Thursday, March 31, 2011

ni hao [or something like that]

to the kayla from may 2007-

you're about to have one of your greatest adventures.
this month you will travel to china with your nursing program.
some things i want you to know:

you will climb the great wall [and i do mean climb]
your lungs and legs will burn from the effort.
you will see numerous couples with newly adopted baby chinese girls strapped to their chests.
these people will be grinning stupidly and you won't understand why at the time.
but you understand now the love of a parent.






you will have a very memorable panic attack while in a gondola.
the gondola will be filled with people and they will all laugh at you.
you will be clutching the center pole and muttering to yourself while the gondola sways back and forth.
there will be a minor monsoon happening and you will be over a large bay in hong kong.
you will not think this experience is funny until almost 2 years later.
and then you'll think it's hilarious.
you will then go on to walk in the rain to see the world's largest buddha.






you will see the most amazing architecture.
you will walk on streets that are thousands of years old.
you will me amazed.
your favorite place will be the royal family's summer palace. 
it's on a lake and the grounds are gorgeous [last pic]









you will not learn to like chinese food like everyone says you will.
you will lose 10 pounds during the trip.
you will survive on coke, sprite and white rice.
fellow students will eat the fish eye right off of the fish 'for luck'.
you really should pack more granola bars.
when you return stateside, you won't eat asian food for almost 2.5 years.






you will travel to northern china to visit a nursing/dental school.
this will seem insignificant to you at first but you will quickly realize what a big deal the visiting americans are to the chinese students. 
the chinese students and faculty will treat you like royalty.
and you will don a white nurses hat and take blood pressures in a local park.
the locals won't care about their BP, they will only want to touch your blonde hair.






you will miss your husband immensely.
you will sleep on the hardest beds ever.
you will not see a 'western toilet' until the end of the trip in hong kong.
and 4 years from now you will be craving another adventure and it won't be possible at the time and this will make you very sad.

but you have a ridiculous amount of pictures to scroll through so you can relive this adventure from the comforts of your bedroom.
and you can do this while your beautiful daughter sits on your lap [and that's a pretty awesome adventure of it's own kind]


enjoy china!



ps. two of my favorite pics from the trip:






.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

highlights of my day



playing at the park with katers and liz... fun until they started running into the street.
why do toddlers have to be so frustratingly independent?



i may or may not have eaten an entire sleeve.... i'll let you guess what happened.


i worked a night shift on saturday nite and i still haven't recovered.
all my work friends are reading this and rolling their eyes.
sorry night-shifters, i'm just not as hard core as i used to be.
i am 28 now- i guess the years are starting to wear on me.




.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

'here comes the sun'... a classic


to jankyface:


jank jamming to the beatles and me making a weird face.
[we are incapable of taking good pictures]


i miss you.
having the apartment to myself for the last 24 hours was great.
running errands without having to buckle, unbuckle, buckle [repeat x20] a toddler was so easy.
but i sleep poorly when your warm body isn't next to mine [stealing all the covers]
and i miss seeing your crazy morning hair.

i'm still crazy jealous that peanut snuggled and slept next to you for 3 hours 
she NEVER does that.
it's not fair.

can't wait to see you after my night shift!


mucho amore,
bug


.

Friday, March 25, 2011

a guaranteed way to make me smile

macdo's:

it's no secret that i love you.
i'm not ashamed [though i probably should be]
you make me happy.




today it snowed.
it was pretty for about 10 seconds and then i was annoyed.
kate slept until 1000 because the storm clouds obscured the sun.
that was awesome.

we had a playdate with a 3 yr old named alia.
she taught kate how to play in the toilet.
not cool.

i was thoroughly annoyed after the playdate-
seemed like the kids spent the majority of the time fighting over toys, not playing.
and it was still snowing.
bleh.



so off we went to the golden arches.
and there i found my happiness.
ba-da-da-da-daaa.

i told myself i would order a diet coke [to offset the mcnuggets of course]
'diet coke. diet coke. diet coke' i chanted to myself the whole time i was in line.
'would you like a large coke with that happy meal?'
'YES PLEASE!'
next time i'll be better.
promise.


after lunch kate and i snuggled and read books on the couch for the better part of an hour.
she was freshly bathed and smelled scrumptious.
her blond curls tickled my cheek.
i think i kissed her a hundred times.


i just decided--
it was a good day
thanks macdo's.


much love,
the completely satiated jancers


ps. kate ate her whole meal plus some of mine. woot woot- it's an eating day!


