Cup O' Molasses

Her New Hobbie

2009-03-22T16:58:00.001-07:00

Isn't she gorgeous! Taking photos of the photographer!

Journals

2009-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have seven kidos and it is very difficult to find time to sit down and talk one on one for much time each day. But I want my kids to feel like we can talk whenever they would like about whatever they would like. We can up with journals. They each have their own journal that they can write in whatever they would like. Good, bad, or ugly. They write in it and put it on my bed - then I write back and put it on their beds. They are strictly forbidden to read each others journals. It has been amazing! My kids tell me things I know they wouldn't tell me face to face. And I tell them things I probably wouldn't say so often. It really has been AMAZING!

Lunchbox Lessons

2009-03-01T12:18:00.000-08:00

One of my biggest challenges as the mother of seven is the food issue! "Mom, can I have a snack?" That is the war cry around my house! DRIVES me crazy! Anyway, I was thinking of ways I could make life more enjoyable for myself and my children. (When Momma ain't happy - ain't nobody happy!) Well I decided that if I could make snacks that my children could have when they wanted without asking me and without eating the food I was planning on using for dinner - we would all be happier. So I came up with lunchboxes that I would pack once a day - I put in a lunch and two snacks - the kids know which lunchbox is theirs and they can eat it whenever they want - but once it is gone it is gone! It has been awesome! Now, I am not getting bombarded with the constant "what can I eat?" and they feel independent and able to eat when and what they want! Perfect!

E.A.S.Y

2009-02-28T06:45:00.001-08:00

I found a baby book - that has helped me understand my baby!

The Baby Whisperer, by Tracy Hogg

4 steps I follow (my husband follows when he is watching her too).

Babys do need routine and a schedule and they are hard to put on one - always seems to change - well anyway this is what she suggests.

E eat
A activity
S sleep
Y your time

This has helped with overfeeding, not getting any thing done. The book is amazing! Buy this one too! I have flexibility and predictability!

http://www.babywhisperer.com/babywhisperer.html

You can order from amazon for around $7.00.

Laundry Helps

2009-02-27T21:22:00.000-08:00

I hate laundry - but my sista has some good ideas I want to share with you.

I have heard a lot of people complaining about laundry lately and usually I would be right there with them but, for some strange reason laundry isn't as bad as it used to be so I started think why? What I came up with is that I decided not to try to do ALL my laundry one day and FINISH it. Because that was just setting me up for disappointment. Instead I have been just doing a couple loads hear and there through out the week. It makes it so much better when I don't think I am DONE. Because you all know you can never be done with laundry, as soon as you think you are done someone changes their clothes. Another thing that makes it better is I discovered my kids don't follow me into the laundry room. I don't know why they try to follow me everywhere else in the house, including the bathroom. So this makes laundry much more enjoyable because it is a time to myself. Because of the last reason I have started folding my laundry in the laundry room where I have a basket with each family members name on it. I fold the clothes and put it in the correct basket then other then mine and Hannah's clothes I am done. Tony puts his own away and the boys just dress out of their baskets, which is actually nice because they take off their dirty clothes in the laundry room and saves me collecting laundry.Any how one day when I am rich (which really means it will never happen but it would be nice) I am going to build my own house that has a very large laundry room with closets built in, maybe even dressing room things. SO clothes never leave the laundry room unless they are on someone, and they always get left there when they are taken off.I know I do things strange but it is the way I like them so it works for me. Any how have fun doing your laundry!

A Hard Week . . . yet I still found inspiration

2009-02-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

This week was HARD! I feel like I have lost 3 of my good friends - to mistrust. I am SAD!

But, I bought a book - because I LOVE books. And I read it that first night. Maybe I was suppose to read it, because I have learned a lot.

Hilary Weeks, Believe in What You're Doing, Believe in Who You Are -- is the title and author.

So, what did I learn?

1. Don't worry about what others think of you. Worry about what they think of themselves when they are with you!
2. In D&C 67 - it talks about we need not have a heart full of fear - because Heavenly Father then has a hard time reaching us -- go read it!
3. Scripture study (no matter how small) can decrease feelings of being overwhelmed, increase feelings of empowerment. Heavenly Father will sustain us with his power.
4. Last but not least, Like the scripture story about the loaves and fishes - there wasn't enough. Lots of times we don't have enough (energy, kindness, patience, etc.) WE MUST pray to recieve whatever is necessary.

Go buy the book. It's amazing and very helpful when your blue. I feel less overwhelmed and sad. In fact, I think I am going to rebuild my relationship with my friends.

When life seems tough . . . resolve . . . (even though New Years was over a month ago).

2009-02-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I wonder how I can continue . . . I'm not particularily good at anything. And it seems like I mess things up more than I contribute. I recieved this quote many years ago and have clung to it. Hopefully it will inspire you as much as it does me. At least I will have a new location to find it when I need.

