Enjoying being a mom

I quit my job.

At first I was having mixed feelings about it. But now I am ENJOYING my kids SO MUCH! So much in fact, that I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry about that.  :) I think tomorrow I will blog something amazingly awesome about how wonderful life is. But right now, I am going to go soak in a nice bath and read my book :)

Worst Enemy.

What you think....

Sweet and sticky Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Mix corn starch and water in a small bowl. 
2. Add brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.
3. Lightly pepper the chicken strips.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Complements

This week has been a crazy week. Between Dave’s work, my work (the last of my “two weeks notice”), worrying about where those DARN library books went, what is for dinner in this insanely hot and humid weather (HUMID?!?! I thought I lived in a desert!?!), getting pulled over, and finding money to get the car registered so we won’t get pulled over again. 

BUT

I haven’t COMPLETELY fallen off the face of the planet. 

After coming home from an AMAZING bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law my cousins car broke down in my driveway (really it started smoking and we found some coolant and then it was better) my neighbor from across the street came over and asked me if I have lost weight (which I haven’t). BUT IT FELT SO GOOD. 

BACK IN THE DAY…

Someone said to me something that STUCK.  "You should never keep a complement to yourself." Even if it’s for a person you’ve never met. Complements were meant to be given.  You never know how good you will make someone feel.  If a pregnant women looks like a glowing soon-to-be mother of awesomeness, then TELL HER.  If you’re child is doing an EXCELLENT JOB AT ANYTHING, let him or her KNOW.  Good food, cute shoes, nice haircut, lost weight, clean house, beautiful yard, even the smallest complement can mean the world to someone.  Life is hard enough, let’s help each other out and make each other feel good!

THE WINNER'S!!!

I've always wanted to do a giveaway!! YAY! I am posting the "winners" a bit early, because I think all the "hype" has died down. I know I know I know, I'm jumping the gun here, but I was SO excited to use random.org .  So I DID and HERE are the RESULTS:

...

 ...

 ...

 

List Randomizer

1. Chrissy Roecker -- "The Way to Be" By Gordon B. Hinckley
2. Jessica Wells -- "How to Be Totally Miserable" By John Bytheway

Timestamp: 2011-07-20 02:45:05 UTC

I thought they were FUNNY results!! Seeing as how BOTH OF YOU ARE MY SISTERS!! HAHAHA!!! ANYWAY, I need your addresses to send you YOUR PRIZES!! :) 

GIVEAWAY!!

We all love a good giveaway.  SO HERE'S MY VERY FIRST ONE!! YAY!!!

The first book is "Way to Be" By President Gordan B. Hinckley.  It's a great book and it is a wonderful way to help feel good about yourself.  

 The second book is by John Bytheway, a "classic" Mormon Self-esteem booster comedian.  Basically I thought this book embodied the "theme" of my blog.

TO ENTER: REPOST a LINK TO my BLOG ON FACEBOOK and FOLLOW MY BLOG! AND THEN LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THIS BLOG! I will randomly choose TWO winners! YAY!!! Don't forget to leave your email address so I can get a hold of you if you win! Stay TUNED FOR MORE GIVEAWAYS!! It always feels good to win SOMETHING! :D


The WINNERS will be announced FRIDAY JULY 22! :D

Honesty DOES NOT equal Truth.

Honesty: free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere : I haven't been totally honest with you.

• morally correct or virtuous : I did the only right and honest thing.

• [ attrib. ] fairly earned, esp. through hard work : struggling to make an honest living.

• (of an action) blameless or well intentioned even if unsuccessful or misguided : he'd made an honest mistake.

• [ attrib. ] simple, unpretentious, and unsophisticated : good honest food with no gimmicks.

Truth: the quality or state of being true : he had to accept the truth of her accusation.

• (also the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality : tell me the truth | she found out the truth about him.

• a fact or belief that is accepted as true : the emergence of scientific truths | the fundamental truths about mankind.

Just because you are being HONEST to someone about something it does not mean it is the TRUTH.  Someone once said to me that I am an inconsistent mother and that I am horrible at communicating.  She was “just being honest". 

When a wife asks her husband “Do I look fat in these jeans?” it is a loaded question. Only because he isn’t sure if she wants the truth or his honesty.  He may think she looks like a billion dollars in those jeans; they show off her curves and accentuate those sexy thighs (she refers to them as “hams”).  BUT HE LIKES THE CURVES, SHE DOESN’T.  He may honestly be telling her she looks fabulous. But truthfully, those jeans are too small and she should change.

The first day of Mr. Crane’s sociology class my senior year, we defined truth as a class. My teacher pointed out that EVERYONE comes from a different background; we have different lenses through which we view the world.  SO to make sure we were all on the same page we came up with a class wide definition. 

Spinach tooth

Truth is not only “fact or reality” (You have some spinach in your teeth. Would be an example of reality.  Utah’s state flower is the Sego-Lilly. Would be a fact.)  Truth is also accurate and without change.  

Sego-Lilly

So as a reader of my blog I want YOU to understand what MY DEFINITION OF TRUTH is. 

Truth |troōθ|: NOUN. A fact and/or reality that is accurate and without change.

