My niece, like most toddlers, is fiercely independent. Or at least she wants to be. If she can do it for herself there is no way on earth she's going to accept you doing it for her.

She has these toy blocks, and she knows exactly how she wants those blocks stacked. The problem is her fine motor skills have not caught up to her expectation, and she simply can't get the blocks to do what she wants them to do. Her father tries to help her, but she won't let him. She wants to do it all. by. herself.

This frustrates her. Each failed attempt leads to more and more frustration, until she finally gets up to go kick their dog.

This cracks me up, but it also makes me think: How often have a not accepted help, when I probably could have used it? How often has my Father in Heaven been willing to help me accomplish something I had a hard time doing, but I wouldn't let Him. How often have I taken frustration out on someone I love?

I guess we grown-ups are more like toddlers than we think.

----
Heather likes to think of herself as A Goddess in Progress, which is where she normally spills out the personal triumphs, failures, discoveries, and random details of her life.

Time for another Post of the Week!

Man, oh man, do I ever love all of your entries!

For new readers, this is your opportunity to shine. Select your best post from the week, and enter it into the linky below! (And pretty please remember to link to the actual post, and not your entire blog.)

Thanks so much!

Have you ever struggled with what to feed your family for dinner?

Have you stood in front of the fridge, door open, head tilted off to the side, at 5:00 in the evening, as your family asks you "Mom! What's for dinner? I'm hungry! When are we eating?"

The sad truth is, most of us have been there. Some of us are there right now, and I can guarantee that at least ONE of you are reading this blog right now (hi guys) in an effort to avoid going into the kitchen, opening up the cupboards, and trying to put something on the table.

When it comes to family meal time, you need a plan,

and I'm going to help you get one.

We are going to slowly be introducing you to meal planning system that was developed by my mother, over 30 years ago, and that I have been improving upon for the last decade.

I have taught hundreds of women how to meal plan, and now? I'm going to show you my secrets.

Benefits of Meal Planning include:

• MORE MONEY in your pocket. You will save money by not eating convenience or restaurant food. The average family saves $60 a week by cooking at home!
• HEALTHIER MEALS will be prepared, and you know exactly what you're putting in your body.
• LESS impulse buys. You have a plan, you have a budget, and hopefully, you have a little bit of willpower!
• TIME SAVING. You will gain precious minutes back, giving you more time for the things you really love, because you have taken all the guess work out of dinner. 

Starting next week, I’m going to be giving you a little bit of homework. 

Years ago when I started learning the principles of self-government I was foster parenting really difficult children.  Most of these children had some things in common.  They were on medication, they had severe anger control issues, and they had terrible eating habits.  The medication situation was evaluated, and in most cases stopped when as self-government principles were taught.  Sometimes the anger control issues stopped immediately when self-government principles and skills were learned.  However, with some youth I had to look at another aspect of their self-government, their diet.

In many cases I would notice the children were really addicted to sugar and junk food.  I know it seems like an old wives tale to associate sugar or food to behaviors, but it's not.  I am the kind of person who literally feels my chemicals change when I eat certain things, so I know food really affects the way a person feels and acts.  For some of the foster children in my care I needed to alter their diets in order to get them chemically ready to learn self-government.  Most of the diet changes were easy, I would remove sugar and lots of white flours and then introduce a lot more vegetables and fruits.
 
In most cases, when the nutrition of the child was adjusted the behaviors improved and the contentment of the child increased. 
 
These last two years I have had multiple parents contact me for help with their angry, or difficult, children.  I helped them with many of the structure problems in their homes and helped them improve the communication with their children, but the children weren't able to have complete self government until their chemicals were fixed too. 

One way parents are helping children chemically in this time of processed everything is to remove gluten from the diet.  It is especially effective with autistic children. Once gluten is removed, most of the children feel more calm and in control.  They are not as volatile, and express feelings of increased security and happiness.  Some of the children even mention that they think more clearly when they don't eat gluten. 

