jan 31


this is what happens when you don't take your photo for the day before the sun goes down.

behold. a picture of boiling macaroni noodles. breathtaking.

jan 30


her two favorite accessories: blankie and tasha.

jan 29


my mr. fixit. when i look at this photograph, i feel glad i''m not a man. i'll stick to folding the laundry thank you very much.

jan 28


progeny. this is your mother speaking. remember me? i've included a visual aid. i'm that old lady up there. yeah. this is what i look like after we've gone to the gym, then costco, and now i've just put you down for a nap. see that little teeeeny smile of my face? well look harder! yes, there. that's because i get to go lie on my bed now and read for at least an hour while you sleep. sweet dreams!

jan 27


sorry superfans. i'm pretty sure uncle steve is in first place for the favorite non-parent position. well, maybe blankie...then uncle steve.

jan26


she takes pride in working the land.

little miss ventured out into the grass without shoes and then realized there were these mini pine cones hurting her feet, so she decided just to stay planted in one spot. didn't move an inch for maybe ten full minutes. luckily she had the necessary lawn equipment close at hand. also, the wind was blowing her hair around, so she kept grabbing at the back of her head like she was losing her toupee or something. uber-adorable.

note the dog hair all over the lawn. i gave luckydog a pretty serious buzz a couple days ago on the back porch. he's like a spry little pup again.

jan 25














i dropped bets off at the gym's "kids club" for the first time today while i "worked out". i'm pretty sure it hurt my heart way more than hers, as she was eating snacks and playing happily on the toys when i showed up for retrieval.

the real question is this: couldn't they just TRY to make me feel a little better and give her like, number 12 or something? i mean, does she have to be inmate 3460?

jan 24


bets has been drinking from a straw for awhile now, but she just figured out a few days ago how to tilt the sippy-cup up to get the goods out. she walks around the house like this, really giving it a hundred percent.

jan 23


look, if you're gonna leave a cheerio stuck to your face long enough for me to lug my lazy bum off the couch, get the camera, figure out the settings AND snap a picture then it deserves to be made into blackmail.

and you thought i just wanted to capture that cute little mug of yours.....mwah-ah-AHHHH!

jan 22


13 weeks pregnant, and i've started running everyday. trying to stay ahead of the following previous pregnancy annoyances:

1. 60lb weight gain.

2. constant lower back pain. (perhaps as a result of #1? yeah...perhaps...)

3. sciatic nerve issues (are you getting the theme here? again, refer to #1.)

at least my ankles aren't quite as fat as the shadows....yet.

jan 21


lex-luther cat in the morning window.

jan 20


i wish you could see how far off the ground this couch is. let's just say it's a VERY mini sofa. cushion she's sitting on is MAYBE 1 1/2 feet off the ground. maybe.

queen elizabeth climbs on this little sofa almost every day, then proceeds to whine, writhe, contort, grunt, yell and pace back and forth until i go and help her down.

i know she could get down on her own. she flatly refuses.

i've left her up there for close to 15 minutes ignoring her pleas, thinking she'd get desperate enough and just hop down. i went and got her when she was full-on bawling with the heavy breathing and the tears and everything.

why didn't someone tell me kids were so bonkers?

jan 19


i spent many hours perfecting a certain calculation in my mind. the calculation goes something like this:

time cleaning up after baby < personal chores accomplished while letting baby destroy, disorganize and create a general state of increased entropy = baby is allowed said destruction.

i know, it's advanced. allow me to translate. if the time i spend cleaning up after the baby is less than the time it takes for me to accomplish whatever it is i'm trying to do while the baby is destroying things, then the baby gets to destroy.

motherhood = tricky.

jan 18


we eat oranges. we eat oranges every day....because they're just out there in the backyard...waiting. you see, there's pressure. for they are so very delicious! best oranges i've ever tasted, and they're ALL ripe, like right now! sadly, i think we'll need to start sharing them soon, because i cannot bear to see one single tantalizingly-tart little muffin go to waste.

