Monday Mom-blings

Just a few random questions today. Feel free to enlighten me if you so choose!

Why is it that....

...your children wait until you're on the phone to ask you for something???

...the flowers in the yard finally start looking good only days before it's supposed to freeze??

...you can go without food any other day but fast Sunday???

...and speaking of fast Sunday, why can't it be more like it's name...FAST??

...you never notice that hole or stain on your clothes until you get out in public???

...children can't possibly keep a room clean for more than 5 min.??

...the kiddies always have to wait until you have a cart full of groceries at the store to decide they need to pee???

Joy In the Journey Week 7

Read and mark Exodus 25:8. Our homes can be like the temple. Today do one thing to make your home feel more like the temple. Examples: listen only to appropriate music, speak in a soft voice, express your love to your family, study the scriptures. As you fast tomorrow, consider asking the Lord to guide you this month on your spiritual journey.

Monday Mom-blings

My-oh-my, where does the time go?

Days seem to fly by at the speed of light, and I am perpetually playing catch-up. Most days I'm just trying to remember what day it is, let alone figure out who has what going on where. Craziness! Anybody else feeling the same way?

So...Jackee brought up a good point on her FB page the other day, and being me, I figured I would just reiterate it here because: 1. I really don't have anything else on my mind, and 2. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Jackee's pet peeve...spelling. Spell it right or it means something totally different. Now, you've got to keep in mind that she is a writer, and as such, spelling is kind of a big thing to her, however, she makes a good point. Spelling and grammatical errors drive me nuts two. (Did you catch that? Ha! I did it on purpose... just to make a point.) TOO...not two. Same word, different meaning...can't use it in the same context. O.K., so that's a pretty obvious error, but it illustrates the point.

Oh yeah...one more thing. We went to one of the Direct Buy open house things over the weekend. I just wanted to see what it was...plus it was a good excuse to leave the kids at home and go on a date with Kenny. (Sad, I know...but you do what you've got to do.) So, we sat there and listened to their whole presentation and were really impressed. They almost had us...UNTIL they put the stipulation in that one of their rules is that you will only be given one chance to buy their membership. Basically you had to fork over all your money right then and there or you would never be given the opportunity again. Hello??? They wanted us to fork over $6500 bucks (well technically they had a few different payment plan options) in order to become a member of their business. Maybe I'm just a money horde, but who makes a decision to spend that much money in the span of an hour? I take forever to think about the little purchases let alone the big purchases. Needless to say, we passed on our opportunity to become members...and then I wrote them a pleasant little e-mail telling them that because of their business plan/philosophy, they missed out on the opportunity to do business with me. Oh well!

Lastly:

Joy in the Journey Week 6

President Monson admits he is a "show-a-holic." In his talk, he shares a quote from "The Music Man:" "You pile enough tomorrows, and you'll find you've collected a lot of empty yesterdays." Plan to attend a worthwhile musical (too short of notice), or rent one to watch.

Monday Mom-blings

Have I ever mentioned how out of shape I am???

I don't have a scale in my house because I just don't like that reminder of yet another thing I'm not doing. Oops...I guess I lied. I do have a scale. It's just hidden away in a corner where I can't see it. In fact I think all of our dirty clothes get piled on it each week. Regardless, I just don't like the notion of scales, and weight. It brings back memories of anxiety on weigh-in day at the gym each month. Anyhoo...

Now I'm back to being in shape. Well, not being in shape personally...because unfortunately, I'm not...just "being in shape" the topic. So, this morning was the morning. (I originally intended a few months ago to be the morning that I began a new routine, but that never happened...so for the sake of patting myself on the back, I'll say, this morning was the morning.) The basement is mostly finished. The TV is finally up and running. So, I decided it's time. I pulled my hair back, put my running shoes on, and climbed onto the dusty eliptical. Now, as far as workouts go, I'm not sure that I could actually claim what I did as a workout just yet, but at least I did something for a good 30 minutes. I've used boredom as my excuse in the past. I hated going down and staring at the wall as I elipticized. I always said that once the basement was done and I could watch something on TV for entertainment it would be so much easier to commit to doing it on a regular basis. I think I was wrong. Yes, it was boredom that originally kept me from doing it, but now that I've done it, I must admit, boredom was not the only reason. Honestly, I just don't like doing it. It's not my favorite thing to do...although given the alternative of running, or biking, I would definitely take the eliptical. Maybe it's just exercise in general that I don't like to do. I'm getting lazy in my old age. BUT since I don't want to give up my chocolate chip cookies (or any sweet treat for that matter) I'll suck it up and keep my promise to myself to get back into shape...something other than round that is!

