unemployment agrees with me

As a young girl, maybe 7 years old, my favorite day of the week was Wednesday. The bus doors would squeak open, I would bound down the metal steps, then run--as fast as I could--all the way home, my best friend, Emily, yelling at me to slow down. Down one street I would go, zoom by the canal, down the hill, around the corner, and then past one, two, three houses, to my home. So, so excited because...Wednesday was my mom's day off. I knew she would be waiting for me at the table, working on a crossword or paying bills. I knew the house would be clean, vacuum tracks still fresh across the carpet, and smell of dinner cooking. I knew my brother and I wouldn't fight, or fight less, because she was there to intervene. I knew she'd want to hear all about my day and look at what I'd made in school It all felt so safe, so put together, with her in the middle. I remember how my little heart broke in silence when she told me she'd have to start working Wednesdays because we needed the money.

Were it not for the whole "we need money" thing, I would say I am about the most content woman alive right now. A week out of work, and I couldn't be happier.

Taking 25 credits last semester (equivalent to an 85 hour work week), followed by graduation and immediate employment, it really had been EIGHT MONTHS since I'd been at home for more than 2-3 hours a day. I hadn't realized how 'bare survival' our lives had become--nearly everything focused on what HAD to be done: meals, cleaning, homework, yard work, grocery shopping, baths--until I had something to compare it to. Now, suddenly, I have this thing called "time" again. Not that I'm without things to do, in fact I've still been as busy as ever, but it's a different kind of busy. It's a *happy busy*.

I run errands at less than breakneck speed. I'm reconnecting with my home and yard--cleaning and purging, even scrubbing baseboards and decorating for fall (which I don't think I've got to do in two years). I'm taking a few hours in the afternoon when all is clean and quiet to work on my writing. I'm baking fancy desserts for friends (including raspberry bread pudding with homemade vanilla sauce for Dr. Yummy). Last week, I actually sat down for an hour each night and watched TV (introduced to the world of Top Gear on the Netflix Dr. Yummy installed on the wii). It had been months, maybe even a year, since I watched an entire show without worrying what else I should be/had to be doing. Also, my laundry now gets washed AND dried AND folded AND put away. I know, right?!

Best of all has been the looks of joy on my kids faces when I wake up early with them, make breakfast, and have prayer and scripture study before sending them off, and that I'm still here again when they come home from school. Their faces remind me of what mine must have looked like on those Wednesdays when I was 7. The other day, L showed me some pictures he'd made on the computer and told me it would be neat if I hung them up like an art gallery in the hall. "Maybe you could even put a sign here," he said (pointing to a spot on the wall) "that said THIS WAY TO SEE THE ART." Normally, such a request would have gotten lost in the hustle and bustle of my day. Not saying I wouldn't have gotten it done, but probably  definitely not right away. But, on that day--I got it done. Right away. And the first thing out of L's mouth when he came home was an excited, "Look, J! Mom did it!"

My heart smiled.

I think I remember this woman, remember this life. I can vaguely, happily recall what it was to be able to give my life and my time to my family, home, and service. This always felt like the life I was created for. Unless I spontaneously win the lottery which I don't play, I know this can't last. Especially with Brad requesting now to pay me nearly half of what he does in child support/alimony, I have to be able to support myself and my boys. We will have to return to the survival only mode. It wasn't ideal--but we made it work and can again. 

For now, however, I am enjoying every second. I'm giving myself till Monday before I hit the ground running sending out applications. In the mean time, I'm going to finish getting everything cleaned and purged, wipe off the top of the refrigerator and scrub beneath the stove, play a few more extra games of Hi Ho Cherry-O with my little boys, go on a few more longboard/scooter rides with my big boys. Enjoy a few more quiet, still moments where I get to just sit, observe, and listen...and remember. Grateful to my Heavenly Father for this blessing wrapped in a trial.

it's the family picture, charlie brown!

aaaaah....family picture day. There's a lot of work put into the attempt to get ONE decent photograph. Making sure everyone's hair is cut at the same time. Keeping everyone's faces and knees wound-free. Trying to coordinate outfits (even if you forget about feet and your blue/brown color scheme is marred by son's black and red skateboard shoes....).