.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

spring for one day.


dear sugarhouse goose:


yesterday was glorious wasn't it?


thanks for not biting my child while she tried to have a conversation with you.
don't worry if you couldn't understand her speed-babble,
we don't what she's saying half the time either.


gratefully,
miss kate's mum.


ps. is it duck, duck, gray duck or duck, duck, goose? i grew up with gray duck and quite enjoyed that game.

.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

shalom



dad+mom:

thanks for calling yesterday.
it was nice to hear your voices [if only for a few minutes]
i feel like the parent and you guys are my kids-
off galavanting around the world.

i can't wait to see all your pictures.
the dead sea... nazareth... the sea of galilee... capernaum.
and that's only the first few days!


glad you're enjoying yourselves.
all's well here in utah.
the sun shone for a few hours yesterday and that made me incredibly happy.

i saw harrison again.
he's still super tiny- he looks just like liz did at that age.
he was all snuggled in his blanket and his eyes were open the whole time.
bb says he doesn't do much sleeping and apparently he loves to eat.
he's a content baby thus far [hopefully he stays that way!]


b thinks she looks bad. silly girl looks a-ma-zing!
thanks m+d for good genetics.


keep the updates coming.
we love to know about your adventures.
but let's not text anymore at 0230, okay?
you woke jank up [not that he cared, but still]


love you both,
beaner.
.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

a battle i chose not to fight.


hi everyone!

just wanted to show you all how i dress on a cold dreary day:




that's all.
have a good day.


love,
miss kate

.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

short and sweet


mr jank-



i super love you for many reasons.....
this picture is just one of those reasons.


thanks for the best weekend of my life.


ps. sometimes [all the time] i enter online giveaways with the expectation of NEVER winning.... guess my luck changed for my birthday this year. check this out. maybe i teared up a little [i do that when i get really excited. it's embarrassing]. now i can't sleep because i'm too excited! thanks bloom!!

.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

yeah for grandparents!

Diane and Kevin-


we can't say THANK YOU enough for taking our little munchkin this weekend.
i wonder how much sleep we'll get??
probably an embarrassing amount but i don't care.
it's birthdaaaaaaay weekend!!


here are a few helpful insights into kate's life-
[just to make you're weekend easier and because you know i'm a control freeeeaak]


-- when kate stands in front of the fridge and says 'nononono'... it means milk. yeah, we don't get it either.
-- she likes to have as many books as possible in her crib when she goes to sleep- we try to limit it to 4 or 5 otherwise she ends up sleeping on top of them and then cries because she's uncomfortable.
-- i packed 3 movies just in case you need them- 'babeee movie' is jungle book 2, 'AAA' is the letter factory, and 'elmo!' is of course elmo.
-- you know her well enough to know that she doesn't really eat. carbs, fruit and milk are our fallbacks.
-- she likes to lay on her stomach and drink the bath water while thrashing around like a fish. she ends up getting water up her nose so don't freak when she starts crying and holding her face. she'll learn eventually about cause and effect... hopefully.
-- she'll con you into reading a bazillion books before going to sleep... enjoy the snuggles!
-- if you forget to put an overnite diaper on her before bed, you'll hate yourself in the morning.


see you sunday miss kate!



THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

we can't wait to party like rockstars!


love,
b+k


.

Friday, March 18, 2011

a nephew


Harrison Tyler Allen-


born on march 17 @ 0102
5# 15oz. 
19 inch.


well hello there tiny man!
so glad you could join us.
we've been waiting for you.

everyone's excited you're here-
i think your sister is the most excited of us all.
you should see how her eyes light up when she looks at you.
she adores you already.
oh man, are you two going to have fun together.


so glad you're healthy
[and cute]
thanks for letting me snuggle you.
can't wait to get to know you!


ps. thanks for giving your mom a relatively easy delivery. after a month straight of contracting every 5 or 10 minutes... well, she deserved a complication-free delivery. [way to go BB!!!]