When I say that I believe without a doubt that the Gospel is TRUE, I mean that I know it to be a fact that is accurate, it does not change. 

http://www.mormonchurch.com/11/book-of-mormon

NOW Let’s talk about HONESTY.  Believe it or not, but I think our DEAR FRIEND Wikipedia does a FABULOUS job defining honesty:  “[honesty] refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft.^”

Being honest in a conversation with someone does not mean it is the TRUTH. Someone may HONESTLY see inconsistencies in my parenting, and HONESTLY think I am bad at communicating, but in TRUTH, that is opinion. 

Opinion: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. 

As a daughter of God it is important to be able to distinguish between honesty, truth and opinion.  It can be EXHAUSTING to constantly be trying to PLEASE EVERYONE.  When truth is defined, it is easier to see who we should REALLY being pleasing.  

3 things...

I am amazing.
I am good at diapering  :)
I am good at loving my husband.

Nothing Clever.

Nothing clever or inspiring to say today. So I am posting this talk, because it makes me feel good every time I read it.

LDS Women Are Incredible

I Am Borg.

I quit my job. Well, I gave them my two weeks notice.  I thought I would have this feeling of complete elated liberation. But it was really hard.  When I told my boss I had some bad news for him, his fight or flight instinct started to kick in, and then a look of panic spread across his face as I explained to him what my situation was. This would be the second time I’ve had to quit a job I love, for the good of the collective. Sometimes being a mom can feel like being  Borg; not even a hot and sexy Seven-of-nine Borg, an ugly part-of-the-collective Borg Drone. 

Hot and sexy, not part of the collective Seven-of-Nine.

It seems that every decision that is made as a mother is weighted by how it effects everyone else in the family.  The question "What should I do today?" will greatly determine the outcome of EVERYONE ELSE'S DAY.  Should I go grocery shopping or watch tv? Clean house or paint my nails? Take a long luxurious bath or a short shower and do a quick load of laundry? When making decisions strictly based on my stress level we generally have no food and piles of dirty clothes.  If it weren't for SLAVERY SATURDAY we would be living in filth...*

Me. Borg Drone.

Even deciding to take a day off of being cheerful will effect the mood of the house. Here's some math to prove my point: 

Grumpy + Mom = Grumpy household

 However, putting the kids to bed is an awful lot like being the Borg queen, “Resistance is futile” and she is a somewhat sexy Borg… but only after her head has attached to her body, the floating head thing is a bit creeping if you ask me. 

Borg Queen. 

*well maybe not, Mr. R is really good at stepping in when I need a bath, pedicure, and some "me" time.  

What We Want

3 things...

I TOTALLY MADE DINNER IN 20 minutes TODAY!! (thought it up and MADE)
           it was just spaghetti, but HEY everyone is FULL.
I quit my job today. It sucked. But I did it.
I am good at crocheting. In fact I am in the middle of a project.

Also....

Also you should leave a comment. If you want. I do like to feel validated. :) And I will probably comment on your comment therefore leaving us to be better friends then we were before your comment :D

Bad Day Redirect.

In Special Education or even Behavioral Studies one of the FIRST things you learn about negative behavior is the "redirect".  For example, if your five year old wants the toy your three year old has, you offer him something bigger and better than the "sister toy". Another example would be if your client really really really really wants the COKE sitting on the table you MOVE THE COKE or  MOVE the client. If you're a mother you've been using the "redirect" for years, possibly without even know it.  

FOR ME Today has been...

But I'm sure we ALL have days like today. SO my REDIRECT has been:

AND

And SOME OF THIS

Right now and I feel a much better :)

Quote of the Day

"I find that we as women need to be empowered for the women we are and not the women who we "think" we need to "see" ourselves as."
--Jessica

Today. July 3rd. Thank goodness it's almost over.

“Go eat breakfast.”

“Go eat breakfast.”

“Go eat breakfast.”

“Go eat breakfast.”

“Go get dressed.”

“Go get dressed.”

“Go get dressed.”

“Go get dressed. No it’s Sunday. You need SUNDAY clothes.”

“Get your shoes on.”

“Get your shoes on.”

“Get your shoes on.”

“Get your shoes on. No SUNDAY SHOES.”

I don’t know if it was because today was FAST Sunday or because I am getting sick or because of a MILLION other excuses, but today was not my day for patience.

            After an epic fit during sacrament meeting that resulted in a monumental bloody nose because of a fight over who gets to sit by MOM I lost it.

            I LOVE MY CHILDREN. In fact, I adore this three-day weekend because I get to smother (and mother… see what I did there?) with attention.  I miss my kids because I HAVE to WORK but also I feel GUILTY that I need a break from them. 

            Some days are rough. I know my life can’t possibly be the MOST difficult one in the world. 

            So instead of complaining I am going to list a few things I am grateful for (in no particular order).

                        Good friends

                        Apples to Apples (combined with the previous)

                        The Atonement

My Dear sweet Mr. R                       

CHILDREN to clean up after

MY MOMMY (and getting to sit by her)

Neighbors who bring me cookies J

HOA’s that throw 4^th of July parties

Music

My home

Tutus

Cowboy boots

Blueberry pie

                        My Heavenly Father