Add to that the fact that THIS ONE was being naughty.....

And THIS ONE was being grumpy.....

And THIS ONE was being silly.....

And THIS ONE was being oh so serious.....

***Throw in some scattered thundershowers and the fact that we were at a park, and it made for some awkward, yet passable, posing***

I finally asked the photographer (who was fabulous to work with!) if we couldn't just "be ourselves" and she could snap away.

I liked the results of that plan much better :) .....

Now we just need a beagle, some snazzy jazz in the background, and some assorted, repetitive dancing (ya know--like Charlie Brown. I have no idea what he has to do with this post, but I sure love the music!).

When was the last time YOU had a professional family picture taken? And what was the hardest part about the preparation for it?

friday fotos...thanksgiving day (and another traditional minor disaster)

~Here is the story of Thanksgiving 2008. ~

This is the third year I've had my family gather here for Thanksgiving dinner. And every year, there's been some minor disaster we've had to get through.

Year #1: Everyone but my family and a friend's family gets violently ill Thanksgiving night-- so ill that a few even go to the hospital. It was assumed it was from the deep fried turkey prepared by said friends. And somehow everyone still came back and ate here come Christmas time! :)

Year #2 (last year): It took me 3 attempts to make my Nutella Brownie Pumpkin Pie. I burned one, put the wrong kind of pumpkin in another, and then the third never set up right-- so we ended up eating the burned one. Well--at least a few of us did. This is what happened to most of it......

and also our neighbor's dog, whom we were *dogsitting* for at the time, decided to pick an hour before Thanksgiving to have a seizure. (he was ok--but it was time consuming enough caring for him to cause the burnt pie).

So, now we're to YEAR #3......the year I'm glad I buy my paper towels at Costco, because some things require a whole roll of them to clean up.

Everything was going along really smoothly. I made mesquite roasted, sage rubbed turkey breasts. Stuffing (out of a box--because even homemade doesn't taste better!). Green beans with lemon. Rolls. and two kinds of potatoes:

I'm not a gravy girl, so I make these instead..... garlic, Parmesan, rosemary smashed red potatoes. Oh my head! are they ever delish! I think it has something to do with the stick of butter and the 1/2 cup of cream that goes into them.... anyway--

Guests arrived.

and everyone ended up in the kitchen. Typical!

Here is one of my brothers (the other is a race car driver and NEVER around!) and my sister. (Did you even know I had siblings? I know I only tend to blog about them in flashback posts--but they are still living!)

Do you see that pitcher in front of them? Take a good look at it. It's old---like from my bridal shower old--and it was starting to crack--but I thought it would be fine to use. Plus, it was so pretty.....

Everyone was eating and having a grand old time, when my nephew (17) decided to pour himself a drink. And the handle broke off the above mentioned cracked crystal pitcher---leaving a gaping glass hole---which spewed forth cranberry juice/ Sprite mixture. A LOT of it. All over everyone and everything!!! There was much laughter as we all crawled around on the floor trying to clean it up. My nephew's girlfriend hopped up to try and help and in doing so, spilled her drink all over herself as well. My nephew had to eat the remainder of Thanksgiving dinner in some homemade kilt he concocted out of my bath towel and his belt while his pants were in the dryer. At least I let his girlfriend borrow a pair of my pants---so no towel kilt for her!

Here's what was left of the pitcher. And did I mention how thankful I am to have wood floors? Can you imagine a pitcherful of cranberry juice on carpet?! Oh my!....

This made everything feel better. Pumpkin cobbler with cinnamon-caramel whipped cream.

Everything ends happily with dessert.

Can't wait to see what year #4 has up its sleeve. :)

***Hope your Thanksgiving was blessed by the presence of your family and friends. Love to you all!***

upkeep

You know how you're advised to change your oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles? Put new batteries in your smoke detectors every daylight savings time? Replace your furnace filter every 8 weeks? All that stuff that occupies so much of our time and space on our to-do lists? You know....upkeep?! I noticed a lot of things around here today that needed some upkeep too....

