Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Way Back Wednesday In Memory Of...


Another abbreviated post for this "Way Back Wednesday" as I get ready to tear out of town..this is the tribute I made for Jonathan. 

This came out a little busier than I anticipated (a lot of text - I should have made some of the pictures bigger, like the palm trees, etc), but I hope they love it. 

I had in mind  two pictures I wanted to include with my cousin Jon, but one of them is up in Utah from when he was 8 and I can't get it until I go up there. 

Therefore, I was going through pictures from 2001 when my grandmother passed away, and I found this one (below) of Jon holding Mikelle. He was 17, though he looked so much younger! And Mikelle was 6 months. I forgot about this picture and I was glad to come upon it!
February 2001 - Jon and Mikelle
February 2001 - Evertsen Extended Family
And this is the family picture (above) I had in mind that I was looking for. This was after Grandma's funeral and it's the group shot that contains everyone, with the exception of kids that weren't born yet and anyone's future spouse that wasn't met yet. 

Grandpa is sitting in the middle. He passed away in 2005. 

Jonathan is second from the right in the front. He's between my sister Kariann and myself. My hand is on his shoulder. I thought it was Kariann's hand at first, but then I remembered I had trouble balancing and I needed his shoulder...haha..... 

Mikelle is being held by my sister Rebecca who is above and behind Jon.  Chris is behind my Uncle Ted's head (kind of right of center towards the top). You can see Chris's fluffy dark head of hair back there.

Again, moving off the subject, I just finished this artwork that was commissioned by a returned customer for a young lady's birthday present who is also fortunate enough to be a Taurus like Yours Truly. I hope she loves it! 

Some personal information has been blurred for privacy.

Catch ya on the flip-side!


Monday, April 28, 2014

Art Recap Monday

This is an abbreviated post for another lovely Monday. 

I've been working on about 5 different projects in tandem lately. One is going with me up to Utah for the funeral, as I find a way to deal with  grief (besides anger that seems to be a default), is to create something. 

Therefore, instead of a Sunday Doodle yesterday, I began a small tribute for Jonathan. 

Also, a couple of days I ago I completed this beautiful tribute (left) in honor Ava, a little girl that also left us too soon. The artwork is now on its way to Kansas. 

I followed the story from a Facebook friend as this happened, and it was so sad that this little girl was taken so quickly by illness. Just like my cousin Jonathan, who was taken too soon by illness, it's just so hard to understand sometimes. 

The text on this tribute to Ava was read at her service, so it is only fitting to be part of the artwork:



Transitioning to art of a different theme, I also finished this fun artwork for a friend's Catering Company in Colorado. Good thing Chris is taking me out to dinner tonight, because just looking at this artwork again makes me hungry! 



Until next time!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Flashback Friday Easter Firsts and Etc...

My heart is heavy today, as my cousin Jon (my Mom's side of the family) is in a coma due to low sodium levels and may not make it. I am praying and I know so many others are as well. 

He's too young to leave us.  Please pray for a happy update to this.

Anyway, I mentioned I would post Easter Pictures for Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday or Way-back Wednesday. Well, it's Friday, so here they are.  So first, each of the kiddos first Easters. Then I have to enjoy the walk down Memory Lane with other Easter shots of my beeebeees!


Mikelle's first Easter was in 2001 when she was 8 months old.
Mom and Mikelle - Easter Weekend - 2001 Look at her CHEEKS!
Easter Morning 2001 - Big blue eyes!
Christian was brand new for his first Easter in April 2004.  Just three weeks old!
Christian's first Easter! About 3 weeks old! Oh, I miss how tiny my babies were! Mikelle is 3 1/2 (and looks so much like Alexander!)
Alexander's First Easter - 4 Months - April 2011
 I love this next one. This was a rare Easter that we were able to spend with family, since most everyone abandoned us - er, I mean, moved away from us. I mean, moved away

