Mormon Bloggers

My weekend was busy and exhausting. Friday night my husband took the boys camping while I hung out with our daughter.  Saturday I waited around for a new oven to be delivered and then I was thrilled to head off to my best friend’s house for a girls’ night.  We played games and ordered pizza.  She mentioned that her daughter had been sick with a fever and I commented, “My kids rarely get fevers for some reason.”  She said, “That’s because they make up for it by throwing-up.”  Yes, they do have that tendency. So speak of the devil!  When I got home, my oldest son was vomiting and that lasted until 3am or so.  I woke up too late to get someone to sub for me at church, so I let him rest on the couch while we went to the last couple hours.  I thought maybe it was something he ate and while we were waiting for a friend to help give him a priesthood blessing, our daughter suddenly became lethargic and developed a high fever.  Both of them received... Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter and I had a bonding opportunity tonight while my husband took our sons to our ward (congregation) Father/Son Campout.  They have been looking forward to it all week.  The only complaint was that we couldn’t go as a family.  My 7-year-old said he wished he didn’t have to miss me and his sister.  Very sweet of him. Tonight we went to Baskin Robbins for some peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, stopped by a local Thai restaurant where I had a gift card, and came home to eat it and watch a movie.  We also played a game called “Hiss” – really great for small children.  She’s only 21 months old and I was able to use it to teach her about colors and counting. Around 9 or so, my husband called to say how muddy and rainy it was, wondering if they would just pack it up and come home.  He was going to try his best to stay there until morning and hadn’t taken my suggestion to pack extra clothes for the kids.  To rub it in, I said, “I... Read the rest of this entry »

I try to find balance when it comes to raising my kids. I know they each need individual attention. So I was glad when my son was invited to a swimming party with no siblings allowed. We had a great time playing in the water together and trying out the underwater camera I was given for Christmas. This particular son – individual time is one of the things he values most. Even if he stays up to help me clean while his brothers are in bed, he enjoys that time with me. He will even offer to clean so he can stay up. When I give each of my kids special time, I learn new things about them and I get to hear more about what’s on their minds. So right now we’re doing a rotation schedule. Each of our kids gets to stay up with us on Friday nights just to chat and do something fun like watch a movie or play a game. We had started doing this right after Family Home Evening (Monday nights), but we were having so much difficulty getting our other kids to bed on time, it just... Read the rest of this entry »

There is a song in our Mormon hymnal called “Love at Home”.  It goes: There is beauty all around When there’s love at home There is joy in every sound When there’s love at home Peace and plenty here abide Smiling sweet on every side Time doth softly, sweetly glide When there’s love at home Love at home Love at home Time doth softly, sweetly glide When there’s love at home My brother used to hum it when there were arguments in our home to be annoying.  I couldn’t help thinking about it this morning as my children screamed at each other and I got angry.  My oldest son wouldn’t get up and I had a lot to do at the moment to get my daughter ready to leave.  So my middle son decided to kick him repeatedly to wake him up, he was told to stop, he didn’t stop, and then he got punched in the arm. This was followed by loud wailing of the “I want to get my brother in trouble” kind.  I don’t mind crying.  I just can’t... Read the rest of this entry »

The LDS Church really encourages optimism and I try my best to be an optimist in every situation.  For example: Last night my daughter submerged by brand new phone in a pan of water I was soaking.  My first instinct was to scream, “NOOOOOOOO!!!!!  MY BRAND NEW PHONE!!!!!  WHY DID YOU PUT IT IN THE WATER?  DIDN’T YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON LAST NIGHT WHEN YOU THREW THAT VHS TAPE IN THE SINK?” But I decided it my phone wasn’t as important as having a good relationship with my daughter and that it could have been a worse situation. My phone came with two handsets.  I still had a spare. She didn’t throw it in the toilet.  That was definitely a bonus. It did make her cry, so she seemed to understand that maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea she ever had.  It was a learning experience. After it was all over, I tested the phone and it partially worked.  It didn’t work this morning.  So I removed the battery, put it back in, and decided to put it back... Read the rest of this entry »

I looked forward to my Mother’s Day pampering this year, but what I ended up wanting more than anything was to just be with my family.  Some dear friends of mine are losing their mom.  She is on life support with no signs of improvement. Another friend just lost her hair because she just started chemotherapy.  It was hard for me to complain about any unmet expectations with what she’s going through. One of my best friends is dealing with another year without her mom.  It is still so devastating to her. I was grateful to wake up with my children surrounding me, my son telling me I’m the best mom in the world, breakfast in bed, cards, and other expressions of love.  To make the day even better, I got to see my own mom.  During the last few years, it has hit me more how any of my loved ones could be taken at any moment.  I need to appreciate my time with each one of them.  We had a delicious dinner prepared for my brother.  Unfortunately, I was about an hour late... Read the rest of this entry »