Joy in the Journey

Week 5 Assignment:

Read and mark John 13:34. Hug your family members and express love to them. Use a note card and paper hearts to write "love-notes" to your loved ones.

Happy Monday everyone!

Monday Mom-blings

It's Labor Day....and our day definitely be full of labors since we neglected all of our jobs over the weekend.

So, my kids have been bugging me lately...fighting, neglecting chores, not taking responsibility for themselves, just being lazy, etc. It's been driving me crazy, and I'm hoarse from constantly nagging them to get their acts together. What's a mom to do??

Well...I've decided to take action on the matter. I had some credits for a project with Heritage Makers, so I decided to use my credits to make a little family mission statement (so to speak). It included the same logo/saying as is on our wall down in the basement, "Be true to who you are and the family name you bear" because it's one of my favorite sayings, and then it went on to tell what a "Balser" is.

B - Brave - As a Balser, I will stand up for what I believe in.

A - Achiever - As a Balser, I will strive to do my best in everything that I do.

L - Loving - As a Balser, I will be kind and loving in word and deed to everyone that I associate with.

S - Serve - As a Balser, I will give my time, talents, and energies to make things better at home, at school, and in my community.

E - Example - As a Balser, I will set a good example for my family, friends, and all who see me.

R - Responsible - As a Balser, I will be a responsible family member, friend, and citizen. I will take responsibility for my own actions!

(You can see the actual finished product here)

Once we get our mission statement in the mail, we'll have a little FHE on it, then we'll put it on a shelf in the living room to see as we walk by it each day. Hopefully it will help remind us all what it means to be a Balser, and maybe (just maybe) be a benefit to our kids. We'll see....

Next item on the agenda...

The Joy in the Journey program.

Week 4 Assignment:

The story about the airman, Jay Hess is taken from the "Finding Joy in the Journey" talk by Pres. Monson (refer to Day One). Read the story below. In 25 words or less, write what you would say to your family if you weren't sure you would see them again. Keep this letter in your journal.

Pres. Monson shares, "In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”"

Hope you're having a great long weekend!

Monday Mom-blings

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks....

Family visiting.

Birthday celebrations!

Vacation

Holiday

There is a lot going on, so I'm not sure how much posting is going to get done. (Not that I've been very good over the past couple of weeks anyhow!)

Hope everyone is having a fun summer!

Monday Mom-blings

Time seems to be getting away from me lately.

I thought that with the summer, and fewer places to be at specific times, I would be able to get a lot done. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

Simply keeping the kids on task, keeping track of where they are, who they're with, and when they're going to be home, and keeping them from killing each other has become a full time job. Not to mention the fact that occasionally we like to try to get out to do something fun! (Although one could argue that doing anything with 5 kids in tow is anything but fun.) Regardless, summer seems to be flying by...and as I watch it fly by, I find myself thinking about all of the things that I should have done (including my posts) which haven't been done yet, and wondering when I'm ever going to do it.

I've put myself on a new schedule for the summer. I used to try to wake up, do a post first thing in the morning and then try to get everything else done during the day, but it didn't work very well. Occasionally I would get the post done, but for whatever reason, nothing else would be accomplished during the day. So I'm starting a new routine (actually the whole family is starting a whole routine.) We'll get up, and we'll have until 10 am to get done all of our WORK. After that will come all of the other stuff...in order of importance. Hopefully this will ensure that at least we do some kind of work for the day and then give us time to play/relax/learn/whatever during the day too. I'm sure it won't work like that everyday. I'm sure there will be days when we'll have to work much longer, and then there will be days when we'll just want to play, but hopefully this new little schedule will at least give us some degree of organization to our chaos!

Anyhoo...

Did anyone have a chance to do the week one assignment from last week? How did it go? What did you like about Pres. Monson's talk?

Here's the Week 2 Assignment

President Monson states: "Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings." Read and mark 1 Thess. 5:18. Make a list of 100 things you are grateful for.

This should be a fun assignment, but you may be glad that you have the entire week to complete it. It may take the entire week to fill the list! Good luck everyone! Feel free to leave a comment when you've completed the assignment and let me know if you made it to 100...that's a lot!!

Monday Mom-blings

I consider my blog to be my journal; A record of what I've done; Somewhere to record my feelings, so imagine my surprise the other day to find myself contemplating starting a "real" journal. Actually, I've done it on and off ever since I was a teenager. I worked in spurts. I would write in it consistently for a while, and then just stop. Well, I'm on a "stop." I think I have been for about (get ready to gasp)....ummmmm, 10 years now! Yikes!!

