Long Time, No Blog, Part XXIV

I know you haven't seen me around these parts in (looks at date of last blog post) six months, so this is what we look like circa May 2014. None of the females in the picture are wearing heels of any sort so, yes, the girls and I are pretty much the same height. In addition to my make up and hair products they are now stealing my shoes. My clothes are safe for the time being. 

Also, look at my time-share bebeh boys. They are too presh for words. Their mama is kindly giving birth to another bebeh sometime around the beginning of December. This makes me happy for several reasons, but mainly because I will get the enjoyment of a baby part of the day without the pesky task of raising and paying for it! After three boys, we would all be happy if NEW BEBEH were a girl, but what are the odds?? ( I know, 50/50.) 

Life in south Georgia continues to be predictably unpredictable. We've been in Albany nine years. NINE YEARS. That is the longest I've lived continually in one place my entire life. Come August, we will have lived in this house for eight years. Sometimes I look around at all the stuff we have aquired in that time and panic slightly at the thought of having to pack it all up and move. That was one good thing about moving on a semi-regular basis- it forced you to travel light and constantly re-evaluate the necessaties of life. Now, we just stick it in a closet or under the bed or in a shed and resolve to think about what to do with all that 'stuff' later.

One shed has become my office/creative space. Dad and James electrified it last year, and James spent Spring Break this year insulating it, putting up walls and giving it a lovely coat of paint. The office has two loft areas where we store decorations, camping stuff, seasonal items, etc. Just the bottom part of the office (i.e. the space that holds my stuff) filled up an entire trailer and then some. So yeah, moving it not something I want to ever do ever again.

But look how LOVELY my space is now!! Sometimes I just go out there and sit and enjoy how quiet it is. 

Three years ago we had no dogs. Now we have three. Allie is a Chocolate Lab who joined the family in April. She's so incredibly sweet and laid back, so I can forgive the loud snoring, awful gas and huge dog poo I have to scoop out of the back yard daily. 

After we discovered a termite infestation in the house back in February, we decided that this year we needed to put some serious $$$ into some much needed home repairs. We've been throwing money all around town as a result, but when everything is finally finished, we will have brand new windows, a new French door on the back of the house, new trim and siding, fresh looking brick exterior/sidewalk,/curb/driveway due to an intense pressure washing and all the rotted wood replaced. If we could just get some new carpeting inside, it really would be like living in an all-new house.

 I have two, TWO children in high school. Next summer will be twenty years since I graduated myself. I can't decide which fact is more unbelievable. The children both delight and infuriate me on a daily basis. 

  

If anyone would like to help teach Madeline how to drive I will gladly give you gas money.

That's about it for now. We still miss Jed dreadfully, but he's almost down one year! At some point I may update this blog again. We'll see. ;) 

2013 Housekeeping

I read these books in 2013. Bye.

 

       
           

      Jennifer's 2013 book montage
   
 
   

Jennifer's favorite books »
 
 

     
     

HELLO 2014!

I'll give it to you, 2013. You were a hell of a year.

In my life, it's been fairly true to form (with a few outliers just to keep things fun e.g. 2013) that the even number years are AMAZEBALLS and the odd number years are JUST PLAIN AWFUL.

This was not the case for 2013. 2013 was pretty darn good all around. And I'm not just saying that because we had not one, not two but THREE awesome vacations to Disney World and Universal Studios. (As I said to Jaws, it's really saying something the number of big vacations taken in our first 17 years of marriage is equal to the number of big vacations taken in 2013 alone!) The vacations certainly helped, but overall it was a good, good year- two occurences of government sequestration/furlough/shut down resulting in a 40% reduction in pay during said sequestration/furlough/shut down notwithstanding.

No joke, I went to go find something on Pinterest to share on this post and I ended up spending 30 minutes there just looking around, and now I can't remember what I was going to add here.

So, 2013.

Does anyone even read my blog anymore? Can you leave a comment if you do? My self-esteem could really use the lift.

Also, Jed's visa for Brazil finally came through and he leaves January 21st.

I did a lot of crafting this year and it was therapeutically awesome. My reading took a hit though, because one cannot craft and read at the same time. This was my favorite piece.

Also, here's a recent picture of all of us.

