I Got Tagged!

Nancy tagged me.  I am supposed to list 10 things about myself that I am good at.  I'm not sure how this will go, but I can think of a couple off the top of my head.  I may need to save this and come back later, though.  We'll see whether this is finalized tonight (Monday) or not.  It is past my bedtime, so I don't have much time to think about it.

1) I am good at conceiving babies.  It has never taken me more than about six months, and normally takes 1-2.  I'm not planning on using this talent again, though.

2) I am good at delivering babies.  Pregnancy, I'm not so good at, but once I am in active labor, it takes very little time to get to the pushing stage.  Pushing itself goes so quickly for me that I decided not to take pain meds for #7, as I just didn't think it would be worth it.  I was right.  Active labor lasted about 40 minutes, and pushing lasted less than 20 minutes.  I can do anything for 20 minutes.  It was really nice not having to deal with a drowsy head or tingling legs after having Katie.  I did it with Ben, unintentionally, and I wish I had done it that way for Dallin and Aidan, too.  I found epidurals to be awful.  I'm not planning on using this talent any more, either.

3) Singing.  You ought to read Nancy's blog and duplicate this one for me. She put it down as #3, too.  http://ibeimomenti.blogspot.com/2009/01/things-that-i-am-good-at.html     She says it well, and I completely relate.  Except for the sisters thing - I haven't had that one happen, as my sister and I don't sing in a choir together.  

(and here's where I left off that night - our family was sick on Tuesday, and I just haven't had the time to get back to this until now, Friday)

4) Genealogy.  I'm a good researcher, as long as the records you need are from the U.S.  Once you need records from another country, beyond telling you to search for someone else who already has done the research, I'll tell you to go ask Merle what to do.  But, if you want to know how to use any family history software, or www.new.familysearch.org or ancestry.com, I can help.  That's what I was doing this morning, in fact.  I got Sister Hachtman up and running on the new Familysearch.  We even popped over to ancestry.com and found four of her ancestor's birth years and places that she didn't have.  It was fun.  We could have researched all day, but that wasn't really what I was there to do.  She also wanted to get back onto her ward & stake website, and couldn't remember her password, so I figured that out, too.  

5) On that note, I'll add computers as one of my talents.  I am quite good at figuring out software and web applications.  I even set up a secured home network.  I made my new laptop print from the printer that is hooked up to the computer in the living room, and I can share files between the two computers wirelessly, as well.  It took me a little while, and I kept laughing when I was going through the process, because Windows would tell me to contact my network administrator for such and such - and I was the network admin!!  But I got it to work, and I'm happy.

6) Laundry.  My wonderful husband took over on Tuesday when seven of us were throwing up (food poisoning, we think), and I totally appreciate it, but I will say that I will continue not using his help with the laundry unless I am sick.  We had a few casualties, including my new pajama pants (washing cotton in hot water), new holes in towels (not clasping eye hooks), and a baseball cap (not supposed to be in the wash).  In case anyone thinks I'm not being grateful, I already told him I'd take all of the damage any time if he will take care of us the way he did on Tuesday.  I also promised him I wouldn't even scowl at him over the damages.

7) Being on time.  I don't know what this "Mormon Standard Time" thing is all about.  I am always on time to church on Sundays, and people think I'm supernatural or something because of it.  I don't think that.  I know what needs to be done, and how long it is going to take, and I make sure we are prepared by Saturday, so that we aren't running all over the house looking for seven outfits that never made it through the wash on Sunday morning.  I know what I can delegate to the older children, and I leave things that aren't critical until last.  I hear some women who are consistently late ask what I do, and then they tell me they have everything prepared, too, and then they tell me they get up at 8:30am when church is at 10am.  This isn't going to work unless your children all get themselves ready, and then it still might not work.  There was one Sunday I can remember when we all overslept (other than Aaron) until 8:30am, and I had to forgo my shower and breakfast in order to make it there on time, but make it there on time, I did (no, I didn't smell - a quick wash with a cloth takes barely any time, and I only wash my hair every other day, anyway).  I also aim at leaving at 9:30am, even though the church is 5 minutes away.  That way, I can get a bench (there are not many benches in our chapel, and folding chairs would be extremely noisy for my brood), help set up the Primary Room, and be seated with the kids by 10 minutes before the meeting.  And if there is a disaster of some sort, this gives me time to recoup and still make it there on time.

8) Editing.  I hesitated to mention this because of the havoc I caused last time I mentioned grammar in my blog, but it really is a talent of mine, so I'm going to bring it up again.  I am the type of person who will find a pen and correct the grammatical errors in books.  I normally have very good grammar when writing.  My only regular errors are run-on sentences and some misspellings, but never of homonyms.  I never actually publish misspellings, to my knowledge, as I have a good command of the ABC button in both word processors and in Internet applications, such as this one.

