I'm an Audrey!

This was on my friend Holly's blog. She found it on her friend's blog, so I thought - why not pass it on! It was fun and I was pleasently surprised at the result. There are only two questions - and I have to say I was amazed at how well it described me - not 100% but I love that I'm an Audrey! You can find the quiz here - take it and leave a comment letting me know who you are!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz ...

You Are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• * If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure
• * I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this
• * Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit
• * Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally
• * Ask me questions to help me get clear
• * Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery
• * Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings
• * I like a good discussion but not a confrontation
• * Let me know you like what I've done or said
• * Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

• * being nonjudgmental and accepting
• * caring for and being concerned about others
• * being able to relax and have a good time
• * knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
• * my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
• * my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
• * being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

• * being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
• * being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
• * being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
• * being confused about what I really want
• * caring too much about what others will think of me
• * not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

• * feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
• * tune out a lot, especially when others argue
• * are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

• * are supportive, kind, and warm
• * are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

I've been waiting 4 years for this!

I tried to post this video back on December 23rd but Blogger was being persnickity and it wouldn't load - I tried ALL DAY. So today I decided to try again and it worked! So here is the original post.


Rebekah loves Christmas, and she loves Christmas songs. I burned a CD that we play in the car and this year she is singing along with almost all of them. Her favorites are Frosty, Rudolph and one I wasn't aware of until yesterday - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus! Yesterday she and I were in the car going to a birthday party - it was at a mall way across town, so we had a bit of a drive. She was singing along and I heard her singing it with the CD but when it was over she said, turn it off Mom, I want to practice it by myself. So I turned it off and to my amazement she sang the whole thing straight through - loud, and clearly! I was so proud - I teared up all 150 times she sang it before we got to the mall! Poor girl is not the best singer - maybe that will get better as she gets older - but I still think it is darn cute! I told her when we got home I wanted to video her so I could put it on the blog so Grandma and Daddy could see it. She said no - she wanted it to be a surprise when she went to her house - oh great! When this girl gets these ideas in her head it is really hard to persuade her otherwise - but I finally got her to say she would sing it for the video and once we got home she was more than happy to stand on the coffee table "stage" and sing her little heart out. Enjoy!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It snowed today in Tucson! I was beside myself with glee! I was taking the kids to McDonald's for lunch to get them out of the house and I had to pick up a few things at the store. On the way to McDonald's it was raining, but about halfway there it started to turn into snow - by the time we left the grocery store an hour and a half later it was definitely snowing. It didn't seem to be sticking to the ground so I told the kids maybe if we were lucky it would keep snowing and it would get cold enough tonight for the snow to stick and we would have snow in the morning to play in. When we got home I looked in the back yard and we had snow on our "grass"! (it's fake you know) I bundled the kids up in their coats, gloves and hats and they went out for a good 15 minutes and had fun in the snow.

The problem was the gloves, I bought them nice "keep your hands warm on cold mornings" gloves, but not good "keep your hands dry while playing with snow" gloves, so it wasn't long before Rebekah was complaining of cold hands and we went inside. I think Alex would have stayed out longer - he was having fun regardless of cold hands!

Later on it snowed again and that time it seemed a bit more fluffy, and as I am writing this (9:33 pm) there is still snow in our back yard. It's no Idaho snow storm, but I will take what I can get!

You might want to click to enlarge to see their faces - click the back button to return

Alex got busy filling a bucket with snow.

Christmas...

Well, we had a great Christmas. I have to admit, when the idea of Bryan going to Ecuador first came up my first thought was Christmas is going to be really hard. I have to give God praise for the fact that it wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be. The kids had a GREAT time - Bryan was able to be "with" us on the computer all morning for opening presents, and that really helped. It was a true blessing to have that contact, even though he wasn't here - it was more than we would have had if he were in Iraq. So here are several pictures of the morning.

Last year I took tons of pictures but not very much video - and I wished I had more video of the kids opening presents. So this year I focused on the video and as a result I missed getting very many pictures! Sigh one of these years I will get the balance down.

Rebekah was THRILLED with her "Sleeping Beauty Hair Style"

Alex with his Gorilla Mountain Jungle

Emma was just happy! As always...

Pictures with Daddy

He's happy - just wants me to take the picture so he can go back to playing!

The beautician at work!

These are my two favorite pictures of the morning!

One of three dress up dresses - Rebekah couldn't be happier!

Bryan took this one on his end

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

Christmas Eve

I took these two pictures this evening - one of me and the kids before going to the Christmas Eve service, and then in their new jammies in front of their stockings.

Rebekah is beside herself with excitement - couldn't WAIT to get in bed so Santa could come. She even asked me when I was going to bed - afraid Santa wouldn't come if I was awake. So cute!

Bryan will be on the web cam all morning tomorrow so he will be able to see the kids open gifts and all of that. Should be fun!

Merry Christmas to all!

Aebleskivars!

There is a tradition in my family to have the Danish dish Aebleskivars for dinner around Christmas time. This is a dish my grandfather, who was Danish, loved and is one of the few Danish foods the family has continued to fix. They are YUMMY and a lot of fun to eat! Basically they are pancake balls - I think Aebleskivar means apple panckake. They are served with jam, fruit syrups and powdered sugar. The Jorgensen tradition is that when eating Aebleskivars you have to "come up even" meaning you can't have anything left on your plate. If you have powdered sugar or jam - then you need another Aebleskivar!