I have a friend who, as a regular mother, was having a hard time concentrating. After a short time off of gluten she was able to concentrate like normal, had a lot more energy. 

So, if you are doing all the self-government teaching correctly, and your child is still anxious or angry a lot of the time, then you may want to think about adjusting their diet too. 

To read this entire article go here

Disclaimer:

This article was not written to get anyone paranoid or fanatical. However, this was written to offer additional help to parents who are struggling with really difficult children.  We are a combination of chemicals, feelings, and learned behaviors.  All these things need to be considered when helping a child learn to govern themselves.




Nicholeen Peck: Author of Parenting A House United and popular public speaker around the world. You can get more useful parenting advice is on Nicholeen's blog. 

I found my family that I was convinced didn’t exist. That’s them up there—all stoic looking.

I tried once about ten years ago to find them. I had gone to a class at church where they were talking about the miracles of the internet, Family History and how you can find anyone on the internet. I was determined to find my husbands family. I only had a couple of names—his Grandmother and Grandfather’s as well as his Great Grandfathers name—and I started Yahooing (see it was even before Google was all knowing and all powerful).

Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.

As far as the internet was concerned, and the churches Family History website, we didn’t exist. We were non-people.

I left the whole experience frustrated. I was clueless as to how to go about even trying to locate them and it mentally exhausted me to even think about. So I didn’t for ten years.

Fast forward to the RootsTech conference. They mentioned that they would have on hand trained missionaries and Professionals to help the national bloggers, if they were interested in doing a little research. They were very gracious as we started our search, and immediately hit the same wall. The professional genealogist asked a couple of questions, and went and pulled a bunch of books from the shelves. We poured through the books, looking for names and found nothing.

She then employed the services of “the best genealogist in the library”, according to her, and let her start to work. This woman asked me all sorts of questions and then she started typing away.

She clicked through screens so quickly my mind couldn’t keep up. She searched in ways I would have never even imagined. She searched census record after census record. Different states county records, death records, marriage records. She pulled up so many different archives—from libraries all over the country – I just stood watching her with my mouth gaping.

Then she changed the spellings of our last name and got a hit. I recognized a name on the census—it was my husbands Grandfather. We knew he was real—because I’d actually met him before he died—but here was the “proof”, and it listed our Great-Grandfather’s name and another woman’s name.

She kept on searching and just from watching her scour the census records, using all the different spellings we came up with – all four of them—I started to learn about my husbands family.

They were railroad workers. They moved every single year and they were Americanized by the Census people—the spelling of our last names changed every year there was a census.

We still couldn’t find the information necessary to connect the dots,  so after several hours, I left with instructions on what to do next. I was feeling rather disappointed and yet excited to learn so much about my husbands family.

We were not only Germans—by  way of Russia—but we were also French. That totally explained my oldest daughters finesse with French—its in her blood.

I gave it one more shot the next day and with my new found knowledge, I typed in the names again, and looked for all the various spellings.

I found them.

I squealed with complete joy and then I openly sobbed at the computer.

I totally did.

I cried big ole crocodile tears because right there on the screen was my husbands family – 3 generations back—and someone else had already started doing their temple work. That means that we AREN’T the only members of the church  in our family.

Do you know what that feels like?

Amazing.

My heart was full as I watched FOURTEEN Temple Ordinance cards being printed off for me right there in the Family History Library, and I wept again.

I had done it and it felt GREAT!

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Elisa is the owner of Mormon Mommy Blogs. A husband, four kids (ages ranging 15 to 2), a mortgage and a dog is what provides her food for fodder on her non-award winning blog: Crazyland: Tales from the Motherboard.

Disclosure: RootsTech covered Elisa’s conference pass, hotel and food.

Back when I was very young, I prayed out loud, kneeling by my bed in the approved manner. Then about the age of five or six, I noticed that my mother didn’t speak any words when she said her prayers. When I asked why, she explained that she was praying silently.  

