celebrating one

We were away last weekend, so I was only able to sneak off one little post from my phone. But away or not, we couldn't miss at least a simple celebration of Miss Eva's first ever birthday. Who would want to miss an opportunity to watch a little cake smashing?

Not Eva. She enjoyed smearing that chocolate all over her white sweater. Before we got smart and put on a bib.

I'm afraid I can't claim this cute little cupcake cake. But we are planning another little celebration now that we are back home, and of course I won't miss the opportunity to make one this time.

The weekend prior we met up with Tom's parents and watched her open her first birthday gifts. So fun!

I know I say this every month, but we just treasure our baby and could not imagine life without her. She has such a sweet little personality (even if it is a bit hard to uncover when she doesn't know you very well). I love the skeptical stares she gives people as she sizes them up, and then the little grin that follows as she shyly buries her head in my shoulder.

No walking yet, although she crawls like a champ and cruises around furniture on her feet. She loves to climb up to the piano while I am playing and reach the keys. She loves it even more if I'll pick her up and let her play, especially if I play along with a song that has a really good beat. 

No talking yet either, at least nothing discernable, but she babbles like crazy with great inflections in her voice and just loves to tell her sisters off or shush them. (SSSssssss!)

Still only 2 teeth, but I think the top ones are coming soon. (Didn't I say that last month?)

1 year stats:  weight: 22 lb 10 oz (75%)  length: 29.5 in (64%)

 

Brian & Roxie's wedding

As I mentioned earlier, we had the privilege of attending my cousin's wedding at the Little America Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was a happy and gorgeous occasion, and despite the long miles, we were so happy we made the trip to be there. Brian and Roxie will be our new neighbors on the farm here, you know, so we wanted to start them off by showing our support.

These are a few of my favorite photos from the occasion, but I mostly just sat back and enjoyed myelf and didn't take very many pictures. The location (indoors, low light) really made me painfully aware of the limitations of my out-of-date camera equipment (= blurry, grainy photos). That's okay. It's giving me further motivation to save funds for the new camera I crave. And I'm sure they got some gorgeous photos of their gorgeous wedding (from real photographers).

Congratulations, Brian and Roxie!

Memory Lane Monday—Memorial Day

Oh, hello! It's been awhile, hasn't it? We've been so busy focusing on "doing" that its hard to stop and talk about what we've been doing. We just returned from a lovely weekend in Wyoming attending the wedding of my cousin and soon-to-be neighbors. (More on that later.) The guys finally finished their spring seeding just before these uncharacteristically long spring rains hit. In the short breaks between rain storms we've been tackling some yard projects. (More on that later, too.)

In the meantime, it seemed appropriate to do a Memory Lane Monday post on Memorial Day.

From This Front Porch

This is one of my favorite pictures of my Grandma B., and we have it framed in our kitchen. They were so young (just married or just about to be?) before my Grandpa was deployed again in the Air Force during World War II. After he returned they raised 9 (NINE!) kids together, and I'm constantly amazed at that feat, considering how frazzled I sometimes feel with just 3 kids.

My grandma passed away the year I was married (1997) and even though I had the privilege of growing up down the road from her, I feel like I never got to know her as well as I'd have liked. You appreciate things differently when you are an adult than when you are a child, and when I got to that point in my life she was gone. Lately, living in the house they built together in 1971, I often find myself wondering about her experiences here. I think we would have had a lot in common. She did photography and had a studio set up in the basement. (There is also a dark room in house!) She also painted and did many other crafts, and I have can remember her painting in the dining room when we would drop by for a visit. Even though the decor in this house is dated and run down now, its clear that she was tuned into modern 70's decor and had fun decorating this house, just as I am now.

We visited her grave last night and dropped off flowers that we brought home from my cousin's wedding. I know she would have loved being at that wedding. The venue (Little America in Cheyenne) was right up her alley with its beautiful chandeliers and elegant decor. Miss you, Grandma!

Eva is 11 months old!

Today marks Eva's 11 month birthday. I just looked back at her 10 month update (which seems like was just yesterday—how time flies!) and I realize that a lot happens in just one quick month.

