Catching up...

This time of year gets pretty busy for everyone, and I have been busily documenting some of the highlights from our lives on my handy camera phone. Here's what's been going on in November and the first days of December...

Cate lost tooth number two. The Tooth Fairy was just as kind to her and left her two $1 dollar gold coins in her pillow.

I was in a bit of a fender bender during rush-hour traffic on may way home from a difficult work day. The "funny" part about the accident was that I crashed into a guy I went to grade school with. It's not my ideal way of reconnecting with fellow alumni, but oh well. Both of us were safe and he was very nice about the whole thing. Given the age of the car, it was deemed "totaled". I now drive a sporty Toyota Matrix.

Our Annual Cookie Baking night was Friday, November 20. This is the first year without Aunt Lola, who passed away in April, so it was a bittersweet evening for all of us. My nephew Nick came back for the second year and dear friend Jen came as a special guest this year.

Cate was a huge help in quickly getting all the Hershey's Kisses on the peanut butter blossoms. I think her tiny fingers gave her a nice advantage.

In total, 9 varieties of cookies are made, of which 5 are rotated through one oven...yielding over 2000 cookies each year!

Last Monday, after a very frustrating weekend with the kids, we instilled no TV weekdays. To replace the TV time, we have Family Fun time. Max is fascinated with my beads, so Monday night we all made a piece of jewelry. Max wears his self-made bracelet daily.

Friday, December 4, Kyle and I got out for a date. We enjoyed dinner and a Chris Botti concert at Orchestra Hall. We had box seats just to stage right (I think it's stage right, right?). Chris is an excellent entertainer who effectively showcases the talents of his group mates (such as it would be for a jazz ensemble) and special guests. He's also a good story teller.

On our way home, it occurred to me that this particular evening, being the first Friday of December, marked the 19th anniversary of our first date. My how our lives have changed...

We continued our Family Fun time by making gingerbread cookies together. I'm sad, yet proud to admit that I made the dough and icing from scratch. The kids had fun choosing which cut-out to use.

Last night, we finished off by decorating the cookies. Being the aspirational thinker I am, I had delusions that I could decorate the cookies as swell as the ones pictured in the Betty Crocker magazine I got the recipes from. So when the kids got distracted and dumped sprinkles on the cookies, I "fired" them and proceeded to finish the job myself.

Then reality hit. I was no better than they were. It doesn't help that I don't have a steady hand, so the piping became more of a wavy line. I then called in cool-hand Kyle to help out. His finishing touches were much more of what I was looking for.

Oh well. They're just going to get eaten, right?

Well, the first storm of the season is barreling in. We'll have to pull out the shovels and get the kettle on for hot cocoa. Looks like movie nights are in our near future...

Stay warm and safe!

The Litany, backfired

With every grandchild, my mom has had a little "thing" going. When she would ask, "Whose boy / girl are you?" The grandchild would brightly answer, "Grandma's boy!" or "Grandma's girl!"

With Max, a litany has begun. After Grandma would ask, "Whose boy are you?" Max would brightly answer, "Grandma's boy!" Then his godmother, Aunt Jo wanted a piece of the action, so she added, "Max, whose guy are you?" He would brightly answer, "Aunt Jo's guy!" Obviously as the mother of this adorable child, I couldn't be ignored, so I added, "But Max, who loves you?" He brightly answers, "Momma loves me." And we stop there.

This morning we went through the litany. I decided coming off a bad end to the work week, I would add a little twist to get a little reinforcement and to feel the love from my young one.

Momma: Max, whose boy are you?
Max: Grandma's boy!
Momma: Max, whose guy are you?
Max: Aunt Jo's guy!
Momma: Max, who loves you?
Max: Momma!
Momma: So Max...who do you love? (insert self-gratuitous smile and batting of eyelashes toward young, adorable and loyal boy)
Max: Daddy!

Needless to say, Kyle was laying there and did his best to stifle a "Nelson from the Simpsons" laugh.