To play with us today, simply post a photo on your blog and then link up with the linky.  If you would like to see your photo featured on MMB, simply send us an email info@mormonmommyblogs.com with Wordless Wednesday in the subject line. Include a link to your blog and attach all the photos you would like to submit.

Recently, I received an unusual package in the mail.
I wasn't expecting anything,
so there was some excitement building
as I looked at the return mailing address
to see that it was from
a Publishing company out of the Midwest.

I opened the package and peeked inside--
two books were tucked inside.
As soon as I pulled them out,
my heart got to pumping
and a thrill came over that I could barely contain--
What it really what I thought it was?

Back in the summer of 2009,
I was surfing the internet,
and came across the Mary Englebreit website.
I've always been a huge fan of her artwork
with it's colorful images and homey feel.
She was hosting a Slowcooker Recipe Contest--
the winners would receive copies of the cookbook
once it was published.

Now, I am not a great cook.
In fact, I used to be such an awful cook
that my family joked that
the smoke alarm served as our dinner bell.
I was never much interested in cooking
when I was a young mom.
Even today,
when I use dog years to count how old I am--
my idea of a good day is when
someone else is doing the cooking!

But, I started trying to cook--
actually opening cookbooks,
trying things out,
getting recipes from websites,
and friends...
and more often than not,
I can turn out a decent meal.

So back to the Summer of 2009--
I really wanted to participate in that
Slowcooker contest,
mostly because I love Mary Engelbreit--
so I sighed a big sigh, gathered my courage,
and tapped out on the keyboard a few recipes.
That was over a year and a half ago.

But can I just say that when I opened that beautiful
padded manila envelope
and found my name and recipe
inside the book,
I was thrilled!

If you had told me when I was younger,
that I'd have my name in a real
Cookbook,
I'd have thought you were crazy!


It just goes to show that the possibilities are endless
when we put our mind to something
and give it a try!
With a New Year sitting in front of you
offering up 360-odd days
to do with what you will,
come up with the
courage to try something new!

Dawn aka Momza, is a Mother to 7, Gramza to the Ninja Baby,
Midwife Assistant/Doula, Home Stager, and Writer. She lives in the Colorado Rockies and blogs at Momza's House.

To want to be pregnant but not be.

To want to hold a little, tiny one in yours arms and enjoy.

To see a tiny ultrasound with hands and feet and think of your most recent one-
just a blob. Not going anywhere. Not becoming anything.

To have dreams where you are truly, realistically expecting a little one. A little boy,
in fact. And then to wake up to nothingness.

To have your friends become pregnant and have their cute little ones. Not just one time.
But twice.

To long to be able to announce: "We're expecting!"

To wipe away the tears that flow every other night, when the world is quiet and still.

I know what it's like.

It's holy ground, to be trying and to be doing your very best.

Tread lightly.

Are you looking for the perfect dinner to serve your man to continue that Valentine's Day Romance? Well, look no further ladies! I have your appetizer, entree and dessert all lined up!

All you need to add is a salad, your favorite beverage and the romance (maybe some candles and flowers would help).

My hubby and I have spent many romantic events and holidays (read as anniversaries and Valentine's Day) at home. Often times we eat later then usual so we can be alone after the kiddos have gone to bed. It's always worth the wait. It's also fun to turn on your favorite sappy music and dance. We never had dancing at our wedding, so we try to dance on our anniversary. Also, we like to dress nice. Even though we are at home, in our own dining room, we dress-up and make it special. Serving a delicious, out-of-the-ordinary meal is also important. This meal I am sharing with you has all the ingredients needed to have a yummy, romantic evening for two. I hope you give it a try on February 14th!