.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

eating at restaurants brings me joy

NANA!!

congrats to you- nana of three grandbabies!
i love that i'm congratulating you and not BB who did all the work.
but that letter will come tomorrow once i have see the little guy and taken 50 bajillion pics of him.
so for today-- congrats again!

aren't new babies just magical?
i bet you're so jealous that later today i get to go to the hospital and love on him.
[sorry to rub it in]
but don't worry, once you guys return from egypt you'll fly out here lickety-split and get your nana-loving on.
so don't go and get yourself blown up while you're over there.
[i really mean that!]



in other news...

 @ texas roadhouse. katers ate about 4 rolls and we called it good and 
didn't order her a meal. we're great parents like that.


we miss you and we miss going out to eat!
that sounds horrible i know, like all you're good for is paying at the restaurant [couldn't be less true].
but it's so nice that you spoil us when you're here and then you leave and we go back to eating like college kids and we cry.
ok, no one cried but i have had one hell of a time getting back into the cooking mode.
meals this week consisted of sandwiches, cereal and a crockpot dinner that totally didn't turn out.

at least it's my birthday weekend and jank is taking me out.
yeeeeeaaaaah for birthdays!!


so thanks for birthing me so i can go out to eat.
[that just sounds weird. i'm off my game today]


ps. every time we get into the car miss kate says 'nana? nana?' she's always disappointed when we pull up to the grocery store and not your hotel.


.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

i promised never to spank.....


to my naughty little stinker:




this is how i found you yesterday.
i heard the 'tink tink tink' of the bell we keep on your dresser and i knew what you were doing even before i entered your room.
i knew your dad would love to see you in action so i grabbed the camera and snap photographic evidence of your mischief.
then i disciplined you [timeout corner] while trying not to laugh.


child, you have never been the adventurous type.
you don't climb high, run fast or jump far.
but this was the sixth time [!!!] i've found you on your dresser.
clearly time-outs aren't working, so now what?
guess we're going to do a little furniture rearranging so you don't break your neck.
although, i think a fall off the dresser would be the best lesson for you.
[please no one tell DCFS that i said that... they already have enough evidence against me]


.

Monday, March 14, 2011

my commute

City of Salt Lake:


you are a charming little place.
i like you but sometimes i have difficulty calling you downtown.
you just don't feel like you have enough hustle and bustle.
and you lack architecture and height.
any decent city needs lots and lots of skyscrapers, everyone knows this.


growing up 20 minutes from downtown St Paul was awesome.
i didn't take advantage of it much [except the science museum!!] and this is something i deeply regret.
my sister was way cooler than i and would go downtown with her friends.
i was always jealous of her and her adventures.
but i digress, this is a letter to you, SLC.


SLC- you are a magical place in the dead of winter when twinkly christmas lights are everywhere.
and the spring! oh the spring is a glorious place time to visit you.
the tulips in temple square make me smile like an idiot.
i think a visit to those tulips is in order [once the weather clears- boo hiss rainy dreary day]


mostly my interaction with your city occurs in my car.
my weekly commute in and out of the city occurs around the hours of six pm and six am.
this drive is also mostly made on the weekends.
because of the crazy hours i keep i get to see the city deserted.
and a deserted city is kind of eerie and awesome.
a couple transients, a police car or two and maybe a jogger are the only ones on the street at six am on a sunday morning.
and this allows me to stop my car in the middle of the street, get out of my car and snap this picture:


i know it's not the only pretty thing in SLC, but it is rather beautiful.
 especially when the sun is coming up over the mountains.


seeing this building at 0720 after a long [only 11 hours thanks to DST] shift makes me happy.
because after a shift full of saying things like:
'please sir pull your gown down, your penis is showing... again'
'please can you stop saying the F word?'
'coworker! don't throw my patient's clean needles away! what if my heroin addict patient needs them later?!' [because i know i'm not going to stop them from using and everyone is entitled to a clean needle]

after all that- seeing the temple really calms my soul.




