We had to bribe the kids with pretzels to get them to sit for this photo. Promptly after the photo was taken Maeve vomited all over her frog costume. It was pretty sweet. I guess that explains why she wouldn't smile for any photos.
Joel celebrated his 29th birthday again. We got to celebrate with him before the big day because he went back to California the night before his birthday. He got to celebrate the actual day by going to Disneyland for free. We are jealous. This photo was taken in December 2005. It is one of those photos that when our kids see it they are going to say, "What were you guys thinking!?" I thought it might give you a good laugh.
I haven't posted in awhile because we have been settling into a new routine. I got another job and after two weeks of doing both jobs I quit the cleaning business, hopefully for good! I was hired part time at the Douglas County Aids Project. I am working as a social worker doing case management for about 22 clients infected with HIV. I was hired on a grant position that goes through next July so we will be here until then. It has been very interesting work. I have learned a lot about AIDS in the last few weeks and am very glad that I don't participate in any of the high risk behaviors. It is good to be back doing case management, which is where I did my internship in college, before I worked in the school districts. It is a very small non-profit agency so that is fun and challenging. There are only 6 employees, I think only 3 are full-time. I work two days a week normally but this week I worked full time which was exhausting considering I was up most of the nights all week with Jude who has had the flu all week. Luckily I flew Joel in to provide child care (the airplane ticket was the exact same price as what I would have paid for five days of child care) so he took care of our sick baby all week during the day. Adelle got the bug last night and will be home from school tomorrow. Hopefully by the time Joel leaves Wednesday night everyone will be healthy again.
I've been a little preoccupied getting into a school routine with Adelle (not to mention getting use to waking up at 6:30am after being woken up 5 times during the night between my two babies) and looking for a better job than my current evening office cleaning job. I think I am getting pretty good at interviewing so hopefully something good comes up soon. I've only been offered one job and the pay was so low I wouldn't have brought anything home after child care costs. Why is it that social workers get paid so little?
But on to my post title. Susan from our old homeschool group (I miss you guys!) suggested this book called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (I know titles are suppose to be underlines but I can't figure out how to do that??) Anyway it is about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. I put it on hold at the library and after waiting all summer I finally got it. It was really interesting. Did you know that when the Islanders knew the Germans were coming they put their kids on a boat to England and didn't see them for 5 years?! Isn't that so sad! Worth reading and a pretty quick read.
One of the benefits of living in Kansas right now is that I get to hang out with old friends. Jen, Shona, and I lived together all 4 years at KU. We met while living on the same dorm floor as freshmen. Shona was here visiting from Arizona in July so Jen had us over to her place in KC for a BBQ. The kids had fun playing together. Jackson and Maeve had a blast driving the jeep. There was only one accident when Maeve was steering but Jackson was pressing the gas and so between the confusion they ran straight into the fence. It had been way too long since I'd seen Shona and Vince so I was happy to spend the afternoon with them. Thanks Jen and Patrick!
Adelle has finally worn me down enough with her begging that we are enrolling her in the local public school. Okay that is part of it. I prayed about it too and it felt right. But I am sad. I never intended to homeschool her forever but once I started doing it I realized how much I enjoyed it, how much better our 1 on 1 learning is than 30 on 1 in school, and how wonderful the flexibility is. But she desperately wants to go to school so we are going to give it a try. I hope she likes it, though I know it is not going to be as much fun as she thinks it will be and I am not excited about the early mornings (Jude still sleeps like a newborn). I am excited to have less fighting and screaming between the girls during the day. Wish us luck! By the way this is an airport photo not a school photo.
Jude and cousin L got to have a little play time while we were in Utah for Grandma's funeral. Aren't they sweet! Isn't L the chubbiest baby ever?My SIL got me reading the meanest mom blog and the post I read this week was so funny, only because it didn't happen to me. If you have ever flown with children, read this post and you'll probably feel like your experience wasn't that bad after all.
