Monthly Archives: April 2009

How stay-at-home moms go clubbing

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clubbingI don’t care how dedicated you are to motherhood, every woman needs some friend time.  Adult conversation and empathetic encouragement do wonders for a tired (and snot-covered) soul.  Maybe I only speak for myself here, but “clubbing” in its traditional sense is the last thing I need.  I get enough noise, annoying pick-up lines (“Mom, I dropped my spoon again.  Will you pick it up?”), and spilled drinks at my own house.  I prefer good, uplifting conversation, and really connecting with other women.  Blogging has been a great tool for this.  Anyway, I dedicate this post to two clubs that may help you meet some of those needs as well:  Make-ahead Meal Club, and the new General Conference Book Club.

I recently started a Make-ahead Meal Club as an enrichment group for the ladies at church.  I’ve loved it, and just wanted to pass along the details (plus some of you said you were interested) so that you can maybe duplicate this among some of your friends/acquaintences/neighbors.  Here’s a copy of the original invitation to show how mine works:meals

I will be starting a monthly Make-Ahead-Meal Exchange where several of us can prepare one meal in bulk, come together and exchange them, and go home with several meals we can just pull out of the freezer on a busy day.

Objective: learn new recipes, get together briefly with girlfriends from church (invite friends and neighbors to participate, too), save time cooking and have dinner on hand for crazy days.

Scheduling:

First Thursday of each month
7:30 p.m – 8:30 p.m.
at my house

Details:

1.  Pick a meal that can be frozen and saved for later.  It should be an entree/casserole/hot dish/main course.  The club will not exchange side dishes or desserts.  The recipe should feed 6-8 people.  (If you have a smaller family, then leftovers will last longer!)  Make FIVE of it (plus any extras you want to keep for yourself).

2.  Put meals in disposable, freezer-safe containers:  freezer-bags, gladware, or aluminum-foil baking dishes and label it clearly.

3.  Make 5 copies of the recipe, complete with preparation instructions.

4.  Bring the five dishes ready to exchange on M-A-M Exchange night.  We will choose a random order and then take turns selecting meals to take home.  Each person will leave with five meals.  (Be sure to make something that you know your family will eat and enjoy *just in case* it’s not all selected by others you end up taking a couple back home among your five.)

5.  Bring a big cooler or box you can use to happily carry off your dinner haul. 🙂

6.  Eat a light refreshment and visit briefly with friends.

And no one has to RSVP.  The more that show up the merrier, but if there are only two of you, then you still split up the meals you made and they made and save them in the freezer for another day.  Also, if someone doesn’t have time or budget, they could always make fewer meals and then take home as many as they brought.  It’s pretty slick.  We’ve done it for two months now.  The first month, 5 showed up.  This month there were 6, and I keep hearing from others that they’re interested in trying it out.  I’ve really enjoyed it a lot.  It’s a totally guilt-free girls’ night out that benefits your family too.

Next club up:  General Conference Book Club (GCBC, because every club needs a cool acronym).  The idea here is that we (an online community of moms and friends) commit to studying one talk a week from the most recent General Conference (see this post if you feel confused).  By the way, I really do TRY to control my use of parentheses, but I just can’t help myself.  (See?!)  I realize that the Ensign won’t be published for several weeks, but I felt anxious to start anyway while we (I) feel the momentum and desire.  So our first few talks can be found and printed online.  Sue Q suggested making a new blog for it, but to be honest, I don’t feel that ambitious, so I’ll make this a regular Sunday installment on my blog here.  Look, I even made a cute little image that we can use like a button (if I can ever figure out how to do that).

genconfbutton1

So watch this Sunday for round one.  There will be a talk #1 announcement and then you have all week to study and ponder the talk.  The following Sunday, I will post my own insights about the talk and you can do the same in the comments section.  This is one of those occasions where it’s completely acceptable to have many long-winded comments.  And I’m not bent on the main post always being mine.  Feel free to volunteer to guest -post the talk review and the rest of us will chat in the comments.  Each Sunday I will also announce the talk we’ll be studying the following week.  I’m open for suggestions if there are talks you want to read and study right away.  I think the comment thread will be really cool.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed before, but my comments are set up so that you can reply to another person’s comment and it will squeeze yours right under theirs as a response.  It’s kind of fun and conversational.  Anyway, I hope you’re in, and we’ll start this coming Sunday.  I’m excited.