I have tried to keep with the tradition and every year around Christmas we have Aebleskivars for dinner one night. We have started inviting friends over to share in our tradition, since they are so unique and fun to eat! This year I invited my friend Amy and her girls Samantha and Maddie to come over. Her husband was out of town that day and since Bryan is gone we decided it was a good night to get together.

Emma's first Aebleskivar

The big kids

Rebekah took this one

Maddie, Rebekah and Samantha
Rebekah is right between these girls in age - it makes for great play dates!

Maddie was especially fond of the Aebleskivars and I had to snap a couple of pictures or her enjoyment - I love the powdered sugar on her arm!

If you want to try your hand at Aebleskivars I will share my Grandmother - Elsie Jorgensen's recipe.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 t. soda
3/4 t. baking powder
2 eggs separated
2 c. buttermilk (this is the only recipe I use actual buttermilk, I do not substitute!)
3 T. melted butter

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients in mixing bowl
In another bowl, beat egg yolks slightly. Beat in buttermilk and butter.
Stir egg yolk mixture into flour mixture.
In small bowl beat egg whites till stiff peaks form. Fold into batter.

Pour about 3T batter into each preheated, buttered cup of Aebleskivar pan.
Turn when bottom is browned.
Remove when tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve with powdered sugar, raspberry jam and fruit syrup.

Makes about 35 Aebleskivars

The link at the top of the post has good pictures and good advice about what kind of Aebleskivar pan to get. I have a cast iron pan and it is awesome!

Enjoy and Glaedig Jul! (That's Merry Christmas in Danish )

Picture With Santa

Yesterday I finally took the kids to see Santa. After last year's trip I was a little concerned that Alex would be scared again. He has been assuring me for about a month now. "I'm not going to cry on Santa's lap, I cry when I am two, I don't cry when I am three." So I was hopeful, but knew that the fact that he was saying that meant he was probably nervous about the whole thing.

We got in line with our Strawberry Julius' (I read after the fact that we weren't suppose to have drinks in line - oops!) we had a bout a half and hour wait, which wasn't too bad. At one point Alex went up to one of the little red and white striped posts holding up the divider rope - and before I knew what he was doing he squatted down to lick all the way up the post. I asked him if it tasted like a candy cane - he said yes - but didn't go for another lick. Rebekah wanted to try it too, but I was able to convince her they were indeed NOT candy canes and she didn't need to lick them.

Soon after the post licking incident Alex came over and hugged my leg - "I don't want to sit on Santa's lap Mommy" Oh no! But I had realized earlier there would not be room for all three of them on Santa's lap - one of them would have to stand, or sit next to Santa - I asked him if that would be OK, he decided it would.

I was not prepared for our dear sweet happy Emma to cry on Santa's lap. But she did. As soon as I put her down. Alex was quite concerned for her . Maybe next year we will get three smiles!

Or maybe not!

10 Days 'Till Christmas!

I took this video tonight after Alex took off one of the rings on our chain counting down the days until Christmas. I'm not sure where all the energy came from all of a sudden, but they were just a LITTLE bit wound up. Amazingly enough they went to bed right after this!

Christmas Trees and Christmas Cookies

Well, it has been a while. I know a lot of you out there probably know why I am busier than usual and not blogging like as much as I usually do - but for those of who don't know - Bryan is on a one year remote assignment in Manta, Ecuador. He left November 2nd and so I have been a single mom for the last month and a half - and will continue as such for the next 10 and 1/2 months - yes I AM counting! Just a few details about the assignment, - for those of you who already know, just skip to the next paragraph! Bryan is the Director of Operations (2nd in command) of the Forward Operating Location in Manta - their mission there is anti-drug enforcement. He is enjoying the job, it is giving him leadership experience and he will be flying again a year sooner than if he remained in Tucson for another two years - which was the other option at this point. This also almost certainly ensures he won't be doing a year in a less desirable locale - ie Iraq or Korea. The other plus to this assignment is he will be coming back to Tucson for conferences where he can then take leave on either end and be home for a "visit". So far I am doing great - the kids are doing great as well.

I have a great support network here, and just yesterday one of my worst fears came true when I got a stomach virus that knocked me out all day. My dear friend Kay came to my rescue and watched the kids for a few hours so I could get in a good nap after being up most of the night. The rest of the day I was on the couch while the kids watched movies - Emma took a long nap in the afternoon and I got to take one too. In the end, I made it, and things are good again today!

The kids and I have been having fun getting ready for Christmas - so I will share a few pictures (OK more than a few) of Christmas tree and decorating Christmas cookies...

The tree is definitely bottom heavy this year! I basically handed the kids the ornaments and they put them on the tree - I did stand up and do some myself up top, but a lot ended up on the bottom! I decided not to stress it - the kids had fun, that is all that really matters!

Great shot! Except I didn't get all of the star in, let me try again.

Rebekah, sit up straight - Alex, honey, look at the camera!

I guess this one will have to do!



Cookie time!

Rebekah was running around in her undewear before we did cookies, I told her to get dressed because I was going to take pictures, and I didn't want her to be naked. So she put on her dress-up dress and she did her own hair.

I just want to point out how Alex has stacked his decorating containers
I love that I got that in the picture - because that is so typical Alex!

I gave Emma a plain cookie to munch on while we decorated. After we were done I thought OH I should take a picture of Emma eating one! Well, she was done, but I salvaged a piece from her bib and I got a couple of shots.

What a cutie-pie! I am so blessed!

These are the ones the kids decorated - and the ones THEY get to eat!