Jorgensen Top Chef 3.0

"Children raised with traditions, especially those who have watched their parents invent new rituals as occasions and milestones occur, learn that their own response to life can be active and creative and extremely personal.  They're going to be resilient children, confident they are loved and that they know how to express that love to others."

There are a lot of things I love about my husband, and a few weekends ago, he reminded me of a big favorite.  We were planning to do a big seafood boil to celebrate his birthday like last year, but our plans fell through due to lots of scheduling conflicts with friends.  So we found ourselves with a free weekend night and the rain threatened any plans for outdoor fun.  I offered to call a sitter and call some friends, but Beau had a different idea.  He said he wanted to do a family cook-off similar to the tradition we started at Christmastime two years ago.  At this point, a sitter and a night out to eat was sounding better to me all the time, especially when I thought about the groceries and mess a family cook-off would likely entail, but before I knew it, Beau was thumbing through cookbooks with the kids and talking smack about taking the title this time.  I put my agenda aside and decided to join in on the fun, thankful for a husband who chooses us over and over again.  

And I tell you what, Beau knew just the way to our family's heart that night.  If these are the building block years, I just hope a brick titled "Jorgensen Top Chef" gets forever etched in our little family's foundation.  And we're getting so much better at this!  We each pick a recipe to make, working together to create a spread that includes a variety of courses and flavors that will sort-of pair with each other.  Then we turn on some fun music and team up to prepare our dishes.  We make a point to let the kids take the lead, hopefully teaching them a thing or two in the kitchen.  And most of all, we hope to instill in them so many of the things we love about being in the kitchen - the togetherness that food invites, an appreciation for the flavors and techniques that go into a really great dish, and the joy and energy that come from a night around the kitchen island.  After our first Top Chef night, I told Beau I want this tradition to be a forever one.  I want the kids to come home from college and look forward to a night like this. 

This was our best "Top Chef" yet.  I started things off with a delicious "cookie dough dip" served with Vanilla Wafers and apple slices.  Beau was next with hashbrown potato cakes with a slice of ham.  Cruz chose an absolutely delicious one pot cheese pasta with his favorite meat of choice, smoked sausage, and Mila topped things off with vanilla parfaits with strawberries and whipped cream.  Everything was delicious and we had leftovers for all four courses the next day!  But unfortunately, not everyone can take the gold.  I am pleased to announce that my appetizer currently holds the Jorgensen Top Chef Title for best taste, and Mila's parfaits won for best presentation.  Team Ballerina was pretty excited! 

I was sure to record some footage this time around, in case someday we want to be reminded of our amateur years. ;)

My Top Ten Favorite Summertime Rhythms and Routines

It's the first day of summer and I'm once again in my wheelhouse.  The kids are home, I am home, and nothing brings me more joy than creating a place for us to live these precious breaks well on the home front.  I've learned that in order for us to all feel that way, though, we need structure, routine, and some rhythm in our days or it's easy to feel like we are frazzled, lost, and wasteful with our time.  Our days aren't calculated and planned every hour, but I have found success in having a general rhythm while also planning for the restful and free space we all love about summertime.  Yesterday, I spent a good part of my day readying the house for summer, stocking up on groceries and easy lunches and snacks, checking calendars and weather forecasts, and organizing some creative spaces for the kids to beat boredom and become inspired.  And I'm sharing my top ten favorite rhythms and routines with all of you!  I've stolen a few of these ideas from other moms along the way and they have been game changers!  Hoping you may leave feeling a little inspired, too.  And most importantly, remember that every home, family, and season is different, so it's really about taking bits and pieces and finding a groove that works best for you.  And giving yourself some grace on the days when none of it works!  That's part of summer, too!

1. A general "schedule" of the day || I stole this from my friend, Kelsie and it's been a game-changer.  On Sundays, I take a general look at our calendar for the week, as well as the weather forecast, and plan a rough outline of things scheduled and things we would like to do.  Then every night, I rough out the following day's plan.  It eliminates the constant question of "what are we doing today?" and also leaves lots of space for flexibility and fun.  And it's just as much for me as it is for them!

2. Chores, Activities, and Reward Sticks || This is definitely the kids' favorite "structure" of our summer.  We have chore time for about 2 hours every morning, and I try to put the kids to work for at least half of that time.  Some days, I have specific things I'd like them to do and other times they can draw a stick.  The activity sticks are filled with ideas for times when the kids use the "b" word, and the reward sticks are full of easy little rewards (popsicles on the trampoline, game of their choice, $1 or a treat at the grocery store) that can be used when the kids do something extra helpful or kind.  The key with the sticks is to include ideas that don't require much of YOU.  I blogged about specific ideas for each of the three areas here.

