Currently {April 2013}

Reading: Riding the Bus With my Sister by Rachel Simon and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

Watching: Call the Midwife and North and South (which I have checked out from the library four different times).

Wearing:  black shirt, jeans, and black flip-flops. Very basic.

Relieved by: my dermatologist appointment being done and over with. Let's play a game. I call it "What was Removed From Britt Today?" Look forward to an upcoming detailed post.

Stressing about: my wisdom teeth. They are bothering me. They need to come out. I need to find a dentist and an oral surgeon.

Excited about: the matching swimming suits I bought for Daisy and Zoe. I kind of wish they had one in my size! I opted for the practicality of two-pieces (the t-shirt and shorts variety, although it was pretty tempting to put Zoe in something skimpy to show off her awesome curves). 

Addicted to: Oreo shakes. No soft-served, only hand-scooped. They can be made at home or purchased on a whim at Carl's Jr. 

Trying: to not gossip. I carried this one over from last month because it's hard work. 

Needing: to make a bunch of appointments. One with my hair dresser, one with an eye surgeon (I might skip this one), one to have my cholesterol checked, and one with a dentist. 

Annoyed by: "no show" socks. First of all, they "show." Second, they are uncomfortable and always fall off my feet. 

Feeling guilty about: not being as attentive to my children lately as I should be.

Tired of: being sick. We always get one last bug before summer, and I thought the strep I had three weeks ago was my "one last bug," but now I have a nasty cold and sinus infection. There have been many boogers.

Looking forward to: a vacation to St. George in June. We are celebrating our tenth anniversary by taking Nicky to see Mary Poppins. 

Proud of myself for: paying off our car. We now have ZERO car payments. 

Mothering and the Book of Mormon - Cast Your Eyes About

This guest post was written by my friend Cheyenne. Cheyenne and I met in elementary school. We had a million sleepovers and kissed a million pictures of Jonathan Taylor Thomas (life lesson learned: you can not wash lipstick off a wall poster). We were friends through high school and have stayed in touch as we've ventured into parenthood. Speaking of parenthood, Cheyenne is a mother to five little boys. A basketball team, in other words. Cheyenne graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors in Marriage Family and Human Development. She and her husband Seth recently started a web site called Family Tough. Cheyenne has always amazed me - from her devotion to family to her love for the scriptures. She is an amazing person and someone I really look up to.

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The night before my second baby was born I was nervous, thrilled, excited and more than a little bit terrified. I had so many questions. How would I share my time? How could I adequately care for each of them and give them the love and attention they’d both need? What would it be like having two little boys only 18 months apart?

I said a quiet prayer and then opened my scriptures to look for guidance and direction as I tried to mentally prepare for this new adventure. I ended up turning to Alma chapter 33. The particular verses I had turned to were merely by accident. However as I began reading them I realized they were far from an accident, and actually Peace and assurance straight from Heaven.

In this chapter, Alma is teaching a group of people what it means to exercise faith. He shares with them the account of Moses and the brass serpent.

“...yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.”

 

Then Alma asks them this critical question:

“O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?”

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this question is so easy to answer. Would we have looked? Of course. Why not? If something so simple would help so much, why wouldn’t we?

Then Alma further challenges the people in verses 22-23.

 “... then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen."

I realized what the Spirit was trying to teach me.

“Plant this word in your hearts.” Study the scriptures. Feast and ponder them.

“...and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life.” Have Faith in what I read and it will begin to grow. I will be filled with the Spirit.

“And then.” These are my favorite two words in the entire verse, because they are so important. We’ve just been told to read and study the scriptures, and to have faith in what we read, and now we’re about to see the promise associated if we do those things.

“And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light.” God will make our burdens light. He will lift the load that we carry and help shoulder the weight we feel as mothers. How?

“through the joy of his Son” Through the Atonement of our Savior and His love for us, not only will our burdens be lifted, but we will feel joy.

“And even all this can ye do...” As mothers, the list of things we need to do is long. The list of things we feel we should do and accomplish is even longer. Cooking, cleaning, playing with the kids, serving in our church and community, being a good wife, a good neighbor, a good friend. All of these worthwhile necessary responsibilities can be difficult to manage, and challenging to find the right balance. Yet with God’s help we can do them all if...

“if ye will.” If we will first do the other things. If we will study our scriptures deeply, and put our faith in the Son of God, we will have the help and capacity we need to be able to do all that is required of us, and to even do it well.