My sister Rebecca and her family were in town because sadly, our grandmother had passed away. However, it was also during Easter. This Easter Sunday picture is priceless. Is there any more perfect way to show joy and love between cousins on such a special day? 
Christian 3, Garon 2, Mikelle 6 1/2, Brisa 5 months

On that note of Easter love and perfection, here are the kids and Chris Easter 2012:

Okay, it wasn't that bad. This was just a few minutes before or after that.
Easter 2012...X-Man 13-14 Months, Christian 8, Mikelle 11 1/2
And sometimes the stars align and the perfect pictures do exist. I am grateful for the "imperfect" pictures too. It shows true personalities and reality. It would be boring if every picture was perfect.


But this picture is perfect and definitely not boring:
Easter 2011 (Alexander's first) age 4 months. Mikelle 10 1/2, Christian 7
Easter Season April 2011 - 4 months. Mikelle 10 1/2, Christian 7
And from 2009:
Easter Season 2009
2006:
This is one of my favorites. Christian is 2. Mikelle is 5 1/2
2008:


Christian is 4. Mikelle is 7 1/2. I LOVE her pink skirt! Oh, I miss the days back when I could dress her up... :sigh:

Okay, enough of that. There are other pictures, but it's been Easter Flashback overload. I am a picture junkie. I am aware of that. 

There's really no appropriate way to transition into the Monopoly cell phone piece saga from earlier this week, so I'll just dive right into it. 

Yesterday, almost 48 hours after the initial ingestion, the phone piece made an appearance. It's now sitting in a cup of bleach (and my hands were washed ten times over). 

It'll go in the vial with the infamous nickel from last December. Then there will be a shadow box created with hopefully medical bills, statements and I'd like to have X-ray images in there too. I plan to have that on display at his graduation party from MIT or CalTech...and of course his wedding...

Jonathan with his nephew
Saturday April 26, 2014
Sad update to the mention of my cousin Jonathan from above. Yesterday, he did pass away.  He would have been 31 later this year. 

I do not know when the service is yet, but I will figure out a way to head up there. Don't know how that'll work with leaving the kids here with Chris's work schedule. But as soon as a service date is given, it'll be worked out somehow.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Material Just Writes Itself...



I’ve been told time and time again I should try stand-up comedy. I’ve also been told I should write a book about my life as a mom, artist, wife, Mormon, weirdo, whatever….

Well, first of all, while I wouldn’t be afraid to speak in front of people and have “You
SUCK! You suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!” yelled towards me with an olive or ice cube pelted at my face, getting started in stand-up would involve a lot of time away from my family. And as I already mentioned, that time away would contain bad audiences, heckling and travel that would feel pointless while trying to “break in” to the business. That would be fine if I was single or didn’t have any children. But the time being heckled, traveling and living out of motel rooms is not appealing if it also means experiencing that in lieu of being with my family. Plus, think of all the material I would miss not being with them!




As for the book, just time set aside for this blog is already pushing it. Plus, I’d rather go for writing the young adult fiction that I’ve dabbled with in the past. I actually have three of those books written. Published? Yeah, right. That’s a tough one too. Too much of what I’m familiar with is wrapped up in the LDS culture for me to write to a more general Christian or Judeo-Christian audience. But writing to just the LDS audience has pitfalls as well.  My personality in my writing and some edgy topics would rub some LDS readers the wrong way. And by readers, I mean, the LDS publishers that are out of UTAH wouldn’t like it. No, the plots are nothing controversial, but certain situations and character traits that would be explored are probably still pushing the limits within that Utah bubble.



If there was an LDS-based publisher that existed outside of the Utah “crazy” that would give my prose a read, I might have a chance. But there isn’t. I’m a Muggle, and an obnoxious one at that. I'm certainly not worthy of their stamp of publishing approval. I could just hear them now reading my manuscript (think Dana Carvey ‘Church Lady’ voice)…. “Oh, that’s just not appropriate…. That would not be uplifting to our readers…...  "What is her problem? Oh, I don't know...could it be...........SATAN?"