So, I'm thinking about starting a written journal to record my progress on personal goals that I'm working on. Ways that I'm trying to be a better me; be a better wife; be a better mom. The things that I have a tendency to fall short on quite often that I don't want the world (or maybe my minions of readers...hehe!) to read. I'll let you know how it goes...but just in case you're wondering, I've been THINKING of starting now for about 2 weeks. Thinking is about as far as I've gotten thus far.

Here's a little program to help me out with my journal writing. I'd love to have you join in if you'd like. The program is based around Pres. Monson's conference talk from Oct. 2008, Joy in the Journey. (I've mentioned it before.) The program is a 31 day program, but I think I'm going to do it a little differently. Originally it was one of those "daily assignment" programs, but life is busy, and after starting it, I quickly found that I didn't have time to do a daily assignment. As such, I think I will make it into a weekly assignment...obviously, this will really stretch the program out, but I think it will work. Here's the general idea: Each Monday I will post the assignment for the week on this blog along with links for any articles, etc. that you will need to accomplish the assignment. You'll then have the entire week to work on the project, so if you don't have time right then and there, or if you want to think about it a little, or if life happens, don't worry, you'll have 7 days to do it before I post another assignment. You can do this project on your own, with your spouse, or with your friends.

That said, here's the general purpose of the program, and the first assignment.

Finding Joy in the Journey Program - This is a program focussed on preparedness. We all know we need to be physically/temporally prepared (food storage, etc.) but we also need to be spiritually prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

Week 1 Assignment:

Read Finding Joy in the Journey by Pres. Monson. Ponder and highlight points that inspire you. (If you are doing this with your spouse, or friends, share these points with each other.)

Opt. - Enjoy an Almond Joy candy bar!

Monday Mom-blings

With Father's Day fresh on my mind, I thought I would do a quick post on...father's!

Memories of my dad...

I remember sneaking out of my bed late one night, when I was a little girl, trying to catch a glimpse of who dad was talking to at the back door.

I remember dad teaching me how to throw and catch in the back yard. I remember dad trying to hide in the corner of the gym during one of my competitions so that I wouldn't know he was there.

I remember a record that dad got me for my birthday. It was just what I wanted, but because he had to work late I didn't get it until after I had already opened my other gifts and his record was a duplicate. I can still feel how horrible I felt thanking him for the gift, but telling him that I already got it.

I remember my dad trying to teach us kids how to play tennis....I also remember trying to find a good hiding spot when we knew he wanted to take us to play tennis.

I remember dad standing up on the hill watching me run in my track meets.

I remember returning home after a weekend gymnastics trip to dad's oven baked BBQ chicken. I remember sitting with my dad after he and mom were in an arguement.

I remember the disappointment he expressed in himself, and I remember telling him that I loved him.

I remember the pages and pages of math homework corrections that I would wake up to each morning cause dad would stay up after he got home from work and check my homework.

I remember my dad helping with the construction of our new gymnastics facility. Specifically, I remember my coach commenting on how dad "just came" and "worked hard" without question or direction. He just did it.

I remember dad stoically sitting beside me in the car as he was teaching me how to drive.

I know my dad is disappointed in "the father" he thinks he was...but I'm not. He's my dad. He has always done everything he could to provide for our family and give us (as children) every opportunity to grow and excel. Dad's quiet example has taught me many things. He has taught me how to work...and do it without complaint. He has instilled in me the importance of always doing my best and he has shown me how to do what needs to be done simply because it needs to be done...without need for direction or praise. I'm grateful for everything that dad has done for me, and what he continues to do for our family.

In the same respect, I am grateful that I married a man who, in his own way, instills those same values in our children. A man who loves his family, works hard to provide for his family, gives his children as many opportunities to learn and grow as possible, and who loves the Lord.

I suppose that's the difference between a boy and a man. You've heard the saying, "Any man can have a child, but it takes a real man to be a father." It's true. A father is a teacher; a mentor; an example. A father is someone willing to sacrifice his own needs for the needs of his family.

What a lucky girl I am to have such wonderful men in my life!

Monday Mom-blings

(image, by Kadi Prescott)

Well, we're officially in the second week of our summer break/vacation/holiday?? (not quite sure what to call it anymore...It's not really a holiday, although that's what we used to call it when I was growing up.  Maybe it's a vacation for the kids...and the teachers.  Not so much for me.  I guess that leaves me with "break."  But I always associate "break" with something a little bit more short term...like, for example, a week...definitely not 2 1/2 months.)