Things have been so busy this week, I hardly had a chance to look at my notes from Time Out for Women.  I have tried hard to keep the lessons I learned with me and new determination to be a better wife, mom, friend, daughter, etc.  The theme was based on the 13th article of faith, mainly the part that says “We hope all things”.  There were many messages that touched me, but I think one of the most practical pieces of advice came from Wendy Ulrich. When you get into motion, the motivation will follow. To explain, she told us not to try to get motivated to exercise.  I knew there would be a catch.  What she said we should do is make a goal to exercise for two minutes.  Once you start doing so, the motivation to continue will come.  She said anyone can commit to anything for two minutes.  I knew what she said was true because I am the same with a lot of things.  If I decide I’m just going to read a couple scriptures, I find myself wanting to read a whole chapter. ... Read the rest of this entry »

My Time Out for Women weekend was great!  I highly recommend it. My friend picked me up along with two of her husband’s cousins.  From there we headed to this awesome bagel place I didn’t even know existed (even though it’s about 5-10 minutes away from me).  We bought a variety of fresh bagels for breakfast, snacking, and lunch the next day, bringing some sandwich toppings with us.  What a great idea. Then we stopped off to get gas at Costco while two of us shopped in search of hairspray (there was a hairspray emergency) and beverages.  The four hours we spent on the road went so quickly because we had so much fun talking and getting to know each other.  We didn’t turn on the radio at all. We located our hotel and room at the Marriott, then we headed to the Olive Garden for a early dinner, which was perfect because they still had their lunch menu (quite a bit cheaper than the dinner).  We walked off the extra calories on our way to the performance center where... Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been two months since a friend of mine asked if I wanted to attend a women’s conference called “Time Out for Women” with her.  I jumped at the chance.  My whole 13 years of marriage, I have never had a girls’ getaway.  Having just received our tax return, I gave her the money right away so I wouldn’t have a chance to back out.  I needed this for so many reasons.  First:  I need the break.  Just to get away. Second:  I no longer get to attend Relief Society (or women’s class at church) because I play the piano in Primary (our kids’ Sunday school) and I really need some uplift. Third:  The messages are on hope.  This has been an especially discouraging time for me and I can’t think of a theme that is more important for me to hear. Tomorrow I get to jump in the car with a couple of my friends and chit chat for the next five hours while we head to the Marriott.  After the meetings we attend (in casual dress – woo hoo!),... Read the rest of this entry »

I think it’s funny how people try to paint all of us Mormons with the same brush.  We’re accused of being blind sheep and of absolute comformity.  I remember seeing a magazine cover years ago that depicted us as robot like people wearing white shirts and black pants – even the women.  No one was smiling either.  Hardly an accurate portrayal of real Mormons. If you don’t think Mormons are a diverse bunch, then chances are good that you aren’t Mormon.  We do share beliefs, but then there are individual beliefs that the church doesn’t comment on.  For example, I know Mormons who swear by chiropractic and naturopathic care.  Other Mormons think they’re complete quacks.  I knew a couple who believed there was no ailment that chiropractic adjustments couldn’t cure, from back pain to ear infections.  ‘ Yesterday I found myself in extreme pain from an injury that occurred last month.  Events from the day before made it worse again... Read the rest of this entry »

For the last seven plus years, my family has been living in a two bedroom apartment.  When we moved here, the plan was to live here for about six months and take advantage of the month to month lease that would allow us to buy a home when we were ready.  No more being locked in a lease. Our previous apartment was a horrible place.  We had a lease there and whenever it was ending, we just didn’t have the money to move.  If we continued month to month, they would charge us an extra $50 per month.  That doesn’t sound like a lot, but we truly couldn’t afford it.  Our landlord wouldn’t do anything about our smoking neighbors either and we felt trapped.  It only got worse when I became pregnant with our second son.  The cigarette smoke made me very ill.  My first clue that I was pregnant happened when I woke up at 5 am and vomited as soon as I smelled it.  It was so bad on some days, our place was filled with visible smoke.  I really worried about the health... Read the rest of this entry »

Today I opened my kids’ bedroom door to wake them up and before I said a word, my daughter opened her sleepy eyes and grinned at me.  I wondered what her secret is.  What makes every day so exciting?  She is always so happy to see me.  Returning from choir practice the other day, she heard the door open and she yelled, “MAAAA MAAAAAA!” She always makes me feel so loved.  I wondered how my husband would feel if I woke up that happy every morning or acted as excited to see him even though it had only been an hour or so.  Later today, I introduced her to a tricycle for the first time.  She got in the seat very enthusiastically and was content just walking it along with her feet, not worrying that she didn’t know how to use the pedals yet.  Even though she was having the greatest time with her new toy, she immediately dismounted when she saw her dad coming and ran to him yelling, “DADDY!”  I could tell it made his day. I wish I had the gratitude... Read the rest of this entry »