This work we do is so crucial. The dishes, the homework help, the laundry and the lullabies are all a part of building souls. With so much on our plate and so much expected of a mother, why would God leave us to accomplish this great work alone?

He wouldn’t.

He hasn’t.

This is probably the single most important lesson I have learned in my life about motherhood and the Book of Mormon. The simple yet profoundly important truth that I need the scriptures. In order to be the mother that I want to be, to be able to meet the challenges of the day I need to be drinking deeply from those living waters.

It is a lesson I needed to learn then, and it is a lesson I need even more today. I now have five children. Five young boys. This transition has been stretching, trying, work, yet it’s also been beautiful. I’ve been struggling recently with the new demands and the pressures of having so many young children, when I remembered this block of scripture and it has changed me again. As I’ve recommitted my study in the scriptures and cut out other distractions I have literally felt “my burdens become light through the Joy of His Son.” I don’t mean to call my children burdens, because they aren’t. I chose to have the family I have now, and I wouldn’t change any one of those decisions. Yet even blessings can feel heavy.

We all need courage and strength to do the things we do as mothers, whether we have one child, or 4 or 7. And we can find that strength and courage in the scriptures. Whether it’s how to get your baby to nap, or how to potty train a stubborn 3 year old, how to calm a nervous 6 year old as he transitions to first grade, how to help build the confidence of our teenagers, how to balance our time, or renew our spirit, there are answers to be found. If we are in the scriptures the Spirit can work on us, and we can get the answers and the help that we so desperately need.

The Lord is waiting to answer our prayers, to give guidance and direction in our everyday mothering. To lift, and bless, and calm. If we will only turn to Him. But it is up to us.

Just as the children of Israel had a choice, we must choose each day.

To believe Him,

to trust Him,

to Look.

“...begin to believe in the Son of God... .plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen.”

~ Alma 33:23

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This guest post is part of my series, "Mothering and the Book of Mormon." To learn more about why I am writing this series, please read this. To learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, check out Mormon.org or LDS.org.

Did you know you can request a Book of Mormon for free? No joke! See here.

I'll even send you one if you want. Marginalia included.

You can e-mail me: 

{fluentbrittish [at] gmail [dot] com}

I won't even try to baptize you!

Do Tell: Maid, Nanny, or Cook?

 

[Via]

Sometimes I daydream about having help around the house in the form of a maid, a nanny, or a cook. I never go so far as to imagine myself with all three - that would be a little too unrealistic. Plus, I'm a bit of a control freak, and as awesome as it would be to have someone scrub my toilets, diaper my children, and prepare my favorite meals daily, I just can't surrender that much responsibility. But day to day, I stop and think which one would I pick?

A few months ago I read the book A Joyful Mother of Children: The Magic and Mayhem of Children by Linda Eyre. Now, if you're not familiar with the Eyres, they are like Super Parents. I love, respect, and look up to them all while almost hating them. The great thing about Linda is that she is very honest in her books. Just when that subdued hate starts creeping to the surface, she writes a paragraph about yelling at her kids, and I'm like Phew! I don't have to hate her. But then she writes about taking her kids to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I'm like Are you kidding me, woman? But then she openly admits that her husband drives her nuts sometimes, and I'm like Wow! That was a close one!

Anyway, this particular book was about finding joy in motherhood, and at one point in the book, Linda put it bluntly: if you house is a mess, and you HATE cleaning, and you're completely overwhelmed, FIND SOMEONE TO HELP YOU.

(I wish I could find the exact paragraph to quote her accurately, but my intense thirty seconds of google research didn't pull it up).

Basically, Linda Eyre gave me permission to have a housekeeper.

So I got one.

Well, not really.

But kind of.

I can't afford a real housekeeper, but I can afford to pay one of my neighbor kids to come over twice a week and clean for me for one hour.

So that's what I've been doing, and it has helped so much.

Kay, my "housekeeper," takes care of some of the little things I can never tackle - like dusting the piano, cleaning the windows, and putting clothes on hangers. She can do in an hour what I take all day to do amidst taking care of children. Plus, since I know she's coming, I have a standard of cleanliness I want my house to reach before Kay gets here, so I'm more motivated to keep up on the cleaning.

So, in a way, I've chosen "maid" for now.

