General Conference

I'm really looking forward to General Conference next weekend. I was just preparing our lesson for family night tonight, which is going to be on prophets and getting ready to listen to our leaders speak to us next week. I have gotten an email from a couple of different people for the past couple of years with a packet of activity pages to print out for the kids, but I didn't get one this time so I went looking for one online and found this website that had a few different packets to choose from. I printed what pages I wanted from a couple of different files, and I think the girls will enjoy them -- for a few minutes at least.

Actually, they are most looking forward to the game where we have certain topics like missionary work, service, prayer, temples, etc. written beside different bowls of candy. Maybe we'll just do different color jellybeans or M&Ms. Whenever they hear a speaker mention that word or topic they get a piece of candy from the bowl. Hopefully I will be able to keep my hands out of the bowl until I hear the right word!

President Benson's Ten Suggestions for Successful Parenting

“Thinking of the example of his own mother and that of his beloved and faithful wife, Flora, President Benson has offered ten specific suggestions for mothers as they guide their precious children:

1. Take time to always be at the crossroads in the lives of your children, whether they be six or sixteen.

2. Take time to be a real friend to your children.

3. Take time to read to your children. Remember what the poet wrote:

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a mother who read to me.

4. Take time to pray with your children.

5. Take time to have a meaningful weekly home evening. Make this one of your great family traditions.

6. Take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible.

7. Take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family.

8. Take time to do things together as a family.

9. Take time to teach your children.

10. Take time to truly love your children. A mother’s unqualified love approaches Christlike love (see Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, pamphlet, 1987, pp. 8–12; see also Ezra Taft Benson, Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990, pp. 32–36).”

Thomas S. Monson, “Memories of Yesterday, Counsel for Today,” Ensign, May 1992, 4–5

Ick.

Well, life comes in seasons, doesn't it? I truly treasured up the early part of this week, and it's a good thing I did because I now have two sick little ones. Nikki & Ryan have barking coughs (the sicknesses they pick up at school are a serious incentive for homeschooling) and Ryan was wide awake for about 2 1/2 hours starting around 2 am last night -- just wide awake looking around for toys. Didn't I just say how nicely he has been sleeping? It's okay. My bucket was filled earlier so that I can Lysol down my house and be Nurse Mommy today.

Happy times

For Valentine's Day Nate got me a gift certificate for a trip to the spa, and today I am cashing it in. It's going to be a good day! And then tomorrow I'm going to the temple. And the weather is gorgeous. And my children are happy and healthy. And I'm learning great things as I continue working towards my bachelor's degree. And my house is clean today because my whole family helped yesterday and got every room clean in about 30 minutes before bed. And supper is already in the crockpot, so I don't have to do anything else in the kitchen today! And Ryan is sleeping so well these days (including taking a great nap right now). And I'm just feeling good today. Life is very good.

Interview

My friend Kristen had an interview tag on her blog, and these are the questions she emailed me to answer. I thought they were great thinking and journaling questions, so thanks Kristen.

1.) You have three adorable children. What has surprised you the most about being a mom? What is your favorite part of motherhood?

I think one thing that took me by surprise with motherhood is the intensity of the emotions. I think all of the emotions I have ever felt have been magnified in motherhood – love, fear, frustration, joy. Another surprise was the revelation of just how selfish I am. I don't like soggy cereal or cold dinners, I don't like being woken up before I want to get up, etc. I think marriage is supposed to prepare you for parenting by giving you the opportunity to learn to put someone else's needs before your own, but I just happened to marry a sweet and very undemanding man that didn't tell me how selfish I was. That was really tough as a new mom to take care of my needs after my baby's, but yesterday at lunch I pulled my delicious leftovers out of the microwave, and right on cue Ryan woke up from his nap. Of course. But I didn't feel frustrated about it, and that was a surprise, too. So maybe I am catching on to a few lessons of life in my old age.

There are many things I love about motherhood. I love watching my children play together. There isn’t much that makes me happier than seeing them be nice and get along and enjoy being with each other. Another thing I love about motherhood is watching my children learn to make right choices. The girls are growing up so fast, and that is a little scary for me but at the same time I am so impressed with how often they do make correct choices. We, of course, have our fair share of squabbles and time-outs and forced apologies, but they both have really shown an ability to stand firm to what they know is right around other children. Nikki was even nominated by her teacher last week as a student of character because she continues to do what’s right even when others around her are not. I was so happy to hear that, and I don’t think there is anything more that I could ask from my children.

2.) With all the responsibilities you have (husband, children, church work, school), how do you manage it all so well?