A Slacker Am I

So, yeah...it's been a while. Like everyone else, life is a wee bit busy. Blogging has and hasn't been top of mind lately. With procrastinating as long as possible to write reviews for myself and my direct-reports, going to NYC for a business / pleasure trip, having to say final farewell to a dear aunt who passed away, potty-training my not-quite-three-year-old boy, and kicking some serious blackberry brick-breaker ass, I just haven't gotten around to blogging lately.

Sorry about that.

But I'm back. Whoo-hoo!

Lots of photos are stuck in flickr land. Eventually I may post some with some of the highlights of above. Although I would guess a good deal of you readers are also facebook friends of mine so you've pretty much seen / followed what's been going on in my day-to-day.

It's quiet in the house at the present moment, I'm kickin' it and feeling a little silly. Not sure what to do about that, but oh well.

Saturday is the Get In Gear 5K. Last year, it was the first 5K I ever participated in. I am not ready at all for this event. I am feeling pretty darn sure that there will be much more walking than running this go-around. But I will be out there bright and early nonetheless with two of my best gal pals, Jen and Jess.

So Mister Max has graduated from potty-training novice to potty-training amateur early in week 2. Something happened Sunday where he just "got it" as it pertains to peeing in the potty. He can now pee on demand--that is, hold it until you get him to sit down on the potty. Within five minutes, he's got some pee in the potty to proudly show you. The pooping deal isn't going so well--yet. But I am sure he'll figure it out soon enough. I am so very proud of him and pleased that there won't be any more diapers or pull-ups in this house.

This evening, Cate went to her first Daisy Girl Scout meeting. I think she will really blossom from the lessons and values Girl Scouts will teach her about courage, confidence and character. I was never a girl scout, although I had been given the choice back in 4th grade--I chose basketball over Girl Scouts. I think this will be a fun journery to explore with her. Wait until cookie sales time--I was a top fund-raiser back in grade school for the Marathon for Non-Public Education, so consider this your warning!

Kyle and I celebrated our 13th Wedding Anniversary this past weekend. Our anniversary fell on Easter Sunday, so our date landed on Saturday, April 18. Kyle planned the evening and I didn't know where we were going until we got there. He took me to The Melting Pot, where we enjoyed an indulgent four-course fondue dining experience. I wish I had the writing stylings of Delco Guy when he blogs about his dining experience, but I can say that we left there quite satisfied and wish we could afford to go there more often. But the caloric and financial expense is way beyond our general budget.

Max will turn three on Sunday. His birthday party is that day as well, so we will be spending a lot of time this week procrastinating until we finally get around and quick-clean the house.

Until I blog you later, here's a photo that has quickly become my new favorite photo. This is sister and brother walking home from Cate's school last Tuesday. Props to Patrick for enhancing it for me.

Merry Christmas to One and All!

Christmas Eve, 2008

Despite the Christmas music playing, the tree lights shining and voices heard saying, “Merry Christmas”, I am having a difficult time believing Christmas has arrived. So I will try to slow down and reflect for a few moments on the year that has been.

We are thankful for…

New adventures
Cate is now in full-day kindergarten and loving it! It is amazing how much she has matured since starting school. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect teacher to jumpstart her academic journey. As you can imagine, Cate is quite social and ensures everyone feels included, so Ms. Mishler took advantage of that trait. Cate is now a helper for fellow classmates who come from the “Butterfly Room” (children who are in the autism program) and in November, she was recognized as a Student of the Month. As if starting school wasn’t enough, she ends her day in a different location—three days at an after school program, one day taking the school bus to my parents and one day getting picked up by Kyle’s parents.

In early 2008, we said good-bye to the crib and hello to bunk beds. Sometime in the summer, Max grew tall enough and strong enough to open the bedroom door. I’ve been wishing for the crib back ever since! At 2-1/2, Max is making potty-training a very frustrating adventure. Grandma and Grandpa are trying to motivate him to use the potty by rewarding him with watching his favorite movie, Fantasia should he “do the deed” on the pot. With Cate at school everyday, Max really likes to have his grandparents to himself 85% of the time.

Working at ShopNBC is always an adventure for me. I don’t know that I have ever sent a holiday letter and not talk about change in my work responsibilities. This year is no different. To date, I have been on the positive side of re-organization and have changed positions four times (in just one year!), each time moving to a better and more challenging position. I am currently the Marketing Manager for Events and Promotions on ShopNBC.com. With our stock at a current all-time low of $0.30 / share, I have a feeling my career adventures will continue into the New Year.