Maeve turned three in June and asked for a Piglet cake. Since Joel is the cake decorator in the family I was a little worried about how I was going to make a Piglet cake. Luckily the master cake decorator, Grandma, made this amazing cake for her! Her cousins, from Topeka, came for the party and Aunt Jen gave her the best gift ever. She has been carrying Piglet around with her ever since. Thanks! 
My grandma, Charlotte Waters Dahle, passed away recently and I made a trip to Utah for her funeral. Here are my cute parents and siblings. It was actually an enjoyable weekend spent with family. It was nice to be reminded that Grandma wasn't always sick and of how fun she was before she got alzheimers. Her and Grandpa are so lucky now to be together where he can hear her and she remembers who he is. Grandma use to tell me that we had a lot in common. We both broke our legs (she got hit by a car I think and I got hit by a soccer goalie). We both broke our collarbones (I can't remember how she broke hers but I got hit by another soccer player :) We both had traumatic events the day I was born. Mine was going through the birth canal. Hers was a heart attack. She got really mad at me once because I called her Granny. She said only old people were Grannys. How sweet it is to know I will see you again Grandma!
On Friday morning Jude rolled off the bed onto the floor while I was sleeping with him and Maeve in my bed. Later that morning he was sitting on the floor when he pulled a wooden stool over on top of him. And that afternoon Maeve picked him up by his neck. And he survived it all. But am I the worst mom ever? I must be because now all of my children have rolled off my bed as infants.
Adelle didn't waste anytime getting involved in the church group out here. This is her at the children's activity using sponges to fill up a bucket of water to represent baptism by immersion (which is what will happen to Adelle when she turns 8 this December!). My friend Kathleen sent me the photos. The top one makes me look like the standoffish, snobby California girl. I really wasn't trying to be unsocial. It was just really hot and I wanted to sit in the shade.It is not as much fun blogging when I can't add photos. I need to take more photos now that Joel isn't around and figure out how to put them on the computer.
Our first week in Kansas:
1.Joel got a security pass in Orange County to walk us to the gate. I looked distressed enough, traveling alone with three children, at the ticket counter when they said my flight was delayed and I might miss the connection in Denver.
2. I actually made the connecting flight in Denver. I had to run through the airport with three children to do it.
3. So far the only major problems from the girls is Maeve pooping her pants three days in a row. Donna and Bruce solved that by getting her a little Winnie the Pooh toilet. I had hoped to transition away from the little potty on this move but that turned out to be too much for Maeve. No accidents since the new chair arrived.
4. Maeve keeps saying she wants to go home. I just tell her we are homeless. She doesn't know how to respond to that.
5. Adelle on the other hand is loving all the additional attention from the grandparents.
How long do you give us before the bomb drops and the lose of Joel in their daily lives brings on all the really fun behaviors?
We are moving to Lawrence, Kansas. Joel is moving to Los Angeles to live with two classmates. No we are not getting divorced I had to inform Adelle, who I didn't even know knew what that was. Joel's parents are taking the kids and I in while Joel pursues his career in Hollywood. It is a temporary move, hopefully less than a year for him to find steady work and for us to build up a savings for those lean months of work. The joys of self-employment. We are going to miss him dearly. I am sad for him for all the things that he will miss in the children's lives. I am sad for me that he won't be coming home at night. But I have to admit after spending so much of the last three years as a single mom I am looking forward to having a 1 on 1 ratio of adult to child, help with the daily chores of running a household, and to doing less laundry (the cloth diapers are going to storage and we are only taking 2 suitcases, mostly filled with craft projects!). I love Lawrence, my in-laws, and Kansas summer. Okay that last part is a lie. It is hot and humid and this Alaskan girl may die. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!
He did it!! Joel is officially a Master. We are so proud of him. Thanks to the family that came to celebrate with us. It was a great weekend and now we are busy packing up our home. Above photos: Us with Mike, the director of one of Joel's thesis films; The Balli's and us, Fevzi directed Joel's other film; Joel and his girls; and the visiting family, Joel's dad, sisters, and brother in law. Finally at 31 we are ready to embark on life outside of school.