Which would you choose? Maid, nanny, or cook? Do tell!

I Scents a Problem

I have always had a very keen sense of smell. It has been both a good thing and a bad thing.

Aside: Daisy, who is sitting on my lap right now, completely oblivious to the topic of this post, just turned to me and said, "Mommy, you smell very bad." We have now completed a discussion about morning breath. Hey! I can't blog and have fresh breath by 7:00 a.m!

Lately, though, my sniffer hasn't been very reliable. I blame this on two things:

1. Having a baby.
2. Potty training.

I love my sweet Zoe with all my heart, but there is a secret about babies that is not commonly talked about: they stink.

You know how people are like, "Mmmmm! Fresh baby?"

That is a five-minute time frame immediately after the baby has been washed. Any other time, the baby has a wet diaper, dried spit-up on her collar, and curdled milk hiding in her neck fat. Plus, people are always rubbing their greasy faces on the baby's head, and there's some funky yellow discharge behind her ear.

With that less-than-fresh situation also come poopies and sour bottles. These things enter my nose all day, everyday, and I have to admit, I've developed a tolerance.

On top of that, one of my children has been having some major bathroom issues.

MAJOR.

I will not mention this child by name, but you can easily figure out who it is.

My life right now consists of hidden peed-in undies all over my house, gigantic non-flushed poopies left in the toilet WITH scraps of poopy toilet paper draped elegantly from the toilet to the trash can (why, oh, why do they always go through a phase where they put their poopy TP in the garbage?) and saturated pull-ups stuffed under the bed. Practically every surface of my house has been peed on. All three couches multiple times. Every chair. Every bed. Every car seat. And let's not forget the "favorite" place to pee... the floor in the closet. Which is carpeted, of course. I am constantly drowning in potty laundry, and my carpet and every inch of upholstery in our home could use a daily shampooing. And maybe if I could PUT A SHIRT ON without having to stop and soothe a crying child, break up a fight, or clean up spilled milk, I could spend a few minutes cleaning up the constant flow of pee. But that's impossible.

So in addition to a baby that smells a bit, my entire house if covered in pee.

And my nostrils are fried. I can't smell anything in my own home anymore. I can't even tell the difference between fresh and soiled laundry because I have smelled so much pee in clothing lately that our laundry soap now smells like pee to me.

My nose? Broken.

My house? Reeks.


Yeah... Don't come over.

I Have a Heckuva Sunburn on My Neck (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: Did you notice I haven't been blogging much lately? This is because I've been sick. I made it 29 years without getting strep, and BAM! Just like that! I got strep last week.

Fact #2: Well, actually, I never went to the doctor, so I don't know for sure that it was strep, but Scotty got it the day after me, and did go to the doctor. Plus Zoe had impetigo, and Nicky had strep the week before.

So strep.

Fact #3: Don't worry, I had a stash of amoxicillin.


Fact #4: I am freaking out that Google Reader is retiring. It is one of the few Google... uh... thingies?... that I use. So... experts, which feed reader am I supposed to use now?

Fact #5: It's yard work season! I'm so excited for the garden.

Prune, prune!

Fact #6: Speaking of blogging (you know, way up there...) I've decided to no longer post pictures of my kids on this blog. I've bounced back and forth on this for years, and what it came down to is this: there is an individual whom I do not want to have access to photos of my children. I have no reason to believe that this person reads my blog, but you just never know. Also, I have been getting some search engine traffic lately that I'm not happy with.

Fact #7: People I know in "real life" are welcome to request an invite to my private blog.

Fact #8: People I know in "real life" should also invite me to read their private blogs. Sara... Lynae (not to be confused with Lynnae)... and all the rest-a-ya!

Fact #9: You know what's intense? Jenga!

Game Night

Fact #10: I am doing really well on my New Year's resolution to not buy any new clothes or shoes in 2013. In fact, every time I feel pressure to try on a pair of colored jeggings, I remember that I'm not buying any clothes this year, and I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief that I may never have to know how awful I look in them.

Currently {March 2013 Edition}

Reading: The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon.

Watching: Call the Midwife and North and South. We also watched the first episode of Jeeves and Wooster on DVD just for fun the other night.

Procrastinating: making my semi-annual dentist appointment. I have to switch dentists, and I need my wisdom teeth removed. I've been putting it off for 15 years. 

