My Girl-Of Course She Is

Remember when you were a sixth grader?  Maybe your parents started to give you a little more freedom, maybe you were allowed stay up a little later at night, maybe you could talk your parents into switching from Oldies 96 to CK105.5 on the radio, maybe boys weren't quite so unappealing as they were just a year prior.  Well, I've got a sixth grade girl now, and it's a whole lot different than having a sixth grade boy.

My girl tried something new this year-ice skating.  She took a few figure skating classes and seemed to enjoy them...

but then we had the chance to try ice hockey as a family, and Emerson was hooked.

I'm still holding out hope that she'll be a runner, though.  With the bribe of having her own Instagram account, I somehow got her to train for and run a 5k race last summer.  That's right-she ran three times a week for eight weeks and kicked butt in a trail 5k race!  Check out that smile as she crossed the finish line, despite the pouring rain!  (I see ultramarathons in her future-I'm sure of it!)

My girl has a major sweet tooth.  I'm talking HUGE.  But I think her favorite thing to eat is pickles!  If she finds a jar of pickles in the fridge, she claims them as her own.  Last summer we even made our own pickles from the garden and of course Emerson was in HEAVEN.

My girl has a slight obsession.  I guess we should not try to avoid the elephant in the room.  Emerson is obsessed with cats. And not just living cats, anything cat-related is also completely irresistible to her. Cat pillows, cat pajamas, cat calendars, cat ears, cat costumes, and even visits to the Humane Society to visit the cats.

Oh, and we can't forget Gypsy, the kitten who followed us home on a run and stuck around as an outdoor cat and then became an inside cat when the temperature dipped below zero and  then had kittens and is Emerson's pride and joy, CAN WE?

Despite all of the cat things consuming her life, my girl still finds time to snuggle with chickens and dogs wherever we go.  And while all of our other chickens have old lady names, Emerson's chicken is named Tatiana.

My girl is a kaleidoscope.  She is always experimenting with makeup and clothing and hairstyles.  Sometimes her look changes by the hour.  And while she's in her room re-creating herself, she's keeping track of all of it.  She makes YouTube and Music.ly videos non-stop.  In fact, just today in Tim Hortons, I looked up to find her dancing in the aisle to a song for her next video. I started to gather my photos to post a few, but I realized I had way more than just a few.  Here's a little sampling of everything that is currently Emerson, set to one of her favorite songs...



My girl is a social butterfly.  While my other children are content with just a close friend or two, Emerson always has a broad circle of friends.  Her weekends are filled with sleepovers here or there and hanging out with other friends in between.  And if nothing is planned for a weekend, she can fill the days in an unbelievably short amount of time.  We hosted a birthday party sleepover with all of her besties last weekend, and man-oh-man do they have her pegged.  Her gifts included coffee, coffee cups, funny t-shirts and SO. MUCH. CANDY.  I'm talking six or seven boxes of Nerds PLUS many other sweets.  I love that her group of friends is so diverse-it ranges from her second grade sister, to girls in sixth grade with her, to cousins, to even me.  (I will hold on to her letting me hang with her as long as possible!)  Again, I tried to gather a few photos of Em with her friends, and came up with a zillion, so here's a little clip of what her social circle looks like...

Emerson is twelve years old today.  Instead of cake or pie or cupcakes, my girl opted for truffles to celebrate.  (Of course she did.)

It's her last year before she becomes a teenager.  She's not a baby anymore and she's actually pretty mature, if you ask me.  As I give her more responsibilities, she rises to the challenge.  I am careful not to treat her like an adult, though.  She's got a lot more living to do before she's ready for that, and I think she's happy about it.  Emerson is content to be a kid-she's not in a rush to be all grown up and moving on.

But when she does?  She's got plans.  When she goes to college, she doesn't want a dorm or apartment-she wants to design her own tiny house.  Why, you ask?  Well, it'll cost less in the long run, it'll be hers to keep for as long she likes, she can take it with her wherever she goes and back home again, but most importantly, ALL of her cats can live with her and she can become the crazy cat lady she longs to become.

That's my girl.

Happy Birthday, Em. Mom loves you.