Alright, ladies, let’s get clubbing.  🙂

Mourning, money and the wonder of window markers

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dscf2000 This weekend we had a death in the family.  Clark threw Grant’s beloved St. Bernard Webkin, affectionately called “Giblets” on top of the fireplace.  His paws and half his face melted off.  May he rest in peace in the office trash can.  This was a tragedy beyond Grant’s capacity to endure.  He cried and cried.  He’d settle down for a little while and then the memory of his loss would bring another round of tears and sorrow.  When he came into the office and saw Giblets languishing in his garbage grave, he flung himself upon my lap and sobbed.dscf1999 (That lovely lap is clothed in Frosty the Snowman pajamas.  Don’t judge.  It was snowing.)  Finally we determined that Clark will do chores to earn money and buy Grant a new Webkin.  Grant, who is anxious, and also aware that Clark’s not the most industrious kid in the world, volunteered to help out with the chores to expedite the savings.

In the van on the way home from preschool yesterday, the boys discussed their money-making plans and were trying to guess how long it would take them to earn the money and how many Webkinz they would be able to purchase with their jackpot.  Clark declared, “Mom, I’m going to work and work and work all day.”

“That’ll be great, Clark.”

So I wrote up a handful of chores on the living room window with these fancy new Crayola Window markers I purchased as a late-conference distraction.  While Natalie happily scribbled on the window (and surrounding window frame and wall), the boys wrote their names next to the chore they wanted to undertake first.  Clark chose “clean off table.”

dscf2002Well, it only took about 5 minutes before he changed his mind and declared that it was the most boring job in the world and he didn’t want to do it.  He moaned and wailed and insisted that he should be able to choose another chore because he didn’t like that one.  (This has been a pattern lately.  I refer you back to the Angry Mom sign.)  I said, “Sorry buddy, you need to finish that one before you can start another one.”  He wanted me to do it.  I told him that if I finished the job then I would earn the money.  He whined some more about how he really wanted the money, and finally declared his true intent:  “I want you to do the work and I get the money.”

Um.

Nope.

Wasn’t it Elder Oaks who talked about entitlement?  How we somehow think we deserve things, but aren’t willing to labor for them?  I’m probably stretching his context, but I was not giving in.  I taught high school and I know what entitlement looks like when it grows up.

After much wailing, and a broken record stuck on phrases beginning with the words, “But I don’t waaaaaaaant to…,” Clark decided it would be easier to do his chore.  (Incidentally, I decided it would be easier to move to a desert island.)  Then for a short while, they both worked quite peacefully and even Natalie got in on the action with some Lysol wipes.

dscf2001And for anyone keeping track, there is now $1.25 in the Webkinz fund.  (Yeah, I don’t really care about minimum wage laws.)

In other news, before 7:30 this morning, sweet little Clark who is FOUR AND A HALF years old pooped in his nighttime diaper (nothing brings on more morning rage for me) and Natalie removed her diaper and peed on the living room floor.  There may be another death in the family by the end of the day.

General Conference: a crash course in good guilt

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Dnews Sunday AM ConferenceFor any of my readers unfamiliar with the Mormon faith, we believe in a living prophet and twelve apostles.  Every 6 months, the membership of the church worldwide participates in General Conference, usually watching on TV by satellite as these prophets, seers and revelators teach us about the doctrine of Christ.  It’s kind of a modern-day Sermon on the Mount.  Anyway, it’s one of my favorite times of the year; a time of spiritual refueling and a re-commitment to things that I know are true and right.

I like to think that I’ve matured spiritually a little bit over the years.  I personally believe that one of the signs of spiritual maturity is to listen to talks and lessons and seek for ways to apply the principles to my own life instead of thinking things like, “I hope so-and-so is paying attention to this,” or “The such-and-such family should really hear this talk.”  I’ve finally determined that passing off a teaching to another is a wasted opportunity to better myself.  Having said that, I can totally understand Matt’s excitement to run home from the Priesthood session of Conference on Saturday night and say to me, “You’ll never guess what President Uctdorf said.  You’re going to die!”  I raised an eyebrow while he flipped through his notes.  “He said Don’t spend hours and hours creating a blog and neglecting your children.”

So I have decided to leave the church.

Just kidding.

This leads me to the concept of conference-induced guilt.  And like the title of my post says, it’s a good thing.  What I feel is not a Boy-you’re-making-a-lot-of-mistakes-and-you-are-a-failure feeling, but rather a humbling You-are-trying-but-you-can-do-better feeling.  And it’s good for me.  It motivates me, reminds me, encourages me.  It re-converts me.

So here is a list of things that I learned from General Conference this weekend.  Some are things that were specifically said.  Many are thoughts that came into my mind and heart as I listened.