Anyhoo....

I think summer and I have a love/hate relationship.  

I love the sunshine and warmth after months of cold!

I hate the allergies that come along with the warmer weather.

I love looking at the beautiful flowers.

I hate pulling weeds!

I love NOT having to be up early to get the kids off to school.

I hate not having a real schedule/routine.  (I suppose I could make up a schedule/routine for us, but hey! it's summer...who wants to do that??  I'll probably just continue lamenting the fact that we need more structure, because I just really don't want to do anything about it.  *Big Sigh*)

I love later nights for everyone.

I hate the grumpy morning that result from them.

I love seeing all the kids out playing with each other...riding bikes, water fights, neighborhood football games, laughter, etc.

BUT not at 7 AM.

I love a summer rain storm.

I hate that it cancels our baseball games!

I love that it's warm enough to swim and boat (occasionally).

I hate that it's Kenny's busy season, so we see less of him.

I love fresh peaches in August!

I hate watermelon.  (I know, watermelon is quintessential summer!  My kids keep telling me to try it and maybe I'll like it.  I keep telling them that I try it once a year thinking that maybe something has changed from the previous year, but it doesn't, and I still don't like it...sorry!)

I love short sleeves, capris, shorts, flip-flops.

I hate sunscreen.  (I always have...It's just something about how it feels on my hands, and I really don't like putting it on other people.  Weird huh??)

I love BBQ's!

I hate mosquitoes!...and flies, and grasshoppers...especially grasshoppers! (Notice I did not say spiders.  I don't mind them...as long as they're not in my house!)

As I write this list, I can't help thinking that I really sound like a complainer!  Yikes!  Not exactly what I was going for in this post.  Truly, I love summer.  The "hates", in actuality, are just minor annoyances that I'm happy to put up with for summer......ahhhhhhh!!!

So how about you?  How's your summer going?  What do you love/hate about summer?

Monday Mom-blings

We're at the end of a long weekend!  I wish we could have more of them...don't you???  Not that it's been really relaxing, but it's been nice to have Kenny home for a few days in a row!

Well, there's not a whole lot of time to momble because the "to-do" list is about a mile long...thankfully, most of it is Kenny's (heehee), but I suppose it would only be fair to help him out a little!!  Can't do all the whip-crackin'!

Like many other's, our tradition on Memorial Day (or at least sometime during the weekend) is to make a visit to the cemetary.  It used to be a lot easier...we used to live a lot closer to it than we do now, but hopefully we'll still make it this year.  It's important that the kids know that it's important.  It's important that we show our gratitude to everyone who has sacrificed for our freedom!  It's important that our children know that our freedom is worth that sacrifice!!

Thank you to all of you who have sacrificed for our freedom!

Happy Memorial Day!

Monday Mom-blings

So for whatever reason, today it finally sunk in that summer vacation is nearly upon us.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that we finally had a hot day.  Maybe it's because we've been BBQing every night for the last week.  Maybe it's the fact that it doesn't get dark until after 8pm now. Whatever it is...it has now reminded me of the fact that my kiddos are going to be out of school in about a week and a half and I'm going to have to figure out ways to entertain them.

Normally I keep my kids pretty busy.  I expect homework, and chores be done.  Piano practicing, and other extracurricular activities come next, and playing (or in Jackson's case...hanging out) with friends comes in a distant 5th.   I'm sure most of my kids' friends think that I'm just a horrible, mean mom that doesn't ever let her kids out of the house.  In actuality, if the kids got their stuff done in a timely fashion, they'd have plenty of time to do whatever they want...but they don't, so they're usually stuck inside.  I digress.....

Regardless of how long it takes my kids to do their chores, I don't think it could stretch into everyday, all day long....At some point in time I'm sure they'll figure out that if they get their stuff done quickly, they can get their mom off their case for the rest of the day.  There's the crux of the problem right there..."the rest of the day."  What am I going to do to entertain the crew 24/7????

Last year I had an excuse...I was preggo the first half of the summer, and then we had a brand new baby for the last half of the summer.  This year I don't have an excuse...and despite a floundering economy, Kenny will be working his tail off at work, so I can't count on him to bail me out.  What to do???  Hmmmm.  I need to figure out something fun/exciting/challenging/etc. to do so the kids can at least have something cool to talk about when school starts again in the fall.  

There's the park.

The Library

The pool.

