

grandma w.'s entry made a good practice runway for little fancy feet emme.

at first maintaining mobility only through great feats of grit and gusto. . .

. . .bouts of boisterous balancing. . .

. . .and eager equilibriul efforts. . .

. . .emme bit her tongue resolutely, breathed out, went for it. . .and nailed it. attagirl.

not to be outdone by one who still requires spoon feeding, olivia and jane were compelled to demonstrate their superior bipedalism.

yes, very nice. well done all.

no comments

2012-01-10T01:07:00.001-05:00

hi readers and friends. so, i've decided i'm turning off comments for this blog. this wasn't easy for me to decide as i've loved the feedback from so many of you and all the kind thoughts and words have truly been such a boost.

i have a couple of reasons that led to this decision. of course i always want to comment on your great posts and in order to do that sincerely i read every post in my reader and try to give feedback. ultimately, i feel like i'm spending too much time away from what is most important right now, namely, my own little family. maybe (certainly) you have more self-control than i do, but this is what i felt i needed to do.

my other reason is this: i continue to blog because i greatly value the record it is of our family and the motivation it gives me to remember the moments in our lives and capture them. i want it to be an honest record. i think i will write more freely and edit myself less with comments off.

that's it.

i certainly plan to continue to check in on your lives and hope you'll stop by here to see what we're up to, but as i read somewhere, "friends don't let friends spend time leaving courtesy comments." heh heh. now you can come by and read when you feel like it and not just when you feel you need to comment. i hope you'll forgive my absence in your comments and know that you continue to motivate, inspire, and cheer me through your posts! this will be the last post with comments enabled (except for any major breaking news posts, cause that would just be mean, right?) so feel free to say hi or goodbye if you like, and you can always reach me at the email address listed under the "founders" link in the blog header. thank you so much for your sweet words over the years, you have been so good to me.

sarah

2012-01-08T22:58:00.006-05:00

many of you have heard about the passing of my friend sarah songer-smith. i was so grateful to
be in utah for her funeral, to be able to remember her life and to be with her sweet family. i feel like there were many tender mercies from the Lord surrounding her passing and i feel so blessed to have known her. just wanted to share a few photos of this lovely friend here on my blog. you can visit this site for more from her sweet family.

in costume for our performance of "fiddler on the roof"

sarah and i looking triumphant in paris:

stuffing pastry in our faces in austria

crossing the english channel

getting ready for a canoe ride

sarah, you were such a loving person and wonderful friend. i love you and miss you.

coocoo for tutus

2012-01-05T00:35:00.004-05:00

i have a cousin named ashley. she is blond and gorgeous and also one of the kindest and most positive people i know. she's been that way since i can remember (like since when i was 2.) she also has lyme disease. she contracted this from a tick while serving as a missionary for our church in boston. this disease is a complete bugger to treat and involves incredible amounts of pain. she is a wife and a mom, and has been so very sick for so many years. i admire her strength and perseverance more than i can say.

as both a means of physical therapy and fundraising for her extensive medical costs, she makes the most beautiful, perfect tutus.

they are sparkly and fluffy and soft and come with silky satin ribbon wrapped waists and are packaged so sweetly. we were lucky enough to get our hands on some for Christmas and my girls have loved them so much already.

if you're looking for something very special for a little lady in your life, please take a look at ashley's site: coocoofortutus.com

all about e.

2011-12-29T17:45:00.003-05:00

emme turned one.

she can look coy.

she can make a mess.

she can stuff her own birthday cupcake in her face.

she gets lots of kisses because she's just that great.

and in honor of her birthiversary, she did this:

little e., we love you. happy birthday, and way to be flippin' awesome.

Christmas 2011. . .

2011-12-28T02:49:00.004-05:00

. . .in pictures. because like you, i'm too tired to write much.
it certainly was merry and bright, and i'm so glad to have spent it with my besties.

the trimmings

2011-12-05T14:43:00.005-05:00

we'll be heading west for Christmas, so we're hoping to enjoy as much of the season as we can in our own little home before we go.

hope you'll enjoy some tidbits of our preparations:

malan's homemade snowfellow, jane's Christmas terrarium, and our tiny snowy forest-

sparklies-

snowflakes (caleb had an undiscovered talent) and stuff-

wooly things-

and a 12 minute project: i had a yucky old faded autumn wreath from years ago and gave it a little spray paint and glitter facelift.
it told me it feels years younger.

if you've made it through all these photos, i have a little treat for you:

a "best moment of the holidays so far" moment:

as caleb was walking out of his shift at the girls' school holiday store, a door down the hall slammed open and a young fellow waddle-ran out, double-arm-crotch-hold in place, panic faced, yelling ahhhhhhh!!!! the whole way to the nearest potty.

my christmas wish is that he made it in time.
and that next time he plans ahead.

merry merry preparations to you!

ghosts of a Christmas passed here.

thanks and stuff

2011-11-28T02:09:00.005-05:00

we shared a lovely thanksgiving with my brother mike and his family in virginia. every time we visit virginia i'm a little more inclined to move there as soon as possible.

i have much to be thankful for.
at the moment, i'm thankful emme decided to learn how to get herself up
(and down) the stairs this weekend.

we have a tried and true method for helping our kinder learn this important life skill:
we accidentally let them tumble down the stairs shortly after they learn to crawl.

this provides both a lesson in depth perception and a healthy fear of stairways.
(never had a repeat offender.)
within a couple of months they're ready to give them a go again with a new determination to
not get injured this time.

judge away, stepford parents.
it works like a charm (unintentionally) every time,
as long as you can handle a little well-earned parental guilt. which i can.

hope your thanksgiving was groovy. (good + gravy)

last bit

2011-11-17T22:04:00.008-05:00

i was confronted suddenly by yellow maple leaves against a blue sky the other day and it made me quite unspeakably happy.

i think emme noticed as well.

we all spent the rest of the day absorbing the last little bit of fall.

winter, i'm not ready for you yet. please hold off a little longer.

toothless

2011-11-03T23:39:00.006-04:00

yet another milestone being shattered by this young lady, who lost her first tooth last week.
she seems pretty happy about it.

and a few classic jane moments for you to mull over during your weekend:

missionaries at dinner: " 'and so we see that by small and simple things, are great things brought to pass.'
taking the sacrament each week is an example of that."
jane (with big eyes): "yeah, like it's a really small piece of bread and a tiny little cup of water."

jane, on her way up the aisle to the stand for her primary program, crouched over, gave me two thumbs up,
and whispered intensely as she went past: "i'll make you proud, ok!?"

then yesterday, as we were drawing pictures and writing words that start with "n,"
jane, ever sensitive to others, held this picture to her chest before showing it to me and said,
"this is Nathan. he has glasses, but DON'T laugh."

i tried really hard, but i couldn't help myself.

sure love that ever serious, always hilarious jane.

have a great weekend.

project runway: halloween!