  1. I’m thankful that there are living prophets on the earth.
  2. My children have been driving me crazy this past week, but I love them.  I need to make them a priority.  And besides teaching them, I need to pray for them and ask God to bless them to grow up righteous and obedient.
  3. I need to laugh more instead of getting bugged.
  4. The temple is important.  As the world gets crazier, the need for the peace of the temple will grow and grow.  Maybe I can eliminate something from my budget so that I can pay a regular babysitter and put temple attendance as a regular item on my calendar.
  5. I don’t even know what real adversity is.  My life, though sometimes emotionally challenging is a piece of cake compared to some of the great challenges other people have faced.  Instead of complaining about my bad days, I should be grateful for my abundant blessings and ease.
  6. I  need to be more worried about what God thinks than what anyone else thinks.
  7. The depth of Jesus Christ’s Atonement is awesome.  I am reminded that my small, occasional feelings of loneliness  can be swallowed up and comforted by a loving, completely understanding Savior.  (Elder Holland’s was my very favorite talk.)
  8. Satan is working hard to destroy things that are important.  When I get in a grumpy funk, I’m not the best companion in the world.  I need to be careful that I don’t let that kind of temptation/distraction be a detriment to my marriage. I’m sure Satan would love to see it fail.
  9. I can give a little more to my calling at church.  My Sundays should be spent in service to others.  Ask myself, “How can I bless people today?”  Perhaps I need to visit more of the children to show love to them.  I need to teach reverence and respect to the Primary children, starting with my own example.
  10. When someone is lost or stranded spiritually, we should reach out to them and not judge.

I’m sure that when I re-read the talks in the Ensign magazine, many other things will stand out to me and I will again desire to do better.  Is anyone interested in having an online Ensign Book Club?  We could schedule one talk a week to study from the most recent conference, and then have an in-post discussion about our favorite parts and insights– lessons we learn, things to work on, etc.  I’m not sure about all the details, but I would love to have a forum where we could study something together and report to each other about our insight.  Just a thought.

How was Conference for you?

The crown of limerick glory

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crownAs I type this post I have flashbacks of the time I ran for student council in the 10th grade and was a total failure.  I think maybe a few friends and my English teacher voted for me.  Being elected or not elected is not a fun process because, unless you are a captain of self-esteem, it’s easy to tie victory or defeat to your self worth.  This of course is just a silly limerick contest, but I still don’t want anybody to take out a prescription because they didn’t do as well as they hoped.  And for the record, *I* loved all the limericks and that’s why I picked them!  🙂  (Don’t worry, Molly, we’ll do it again sometime.  If anyone has ideas for a great topic, let me know.)

Guess what?  We have TWO winners!!  They were only separated by one vote, so I decided the glory should be shared.  I know you think I’m lying just like you do when  your kids have a race or a contest or something and they ask, “Who won, Mom?” and you smile and say “It was a tie.” So to exonerate myself from any foul play, I have now released the results to your view if you want to click on the poll results and see for yourself.

And the winners are: Becca and The Queen!  Here are their respective limericks about the joy of going to church with small children:

We’re coming in five minutes too late,
in clothes that my children all hate.
They’re squirming and squawking,
the first speaker’s talking,
why must the front bench be my fate?

—

My twin girls climb all over the place;
Now my dress is undone to my waist.
I guess that’s why Bishop
Looks like he might throw up.
Wish this closing song had a quicker pace!

Congratulations.  I know that all your dreams of being published and inheriting international fame have all been surpassed by this monumental victory.  Send me your mailing address in an email (or facebook– yes I know both of them in real life, which only proves that I associate with people of the highest calibre) and your chocolate prize will be on its way.  They have also obtained a high-profile spot on my sidebar.   Angelina Jolie has nothing on you ladies.  Big lips and 10 children… hmpph! … amateur.

Update: Can anyone with WordPress knowledge please tell me how I can make the text in my sidebar actually have paragraphs instead of one huge lump of text? I’m guessing I just need the HTML equivelent of “return” on my keyboard to plug into my sidebar text widget. Help… over my head. (Thanks, Crystal!)

(And as a side note, as I’ve visited friend’s blogs, in some cases I’ve noticed that my blog in their sidebar has not updated itself for several days, so be sure that you have resubscribed to the new feed if you want to get the lastest and greatest from Diapers and Divinity.  I joke of course… my stuff is usually late, but rarely great, but it brings me joy to see you come anyway.)

And isn’t General Conference fantastic?  I’m loving it.  (See previous post if you need a packet to keep your kids’ attention.)

General Conference packet for children

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UPDATE:  For anyone coming to this post looking for a packet for the upcoming conference, you can click here for more current links.

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Here’s a link to a great resource for your children to work on while you watch General Conference this weekend:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13298891/2009-April-Conference-Packet

then click “More” > “Print”

(I had to sign up for account to download it because I had a little trouble printing.)  There are activities for both readers and non-readers.  Thanks to a friend for passing it along.

My blog friend Laurie also put up an excellent post with more resources.

Enjoy the weekend folks; it’s one of my favorite times of year.

p.s.  I know it would have been more helpful if I had posted this a few days ago.  Sorry.  What can I say?  Read my old post about never being on time.  And forgive.