Throw in a few crafty projects.

Jackson's got Scout Camp.

Maybe a BYU camp???

Friends.

Popsicles.

Bike Rides.

Picnics.

A few well timed boating adventures...

Grandma & Grandpa always come in the summer.

Late nights.

Camping???  (maybe in the backyard again)

Movie nights.

That should get me through for a little while.  How about you?  Are you excited for your kids to be done with school?  Do you have any big plans?  How about big plans on a little budget?  Let me hear 'em.  I'm all ears!!!

Monday Mom-blings

Wow...it's Monday again already.  

How was your Mother's Day?  I hope everyone got the chance to put their feet up, relax, and be spoiled by your kids and hubby.  I think I'll make a motion that we have Mother's Day once a month (at least...I would say once a week, but I'm probably pushing my luck!)...wouldn't that be great???  I wouldn't even need the gifts, just a full day devoted to relaxation.  Sleep in; Long shower; No chores; Read a book; Take a nap; No fighting kids...shall I go on???  Heaven!  *sigh*

Moving on...

So, now, at the risk of becoming like all those retail stores out there that move from one holiday to the next (before the first one is even finished) I'm going to bring up Father's Day.  I'm running so far behind that if I start thinking about it now, I might just get to it by the time Father's Day arrives.  O.k., I'm joking...kind of.  Mostly I was just thinking about it because Kenny was so thoughtful for Mother's Day this year and I'd love to spoil him just a little too.  Yesterday in Sacrament meeting our Bishop talked about how much women (mother's) do and how their husbands should try extra hard to help them more.  It was a nice sentiment, and I understand what he's saying, but lately, I feel like I'm the one being the slacker...and Kenny is willingly picking up the slack.  I suppose that's how good marriages are made...you trade off slacking and picking up the slack...and you do it willingly.  

Anyhoo...so I'm looking for some Father's Day suggestions/ideas.  Send them my way if you've got any...over-the-top ideas, on-a-budget ideas, romantic, sporty, homemade, store bought, kid stuff, etc.  I wanna hear 'em all!

Monday Momblings

Habits are funny little things...good ones are hard to get into but easy to break...bad ones are easy to get into but hard to break.  Go figure!  I'm sitting here trying to write this blog, for the second day now...it looks like I got out of the habit of writing daily over spring break, and now I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but it's not coming easily.

I've come to the conclusion that with school winding down, baseball winding up, and everything else going on that I just don't have time to blog on a daily basis.  However, blogging is my "outlet" and it's keeps me motivated to do new things so instead of ignoring it I'm going to try posting a few times a week.  We'll go for Monday, Wednesday, Friday...and I'll try to mix it up a bit with mombles, tips, tuts, wisdom, and favs, so keep checking.  I promise I'll get back into that good habit again!

Monday Mom-blings

Life seems to get busier and busier everyday. Either that or I'm getting less and less organized. I'm inclined to think that it's a little bit of both.
Take yesterday for instance. I thought we were prepared to have a nice relaxing Sunday. The first in a while. But we seemed to run from meeting to meeting from about 9 am until 9 pm. Not bad necessarily. In fact, the meetings were all very good. (One of them probably inspired my thoughts for today.) I just had other ideas of how I would have liked the day to play out...church, lunch, snoozes, dinner, maybe play a game with the kids. Didn't happen. *sigh* Maybe next week.
I think I used to be organized. I remember a time when I had a specified cleaning day, errand day, etc. Our family ran like a well oiled machine, but as the kids have gotten older, we've gotten more things to do. I guess it's time for me to get more organized again. Not in the sense that everything is scheduled on a calendar (I'm not that way, and believe me, that could take up an entire wall in my house!) but just in the sense that there is a time for everything.
My point in this is not to complain about everything that we have to do, but simply to point out that life is busy, and getting seemingly busier everyday, and that if we're not careful the most important things may be replaced with things that SEEM important. I think that's where I'm at right now. It's time to declutter...not only the house, but my schedule. Make time for the important things. I'm not very good at that. I tend to take a really practical view of things: Work first...play later (if there's time...which of course there never is!) So my goal for the next little while is to get organized and get to work, so that I can also have fun doing the things that are most important in life...being with my family.
What about you? How do you keep your hectic life organized? Are you a work first, play later gal or have you found a way to mix in the fun? Do tell! I'm up for ideas!