2011-10-31T10:55:00.003-04:00

good grief, i love this holiday. and i decided to make the girls' costumes again, which apparently means i decided i didn't want adequate sleep in the month of october. but i did have fun doing it, and i did get caught up on my npr podcasts in the middle of the night.

anyway, i give you-

hermione granger:
(i love that malan picked this! smart, lovely, talented, strong. just like malan.)

alice in wonderland:
(it cracks me up so much to see jane like this.)

little red:
(this was maybe the most fun to make because olivia was SO excited about it and
told everyone we met all month "i'm be red riding hood.")

little bones:
(this one i just embellished a little. how i love her toothy grin!)

i remember many a time my mom staying up late to sew things for me while she listened to books on tape. thanks mom. i sure loved all those costumes and prom dresses. i hope you enjoyed it like i do now. it's so rewarding for me to see the girls all decked out and happy.

that said, this may be the last year i do this for a while. i think it's time to simplify our life a bit. we'll see if i have to eat my words next halloween...

i sure am enjoying seeing all the great costumes you (family and friends) have come up with, too!
happy halloween!

our new roomie

2011-10-21T14:25:00.006-04:00

every night for the last little while (since we started trying to sleep train her roommate emme)
olivia has pitter-pattered her way into our room,
seeking a quieter place to sleep and dragging her quilt behind her.

at some point, for the sake of her own good night's sleep, we'll probably need to re-train her to stay in her bed all night.
but for now, it's kind of sweet to wake up to this little face each morning.

hope you get some sleep this weekend. we're headed here. cannot wait.

the party

2011-10-16T23:09:00.004-04:00

first you must know: i am opposed to birthday parties. i am a birthday scroodge. i am stingy. i want to share my girls' birthdays with no one and keep them all to myself. plus, i feel guilty making other kids' parents buy my kid presents.
but malan had her heart set on a friend party this year and chose a party over a family outing and/or more presents. so we partied.

she debated and researched online with me and finally settled on a theme. with a little pinterest assistance and several trips to the dollar store, we whipped up a pretty fun day.
here are some tidbits from malan's fairy birthday party:

we painted and decorated fairy treasure boxes, filled our own pixie dust bottles, sifted for "lost treasure" and used it to make fairy bracelets, and had some fairy themed snackeroos.

malan had the best time, and her friends are all very sweet (it was good to see that.)

a worthwhile event, all in all.

though when the parents arrived for pickup and found their little girls jumping off the furniture trying to spear ceiling balloons with bamboo fruit skewers, i realized i hadn't thought through everything as thoroughly as i should have. bad combination there.

p.s caleb used our air compressor to fill the balloons (the only way to go) and did all the food prep. what a stud.

for my part, i am working on my birthday scroodginess. i will honor birthdays in my heart and try to keep them all the year.

seven

2011-10-11T03:03:00.004-04:00

sweet malan, you were so excited for this birthday.

you counted the days, you prepared the menus: strudel for breakfast in bed, crepes with berries and creme for dinner.

you wanted a "nature cake" and you took your birthday wish oh so seriously.

of course, all my wishes are for all your wishes to come true.

we had fun today bandaging your and jane's dolls, who must have been through something horrible, with your new doll first aid kit:

malan: "oh no! what happened to you?"
jane: "i broke my arm and my finger and got lots of cuts on my face.
what happened to you?"
malan: "i broke my leg and sprained my ankle and got lots of cuts on my arms and legs.
i need an ice pack. oh look, here's one. do you want to borrow my crutches?"
jane: "no, thanks. you're the one with the broken legs."

sure love you, sweet, thoughtful, bright, creative, beautiful malan.
happy birthday.

happiness this week

2011-10-06T01:16:00.004-04:00

for olivia, it came in the form of a red balloon:

for jane, it was finding an old friend out in the yard who went missing last winter,
and fixing her up a dainty flower bed where she could recover from her ordeal.

for me, my cup pretty much runneth over after hearing this conversation earlier:

malan: "i like justin beaver."
jane: "no, i like justin beaver."
malan "no, i like justin beaver!"
jane: "no, I like justin beaver!!"
(giggle giggle giggle. repeat.)

if justin "beaver" could only be so lucky. . .

note to self: begin wilson girls' music education tomorrow.

insights

2011-10-03T00:43:00.004-04:00

(aside: is anyone else as burned out on blogging as i am? wow.
dear distant family: i will try to persevere a little longer.)

it was conference weekend. such a good weekend. loved staying home with my family. loved the words of hope and inspiration. besides the spiritual insights, here are a few familial ones:

emme is low maintenance. caleb is tired. i mean really tired, weary to the bone. this last year of school has been a doozy. last month up at 3 am and gone until after dinner each day, and not unusual for the year. so if he sits down for a minute he's a goner. mostly home this month (huzzah!) to study for boards. hoping to sneak in a few naps as well.

jane is concerned about fire safety. each day this week before she left for school she made a little basket full of her best things and said on her way out, "mom, this basket is right here by the door. so if the house burns down while i'm at school you can just grab it on your way out."

jane also enjoyed conference. when president monson said "hello!" she laughed for about 30 seconds and then added enthusiastically, "oh, i just LOVE that kind of guy!"

olivia is "looking good." (her words.)

malan helped me deck the house for halloween yesterday. she is such a mini me and i love it.

final insight: these are yummy. if i had known you could make donuts at home my life would have been very different up to this point. wow. try them?

(aside: please forgive lack of commenting etc., i'm reevaluating this blog thing. meaning, the hour or two a week i've spent in blog land is becoming harder to spare. i'm sure you can relate, and i won't be offended if you're less present here as well.)

the autumn post

2011-09-21T22:34:00.007-04:00

as autumn descends, i contemplate my last few weeks in this, the autumn of my twenties.
i've studied and traveled, married and multiplied.
and now, it seems, i enter. . .

my wreath making years.
call me donna reed, i've been domesticated.

if you find yourself likewise, perhaps you'll enjoy our autumnal domestic tidbits:

my take on a pinterest find (thanks for letting me mooch, katie j.)-

autumn blooms:
(i stole them from the side of the road. i don't even know if that's legal. i was just waiting for someone to jump out of their car and shout "hey! wildflowers are for everyone to enjoy, you selfish, selfish nature thief."
if it was wrong, i got my punishment in the form of the worst allergy attack of my life. i could hardly see out of my oozing eyes well enough to drive home and my dash and windshield now have a fine coating of what used to be on the inside of my nose.
the flowers and i have since made peace.)

my take on squash: (see it, don't eat it.)

leftover burlap. . .

and alas, i believe i am also entering the autumn of the adequate metabolism. so you betcha i'll be making every calorie count.
apple cider floats:
i used this recipe and was not disappointed one little bit.

truth be told, something about this time of year really does wake me up and make me want to
cook and create and fill our life with sweet sights and smells and memories.

trite, but true.

i love you, autumn. welcome, welcome.

this morning. . .

2011-09-13T23:39:00.005-04:00

i walked into emme and olivia's room to find o. using e.'s crib for her floor routine. . .

and emme standing, YES STANDING, practically nose diving out. how can it not have crossed my mind that it was time to move the mattress down?!
well, disaster averted. now emme's crib is furniture surfer safe.
it also just occurred to me to start brushing her teeth even though she sprouted her first pearly white nearly four months ago.
my poor neglected fourth child, is there a therapy fund i should be contributing to?

more thrift store love

2011-09-09T01:17:00.006-04:00

palm sander (thank you mother's day) + a little glaze (leftover paint mixed with water) + bun feet,
and the tacky thrift store pirate chest becomes. . .

. . .our new dress ups box.

and what do the wilson girls most like to dress up and pretend to be?

poor.

i may have said under my breath once that they don't have to pretend. ha ha.
of course, we really do have everything our little student budget hearts desire.
and when we don't, we can usually find it at the thrift store.

home girls

2011-09-05T00:12:00.005-04:00

the little ladies left behind at home have found a new love for each other...

they've also found...

a new love...

for playing...

under the sheets...

in their own little white fluffy world.

i've found a new love for the quiet, slow paced days at home with two happy sisters.

p.s i've also found that having only 2 kids around is like a superpower. i can do unimaginable feats of keeping the house clean for minutes at a time, and feats of grocery shopping.

first days

2011-09-01T21:31:00.006-04:00

malan headed off to first grade earlier this week. holy heck, hasn't she grown up over the summer?

on jane's last precious day before heading off to
all-day kindergarten, we:

oh i love that girl.

at the bus stop on jane's big day, malan was the perfect helpful big sister...