9) Driving long distances.  I can drive for a very long time without breaks.  After a short break, I can go for quite a while again.  Just make sure I have Amy with me overnight to keep me awake.

10)  Again, I find myself stealing one from Nancy.  I am good at reading.  I read fast, and I process information well.  My best ACT scores were in grammar and reading comprehension.  This is a little bit of a fault for me, though.  I don't really get much enjoyment out of reading things over and over again, so reading the scriptures daily sometimes seems mundane to me.  However, as long as I have a study guide or subject I want to dig into, I do fine.  But the challenge to read the Book of Mormon over again by the end of the year a couple of years ago was misery to me, as I was just about to finish it for at least the 3rd or 4th time in 8 years when it was given to us.  I had also just made a new goal to finish the Old Testament by the end of the year, so I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of rereading of material at the time.  I did finish the Book of Mormon goal, although I took an extra month to get through the Old Testament.  Oh, and despite processing information well, I do not remember names well, so don't quiz me on who's who in the scriptures unless they have a book named after them or are mentioned repeatedly.  Doctrines, I grasp quickly, and I even memorize scriptures well, but names are a challenge.

Thanks, Nancy.  This was good for me to go through.  Now, I'm going to tag Mom, Connie, Lizzy and Leisa.  Connie and Lizzy, if you have blogs, let me know, otherwise email me :)

Aaron's New Calling

Last Sunday, a member of the Stake Presidency asked Aaron if he liked his calling (Executive Secretary).  Aaron does, and told him he loves it.  I told Aaron to watch out.  On Saturday, we got a call from the Stake Executive Secretary, setting up an appointment for us to visit with the Stake President for about an hour and a half from that time.  Sure enough, Aaron was called to the High Council.  That also means he was ordained to the office of High Priest.  

Aaron's assignment will be Technology, and he'll be on the Aaronic Priesthood Committee.  He will be over the Farmington Ward, the ward for which his dad was the "founding" Bishop.  His parents have since been split off into the Apple Valley ward, but the people there will probably know who Aaron is.  I guess even without the relationship there, they have been seeing him play the organ and piano and lead choirs for years now, so he will be a familiar face to many.  

Aaron's Dad ordained him yesterday after Stake Priesthood Meeting, and he was set apart by President Naatjes right afterward.  They were very interesting blessings.  I was grateful for the blessings offered on my behalf, as I will definitely need some help with Aaron gone so much.  Especially in Sacrament Meeting.  That will be the hard part for me.  Keeping our younger three kids reverent is hard enough when Aaron is there with me.  

I'm very proud of Aaron.  He has worked really hard.  He sets a great example to our family of personal worship, getting up so early in the mornings to study his scriptures.  He has held Family Home Evenings, family scripture and family prayers consistantly.  He has gone above and beyond with his callings.  I have no doubt that he is ready for this new assignment.  

Our Own Garbage Man

Aidan has taken upon himself the role of house garbage man. For the past week, he has emptied almost all of the garbage pails in the house daily, and I have never asked him to.  He drives himself all around the house in his imaginary garbage truck, collecting as he goes.  The only down side is that he goes through a lot of plastic grocery bags.  We have plenty right now, but give it a week, and we will start running short if I can't convince him to fill them up before throwing them out.  

His imagination is quite vivid.  If he is driving his truck around, and I ask him to do something else, he insists on parking his truck in the garage first.

Aidan got a Dustbuster for Christmas.  He really enjoys cleaning up messes with it, and has figured out how to empty it.  He has also figured out how to empty the vacuum canister, as well.  That can get a little messy, but he vacuums up the mess he makes afterward, so it is working out pretty well.

Let's pretend.

I went visiting teaching yesterday.  That reminded me that my visiting teachers haven't come in a very long time.  Then, I remembered how when I had consistent visiting teachers a few years ago, I always had a day each month that motivated me to have my house clean and decluttered (having piano lessons here on Tuesdays doesn't really have the same effect, as the dad that comes with his 7-year-old sits on the piano room couch, so his exposure is limited, and I don't really care if the high school boys see the mess).  So, today I pretended I have visiting teachers coming over tomorrow.  It helped.  Of course, it would probably help my mental state if they actually came to visit, but I guess you can't win them all.

My bathroom is clean.