Monday Mom-blings

As you can see, I took a little vacation from just about everything last week...didn't go anywhere, but didn't do much of anything either, so it was a vacation of my own making! The kids had fun spending spring break being spoiled by grandma and grandpa. I enjoyed catching up on reading and doing a few other little fun things. Now it's back to the grind...and I'm ALMOST regretting (but not quite), ever taking the break in the first place because there's so much to catch up on. Do you ever feel like that?? You need the break, but getting back into the groove of things is soooooo not fun!
I've got the lists of everything that needs to be done going through my head right now and I'm half-heartedly willing myself to get up off this chair and get started. *sigh* The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak! (Maybe I'll move all the fun things to the top of the list, and leave the cleaning for the kids...on second thought, that's probably why I'm in this mess in the first place!)

Monday Mom-blings

I'm sure there are plenty of things that I should be doing today, but I'm taking a mom day. It's spring break. The kids get a break from school, so I'm gonna take a break from "mom work" for a little bit today.
I've decided that I'm only going to do the things that I want to today. So, laundry's probably going to wait for another day. It's a nice day outside, so maybe I'll go and do a little bit of weeding in the yard. I think I'll catch up on my little TOFW webinars that I've missed for the last couple of weeks and who knows...I might even make it to the park with Bright and Rylen today (if I happen to decide to change out of my pj's.)
Some might call it being lazy. That's ok. I prefer to call it a little rejuvination and I'm rather enjoying it. I'd recommend it to anyone. Pres. Monson said (in Oct. 08 conference) that we need to learn to distinguish between what's important and what's not important. In my little TOFW webinar, Sis. Dew said that we need to know when to give things our best effort and when to just get things done. I'm not sure that they were necessarily talking about taking a day off from being a mom/housewife/cook/taxi driver/teacher/etc., but I'd right now I'd say a little R & R is just what's needed! You know the saying, "When mama's happy, everyone's happy!"

Monday Mom-blings

I love conference weekend.

I think I said that on my last post...but it's the truth.

I love everything about conference weekend...family activities, church in my pj's, Sunday morning breakfast, conference talks...everything!

This past weekend was no different. In fact, in some ways I think it was better. We had our same traditions, but this year we also did a couple of different things. I tried a couple of the ideas I posted about a few weeks ago (from the Ensign) to help the kiddies listen through conference, and they worked pretty well. Rylen has a hard time just sitting still and listening at church, so I didn't expect a lot from him, but even he tried to pay attention for one of the games. (It involved candy of course...but I'm not above bribery!) One of our key candy words for the second session just happened to be "temple." The kids definitely hit the jackpot on that word through Elder Bednar's talk and then the next speaker too. They were poppin' gummy bears left and right. My sister was keeping track of the number of times the key words were said, and according to her, Elder Bednar mentioned the word "temple" 61 times...that's a lot of gummy bears for one talk! (Thankfully, I don't think the kids caught all 61 times!)

The workbooks also worked well for the older kids. Ashlynn and Breven enjoyed doing the word search, and I think the space for them to write in 3 things that they learned and make up a question helped them pay better attention. It will be fun to have our little Conference Trivia FHE tonight and see what questions everyone comes up with. I know Jackson is trying to come up with the most obscure questions that he possibly can. He mentioned one yesterday..."What color was the choir director's (Mack Wilberg) tie?" Huh? Who pays attention to something like that? Guess I'll have to pay better attention next time! FHE should be fun!

What did I enjoy the most? I think there were too many good talks to rank them...or even remember them all. I'm looking forward to the next Ensign so that I can read them again. I did really love Elder Hales talk though. (First one out of the box in the Saturday morning session.) I had just been on a little spending spree for Easter and then I heard his talk about debt and distinguishing wants from needs...needless to say, I might be returning a few things. I loved what he said his wife taught him about wants and needs. The 4 little words (just behind, I love you) that mean the most..."We can't afford it" and looking at the things that you want to buy and asking yourself why you want to buy them...to make the person you're buying them for happy, to make yourself happy, to prove you can buy it, to have a status symbol, etc. Loved the talk! For me, I think the pervading message was that there will be tough times ahead, do what you can to prepare and get out of debt, help others, have faith, trust in the Lord, and the most important things in life are not material...they are your family and your faith/testimony.

How was your conference weekend? What did you learn? Enlighten me!

Monday Mom-blings

Are you a mean mom?
I am...or at least that's what I'm told.
And do you know what? I'm ok with that.

Take today for example.

