Mormon Mommy Blog

Ellie made a covered wagon at school today. I guess it's cowboy week, and every day is a different cowboy theme. When Jake came home from work today, Ellie told him, "Daddy, this is my covered wagon. It does not belong in Mommy's bed." Ok, ok, so maybe I planted that seed, but it was funny, wasn't it? (In case you want to dig further into the undertone of this particular conversation, read this post by a dear friend of ours.)

To get down to business, I am writing in response to an article by Emily Matchar that is making a ripple in the Mormon community. It is, in a nutshell, about Mormon Mommy blogs and some of the people who are fascinated by them. (I would recommend skimming this article before reading further here.) This article made me wonder if this blog here would be considered a Mormon Mommy blog. Well, I can definitively tell you that, after perusing through a few of the blogs mentioned specifically in the article, my blog does not fall into this category. Ha ha. Never in a million years would this blog fall into that category. Yet, here I am responding. Here are a few thoughts:

(1) The truth is, I do have plenty in common with the bloggers of these Mommy blogs. I am a faithful and enthusiastic member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I cook. I sew. I make my own jam and can it, too. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I have a super-human compulsion to be thin. (Or at least thinner than I am.) The huge difference I see is that in my blog, you will find posts that include the above-mentioned exchange with my daughter. Here, you will also find interesting tidbits such as my son's usual diet ('Ucky Charms, tofu, and snot); how not to potty-train your toddler (or how to find Judd-pies all over the house); and why camping is totally inferior to sleeping in your bed at home (sleeping on the ground, not in a shelter--are you kidding me?).

(2) I'm not so convinced that this genre of blogging is unique to Mormon housewives. Martha Stewart and subsequent wannabes have made homemaking an insanely popular pursuit. I don't think it's just the Mormons who are participating in this!

(3) Ms. Matchar makes a point of the fact that she is highly educated, feminist, and atheist, thereby distinguishes herself from the authors of these blogs. I believe it is folly to believe that because a person chooses to stay at home with the kids and excel in her domestic pursuits, this person is a simpleton. I know plenty of "highly educated" housewives, myself included. Feminist? Ok, so let's be frank. How many American women are there who aren't, in some way, feminist? I think the majority of us are going to demand the same pay as our male counterparts in the workplace. (Please no one post comments regarding feminist theory--I totally won't read them.) So, Ms. Matchar, to what are you referring? Are you maybe trying to say that housewifery is inferior to non-housewifery? Feminists don't engage in stay-at-home-mom-ing? I also know some feminists who are stay-at-home moms, so that premise doesn't work, either. So far, to me, the only distinguishing characteristic between Ms. Matchar and Mormon Mommies is that you are an  atheist. Let's be frank, though. Ms. Matchar is only in her twenties. She has plenty of life left for that to change.

That's my two cents' worth. It's late and I've devoted too much time to this post. Time to get back to making awesome home-crafted stuff. Here's a photo of my awesome kids.

Happy 2011!

Dear Friends,

I apologize for my long, long absence. I'm sure you are thinking that I have not been faithfully documenting my family's life because nothing has happened. Ha ha. Actually, I haven't been blogging because too much seems to happen. Usually it's mountains of laundry, which is intensely boring, but nonetheless, it takes up my precious time.

However, tonight, I am dedicating a few moments to some random thoughts that I have had. Oh, Happy New Year, btw. (See, random thought right there.) I can do this because Jake is out of town, my kids are, by some miracle, asleep at this hour, and I've decided to ignore the state of the upper two levels of my house for just one more day.

First of all, this last year has been (1) busy; (2) tumultuous; (3) intense; and (4) INSANE, to say the least. Lots of shuffling around. We went through a people shuffle (what a vulgar way to put it!), then a car shuffle, then a car seat shuffle. My dear family and friends already know that in the past year, my grandfather passed away. Then my mother, then my aunt. But then, we gained family members--like my brother, who now lives with us. We were elated to welcome Luella into our lives also. I should also mention that we also welcomed a nephew into the family (Jake's sister's son).  Despite the heartbreak of having to say goodbye to our loved ones, we have also had more than our fair share of joys.

Let's not forget the car shuffle. We went from this sleek and sexy ride

to this.

Yup. We did it. It was necessary. And we definitely fill it up. No wasted space here. As for sex appeal? Definitely out the door. Down the toilet. Dissipated into thin air. Completely gone. But where it lacks in that department, it makes up in plenty of other ways. Sliding doors. LOTS of space. Powerful engine and 4wd (which was awesome today when I had to plow through a foot of snow to park at Ellie's school because here in Denver, snow plows are considered a waste of money).

Oh, and then my Corolla (or as Jake affectionately called it, the Crapola) started giving out, so I forced Jake to replace it. This is what he replaced it with:

Same color and everything. I would say I'm surprised at his choice, but if you remember Halloween 2008, you would know that I shouldn't be surprised at anything that man undertakes. Anyway, it takes care of our cummuter-car needs, mainly gas mileage.

Now I will get to the car seat shuffle. Oh the car seat shuffle. Luella is getting to be too big for her infant carrier car seat. So we needed to bump her up to Judd's car seat. That would mean that one of the older kids would need a new car seat. I was hoping to put one of them in a booster because they are much much cheaper than another regular car seat. The problem is, neither Judd nor Ellie is tall enough or weighs enough to qualify for the booster, so we had to purchase yet another full-on infant/toddler car seat. Here's where it got really maddening. Since we were going to have to pull out all the car seats anyway, Jake went ahead and gave the swagger wagon an awewomely thorough cleaning. All the seats were in the house, and I decided to give all the seat covers a wash. This left all the parts of the car seats exposed. Judd ATE the styrofoam head protector out of what would have been Luella's car seat. He ATE it! Well, more accurately, he tried to eat it, then changed his mind. Well, what's the point of a stupid infant car seat if the protective aspects have been removed? Even if you have owned said car seat since the birth of your first child and had really intended for such car seat to be an investment in the safety of all future children. Argh!!! Hence, the purchase of the second car seat--still waiting for that one to arrive. Oh, my son!

Which brings me to this final section of my long and (assuming here) long-awaited blog. Random thoughts:

(1) One should never give my husband a high-tech gadget, such as an i-pod, as a gift. That is, if you intend for him to actually use it. After two years, I have decided to take back said i-pod nano and gift it to myself. Next I think I will give him a MacBook Air.
(2) My son, who usually doesn't talk at all, asked me yesterday, "Mommy, do dinosaurs eat poop?" I told him no. Then he asked, "Do they eat animals?" I said yes.
(3) It's really not nice to say, "Hmmmm. So you decided to go with an open casket..." in a questioning and sarcastic tone to the family of the deceased. Yes, that really happened at my mom's viewing. Upon reflection, I'm thinking that woman was probably still angry about being fired from selling my mom's house five years ago.
(4) Altitude makes a huge difference.
(5) Three kids, all under the age of 5, will not pose for a photograph, unless you hire a professional. Here are some of our attempts: