August 20, 2008

The summer of...

Love

Karsten fell in love on our camping trip -- with my best friend's older daughter, Geneva. With Geneva in 5th grade, and Karsten in 1st the romance seems an unlikely match. But this did not stop Karsten from serenading her* over the campfire and writing her love letters. I don't think she was able to read his hand writing, but he told me one note said, "Meet me by the old stumpy tree after dark." Brenda and Geneva seem to be treating the crush with nonchalance.

My little guy is growing up! I shopped for size 8 clothes for him for the Back to School shopping which means he is not even in the little kid department anymore.

DIY

Britta is growing up too. One of my favorite things about this summer was the ability to yell at the kids, "Do it yourself!"

She'll yell from her room, "Mommy, I need some water!" I yell back, "get it yourself!" My new favorite words.

She and Karsten are so good at playing together now too. They can entertain themselves with stuffed animals for a good hour or two at a time.

This should be the best summer ever if it weren't for the...

Pain

There has been a shadow cast over our what should have been stellar summer. The man has been in constant back pain. Diagnosis: ruptured disk. The steroids had no effect whatsoever and now we're waiting impatiently for one of the many doctors Andy has seen this summer to cut him open and fix his back. I want the Fun Andy back, and more selfishly I want him to be able to stay awake and help out with the household.

--------------------
* Karsten also improvised a song about the chicken bomb (my mom's rooster timer for her kitchen) and a cat.

Posted by jana at 8:05 PM | Comments (0)

August 1, 2008

My nephew is one!

Well he has been one for almost two weeks now but I just doctored up this photo in picnik to make it blog worthy.

What a cutie! The cake and smile on face say it all.

Posted by jana at 12:48 PM | Comments (1)

July 16, 2008

Glad the kids put up with me

Karsten taped electrical tape on his shirt (I helped keep it straight) and tape around his waist so he could be "Kenny" from Ben10. I have to give him credit for being able to stay in character, even if it means altering his own wardrobe.

Here's Britta sitting on a nasty loading dock under the viaduct. I thought the background would look good with her new skirt from Bestemor.

Posted by jana at 9:47 PM

July 8, 2008

Summer loving, having a blast

Summers are for crushes, right? Well this summer it is full on with Mark Bittman. (Not to mention I've been averaging a loaf or two of the no-knead bread per week for over a year! That probably qualifies for a winter crush too.) Now I'm on to his picnic menu. That's how we roll around here. The inspired non-recipe is what summer is about.

August and Becca came over for dinner tonight. She looked too cute not to snap the shutter a few times. She only cried when we took her to the beach.

Karsten is at Hair Kamp (aka drama camp) for half days this week. He's been coming home singing "welcome to the 60s!" from Hairspray. Hair Kamp is a good place for him.

Now I'm back to work after a few weeks off. Sigh. Feeling like a kid who had summer vacation end too early.

Posted by jana at 9:29 PM

July 2, 2008

A mom's day

Moooooommmm, Can I have this good unicorn vs evil unicorn?

Believe it or not, I was able to resist those big brown eyes. Unless you count the Hello Kitty pez dispenser, because then I caved.

And then there was The Meltdown at the Space Needle

"MOM!!!!!"

If my flickr batch exporter wasn't flipping out I'd upload all the shiny happy photos from the day. Tomorrow.

Posted by jana at 10:38 PM

June 30, 2008

Too many alien cartoons?

Me: Britta, what do you want for your birthday?
Britta: a cat!
Me: I heard Karsten tell Bestemor that you want a webkinz cat.
Karsten: Mom!! You weren't supposed to tell her!

Then Karsten leaned in to whisper to me.
Mom, erase Britta's mind!

Posted by jana at 5:47 PM | Comments (1)

June 26, 2008

What's up with...

... the tongue?

This is just from one batch of photos I uploaded. Glad I'm the one behind the camera so I didn't make the pool of photos.

Posted by jana at 2:43 PM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2008

Happy belated father's day!

Karsten served Daddy breakfast that he made in bed. Andy would have liked to have slept a few hours longer but who could resist such a cutie pie?

The menu: gummy vitamins, coffee, raisin bread with peanut butter and jelly, and apple jacks cereal.

Britta made Andy a picture frame of herself that said, "I'm buggy about Daddy" and glued foam bugs on it.

Watching the kids get so excited about making things and presenting them to daddy was great.

Posted by jana at 5:59 PM

June 13, 2008

Farewell to Eva

In memory of Eva Carlstrom, Andy's aunt. She unexpectedly/expectedly passed away in her Ballard home this morning after battling pancreatic cancer for not quite a year.

She was a staunchy Norwegian woman who had a loom that took up the entry way of her living room, and knitting skills that no other can rival. We are proud owners of some of her heirloom pieces she knitted. She enjoyed her happy hour with her husband, and making amazing doll clothes for her granddaughters.

I'm happy she welcomed me into her family when I married Andy. We will miss her -- and her annual 17th of May parade parties.

(Oh great, now I'm all teary eyed.) Good bye Eva!

Posted by jana at 10:17 AM

June 8, 2008

Relaxation captured in pixels

Here are a few shots from our weekend in Hood Canal. I could not have asked for a better place for a photo shoot! This place had the cutest yard which was a pleasant surprise because their website didn't have any images of the yard. Of course just as Baby Kaj started turning on the charm my camera battery died. I am considering buying a back up battery because this is the second time I've had this happen to me.

As you can see I went a little Piknic happy. That tool is too addicting. Must stop editing my photos!

I am also going to need a polarizing filter if I'm going to continue taking photos in Seattle. At least I can try and fake some sun. If anyone else has any tips for making photos look sunny when you live in Seattle and it is obviously NOT sunny even though it is June, let me know.

More photos from our trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janak/sets/72157605508829196/

Posted by jana at 10:00 PM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2008

Enjoy the amazing weather

No fill flash for you photography purists. I'm anti-flash for the moment.

Posted by jana at 12:37 PM | Comments (1)

May 15, 2008

Making homework look fun

Posted by jana at 8:42 PM | Comments (1)

April 15, 2008

Happy birthday mom!

I've been trying to make a set of notecards for my mom using some paintings my great-grandma made when she was a teenager.

But there's been some puking going on.

And my printer isn't liking card stock.

But I digress.

Happy birthday to my mom! Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful to have her near us and such a big part of our lives. She's been bailing us out a lot lately so I'm going to try to make this birthday a good one for her.

Posted by jana at 3:43 PM

April 7, 2008

Wooo! Spring Break!

The rock star and the cat (aka the kids) are in bed.

My sniveling sniffle is almost gone.

Taxes are in the mail.

5lb block of cheese fills the fridge.

Bread is baking in the oven.

Load of whites in the washing machine.

Dishwasher loaded.

Bills are paid.

I need to party.

Who wants to go to IKEA with the kids and me tomorrow? Daddy needs a new conference table to make some deals.

Seriously, comment, call or email me if you want to join my IKEA party.

Posted by jana at 8:35 PM

February 29, 2008

Grandma Em

My dad gave me this photo of my grandma to me a few weeks ago. The first time I saw this photo of my grandma was when I was in college and my grandma was in her late 80s. (However I can't be completely sure how old she was because she lied about her age so much that she didn't even know how old she was.)

"What a great photo of Grandma!" I said to my aunt.

My aunt said, "That is a photo of your grandma when she was either Miss Missoula or Miss Montana."

"Miss Montana? I didn't know Grandma was Miss Montana."

I never learned anything else about this period of my grandma's life but it made me wonder what else happened in my grandma's life that I didn't know about. I tried asking her questions but she was really good at not telling me anything without seeming like she wasn't telling me anything.

Years later my other grandma moved really close to me. I took that opportunity to do a journaling project with her. I asked her a lot of questions that I found in a book and then I recorded them in a book. I tried going through her photos with her too but I only did a few pages before Britta was born and then her health started declining. Regardless, I'm glad about the journaling I did and wish I had had the same foresight to do it with my other grandma.

Posted by jana at 3:06 PM | Comments (1)

January 16, 2008

Leaving

I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning. Andy will be on Dad Duty until my return on Sunday. I feel as if I'm leaving a whole appendage behind. I really don't like leaving the family for so long even though I know they'll all be fine. A little greasier and possibly not as rested, but fine. My secret hope is that they will really appreciate me when I return.

And what was I thinking? Chicago in January? If I'm going to a conference in January I should have looked for one closer to the equator.

Posted by jana at 10:17 PM | Comments (2)

November 30, 2007

Advent Calendar

Last year I wrote about creating more family traditions on the website 43things.com. I documented our advent calendar adventures there.

Unfortunately there's no love coming from the robots at the co-op this year and the "post to blog" feature is still broken.

So I'll just write about it here, on my own blog and ditch the whole community effort part.

Time to plan out the month of December on little scraps of paper again. I've seen some amazing advent calendars out there this year. Mine is one I bought at a Christmas market in Germany so it is cool in its own way for me.

The best thing I've found about doing an activities based advent calendar is that it forces me to get organized. We have the "visit Santa" day all figured out so I don't freak out on Dec. 24th that I've forgotten about it. The activities are generally pretty simple but the little bit out of the ordinary is what makes the whole season special for the kids. It makes me focus on them instead of my usual panic shopping.

Now what to write?

Posted by jana at 4:01 PM | Comments (4)

July 26, 2007

My first duty as aunt...

...get this kid a website! Welcome Kaj!

After all these years of calling me a nerd now my brother is asking, "how can I get a blog?"

Posted by jana at 4:15 PM | Comments (1)

July 23, 2007

Introducing Baby Kaj!

My brother is a very proud papa as of around 6:15pm tonight. The kids and I arrived around 6:30 to meet the baby who finally makes me a proud Aunt; Andy an uncle; and my kids 1st cousins.

Little Kaj was a whopper compared to my little runts. He was 8lbs 8oz and got a 10 out of 10 on whatever tests they run. When you have preemies they don't tell you about the tests they run and they certainly don't tell you how poorly they score.

Within half an hour of his birth Kaj was passed around from person to person, breathing on his own, eating from a breast and acting like my babies acted after they were a few months old. No one had to take the baby out of a plastic box to hold him or scrub up like they were going into surgery. What lucky parents my brother and sister-in-law are. I don't know how normal this is but I have to admit I was shocked and a tad jealous of a birth not wrought with anxiety.

They're off to a fabulous start. And I'm smitten again.

Photos to come as just soon as Erik gets a chance to post his.

Posted by jana at 10:11 PM

July 17, 2007

Thoughts on camping

As the size of American houses seem to grow so do tents (seemingly). We did our trial run in camping this weekend (a success!). What I noticed is that both families had new tents. These tents were HUGE! Back in the day when I used to camp on a regular basis I'd have to crawl into my tent. I'd wake up with the side of the tent plastered to half my face. I had to leave my shoes outside the tent because there wasn't enough room inside. As for our new tent...we could have fit at least another family or two in our tent. I'm all for luxurious camping!

The nice thing about camping is having to be creative. Since it was our first run of the camping season we forgot a few things.

Colgate toothpaste: substituted with Batman bubble gum flavor toothpaste
Salt and pepper: substituted with a few shakes of the pretzel bag to season the fajitas
Migraine medicine: no substitute. I had to go home early. Lame me forgot to bring my prescription meds.

And as for lame, can you tell I am stalling with writing this blog post? Time to pay bills. Ugh.

I'm looking forward to more camping trips. The kids had a blast. Photos to come soon.

Posted by jana at 10:25 PM

February 14, 2007

Can this week be over now?

Aside from Andy being gone this week I've also been dealing with; reviews at work; my car in the shop with lots and lots of work; Karsten and kindergarten issues and the worst thing of all, watching my grandma's health fail. Today for lunch Britta and I smuggled a contraband bacon cheeseburger to her at the nursing home where she's recovering from an operation to stop internal bleeding.

I kept thinking that she would rally but after our visit today where she doesn't look any better than Monday, I'm guessing I'm watching her slowly die. I was glad Britta has to ride in the back seat so she couldn't see me cry on our way home. I told my grandma I hoped she would feel better but now I'm thinking I should have just told her it is okay, and "good bye." Maybe that is what she needs to hear.

More tequila please.

Posted by jana at 12:36 PM | Comments (2)

December 25, 2006

Christmas is not Christmas without the pickled herring

I learned something very important this year. The traditions that our parents build for us must one day meld together with the traditions that your spouse's parents have built for them. Some of those traditions just aren't right....like the pickled herring.

As you readers probably figured, the Kleitschs have had a very expensive year. I was trying to cut a few corners this Christmas. One thing that got the axe was the pickled herring that only a few of the relatives will come near. Seemed the obvious thing to cut but little did I know that you can't have Christmas without the pickled herring. Andy put in an emergency call to his mom and Christmas was saved! Hurrah!

The other tradition that had to be compromised was in Andy's family you open all the presents on Christmas eve and only stockings on Christmas morning. This isn't right either. This year Santa left some cool toys on Christmas day. This meant less presents opened on Christmas eve when Santa showed up at our house but I appreciated that he made the rounds again during the middle of the night. It was a good compromise in my opinion.

The kids had a great Christmas. Britta got her doll house and Karsten got his R2D2. He told me, "Mom, we have a new kid in our family." R2D2 almost didn't survive the tumble he took getting out of Karsten's bed this morning but Andy was able to piece him back together.

Britta knows all about Santa, even the songs about him and reindeer. We think having an older brother to show her the ropes has really helped. When the kids were opening their presents this morning Karsten said to Britta, "I'm going to show you how you open presents" and then he narrated step by step how to unwrap a package.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Posted by jana at 10:09 AM | Comments (3)

December 4, 2006

Advent Calendar adventures

I've been writing about our first activties advent calendar on 43things.com but the "post to blog" feature isn't working for me. I've let a robot or two know that I'm hoping this gets fixed but in the meantime here's my "hack": a link to what I've been writing.

Posted by jana at 10:24 PM

October 13, 2006

Analogies

After I had my c-sections the nurses liked to tell me, "stay on top of the pain." They wanted to make sure I took my pain medication on a regular basis so the pain wouldn't "spiral out of control" as they put it.

I think the same can be said for housekeeping. Andy was gone for a few days this week so time to keep up on the housework was precious. I neglected to stay on top of it and the house that was so spotless all last week has now...spiraled out of control. I need professional help.

Another interesting analogy I can't help but compare is the one for the military: "The toughest job you'll ever love." If that isn't the perfect slogan for motherhood, I don't know what is. Is being in the military like being a mom? I don't even want to think about that one.

Posted by jana at 1:06 PM | Comments (1)

October 12, 2006

Who wants to join us?

I'm thinking of taking the kids to the corn maze in Auburn tomorrow. Karsten has the day off from school. Anyone want to come along? Kids welcome too. (ha ha)

Posted by jana at 3:50 PM

May 17, 2006

Happy syttende mai

Every year my inlaws dress up in bunads (traditional Norwegian dress costumes) and hit the streets of Ballard for the Norwegian Independence Day Parade. This year my mother-in-law suggested I wear her bunad. This year it was around 85 degrees (or so it seemed) and I was the only one wearing bunad. How'd that happen? I wasn't sure it would even fit with about a six inch height difference, but those Norwegians are crafty and make these dresses adjustable. Only my flickr friends will have the priviledge of seeing the evidence of the family in costume.

Andy had the good idea of having Karsten pass out candy. He quickly learned how popular he was with the power of distributing candy to excited kids. He ran the whole parade route and is now nicely passed out in his bed.