At her last update, she wasn't yet pulling herself up to stand, and now she pulls herself up on everything. (The little scratch you see below her eye was from a kitty—not ours, thankfully—and we were lucky it wasn't any closer to her little eye.)

 

Also, last month she didn't have any teeth. This month she is sporting two new bottom teeth, and probably soon to get more! Teething makes her a little cranky, but in general it doesn't affect her too much.

 

She has been having the most fun playing with her magnets at the fridge and can usually be seen toting one or two around the house.

She is now sleeping through the night (most of the time—I don't want to jinx our progress), except when we are away from home. Last weekend when we were out of town for my brother's wedding we spent the first torturous night with her having nothing to do with her Pack n' Play. Instead she spent most of the night in the crowded double bed with us, causing us all to get way too little sleep. The next night we fastened her into her stroller, paced the hotel room until she nodded off, and got a full night's sleep with her tucked snug in her stroller the whole time! She also napped in the stroller during the wedding festivities. Whatever works.

It is hard to believe that in one more quick month we will be celebrating her first birthday. I fret about her growing up to fast, but surprisingly not as much as I remember fretting with Abby. Now I know how much fun they are as they progress (and how much easier things are when they are more independent) so I just embrace every milestone!

Kindergarten Roundup

When Sarah has dress-up day at preschool (silly hair day, mismatched socks day) she is often resistant. "Silly isn't cute, Mom." So when told her she could dress up as a cowgirl for Kindergarten Roundup, I didn't expect her enthusiastic response.

"Cowgirls always go like this with their feet, Mom."

 

 

She has a giant class of . . . 13 kids! They are certain to be a tight-knit group by the time they get through their 13 years of school. Her teacher is one I knew when I was growing up and she is energetic and awesome. I love a small town! And now we can't wait for fall when Sarah can ride the bus with her sister and go to all-day Kindergarten. (After a nice long summer break, of course).

Easter weekend

Our Easter weekend was filled with fun, and I got the cousin shot I was hoping for:

All 10 of the Clark cousins together. What a special time!

Here are a few more of my favorite memories from the weekend:

A much-needed girls night out.

A birthday girl and some rock-climbing wall action.

Amy's delicious pies.

Staying with Uncle Brad, Aunt Amy, and cousin Ollie (even if the babies didn't sleep.)

An amazing, gigantic Easter dinner with TWO kid's tables!

Hunting Easter eggs against the beautiful Montana mountains, and an absolutely gorgeous sunny day.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend too!

cousins

I'm loving this picture of my girls and all but 2 of their Clark cousins. It is a rare opportunity for them to all be together, especially since 3 of them moved to London last June.

Don't you just love the worn out knees?

Want to know something cool about these kids? There was 1 born every year for 7 years. On the 7th year 2 were born, and the pattern was broken. Then we skipped a year and had one more, and skipped another year and had one more. In all there are now 10 Clark grandkids. It is so fun to see them all lined up like this.

This weekend, as you read this, we have the opportunity to have all 10 of them together. I am so hoping to get a good picture of them all since such a picture doesn't exist. If I do, I'll be sure to share it.

Eight kids in one house means there are a lot of mouths to feed. Suddenly some of these kids are growing up and their appetites are growing with them. I was again thankful for my big, long dining room table.

And these:

English scones for our English cousins. (They have such an accent now. Its so cute!)

And cinnamon rolls. Always a crowd favorite.

Have a very happy Easter tomorrow!

Eva is 10 months old!

Today Eva is 10 months old, so its time to document where she is at right now. I haven't kept a baby book or a scrapbook for Eva, so someday I will be very glad for the updates I've posted here. It is as much for me as it is for you. :)

What a happy girl! She loves to crawl and explore.

She pulls herself up to her knees on things, but she hasn't been brave enough to pull herself to her feet very much.

She had a blast playing with her cousin Oliver last week. She has started to be a little possessive, however, of toys Ollie was playing with and of her Grandma...