...while jane ran up to a fellow kindergartner and said/shouted,"hey, you want to be my friend?" i think she's going to be just fine. have fun little sweetie, the world is yours for the taking.

i am excited for my little scholars,
but man, it's a real kick in the gut sending them off all day.
looking forward to the long weekend with them all to myself.

come home soon, ladies. i'll be waiting for my hugs and kisses.

quiet mornings

2011-08-28T23:18:00.004-04:00

i like it best when we don't have anywhere we have to go...
when the house is still and one by one i hear the girls waking up.

someone (probably jane) maybe sleeps in a while...
we don't start chores or make breakfast.
we just talk some and play a little and wait for the day to get us going.

malan told me how sometimes she wakes up thinking about all the best days she's had and all
her favorite memories and how it makes her feel happy and a little sad at the same time.
quiet mornings make me feel that way, too.

childhood rite of passage

2011-08-24T23:07:00.005-04:00

there comes a day for every child, i think, where the little entrepreneur inside them
motivates a business venture of some sort. i remember my mother letting me set up a table at the end of my driveway to sell my unwanted toys. unfortunately, i had written the (exorbitant) prices for each item boldly across their fronts in permanent marker, so i didn't have many takers.

my girls were slightly more elegant in their approach:
a lovely tablecloth, a shade umbrella, handmade signs and dainty chairs.

the price was also right: a glass of pink lemonade and a sugar cookie for just 25 cents.

(they made sure to lure in their public by sampling the goods themselves.)

waiting...waiting...

ah! customers at last.

(i might have secretly bribed a couple, but once there was a crowd, others came out to join the fun.)

they did pretty well for themselves, and i'm so glad.
it's nice to see those little childhood hopes fulfilled.

A diagnosis

2011-08-16T22:35:00.006-04:00

caleb's dear dad and the girls' grandpa wilson has been diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma, a malignant brain tumor. he begins radiation treatment next week.

we love you, dad. all our thoughts and prayers are with you.

while we were away. . .

2011-08-09T01:27:00.004-04:00

this little beauty turned 5.

sweet jane, you have grown up so much in just one year. we love your sensitive heart, your passion, and compassion.

you are a shining, charming, lovely little soul and we love you forever.

the road home

2011-08-03T01:11:00.005-04:00

our view (out the widow of the car) during our 1,899 mile drive home:

goodbye utah, i love you-

hello wyoming, nice sky you have there-

nice corn, nebraska-

lovely iowa, you may have gotten yourself into my heart-

kicking up dust just south of chicago-

kid friendly clouds in indiana-

hi ohio, you cute little farmers-

what's this? rain and traffic? we must be close to home.

and hello there, pittsburgh. you're not quite as easy on the eyes as the rest of the
vast fertile nation we just crossed, but we like you anyway.

i had really psyched myself up for a rough ride with four kids and a road trip like this, but i tell you what, we had a wonderful time. the girls were abnormally congenial, emme pretty much just sucked on her toes for 30 hours, and caleb and i and chatted each other up for four days.
pretty flippin awesome.

and pretty good to be home.

oh utah. . .

2011-07-31T16:44:00.003-04:00

. . .she was so good to us.

2 years was too long to be away. utah, don't make yourself so scarce.

in the summer. . .

2011-06-29T00:15:00.006-04:00

we call it:

lunch.

dinner.

shower.

entertainment.

simple, sweet, soaky, silly, splendid summer. we cannot get enough.

because we're all sick. . .

2011-06-22T16:02:00.005-04:00

. . .we're staying home, staying in jammies, and staying close to our beds.

kind of (really) nice to be forced to slow down. but poor caleb was up most of the night with an ear ache. convenient that he could go in to school today and have that checked out since he's on his ENT rotation. did we tell you that's what he's settled on for residency? so nice to have that pinned down, and i'm sure we will take full advantage of him in that line of work.

getaway?

2011-06-16T23:31:00.008-04:00

yes we did. and wow, it was great to spend a couple uninterrupted days with just my very favorite people.

our hotel "gave" us some tokens to blow in their arcade. my first date with caleb was a trip to nickelcade, so it was like life finally coming full circle...heh heh.

but seriously, it was so good to get away from the grind for a few seconds. i'm calling it the warm-up for our pilgrimage to the motherland next month and counting down the days...

last day

2011-06-12T01:27:00.010-04:00

remember my little kindergartner?
her last day of the school year has come and gone. bless you, summer vacation!
we're sleeping in tomorrow and staying in our jammies as long as we want.
we're making smoothies for breakfast. we're not doing our hair. unless we feel like it. ah, sweet freedom.

dear malan,
you've met every hope i had for you when i sent you off on that bus last fall.
you are a diligent learner, a respectful student, a kindhearted friend, a loving sister.

this little snapshot from malan's kindergarten program kind of kills me because when i saw it,
my brain did a little leapfrog ahead 12 years imagining this same picture at malan's high school graduation. have mercy!

oh, how i love these sisters. they are so lucky to have each other. i am so lucky to have them.
and for the next 3 months, they're mine, all mine.

nature girl

2011-06-06T21:48:00.004-04:00

someone i know is especially happy the spring rains are over:
olivia, also known in these parts as "nature girl!"
(yes, she has super powers, including the ability to count to 10
without peeking during rousing games of hide and seek. . .

...and the ability to remain out of doors for limitless amounts of time without
stopping for nourishment or for the bandaging of bruised and battered "nature legs.")

i kind of love that she loves to be outside so much, if only because it forces
me away from desk and dishes for a little while. thank you nature girl! my hero.

the crocs of the baby seat sector

2011-05-30T23:05:00.009-04:00

emme thinks bumbos are funny. . .

. . .do you?

also funny: when emme is sitting in here, olivia calls her a bumbobee.
are bumbos your baby seat bff? [__] yes or [__]no.

i'll take a large bowl of ice cream with my humble pie

2011-05-26T23:13:00.005-04:00

dear big sister wendy: remember that time i judged you when your daughter hannah crawled her nap deprived self under a bench and fell asleep?

behold, exhibit a:

four children has humbled me to the very dust.

i no longer control: when my house is clean or messy, what time dinner will be served (if it is served), when i will take my next shower (if i take my next shower), the volume my mom voice will assume at any given moment, whether this week's laundry will be put away or just sifted through when we're out of clean underthings, bedtime, spouse time, me time, certainly not nap time. i took my winter sweatpants and cut them off into shorts, so now i'm good to go for summer. today without thinking i ate a cheerio off the floor of my minivan. it was stale. that was the only thing i ate before 3 pm.

forgive me, i was so clueless.

-love, your little sister.

p.s. strangely, life is still so very good.

dear readers: judge if you will. unless you plan to have more kids.

birthday boy

2011-05-25T02:20:00.015-04:00

turned 30.
and since it's been, like, a decade since the last time he turned a decade,
we decided to go big and surprise party him. here are some sneak peeks. . .

the grub, courtesy of my talented chef sister juli (recipes), and my helpful kitchen staff jenn, sarah, kelli, & jaime:

fresh mango salsa chicken tortilla soup

also on the menu: carnitas & pineapple slush. try them, you'll be so glad you did.

the ambiance:

the roast: mark serenaded him. oh mylanta, so funny. i cried.

the swag, courtesy of rick & sarah: a cunning pink steelers hat and the book caleb has been dying to get his paws on-
"i love you, you idot" from the gilmore girls. NICE! our friends sure don't suck.
birthday shirt courtesy of me. . .and tony.

good food, good fun, good folks- it was a pretty perfect night.
and i tell you what, this man rocks my world.
they don't make 'em like this anymore. i love him something fierce.
happy thirty years, babe.

planting day

2011-05-22T06:58:00.002-04:00

we finally had a day without rain and managed to get our hands (and feet) dirty. . .

feels so good to have things growing again.

kilroy was here

2011-05-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

dresser monkey

2011-05-15T23:00:00.005-04:00

do you have one of these at your house?
olivia knows that perching precariously on lofty objects will immediately garner attention from mom and dad.
if the mere act of perching doesn't, her loud cry of "mom! dad! i fall and die!" always does.
pretty clever, this one.