Here, in Spring

It's Springtime here in Michigan.  Daffodils and tulips are pushing their way up through the dirt, earthworms are stretching across pavement in the fresh rain, and the trees are filled with tiny, new buds.
She looked forward to walking around her yard, searching for the spring blooms and inspecting her rosebushes.  She was always cheering on the Detroit Tigers for every pitch of every game, even if it was while sitting at the kitchen table to listen to Ernie Harwell over the  radio.  With wedding season fast approaching, she'd be hard at work in her basement making sure that the bridal bouquets and corsages were absolutely perfect.
She was my grandma-my Grammy-Ellie Wogen.  When she was young, she pitched on her softball team, and was so proud of her reporting job for the Estherville Daily News.  Later, she became an avid bowler and volunteered with the McLaren Hospital Auxiliary.  But there was one thing that was always there: my grandpa, Grampy, her husband, Stan. She was many things, but she was the most complete when my grandpa was with her. They married in New Orleans in 1943, when she was just 17 years old, and she watched him go off to war.  And then, when he returned to her, they made a family.
They were a magical team.  Sunday at The Wogen's was an EVENT.  Everyone was welcome for snacks or dinner or dessert or drinks or for the entire day.  While Grampy grilled chicken, Grammy would be in the kitchen making scalloped potatoes and preparing pattipan squash from the garden.  And, of course, there was always bread fresh from the Balkan Bakery. While they were making dinner, we'd be out back picking raspberries and playing frisbee and trying to catch Grampy taking secret puffs from his pipe.  Their house was always the place to come home to.  Even now, not much has changed.  Emerson sitting at Grammy's piano looked quite similar to when I sat there thirty years ago.

Oh, and while we're talking about that piano, let me tell you how much she loved it.  Uncle Dennis and I would take turns playing our favorite songs, but at some point, we'd end up playing Heart and Soul. With just a few notes, Grammy would drop whatever she was doing in the kitchen to dance her way into the living room and sing along.

Together, Grammy and Grampy raised six successful children and watched their family continue to grow with the addition of 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.  I wonder if they had any idea that when they said their I-do's all those years ago that it would take them from that...

to all of this.

When my grandpa passed away, a little piece of my grandma died, too, but she carried him with her.  When she'd hear a strange noise in the basement, or if the doorbell rang and no one was at the door, she'd say that was just Stan having a little fun with her.  I suppose after spending 52 years with someone, it would be quite difficult not to see him everywhere.

The last few years were a little tough, but her children did everything in their power to make sure Grammy was able to stay in her home.  There were long, sleepless nights spent, and days filled with medications and nurses, but I think it was a gift that they got to spend so much time with her in her later years.  "Older and wiser" is a very real thing and we all benefited from her wisdom.  I think my youngest son, Nash, was quite privileged to have spent so much time with her, and Grammy sure enjoyed our visits.

She'd say on occasion that she had lived too long and she didn't want to be a burden to anyone.  But when you've lived your entire life giving all that you had for your family, you are seen as nothing but a blessing.

On Friday, we will say our final goodbyes to our mother and grandmother and great-grandmother and sister and aunt and friend.  But it's not really goodbye, is it?  She may have physically left this earth, but she is here-all around us.  In those raspberry bushes, in those silly little songs she'd sing, in those first rose blooms this year, she is here.

Just a Little Sunday Project

One Sunday morning, about a month ago, we were enjoying our morning coffee and watching Fixer Upper, and we had no plans for the day.  When I have no plans for an entire day, I get twitchy. And that's where the trouble starts...

When we had moved in to this house, the living room had dark paneling.

We painted the paneling, as a temporary face lift, and planned to one day redo the room properly.  Then last summer, when we replaced the siding on the outside of the house, we also decided to replace the large window in our living room to one half the size.  I had plans of moving my piano to that wall and didn't want to block the window.  So while the outside of the house looked nice and neat, the inside was less than appealing.  We just weren't quite sure what to do with that wall with the paneling over plaster and a big void below the window.

I decided that I would remove the paneling from that wall and repair the plaster.  I had repaired all of the plaster in the dining room, and surely I could get this one wall back in good shape in no time, right?  Well, when I pulled off the paneling, the plaster was in worse condition than I had predicted.  Actually, it was just crumbling off the wall.

Amidst this unfortunate find, there was a little sweet spot.  On the back of one of the pieces of paneling I removed, was the name of one of the children who previously lived in this house.  I always love finding treasures like this, and I often have my kids write their name and date in secret places during our renovations for future generations to find.

Once I decided that the plaster was not salvageable, I rallied the troops, armed them with protective glasses, hammers and pry bars, and we went to work.