For example, because I didn't keep up with cleaning at the same rate my children were un-cleaning, my house ended up looking like this:

Because I didn't keep up with the "monitoring" of Brad, Zane and Ethan in the hot tub, they ended up daring one another to do this:
brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

then this:
I don't get this whole "male bonding" thing!!!

Luckily, I did keep up with coloring my hair (I remember when I use to color my hair because it was fun to have a change, not because it was gray as a grandma!), whitening my teeth (hooray for Crest White Strips!), shrinking my pores (if you could walk on my face you might fall into one of them!), and bleaching my 'stache ( no one else seems to notice the thin gray mark above my lip--but I do, therefore it has to go!): I know I'm a very brave woman to put this picture of myself up, but if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right? Besides--you have to be impressed with my multi-tasking beauty skills!

So I wouldn't end up looking like this: Finally, because I didn't keep up with my cutie-pie niece Karli, she went and had a cutie-pie baby that I want to take home and call my own! {Alright, this one probably doesn't go along with the rest of the post, but I went to her baby shower today and wanted to make sure it got mentioned. Would you look at how yummy little Gray is?!}:



And I'm sure if I didn't keep up with this blog, you'd all be heartbroken,right?!

things NOT to give children

Along with sharp knives, permanent markers, the keys to your car, and Tickle Me Elmo, I am adding THIS to the list of things not to give your children: THIS is a voice changer. Not only does it amplify my children's already loud voices, it also warps them into various robotic sounds, each more annoying than the next. Zane and Ethan have had fun singing "Mr. Roboto" into it (yes, my children actually know the words to that song.....they are modern men with a secret, secret......). Liam just likes to scream, loudly, into it. Repeatedly. Early in the morning. And he's teaching James.
I don't know what my sister was thinking when she bought these for Christmas gifts, but I bet she was laughing when she was thinking it.

And she's so generous, she gave us two.

Come on dollar store batteries--
wear out quickly!

Congratulations Ashley and Nick

Ashley and Nick before her prom two years ago--I thought this one was too cute!
Right after Ethan's party we headed to my niece, Ashley's , wedding. She and Nick have been dating since she was allowed to date, so we always knew they'd end up together for good! Ashley looked gorgeous, and the whole event was lovely. Zane and Ethan tore up the dance floor much to the entertainment of the crowd. I do feel soooo old because I remember like it was yesterday going to see newborn Ashley in the hospital. She sure grew up sweet. We wish her and Nick a lifetime of happiness and the best Jamaican honeymoon ever! We'll be sure to call you to babysit when you get home :)!

An Autumn Recipe

With the chilly autumn days coming on, I thought you might enjoy this soup recipe I make several times a week. First you need 3 "grade A choice" boys, set them in a large pot of boiling water and let simmer for an hour or two. Yum-O! O.K.--so maybe the picture is just Zane, Ethan, and Liam in the hot tub; but every time they turn the jets on and the steam starts rising, I can't help but think it looks like I'm cooking them!


Here they are out of the hot tub and looking so handsome for my Grandpa "Slim" Yorgensen's funeral today. He actually passed away on my mom's birthday, so we figured he didn't want to miss the party. He wasn't in terrible health, so his passing came as a surprise--but he lived a great, full life and was a 'hecuva' guy. We will all miss him very much.

Happy Birthday to my Mom

It's been a little over 18 months since my mom passed away, but today would have been her 65th birthday. I took some flowers by her grave and noticed a little old man sitting nearby crying. I was able to talk to him for a while about his wife of 64 years who had just died about 4 months ago (he knew the exact number of days). She had died of cancer too, so we talked about what a hard disease that is to watch take hold of a loved one. It made my own burden a little easier to bear knowing that I'm young enough to still have my husband and children to lean on. So anyway, Happy Birthday to my mom. I often feel her so near that I still find myself about to call her on the phone to tell her about something funny, or wondering if it's her knocking on my door. I know this isn't the most uplifting entry ever, but this day will always be a special day for me--and I'd rather remember and be a little sad than not remember at all.