only our vehichles are high maintenance

2011-05-11T23:35:00.000-04:00

we've had car trouble lately.
tinkerbelle/annie oakley came with me to meet our new mechanic in this gettyup:

i was a little worried what he'd think of us until i saw the bathroom at his garage.
a man with a bathroom like that clearly doesn't make judgments of any kind. i couldn't bring myself to enter.
but luckily, plucky jane had no reservations and marched in to do her business with an enthusiastic, "hey! spiders live in here!"

good thing she had on her stompin' boots.

hover mother's day

2011-05-09T10:31:00.009-04:00

last night, in honor of mother's day, i decided to be "fun mom." so when my two oldest girls asked for about the kajbillionth time if they could sleep outside in the playhouse, i thought about it. reasons for saying "no": school night, it might rain, you'll be scared out there alone, spiders, too cold, you won't sleep well, lightning, bears, boogey men, you are just too little and i need you close where i can check on you and know you are safe and sound at all times!
but "fun mom" decided, despite these factors, it was time to say "yes."

i was then told i am the best mom in the whole wide universe.

certain the girls would run inside cold and terrified by 9:30, i left porch lights on and doors slightly ajar.
9:30 passed, and certain the girls would wake up cold and terrified by midnight, i sent caleb out with extra blankets and opened all the back bedroom windows so i could hear their nocturnal screams and run to the rescue.
midnight passed and i woke up, cold and terrified that i might have slept through shrieks or door pounding. i donned a robe and my glasses and peered out back windows into the darkness. finding them peacefully asleep still, i returned to bed and dreamed fitfully until morning of outdoor slumber parties gone awry.

at 7:45, the girls ran in, giggling and exhilarated from their peaceful playhouse repose.

and it seems they need me less and less.
or maybe they begin to need me differently.
need me to hover less and to trust more. to rule less, and to teach more.
definitely to love more, and allow them a little more room to grow.

thanks to my mother, who loved me more, and allowed me room to grow.
thanks to you women out there who may have slept fitfully a night or two over a child.

a special thanks to you beautiful women in my life who would love more than anything to have a fitful sleep over a child, and haven't had that blessing in your life yet. thank you for the nurturing and love you give my children, i am grateful for it more than i can say. you know who you are, and you are in my prayers every day.

happy mother's day.

thrifted dressers get fresh

2011-05-04T12:46:00.005-04:00

have i mentioned how much i love thrift stores? i hardly ever buy anything first hand these days.
i love the idea of things that would just end up in a junk heap somewhere getting a new life and a new use.

here are a little dresser and book cupboard i thrifted for the girls' room. the dresser was $15 and the cupboard was $10.

before: (lightly sanded pre-priming)

2 coats of spray primer ($3). . .

$2 worth of wood to replace a missing piece on the dresser, an $8 can of paint,
and a roll of cute drawer liner vinyl from the dollar aisle at michael's. . .

after:

ah, somewhere to keep little girl books, undies, and socks other than on the floor and under the bed.
i'm happy.

emme emotes

2011-05-01T23:10:00.003-04:00

expressive little darling.

here she is saying, "put the camera away and love me." so i did.

some news

2011-04-29T09:49:00.009-04:00

i have some very sad news to share. many of you know and love my sister-in-law katie songer hale and her sister sarah.
sarah is one of my dear friends from since we were like 10. i just found out today she is fighting cancer.if you'd like to know more or would like to help, go here.

we love you sarah!

perhaps now, from time to time, the husband and i will enjoy some adult conversation at dinner...

2011-04-26T21:37:00.008-04:00

been wanting a little farm table where the girls could eat/draw/sit/play. i couldn't find one i liked/wanted to pay for so decided to make one.
30 bucks later, here's how it turned out:

loving it. maybe i'll make a big one next time...

a little easter...

2011-04-25T00:11:00.005-04:00

here are a few peeks from our day:
easter baskets...

easter brellas...

easter munching...

easter peeking out the window at the real life easter bunny in the back yard...

ooh! and easter baby who is just over 4 months old already. love her.

love this day and the hope and peace it brings.
happy easter.

twoer

2011-04-20T09:18:00.004-04:00

olivia turned 2 and i'm in denial. i go in to check on her at night when she's asleep and i swear i think i'm going to find her little 5 pound baby self wrapped up like a burrito in her blankets.

olivia- we love your spunk, your curls, your kisses, and how you give hugs instead of apologies when you're naughty. we love when you call us "kate" and "caleb" and "honey" even though we tell you "it's 'mom' and 'dad' to you, kid." we love how you LOVE to be outside more than anything, and how you sing everybody's name to the tune of "follow the prophet." we love how well you love your sisters. you are a joy and a delight and we love you so.

happy birthday, little twoer.

at last

2011-04-14T15:52:00.005-04:00

i think, i really think, that the warm, the sun, the sounds, the sights. . .

. . .of spring. . .

. . .are finally here to stay.
(the girls spotted a little rabbit out in the yard first thing this morning. a good sign.)

hallelujah and thank the little budding blossoms, winter is over.

big bed, little baby

2011-04-11T09:14:00.007-04:00

my babies grow too fast for my liking. emme already feels like quite the armful, but seeing her nap away in our big bed, she looks pretty tiny.
good. just stay little a little longer, baby girl.

a little reality

2011-04-07T03:44:00.004-04:00

over the weekend we watched conference and kept our hands busy.
i was patching something with needle and thread, and of course the girls wanted to sew too. . .

we cut out some dolls and they stitched away.

then they plumped them out with rice. what is it about making things with our own two hands that just feels good?

we also got a few things sorted out.
i sorted out my linens/fabric storage. ahhh.

and we sorted out some of the girls' health issues. . .
jane started methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug, to treat her arthritis. the other drugs we've tried gave some bummer side effects. her skin bled with even the lightest scratch and scarred badly, and she struggled with daily stomach aches and headaches. we're hopeful this is going to be a good change as she seems quite a bit better already.

malan was diagnosed with IBS after over a year of daily stomach pain, pukin', etc. her new medication seems to be working well also. yay!

as much as it really stinks sometimes to see my kids struggle to feel great, i think it a bit of a mixed blessing. i get to see them treating each other with compassion, which i'd say is learned in part by experiencing pain oneself. and depth of character is definitely something we're going for around here, which i don't think comes as readily when you're leading a completely charmed life.

as for my reality: i'm coming up on my one year mark serving as the relief society president in our ward. it seems i waver between neglecting my calling for my children and neglecting my children for my calling. i go to bed a little guilty most nights. not being hard on myself here, just struggling to find a good balance and trying to do better.
like tomorrow i think i'll try to use my "nice mom" voice all day.

that's a bit of our real life right now. and our real life is pretty great.
also, i have King of the Husbands watching my back. lucky, lucky me. for reals.

i leave you with a moment from "mommy school" this week. jane feels her artistic flow best when in sleepwear, while olivia prefers pantless painting:

kissy fish

2011-03-30T13:43:00.006-04:00

in the spring i get a little project happy.

up for sharing today, 5-minute thrift store do-over:

kissy fish s&p shakers.
who wouldn't want their s&p poured out of a kissy fish head? i know i would.
i LOVE thrift stores so much. minus the funky smells.

also up for sharing: i listened to this on my run today. it kind of blew my mind, especially the first 10-15 minutes.
i tell ya, there wasn't a dry eye on my face. worth a listen.

tickled

2011-03-24T14:02:00.004-04:00

time to wake up, emme...

hey there, little wakey.

any giggles for us today? no?

okay then, dad's gonna getcha...

coochie-coochie-coochie!

hee hee hee hee!

ho ho ho!

ha ha ha!

oh boy...

uh-oh. party's over.

or perhaps not.

wow, emme is a delight. so much more niceness than the sum of her parents' niceness. not sure where she gets it, but we'll take it.

new baby, old threads

2011-03-21T18:55:00.010-04:00

i have a love of old things. old furniture, old table linens. little old ladies.