ps. did i really just use temple and penis in the same paragraph? oh my


.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

who doesn't love a donut?

hi dad!

glad to hear you're back from toronto safe and sound.
i returned mom to the airport this morning so she should be back in your arms by now.
thanks for letting us have her for 11 days-
it was great.

the next time i see you, you'll be a papa x3.
isn't that just awesome!


i thought of you this morning after i dropped mom off.
it was early [0800 on a saturday- ugh] and the sun was peeking through the clouds and the mountains were beautiful.
i thought about all those saturdays when we would all work together in the yard.
it felt so good to be up early and productive.
i really should try that more often but my soul loooooves to sleep.
and who am i to deny my soul anything?


christmas 1991. we were so cool-
 but not as stylish as mom in her gold shirt! yoowza.


i decided to channel my inner haskins and stop by the bakery for some donuts.
remember how you would always buy fresh donuts for the weekend?
i wanted anything with chocolate, bb had old fashioned, aaron had 'frinkles' and i can't remember what brandon had...was it just a plain sugar??
i loved that tradition.
what's better than waking up to a plate piled high with donuts?!
nothing i tell you.

jank was over the moon excited when i told him i had donuts and chocolate milk for us.
kate had one bite and promptly spit it out.
i swear she's not my offspring-- how does she not like sugar???

thanks for the great childhood and the donuts.
love you.

beaner


ps. mom- i took a 2 hour nap today so don't worry about my lack of sleep. hope your flight was good and i hope you're feeling better!

.

Friday, March 11, 2011

waiting sucks.



to my unborn nephew-

um, hurry up.
i'm not a patient person and i want to meet you.
will you have hair? what color?
will you have a dimple on your right cheek like your daddy?
will you be a snuggley baby?
[please, please be a snugglebug]


will you be a ball of happy energy like your sister?

don't let this demure shot fool you.


or will you be a shy child like your cousin- who NEVER looks at the camera when i desire her to. 
tsk tsk katers!

miss kate's hair! it's growing!
bangs and sunglasses are something i can't figure out- someone please advise.


well, little man... we're trying our hardest to get you to come while nana is here.
we all thought a little walk might do it.


nana's rocking her new toms and i am sooooo jealous.


the walk was unsuccessful as far as going into labor is concerned. [it was even uphill!]
however, being outside and feeling the sun on our backs was awesome.

it looks like nana might miss your entrance unless you come before 0800 tomorrow.
[i offered to break your mom's water but she just looked at me with a look of disgust. apparently that's not kosher. whoops]

so fine- be stubborn [just like your momma] and come when you feel like it.
but let me just say there is nothing fancy about waiting until 38 weeks. 
37 weeks works just fine-- trust me, okay?
i'm the brilliant one who knows everything [and you should never forget that]


ps. it's my birthmonth so you have to do as i say. case closed.


.


Thursday, March 10, 2011

proof i am an unfit mother

EMS crew of engine 21-




from the bottom of my embarrassed heart- THANK YOU!

sorry you had to come break into my car and rescue my kid.
you were much faster than your counterparts from last summer.
i super promise to stop locking my keys AND my kid in the car.
[but at least this time it wasn't 100 degrees outside]

thanks EMS dudes!


ps. my favorite part was when the police officer asked me "now WHY do you keep doing this?!" i looked him straight in the face and replied "because i am an idiot". pretty sure he's going to call DCFS on me.

.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

i guess the thief felt guilty... or the gas ran out.


dear woog-

WELCOME HOME!!


turns out i have very few pics of mr woog. that's not very nice i suppose.


we are so happy to have you back,
and all in one piece!!
the only thing missing from you is the semi-broken microwave we were storing in your trunk.
i can live with that loss.

for a moment i was excited to have an excuse to buy a new car.
[i love shiny new things]
but i'm more excited to have you back, leaky sunroof and all.
we'll save the big purchases for after mr jank graduates.

so welcome home woog, we missed you.