  

  

     

       

           

     

My Vitality Does In Fact Leap In The Autumn

“September has come, it is hers

Whose vitality leaps in the autumn,

Whose nature prefers

Trees without leaves and a fire in the fireplace."

It's September and October that makes me sad that I don't live in a part of the US where there is a noticeable difference in the weather and the leaves actually change colors instead of one day being a vibrant green on the trees and the next dirty brown and dead on the lawn. I try to make the best of it by enjoying every minuscule  drop on the thermometer and reminding myself that cold COLD weather is only fun if you don't have to leave your house. 

It's taken all of August to come to terms with the fact that I have a child in high school and who is also eligible to get her learner's permit in two weeks. School started way back on August 9th. 

Madeline loves high school so far. She's doing home study seminary for a year because of transportation issues. (Getting her set up to do that pretty much required an act of Congress for all the hassle it caused.) Isabella is enjoying 8th grade. By some crazy fluke, she got all of the teachers Madeline had last year. The middle school split into two schools this school year, and Isabella was assigned to the new school, which used to be a former elementary school. She said all of the toilets and sinks and water fountains are very low, so she feels like a giant when she uses them!

James had been under government-ordered sequestration since the beginning of July, but it *finally* ended last week! Hooray! It's a very rare thing that you will hear me complaining about James' job and/or the fact that he works for the government. We went too many years without stable, reasonable employment to complain about anything, really. I have to say though, this furlough with the close to 40% pay cut was a tough one to deal with. But it's over, we survived and all is well. 

Jed has been gone TEN WEEKS today! He's still not in Brazil, though. He's hanging in Pleasant Grove, UT while waiting on that dang visa! I just love how confident and enthusiastic he sounds in his letters. 

I turned 36 last month. That sounds very different from 35. The family I sit for gave me a very generous gift card to a local restaurant, and I nicely took James and the girls with me out to dinner. I just love spending time with them! Mom and Dad came over a few days later and took me out to lunch. Clearly, I like my birthdays to revolve around food. ;)

I love the time I'm spending with "my" boys. They are such a treasure! It's also a good reminder why I personally was smart to have my children while I was still young and stupid. I'd be so lazy as a parent of young kids now! 

Christopher is in school during the day, and I pick him up in the afternoon. He goes to a private Catholic school, and the it was SO FUNNY when he was telling me about his first Mass.

Michael is getting so big- sitting up by himself, eating solid food and trying to scoot around. He just gives the best smiles and snuggles. Nature's Prozac, I'm telling you!

Nic is too funny for words. He's constantly trying to figure out ways of outsmarting me, and only occasionally succeeding. 

I think the best part about getting older is figuring out what you really care about, and ignoring the rest of the busy work. Right now my life is so busy work free and I'm so much happier for it. 

Your Monthly Post

You know what bites? School starts in less than two weeks. Sad panda, indeed.

Usually by this time I've moved into school mode, buying supplies and getting lesson plans for my class ready. Not this year! It's weird not to be worrying about any of that stuff, since I'm not going back to preschool. I'm sad, but not all that sad.

Summer with the this little boys has been fun. For a small town, we have a great library system and a kick-a children/youth librarian. Miss Erin put together some great summer programs plus a storytime, so we took full advantage of going to the library at least twice a week. This last program was Egyptian themed, so we had two pharaohs in the house!

I'm not kidding when I say they wore those ALL DAY!

The Bebeh Boy continues to delight us. He really is the smiliest baby I've ever met. He's even smiled in the middle of crying! It's like he can't help himself. He's rolling over and trying to sit up and we just love him to bits and pieces. It also makes me very glad I'm done having babies, because babies are a lot of work.

Madeline went to youth conference in Macon a few weeks ago and had a ball. Evidently her number was given out several times over to various "new friends". Oh, it's good to be young! She printed out several copies of this picture to send to Jed so he could pass them out around the MTC.

Isabella has been busy earning money and seeing movies and crafting. She also keeps talking me into taking her out to breakfast when Madeline is gone. 

I've been crafting too. 

Doctor Who felt people! (Including this badass River Song of my own design!)

Sherlock Felt People! (again, my own design!)

I made several different characters to send to Jed. He loved them, as I knew he would. 

James' sequestration finally started and it suuuuuuuuuuucks. Every Monday of since the beginning of July till the end of September with no pay! Sweet. I don't know which is worse: having a *severely* reduced paycheck or having him around on Mondays disturbing our routine. It's a toss-up really. 