Therefore, for me to be published, I’d have to do it myself. That takes money. I don’t have that. 

So here we are - back at the beginning of this entry. 



But the “book” I’ve been told to write is more in the Erma Bombeck style of typical life. A more humorous non-fiction approach. 

I don’t know. Maybe. There is certainly enough of my own crazy around here to fill the pages.



I mean, remember the nickel last December? If you do, then you’re probably one of the 7 people that read this blog. Thanks for believing in me, person #1 – 7! (insert your name there)



However, if you are somehow here because you’re lost and did not read the “nickel” entry, click here.



So we know X-man likes to put things in his mouth. Many kids do. Most kids do! There's a reason labels like "choking hazard" are placed on things, and certain toys are only approved for kids that are older.

Alexander, however, took it to a new level with the nickel four and half months ago (especially with it getting stuck in his esophagus and having the nickel manage to be sitting vertically within it) and therefore needing to be removed surgically.



Well, it happened again yesterday. No, not a nickel.

A phone.

A phone?! Holy crap, Jill…He swallowed a PHONE?

Yes. Yes he did.



Monopoly Cell Phone Game Piece
Okay, it was one of those Monopoly game pieces. Yes, the cell phone piece.

THIS piece. And here’s another picture below to get an idea of size.

Yeah, so, Alexander and I were playing “phone”. He was pantomiming a phone with his hand to his ear. He then handed me my iPod and he said it was my phone, so I pretended to talk in it. Then he ran in the other room. I guess that’s when he had the bright idea to get the Monopoly phone piece.

Well, I go in there just in time to see him standing at the couch with a real distressed look on his face. Then a gaggy noise came out with a cry. I asked him eagerly what happened. He said, while crying and kind of gagging, “the phone….”



I knew exactly what he was 
talking about.
Here it is on a hand with other pieces to give an idea of its size...

Oh my holy hell. Again?

We’re doing THIS again?

Are you kidding me? Really? He didn’t learn his lesson with the nickel?

He cried some more and he said, “I need to go to the doctor!”

Yeah, no kidding.

I thought I was going to be taking him directly to the Children’s hospital in Mesa (that he’s been admitted to TWICE already in his short life).



But then the gagging stopped. He pointed kind of at his chest and tummy area of where it “hurt”. So if that’s where it was, it wasn’t stuck in his throat/esophagus – at least not in his neck/collar area like the nickel was.

Do I just do nothing? Wait 24-48 hours or so for it to “show up” on the other end?

I wasn’t sure.

I called Chris because I believe it’s his side of the family that is to blame for this happening again.

“You know that Monopoly phone piece?” I asked him.

“What, did he swallow it?”

Chris knew I wouldn’t be calling him at work to just shoot the breeze and especially about the modern updated Monopoly pieces that have a cell phone, so yes, he guessed correctly.

He wanted me to take Alexander to the doctor’s office.

:Sigh: We’ve been through this before, Babe. There’s no X-ray machine there. And the previous two incidents when I took him to an Urgent Care or close by ER, he ended up at the Children’s hospital (20-25 miles away) anyway. So if I took X-man anywhere, it would be directly to the Children’s hospital.

Then Chris reminded me of the ER co-pay verses the doctor’s co-pay. But I just don’t think that way when it comes to my children. Money is no object if it is a matter of life or death or something serious like another foreign object ingested by his toddler. Okay, Alexander is mine too (he has my eyes.... :-) ), but I already said I don’t take blame for the genetics that are responsible for this occurring again. (Well, I think I sniffed a popcorn kernel up my nose once, but I’m not sure). Anyway, I’ll go into a debt for millions of dollars if it meant saving their life or getting the problem taken care of.



But Alexander wasn’t gagging or throwing up or even acting like he was in pain. In fact, he was acting rather normal. My worry then became – would the piece block something important, like an entrance from the small intestine to large intestine? Or stomach? His colon? What about the metal in the piece? Poisoning?