Umm, I’m not sure that I do. I know that the days that are the most smooth are the days where I get up when I’m supposed to, pray, read my scriptures, and exercise. It is so true that we can’t give to others unless we have something to give.

3.) Education is very important to you. From where or whom did you get your love of learning?

It definitely started with my mom. Because my dad was sick, she had to work but she only had a 2-year secretarial degree. She had never planned on being a career woman, and she always told us how important it was for us to get an education because you just never know when you might have to use it. The thing that really impresses me about her is that even though she worked, she made sure that I knew she would rather be home. I grew up wanting an education not because I wanted a great career, but I just wanted to be prepared for life. I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, and an education would help me teach my children the importance of learning, too. I also love how our church leaders emphasize the importance of education. Even though I don’t have an income-generating job, my education is valuable in all aspects of my life – as a mother, as a wife, as a home-maker, as a teacher at church, as a citizen in my community. I love learning, and I even just finished an independent study class and am excited to start my next one.

4.) When you have "free" time, how do you like to spend it?

Well, I guess right now I’m spending my free time blogging, but mostly if I have extra time I would want to read a good book. The challenge these days is finding a good book. Sometimes I want to read something to learn and broaden my horizons, and sometimes I just want to relax and read a happily-ever-after story. A book is like a movie to me. I picture in my mind exactly what is happening. There is no way that I could ever enjoy speed-reading because then I would miss so much of the book. Would you watch a movie in fast-forward?

5.) You always talk about what a great husband and father Nate is. How did you two meet and what impresses you the most about him?

Nate and I met on a blind date. We had both been set up by mutual friends to come on this triple date. Nate’s friend had described his date to him, but when Nate got there he didn’t see anyone like that. So, he just figured I was his date – but I wasn’t. It ended up being more of just a group date with everyone just hanging out (probably because Nate was ignoring his date). I thought it was fun because I pretty much had two dates that night (I much preferred Nate over the other guy).

The thing that struck me when we first met (besides the fact that he was cute and really tall) was how easy it was to talk to him. There were so many other times when I would come home from a date or a dance and think how much I knew about the guy but he probably didn’t know anything about me. Nate listens so well. He makes me feel like he enjoys talking to me and wants to hear what I have to say, and I think he does that for everyone he talks to. Another thing that I have come to really appreciate the longer we are together, is how disciplined he is. When he sets a goal, he accomplishes it. I love that about him. And I remember one time in an interview with a bishop, he was talking about some of his hobbies and trying to see if Nate had any of the same interests – do you like cars, do you have any building experience, etc. Nate was just shaking his head, and the bishop jokingly said, “Well, what do you do?” That’s when I piped in and said, “He helps me.” When he gets home from work he asks me what I need him to do, he will do anything with the kids and the housework, and the kids LOVE seeing him pull in the driveway. I do, too. The bishop laughed and said, well, maybe his wife should have looked a little longer before settling. I’m glad Nate didn’t look any farther after settling on me.

I'm sorry, very expensive and pretty matchbox

I got to meet another neighbor this morning. Too bad it was because I crunched his car as I was pulling out of my driveway. The side of that sporty little Mazda folded like a piece of paper. Maybe it will be a good lesson for him because if he had a little fender bender on the freeway in that matchbox he would be in the hospital. Who cares if it's easy on the eyes? I only drive a Honda Civic. What if I had an SUV or mini-van or was going more than 5 mph? Well, at least I get to tell Nate about it later tonight when I can use a calm voice that says everything is okay rather than the high-pitched, words-coming-out-of-my-mouth-faster-than-I-can-form-them voice that the neighbor witnessed this morning. What a nice first impression.

It tastes like store-bought bread

Something funky is going on with my camera, so I can't post a picture of the most beautiful loaf of bread I have ever made in my life. Not only does it look good, but the texture is fabulous, and it tastes great, too. I ground the wheat myself, and I stirred it and kneaded it by hand because my mixer is broken, my house smells wonderful, and I am so proud of myself. Have you ever had homemade whole wheat bread that made a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Now I have. My girls think I am so amazing. For the recipe, click here. (Kellee, I'm sure you can leave out the milk for Luke and substitute something else for the butter.) I didn't think the videos she posted were going to be all that important, but there were a couple of things I learned. First, I have never seen anyone roll out homemade bread dough, but I did it and I do like the results. I also like her idea of making a couple of bread mixes to put in the fridge. That would make a lot less mess the next time around. I just didn't grind enough wheat to do that today.

It really is the closest to store-bought bread that I have ever had from homemade bread. Not to mention that I made it with whole wheat flour. You definitely should try it out. My girls keep begging for more!

