kate singing to no one

for mom, who is dealing with her aging mother.
for dad, because he needs to laugh.
for bb, who said she hasn't seen the real kate in awhile [and because she's enduring those last few looong weeks of pregnancy]

and for everyone else who wants to see kate stand on an egg carton [and see our messy front room]




why yes, that IS the same shirt she's had on for the last week or so- we kinda love it.
and yes, that IS a roll of toilet paper laying on the ground- i have a toddler. enough said.
hope she made you smile....

happy saturday.

library voice... yeah right.

Liz-

liz browsing for her favs- no idea why she has a bald spot...

must be the awesome fluorescent lighting

i think this is the only pic i have of you today in which you aren't a blur.
i thought taking you and katers to the library would be fun....
i obviously should have taken into consideration that you are my daughter's polar opposite.
while kate will sit and read books while i pick out new books for her,
you were investigating all the dvd's [pulling them off the shelf] and finding your favorites-
you found mulan and didn't put it down once without a fight.
you are such a curious child and full of energy and you're too smart for your own good.
i have no idea how your mommie keeps you entertained all day long!

you kept wandering off and i kept steering you back to the kiddie section.
at one point kate was standing on a chair, holding one finger up and counting 'one...ta...tree'
you didn't respond to her warnings and she looked at me with the most bewildered expression.
i was shaking with laughter at that point instead of parenting like i should of been.


oh, lizamagoos, how i love you and your non-stop action.
you make me laugh.
i can't wait to see how you react to your little brother-
only a few weeks to go!!


see you next week.

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just some pics of kate. nothing special.

nothing special--

except she's the most adorable child i've ever seen.

[that's the mommie goggles talking. they're kind of like beer goggles except no beer and no hangover.]

 kate ready to go on a diaper-run to target on a beautiful spring day.

$1 popcorn from tar-jay is quickly becoming our favorite lunch. 

jank has informed me numerous times that popcorn is not an acceptable lunch for our growing tot.

duh jancer, that's why we have some cheese samples and milk.

besides, it's a family tradition. 

who am i to break years of tradition?!

c'mon mom, bb, someone.... back me up here.

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sunday afternoons are the best

future little jancers-

take note of what makes your momma happy:

kids reading [sans pants].

totally classic and wonderful.

future kiddos- please do this for me.

again and again and again.

because it never gets old watching your child "read" a book.

especially when it sounds like this-

'baa blak ee ja mo kaa quaa'

totally indiscernible and totally charming. 

love forever,

your momma

ps. to kate-- i didn't think it was possible to love you more but everyday i do. especially when you cuddle with me before bedtime while we read books. it's so hard to resist your requests for 'mo mo mo' [more]. i hope you wake up tonight so i can rock you and feel the weight of your sleepy head on my shoulder. 

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i live with a stranger

dear husband....


i am in the depths of despair.
my world is upside down.
i feel like i don't even know you anymore.


you don't like nutella???
everyone likes nutella.
it's chocolate! and nutty! and delish!

how did i not know this?
i'm a little weirded out.


what other secrets are you hiding?


love forever [unless you admit to hating pancakes- then we're through],
your wifey.


ps. after you went to work this is what kate decided she wanted to wear. she tromped around the house for over an hour in her boots and mismatched socks. it was awesome.

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camera magic

dear instagram-

i know that most people are sooo over your amazingness.

i'm not. 

[but i've always been a little behind the trends- a curse in my life]

i think your little camera app for my iphone is great.

and i'm obsessed.

you rock.

plus you're free. double rock.

top to bottom:

1. katers and friend krew @ kids museum last nite

2. part of my v-day gift- jank knows me too well! 

[i made myself sick eating the sour patch bunnies- not a finer moment in my life]

3. repeat of #1

4. often miss kate would rather watch other kids play instead of participating. silly girl

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'the face' captured on film!

meet kate


here she is in all her mullet glory. [please excuse the messy apartment- that's how it goes some days]

episode four

'the face' is probably not funny to anyone but us.
but when she does it- whew boy! we are rolling on the ground, howling and gasping for air.
oh the joys of having a kid.


ps. my second fav part-- when she puts the rug on her head. what goes on in that little head???

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you can't go wrong with a day full of chocolate and pink

to my two valentines-

jank and kate at the park feeding the birds-

kate was feeling the 80's vibe so she pegged her jeans and rocked the side pony.

[and then she sat in goose poop]

jank- 

i would be lost without you. 

thanks for making me laugh and for being my best friend. 

you are my rock. 

i love you more. 

miss kate-  

i'm lucky to have you. 

i treasure your giggles and hugs.

i love the feel of your tiny hand in mine. 

you're my little darling and i love you more each day.

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a sleepover at grandma's

G+G Hansen-

thanks for watching our little peanut this weekend while jank and i worked back-to-back shifts.
we're sooooo glad she was an angel for you-
it sure makes it easier to ask you to watch her again....
how about next weekend?
ok, not really-- but maybe in march???

i'm still laughing about how she pointed at her bed and asked to be put to sleep at 730 pm.
[we've trained her well!....or maybe she just inherited my love of sleep]


thanks again for all you two do for our family.
love you guys.