Happy Times
We spoiled ourselves this year with two family vacations. In April, we flew to Washington DC and spent a good amount of time with our dear friends, the Colemans. In July, we went “up north” for a week with my family at our favorite family resort. A good time was had by all. As you would suspect, Kyle keeps up his Wednesday night out gig and also meeting up with Shawn and Mark monthly. I have added some more church activities and still manage to get girlfriend lunches and nights out whenever possible. When we’re home, Cate and Kyle’s highlight is to play Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Max has fun watching all the light-saber action. In the spring, when I had more time, I ran my first 5K. Shocking, I know. I also picked up a new hobby of blogging. As a shameless plug, check it out if you are ever near a computer and think of us: http://jensens6021ramblings.blogspot.com/. Don’t be afraid to leave a comment once in a while.

A roof over our heads, food on the table and a yard to play in
We did not have any major home projects this year (of which Kyle is particularly thankful for), so we just enjoyed…living. We are still very much in love with our kitchen remodel. Cate enjoys cooking and baking, so we are trying to get her involved as much as possible. We decided to plant hosta in the front yard—all transplants came from Kyle’s mom’s garden. Unfortunately, a week after all were planted, we had one heck of a spring storm which wiped them out. What wasn’t destroyed was nibbled down by our neighborhood rabbits. We’re keeping our fingers crossed they will return in the summer. The hosta, that is…

Our long-term health
In light of many loved ones battling illnesses from the pesky to serious, we are hopeful for good health for years to come. This year, we all seemed to be sick more often than in years’ past. Many co-payments were made at Urgent Care and the Clinic, which prompted us to finally sign up for a healthcare spending account in 2009. Cate had her first of many bouts of pneumonia in January. This eventually led to her diagnosis of asthma. Fortunately, it’s managed with a daily nebulizer treatment. She has been very tolerant of this addition to her routine because it guarantees she can do her favorite thing daily for ten minutes—drawing.

Kyle threw us all for a loop in June when his flu symptoms took a nasty turn and landed him in the ICU with diabetic complications. It was not the most fun weekend of our lives, but it certainly was a wake-up call for both of us to be diligent in managing his diabetes. He feels much better and we are thankful for all of the prayers you showered upon us.

Our family and friends
Without you in our lives, we wouldn’t be complete. We are thankful for our interactions; whether daily, weekly, or even once in a while. We wish all of you good health, a roof over your head with food on the table, new adventures, and plenty of happy times in 2009.


With love,
Kyle, Jennifer, Cate and Max

Presto Pesto!

This summer is the first time we've grown herbs and vegetables in our garden. I'm generally all about pretty flowers and that's it. We have cilantro, rosemary, basil, San Marzano tomatoes, fajita peppers. I feel that's pretty ambitious considering we don't cook so much and have no idea how we'll be able to use all of it.

Jen came over today and taught me how to make pesto. I had no idea how easy it would be to make something so very tasty and "gourmet-ish"? Cate even got into the action and trimmed basil, supervised the browning of the pine nuts, and pulsing the Cuisinart. We used the tiniest Cuisinart ever made, but it worked out just fine.

While we were prepping the ingredients, Jolene called, so we invited her to join us for dinner. Kyle grilled shrimp and chicken that topped our pesto and noodles. We also had more caprese salad and fresh veggies with dip. And beer bread. I know, it doesn't go with anything else, but I just felt like making it. To finish it off, we had a kid favorite--s'mores for dessert. Mmmm.

Pesto Recipe

Cate watching Jen brown the pine nuts

"Jen Squared" cooking in the kitchen

Cate pulsing the Cuisinart with one hand, covering ear with the other hand

Jen whisking the mixture

Can Max's face be any messier?

Getting a little gardening (and then some) done

Despite winter seeming unusually long, the mild weather finally showed up this past week. I think this week provided us the most consistent fair-weather days since last fall. So we made the presumption that the final frost is behind us and the gardening season could begin.