Bath time! Sorry, couldn't resist. I think Eva's baby chubs have her pretty close in weight to Ollie, who is 2 1/2 months older.

Special times with Great Grandpa. Grandpas are always good for having interesting things in pockets.

And Grandma is a pretty good substitute for Mom, but usually, this baby is still a big Momma's girl.

We unfortunately didn't quite make it through this month without a yucky cold and a run of antibiotics to heal up red ears. At least it has only been her second ear infection. She has been much luckier than her older sister's were in that regard.

Maybe due to her feeling better, this past week we have had some really good nights with several nights that qualified as sleeping through the night. I so love a good night's sleep!

Her hair is thickening up and still much darker than her sister's. Perhaps a little wavy, too. I just love her hair.

And no teeth yet!

Just lots of smiles, precious giggles and one sweet personality. We cherish every minute with her.

what we've been up to

Sorry I've been so absent lately. Here is what we've been up to:

1. This cold has been kicking my hiney. Eva, Sarah, and I finally got some antibiotics and we are slowly recovering. I've been taking it a little bit easy so it has definitely affected my productivity.

2. The basement is almost finished and I am so happy with it. We have moved back into the space and it is so nice to be using it. Here is what we have left:

a. Finish the trim around the stairway and caulk, spackle, and paint it. (The rest of the trim is all finished.)
b. Finish painting and hanging all the doors. (We don't have a functioning paint sprayer which would make this job go so much more quickly.)
c. Finish staining the bathroom cabinets that my dad built and install them.
d. Scrub the paint and perfa tape mud off the fireplace.
e. Caulk between the cork floor and the fire place and around the trim in the bathroom.
f. Install the backsplash in the bathroom after the cabinets are installed.
g. Get bids for a stair rail, order (or build) and install it.
h. Decorate!

So, as you can see we are almost finished. I promise to post pictures soon. It is hard to get everything straightened up enough for a photo shoot, but I just may have to quit waiting for these last few details to be finished and get something posted.

3. It is snowing today. REALLY snowing. Oh, April, you are famous for tempting us with spring and taunting us with winter. I still love you, April.

4. Basement progress has slowed a ton because the guys have gotten itchy to start spring farm work and have been spending their days outside—working on equipment, getting seed and fertilizer, and wishing the fields would dry up sooner than later so they can get to seeding.

5. We have nearly run out of water several times recently, so the guys have been working on our complicated water system to fix leaks and improve a few things. Its good to have water, you know.

6. We had a free plane ticket to use up before it expired, so Tom is in Texas having a redneck weekend (i.e. going to a Nascar race) and getting a few kicks in before the long season of hard work begins. Maybe he'll blog about his adventure. Maybe he won't. By the way, his peppers were delish and we've had them 3 times now. I know. He needs to update his blog.

7. Abby is in a Missoula Children's Theatre production this weekend—Treasure Island—and has been spending late nights this week at rehearsal. (She's a Villager.)

8. My sweet nephew Ollie turned one and he and his Mommy are visiting this week. I have some adorable pictures to post of him and his buddy Eva.

9. I am taking an e-course called Organize Your Paper Clutter by simplify101. I'm definitely learning some things and I'm hoping it will help me get on top of our huge backlog of paperwork. I think some of her other workshops look interesting also.

10. I'm obsessed with organizing lately, as evidenced by my last entry and my Feng Shui My Way challenge. We are still living in chaos of moving, and will be living in the chaos of remodeling for quite awhile, so it leaves me yearning for a clutterless household that runs smoothly and is easy to maintain. I have a lot of projects on my list that I'm sure you will be hearing about here on the blog.

11. I miss my housekeeper. (I know, wah wah. Can anyone say spoiled?) In Utah when I worked full time we had someone come every other week to clean and it was so wonderful not to spend our limited time together on the weekends cleaning. Cleaning bathrooms is my least favorite thing to do.

12. I've had a lot of design work come my way lately, which I've really appreciated. I'm hoping to eventually add a portfolio section to the this website. Now, if I could get just enough work (consistently) to pay for a housekeeper . . . (and if I could find someone who was willing to travel out here to the boonies . . .)

