Back to normal. Whatever that is.

Tom got a new job!!!!!!!!!!!!

He started last week, a contract position in Chrysler, doing much of what he was doing at GM. He sent in his resume and within an HOUR received an email back asking him for an interview. He has been back for almost a week, and while the transition is tough for any new job, it looks promising. Now, Tom has been telling me for the past 13 years how smart he is, and naturally I believed him; but this solidifies it in my mind. There are many, many automotive engineers with the same level of experience and education as him who have been out of work 12-18 months and not found a job. I couldn't be prouder of him. And I am so very grateful that he is able to work for an American company...more than I could ever explain.

Today marks the first day of our "normal" life (whatever that means.) I finished up some work assignments I had committed to, but took myself off the roster for full-time interpreting work. I will never, ever, ever take my stay-home momdom for granted again. No more full-time working mommy for me! Back to cooking healthy dinners, schooling, getting the chores done on a semi-regular basis, and a bit of relaxation here and there.

Friday Night Knitting with my Mom's club pals at Christine's house in November

I hosted the December gathering, but did not get any photos.

Christine (with Baby #4) and Cheryl
Two of my fellow knitting, natural-birthing, homeschooling buddies

Liesl loves this new hairstyle.

Onion ring on our 10th wedding anniversary
November 13th

Making salsa.
A LOT of salsa.

This is about 1/3 of what we made, in a 24-quart pot

Liesl "wrote" the recipe down for us.

Ava fell asleep on me...this almost never happens anymore.

Oh, and I got my hair chopped.

Decorating the Christmas tree

Not so hot on decorating the Christmas tree

On Dec. 5, we met with a bunch of our friends and their kids to have pizza and go to the Farmington Hill's annual Christmas tree lighting.

The pizzeria, a locally-owned joint, let Mike bring his homebrew in since they don't serve alcohol. Awesome.

My friend Katy stuck a candle in our pizza and led our group in "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" in celebration of Tom's new job.

I have great friends.

I also have weird friends.


With NINE kids (!!!!) in a restaurant, you gotta come prepared with activities.
Pipe cleaners from the dollar store were a hit.


Tom and the girls went to visit a friend's home near Lansing. An old family friend of Tom's family, Chris and Jenny have 4 homeschooled children...and chickens.


Tom is jealous of their chickens.

That is one funky rooster.

They also have cows.

This one was not amused.

When the temperatures turn frigid, craft activities in the kitchen replace running around outdoors.

We've been wanting a Nativity set in our home for years now, but never found one. This one belonged to my mother-in-law's best friend, who passed away this fall. We are honored to have it, and remember her fondly.

Liesl helping me make chocolate pudding for dinner.

Ava's contribution to the pudding-making.

Nice.

Assembling mousie cookies for Liesl's (and my) violin recital on Dec. 13.

The finished product

Post-baking treat!

Ditto

Liesl's mousie is the top left; Ava made the other two.

I did not utter the phrase "Elephant Man" in their presence, I swear.

Liesl rehearsing on Dec. 12 for her violin recital the next day.

She played "Lightly Row" for the 3rd month in a row, but this time, she played it without the help of her Bow Right (the wire thing that kept her bow on the correct place on the strings.) It's like losing training wheels. She's developing so well.

Happy Halloween!

We hope your Halloween was pleasant and safe! :-) Our little princesses charmed the neighborhood with their costumes--and antics. Liesl's dress was given to me a few years ago by a friend who has scads of little girls' clothes. It was either an Easter dress or a flower girl dress. Either way, it was free! Same with Ava's--a friend of mine gave it to me out of a box of old dance costumes that her kids use for dress-up. The girls really do like girly-girl clothes and dressing up. (I don't know where they got this...certainly not from me.)

As well as the standard trick-or-treating this evening (or, as Tom and I put it, "Go out and collect candy for Mommy and Daddy,") I took the girls to visit a local retirement home on Tuesday for a small Halloween celebration. This facility has a relationship with the Farmington Area Mom's Club--we visit as a group on holidays to give the kids and seniors a chance to interact. It's a nice way for the kids to give back to the community--simply by being cute. (And loud.)

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treating at the retirement home on Tuesday

The Princess is PISSED

Hanging out with their goodies

My friend's daughter J., age 6 months.

Princess partaking in post-trick-or-treating pecking

Listening to a Halloween story afterwards

"Oooooooooooo!"

After the retirement home, we dropped by our violin teacher's house to visit and show off the girls' costumes. She was in the middle of a quartet rehearsal, so we sat and listened quietly for 10 minutes. And had lollipops.

The lollipops may have had something to do with the "sitting quietly for 10 minutes" part.

Carving pumpkins

Tom/Liesl's pumpkin on the left

Becky/Ava's pumpkin on the right.

Tom's way more creative than I am.

Trick-or-treating at Mr. and Mrs. L's house

Examining the loot

We also received trick-or-treaters at our house when we were through. Liesl was in charge of answering the door and handing out candy, a task she took very seriously.

