Haircuts

I know, I often write about haircuts.  But that's part of what I do.  I am responsible for making sure that my children are neat and presentable.  And we had a few shaggy dogs running around here.  I've searched for the hair cutting scissors, I have.  That's why I was in the storage garage yesterday.  But no luck.

I finally called Grandma (bless the grandmothers of the world!) and Trent brought me over her hair cutting kit.  A few minutes later, Eddie looked good again.  And shorn.  Maybe a bit too short, but that's how he likes it right now.  

And he's done complaining about the state of his hair.  For a few weeks anyway, which is good because Grandma needed her clippers back.  Meanwhile, I'll keep looking.  

Is there anything in the good mother's handbook that says I can't trim sideburns and bangs with a pair of children's blunt-nosed safety scissors?  I hope not, 'cuz I just did the twins and the girl.  Shhhh...

Cold Storage

Looking at this picture, I'm feeling like I want to become a minimalist.  Yup.  Let's backpack through Europe, honey, with only the things in our packs!  No stuff, no furniture, no worries!

This, unfortunately, is our storage garage.  Or part of it, anyway.  The place is huge.  We. Have. So. Much. Stuff!  

A lot of it is furniture, that we didn't have time to sell due to the quick and unexpected nature of our move.  A lot of it is movies and cords and screens and wires and dead computers and other electronics.  I don't get that one.  A lot more of it is clothes - winter coats, snow boots, jeans-to-grow-into hand-me-downs, and baby twin clothes?  Some of it belongs to Alec, and some of it belongs to Ben, as we store away their favorite things while they are gone.  Some of it is memories that I just can't throw out, and some of it is valuable things that someone thinks should be sold instead of donated.

And some of it is my husband, and some of it is Eddie.  Hello up there!  Better get them out before we turn off the lights.

Take Me Away!

It's been one of those days.  Everywhere I turned, someone wanted me.  

"Mom!  Can I play games on the computer?"  

"Mom?  What is for after-school snack?"

"Mom?  Angel is in the street again."

"Mom!  Log me on!"

"Mom!  I'm hungry!"

"Moooooooommmmmm <sniffle> heeeee hit meeeee!"

"Mom?  What's for dinner?"

"Mom? Oh wait.  When will Dad get home?"

"Mom!  I'm hungry!"

Mind you, I like being wanted.  I think everyone wants to know that they are important.  But when my services are so insistently demanded, I get a little worn out.  It's kind of like this old Calgon commercial.  Watch this - I love it!

So when life gets rough, just get in your giant sunken bathtub with some bath salts or bubbles or magic potion and it will transport your exhausted, naked body to the top of an ancient Grecian temple,  There, the blue skies and fluffy clouds and amazing vistas will instantly melt away all your troubles.  Prerequisites include flawlessly shaved legs (no shaving in a Calgon bath), hair done up in a romantic chignon, and a vase (pronounced vahz) full of fragrant flowers.

Sounds like a good plan to me!  So as soon as the kids were all tucked in bed, lights turned out, teeth brushed, stories read, prayers said, I headed off for the bath.  Yes, it went in that order.

I grabbed my new romance book and found a decorative bottle of lavender bath oil with random baby flowers floating around in it.  I pulled out a freshly laundered fluffy white bath towel.  I even got out a tin of chocolate and mint bath scrub, but it had gone rancid so I put it back.

Looking around, I snuck off into the bathroom.  Can't have anyone know I'm there, or the bathroom door banging would never stop.  I quietly opened the door, flipped on the light, and... Calgon!  It's my Grecian tub, just waiting for me!

Some imagination required.  My mother had a thing with duckies.  Cute, no?

Mission Monday

Here a few snippets from our missionary boys.  They both sound happy, so that makes me a happy mom.


From South Africa:

Conference was my highlight for this week! It was so awesome. I love hearing from the prophets and learning at their feet. They are so knowledgeable, and wise. It is kinda hard to watch here because all of the sessions are out of order, and I still haven't seen the Sunday PM session yet (we will see it later tonight), but it is still an amazing time! I love the gospel and I love the chance that I have to continually learn more and more. I can't wait to get the printed version and reread it again and again. Our bishop commented that he didn't think that it was a coincidence that conference was held on fast weekends. It was different to fast and to watch conference in that spirit.

I also have to say that I'm doing the 90 day Book of Mormon Challenge, on top of all of my other studying, and I'm currently half way done with it, and it has been an eye opener. I've learned so much this time reading it through, and it is interesting to be reading from two different places in the Book of Mormon and to see all the parallel lines between the two places.


From Madagascar:

It first rained like 2 weeks ago, and it's rained a couple times since then, and it is fantastic! When we are on a flat stretch of road on our bikes, our bikes have wakes like little boats as we go, then when we are going down a hill, there is a monster river going down each hill! If you just go straight down, you're good, but if you try to turn sideways, then the water catches your tires and you can fall over pretty easily. Then, at the bottom of the hills is a big lake. Of course, this particular lake that forms at the bottom of two hills we go on all the time is next to an actual lake, so the drainage is pretty good, but there is still a LOT of water. (fun side note--the name of the lake is literally Lake Stinky Water, Malagasy names are sweet. And very honest...)