13. We earmarked our tax return this year to buy a swing set. Yeah! The nearest park is half-an-hour away, so I think the kids will really enjoy having one. Let the shopping begin!

14. Easter is coming and my sister-in-law and nieces are coming home from London! Tom's entire family will be together. I'm hoping to get a good photo of all the Clark cousins together since such a photo doesn't exist.

15. My brother is getting married and we just love our new auntie- and sister-in-law-to-be Annie.

16. My cousin is getting married on May 28. Then they will be our new neighbors on the farm! We are so excited!

There is so much to look forward to! Hopefully my blog will keep up with all the fun. Hopefully I can keep up with all the fun. All for now! Happy Friday.

 

a trip to Utah

These new farm folk need their city fix once in awhile, so last weekend we trekked back to Salt Lake to visit old friends and do a little shopping. We had a fabulous time and loved seeing everyone. In our whirlwind to do as much as possible in a few short days, of course I didn't pull out my camera once. Camera phones work in a pinch, however. I did snap just a few photos using the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone:

Eva is happiest exploring the floor on her crawlers these days.

The girls and their buddies were so looking forward to swimming at the hotel. This time we decided to cheat on our favorite hotel (Little America) and stay at the Hyatt near the Gateway. Oops, their pool was outdoors. Oh well, the hot tub would do in a pinch!

These were our gracious hosts for two nights. We love our old neighbors and wish they could have come with us to Montana. Tyson is the cutest little two year old to ever have a conversation with.

Eva crashed in her high-chair at lunchtime. This was odd coming from a girl who doesn't fall asleep easily, but I guess we all partied hard. That and some yucky colds were acquired (and hopefully not passed on).

A stop on the way home supplied the opportunity to see my cousin and their sweet Aspen.

This and the next few photos were taken before our trip. But they were too cute to pass up including here.

 

I know, huh?

She doesn't suck her thumb like this very often, but I kind of wish she did. It's cute.

Mischievous and determined eyes cause me to predict a few personality traits shared with her sisters . . .

lessons from Frog & Toad

Did you see Abby's to-do list yesterday? Yes, she is her momma's daughter.

I've been thinking a lot about lists lately. Mostly because I live by one. I recently tweeted "I'm drowning in my to-do list. Save me!" I don't think that is what they mean when they say "live in the moment".

When I was grousing about this with a friend recently, she reminded me of Arnold Lobel's Frog & Toad Books, and one story in particular called "The List". I picked a couple of the books up from the library and have been reading the stories to my kids. They are priceless.

If you aren't familiar with this particular story, here is a quick synopsis: Toad wakes up and makes himself a list. As he finishes each item he crosses it off. Later, he is out on a walk with Frog and the wind blows his list away. He would chase after except (heaven forbid) that isn't on his list of things to do! So, he sits there for the rest of the day because he doesn't have his list to tell him what to do.

Finally, it is getting late, so Frog suggests they should be getting some sleep. Toad exclaims "Go to sleep! That was the last thing on my list!" So he writes "Go to sleep" in the dirt, crosses it out, and then Frog and Toad promptly go to sleep. Right there. Without going home, eating supper, and going to bed. I love it.

This is what I've learned from Frog & Toad:

1. Let go of perfection

This was my mom's reply to my tweet a few days ago, and it is sound advice. My to-do list weighs on me because of the pressure I put on myself to have a perfect house, cook a perfect meal, be a perfect person... And you know what? Nobody cares that my wallpaper is peeling and I didn't have rolls to go with my dinner. (As long as there is a good dessert! Ha.) And it didn't matter if Frog & Toad did everything on the list. They were together enjoying each other's company.

2. Be flexible

If there is one thing I've learned about being on the farm, its that having a structured schedule is impossible. We never eat at the same time and we never do the same things every day. Pile a baby on that and you never know what your day is going to look like. Some days I feel like I'm lucky if I cross one thing off my list.