FlyLady has a useful program that has helped motivate me to keep up the housework.  However, sometimes I get frustrated because there is rarely a room in the house that is all the way clean, as her program is to do a little bit every day, rather than doing it all at once.  You see, she is afraid that our perfectionism will inhibit us from getting through a task enough to feel a sense of accomplishment.  She thinks that if I set out to clean a room all at once, I am setting myself up for failure, as there just won't be enough time to get it all done.  She envisions me taking apart my boys' bedroom, getting halfway through it, and, finding myself out of time, hurriedly throwing things into containers, leaving piles all over the floor, and leaving it just as messy - or prone to getting just as messy within the next 24 hours -as it was when I started. 

While that may be true if I try that with the boys' bedroom (okay, yes, that has happened, I'll admit it), I think I can handle it with the bathroom.  My master bathroom has not been thoroughly clean since I started with FlyLady.  If she had her way, I would swish and swipe all four of my bathrooms each morning (that means a quick swish in each toilet with the brush, and wipe all of the counters), and do a quick mop once a week (and I mean really quick - from what I understood before today, she only allows you 15 minutes to mop the entire house once a week - see below).   But cleaning the light fixtures, fans, baseboards, switch plates, front of the vanity, etc. would only get done every few months.  And I have never had a reminder from her to clean the shower stall or bathtub, to my recollection.  

Today was the beginning of the bathroom week.  I couldn't stand it any longer - my shower stall was covered in soap scum and rust.  My bathtub was dusty (I rarely actually take a bath - I'm too tall to be comfortable in my tub, which stinks, because when we moved in I was really excited about a tub with jets).  My floor was really dirty.  I was ready for a deep-cleaning.  

I decided to disregard FlyLady this week and do the bathrooms my way.  I am going to select one bathroom each day, and go at it from top to bottom.  I started with my master bathroom today, and after three hours, it is clean.  Really, really clean.  I mean, I went the extra mile.  I got on the counter and wiped down all the light bulbs and got the dust off of the top ledge of the light fixture.  I wiped down the cupboards.  I wiped the baseboards.  Everything is clean in that room right now, and I feel good.

After I was done in there, I decided to declutter Dallin and Aidan's room.  They have too many toys and junk.  I took my laptop in and listened to an archive of last Friday's blogtalk radio of FlyLady's show on helping your kids have wings.  There was supposed to be some advice about decluttering their rooms, so I thought I'd have a listen.  During it, I found that she mentioned me.  Yes, I really mean me.  Last week I got frustrated with the Home Blessing Hour and emailed her to ask her if she had any tips for people with my family size.  She emailed back some links to her page with helps for large families, and let me know that the Home Blessing Hour is more flexible than I was making it.  Here's what that is, in case you haven't heard of it:

The Weekly Home Blessing hour is the time FlyLady spends blessing her home. No detailed cleaning required; vacuum the middle of the floors only!  The time on this can depend on the size of your home, could take less than an hour or more than an hour but on average about an hour.  Set your timers and have fun - you are blessing your home and family!

FlyLady sets her timer for 10 minutes to work on each of 7 ways to bless your home:
    * Vacuum
    * Dust
    * Quick Mop
    * Polish Mirrors and Doors
    * Purge magazines/catalogs
    * Change Sheets
    * Empty all trash cans


This takes approximately one hour; some tasks take less than 10 minutes.
 "Don't obsess, set your timer for 10 minutes for each task, then QUIT!"

I decided that FlyLady must live in a 2-bedroom apartment in order to be able to do all of that in an hour.  Or even two hours.  But, as I was told by Laura, who responded to my email, these tasks are to be rotated each week to an area that I didn't do the week before.  I didn't really like this answer, but when I listened to the radio show today, she referred to my email, and said that we also should have the kids in on these tasks, and that they can have their own home blessing hours each week (or maybe their own home blessing half-hour, or 10 minutes, depending on their age).  It's not like I don't have them doing this already - I was just stressing out over the idea that she thought I was supposed to do all of this myself each week.  

As for the links that Laura gave me in her email, there are some neat ideas, although there are also some duds.  The families that are as large as mine have some great ideas, but when I read on I find that they have some advantages, like walk-in pantries, large laundry rooms, super-sized front loader laundry machines, etc.  Oh, well.  But I might take one mom's tips.  She has bought her family some new dishes.  Each child gets a different color, and they each have their own cup, bowl, large plate and small plate in their own color.  They have to take care of their own.  They also each have their own towel and washcloth color.  These are some great ideas!  We have been having many discussions lately about "whose cereal bowl is this with soggy Cheerios in it?"  and "who left their plate on the table?" The only downfall to this is, what do we do when there is company and there are only 9 of each dish?  I can always pull out the china and stemware for a nice dinner, but maybe I'll need to make sure we always have a stack of paper plates and bowls handy for when the occasion doesn't call for something quite that fancy.  Maybe I'll keep the old dishes in a box in the basement for backup.