The Creamy Appetizer:

(photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com)

Artichoke and Spinach Dip w/ Homemade Tortilla Chips
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 cup chopped onions
1 (10-ounce) bag of fresh spinach, stemmed, rinsed and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 cans of artichoke hearts, julienned
Salt and cayenne
10-15 small corn tortillas, cut into fourths
Vegetable oil for frying

1- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Preheat the fryer.
2- Combine 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil and flour, in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly for 5 to 6 minutes for a blond roux. Whisk in the milk and bring the liquid up to a boil. Season the liquid with salt and cayenne. Simmer the liquid for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the liquid is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheeses. Set the sauce aside.
3- In a saute pan, heat the remaining vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in handfuls of spinach at a time, until all the spinach is incorporated. Add the garlic and artichoke and saute for 2 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and cayenne. Remove the vegetables from the heat and turn into a mixing bowl. Fold the Bechamel sauce into the vegetables. Turn the mixture into a baking pan. Bake the dip for 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
4- Fry the tortilla chips, batches at a time, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the chips are golden and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the chips with the dip.

The Spicy Entree:



Emeril's Shrimp and Pasta with Chilis, Garlic, Lemon and Green Onions
20 to 25 (1 1/4 pounds) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cooked linguini
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped green onion, tops only
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1- Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with the Essence.
2- Place the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large 14-inch skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan, spreading them evenly in 1 layer. Cook for 2 minutes then turn them to the other side. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine, lemon juice, lemon zest and remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Season the shrimp with the salt and pepper and add the pasta, crushed red pepper flakes and green onions, tossing to coat well. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the parsley, and toss to combine. Serve hot.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup

The Decadent Dessert:



Molten Chocolate Cake
4 Tbs. butter, plus more for the ramekins
1 Tbs. flour, plus more for the ramekins
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
2 Tbs. granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Butter two 6-oz ramekins and dust the inside with flour.
2. Place the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high in 20-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg, egg yolk and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and lighter in color, about 1 minute. Add the melted chocolate mixture and flour and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins. Bake until edges are set and center still jiggles slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand for 15 seconds. Run a knife around the edge, then invert each cake onto a plate. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve with fresh mint or berries and vanilla ice cream, if desired. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate the batter in the ramekins for up to 1 day before. Before baking, bring to room temperature.

Amy is a 30-something SAHM of a beautiful, precocious preschooler and wife to a hunky graphic designer and semi-pro football player. She is also the chief cook and bottle washer at I Wish I Was in Dixie. Visitors always welcome!

• To increase faith and personal righteousness
• Strengthen families and homes,
• Seek out and help those in need.

“Whether we are married or single, old or young, we have a duty to defend and practice the truths found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”
“. . .  The only way we can accomplish this is by seeking, receiving, and acting on personal revelation.  The real power in this great worldwide sisterhood lies within each woman. Though we may see ourselves as weak and simple, we all share a noble heritage and can develop a faith that is equal to that of remarkable, faithful women who have gone before us. We have a vital role to play in helping build the kingdom of God and preparing for the Lord’s coming. In fact, the Lord cannot accomplish His work without the help of His daughters.”

- Julie B. Beck General Relief Society President, Ensign, Nov. 2008, 108–11

How do we actually KNOW when someone needs us?

My husband and I spent one summer in Beijing when we were  still newlyweds. He had an internship at a software company, and I  taught English classes at a small Canadian university.  It was certainly  all an adventure, but this was before we ever had children, so I was a  little naive about what "adventure" really meant.  (You've never had a  real adventure unless you've tried to go somewhere with 3 small children  in tow.)    Anyway, one of the most popular historical/tourist spots  in Beijing is the Forbidden City:

"The  Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to  the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing,  China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five hundred years,  it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the  ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government."  (Thanks,  Wikipedia.)

Here I am at the Forbidden City.  I'll have you know that my denim  overalls and cassette walkman were very fashionable at the time. (The  walkman thing was actually rented for an audio tour.)




According to this travel website,

The gate is guarded by a couple of bronze lions which aimed to show imperial dignity. The west one is male, with its front right paw resting on a ball, symbolizing imperial power extended worldwide.

The lioness on the east side has its front left paw on a lion cub, indicating a prosperously growing family and the never-ending secession of the imperial lineage.