Joel didn't win the award for cinematographer but we got to walk down the red carpet! (Joel, Bruce, my FIL, and I did anyway. Sharon (SIL) was content to be the photographer.) The award ceremony was probably like the Oscars; parts were entertaining, parts were a little boring. There was a big difference between the acceptance speeches of the undergrads and the grads. I guess I am getting old because most of the twenty year olds' speeches were just silly. But it was fun to be there to support Joel. We stayed for a little while at the after party but since I am not much of a dancer and Jude cried for most of the evening with my friend, Debbie, we left Joel to tear up the dance floor alone while I put the kids to bed.
I was reading the Proverbs 31 about being a virtuous women and two verses stood out to me this time. "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." and "She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant." I decided that there had to be a way for me to help our family budget a little and get the things that I *need*. So I signed up for a craigslist account to sell all the things that we can't move with us anyway and would have ended up at Goodwill and I held a garage sale with our homeschooling friends from church who are also moving the end of this month. I've made enough money so far to buy the baby carrier I want off ebay and to contribute to our moving expenses. It is so exciting that people want to buy our unwanted stuff. Yeah for Craigslist. I don't feel too guilty that a few of the things I sold were given to us freely by moving neighbors who didn't want to take it with them.
Here are two of our favorite recipes. The chicken soup one is really my favorite chicken soup. I cut the recipe out of some magazine years ago and we love it. The chinese recipe is from a friend at church who did a class on chinese cooking. We eat chinese style dinners probably as much as we eat pasta these days. This recipe I like because you can substitute any meat you have on hand (we've used chicken, beef, and pork) and any vegetable (we've used green peppers, green beans, broccoli-my favorite) and they all taste good. Sorry about the messy recipe. I spilled on it a few times before I put it in a plastic sleeve. :)
I've been sick with a cough and cold the last few weeks making my energy level very low. Something about 6 months of sleepless nights catching up to me. Though my voice hasn't quite returned to normal I am feeling much better.
This is the first dresses I've ever made. Not exactly fancy Easter dresses but I was pleased just the same for my first attempts. The fabric was a bed sheet from the thrift store. I felt a little like Marie Von Trapp from the Sound of Music when she made outfits for the kids out of the curtains. Our Easter was a little hectic with afternoon church and then we had dinner with Fevzi and Gokcen. No ham this year (they are Muslims). We had chicken but other than that it was a pretty traditional Easter dinner. I hope all of you had a happy Easter!
Today we celebrate Christ's triumphant ride into Jerusalem. Easter is my favorite holiday and Spring is my favorite season. Probably that has to do with growing up in Alaska when Spring is really the end to a very long, cold winter. It was always so great when the sun started staying up longer and you felt so much more energy. And the snow started to melt. Spring is also called Break-Up Season, everything is brown and muddy, but you can finally see the pavement on the roads again! I love Easter. I love the hope that Christ's resurrection gives us. I love my Savior.
We just finished studying A. A. Milne's poems this last term. We are moving on to a collection of children's poems by various authors after having read Robert Louis Stevenson's poems the first term. Adelle's favorite poem by Milne was Happiness.
Here is Adelle performing in the American Idol program sponsored by our children's program at church. She played Surprise Symphony and Old MacDonald Had A Farm with only a few squeaks on the clarinet. She did a great job and looked the part with the cute hate. I am proud of her for being so brave to perform solo in front of others.
So my latest obsession is The Office. Joel picked up Season 2 and 3 from the Chapman Library for me. I have been staying up way too late watching the shows and nearly peeing my pants laughing. For those of you who are faithful watchers over the years here are some of the funny episodes I've watched that you might remember.
Enjoy the cookies. Thanks Heather for the idea. I made seven and let my girls each pick one and then sent the rest to my niece. Maeve picked that goofy looking chocolate chip one and carried it around for a couple of days pretending to eat it but getting mad if someone else "ate" her cookie.
We have some goal scorers on the team this year and Adelle is excited to be winning games this season. She is still playing in goal most of the time and didn't get scored on yesterday. Joel made me promise not to volunteer to coach this season. I'm trying hard not to be one of those parents that coaches from the sideline.