I also seem to wash way too many towels.  Dallin, William and Ben each have a bath towel of their own, so maybe I'll assign a colored one to each of the others, and instead of throwing their towels on the floor each time they get used, they will be held accountable for their own towels.   I'm always looking for ideas like those, so if anyone has more for me, please let me know (Leisa, if you're reading this, please do tell me how you manage with eight)!

The Stranger

This is something Aaron forwarded to me today.  I found it very interesting, and since I generally don't forward emails, if you want to read it, here it is...not cluttering up your inbox.

The Stranger  A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town.  From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.    As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger...he was our storyteller.  He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.    If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future!  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  He made me laugh, and he made me cry.  The stranger never stopped    talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.    Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)    Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home.. Not from us, our friends or any visitors.  Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.  My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol.  But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regularbasis.  He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.    He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex.  His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.    I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.    More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.  He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... .. .     We just call him 'TV.'  (Note: This should be required reading for every household in America !)   He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Last Week

This is more of a journal entry than a normal blog post.  I am not very good about journaling, so I'm going to take this opportunity to document what I consider a pretty important week.  

On January 2nd, Aaron's grandfather passed away.  The next day, Saturday, we found out that the funeral would be on Tuesday, and plane tickets were not looking too affordable for this whole crew of Minnesotans to get out to Utah.  Seeing as how I have a 12-passenger van, it occured to me to offer to put it into service to save a few thousand dollars in airline tickets for the family.   After frequent calls among Aaron's family (seriously, the call-waiting kicked in during almost every call), we determined that this was the best option, and it only hinged on my getting a sitter.  I got ahold of my mom around 11:30am.  Thankfully, she could take the kids for all but the first day.  My sister dropped everything and brought her three kids over for the first day.  I'm pretty certain that was the first time she has ever taken care of ten children at the same time.  In fact, that probably goes for my mom taking care of just my seven kids, too.  That was an amazing sacrifice on both their parts, and I am so grateful that they were willing to help out.  

I also had some help from the Primary President, my friend Kristen Johnson.  I called to let her know I wouldn't be able to make it to Primary, and she asked if I needed anything.  I told her I next needed to find rides for my kids to get to church, as my sister needed to get back home in the morning, and she couldn't have gotten them all into one vehicle even if she did want to take the kids to our church.  Kristen said she'd figure it all out, and she enlisted the Primary Secretary's family (the Beckles) to help pick up the kids that wouln't fit in her vehicle.  I hear there was a nice-sized caravan to get them home after church.

We started out with Merle and Emma meeting us at our house.  They arrived around 2pm, and we left about a half hour later.  We drove through sleet to Mankato, following a snow plow that was spreading sand for the first half hour.  It was a little slow going.  We picked up Jessica and baby Daniel around 4pm.  Our drive to Worthington to pick up Amy and baby Andrew was worse, but we survived it.  It took until after 8pm, which means it took us over twice as long to get there from Mankato as it normally would.  We drove straight through, with only stops for gas, food, and for Jessica to nurse Daniel.  Luckily, the precipitation stopped once we left Minnesota.

Aaron did the driving until around midnight, and then I drove overnight, with Amy keeping me awake.  She and I both have the misfortune to not be able to sleep in the car.  This could be looked at as an advantage, as I would rather drive than be driven on a long trip, and Amy is happy to keep a driver awake, because she's awake anyway, and doesn't want to drive herself.  That girl knows how to talk.  She kept me alert throughout the night.

Emma took a turn at the wheel the next morning.  I was so tired I actually fell asleep for a little while, but then the roads got icky, so I took over again.  I just can't handle being a passenger on bad roads, and Emma had never driven a 12-passenger van before, anyway.  The forecast before we left was really good, so I was surprised at the road conditions.  It seems they don't do such a good job at plowing in the mountains, as it was a beautiful, sunny day, and there were thick patches of packed snow and ice all over the place.

After experiencing Sonic for my first time (oh, gut bomb!!!  terribly greasy food, but good slushies) in Evanston, WY, we arrived in Provo, UT around 6pm.  We met Aaron's dad and other two sisters at Matt and Melissa's apartment, then Aaron, Amy, Andrew and I checked into the Hampton.  It was nice.  Aaron and I were able to work out the kinks in the fitness room before retiring for the evening, and the bed was fabulous.  It was seriously the most comfortable hotel bed ever.  I slept soundly every night we were there.  I guess this could be due to the sleep deprevation, but I'll give the bed some credit.  Aaron says the heater's blower kept cycling and waking him up all night, but I never heard a thing.