The notes application on my phone is probably my most-used app. I keep my to-do list there, my grocery list, a list of blog post ideas, movies to see, books to read, and it goes on. The other day I found a note with gibberish written in it and several of my important lists were deleted, including my grocery list. (Sarah!) It caused me some frustration, but life went on. Sometimes your list blows away.

3. Celebrate what you've accomplished

I love how Toad wrote "Wake Up" on his list after he had already woken up, just so he could cross it off. You know, there is a lot of satisfaction in crossing things off your list. Sometimes I forget to celebrate things I actually did get done, especially the everyday things like doing the dishes, feeding and playing with the baby, reading the girls a story, and laundry. (Laundry is always on the list!) One thing I have been trying to do lately is "pick three". I prioritize my list and focus on the top 3 things. It helps me to focus my time everyday instead of bouncing around trying to do too much and accomplishing nothing.

4. Enjoy the process

This is the biggest lesson I want to learn—to stop stressing about what isn't done and just enjoy doing things. Sometimes I even let the fun things on my list stress me out. But if everything was done at once, what would I do with my life? What would I write about on my blog? (Ha ha.) Hard work is a privilege. Having a capable body and mind to do those things is a privilege. I want to learn to enjoy doing even the most mundane chores. So let's rename the to-do list, shall we? How about the Get-To-Do list? Or the Can-Do list?

 

 

I ❤ Grandpa because he feeds me ice cream

Today little miss Eva is 9 months old! I thought I would take this opportunity to document where she is right now.

These photos demonstrate how badly I need to buy a decent flash for my camera. Oh well, blurry or not, they were too cute not to share.

 

Eva doesn't have a well-child visit until she is 1 year, so I don't know exactly how big she has gotten, except that I just had to dig out the bin of 18 month clothes (hand-me-downs) I have because she is outgrowing her current wardrobe. If Grandpa keeps feeding her ice cream she will surely grow out of these before long too. :)

Eva brightens everyone's day with her smiles and giggles. She is so sweet natured and a joy to have around. She has turned into a BIG momma's girl, though—probably because she has the benefit of having me around 24/7. I think she is a little more mellow than her sisters were at this age, but of course it is hard to remember exactly how they were.

She enjoys eating anything she can feed herself, so she eats lots of veggies and potatoes from our table, and gobbles up all kinds of fruit. Cheerios are her new favorite thing. She still won't take a bottle though, so the weaning process might be a challenge when the time comes! She doesn't have any teeth yet... so we still have that fun ahead of us. She doesn't drool like I remember the other girl's doing, so I'm not quite sure what is going on in her little mouth.

 

She is doing much better in the sleep department, sleeping through the night about half the time. Except the past week. Maybe those teeth are finally coming?

And the biggest milestone reached this last month is crawling! She is no longer stationery and I can no longer turn my back on her for even a second. She crawls the traditional way (no crab crawls or army crawls) and now hates to be stuck in anything where she can't move. The Exersaucer we got her for Christmas is now defunct, I'm afraid.

She pulls herself up onto her knees and looks very proud of herself. It won't be long before she pulls herself to a stand, so we'd better be lowering that crib mattress!

We just love this girl and are so happy she is part of our family.

Kids are awesome (Part IV)

My kids haven't quite figured out how to survive a Montana winter. They are getting antsy to get out of the house. It is March first and everyone I know is starting to fret about the fact that winter hasn't let up once since November. (I honestly don't remember a year when snow covered the ground THE.ENTIRE.WINTER.) But having grown up here I am keenly aware that winter could hang on for 2 more months. I hope it doesn't. But it could.

The other day the girls decided they wanted to try to play some basketball. This scene cracked me up. First, they tried to dribble the ball in the snow and quickly realized that wouldn't work. Then they tried to shovel the snow off—only Sarah grabbed a rake instead of a shovel. (And actually tried to move snow with it.) Even better is their clothes: sweat pants and rain boots? They have perfectly good snow gear. Abby is in a light spring jacket and has a neck warmer on her head. Being the good mom that I am, I just sat back and watched them suffer. Not surpisingly, they were inside 5 minutes later complaining about cold toes and begging for hot chocolate.