Last week, we very quickly attacked the front border. Jen Nichols came over and helped prep and plant the flowers. Funny, I don't even remember the name of them--I always plant something different for the front border. Cate and Max got into the dirt as well. As one can imagine, Max had a harder time keeping the dirt in the bed than on the walkway.

(everyone helping prep the border)

(Jen, our guest gardener)

(front border complete with solar lights that don't work, but look fab in the daylight)

Then last night, I was able to get over to Kyle's parents' house and got some hosta. We have a shady tree in the front yard and the grass is quite patchy and we needed a simple solution to improve the look. I have been inspired by Ken and Katie's creative landscaping in their front yard, so I decided we should give it a try as well. We also hit Bachman's for our backyard garden needs as well, so we could avoid using the car for the remainder of the weekend.

The morning came and while Kyle took Cate to her swim lessons, Max and I went outside so I could start prepping the rear gardens for planting. We bought the same assortment of flowers that we had last year for the big hole: cleome in the center, snapdragons for 1st ring, celosis for 2nd ring and moss roses? for the outer ring. It turned out so fabulous last year with the varying heights and burst of color, I couldn't resist replicating the look.

(the back garden--before)

(Max investigating the ant crawling on his hand--nice duds!)

(Cate and Max watering the back garden)

(Soaked Max with the weapon)
(the final result--back garden)

While Cate and I worked the backyard, Max somehow managed to keep himself busy for the most part (whattagoodboy!), and Kyle dug up the grass under the tree. I had only grabbed seven hosta plants from Ken and Katie and we had three plants of our own to include. I had in my mind how big the plot would be, but apparently didn't share the information with Kyle. I eventually walked up front to find a much larger space to cover than I imagined. Kyle rounded off the edges and I walked to Mass leaving him to plant the hostas (which he was probably not too pleased about).

When I got home, Kyle had finished planting everything. It looked great! It will be a nice enhancement to our front yard and it will be minimal maintenance (right, Katie?).

(the final product--front yard)

We also planted some new seedlings Cate brought home from Tiny Tots: Sunflower, Peas, Carrots, Marigolds. The radish seedlings did not make it. Boy, they were a struggle to separate from the cotton balls they started from, so it will be a miracle if any survive. You might be able to see the white garden markers. We set them in the garden so we didn't inadvertantly pull them out thinking they were weeds. My prediction is the sunflower has the best chance of them all.

(the seedlings are there, I swear!)

We still have some other little projects to do, but we decided to call it a day and after supper, we went up to the park. Cate rode her bike and did a really great job watching for cars at the intersections before crossing. The kids ran around, played in the sand and hit the swings for a good amount of time.

(swinging so fast, they're a blur!)

Effectively blowing off their final dose of energy, we got them home and into the tub. They went to bed really, really well.

(the lead gardeners at the end of the day)

What fun will we have tomorrow?

Movin' and Shakin'

I'm moving and shaking things up at work again. I just accepted a newly created position: E-mail Marketing Manager. I think my new boss, Dave sums it up nicely in the announcement to the Interactive team:

I’m pleased to announce that Jennifer Jensen has accepted the newly-created role of e-Mail Marketing Manager. In this new role, Jennifer will be responsible for our overall e-mail marketing strategy including growing our list, better segmentation of our list, and working with the large cross-functional team on day-to-day execution of our e-mail strategy. In the weeks ahead, we will determine clear roles and responsibilities for this position as well as the various members of the cross functional team. In addition, Jennifer will continue to be responsible for driving our Amazon and WatchOrbit promotional strategy until we can find a replacement for our Affiliate/Partnership Marketing Manager Position.

Jennifer will be transitioning into the role over the next week. Please join me in
congratulating Jennifer in her new role of e-Mail Marketing Manager.

Best regards,
Dave

I am so excited for the opportunity. It is an area of Marketing I have been seeking to gain experience in. I feel very fortunate to have excellent mentors at ShopNBC helping me along the way through my succession planning. Even at times when I have felt unsure of my capabilities or frustrated because I'm not achieving my business objectives, someone has always reassured my doubts and recognized my efforts.

So here I am, starting another gig. It's going to be extremely challenging, but I know I'm more than capable. Rock on!