And now I leave you with a picture of the cutest bebeh evah.

Facing Forward

On Tuesday we dropped this sweet boy off at the airport to wing his way to Utah and the Missionary Training Center. It was awfully bittersweet. 

It's tough to know who had the hardest time holding it together. Evidently Mom had a breakdown in Publix a few days later, so it might be her. On the other hand, Madeline told me today it was "too soon" for her to write him a letter. 

I have chosen to deal with things in my own way. Namely, sending letters and packages that will make him laugh. 

In the meantime we will soldier on, trying to have a good time without him. After we left the airport we headed up to Little Talbot Island to drown our sorrows in the ocean. 

 

It pretty much worked. Until later that night when I realized I couldn't even text Jed and proceeded to have the ugliest of ugly cries. 

There should be no question that Jed is loved. 

SEE YOU IN 2015, ELDER SEAMAN!!

Life With Little Boys and Teenage Girls

So many similarities:

Bathrooms in disarray

Drama, drama, drama

Lots of loud laughter

I'm pretty much loving it. Life is never boring!

It's the First Day of June and iTunes Won't Stop Playing Christmas Music

...so there's that.

Look at my attractive family! That's from the reunion on May 18th. It's most likely the last time we will all be together for two years. *cries* *sighs* And yes, this is the year Madeline and Isabella are pretty much as tall as me. From now on the have to stand behind me! *cries again*

School is out and it's been fabulous. The girls are getting paid to help me nanny and honestly, we are loving it. It's not all flowers and sunshine (potty training toddlers are the WORST) but when the bebeh smiles at us or the big boys make us laugh it's pretty awesome. So far we've done two weeks of swim lessons, picked strawberries at the strawberry patch, chased the chickens and then there's this:

Yes, it's as awesome as it looks. It's the perfect size everything we need: entertaining energetic boys and cooling off while teens and adults work on their tans. I spent an hour and a half lounging in the thing yesterday, reading a book. Don't be jealous. ;)

Equally as awesome is that my office/craft space/teen hangout is finally getting electrified! We bought one of those wooden outbuilding shed-type things last summer. It's 12x16 with two loft areas for storage. Dad and Jaws wired it up on Memorial Day and installed an AC unit. Dad is coming back in a week or so to run power to it, and then Jaws will insulate it and we will be IN BUSINESS. I'm ridiculously excited.

Jed leaves this month, but the less we say about that the better.

On the other hand, life all around is pretty swell so I won't complain. I feel like after a few years of stagnation that things are finally moving forward, and in a positive direction no less! I sleep easier at night and have very little trouble getting up in the morning and have to take less of my anxiety medication. I'm generally happier, and I think it shows.

What I've Been Doing

Did you know we went to Disney World back in February? We did, and it was awesome. I didn't talk about it here because I didn't want to make you super jealous. Cousin Sarah is officially the Numero Uno Maker of the Disney Magic.

As you can tell by our attire, we had a day of chilliness. But anyone who has ever almost sweated (swat?) to death in the Orlando heat and humidity will tell you that a bit of chilliness is infinitely preferable. As per our vacationing preferences, it was all about the food. We ate our way through the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and it was GLORIOUS. Cousin Sarah advised purchasing the prepaid meal plan, which was a wonderful suggestion. We could order what we wanted without regard to the price. It was simply delightful to get a check for $130+ and say the magic words, "We're on the meal plan" and POOF!! The check disappeared. Bliss....

Earlier in the month of February, Frodo received this in the mail:

I've pretty much been trying to come to terms with the fact that he will be gone for TWO WHOLE YEARS ever since then. I will probably be okay with it about a month before he gets home. IN JUNE 2015!!! By which time Madeline will almost be 17 and Isabella will be 15. MY LIFE IS FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES. At least I won't be 40 yet. When he gets home, I mean. 

I also started a new job. In addition to my old job of teaching preschool, I'm watching three little bros in the afternoon after school. Which basically means I'm working almost full-time. It's a good thing I love teaching and that I ADORE the boys I'm watching. Their ages are 5, 2 and 10 weeks. Yes, WEEKS. I am going to watch them over the summer as well, with the help of the girls. I figure it will be better with 3 VS 3 defense. 