3. Laundry Basket Pickup || Since we're on the topic of chore time, this is one of my easiest and most effective ways to involve the kids in a whole house pickup and make a quick impact in a pretty short amount of time.  I grab a laundry basket and do a full sweep of the house, grabbing everything that is not in its home and putting it in the basket.  Even if it doesn't get put away right away, the house instantly looks better and you can hide the laundry basket!  When you do get to it, work together to put everything in its home, one item at a time.  I've also done a similar method with Mila's toy shopping cart, and it's fun for her to toy around the house and put stuff away.

4.  Post-It Note Chores || I first discovered this idea from Emily Ley's, A Simplified Life (a great resource full of ideas to create a simple, functional, inspiring home).  Before a designated chore time, write a number of random tasks on post-it notes and stick them in a visible place in your home.  Family members can grab tasks they feel moved to do, then stick them on their door when they're finished.  You can reward them for the number of post-it note chores they complete, and it provides some visible gratification (and a little competition).  I do post-it note chore time when I feel like there are a lot of tiny little tasks that need to be crossed off the list!

5. Morning Routine Charts || We use these throughout the school year, but they're especially important in the summer as I've found it's important for us to get up and ready for the day rather than laying around in our pajamas (although a few of these days are fun, too).  I made these personalized to each kid (found on Etsy), laminated them, and use dry erase markers to cross the tasks off each day.  The kids are pretty independent with them now, and I do pay them a little each week as an allowance for staying motivated!

6. Summer Bucket List || This is by far our favorite planning tool for summer!  It keeps us excited, creative, and intentional about our days and we make so many fun memories along the way.  For example, I was looking at the bucket list this weekend and the tag "camping in our backyard" sparked the idea to surprise Cruz with a good ole surprise camp out to celebrate his last day of school and the start of summer.  For this reason, I like to make it visible, this year using these little colored tags and washi tape from Hobby Lobby.

7. Quiet Baskets || Each kid gets a basket full of books, art supplies, and other quiet activities to take to a cozy space to rest, read, and give me a little break!  I try and build in quiet time every day in the summer, and rotate materials in and out of their baskets every month.  And I have a quiet basket, too!

8. Reading Challenges || It's fun having kids at an age where they can get into some of the more educational stuff that goes along with summer, too.  Cruz's school sent home some fun reading challenges that give them creative activities that involve reading (reading under a blanket with a flashlight, reading to stuffed animals, reading and drawing a picture of what you read, etc.), and our library does an excellent summer reading program, too.

9. Summer Meal Planning || Meals take on a new level during the summer as I'm now responsible for breakfast, lunch, snack, AND dinner!  I love planning easy summer meals at the beginning of the season, spending a good chunk of an afternoon looking through favorite cookbooks and Pinterest boards and making a list of about 25-30 at a time.  Then, the hard work is finished and each weekend, I look at the list and choose 3-4 depending on what our week looks like.  We grill a lot in the summer, make a lot of BLTs, and eat on the deck as much as possible to make cleanup easy.  This summer, I pretty much planned our entire summer meal plan around one cookbook (read here for this adventure), and have had an absolute blast being creative, inspired, and less overwhelmed.  

10. Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Picnic Lunches || My favorite kind of lunch is where I grab a big serving tray (with handles), go through the fridge and fill the tray with a random assortment of finger foods (cheese, summer sausage, carrots and dip, crackers, fresh fruit, pickles, etc.).  Then spread out a blanket and let the kids have at it!   

A Season of Joy and Kindness

I hope when I and the kids look back on this particular Christmas season, the words joy and kindness come to mind.  It all started brewing the day before Thanksgiving, when those two words were not what one would use to describe what I hoped would be a special trip to Wal-Mart to pick out Christmas gifts for those in need.  I won't go into detail regarding the colorful words I did use to describe the kids' behavior that afternoon, but the conversation that ensued afterwards between Beau and I was an important one.  We talked about our responsibility as parents to model compassion and concern for others, and we brainstormed ways we could involve the kids in these values, in tangible ways they could participate in with us.  They are at the ages now where they can start to understand, and definitely absorb the ways we talk, behave, and treat others.  And while it's easy to sprinkle in simple acts of kindness through this season, paying for someone's coffee in the Starbuck's line, dropping a few bucks in the red kettle at Wal-Mart, or putting a little more in the offering plate, we wanted this joy and kindness mission to be front and center in the way our family prepared for this season, hoping the kids could ultimately feel the joy of spreading love and giving to others instead of only thinking about their presents under the tree.  