Don't be ashamed of your beliefs. Lots of people are scared to let other people see what they believe and that it's different from most people. For example most people won't let us come teach if they have other family over, but they should be the people that you want to hear the gospel the most. Then lots of people in part member families don't understand how powerful testimony and simple discussions can be in converting the rest of their family. The Lord has promised that if we open our mouths it will be filled. If you're trying to do his work, He will help you every time.

Welcome to Conference!

We are watching LDS General Conference today.  Won't you join us here?

Why do we like Conference?  The biggest reason is because it is inspiring.  There are so many talks on different things we can do to become better, and there are always a few that just hit.  Those are the ones I know I need to take to heart and do something about.  I always feel happier after I've been listening to Conference.

Another reason to celebrate Conference is because I get to share it with people I love.  It's just nice to be able to sit around, in our pajamas, and just be together.  I love my family.  Lots.  And it's a good thing we have lots of couches.

Oh, and another Conference favorite is the fun food we have.  That's a big part of life for a group of boys.  We like to just have a table full of food that we can snack on and enjoy whenever we get hungry.  It's good fun.  This year, we will be spending Saturday with some of this.  Oh yeah.

Zucchini bread and pumpkin bread are definitely on the menu.  David and Eddie will be learning how to make sweetbreads this year.  Chris has already made two cheesballs - ranch and Italian - to eat with crackers.  And fruit.  We have a counter full of fruit just waiting to be cut up and enjoyed.

It's a nice way to spend the day.  With my family.  In my pajamas.  Being spiritually and physically fed.  That's the good stuff.

Writing, Writing, Writing

So I didn't join up with the Nester's write-every-day-for-31-days-in-October project this year.  I did last year, and the year before as well.  But this year?  Meh.  I guess it just boils down to a bad case of I-don't-want-to-itis.  Sometimes it's nice to be an adult, because no one can make me do things I don't want to.  Bwahaha!  At least that's what my kids think.  I won't go there today.

But I don't have to write every day about the same topic for a whole month if I don't want to.  And I don't want to.  I'm having a hard enough time being coherent in real life right now - being coherent in my writing would be near-impossible.  And I did get burned out after the exercise the past two years.  I'd rather just keep trying to get in a good habit of writing regularly this year.  After all, it's not like I'm trying to write a book.

This is what my book looks like.  Blank.

I went to visit the midwife who so expertly assisted us to get our twins into this world.  We got some fresh produce from her garden, some good hugs, and reaffirmation that we are doing ok.  After I left, I reflected on what an extraordinary life she had led.  So many babies and so many stories!  Someone needs to write her book.  Really.

My husband thinks I should write it, and I'm flattered that he has such a high esteem of my writing.  He is so kind.  But frankly, I don't have the skills needed to write a book.  A biography, no less.  I would be terrified at such a huge undertaking.

But as I was thinking about it, late at night, I realized that I have been writing a book.  This one.  The history of my family and my odd ruminatings on life.  And I am writing a biography.  My dad's.  We've been working on it for over a year now.  On the one, I just skim off the top of my thoughts and dump them here.  On the other, I just listen to my dad's stories and record them.  No big deal in either case.  One I've always wanted to write a children's book, so maybe one day...

But for today, I think I'll curl up in a corner with a good book that someone else wrote and nurse my I-don't-want-to-itis.  Where's my blanket?

Ye Olde Sourdough

During the summer, we went to a colonial village where they were re-creating life in the 1700's.  It was fun to watch people, dressed in period costume, making and hawking their wares.  One booth that especially caught our attention was the baker.  We were lured there by the scrumptious smell of bread baking in their brick oven, and kept there by the skills of a master storyteller as he told us the history of bread and what people ate in colonial America.  

Trent procured a sourdough start and a loaf of hot bread before signing us up for a breadmaking class.  The classes weren't held for a few months, so we nearly forgot.  But we didn't.  We went to the class and had a lovely time.  We learned lots of things about our country and its early settlers, and even a thing or two about bread.  We helped make a big batch of bread, and I mean BIG!  I wish I had the capability to make this much bread at once.  The sourdough takes so long that it would be nice to just spend a day and have the week's baking done.

Here is Trent, lecturing the dough balls on how to rise.  I'm not sure what he was really doing, but it does look instructional, doesn't it?  Yes, we actually made 26 2-pound loaves.  You should see the size of his mixing bowl!

We took home some of the bread dough and made a few more loaves at home.  They turned out gorgeous.  It would have been perfect if the parchment paper hadn't stuck to their little bread heinies. At first we picked away at the paper, and then, out of burned-finger desperation, sawed their bottoms off.  The bread still tasted good, don't worry.

Not long after the last crumb of bread was consumed, I promptly forgot how to make it.  It didn't even take very good notes.  There is some information on his website, but not enough to make me confident in my sourdough skills.  So I had to make another batch.  I'll re-learn by practicing, I guess.

Good thing my dad loves sourdough!  The kids tolerate it if it isn't too sour - unless it is hot.  Everyone loves hot bread, slathered in butter.  The next batch is in the oven, and it is starting to smell wonderful. Hopefully, the parchment paper does what it is supposed to do this time, and doesn't stick.

Is is rational to be wanting to build a brick oven in the backyard?

P.S.  The loaves came out gorgeous!  And delicious!  But I'm picking off the parchment paper again.  Sigh.  It doesn't taste as good as the rest of the bread.