Cool, huh?

Wait.  This gets cooler.

At the last Women's Conference, Sister Julie Beck gave an amazing talk.  This is what she said:

"I have said lately that women are  like lionesses at the gate  of the home.  Whatever happens in that home and family  happens because  she cares  about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate,  and  things  matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the    lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be   paid in  that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten   pesos coming in,  that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing  is  important to her. If  that lioness at the gate knows about renewing  her  baptismal covenants with God,  she will be in sacrament meeting on   Sunday, and she will prepare her children  to be there. They will be   washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that  meeting and what happens   there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to  her, and it will   be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that  temple  worship  is taken care of in the family. She encourages that   participation. She  cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the  lioness at  the gate  knows about and understands missions,  missionaries, and the mission of   the house of Israel, she will prepare  future missionaries to go out from  that  home. It is very difficult to  get a lion cub away from a lioness  who doesn’t  believe in missions,  but if the lioness believes in a  mission, she will devote  her life to  preparing the cub to go out and  serve the Lord. That’s how  important  she is. Service happens if she  cares about it.

Sisters, you are each like the  lioness at the gate.  This means that  there has to be some prioritizing. I was taught  years  ago that when  our priorities are out of order, we lose power. If we need   power and  influence to carry out our mission, then our priorities have  to be   straight."

She then goes on to suggest ways to establish those priorities and  protect our families as we should.  I love the concept.  I want to get  statues like that for my front door just to remind me.  Motherhood? That, my friends, is dignity, power, lineage, and prosperity.  And let's not forget adventure.




-------


Stephanie  is a mom of three young and relentless children. Her interests include  Latin music, naps, restaurants, writing, travel, teaching, housework  denial and long showers. Stephanie seeks for the divinity in  motherhood--- tries to share it when she finds it, and tries to laugh  when she doesn't. She blogs for fun, posterity, and therapy. Her musings  are chronicled at Diapers and Divinity.

I'm a huge Malcolm Gladwell fan.

There has been wrap up after wrap up post on the RootsTech Conference and I have held off writing mine because I needed to process everything that I saw, heard and felt.

I hate the saying “it changed my life” because that is so cliché and 1992. But, truthfully? It did. Or rather, it changed my heart.

What I was unprepared for was the testimony that I gained of Family History.

I was unprepared to learn how Family History is NOT about just saving the Dead, but about saving the Living as well. Those two things go hand in hand. When a person starts learning about their family, and their stories, their heart starts to change. The Dead save the Living, too. They save us from ourselves, our selfishness and our pride.

I was shocked when I started to realize that, and I could feel a paradigm shift taking place.  Changing my way of thinking—the thinking beyond the whole “Take A Name to the Temple” part of Family History was something that I had to process. I had never thought about how Family History  could save my LIVING Family or how it could literally save Me from Myself.

I have a new found understanding, and testimony of the phrase we so often hear: “Turning the Hearts . . . “ I am still processing that, but you can bet your monkey I’ll be writing up a post on it soon.  

I have found my mind racing with questions:  How can we change people’s impressions of Family History? How can we get people to see that Family History isn’t boring? How can we help people understand that Family History isn’t just for Oldsters anymore? How can we get them to understand that the Living History is just as important?  How can we get people to see that anyone can do it, and that it’s not hard, and you don’t just have to chase numbers and dates?

Caroline and I have had numerous discussions about this topic—trying to figure out how we can help you come to understand your role in Family History and we have decided to do a few things:

• We will show you how you can participate in 30 minutes or less, on a regular basis, and  we will write posts about how you can accomplish this.
• We will show you products and ways that you can record your Living Histories—which is just as important as the history of the dead.
• We will help you learn about ways that you can serve—adults, youth and children—and experience that change of heart that is so often referenced in the scriptures.

I promise you this: Your eyes won’t glaze over, nor will you want to click that X up there  in the corner. And, you just might start to feel that Change of Heart.