Doing things the hard way

I've been accused more than once in my life of doing things the hard way. (My mom says I get it from my dad.)  My mom is usually the one helping me with the kids while I bury myself in a project that takes twice as long as I plan. Tom is the one urging me to go to bed when I burn the midnight oil working on something.

This time it was the cupcakes I made for my card class:

Pistachio and White Chocolate Cupcakes from scratch. The recipe is from Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and more Cupcakes, an adorable cookbook that was a gift from my in-laws for Christmas. I'd been dying to try a recipe from it, and this is the one that caught my eye. Only I couldn't find pistachio paste. (No gourmet grocery stores here!) So I had to make it. I shelled the pistachios, boiled them to release the skins, peeled them, and ran them through the blender with oil and water to make a purée. It was successful, but it took good long while. And then I discovered the recipe only made 12 cupcakes, so I had to make a second batch.

They were good. But they weren't amazing. Maybe it was just that the flavor didn't quite match up with the effort.

I also had to make cupcakes for Abby's school Valentine party. Fortunately I took an easier route and used a mix.

But I couldn't just use a mix. I found this recipe from Heather Bailey to fancy them up. I did buy the frosting. Cut me some slack.

And then, amongst much encouragement from Tom to just buy them already, I made Valentine cards with the girls. 40 of them.

We made these cute little matchbook notebooks. And for the boys pink was a bit too girlie, so we found this cool basketball and football paper in my stash. Each card had a sucker stapled to it and was hand-signed by the girls.

I'm not sure what compels me to take the hard road. Heaven knows I am busy enough and constantly complaining about not getting enough done. Is it about the glory? I hope not. I'd like to think it is about the process. Here is a photo of the girls working on the cards with me:

Both of them said the night before Valentine's day was the Best Day Ever. I think they are just like me and I wouldn't give up these memories for the world.

Memory Lane Monday—my Valentines

From This Front Porch

This is my first Memory Lane Monday post and I'm not sure why. It was so much fun going through those old photos! Actually, I know exactly why. It is the scanning that slows me down. Anything I shot before 2004 was all film. I am thankful for digital and I am glad to have learned a little more about photography. (I have a long ways to go, as evidenced by the blurry photo at the end of this post. I had two adorable little posers and I couldn't get a clear picture of them to save my life!)

15 years ago, Valentine's Day 1996:

A couple of weeks prior to taking this photo, Tom and I were sitting in this same living room (in the swanky condo that belonged to my aunt that I had the privilege of living in for a semester.) I was a silly college Freshman and had just started dating Tom. We had been on some friendly dates together and both getting to the point where we wanted to take the relationship to the next level but still in that awkward stage where we didn't know how to make the first move. On the coffee table in front of us was a dish full of heart candies, so I reached over and grabbed one that said "kiss me" and handed it to him. So he did.

A couple of weeks later, my roomies and I prepared a Valentine's meal for our sweethearts, complete with their favorite desserts. How 6 of us managed to eat 3 desserts, I don't recall. (Freshman 15, anyone?)

 

A few years down the road, in 2007, we had 2 more Valentines to celebrate with:

Those same sweaters now fit Sarah and Eva:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kids are awesome (Part III)

My aunt Marilyn, who has been cleaning out her house in preparation for their move, found this note from me that she had tucked away back when I was maybe 5 or 6. Funny stuff. I'm sure my parent's loved me clicking through one of those 4-color pens as I changed ink every letter. It is totally the thing my kids would do and it would drive Tom absolutely batty. Hee hee ;)

Kids are awesome (Part II)

We got Abby a FLIP video camera for Christmas. BEST. GIFT. EVER. There are several videos like this one and they are all highly entertaining. By the way, Abby would KI-ILL me (yes, that is a 2 syllable kill) if she found out I posted this, so let's just keep it between you and me, okay?

(Actually, I couldn't betray her trust like that so I begged for her permission to post it. Good girl for not being to proud or embarrassed. She even said she would make me more videos! I love that.)

P.S. This is not tornado country. Whew.