As we were taking down the plaster (and making a gigantic mess) I ever-so-sweetly asked Jason if he could cut a hole for me in the adjoining wall.  It was just a small wall, dividing the dining room from the living room, and I had envisioned some open shelving there ever since we moved in.  He agreed, and we removed one more piece of paneling, where we found remnants of some old wallpaper, which I'm sure was quite lovely at some point in the past.

And then we went to work making sure the measurements were square and level and Jason cut me a big ol' hole in the wall.  Perfect!

NOW what do I do?  I had a completely blank slate and no plan.

We decided that drywall was our best option, so while Jason went to pick up a few pieces, I cleaned up the biggest mess in the WORLD.  We finished the drywall by dinnertime and I planned to start taping and mudding the next day.

Except for one thing: I am a complete slacker.  The taping and mudding didn't happen, so by Wednesday, Jason took it upon himself to do it.  And he also started staining the trim and getting that installed!  Once the drywall was finished, I mustered up some motivation to paint.  I opted for a color a few shades darker than the rest of the room, and I love how it looks with the new wood trim.

After that, I started thinking that maybe I didn't want just open shelving in my new space.  I threw a couple of ideas at Jason and he made them happen.  And just like that, I had a wine rack, wine glass storage, AND some open shelves.

I absolutely love how it all turned out and mentioned to Jason that with just 10 or 12 more sheets of drywall we could finish the whole living room!  He glared at me and said it wasn't happening.  At least, not until it was warm enough to have proper ventilation to accommodate all of that dust!  Ok, ok, I guess I can wait for awhile.  He was a good sport throughout this little project, and I appreciate all of his hard work.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find some wine to fill that wine rack!

Sunrise to Sunset

I'm not trying to jinx anything, but this has been a weird winter.  Aside from some frigid temperatures in December, our winter here in Michigan has felt like, well, SPRING.  The small amounts of snow we have received have been quickly replaced with warmer air and lots of rain.  The ground hasn't even gotten the chance to freeze, and my spring plants started peeking up out of the dirt in late January!  Four days ago, I ran outside in ice and snow and three layers of clothing, and then we were given a glorious weekend.  It has been in the 60's here the last two days and we have been spending as much time outside as possible.  There is plenty to do around here, as you know, and we took full advantage of it this weekend.

Saturday morning started with a beautiful sunrise.  I had a full day planned, and had to get my run in early or not at all.

The day was warming up quickly, even before 9am, and ice fishing on this lake was clearly not happening.

Later that morning, some of our family from Chicago stopped over.  We explored the property and rode dirt bikes and climbed ladders and held our ever-so-patient chickens.

photo credit: Michael Carlson

photo credit: Michael Carlson

photo credit: Michael Carlson

It was so great to have our family here, but like I've told you before, a quick stop-in just isn't enough.  This place is really hard to leave!

After that, we headed indoors for a bit to watch Greyson play basketball.

Then, it was off to the humane society.  We have visited before, and it's nice to go back every now and then to check out the new arrivals.  Plus, Aunt Jan works there and she has the keys to let us play with any available animals!

We didn't stay too long, though, because it was GLORIOUS outside.  Nearly 70 degrees in February?!  Unbelievable!  Grey took some practice with his BB gun, and Nash followed suit with his nerf gun.

And, of course, Owen got some extra snuggle time with the chickens!

At dinnertime, we fired up the grill and invited a little bit of family over for wine and a cookout.

And the fire that had been burning all day, turned into a campfire at night with a couple of ninjas to enjoy it.

photo credit: Jason Martin

Sunday morning greeted us with bright sunshine, so we decided to pick up a couple of our chicks we had ordered last month.  The kids all took turns holding the chirping box in the car and were very excited to get the little fluffballs home.

Introducing French Black Copper Marans, Dijon and Bordeaux,

and White Crested Black Polish, Pila.

They are the sweetest little things and we are enjoying the sounds of tiny peeps in our house again!

Of course, there was still much to do outside, so the boys unloaded and stacked some wood,

the girls had a front yard picnic,

photo credit: Jason Martin

and then Jason and Grey took turns working on some barnwood projects.

The chickens wanted to know WHY I was all up in their business with my camera,

and Owen and Winston spent some quality time together.

I can't remember the last time I saw feet in flip flops in mid-February in Michigan, but I am not complaining. If Spring wants to stick around and keep Winter from reappearing, that will be just fine with me.

Oh, and that Saturday morning sunrise I mentioned?  Well, tonight's sunset totally kicked its butt.