But something told me to just chill. I didn’t need to take him anywhere. I watched him like a hawk, however, but he was acting rather normal.



However, a couple of hours later, Chris showed up home early. He observed him and also saw that he was acting normal. I said, "It happened because we were having fun and playing phone." 

Chris said, "No, it happened because he's a BUTT."


Chris decided to take him to the doctor. I knew not much would be able to be accomplished there, but hey, he was taking him to find that out. Of course the doctor sent them to acquire X-rays down the road at an imaging facility. By then I was done with the junior high carpool, so I joined them. 

However, before that, when I picked Mikelle up from school and told her what happened, her response was something like, "Again? We need to just make him wear a muzzle."

That wasn't the only comment I received that day. When you're home alone with such a toddler and they ingest a Monopoly game piece and you're not sure if you should take him or wait, it's nice to have interaction with other humans. Sure, some may be more helpful than others, but that's true to all human interaction. 

Other comments from friends included:
 
"Seriously? OMG Jill your life gives me hope!!!"

"Oy. Did your mom ever give you the Mother's Curse?"

"Do you guys have a nick name of "the goat" for him? Just curious..."

"I swear that it would save me money to just buy an x-ray machine for my house. My boys tend to be a bit injury prone."

 (I was thinking that too...just invest in an X-ray! I mean, really!)

And simple, but rather to the point: 

"That kid..."

And of course the ol' stand-by truth:

"Good thing he's cute!" 

Anyway, so Chris and I took him down the road to the imaging facility. Yeah, you know how easy it is to get that kid to be still for an X-ray? Well, it's not. But yep – there it was on the X-ray.  Down on the left (Alexander’s right) near the pelvis area, so I’m guessing it already made it to the lower intestine 6+ hours after the initial ingestion.

Earlier today. Yeah, just sit there and look like a cute, innocent little hipster while you have a Monopoly game piece work its way through your body. You don't have us fooled.

If you’re wondering what happened next, I don’t know yet either! As of 36+ hours after the incident, the cell phone has not made it back on the outside. And you don't want to know just how I know that for a fact. 
We Moms do what we have to do.


Yeah, I should write a book.




Monday, April 21, 2014

Colors Colors Everywhere...

...and not just because it was Easter. 

The Neon Dash was this past Saturday the 19th. I was pumped and ready to go. Mikelle and I arrived early to make sure we could acquire our check-in packets. 

Chris bought me an overpriced burger after paying $10 for parking ($10 for parking! Seriously!) Our friends the Kreps family arrived soon after and we were ready to run! 


I had to sit across the street in the shade while Mikelle held our place in line waiting to get enter and check in:


She wouldn't let me take a picture, so this was the best I could "sneak"
I KNOW she can smile! I've seen it!

Tutu and all!




(Below)With the Kreps...let's start the race!
Mikelle is almost smiling in these....
After Tev snapped this shot, he thought the above captions were needed...Cute....
Before I get into the actual race itself, allow me to back up. 

Last Wednesday morning, Alexander threw up what appeared to be "out of the blue". He seemed fine before and after, other than falling asleep for a nap earlier than usual. I crossed my fingers that it was a fluke and there wasn't a stomach bug going around. But the next morning (Thursday), Mikelle came to me saying she didn't feel well, and she wanted a bowl by her bed. I decided that it wasn't some 13 year old drama thing to get out of going to school, and with Alexander's incident the day before, I allowed her to stay home. She was grumpy and felt ill that morning, but then she seemed okay later.  She didn't throw up, however.

Now I was worried that I would be hit with this bug and not be able to do the 5K. 

The following day, Good Friday, the 18th, was a rare cooler cloudy day. Mikelle was fine. She went to the mall with her friends. I went to the park with my cousin Ashlee and her step-daughter Olivia. Olivia, Alexander and Christian ran around and played. We saw a mama duck on the water with her babies. We also saw a guy fish a large pylon out of the water with his fishing pole.  