Oh, my baby!

Ryan had his 6-month check-up this morning, and he's finally starting to thin out! He's now at 50% in weight instead of 80%! However, that is because he has put himself on an exercise routine -- meaning that if he is awake he won't stop moving. What happened to my calm and content baby? He is still happy, but he is very interested in everything around him. He has even already been trying to play with electrical outlets and he can't even crawl yet. Yes, I'm afraid of what life will be like when he can crawl. The nurse couldn't believe how active he was. She said she didn't think she had ever had a 6-month-old quite like him. Great. He was grabbing her watch, her pen, he wanted to suck on the measuring tape. When we laid him down, he wanted to roll off the examining table. When we sat him up he wanted to jump off of the table. He wanted to get to the baby in the mirror. Whew! He was everywhere. The doctor just laughed at him and said he could see how he has been burning a few extra calories -- and I'm going to be burning a few more calories when he starts crawling, too. It's a good thing he's cute! Didn't I say before we had a third, that we already had two calm lovely children, so what could the chances be that we would have three like that? Oh well. We love him anyway.

The Publicity Dilemma

I read this article on the Church newsroom website this morning. I thought how wonderful it is to have a solid foundation and not be tossed about by every wind that blows.

Still have a lot to learn

So, my whole point in making brownies with beans was because I want to learn how to cook dried beans from my food storage. But I cheated with those and used a can of black beans. Yesterday I actually tried to do the real thing and cook pinto beans. I have always ended up with undercooked beans in the past, but this time they were soft -- just a little black on the bottom.

Nate's peace offering

He knows me well. 4 cookies and 1 glass of milk later -- fences were pretty much mended.

Black-bean brownies

If they're almost gone they must not have been that bad. Nikki and I liked them. I thought they were better after they had cooled off completely than when they were still hot. Nate was really funny. He saw me pureeing the beans before he left for church, and when he got home he tried one. This was our conversation:

N: Oh, that was gross, huh?
S: What, you didn't like it?!
N: Oh, well, it wasn't that bad. I mean, I kind of liked it. Yeah, they were good.

HaHa!! I will never know what his tastebuds really think of these brownies. He thought they were gross at first because he knew they had black beans in them, and then he decided he liked them because he didn't want to hurt my feelings. So, someone else will have to try this out and tell me what you think. Just don't tell your family how you made them until you know what they think of it! All you do is puree black beans in a blender until they're kind of a paste. Then you take a regular brownie mix and substitute the beans for the oil. If you do a straight substitution they will be more cake-like brownies, but you can also just substitute half of the oil with beans and then it will be more chewy. But adding the beans instead of oil cuts out tons of fat and even adds fiber. I thought they tasted fine.

Where did he go?

I left him on the floor with a couple of toys for a minute, and I came back and found him in the bathroom! Who left the door open again?! He can only scoot backwards, which frustrates him because he goes away from his toys rather than to them. I've never seen him go this far, though. Silly baby!

More pictures

My baby ate my homework!! Looks like he was being supervised so well.

He is growing too fast. How is it that he can sit up already?!!

The best kids ever.

My road to food storage

So my thoughts on food storage have come quite a long way in the past couple of years. For the longest time I just felt like it was beyond me to attempt more than storing a couple of extra cans of green beans. An inventory seemed useless because I didn't think I would ever keep it up to date. Then I thought that we would at least get some non-food items like soap and shampoo and toilet paper stocked up since those wouldn't go bad. Then I thought we could get a year's supply of grains like rice and beans and store it away and be done with it and say we had done what we were supposed to do, but forget ordering wheat. I wouldn't know what to do with wheat if I ever needed it anyway, so why have it? Finally, I think I have come to a point where I am excited about having and using our food storage. I finally get the difference between a 3-month supply and a year's supply. I've been pretty hard-headed, but our wheat grinder came in the mail last week, and I ground my first cup of wheat into flour! I was going to make some bread yesterday, but I'm sick -- I was just happy to get my children dressed for the day. I'm excited to learn how to use our food storage items. I found a website that I liked called everyday food storage that made it seem like I could use my storage for more than brick-like bread and tasteless muffins. There is also a sister website called Food storage made easy that was pretty good, too, for ideas on how to get your storage. So, I will continue enjoying our fresh foods, but I am also going to be learning how to use long-term storage items in a tasty way. Then if the day ever comes when we don't have the money to go to the store, the store runs out of food, or one of any other hundreds of catastrophic scenarios ever occur, I will have the peace of mind to know that my family won't be going hungry.