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missing my magoos

lizamagoos-

we're going to miss you today.
sorry we are all sick and you can't come play.
we would've colored pictures and watched the fox and the hound.
and of course kate would've smacked you when you stole the baby from her.
[maybe that part you won't miss?]

right now katers is sitting on my lap screeching 'EEEEEEEEEEE!!'
and now she's blowing you kisses and trying to hug the computer screen.
she misses her cousin.

see you soon-
after we're all done being croupy.

love you little one!



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sometimes i write letters to myself

dear kayla-

you need a pep talk.

today was rough.
your kid has croup.
she woke up a lot last night and didn't nap today.
she sounds like a 50 yr old smoker.
she barks like a seal.

and she gave the sickness to you.
your throat is on fire.
you're tired.
you're not hungry.

warm weather seems eons away.
you want to go on walks outside and watch miss kate feed the ducks.
you want to drive with the windows down.
february seems too long [ironically it's the shortest month]

and for the last week you've had thoughts swirling in your head.
thoughts about life, love, faith, motherhood.
you can't put these thoughts into coherent sentences so they remain stuck in your head.
and this makes you insane.


ok, so what's the plan?
how do you handle this?
you've been here before and you will be in this overwhelming place again.


plan: you focus on the good

you cherish the moments [hours] you spend cuddling and soothing your precious daughter.
she needs you more than normal right now.
she's hurting and isn't sleeping well.
she needs you to rock her and stroke her face and tell her you love her.
she needs the comfort of your mama arms.
you are one of the only people that can calm her fears so focus on that instead of all the sleep you're missing.

that elmo has special soothing powers also

the sun shined bright today.

you opened all the blinds and let the light in.

it made you happy to see the bright blue sky.

never mind the whipping wind, just focus on the heat from the sun.

view from our parking lot

katers is getting better.

this sickness isn't that bad and will pass quickly.

she will go back to napping well and sleeping through the night- i promise.

today she wore her bright pink bird shirt and spent all day pointing at her chest saying 'tweet tweet'

that's awesome.

enjoy her.

thanks bb for the shirt!

you've got jank.
remember how he likes you more than burgers and french fries?
remember how he told you last night that he loves you just the way you are?
even when you protested and told him he would be better off with someone prettier, sweeter, more patient... he insisted that he would rather be with you.
that's incredible and don't disregard the magic you two have.

date night last friday- salt city burger co.

see? you feel better already!

now apologize to all your friends for putting them through this long post

[sorry everyone]

and put some good music on and file your taxes like you said you would.

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ditch day

mr jank,

i promise i was going to go to church today.
i know i always struggle to get there when you're working.
i hate going alone, it's lonely.
but seriously, i was going to go today.
cross my heart.

i was showered, had already put dinner in the crock pot [lime chicken!] and was doing my make-up when i heard it--
the sick cough from peanut.
not the dry fake cough she's famous for.
but a gross cough and then came the boogies.
i'll stop the description there because bb's very pregnant, reads this blog and has a sensitive gag reflex.
[sorry if you're gagging sis]

let's just say i thought it better to stay home.
i thought back to when we were in charge of the nursery and parents would bring their sick ones to us.
we always looked at each other dumbfounded.
'are people really that stupid?' we'd ask each other.
it turns out, yep, they are that dumb.
and now i'm one of them.
i really considered taking her despite the cough and boogies just because i wanted to go.
selfish much?

so now i'm skipping church, blogging and listening to peanut cough.
she's supposed to be sleeping but is struggling to fall asleep.
poor thing.


ok, well that's the update for today.
i hope you get a chance to check the blog while you work.
and don't forget to eat!


and i know you'd be very sad if i didn't give you a pic to look at.
[check out her sweeeet hair]

love those monkey slippers!

yours always,
bug

ps. don't stay two hours past your scheduled time, ok? that's not cool.


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warm sand, ocean waves, hot sun... yes please

Dear old man winter-

we just got back from the indoor pool.

we were [once again] pretending you didn't exist.

no offense mr winter,

we're just really sick of you.

today the sun was streaming in through the wall of windows.

i sat in the kiddie pool with my face turned towards the windows and soaked in those heavenly rays.

it cured my crankiness.

[i was cranky b/c i was stupid and didn't go to sleep until 2. i'm such an idiot sometimes]

even you, with all your freezing temps and snow, couldn't ruin that moment for me.

but it left me dreaming of a tropical vacation.

like this one:

ka'anapali beach, maui- 2008

give my love to your darling sister- miss spring.

she's welcome to visit us anytime she desires.

seriously, anytime.

sincerely,

[vitamin d deficient] mrs jank

ps. mom and dad- hope you enjoy every last minute of hawaii. fyi- current temp in st paul is 19 degrees. [that's going to sting a little]
.


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girls night

terisha-

a big thank you to you for being such a wonderful friend.

thanks for watching my little one last night so i could go out and celebrate a coworkers pregnancy.
i very much appreciated being able to eat dinner without having to entertain a toddler.
[although someone else's toddler did manage to get a raisin stuck up their nose- never a dull moment with kids!]

my dinner consisted of hot cocoa [it was 9 degrees today. yuck] and this 'desert sampler tray'-

chocolate cake, lemon cheesecake and creme brulee

it was a good as it looks.
and please someone take notice that i didn't finish the entire butter patty like i usual do.
see? i'm healthy.


thanks again mama terisha.
you're awesome.


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