Thanks to a similar mission given by our trusty elf in his arrival letter, we had breakfast together the first Saturday of December and brainstormed 24 ways we could spread joy and kindness during the holidays.  We wrote our ideas down on 24 slips of paper, then stuck them in a mason jar for us to have as ideas for the month.  I didn't want this to be yet another checklist of things to cross off or add to the overwhelming feeling this season often brings, but rather as ideas to draw from when we found ourselves desiring to do something good.  

Here are a few of the ideas we brainstormed and had fun doing together...

1. When we asked Mila for an idea, she said something along the lines of "baking a cake for college kids."  Our kids have become quite accustomed to having college students in our house this past year, so it was no surprise when her idea of giving including college kids.  Beau gets the credit for bringing her idea to life as we spread joy through dozens of Little Debbie "cakes" at Rod Library the day before finals' week.  

2. One of our ideas was to tape some money to vending machines, but it wasn't until I ran across this "serendipity" paper in a pack of cardstock at home that I decided to make it a little more fun.  We made a bunch of what we now call serendipity cards, and the kids LOVED taping them to random areas at our local hospital.  The definition is fun and inspiring, and we pray that they reached just the right people.  

3. Teacher gifts.  Instead of waiting until the last minute and purchasing a gift card or a package of chocolates, we prioritized teacher gifts early in the month, wrote hand-written thank yous, and drew pictures of something we loved most about them.  We've been blessed beyond measure with the best teachers and want to make sure they feel the love this season.

4. Care packages for our delivery friends!  The kids helped shop, decorate the cards, and set them out that morning.  And it was the first thing they asked about after school. 

5. Cul de sac cocoa kits.  It's no secret we love our cocoa around here, so it only seemed fitting to share that love with our neighborhood.  I created an assembly line and everyone had a part in putting together family cocoa kits, complete with disposable cups and lids, cocoa packets, little bags of marshmallows and chocolate chips, striped straws, and wooden spoons.  The kids delivered these Friday night and it was so much fun to read them sweet replies we received via text messages that night.  Our favorite was a family that said the cocoa kit was put to perfect use while they drove around to look at Christmas lights.  It warmed our hearts to think of them preparing their cocoa cups before hopping in the car together.  If that's not the joy of giving, I don't know what is. :)

Other acts of kindness, sans pictures...

6. We Facetime'd with Taylor and Kate one night, just to tell them hi and that we loved them.
7. We all named a special person to pray for and took turns saying prayers for them at dinner.
8. We doubled our chicken tetrazzini one night and brought dinner to some of our favorite people.
9. We gathered twenty of our own toys we no longer needed or wanted and donated them.
10. We purchased a Wal-Mart gift card and taped it to a car window.  The kids loved this one also because they felt sneaky. :)

So have I seen a change since that day in Wal-Mart?  Absolutely.  Obviously they are still kids and are very hopeful for presents under the tree on Christmas morning, but it's been really sweet to see this joy and kindness talk trickle into our everyday.  It's become quite common for me to pick Mila up from school and have her share one way she showed love and kindness to a friend in a simple way.  Cruz has realized it's not always easy to put yourself out there, but the joy that is released because of it is rewarding and worth it.  He was nervous at first to share treats with college kids, give the picture he drew to Hick, and even deliver cocoa kits to neighbors, but walked away from every experience with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.  The more he has opportunities to step outside himself, even into the uncomfortable, the more he will see the beauty in those experiences.  I know it.    

The other night we read The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving, an excellent book to read to kids during the holidays.  In the book, Brother Bear and Sister Bear each pick out a gift for one another.  As the kids listened, they both had the idea to do the same.  Mila immediately marched into her bedroom to grab her money jars, and we helped them set aside $10 of their own savings to purchase a gift for each other.  And last weekend, we went back to Wal-Mart, for a much more successful trip to purchase toys.  I'm hopeful this is just the start of an important part of the holiday season around our house.  And an effort that trickles all the year through. 

A Simple Fall Bucket List (And a FALL Playlist!)

...a few fall favorites from last year...

Written last week...

Last night was just what my soul needed.  We had a busy Labor Day weekend, traveling to Indiana so Mila could be a flower girl in her former daycare teacher's wedding.  We had Monday at home, but Beau worked through all three meals priming, painting, and grouting in the basement.  He's been set on finishing this project before winter time, causing a rift in our desire for what weekends should look like lately.  That, on top of night appointments, soccer practice, and other events has led to many nights just feeling disconnected, like two passing ships caught in a tailwind.  