so, when i was given a lovely little old fashioned baby blessing dress and bonnet, i knew they would be just perfect for our emme.

they were.

she looked sweet. she is sweet. she may also be amish.

here is her blessing cake:

and here are her blessing feet:

dear family-we missed you being here.
dear friends-thanks for filling in.

in celebration of emme, we drank this yesterday. we liked it. you may like it, too.

tender hearts

2011-03-15T08:06:00.011-04:00

if you're like me, you may have had a good cry over japan in the last week.

my girls and i have talked a lot about it. they've asked about the children and where they sleep at night and how people are getting the food they need. they've started rounding up some of their toys and dolls they want to send to them. it's done my aching heart good to see their tender little hearts at work.

i tell you what, i'll be holding these little ones a little closer.

i get my day in court

2011-03-07T10:27:00.008-05:00

background:

in the last 6 months in pittsburgh i have:
1) had my car towed literally out from under me when i returned to my meter, trailing 3 kids and pregnant, 5 minutes late. cost-$219.00
2) got a ticket for going 6 mph over in a flashing school zone, but wait for it-teachers had been on strike for 4 weeks and school was not in session. when i pointed this out to the kind officer, he said, "welcome to pennsylvania." cost-$109.00
3) received a parking ticket (caleb) for parking on a certain street on the 3rd wednesday of the month between 2 and 4 pm-designated street cleaning hours. they never actually clean the street, just distribute tickets. cost- $25.00

then. . .
i picked up a $10 ticket for leaving one of our cars out overnight in front of our own house on our wide, quiet, neighborhood street. no biggie. except i forgot to pay it in the 4 days allotted because i was 8/9ths pregnant and hosting 25 people for thanksgiving that week. the next week i was served a summons by our mailman. my little parking ticket was now a $70 fine and required a court appearance. oh, heck no.
my sweet little mother was in town to witness the absolute unhinging that transpired that day. thanks for having my back mom, and for sitting in the car with the kids while i got spit on the window between me and the court secretary entering my plea of "not guilty."

late in february, the day of my parking ticket hearing arrived. at 9 am, with a carseat/baby on one arm and a bag full of snacks, diaps, etc. on the other, i shooed my girls into the 10 x 14 waiting room at the courthouse. it was already packed with beauties who watched wide-eyed as our entourage shuffled by. a nice man with some seriously impressive body art moved seats so the five of us could sit together.

for the next 40 minutes, the girls downed baggies of cheerios and craisins while i watched the clock. in retrospect, perhaps i should have thought twice about providing such a high-fiber snack. . .

at about 9:45, emme let me know it was time for a refill. with no more private/sanitary options in sight, i plugged her in under my cover and prayed they wouldn't call me before the judge in such a state. just then, jane informed me that she had an urgent need. i pointed to the bathroom door opening directly off of the waiting room and told her she'd have to go by herself, which filled her with great joy. she skipped in and closed and locked the door. that's when all of us in that waiting room discovered that the bathroom door created a sound barrier similar to that of a piece of cardboard.

after a minute or two of shuffling around, we heard the clinking open of the potty lid and the sounds of a wee lass climbing aboard. then, apparently knowing she was going to be there awhile, jane treated us all to the overture from swan lake, sung in her loudest LA LA LA's. Shoulders around the room began to shake in stifled chuckles and i'll be darned if the boat tatooed on the nice man's bicep didn't start sailing away on its fleshy sea. after an impressive finale with a long drawn out "la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" jane's private theater went silent. i knew what was coming next, but trapped in my milky prison all i could do was wince my eyes shut as jane shouted, "mom! i need you to wipe me!" for all to hear. stifled chuckles broke into open laughter. i sheepishly placed my newborn into her car seat, instructed jane through the door how to unlock it so i could get in, and then took care of business like every good mother does.

praise be, the moment we walked out of the bathroom we were called before the judge. i only had to tell my girls once to climb off the bailiff's table as i presented my case, whereafter his honor rolled his eyes at us, declared me not guilty, and sent us on our way. bless the mother of a wayward adolescent who grabbed my arm as i walked out and told me we all had made her day.

well, pennsylvania court system, i may not have my pride, but i've got my 70 bucks.

hey lovebirds...

2011-02-15T21:54:00.011-05:00

here is our valentine photo essay.

the decor:

the drinks:

the crafts:

the eats: (if you have not tried this recipe yet, please do.)

the rendezvous:
my intentions: meet caleb at the door before he sees the surprise the girls and i set up, greet him with a kiss and send him back out to take our girls to the arranged babysitter, put the baby to sleep while he's gone, and treat him to a romantic dinner for 2 in our "cafe" (yes, i nailed sheets to the ceiling) (that's what putty is for).

what actually happened: i spent the day baking, running cookies to preschool, driving kids back and forth, and making a horrendous mess of my kitchen. caleb arrived home 5 minutes earlier than i expected. my 6 year-old lookout forgot to warn me and instead welcomed him into the house. non-showered and wearing a filthy apron, i walked around the corner calling orders to the kids about getting on shoes and coats, then actually jumped and screamed in shock upon seeing caleb in the entry, and blurted out, "what are you doing here?!"
welcome home, valentine.
later, emme joined us for dinner where she ate, pooped, and barfed during each course, and then insisted on dancing with us to death cab for cutie by candlelight.

it was all the stuff my valentine dreams are made of.
i do not jest.

my other valentines:

hope your day was memorable.

it's date night in the cultural district, do you have your tiny black beret?

2011-02-10T20:36:00.006-05:00

we went on a date. i totally recommend doing that.
all my real photos are currently tied up in hard drive limbo, so you get these:

hot chocolate at the andy warhol museum cafe. so good.

the only human being in the museum that night not wearing a shade of black: emme wilson.
andy looks on in disgust and says: "you mock me with your pastel attire."

(she was still a big hit. i don't think the museum crowd gets enough baby.)

andy says: "are those jogging shoes you're wearing?"

the coat room of the warhol:
dark outerwear lined up like soup cans.
the white one is mine.

so what did we learn from date night?
1. we aren't as hip as we think we used to be.
2. it is nice to be married to someone just as unhip as you.
3. people on first dates who put their fist to their chin, nod, and say "uh-huh..." with a discerning expression, while looking at abstract art, as their date uses their hands like a viewfinder, are fun to secretly laugh at if you are married. because we've so been there. isn't it nice not to be there?
4. we still love each other.

all in all, i'd say the evening was a success.

i miss my hard drive and my self-control

2011-02-08T00:10:00.006-05:00

blogging from the husband's computer tonight because. . .mine crashed this morning. i weep for me! please bless the good doctors at geek squad can make it all better.

i don't know if what followed was a result of computer-crash-induced desperation, or a simple, albeit shameful, case of supply and demand, but here's what i ate today-

breakfast: the rest of the oreo's we found leftover in the kitchen at church on sunday, with a rootbeer chaser.

lunch: 4 or 5 funsize snickers.

dinner: half a bag of haribo gummi bears.

before you flog me with a licorice whip, let it be known that i did feed my children actual food today.
(although it's questionable whether my nursing newborn got much more than sugar water.)

caleb got home just before nine and thought dessert and a "chuck" episode sounded about right. i didn't tell him about my other dietary selections for the day until after i'd finished the large rootbeer float he made me.

upon hearing, caleb insisted i blog about my total lack of worthwhile calories so commenters could shame me out of ever eating like this again.
then he told me to sit on the time-out stair and think about what i'd done.

funny, funny man.

well goodnight, all. i think tomorrow i will try to find my running shoes and some spinach.

have you seen this girl lately?