We have tons of video interviews and audio podcast that we are in the process of editing and getting ready to upload to our YouTube channel and MMB.  You are going to LOVE them!

----

Elisa is the owner of Mormon Mommy Blogs. A husband, four kids (ages ranging 15 to 2), a mortgage and a dog is what provides her food for fodder on her non-award winning blog: Crazyland: Tales from the Motherboard.

 

Disclosure: RootsTech covered Elisa’s conference pass, hotel and food.

I have no idea.

I wouldn’t be able to tell the two apart if they blew up my house.

So, if you’re wondering why in the world RootsTech would foot the bill for me to attend their conference, I’m right there with you. I wondered what this unknown blogger could bring to the genealogy table. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever even filled out a pedigree thinger-ma-bobber.

Family History is a word that usually makes my eyes glaze over—and I said as much in a devotional with Elder Scott, TO Elder Scott.

If I am anything, it’s nervy and lacking tact.

It was a question and answer type of devotional and he asked the question “How do you get people interested in Family History?”

I could feel my heart pounding—just like on Fast Sunday when I am feeling the spirit telling me to share. I leaned over to the Family Search PR person I was sitting with and asked if I could answer that question. And, I did.

I know, right?

Me. This un-educated, non-genealogist blogger was talking about how she is a practicing Mormon and NOT interested in Family History in the least little bit—and not only did I say it out loud, on a microphone, for 80k+ people to hear (which I’m glad I didn’t know) I said it in front of an Apostle— and I offered information on  HOW to get people interested in Family History.

That sort of seems like an Oxy Moron.

The amazing thing is this: I felt the spirit teach me while I spoke and I literally felt my heart changing.

It’s the stories. Teach me about the Stories of my family, and you will have me hooked.

I have never been interested in Family History and I think that the majority of the church must be the same way—judging from the Statistics I was given at the conference.  70% of the users of the Family History Libraries are NON-LDS persons.

We’re now all guiltily bowing our heads in shame because of those those stats, right?

I think  the perception has been that it’s an all or nothing type of project. And, that perception is wrong.

This isn’t your Grandma’s Hobby any more. And, further there are so many ways that we can participate—even when we may be living in Ireland. Or Africa. Or Missouri.

• Indexing
• The Vineyard
• Oral Stories
• Written Stories
• Recording information on Photographs
• Talking to our Family Members
• Pedigree Charts (I have actually filled one out now)
• Temple Attendance

Family Search is trying to change that perception and help us to see that every time we throw some pictures up on Facebook to share with our family—we’re doing our Family History. Every time we jot down the crazy, silly things our children say and do— Family History. Those Scrapbooks? Yup. Family History.

Now you can tell all those people who razz you about scrapbooking, or blogging to back off—you’re doing your Family History. 

You’re welcome.

----

Elisa is the owner of Mormon Mommy Blogs. A husband, four kids (ages ranging 15 to 2), a mortgage and a dog is what provides her food for fodder on her non-award winning blog: Crazyland: Tales from the Motherboard.

 

 

Disclosure: RootsTech covered Elisa’s conference pass, hotel and food.

I had a busy summer of running in 2010.

I was able to run my first full marathon.  And I participated in the Northwest Passage Ragnar Relay.  Along with a few other shorter 5k races.

Needless to say that by the end of my running summer I was tired.

Not only was I tired, but my legs were tired.

In fact, my left hamstring had been bothering me for almost three months.  The general rule of running is that if you can run without it changing your running stride then you can probably run through the injury.  And it never hurt when I was running.

After my races were over (sense the stubbornness) I decided it was time to take care of my hamstring.

I decided to test out something I've heard since I was a kid.  That the answer to life's problems can be found in the scriptures.

I got down on my knees and prayed about my hamstring.  I asked whether I could still run on it, or if I needed to take a break.

I know all you non runners are thinking, are you crazy?  Don't run on it!  Running is my sanity.  Running is my drug.  I go crazy when I don't run.  