Amy and I both got calls saying we had children throwing up on Monday.  We felt really bad for our family at home taking care of our sick kids.  But, we had things to do, and we were able to prepare for the funeral ahead, support Reo through a tough day, and get another good night's sleep on Monday night.

The funeral affected me differently than I had anticipated.  

I really liked Grandpa Pratt.  He was always very caring, and interested, and funny.  He gave me some silver scraps once and told me about how he got them as a lithographer.  He also made me a walnut box, a good size for keeping cards and small keepsakes.  He wrote me back every time I sent him a letter, even if it was just a short note with pictures of the kids in it.  I knew he was very musical, and he played the horn for me on one of our visits.  He loved to hear us play and sing for him.  I have experienced a few funerals in the past couple of years, and I was expecting to feel about the same - pretty calm, reflective about the life the person lived, and comforted, with my knowledge of the plan of salvation assuring me of the sweet reunion in the future.  

However, about three-quarters of the way through it, I suddenly realized that so much of what was being said could be said about Aaron.  It could almost have been his funeral.  His love for music, his brains, his sense of humor, his sense of priesthood duty, his strong belief in singing hymns in Sacrament Meeting being a reflection on a person in the church.  

One brother talked about how when the choir had been struggling with singing "Oh, Say What is Truth," he taught them what the words meant, which is exactly what Aaron would do.  While anyone else would bang through parts, they would teach doctrine, with success.  Aaron had recently had our family sing this same hymn before scripture study a few times in a row, which was the first time I can remember ever singing it.  

I was awakened to the grief that I would be feeling if I were attending Aaron's funeral.  It also brought on a moment of self-examination.  I wanted to repent of my faults and become a better wife, a better mother, a better friend.  I made some mental notes on ways to improve my faithfulness to the covenants I have made, and strive to be found worthy to enter into the celestial kingdom when I leave this world, so that I can be with my loved ones.  I got a little choked up and teary-eyed, realizing how I would miss this great man, and also realizing how far I have to go.

We spent one more night in Provo.  Strangely enough, we went bowling that evening with Aaron's parents and all of his sisters, and ate some really good mexican food.  I actually scored around 130 each game, which is pretty impressive for me, as I haven't bowled in a decade, and I can't remember breaking 100 before.  

Aaron took off early the next morning with Nancy for Salt Lake City, as he had to catch a plane to Las Vegas for a trade show, and she lives and works in SLC.  Emma caught a ride with a friend up to BYU Idaho right after the funeral, so with the addition of Reo, the rest of us headed back home.  I drove all but a few hours of it, with Reo taking the wheel for a few hours before we decided not to push through and to stay the night in a hotel.  The babies had pretty much had it, and we moms of small children suddenly realized how much better off we'd be if we came home well-rested.  I was particularly in favor of a good night's sleep, as I was going to be without Aaron for the next five days.

I made it home at about 3:30pm on Thursday.  My house was clean, my kids were bathed, and my mom was looking ready to go home.

I am so thankful for this experience.  I feel so blessed that I have family and friends who are willing to step in when I need them.  I am greatful for Aaron's grandfather, who has been so influential in Aaron becoming the great man he is today.  I am also thankful for my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives me peace, rather than pain, at the losses of so many dear ones this past decade - especially when so many have passed in the last year.  I know I will see them all again, so my sadness is confined to just missing them, and sympathy for those whose lives are affected most by their deaths.  

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Cor 15:22

The One Thing I Can Always Count On...

...when Aaron is out of town, kids puke and a foot of snow lands in my driveway.  

So far, we're five down and two to go for this particular stomach bug.  Aaron returns tomorrow, and I am looking forward to getting out to set up and teach at our Primary Teacher In-Service in the evening.  I'm supposed to bake cookies or brownies and bring them there, but I'm thinking everyone would appreciate it if I just buy some and reduce the chances of transmitting germs.

Cute. Here's my Castle thing.

I stole this from Emma, who stole it from Jessica.

You Are a Practical Realist

You are scared of new experiences. It's hard for you to break outside of your comfort zone. You like to think that people see you as intellectual and wise. You consider yourself to be very smart. You are a very realistic person. You see the world as it is, flaws and all. Right now, stress occasionally makes you feel trapped in your life. You usually have a clear perspective on things though! Overall, your life is calm and steady. Not much stirs you, and each day is full of joy. You feel like the fate of the future partially rests in your hands. You believe you need to help make the world a better place. The Castle Personality Test