2011-01-31T11:53:00.005-05:00

she's suddenly sprouted curls, and i'm just eating them up.

olivia spends her day following me from room to room, chatting me up. she is in love with her new little sister in a major way and whispers "oh!" in adoration when emme is near. it's about the sweetest thing i've ever heard.

she became a smash hit with the sam's club staff last friday by shouting "free sample! free sample!" from her cart-seat the whole way through the store.

another choice sam's club moment from the week:

caleb rolled up to a sample cart with 3 of our four girls.
the pretty, slender black woman working the cart looked at him with wide eyes and asked, "are these all yours?" he confirmed. she replied, "you done LOST yo' mind!"

caleb spat with laughter. olivia shouted, "free sample!"

then caleb pointed to me heading their way with our fourth girl.

woman: "another girl?"
caleb: "yep."
woman: "tell me the day and year?"
caleb: "of what?"
woman: "when you done LOST yo' mind!"

we are quite a spectacle these days.

speaking of spectacles:

kids in glasses: never not funny.
this girl pretty much has my heart in her pocket.

her public needs her

2011-01-23T23:35:00.006-05:00

so emmerson is back, by popular demand.

pardon the hiatus. emme has had a full schedule, consisting of:

getting less squishy-

getting even more less squishy (please notice double chin)-

and getting positively plump-

e. has been a pure delight thus far. slept six hours straight three nights last week. and she is ridiculously pleasant when she's awake.

good thing. because i suddenly feel like i have a LOT of children. i may have almost forgotten her in her car seat at old navy when moving from the infant's section to the girl's section with my other 3 girls in tow. mom, i hereby forgive you for the time i got left at surf 'n swim for half an hour when i was 7. i totally get it. and what was i thinking taking all 4 girls shopping with me? not again until they're 20.

and just a few gems from the ladies lately:

while working on malan's homework-
malan: "you don't know about math problems, jane."
jane: "what's a math problem?"
malan: "like, if you don't know what 4 plus 5 is, then you have a math problem."

jane at our FHE about spirit prison/paradise: "well, i just hope i get a pretty dress. i don't want to wear the stripes. you know, the black and white stripes?"

olivia, feeling a little displaced by new sister, is now alerting us to her need for attention by, multiple times daily, spinning rapidly in circles while shouting: "i'm funny! i'm funny! i'm funny!" until she falls down and we all laugh and applaud. very mature, i think.

caleb and i are doing fine. so busy. hope to come up for air soon.

we are in love...

2010-12-21T15:20:00.005-05:00

...with our little emmerson.
she arrived sunday the 19th at 11:14 am.

and we've all been loving on her since.

welcome, welcome sweet girl. you're in for some major smothering around here. so glad to have you at last.

things that keep us warm

2010-12-18T00:45:00.004-05:00

it is like one degree in pittsburgh this week. here's what's keeping us warm-

getting exercise:

fuzzy booties:

movie night in mom and dad's bed:

christmas tree glow:

"our sweet little grandma" (jane's words) who flew across the country to come take care of us:

lovely little old fashioned christmas eve flannel jammers made by the above-mentioned wonderful lady.
if she stays long enough i think my whole "to do" list will disappear:

little urchins who sneak into my picture taking session without notice:

and finally, incubation! this is the most pregnant i have ever been, and yes, i'm plenty warm.
may i hereby pay homage to all you ladies who have been 39 weeks pregnant.
i never knew. . .

little baby, i know it's cold out here, but we promise to keep you cozy if you'll come out now.

dear friends: hope you're staying toasty, wherever you are.

turkey, tree, and tummy

2010-12-01T11:02:00.005-05:00

we shared a lovely thanksgiving with our other disem-familied friends. . .

then went the next day to hunt our christmas tree.
it was absolutely freezing, but we wouldn't have missed it.

caleb cut down a big fat fabulous fir for us with his own two hands. argh! doesn't that sound manly?! it was.

sleeping hard:

and working hard: (my coat, i mean. i don't think i can get any bigger. . .are those my feet way down there?)

we had to move some furniture to make room for our robust little tree. i know just how it feels.

thanks for reading. . .hope your holidays are shaping up nicely!

what's in a little girls' treasure box?

2010-11-11T09:24:00.004-05:00

are you curious? here is m & j's little stash of lovelies. i hadn't peeked for a while. fun to see how the collection grows and what they consider their most special treasures. . .

1. piggy bank 2. birthday bookmark 3. glass heart pendant 4. golden marble 5. huge jewel 6. fan from mexico 7. stuffed strawberry 8. paper doll and stickers 9. wind up dragonfly 10. wind up butterfly 11. fairy pendant 12. body shimmer puff 13. tinkerbell cards 14. orange-scented hand sanitizer 15. pearl "j" 16. pearl "m" 17. plastic bracelet 18. blueberry bookmark 19. angel pendant 20. pop-apart markers

aren't they rich?

other news you may find interesting:

olivia's self-preservation instinct has kicked in. now when she decides to throw a holy fit, instead of hurling herself to the floor in despair and banging her head vehemently into the hardwood, she hurls herself to the floor in despair, pauses, scoots herself to the nearest patch of carpeting, and then proceeds to bang her head, rather gently.

jane's attention to detail instinct has, apparrently, not yet kicked in. yesterday she composed this note to our friend mandee, for her birthday:
"dear mandee, i really like the stuff about you. love, jane."

caleb is thoroughly enjoying his neurology rotation. oh how i wish i could go into great detail. . . about the guy who passed out in the casino after 3 days of no sleep and only coffee for sustenance. or the guy whose girlfriend brought him in because she's worried that sometimes he falls asleep when he's lying down and she has to call his name 2 or 3 times before he wakes up. and sometimes when he's watching sports he seems to stare at the t.v. for long periods of time and she has to try multiple times to get his attention.

psychiatry is up next. . .i can hardly contain my excitement.

wrong number

2010-11-08T12:12:00.007-05:00

dear louwina s: like our recorded message indicates, this is in fact the wilson residence and not foodland, and unfortunately we cannot fill your order for pretzel sandwiches. hope you won't be too disappointed when you go to pick them up.

dear verizon: thanks for assigning us a number one digit off from every grocery store within 5 miles. also: thank you for selling our number so we could receive 5-10 important calls each day about special offers and limited time promotions of every kind.

dear do not call list: we're counting on ya, don't let us down.

who dares me to act like the produce department next time someone calls?
then i could put them on hold for all eternity. . .heh heh.

our halloween, in 3 posts: the main event

2010-11-04T14:08:00.005-04:00

meaning, of course, the trick-or-treating.

here are our cozy snow princesses ready to hit the porches:

would you like to have hair like olivia's? well, now you can, in just 3 easy steps:
1-refuse to wear your princess hood
2-pull out the top-knot ponytail and bow you've been wearing all day
3-be sure your style stays in place by dumping your plate of syrupy dinner waffles on your own head just before it's time to meet your friends for trick-or-treating.
see? easy.

getting all pumped to panhandle for candy...

malan hikes up for a treat, and jane gets the wits scared out of her by vampire-friend josh. . .

after some serious walking and sore little legs these girls got away with quite a haul. (how much do i love that olivia is big enough for her own trick-or-treat bag this year? a lot.) oh, we heart halloween! happy/excited/sugar hyper kids = happy/excited/sugar hyper me.

three posts this week. man. . .you may not hear from me again until january, i'm pooped. or maybe i'm just crashing from my sugar high.

here is one final spooky apparition to leave you with until next halloween. . .

ooooo. . .ghost jane!

our halloween, in 3 posts: the party

2010-11-02T23:01:00.012-04:00

october 29th ushered in the annual wilson halloween party. our number of good friends has grown this year.
unfortunately, our house has not. 30 adults, 21 children and a main floor of about 600 square feet makes for a cozy evening.
but i tell you what, we partied it up.

the summary-
oats with beans: how many jelly beans can you extract from your oatmeal in one minute...Ahblindfolded!
nose dive: move as many cotton balls as you can in one minute using your nose...and some vaseline.
a visit from the notorious antoine dobson. if you have not youtubed this fine fellow, do so.