I resolve that from now on I will be a woman of higher and more sterling character, more conscious of my weaknesses, more kind and charitable toward the failings of others. i resolve that i shall practice more self-control i my home; I shall control my temper, my feelings and my tongue that they may not wander beyond teh bounds of right and purity: that I shall do more seeking to develop the spiritual side of my life, and realize how dependent I am upon God for success in this life.

The Perfect Mom . . .

2009-02-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

I think the perfect Mom is the mom described below by Sister Hinckley. But, this is an amazing idea too. It is probably exactly how she lived her life.

Sing Songs of Home
Whisper to children
stories of love,
kindness and softness;
Let the sweetness of purity
swell within you.
Be as fair as the sun,
& as clear as the moon.
Take hold of the iron rod
With a grip
that will never fail.

I like to think that this is what I should strive for. Especially on those days when I'm not fair or clear or whisper. I like that "whisper" - talk softly. Share your ideas on how you do this - or what you think about this.

Snow Day

2009-02-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

I know my sister has snow days all the time and she does some incredible things with her kids. Play in the snow, swim in the pool, and all that fun stuff. This was our first snow day this year (and it was self proclaimed). I didn't feel that it was worth driving in a blizzard to get to school or work.

So, my son wanted to watch movies. I get tired of the TV on all the time. So, I said no - he could read. He went in my room and decided to build a fort - where he could babysit the little one and read to the lantern. He loved it. Sister, not so much.

We love to read . . .

2009-02-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I made up an advent calendar for Christmas. It was rather ambitious. Since we love to read stories each night. I decided to gather 25 books on Christmas to read with my kids. So each day my son would unwrap one book and we would read it. (I think the wrapping part only lasted this year - it seemed to be to much). I now just put them in a basket. He can read and we have way more than 25 Christmas books now. Books are in a basket and then he can pick whenever he wants. This year - I have expanded my Christmas books to all seasons. I love Scholastic and the books are cheap and cute. So, each season I buy a few more books. The books rotate and go in the basket. I have also decided to box the books up after the season with the other decorations to make it new each season. We are loving it. Here is a photo of the Valentine Books, A few winter, A Groundhog book, and some President's Day books. This has encouraged my son to read even more and gives him something to look forward to with the passing of each season.

Yummy Fruit Salad . . . very fresh and almost too easy!

2009-01-24T20:56:00.001-08:00

This is one of our favorite recipes at our house. It's SOOO easy! My son makes it!

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
1 Banana
5 Strawberries
1 Apple
1 Orange
1/4 Cup OJ

Cut up fruit into bite size pieces. Cover with orange juice and mix. The orange juice will make it so the fruit doesn't turn brown and gives it a additional boost of flavor. Makes enough for 1/2 cup servings for 4 people.

Enjoy!

My identity . . .

2008-12-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

"Our Father in heaven needs us as we are, as we are growing to become. He has intentionally made us different from one another so that even with our imperfections we can fulfill his purposes. My greatest misery comes when I feel I have to fit with others are doing, or what I think others expect of me. I am most happy when I am comfortable being me and trying to do what my Father in heaven and I expect me to be.

"For many years I tried to measure the ofttimes quiet, reflective, thoughtful Pat against the robust, bubbly talkative, and energetic Jeff Holland and others with like qualities. I have learned through several fatiguing failures that you can't have joy in being bubbly if you are not a bubbly person. It is a contridiction in terms. I have given up seeing myself as a flawed person because my energy level is lower than Jeff's, and I don't talk as much as he does, nor as fast. Giving this up has freed me to embrace and rejoice in my own manner and personality in the measure of my creation. Ironically, that has allowed me to admire and enjoy Jeff's ebullience even more.

"Somewhere, somehow the Lord "blipped the message onto my screen" that my personality was created to fit precisely the mission and talents he gave me. For example, the quieter, calmer talent of playing the piano reveals much about the real Pat Holland. I would never have learned to play the piano if I hadn't enjoyed the long hours of solitude required for its development. The same principle applies to my love of writing, reading, meditation, and especially teaching and talking with my children. Miraculously, I have found that I have untold abundant sources of energy to be myself. But the moment I indulge in imitation of my neighbor, I feel fractured and fatigued and find myself forever swimming upstream. When we frustrate God's plan for us, we deprive this world and God's kingdom of our unique contributions and a serious schism settles in our soul. God never gave us any task beyond our ability to accomplish it. We just have to be willing to do it our way. We will always have enough resources for being who we are and what we can become.

--Patricia T. Holland, LDS Women's Treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today's Woman.

I REALLY LIVED

2008-11-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly fixed and with long perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to Scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing the neighbors' lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping weed someones garden. i want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. "
Marjorie P. Hinckley

2008-11-15T11:33:00.001-08:00