Wanting: a steam cleaner that does what the steam cleaners do on the infomercials, which is blast the heck out of dirt built up in difficult-to-clean places. I've been looking at online reviews, and they are so mixed. 

Craving: anything loaded with fat and sugar. I've gotten a little sidetracked in my efforts to lower my cholesterol.

Wearing:  my favorite slippers.

Relieved by: this season of Downton Abbey finally ending so I don't have to keep secrets anymore. I sat across from one of my best friends a month ago and said, "I don't want to spoil Downton Abbey for you, but look into my eyes and see if you can tell what happens!!" 

She couldn't tell.

Stressing about: my cell phone service. I can't decide if I should stay with my current plan and carrier or if I should change. I don't know what I need or what I want. I kind of wish I were a pioneer - the kind that wears pants and goes to the bathroom indoors.

Missing: summer. 

I can't believe I just said that.

Excited about: a fun project I am doing with Cyndi. I'll tell you more later.

Addicted to: peppermint ice cream. I've never cared for peppermint anything, but I somehow got hooked on peppermint ice cream during the Christmas season, and I was surprised when I went to the store the other night, and they had peppermint ice cream in stock. I bought some, of course, and had three servings that very night. Shhh! Our little secret.

Trying: to not gossip.

Needing: a new swimming suit. Oh how I dread everything swimming suit related. I have to get one this year, though, because my former suit got a hole in a very dangerous place last summer.

Annoyed by: how easily people's ideas are ripped off online. 

Feeling guilty about: the way I've been eating lately.  

Tired of: conflicting studies about food. 

Thankful for: all of my appliances currently being in working order.

Enjoying: the warm weekend. How refreshing!

Looking forward to: planting our garden. I miss fresh veggies.

Suffering from: dry skin. My hands have been so dry lately that they are cracking and bleeding.

Hoping: that we'll be able to pay off our car within the next month or two.

Loving: having a few moments alone in a somewhat-clean house.

Proud of myself for: prayerfully dealing with a problem at church rather than relying on my natural reaction. Funny how things turn out so differently when you rely on the spirit.

Green Eggs & Ham

March 2 is Dr. Seuss's birthday. Normally, I wouldn't pay any mind to it, but Nicky has been concerned about Dr. Seuss's birthday since last year's Cat in the Hat marathon on PBS. He has been asking regularly when Dr. Seuss's birthday is, so a few months ago I looked it up (no, it wasn't already cataloged in my brain) and was excited that it fell on a Saturday this year.

I decided to win my son's affections by having a Dr. Seuss birthday breakfast. We invited Grandma and Grandpa over, and they appropriately showed up in Cat in the Hat hats and gave Nicky and Daisy each a treasury of Dr. Seuss books.

(Three cheers for Grandma and Grandpa!)

The menu included Cat in the Hat-ish strawberry banana skewers and blue milk:

Green eggs and ham:

And oatmeal pancakes with purple buttermilk syrup:

We also had some colorful Jell-O and green marshmallows because a high sugar intake is totally appropriate on Dr. Seuss's birthday.

I bought a cheap white plastic table cloth from the store and traced some Dr. Seuss coloring pages onto it and then gave the kids some crayons so they could color during breakfast. I also added in some favorite Dr. Seuss quotes.

We had a lot of fun, and the kids (and Grandma and Grandpa) were very excited. 

I will have to deem this celebration a success.

If you'd like to make our version of green eggs and ham, here is the recipe (I got this from my friend, Diane, and as you may guess, put green food coloring in the egg mixture, then I filled it with... ham, of course!)

Omelet Roll

3/4 C milk

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 tbs. flour

12 eggs, lightly beaten

2 T dijon mustard

2 C shredded cheese

For inside: any combination of breakfast meats and/or sauteed veggies (pictured with ham, green peppers, mushrooms, and onions)

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper (let over-hang on every side by an inch or so). Combine milk and cream cheese. Add flour and eggs (it’s okay to have small chunks of cream cheese in the mixture – I usually run a slotted spoon through it to get the large chunks out). Pour egg mixture over parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes (until slightly brown and puffy). Remove from oven and spread with dijon mustard. Top with shredded cheese first then meats and veggies. Roll length-wise and let stand for five minutes before slicing. Serves 8-10.

The oatmeal pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast dishes, introduced to me by Mel. You might like them, too.

"Try them, try them and you may. Try them and you may I say!"

-Sam