the candy elevator: be sure not to rope burn your ears as you attempt to snatch a treat.

elephant walk: can you knock over 8 bottles with your softball/nylon trunk? it's harder than it looks.

the peeps: man, we have some good peeps here. not a rotten one in the bunch. you can't buy friends like these, people.
believe me, i've tried.

that about sums it up. fantastic. wish you all could have been here. and that we lived in a mansion.

our halloween, in 3 posts: the house

2010-11-01T14:59:00.003-04:00

i admit: i am turning into the crazy halloween lady.
i am an oct. 31 baby, it must be in my blood.
so here are the highlights of our halloween festivities, in 3 posts.

post 1: the house
happily thrifted and/or hand-made by me and my 3 witches.
note: there may be a prize for those who can name 11 or more literary allusions hidden below or here.
(the last picture's complete phrase is "beware...take care...")

dinner for 4

2010-10-20T09:24:00.004-04:00

this post is for me.

because i want to remember these evenings: caleb gone late, just my three and me at dinner.
blankets draped on chairs, as usual. malan in formal attire, as usual.
olivia, eating demurely. jane being jane.

there would be quiet chatter about the happenings of the day.
malan would remind jane of our "no singing at the table" rule.
five minutes later jane would remind malan.
this might lead to an argument (m & j) and some threats of an early bedtime from me.

then things would settle back down and the girls would mention how we need to finish decorating for halloween,
and could we please make sugar cookies tomorrow,
and how about an extra bedtime story tonight and some snuggling?

i don't want to forget these nights with just us girls-i think they're pretty special.
soon enough we'll have caleb home for dinner again, but until then, i'm in good company.

dear malan,

2010-10-13T14:13:00.013-04:00

the year or two before you were born were pretty rough for me, to say the least. a lot of tough decisions, a lot of heartache.
but maybe you know that, because i'm pretty sure you were there. it felt like you were, through the hardest moments.
it felt like you were, when i met your dad again and things got back on track. you knew what our happy life was going to be like.
thank you, for hanging in there with me when i couldn't see that.

malan on her 1st birthday

when you were born my world revolved around you and your tiny hands and your tiny toes and your tiny needs.
i felt purely unselfish, for once. i haven't felt that enough in my life. it is a good feeling. thanks, babe, for being born.

thanks for being my little parenting guinea pig, and for handling my motherly missteps so gracefully.
i want most in the world to be a good mother, thank you for helping me work on that.

i hope you know how awesome i think you are.
you are courageous, you are resilient, you are compassionate,
you are responsible, you are loyal, you are older and wiser than your years.

you are so very loved.

happy birthday, sweet m.

can't make any promises

2010-09-28T22:41:00.007-04:00

it's been too long, i know. can't promise i'll be better, just so very, very busy.
busy, but happy.

here's what you want to see anyway, the good looking people:

more good looking people:
my neice katie and her husband jeff, who came out to visit while jeff interviewed at pitt med. how much do i want them to move here? alot.

these lovely peeps entertained our children for 3 days while i sat on the couch eating, sleeping, drooling, etc.
they also may have experienced what my family calls "evil sleep-kate," a persona i take on when i fall asleep before everyone else and then get awakened suddenly. involves loud voice, confusion, reprimanding, occasional throwing of pillows. i am so ashamed. . .

and in case you're interested, my recent thoughts:

caleb is on week 5 of surgery right now. i see him for minutes a day. that is dumb. but those minutes are really nice. he provides me with his daily anecdotes just before heading to bed. best yet: the crochety surgeon who stood up for him, mid-surgery, when the scrub tech called him "kah-leeb," by shouting, "it's CALEB! don't you read the damn bible?"

malan going to school has been a real beating for me. four weeks in and i think i'm almost handling it. it was rough on her, too. we're tight, people! but she's a superstar and wakes up most days now really excited to go, which means i can be good with it, too. why didn't anyone tell me it would be so tough? i mean it, i want answers.

jane has taken to getting herself nose to nose with every adult she comes in contact with- including teachers, parents, and my friends- taking their faces in her hands, and saying with awe-struck sincerity, "you're beautiful!" never fails to get a positive response.

olivia thinks we share a liver. she codes if she is detached from my lap or hip for more than a few minutes during waking hours. good thing she's stinking adorable.

well, there you go. thanks for keeping us posted even when i fail to reciprocate, it means alot.

malan starts school

2010-09-01T15:27:00.010-04:00

i knew this week had to come, and though i am so excited for malan and her new adventure, i won't pretend i'm being brave about it. my heart is breaking a little.

but we tried to make the most of our last few days of freedom:

we had one last "not a school night" sleepover in a blanket fort:

then a special mommy date last night. we found a ceramic studio and malan chose a butterfly to paint. oh my, it was beautiful! her creativity inspires me. and i'm happy about the fact that her little legs still don't reach the floor in a big person chair.

today the morning came, though i woke up in the still-darkness and wished it wouldn't. looks like she's ready to go, though, doesn't it?

here comes the bus! squeeze tight before you leave, sis!

last wave, and she's off. remind me why i'm not home-schooling?

i am so thrilled for you malan. you can do anything. you are sweet and smart and tenderhearted and just perfect. i'm so happy to see you off to learn and grow and succeed. but all day is just a long time apart, don't you think? we miss you.

i must say i held things together pretty well and gave malan dry eyes and a smile as she left.

then i had a good cry over my bowl of frosted mini wheats when i got home.

jane, liv, and i had a sweet day together and, wow, time to go pick m. up from the bus already. you bet i'm going to squeeze her so tight!

we're headed. . .

2010-08-27T17:53:00.003-04:00

here in about 5 minutes.

go spiritual enlightenment! have a wonderful weekend, all.

(picture with my canon and pioneerwoman's vintage action.)

meanie face bites the dust

2010-08-24T10:08:00.006-04:00

perhaps you've not met our little meanie face? well, i'm afraid that window of opportunity is now closed as she was recently found expired in her cage.
i think being a cantankerous wretch shortened her life span.

though no tears were shed, the girls insisted on a respectful funeral. we buried her in a soup box under our pine tree,
sprinkled blossoms over the spot. . .

. . .and spoke some words in memory-

malan: i miss her pretty fur.

jane: i miss how much i used to wish she was nice.

now when the girls mention that they want another pet, i tell them to rub olivia's head and that seems to temper the desire. plus, she usually tries to bite them after a while, so she's filling the void left by meanie face's passing quite nicely.

dates

2010-08-19T16:50:00.007-04:00

we went on one. it included reading on a blanket in the grass. . .
(reading for fun is a rare treat for us)

. . .and greek take-out. so fine! more dates soon please.

speaking of dates, as i recall, it was a date that started all this:

oh, and this:

yepper. baby wilson #4, here blowing nose bubbles for your enjoyment.

and here, blowing nose bubbles, sucking her thumb, and wearing her first skirt. we're nothing if not multi-taskers. and skirt wearers.

and speaking of dates, #4 will be making her appearance post-womb sometime around december 25th. we are pleased as punch!

our peach jams wear skirts

2010-08-17T10:26:00.006-04:00

because most things at our house wear skirts.

caleb says he feels like a mennonite when he goes out with 3 girls and a wife in skirts and dresses, but i just can't bear to wear pants in the summer. anyone with me? plus, isn't caleb a perfect mennonite name?

the peach jam turned out to be inspiring. please, if you live in the brigham city vicinity, acquire a bushel and go wild for me. you could try this. or this. or this. the jam recipe i used is just the one on the box, you really can't go wrong. freezer jam, of course. it's much too hot to hover over the stove today.

any peachy recipes you'd like to share? i'd eat em up.

yum

2010-08-16T00:41:00.002-04:00

it is peach season. so i feel happy.

my pickers are happy too.

on our schedule tomorrow: make peach jam. eat peach jam.
that is all.