By 7:25 AM, both Ashlynn and Breven were grounded for the day because they were fighting over who got to use the bathroom first. Ashlynn was (according to Breven) exerting her "inner girl" and trying to rip Breven's arm off. Breven was (according to Ashlynn) trying to cause a problem. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to be nice at 7:25 AM when two fighting kids are about to wake up my baby who just happens to be sleeping peacefully in the next room. No discussion took place. No explanation was needed. They were just grounded. Period.

I have a tendency to do that...not put up with any, for lack of a better word, crap, from my kids. It's one of the reasons my kids consider me a mean mom.

I expect a lot from my kids....(and just for the record, I think my kids are pretty outstanding!)

My kids are expected to do their chores well...and in a timely fashion. I'm a mean mom!

My kids are required to do homework everyday. I'm a mean mom!

My kids don't get to play video games every day...only on the weekends (after they've completed all their chores ON TIME.) I'm a mean mom!

My kids don't just get to go and play with whoever they want whenever they want. I have to know where they are and who they are with. I'm a mean mom!

(I'm sure there are more reasons that I can't think of right now.)

Ashlynn and I had a conversation last year that went something like this:

(Ashlynn was in trouble for some reason I can't remember now)
Ashlynn: Mom, why can't you be nice like everyone else' mom?
Mom: Because I'm not everyone else' mom.
Ashlynn: Mom, you're suppose to be nice...you're suppose to be my friend!
Mom: No Ashlynn, I'm not suppose to be your friend. I'm your mom...that means it's my responsibility to make sure that you're doing what you're suppose to be doing and if it means that you don't like me, then so be it. Hopefully down the road I'll get to be more than your mom...hopefully I'll get to be your friend too, but for the time being if all I am is your mean mom, I'm o.k. with that.

When I think about my childhood I don't remember my mom as being a mean mom. I remember her telling me that I had to clean my room or do my other chores. I remember her expecting me to get good grades. I remember her wanting to know where I was going, who I was going to be with, and when I was going to be home, but I don't remember her being a mean mom. Hopefully my kids will look back on their childhood in the same way. (It may take a while for them to realize I'm not trying to be mean...I'm just trying to be mom.)

Motherhood...it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

Monday Mom-blings

Today's momble: Budgeting/Saving Money...ugh!

We've been trying to be really good the last little while....spend money only on the necessities; tighten the belt; eat out less, etc. Basically, we've decided that we need to do everything that we can to get out of debt as quickly as possible, save as much as possible, and live on as little as possible, so that we are prepared for any type of emergency...job loss, natural disaster, etc. (you know, all those really pleasant things to think about!) USUALLY,I'm pretty good at controlling my spending habits, and limiting my wants, but there are times....

Sometimes budgeting is just torture! Like this weekend. No, I didn't fall off the money-saving bandwagon, but I was close. It seems like every time the weather changes it feels like I need to spend money. Last week was beautiful! Almost spring! It gave me the "time to buy new spring things" itch. That would be o.k. if I could just buy new spring things for just one person, but there are 7 people in our family now. How do I buy for one and not the other (although, I can make that decision very easily when it's a necessity.)? That means 7 things to buy, and then there's stuff to buy for the house (cause of course the house would feel bad if everyone got something and it didn't) and my neices and nephews, and sisters, and brothers, and...you see where I'm going with this? Compound the "itch" with the fact that a lot of stores are having some great sales....AAAAHHHHHH! Torture! What to do???

I was at the store on Saturday. I was tempted! I think I had something in my hands for pretty much everyone. Woohoo! Then my brain kicked in...my sensible, money-saving side, so I went back through the store (probably for another look, just to make sure I didn't miss anything) and put everything back. Well, mostly everything! You know what the worst part of recklessly spending money is? The guilt that I get afterward. The "did I really need this" feeling. The "I should have used my money to buy food, not clothes" feeling. I probably look pretty crazy wandering around the store putting things back. Oh well...it saves the guilty conscience! And I suppose a clear conscience is worth more than a new pair of shoes (unless they're red patent leather!). I suppose that's what budgeting is...torturing yourself in one way so that you don't torture yourself in others!

Dave Ramsey always says..."Live like no one else today so that you can live like no one else tomorrow!" That's the goal! One day I won't have to budget anymore...by that time it will be so in-grained into my subconscious that I will do it anyhow...but until that day I'll just have to keep my spendng habits under control.

So, what about you? Are you feeling the need to spend money or have you already got that money-saving, budgeting thing down?

Monday Mom-blings

Ok...there are seriously so many things to post about today I don't know where to start.