Posted by jana at 9:46 PM

May 11, 2006

Farewell to Jack the Cat

I was really brave today, I didn't cry. The whole family was gathered around Jack's cardboard box at the vet today as we said goodbye to our cat of 7 years. Karsten wanted to know if we could email him in heaven. I told him "yes." Andy wanted the kids to know that our cat was really, really old and that he had lived a long life. Jack's intestine had twisted, probably from an accident long before we got him, and was causing him pain.

Poor Jack came to us shipped out from Kansas in cat carrier via Delta airlines. He was only on loan for the summer as Uppy was spending his summer in San Diego. He showed up quite skinny and wanting his emotional needs met by cuddling on Andy's lap. When Uppy finally made it back to Seattle Jack was a few pounds heavier and with a shiny new coat of fur. We signed his adoption papers.

Andy says he's allergic to cats so this "loaner cat" was my only way to get a cat into our house. Our house finally felt like a home with our funny black cat that liked to sleep proped upright on the arm of the sofa -- or on Andy's lap.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get another cat again because Andy is still crying "allergies." Thanks Jack for my kitty cat fix of a great 7 years.

Ok, now I am crying and will need to sign off.

Posted by jana at 1:49 PM | Comments (3)

February 27, 2006

First Official Family Movie Night

Duh duh done to done dah ... okay I can't even type/sing. Pathetic. Tommorrow night is going to be our first family movie night gathered around our mono, 15 inch, circa 1987 t.v. Care to guess what our first film will be based on my intro? Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Did anyone know it was a New Hope in 1977? I didn't think so.

I didn't think our Star Wars movie was going to show up in time so I suggested we replace it with Willy Wonka (1971 version, with Spanish subtitles) on VHS but Andy already had his heart set on Star Wars. Hurray for Netflix delivering the goods with speed.

Anyone have a good pizza dough recipe for my bread machine? Every movie night needs pizza.

Andy is back and I'm rested.

Posted by jana at 9:43 PM | Comments (1)

February 26, 2006

Soft rock and snow

You know you've had a night from hell when Lionel Ritchie sounds good in the morning. Britta was up, Karsten was up, Britta was down, then up then down. No sleep from 2-5am for me. Location of husband: San Diego. The United States fortunately, but at 2am, not good enough.

Anyway I thought I'd perk myself up with a blog post about our Snow Day. Andy took the day off work on Thursday and after preschool we headed for the mountains for our version of the Norwegian BBQ. Before take off we hit our favorite european deli for weiners (the term "hot dogs" is offensive to the German owners we learned) and our favorite lye rolls. Yeah, yeah, it is all german stuff but close enough. (Sorry to any norwegian readers I may be offending.)

The weather had been clear all week until we started driving up to Snoqualmie Pass. 8-10 inches of snow was excepted that day. No matter, we're going. Snow tires or changes required. We have none. Andy assures me all wheel drive is good enough. I ask about the gas light on. Andy assures me "no problem." We're having fun. Little Ole, the snowcat, picks up and sleds us off to Trollhaugen, the Sons of Norway lodge. Karsten and Andy suit up and hit the sledding hill, make a snowman and snow angels. Karsten's cheeks are so rosy when he comes back in to warm up with his hot chocolate and weiners. Andy said Karsten laughed the whole time he played in the snow. Britta and I made good lodge girls, cozying up to the fire and talking to other visitors who had also spent their Christmas in Norway.

The snow didn't stop falling the entire time we were there. We left earlier than planned "just in case." As we were leaving we heard the BOOMs of the avalanche control. We started to wonder just how many diapers we had packed. We dig our car out and we're in luck, the pass is open. No, it isn't open. Yes it is. Slow going, it took us almost 3 hours to get home.

Still, fun times. I'm ready to head back next week!

*apologies for the poor grammar. Too tired to fix.

Posted by jana at 12:53 PM

November 3, 2005

Making it legal

My brother got married five months ago and finally posted some photos to Flickr.

See more of the cute couple here.

Posted by jana at 12:01 PM | Comments (1)