please note: jane's dress is indeed on backwards. i noticed it about 5 different times before i had the mental follow-through to ask her to turn it around. by then, i was done taking pictures. at times, my mothering awesomeness astounds me.

this is why

2010-07-21T12:10:00.003-04:00

bed-dancing:

and beauty salon:

we're talking 45 minutes of hair brushing and fixing, my most favorite thing ever. malan did my hairs while jane told me her best jokes. heaven.

this is why i had children, and this why i ordered girls.

ready for a change in the weather

2010-07-10T22:05:00.007-04:00

a record heat wave in the east may be to blame for recent strange behavior at our house.

yesterday jane introduced us to her first and brand new imaginary friend, "smacky." smacky's parents, coincidentally, are named "ate" and "aleb."

a tidbit of one of our conversations...

me: "jane, no hitting!"
jane: "it was smacky."
me: "tell smacky not to hit your sister, please."
jane: "smacky won't listen. smacky is bad."

smacky, as you can imagine, has been spending a good deal of time in time-out, and jane has been kind enough to keep him company there.

in other news, olivia has been bringing me pairs of underwear from the girls dresser multiple times each day and begging for me to put them on her. ready for potty training? ha, wouldn't that be nice. but yesterday when i put them on over her diaper she went boneless, bawled, and tried to yank them off. then i took them off and handed them back to her and she hit herself in the head with them repeatedly. when i got the message, she was very pleased indeed:

this girl refuses to wear her lovely headbands or sun hats for even ten seconds but these beauties lasted all afternoon. maybe it's genetic.

even the ever patient malan reached her limit yesterday. after having several of her pieces of artwork scribbled on by captain underpants, she posted the following notice and refused audience with the offender for several hours:

we could really use a cold front and some rain around here.

i temporarily resurrect this blog to bring you...

2010-07-07T23:40:00.004-04:00

jane's birthday.

jane is so very grand.

but her birthday morning was not. her first gift of the day was waking up with the nasty virus i had over the weekend. i found her moaning in bed with teary eyes and a burning fever.
after getting her medicated and settled on the couch for the day she told me, in the most pitiful little voice, "all i want for my birthday is a towel to dry my tears."

could you just cry?

so we got her a tiny towel and situated ourselves near her on the couch for a day of book reading, pbs watching, and shaved ice eating. and thanks to a thoughtful grandma d., jane spent a happy hour or two singing along to her newly beloved musical hallmark princess card. hallmark, i could just kiss you. grandma, i will. . .next time i see you.

after an outfit change or two, and a nap or two. . .

. . .jane rallied, put on her new birthday dress from grandma m., and tea-partied until dinner with her lovely new dishes.

fading fast, but not too tired for cake.

jane makes a wish. . .

oh sweet jane, we're so sorry you had to be sick today. but like you always do, you made the most of things and it was a beautiful, memorable day.

i know i tell you this so much, but you are so very special. you have such charm and charisma, so much determination. you are inquisitive and vivacious and loving and so very loveable. you are such a bright light in our family and i simply love you more than i can say.

happy birthday sweet girl.

home improvement and discontent

2010-06-08T22:26:00.005-04:00

i find it so rewarding as a parent when the children start taking a real role in how the household functions.

malan, always responsible and invested in our well-being, recently developed 2 basic rules for our home which she felt would benefit all. these she illustrated and posted on the front door:

rule #1: no rats

rule #2: no vomit

i must say, i heartily agree with both.

apparently malan finds all else in our life quite satisfactory.

jane, however, seems discontented with the monotony of it all:

jane, while lying on the floor and squirming in distress, "i'm so TIRED of being on this earth! it just spins me around and around, day and night and day and night! i just want to be in outer space!!"

we've been keeping rules 1 and 2 quite well, but alas, as of tonight earth is still spinning on its axis. can't please everyone, i guess.

this moment . . .

2010-06-04T11:25:00.003-04:00

back to real life

2010-06-01T15:38:00.003-04:00

we're home. the caribbean was all it's cracked up to be. lots of sand, lots of clear blue sea. truly lovely.

i won't bore you with a full slide show, but will just tell you the best part: all 12 hale siblings, all our spouses, and my mama and papa in the same place for 8 days. a true miracle if you ask me. i'll never forget it. and a big "thank you so very much" to mom and wendy w. for caring for our 3 treasures while we were away.

hope to be blogging again, at least a bit, soon.

this moment. . .

2010-05-14T09:23:00.001-04:00

the night shift

2010-05-10T08:47:00.007-04:00

mother's day was swell, as always. caleb made me my favorite fresh spring rolls and hot and sour soup for dinner. particularly nice since he is NOT an asian food fan. we spent the day with good friends and then tucked the gallies right into bed when we got home.

i thought it especially considerate that the riotous vomiting did not begin until 12:05 a.m., after i had enjoyed my day to the very last minute. jane was first, followed hourly by olivia and malan, and then back to jane again until 6 a.m.

it was really starting to get old when, for the second time, jane had been bathed, re-jammied, and tucked back into a freshly sheeted bed. then as i was about to plod back to my room, jane asked in her sleepy, worn-out, little bird voice, "i was wondering if you just really want to snuggle me, momma?"

you betcha, little lady. you betcha.

watching her slip back off into a peaceful sleep in my arms, as pale sunlight began to peek through the curtains, i thought: worth it. and it is.

happy mother's day to all you midnight laundry doing, brow wiping, puke cleaning women out there.

and to those who made me a mother: i love you every day.

this moment. . .

2010-05-07T20:44:00.000-04:00

this moment . . .

2010-04-30T16:17:00.003-04:00

(aside: i may not be back to regular blogging for a while, there's a lot in the works right now.

in other news: caleb completed his step 1 boards exam today. no more 14 hour study days. serious relief. and we are getting out of TOWN! off to d.c. tonight, off to the carribean in 2.5 weeks. we really cannot wait. hope you all have a wonderful weekend. thanks for tuning in.)

this moment. . .

2010-04-23T10:27:00.001-04:00

"how old are you, olivia?"

2010-04-19T00:25:00.005-04:00

"one."

that's right. i know we old people always say this, but man this year has flown!
fastest year of my life by far. made very sweet by this lovely little o.

here is your overview of her big day:

the birthday suit (thrift store vintage ribbon and cameo.)

olivia and the smash cake

olivia VS. the smash cake

olivia kicked its butt. don't tell jane i said butt.

presents. oh boy, oh boy! let me tell you, the glockenspiel was a HUGE smash hit.

and finally, the parlor tricks

well, my baby is one year old. and she thinks she is so big.
but she smells like maple sugar and she feels like christmas morning,
so i'm gonna be hugging on tight for a long time yet.

happy birthday lo lo. we love you so.

this moment. . .

2010-04-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

do you ever lock your children out?

2010-04-11T22:26:00.005-04:00

it's been that kind of week.

i like malan's "claws" in this picture. she gets those from me.

and though it appears my children are semi-content in their locked-out state,
i see that it's time i took a little blog break so maybe i can let them in and
try to accomplish a thing or two.

among other things i need to get done pronto are preparations for this little lady's big day.
in honor of her pending birthiversary, she's been sharing her personality lately.
and guess what? turns out she really is one of us:

please excuse my lack of posting and commenting. i'll see you for "this moment." take care out there.

this moment. . .

2010-04-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

new

2010-04-08T16:57:00.005-04:00

new yellow on the forsythia bush:

new blossom buds on our tree:

baby toes in new grass:

new flowers from the babes in my new vase:

new olivia face:

new vocabulary in the works:

malan: jane, you look senSAtional!
jane: well YOU look NOTHING!!!!

(at least "nothing" was the worst thing she could think of. i'll appreciate that while i can.)

wishing you something new this week. . .

busted

2010-04-07T20:16:00.002-04:00

good thing we buy cheapo 1-ply, because olivia daily lies in wait outside the bathroom door and the moment someone opens it she makes a mad dash for the tp.