I suppose I'll start with the obvious...it's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. WooHoo! I hate to admit it, but I'm not really one of those cool moms that does really fun things for her kids for the little holidays (Is St. Paddy's day considered a holiday??) Our box of Lucky Charms is about as festive as I get with this one...oh, except that I do LOVE to make sure that each of my kiddo's (and Kenny of course) get a little love pinch, even if they're wearing green. Wearing green is fun (and who couldn't use a wee bit o' luck) but that silly little excuse, "...it's on my underwear..," to avoid the pinch is WEAK! Maybe I'll be ambitious this year and make some green shamrock cookies...shamrock's are pretty cool. What about you? Do you do anything to celebrate St. Paddy's day or are you a grinch like me...come to think of it, the grinch is green, so at least I'm on the right track.

#2 - (I guess I've started numbering now) Is anyone tired of their kids being sick??? Luckily we only had a small bout of the flu this year but we've had that lingering cold and cough thing on and off since Christmas. It must have been a rough weekend, cause the kids are all coughing AGAIN...even Bright. I can handle it when the older kids get sick, but when the baby is sick, life is miserable. He just wants to be held all day long so I don't accomplish anything. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll at least avoid the ear infection this time around.



#3 - Did you happen to catch Glenn Beck's program last Friday...We Surround Them? I didn't get to watch it live, but we recorded it on the DVR (cause Kenny loves Glenn Beck) and watched it last night. I'll admit, he's probably not my favorite (I'm a Hannity kind of girl,) but he is passionate about our country and I think he's got the right idea. He's starting a project called the 912 project and is encouraging everyone to join in. Basically, he says it's our responsibility to take back our country so he is encouraging us to meet with our family and friends and discuss what is going on in the country and what we can do to make it better. If you missed the program, go to the link to read about the 9 principles and 12 values that Glenn thinks we should get back to. I like it! I think it could be interesting meeting together and having discusions about the state of our country and what we can do to improve it. Is anyone interested? Let me know...we'll arrange it, and of course treats will be provided!!

#4 - (This is the lst thing...I promise!) I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm taking an on-line seminar by Time Out for Women. The focus this month is The Divine Gift of Influence and last week's topic was the first half of Sixteen principles of Leadership. I've really been enjoying the classes and I thought I would just share a couple of things that I found interesting. One of the 16 principles of leadership is Less is More. What I loved about this principle is that Sis. Dew made a point of saying that not everything we do deserves our best effort...sometimes it just has to be done...on the other hand, some things demand our best effort. Does this mean anything to you? I've always been one who says that if you're going to do anything you might as well do your best, but I think Sis. Dew is right. There are some things we need to do just to get done (ie. the laundry) but there are other things that require our best effort (ie. our families.) Another principle of leadership she mentioned was Leaders Communicate But They Do More than Just Talk...specifically (for me at least) that leaders speak the language of those they lead. She's right. People respond more to yoiu if they feel like you are speaking their language. I tend to take the authoritative position with my kids (which, I suppose as a mother I should do) but I think that if I learned their language I would be able to talk to them more and be more of an influence in their lives because they would see that I understood them. I guess I'll be taking a few languages courses over the next little while. How about you? The final point I wanted to share with you was a kind of cool story that Sis. Dew told. It had to do with the principle, Leaders See Opportunities Where Others Don't. She shared a story about Tiger Wood. In the 1999 Phoenix Open Tiger hit a shot that landed behind a rock (more like a boulder.) The rules, at the time, stated that if something was blocking your shot and you could move that "something" you could do so without any penalty. If you couldn't move whatever was blocking your shot then you could take a penalty and move your ball. When Tiger's ball ended up behind the boulder, knowing the rules, he turned to the crowd and jokingly said, "...so what do you think? Can we move it?" A bunch of people watching in the gallery came out of the crowd and moved the boulder. Who else besides Tiger would have thought to involve the crowd? Who else besides Tiger could have even asked and then had people willingly volunteer to move the boulder? The point of the story was three fold. Leaders see things differently than others. Leaders seize opportunities where others overlook them, and Leading is usually not about doing more, it's about doing something differently. (I mention this last point because I think it fits in well with the whole Glenn Beck 912 project.) I will just mention that although you may not consider yourself a "leader" remember you are a parent and that is probably the most important kind of leader there is.

Well. that's it. I'm one. Sorry...that was a lot of mombling about a lot of different things, but if you made it to the end of this post, congratulations! Hopefully the baby will be feeling better soon so that I can get to the rest of my posts this week. If he's not then I'm sure you'll understand the lack of posts as I will be speaking Bright's language and holding him until he does feel better!