Thankfully, it's amazing how quickly we can get back on track.  Last night, Beau was supposed to work late, but called just after 4:30, excited to tell me he was on his way home.  I had picked the kids up a little earlier, they were overjoyed to have time to play outside, and I got a workout in before going to my freezer to thaw a meal already planned and prepped.  I put on some music, lit a candle, and set the table, feeling content and grateful for a night to be home together.  The rest of our night dripped slowly.  We talked about our days at dinner, all pitched in to clean up the kitchen, did baths and a puzzle, and snuggled up on the couch to watch a little baseball before bedtime.  We watched the prettiest fall sunset out our window, felt the first signs of a crisp September air through cracked windows, and Beau even turned on the fireplace for the first time.  I baked a box of muffins for the next day's breakfast, but gave in to the kids who persuaded me to let them share one before bed.  After they were in bed, I made a cup of tea, climbed under our favorite blanket and scooted in close, reminded so quickly that this life is what you make of it.  These opportunities, to rest, to be together, and to enjoy the simple things like a lit candle on the mantle, a pumpkin orange sky, and all four of us under a blanket, are the holy ground for the life I desire to live.  They refuel me, reconnect us as a family, and invite attentiveness of the ordinary back into a busy life.  

I love this season because for all the busy that occurs as we transition back-to-school, God's creation gives us so much beauty and reason to pause as the leaves change and the days get shorter.  Last night, I crawled into bed and jotted down a few of my favorite fall things.  An invitation to be intentional as a family, to savor the joy of this season, and set apart some holy ground to pause and rest.  And of course, to eat all the good comfort food. :)

Our Fall Bucket List...

1. Bundle up and go for a hike at Hartman on a Sunday afternoon while the soup simmers at home
2. Read a book on the porch with a flannel blanket on my lap
3. Make pumpkin scones
4. Pick apples at Wilson's
5. Visit the farmer's market and make a seasonal dinner with our finds
6. Have a stay-at-home date night in front of the fire
7. Bake a pie, or three
8. Go to the Tea Cellar and sample some teas
9. Drive-In Movie night or Halloween movie night with festive treats
10. Plan our second annual Friendsgiving
11. Spend an afternoon at Barnes and Noble with some good books a cup of chai
12. Plant some spring bulbs
13. Make a thankful tree
14. Take a bubble bath
15. Host a soup night with friends
16. Spruce up the house for all things cozy!
17. Make pipe cleaner trees with the kids
18. Decorate the front porch with pumpkins
19. Go on our annual fall foilage adventure 
20. Wine and cheese for dinner

And because one of my favorite ways to be intentional about enjoying the season is turning on some music to set the mood, I put together a fall playlist for you to enjoy, too.  Fall calls me home and I wanted music that felt that home.  These songs serve as the perfect backdrop to a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen filling a stockpot with soup, a walk through the leaves alone or hand-in-hand with someone you love, or cuddling up on the couch in front of a fire.  Enjoy!

Start at Home || Back to School Rhythms and Routines

I had the best intentions of starting our school year off with a bang, but real life took hold Tuesday night in the form of a wicked sore throat for me and a little virus called croup for Mila.  I had my first day of classes on Tuesday and by the time I had been up in front of students all day long, my throat felt like a piece of shredded meat.  I picked the kids up, the last ones picked up of the day, and told them we were going to play a little game of charades the rest of the night because I was done talking.  They got a kick out of it and enjoyed their first McDonald's happy meals in quite some time.  Wednesday, Mila woke up with a low grade fever and a cough that sounded like the dog across the street.  Beau stayed home in the morning and I came home for the afternoon.  With appointments he couldn't get out of, I brought both kids with me to Cruz's backpack night, helped him label his markers and glue sticks while holding a sick little girl.  Thankfully, Cruz has stayed healthy and enjoyed a great first day of school yesterday, but Mila had to miss her first day of 3-year old preschool.  She was okay with it, and has enjoyed ample TV time and snacks on the couch while we've juggled work and other back-to-school things this week.  The bright side has been lots of unexpected snuggles and a lingering slowness that has kept us in check as we head into a busier season of all things school.  