After my prayer I opened up my scriptures and started reading.  The answer didn't come immediately, I had to read a few sections of the Doctrine and Covenants before I found an answer.  And no, it wasn't "Run and not be weary, walk and not faint."

My answer was found in Doctrine and Covenants 5:34:














---

My good friend, Jodie Palmer, sent me this cute anecdote which happened when they were role playing the Four Basic Skills with their children.

"Our family has been playing the "instruction game" in the evenings before bed. We take turns giving each other instructions and then following them. Of course we have lot's of clapping and celebrating as everyone completes their instruction with an "I did it!" The other evening daddy gave our 2-year old son an instruction to give his 4-year old sister a big hug. Usually, an enthusiastic completer of instructions, he scrunched up his little face and said, "I'll take a consequence."

I am so impressed with this story for a multiple reasons.  First, Jack, the two year old,  already understands cause and effect because his parents have a great family government already.  Second, Jack can say consequence.  (I can just hear is sweet voice saying that big word.)  Third, Jack knows what a consequence is and is ready to accept it.  Fourth, Jack knows what it means to follow instructions.  And last,  he already thinks girls are icky.  (What a mature little man!)

This story is a perfect answer to the question I often get, "When can you start teaching this stuff to children?"

The answer is, from the time they can understand your words.  Free them from the beginning.  Teach them cause and effect.  Practice better ways to do things before the wrong ways happen.

Jodie talks about her family's "instruction game," and mentions it is a regular activity.  So, each night, this sweet family gathers together and practices good behaviors.  They practice the four basic skills and make it fun and unifying.  If a family is going to get into the habit of working together and feeling united, they will need practice.  Why not practice each day?  It's fast and easy, and gives lots of opportunities to praise.  Also, if the practice happens regularly, and is positive then the behaviors will become learned and automatic.

Don't wait until there is a problem to teach essential skills for happiness and respect.  Teach them from the beginning.  Point them in the right direction before you have a lot of correction to do.  This is preventative parenting.  It just makes sense.

However, if you haven't thought about preventative parenting before, you can still effectively teach the skills children need for happiness and security.  It looks different for older children, but is still very easy and effective.

Thanks for sharing such a sweet experience Jodie!

Here is a link to a free download of my companion cards to help with teaching children self-government skills http://teachingselfgovernment.com/form/free-companion-implementation-cards


Nicholeen Peck is an international parenting speaker and author of Parenting A House United 

Her blog is Teaching Self Government

So I came across a friend's blog post on the concept of cloth wipes. The first thing I thought after "eeew" and "what the...?" was "People buy these things?"

Then, out of curiosity I searched on Etsy and stuff and sure enough, came across all sorts of pretty cloth wipes.

$85 Source

"Why would you buy pretty wipes?" I asked myself. Quite frankly that's the last thing I'd want to do. And nice wipes are... Ok nice. But seriously, they're touching your baby's butt for a couple of seconds every few diaper changes, are they really necessary?

So then I looked at my situation. Wipes aren't expensive. I always get the cheapo ones for a dollar at my grocery store. Or heck--They have wipes at the dollar tree. But the one thing that's a pain in the butt is having to throw the wipes away in a separate bin than our cloth diapers.

Gee, wouldn't it be nice to have them all go in the same place? Actually, half the time they do. Last time I did laundry, I pulled out half a dozen wipes from the washing machine along with the cloth diapers. I guess my husband didn't feel like taking the extra five seconds to throw the wipes in the trash can. They surprisingly held up well and were very clean.

So here I am considering cloth wipes. I sure as heck don't want to spend twice as much as a bag of disposable wipes for one wipe on a pretty wipe to wipe my daughter's crap with. If anything, I'd want to wipe it with something ugly.

I read that some people use baby washcloths and guess what I found during our last trip to the dollar tree? Yep. Baby washcloths. Four for a buck! So I stocked up and got four boxes.
I decided to use those, and other things around the house to make cloth wipes. They're not bad, pretty, and colorful. I thought of sewing some fabric on the other sides to make them fancy like the ones I saw on etsy but again, I thought that would just be ridiculous.