The girls are in love with the boys, too. On the first afternoon, I got this text from Madeline:

The smell of a bebeh's head is a powerful thing, no? Speaking of the bebeh:

I'm spoiling him rotten and loving every minute of it. 

School is over in two and a half weeks. Not that I'm counting down or anything. You can probably expect another update from 'round mid July. 

PSA

My new favorite food blog is I Believe I can Fry. Everything I have made from there has been delicious so far.

This has been my good deed for the week. You're welcome!

So *that's* what I was doing!

At school today I decided I would make soup for dinner. I had no specific type in mind. Just soup.

As the onions and carrots and garlic sauteed, I grabbed spices from the cabinet and random leftover bits of meat and veggies from the fridge and freezer. I would add something, taste, adjust the seasoning, taste again, simmer for a bit, taste for a third time, on and on for a good thirty minutes.

The soup tasted okay, but it needed something more. Looking in the fridge on more time I spied a bottle of homemade pepper sauce. Yes! It was exactly what the soup needed- a bit of acid and a kick of heat. I added a few spoonfuls and tasted again.

Then it dawned on me. This soup wasn't just soup- it was Brunswick Stew.

At first I was annoyed. I had spent at least an hour trying to make this soup taste good. I should have just looked at the ingredients on hand, realized I had the makings of Brunswick Stew and followed a trusted recipe I'd used before.

But then, the A-ha.

Lately my life has been alot like my soup making. I've been trying different things here and there, relying on trial-and-error, counting on my instincts to figure out what is good and right for me and mine. Sometimes everything has gone wrong and I'm left with a pot of old vegetables and starchy pasta and over-salted broth and I have to throw everything out and start again.

But. But! More often than not, I'm ending up with Brunswick Stew. Yeah, it'd be easier at times to pull out the cookbook and follow someone else's recipe. But it's only because I know the basics of soup making that I knew what the final ingredient needed to be in order to take this soup from and mediocre experiment to an unqualified success. I don't always need a recipe because I already have all the tools of soupmaking!

I have what I need to get started. The path I take to the final product will be uniquely my own. I- and the soup- will be all the better for it.

Soup's on at six.

Thoughts on a Thursday

 It always makes me laugh when I see a hipster-type in Leesburg. I want to give them a hug and say, "Dude. Don't try so hard."

It's currently 9:30. I thought it was later than that. Possibly because everyone else has been in bed for at least an hour. The house is dark and quiet. Yessssss...

I've been reading the Mary Russell series and loving it. It's basically well-written Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, which is TOTALLY me wheelhouse. It's also helping me pass the time while waiting for the newest Sherlock series from the BBC. WRITE FASTER, STEVEN MOFFAT!! I NEED MORE BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN MY LIFE!!

Mmmm...Benedict Cumberbatch

Or, who I like to call Bandicoot Cucumberslice.

Movies I Have Not Seen That I Would Like To See:
Breaking Dawn Part II
The Hobbit
Argo
Les Miserables
Lincoln

I upgraded my sleeping mask a few weeks ago. Best $10 I ever spent. I'm currently on the search for the perfect white noise app. I have two that I like, but I think I can do better. The energy I expend trying to get an optimal sleeping experience is astounding.

We subscribe to more than a few (but less than a dozen) magazines. The only one I read cover to cover within 24 hours of receiving it?

Entertainment Weekly.

And I don't even have the decency to be ashamed.

Dusting off the old blog...

Blogging is *so* 2005, yet here I am. Updating. 2012 went by in a blur of work, school, vacations, road trips, bills, food, and lawn-mowing headaches. The girls experienced their first solo plane rides, I experienced a solid five days by myself, sans children and husband. I read more books in one year that I ever had before, and I got back in touch with my crafty side. I made a goal to have at least one out-of-my-own-house-preferably-without-children-or-husband social event a month, and I think I accomplished it. (This is very big deal for me. Being social is exhausting.) The girls continue to wage war against puberty, peer pressure and preconceived notions. I think they are winning. Jaws is still Jaws. He's not looking forward to turning 40 in November. I make no promises about regular blog updates, other than to say perhaps.

I'm not dead, are you??

I've just been reading. Presenting my 2012 reading list:

Jennifer's 2012 book montage

Jennifer's favorite books »