Other than our unexpected August sick days, I have spent a lot of time in my journal this month reflecting on the back-to-school rhythms and routines that will help us stay happy, healthy, and connected on the home front.  Some of the rhythms that became part of our summer were good for all of us, and I've been thinking of ways to continue them on into the school year, just adapted to a busier schedule and two working parents again.  I really do love when the seasons change and we get a chance to reevaluate how we're doing around here.  I always nest a bunch in August, too, as the days start to get a little shorter and signs of fall call us home.

Today, I'm sharing ten back-to-school routines I started here this week.  We're only two days in, but so far they are proving successful in making our little pupils a little more independent and me a little more sane. :)

1. Morning/Evening Job Charts || We started morning jobs this summer while at home and had success, especially with Cruz, BUT Mila needed a little more encouragement and direction.  So thanks to this wonderful site on Etsy, I was able to customize both morning and nightly job charts with the sweetest clip-art to correspond with each job so Mila could work through it independently.  I laminated them and have dry erase markers that can be erased each week.  And, their completed jobs earn them commission on the weekend.  We're starting with a dime per job, which would equal five bucks a week if fully completed!

    
2. Days of the Week Clothes Organizers || Because picking out our clothes in the morning tends to become an issue with Mila more often than not, I wanted a system that would organize a week's worth of clothes for the kids opposed to picking them out in the morning or laying them out every night.  I made an open spot in their closet and love these plastic closet organizers from The Container Store.  And...they help me stay focused on laundry to ensure the kids have what they need for the week ahead.  Now I need to do this with my own wardrobe!

  
3. Magnetic Cups for Bedtime || It never fails, the kids always ask for water at the most inconvenient times!  This summer, I swear Cruz would come in the house and ask for a glass of water ten seconds before Mila was about asleep for her nap.  Every day!  So rather than completely reorganizing cupboards in order to put their cups where they can reach them, I found these magnetic cups on Amazon and ordered them immediately.  The kids love the independence and I love saying, "Go get your own!" ;)

4. Quiet time after school || This is a routine we started last school year and it's such a nice way to transition from the work/school day to our night at home.  I restock their baskets with new materials and supplies every month or so and get to open my book, too.  Yesterday, we all took our reading material to the front porch together after school.  Taking 20-30 minutes to pause and be still before dinner, homework, and play is good for all of us and I love the quiet atmosphere that follows after we've all just chilled a little!

   
5. Family pickup and chore sticks after supper || One of the best additions to our summertime routine was that of daily chores for the kids.  I wanted to keep this part of our routine during the school year, but had a hard time envisioning how this was going to work in our already full mornings. Then, sitting around the fire with Kate in Decorah, she encouraged me to think about doing some of this at night instead.  Now, every night after dinner, we clean up the table and then do a big family pickup.  When/if the house is generally in good shape, then the kids draw a chore stick.  Last night, while I was cleaning counter tops, Cruz was vacuuming under the couch cushions and Mila was sorting a load of laundry!  What I love most about this is the feeling of a picked up house after the kids go to bed.  Priceless!

6. Online grocery orders || A goal for me this school year is to keep our Sundays as duty-free as possible.  I want Sundays reserved for family - for lazy afternoons, for walks at Hartman and warm soups for supper.  But in order for this to happen, some of the usual Sunday tasks have to get redistributed.  Typically, Sunday is our grocery day, but I'm going to try and take care of on Fridays instead.  I keep a running list of things we're out of during the week, sit down at some point to do a meal plan for the following week, and use Hy-Vee Aisles Online to order our groceries and have them delivered sometime Saturday morning.  This alone has freed up our Sundays dramatically and I like having the groceries here and put away Saturday morning in case I want to do a little food prep for the week. 

7. Dinnertime talk || I'm committed to making family dinners a priority, utilizing more slow cooker recipes and easy, wholesome meals that don't take a lot of time in the kitchen during the school year.  One of our favorite dinnertime rituals is to go around and share our favorite and least favorite thing that happened that day.  It creates some great opportunities to have real conversation and keep us connected. 

8. Lemon in my (hot) water || I turned on the tea kettle as soon as I was home Tuesday when my throat was so sore.  I didn't feel like tea, so I squeezed a lemon in a mug of steamy water and it immediately soothed my throat and everything else in my life!  Since then, I've had a cup of hot water with lemon in the morning and before bed every day since.  It's one of my favorite simple pleasures right now! 

9. One load a day || One load of laundry, start to finish, every day of the week. 

10. Get up before the rest of the house || For time in my Bible, in my journal, in prayer.  Hands down the best way to ensure a centered day.   

Happy first week of school!  Blessings to you and yours as you head into a new season.