Category: Other Stuff

Recently the Ant Bug and I had a conversation about mothers.

Ant Bug: “I want to be a mommy when I grow up.”

Nurture Mama: “How do you learn how to be a mommy?”

Ant Bug: “You just grow up, and then you know how to be a mommy.”

So until my little girls grow up, we are training to develop some of the most commonly used mommy skills.

Making lunch

Reading to children

Cleaning house

Baking

Occasionally getting dressed up

Doing the laundry

Multitasking: Holding a baby while blogging or checking email

Home repairs

And the most important skill of all: nurturing your babies.

I really, really love the Gospel Art Picture Kit. It saved me tonight when I was trying to come up with a last minute Family Home Evening lesson.

(Yes, I know today is Thursday. My husband is teaching a class on Monday nights this semester–as a graduate student he doesn’t exactly have a lot of leeway when it comes to his schedule–so for now Thursday night is Family Home Evening night at our house.)

Tonight we played Scripture Story Scramble. I had the Ant Bug choose 6 or 7 pictures from the kit, then we each took turns choosing a picture to discuss.

Our selection was pretty random, but thanks to the brief synopsis on the back of the picture we had some great talking points that were perfect for the attention spans of our young children.

If you don’t have a copy of the kit, you can access it online here.

This kit was also instrumental in our December plan to focus on the Savior.

Lastly, I have managed to convince the Ant Bug that the music of this musical is fun and worth listening to.

Consequently, we have been talking a lot about the story of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and she likes to look at these pictures from the kit for a little visual reinforcement.

So…how do you use your Gospel Art Kit?

Swaddling, Liz Lemon Swindle

She Shall Bring Forth a Son, Liz Lemon Swindle

This picture hangs in my bedroom. It is my favorite portrayal of Mary, the mortal mother of Jesus. I have often studied it and pondered about Mary. What was she like? How did she feel about her great responsibility–being mother to the Savior of the world? Was she afraid? Did she ever think “I’m not the woman for this job”?

Be It Unto Me, Liz Lemon Swindle

Even though she was only a young woman, in complete obedience she humbly accepted the opportunity of motherhood, stating to her angel visitor “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”(Luke 1:38).

Mary’s Heart, Liz Lemon Swindle

Like any mother, I imagine she treasured each moment with her son. She held her baby and sang to him and loved him. As he grew, I’m sure she had many moments on her knees, praying for guidance as she nurtured her son.

“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Light of the World, Liz Lemon Swindle

“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God” (Alma 7:10).

During this wonderful season, may we also honor Mary, an exemplary woman who nobly fulfilled her role as mother of the Savior of the world.

An article highlighted in the recent BYU Magazine gave me something to think about:

“A recent study by Joseph P. Price (BA ’03), a BYU economics assistant professor, is waking up parents with his finding that, by and large, firstborn children get about 3,000 more hours of parental time between the ages of 4 and 13 than second-borns. In an article published in the Journal of Human Resources, he says that while parents may spend equal time with each child on any given day, they tend to spend progressively less total time with their children as their parenting years advance. As the amount of parenting time gets smaller, the second child garners less total time.

“Price explains what typically happens in families: “As your firstborn gets older, reading to him starts to drop off. You say, ‘Oh, he knows how to read now; I don’t need to read to him.’ But at the same time you stop reading to your firstborn, you read less to your second-born, who is younger. Also, as the firstborn gets older, you start to watch more television with him, which means you’re watching more television with your second-born when he’s at a younger age.

“In other words, the second-born gets sucked into whatever the firstborn is doing. And so, unfortunately, he loses out on reading and gets more TV.”

I have to admit, I’m guilty as charged. From day one, I was reading books to the Ant Bug. Reading 2-3 books before sleep has always been a key element of our bedtime routine. I’m sure this has been a factor in her prolific verbal abilities. In addition, she’s always been on the short end of the scale when it comes to sleep duration, so we had plenty of hours in the day to fill up with enlightening activities like story time, music time, and school time.

And now we have our Sweet Bee, just over a year old. If we’re lucky to have Dad home at bedtime, then he reads books with her while I get the Ant Bug ready for bed (but this has only been a recent development). And she is a really good napper! But unfortunately, that means that her awake time usually corresponds with meal times (preparation, eating, cleaning) and errand times (shopping, etc). Which doesn’t leave much quality one-on-one time. Also, the Sweet Bee is much more easily entertained. For an extended period of time she will quite happily toddle all around the house, with something in hand and mouth, thrilled to be able to walk on her own two feet.

So is all hope lost, for any children after the first born? Hardly. Happy, successful people come from all walks of life, in any birth order.

But in the meantime, I’m rethinking my time spent with my most precious responsibility. And I’ll be thinking of ways to discover more quality and quantity time with both of my sweet girls.

Take this informal time-use survey and judge if the time you spend with your children is both quantity and quality.

While doing my nightly reading one of my favorite blogs, I discovered something wonderful.

The Mother Letter Project

A husband and wife who are fed up with the materialism of the Christmas season decided to forgo spending money for gifts this year and donate the money saved to a small village in Africa. They are making gifts for each other that don’t cost a dime, and this husband has come up with a truly heartfelt gift. In his words:

“I am creating my wife’s Christmas present-the Mother Letter Project. Simply stated, I am collecting a series of “open letters” from mothers, to mothers. Share your stories—no matter how raw or difficult. Share you concerns—no matter how foolish they may seem. Share your wisdom—no matter how you came by it. Share your mother story.”

Will you write a letter? I’ll be composing one in my mind tonight as I rock my baby in the wee hours.

Visit the Mother Letter Project blog for all the details. And if you choose to submit a letter, you’ll even receive your own copy of the compilation.

So…Share your story. Write a letter. Encourage a mother.

For today’s parenting lesson, we’re going back to the basics. Here are some helpful do’s and don’ts when it comes to taking care of infants.

(Don’t worry, I know my readers are way beyond this level when it comes to taking care of babies. I just thought these were pretty funny and worth a laugh.)

The Family: A Proclamation to the World clearly states that

“marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children”.

Marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s it.

This election is significant when it comes to the definition of marriage. Three states (Florida, Arizona, California) have propositions on the ballot that will amend the constitution to define marriage as only between one man and one woman.

“The best arrangement for children is to have both a married mother and a father. Single parents do the best job they can but a vast body of social science research clearly tells us that children are always happier, healthier and better adjusted when raised by a married mother and father.” (http://www.yes2marriage.org/mediafiles/fact-sheet.pdf)

If you live in one of these three states, visit the websites below for more information. Most importantly, please vote to support marriage!

Arizona