Later, after I picked up Mikelle from the mall, we headed down the road to JC Penney's where I hoped it wouldn't be a disaster choosing something somewhat feminine looking for her to wear on Easter. What she ended up picking out was fine, but it wasn't exactly in the "Easter" realm I was hoping for. However, I took what I could get. 

Besides, Alexander had A FIT in their little stroller/cart thingies because we wouldn't let him out. He was really letting the whole store know all about his displeasure. Mikelle was in the fitting room, and I was waiting for her. This time, there was no taking him out or handing him off to someone else. Yes, I got looks from people. But I actually had a 13 year old *willing* to try on something nice and almost feminine looking, so I wasn't leaving until that was accomplished.

In other news, there aren't really cliffs to jump off of around here, as this is the valley floor. 

It's going to be one long summer. :sigh:

But other than my stress level, we were all relatively healthy when we arrived home. Then late Friday night, my stomach started to feel weird. I was worried that it was the start of something. But then Saturday morning I was fine. Still, I remember how my workouts earlier in the week were more of a struggle. I just hoped it wouldn't be a problem for the race that night. 

Well, it was. Oh my gosh.

37:45 was my Neon Dash 5k time. That was about the same as Color Run in January (that was 37:32), but the Neon Dash kicked my butt. I must have been under the weather because it was an easier course than the Color Run and sun wasn't even an issue. Especially about 20 minutes in, I was not feeling my usual running self. However, I pushed through because I kept thinking, "I paid money for this! Parking was a ridiculous $10 for this! There's not even any sun! Keep going, weirdo! You've been training for this! You've been looking forward to this!" And when I started feeling that way, I think it is an interesting coincidence that THIS SONG began to play on my Running playlist (which is on shuffle).


Therefore, when I finished, it didn't feel victorious. I truly felt like crap and I went somewhere to just lie down on the grass.

The Kreps with Mikelle showed up to the finish line later and they were in much better form. 


And Easter the next day? Christian was sick. I thought he might have eaten too much candy that morning, but no, it was the same bug. He did end up throwing up Sunday evening. 

Speaking of too much candy, so Sunday morning, Chris was sound asleep from catching up on rest from his overtime marathon, and I of course was laid out from the race the night before and how disgusting I felt. That meant, when Alexander awoke, he raided the Easter candy and Easter baskets in an unsupervised way that only the youngest child could get away with. 

Let's just say, he was one spun up hyperactive version of himself at church (and that's saying a lot, sine he's always full of energy). But then he came off his high and passed out in the Primary room. And this was while the piano was being played!



When it was time for Junior Primary to go to class, we all figured it was best to just leave him there. I don't know exactly how long he slept during Senior Primary, but apparently when he woke up he was MAD. Really upset. He was taken to his class, but he wasn't having any of it. I even came in and tried to help. But it didn't help. He was so upset. 

Therefore, let's just say the last 10 minutes of church was spent in the clerk's office with Daddy drawing on the chalkboard.
 
So that was Easter! LOL! Oh, the eggs? Yeah, I didn't get them all done. This is pretty much what was completed (the bowl on the left).

 It is what it is. Kids still liked looking for them in the yard. Christian is so sweet though. He said the eggs I decorated taste the best.



With Christian not feeling well on Sunday, the four of us had Honeybaked Ham, corn, green beans and mashed potatoes. 

A special Sunday Easter Doodle did materialize (above, right). I wasn't able to get it posted until this morning, however. 

And below are pictures of Alexander and Olivia at the park last Friday. Look how cute they are holding hands! If I knew it would have been a perfect cloudy day with diffused light, I would have had Easter pictures taken of the kids! But there is no way to really know that it would have been that perfect. Especially here in hell.

 


 

Once Christian is recovered, I am assuming this bug has passed through all of us (Chris thinks he had it in a weird stomach-cramping way last week).

Until next time...