The older kids (teenagers) loved this. They adored her, and she basked in the adoration.

I've got a performer on my hands, sure as shootin'.

Life Goes On

In spite of challenges we've been facing, there have been many good things happening in our household and lives these last few weeks.

Liesl's 10th Violin Recital: Although our family is dealing with the pressure and uncertainty of Tom's unexpected layoff--not to mention a broken bone--Liesl actually did quite well at her violin recital last Sunday. She played the next Suzuki piece, "Lightly Row," and at this point, only played half of it, without piano accompaniment. Not bad, considering the stress that has gone on in our household. I considered not having her in this recital due to lots of stress and uncertainty in our lives, but we quickly dismissed that idea for two reasons--Life has to continue with some semblance of normalcy for the sake of everyone's sanity, and Liesl performs so well at recitals--I think the pressure of an audience brings out the best in her playing. (She gets that from me--my performances in theatre are always kicked up a few major notches when opening day arrives and there is a real, honest-to-goodness audience in those seats.)

Oktoberfest at our church: Once a year, we Germans gather to celebrate our nuttiness heritage with food, music, games, and dancing. (And beer.) This year's event was the 2nd annual Oktoberfest. The food was amazing, the company terrific. Nothin' like hanging out with your pastor and his family while forcing our poor, unsuspecting children to partake in the ultimate humiliation that IS the Chicken Dance.

Games and activities

Ava was the duck pond's best customer. You could get prizes for selecting a duck with a black spot on the bottom...but she didn't know, or care. Seriously, a puddle of water indoors with brightly-colored plastic water fowl floating in it? That's a prize in itself for a toddler.

The game attendant knew her by name. Told us that MSU has a pretty good ornithology department. We told him thanks, but we're opting for marine biology.

Sausage, authentic German dumplings, and apple strudel = baby bait.

(See how she's trying to sucker Daddy out of his dumplings with that cute little face? She was wildly successful.)

Liesl and Sarah, who is also my Mother's Helper on occasion. Sarah's family and our family are good church/homeschooling buddies.

Coloring: If Sissy does it, Ava has to do it.

The Chicken Dance: Humiliating ourselves is half the fun.

One of our pastors (right) and his 2 year-old son agree

There's other dances to humiliate yourselves with

See? (We love this German Oompah band. They did our gig last year as well.)

Too much beer German food.

Schooling Continues: Our homeschooling adventures were momentarily halted, but have restarted with gusto, this time with Daddy playing a much more major role. Last week we hosted a verimcomposting workshop at our homeschool co-op, with help from my friend Kelly—who is not a homeschooler, but is a master composter and vermicomposter. She is the one who got me started with worm bins (all of my worms are decadents of hers, so I guess you can say we’re in-laws in some weird sick circles.) She is always willing to share her expertise and experience.

Our homeschool co-op learning about worms...

...and then making their own small worm bins.

(Isn't it too bad that homeschooled kids don't socialize?)

FAMC Halloween Party: Again, I have to fawn over the amazingness (is that a word?) of the Farmington Area Mom's Club. We are a really diverse, fun, resourceful group of ladies. We had our Halloween party yesterday--in the freezing cold, no less--and had such an amazing time.

The girls do have costumes planned, but it was too cold yesterday to wear them to the outdoor party. So we improvised. Here, we see Ava portraying a very convincing grape.

The Blessing of Friends. :-)

My friend Stacie's 6 month-old daughter, R. I could eat her up with a spoon. Stacie might frown on that.

Kim and little Charlie. Charlie was going to dress as a vampire, but again, too cold for his costume. I called him Edward anyway.

One Down, One Still Going: Liesl is 100% potty-trained. She hasn’t worn a diaper in over a week. We just decided to cut them out cold-turkey. After just ONE nap accident, she has woken up dry from every single nap. Nighttimes are a different story…we’ve had about a 66% success rate, but the wettings are becoming less frequent as time passes. It’s exhausting—and a lotta laundry—but it is worth it. Only one kid in diapers! Haven’t had that for two years. Easy peasy.

Work, work, work, work: I have been so blessed to have been given so many job assignments in the last 3 weeks. I've had to turn many down due to Tom's outplacement seminars, job interviews, and other things, but my first paycheck from my referral agency arrived yesterday, and it was a whopper. I keep pretty meticulous records, so the number on the check wasn't a surprise to me...but still, to feel like I can help out the family in our time of

Interviews, already? Tom had a job interview yesterday. It was a good experience for him. It will not result in full-time employment, but he definitely learned a lot about what is out there for him, and he also has the possibility of part-time contract work with this company. Hey...extra cash and experience are nothing to be sneezed at. He has a phone interview scheduled for tomorrow.

All in all, we are doing ok. We will survive. Our budget has suddenly become a very focal point in our lives, but I am confident that we will make it work. We have each other, we have a decent backup career (mine) that is able to be--and was--picked up at a moment's notice, we have our health, we have the support and love of many friends and family, and we have our faith. We have a lot more than most people in our situation.