These colorful washcloths still wasn't enough to make me excited to use cloth wipes. I needed something ugly, something that screams "wipe me on your butt."

Just when I thought that, I had, an idea.
If you know my family you know we're big BYU fans. We're teaching Lil' J young. Yes, the poor cougs are having a bad season this year but we still stand behind them.

So  in order to pay homage to our team and get rid of some useless fabric I  have lying around, plus wipe my baby's butt with something deserving of  that duty, I thought I'd make appropriate baby butt wipes...





Why do I even have this disgraceful color around my house? You ask. Well, I bought it to make these. Now, since my craft is on hold, and since we live in a different state. There's not much use for it. Using it to make butt wipes seems much more appropriate anyway.

So I got to work. I cut up a receiving blanket/ burp cloth I didn't need. I cut both pieces of fabric to be the same general size as the baby wash cloths (about 6in by 6in).



Then I read this and that tutorial to figure out how to fold them to put them in a wipes container so they'd pop up. (I was so excited, and since I only have the $1 refills around the house I went out and bought a box of Huggies wipes just to make this).

I mixed a little bit of this and a little bit of that with water to make the wipes solution. (If you're really curious here's what it was: 1TBS baby wash, 3 drops lemon essential oil and 3 drops lavender essential oil, 1 cup warm water).









Poured half in the bottom, set the wipes in, and poured the other half on the top and TA DAA!


The perfect butt wipes.

My husband even gets a kick out of using them. It was the perfect way to convert the family to cloth wipes.

Married for six years, with a successful journalism career under her belt, Jennifer Johnson--formerly known as Future Mama, finally has the child she was blogging about long before she was born. But now she's learning motherhood is nothing like she imagined. She was an open book describing her ideals when it came to her journey towards the inevitable baby bump, and now she eats her words on her blog Baby Makin(g) Machine.

 

When your children are sick and in the hospital sometimes all you need is a quiet place to decompress (or cry) for a few minutes. Maybe you just need a place to shower and The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Ogden Regional Medical Center is just that place.  It is the first "room" in Utah. Unlike the well known Ronald McDonald Houses, the “Ronald McDonald Family Room” is a day-stay room and does not have sleeping or napping facilities.  However, it does offer other amenities such as a library, refreshments and a private meeting room. There are couches, showers and even laundry facilities available for you to use.

The Ronald McDonald Family Rooms are located in local hospitals all over the country.  The Houses are located in the towns where there is a Children's Hospital. Both places are constantly looking for people to volunteer and give of their time, talents and sometimes even resources. 

They told me about how you can get youth groups, or even Relief Societys to volunteer to come in and make dinner in the homes for the families that are staying their with their sick children.  They had a boy who was trying to get his Eagle Scout Project contact them about what he could do for an Eagle Project. They gave him some suggestions and he ended up building an amazing spice rack for them to put in their kitchen.

The Family Rooms are always looking for people to purchase Single Serving T.V dinners and donate them to the rooms. They need your used books, gently used toys and even unwanted DVD's.


It struck me, as I was touring this amazing facility, how easy it would be for us to serve this organization. All we needed to do is when we go grocery shopping pick up a box of Hot Pockets or a few single serve TV dinners and then deliver them. How easy is that?

While I was there, I watched a tired, sad looking Mother bring her other children into the room, sit them down in front of the computers and TV while she rummaged through the frigde for something to make for them to eat. My heart hurt for her as I realized that the medical bills were probably draining her resources and what a blessing this Room from the Ronald McDonald Organization was for her-- even if it was just to find something to feed her other children and have small break.

When your children or even yourself is trying to find a way to offer service or you need ideas for those Eagle Scout or Laurel Projects, don't forget your local Ronald McDonald Houses or Rooms. They always have lists of things for you to do or donate.