.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

still loves to swing


dearest most favoritist month-


march, i love you.
and not just because it's my birthday month 
[i'm shocked i haven't mentioned this yet! it's already 8 days into the month!]
i love you because of the hope you bring.
the promise of warm weather, flowers blooming and birds chirping...
nothing is better than spring.
easily my favorite season.


enjoying the sun. nice face janky


i love wearing my mint green rain boots.
and sweaters and trench coats.
i love how the sun feels on my face and seeing the snow melt.

this girl always has a smile on her face. i love that.


i'm so glad you're here mr. march.
i was getting really sick of miss february.
she's boring.


well hello tiny preggers! any day now......



update:: i wrote this a few days ago when it was spring. now it's winter again and i'm ticked. go away snow! we don't like you anymore.

in like a lion, out like a lamb.....


.


Monday, March 7, 2011

good and bad: a morning rant



good: woog was found!
bad: we received this news @ 0156. i had just barely fallen asleep [normal for me] and was enjoying a naughty dream with jake gyllenhaal thus i was thoroughly ticked when jank's phone rang.

good: woog appears driveable according to the officer @ 0156
bad: hearing that woog appears driveable does not inspire me to get out of bed, awaken my babe and package us all up to go pick up woog just to realize it's not driveable. 'just have it towed' i mumbled to jank, 'i'm pretty sure insurance will cover the fee'. jank has car towed. woog is now impounded and we [not insurance] have to pay the fee. jank is now mad at me- whoops. five guys for dinner me thinks.

good: i don't like being awake before 0900 and most days katers humors me and plays quietly in her crib until 8/9ish. i love her everyday for this.
bad: today she pooped herself awake and i was the lucky person who got to stumble out of bed and change a disgusting diaper @ 0700. so not cool.

good: leftover mile high fudge brownie pie for breakfast.
bad: i see absolutely no bad in this.

good: jank informed me last night that he only has 3 rotations left-- psych [which he started this am], the VA and a 3 week rotation in july that is TBA.
very good: we're almost done! words don't do my excitement justice.


and this concludes my morning tirade.
i'll now return to eating pie and watching tarzan with kate.
[oh man, nap time can't come soon enough today]

Saturday, March 5, 2011

family


mom's in town and i couldn't be happier.
i love having her here.
hopefully she'll still be here when bb has her babe.
[fingers crossed]

jank, liz, kate and nana enjoying the spring weather




ps. woog is still missing [hate you car thief!] but our rental is a new camry- now that's not half bad.


.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

thief in the night

dear person[s] that stole mr jancer's car-

i don't like you much.
what you did ruined our day.
you suck.

this is 'woog' as we call him. 
sad little woog all alone somewhere :(

maybe you'll abandon the car in a parking lot in a few days once you've realized your stupidity.
i hope you don't take kate's old car seat we store in the trunk.
and i hope you don't crash it into a wall just for fun or strip it.

please just bring our woog back to us.
he's all paid for and runs well.
we like that about him.

and please stop stealing people's cars.
it's not very nice.


.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

special delivery

UPS man:

thanks for the package-
you made our day.


kate loved the cardboard box and the air-filled plastic bags. [totally safe toddler toy]
and i loved the contents of the box-
dresses for summer since i look weird in shorts but refuse to wear pants in the heat.
i think skirts and dresses are going to be my new best friends.

it's hard to find a dress that is suitable for chasing a kid
AND one that requires nothing but the dress itself.
no shirts or tanks underneath, thank you very much.
summers are hot enough without layers. yuck.

target.com had lots of options so in usual fashion i bought $300 worth of dresses.
um yeah, jank freaked out the first time i did this [in the early years of our marriage]
now he's used to how i shop.
and he agrees it's a much simpler way.
i end up returning the majority of it -did you really think i kept it all?
and i don't have to deal with kate running out of a dressing room when i have no pants on and cannot chase her [funny in hindsight, miserable in real time]




many thanks UPS man for bringing us joy today.
come back often.


ps. i don't see this instagram addiction ending anytime soon. my apologies if you think it's annoying.