jan 17


didn't take a picture today. we were traveling all day...home from illinois. there was a 4 hour car ride and two different planes involved. not pretty.

so in today's photographic stead, i present to you.......my child, watching backyardigans.

jan 16


you gotta know my mom; this is NOT the way peggy bakes. clearly the recipe was too big for the kitchen-aid. and it didn't help that one of the sticks of butter had been overlooked and was added after this photograph was taken. the cookies turned out delicious though. now that IS my mom.

jan 15


never a happier child than when a non-hat article of clothing is made into a hat.

jan 14


this pic could have been taken on any road trip with my family from the past 30 years or so. dale (aka my dad, aka pop pop) at the wheel with a sack of skittles. so classic.

still in nauvoo. temperature is in the teens.....single digits with the windchill factor.

we took the very pretty drive into the bustling city of keokuk this morning to stroll through walmart looking for things we don't need. i got a matching black sweatsuit; "dress sweats" i can wear to the store...or on the plane, since the jeans i wore here no longer fit. this is not a joke. elizabeth got a snow hat (she won't leave on her head) for a dollar and a few cheap toys to keep her entertained for the next couple days, since we will NOT be going out into this weather again anytime soon.

cucumbers
tomatoes
salt
pepper
sugar
apple cider vinegar

my parents were both born and raised in southern alberta. they've since sold-out and become full fledged united states of americans. anyways, as a wee little girl i'd frequently travel from southern california to lethbridge, alberta all by my lonesome to stay with my grandparents during the summertime. gramma would make stuff like this. and now when my mom makes it, it's tastes like canada in a bowl. soooo delicious.

ps - i kinda wanted to say it tastes like my grandma in a bowl, but well, that's just weird isn't it.

jan 11


it's snowing, and the cardinals are out in full force. very pretty. too bad for you, i'd rather take a pic of pop pop dale spying on the cardinals than a pic of the actual birds.

jan 10


we're some of those wacky mormons, and my parents are on one of those wacky mormon missions in nauvoo, illinois. tickets are cheap so the little missy and i went on an impromptu trip to visit. here's gramma peggy testing out the aerobed.

jan 9


bets likes to visit dad in bed on saturday mornings. do not, i repeat, do not remove the binkie before 8am. she thinks it's a fun game til you actually pull the thing out.

don't worry. this husband isn't that guy who like, brings the guitar to the camp out and looks you in the eye, strumming all six strings of every bar chord as he earnestly sings in your general direction. he's more of an off-the-cuff guitarist. not that there's anything wrong with being earnest. maybe i have a personal problem with sincerity or something.

in any case, little miss was pretty fascinated by the whole thing.

 

i've looked into this closet from my bedroom more than once and thought the light had potential for something neat. not sure this is what i had in mind, but it's a try at least. notably unfortunate is the closet's state of organization. shame shame.

i'm entitling this one "attack of the vac."  doesn't it look like it's gonna eat her?

we even vacuumed under the cushions today.  mother would be so proud.

what does it mean when the child follows you around handing you the lens cap?

remember when your baby was just a little squirt and you were super obsessive about binkie sanitation, hand washing and the like? then the kid started crawling, and hygiene became a futile practice you used to dream about in times of yore...

yeah. those are spilled crackers. she was still hungry. i allow this now. what has become of us.

this photo hurts my eyes in many ways, but two very important elements pushed it over the edge into acceptable status.

1. you can buy this winter coat (and it's a nice one!) for eleven american dollars...in san diego...in january.

2. my daughter's a trekky, and apparently the husband finds this acceptable.

only good thing about church at 1pm is the extended family dinners have to come to us. i've taught my dear daughter well..... really putting her tight-fisted little knuckles into yoinking that toy away from her cousin. i'm pretty sure she's winning, right?

happy new year! of note today: layton n dayna came up from the oc, we engaged in a rousing game of trivial pursuit, greg made french toast, and we visited the park. oh, and we all ate a lot of nacho cheese sauce. mmm.