Mom's Little Secrets

My friend, Heather, in an attempt to get her house in order, has reached out to the cyber world for answers to some probing questions, so here are the questions, along with my answers!

1. What is a smell that reminds you of home?
No homemade bread or chocolate chip cookies here--definitely green chilies roasting in the oven.

2. How do you keep socks organized?
I never buy the same kind of socks for my kids. They each have a dfferent kind, that way we know on the spot who the culprit is that left their socks in the middle of the floor...again...

3. How do you keep your whites bright?
Are whites supposed to be bright?

4. What is your favorite boredom buster?
It's been about 7 years since I've been bored...as for my children...we did a really fun FHE where we wrote down absolutely every fun thing we could think of to do. It's posted on the fridge, and now if anyone says "I'm bored!" we say, "Look at the list!"

5. What hints would you give a young mother for sacrament reverence?
You'll see that I'm not opinionated at all on this topic...
1. Get to church at least 15 minutes early! Yes, this CAN be done! My husband has meetings every Sun. am, so I get myself and my 4 daughters--all under 7--ready by myself and to the church 20 min. before sacrament meeting starts! Getting to church early gives you more time to not be in such a hurry to get everyone out the door, which helps you be more patient right before you are about to partake of the sacrament. If you are calm and reverent, your children will be more likely to be, too.
2. No leaving the chapel! Use your extra 15-20 minutes to take your children to the bathroom & to get a drink. For some reason, there is a fascination with bathrooms other than your own. Even if they go right before they leave the house, they will want to go again when they get to church. Just plan on it! Obviously potty-trainers could have special exceptions, but usually they should also be able to wait an hour, too.
3. Stay in your seat! Don't let your little ones wander down the aisles, or play with other children. Even if you think you're doing everyone a favor by keeping them quiet, it's still a distraction and almost always takes away from the reverence of the meeting.
4. Nothing before the sacrament! We are trying to teach the girls that the reason we come to Sacrament meeting is to take the Sacrament and to listen to what our leaders have to tell us. We want them to know that Sacrament Meeting is not just a meeting for Mom & Dad that they have to suffer through before Primary, but that it's for them, too. To help them "last" through the meeting, we don't get out any magazines or coloring books until AFTER the Sacrament. Even our 2-year-old knows not to get into her bag until all the boys have sat down.
5. Sacrament Journals! I put together a small spiral notebook for each of the girls to draw or write about Jesus during the sacrament. I usually give them a topic, like, "How do you feel when you think about Jesus?" or "What's one think you're grateful Jesus made?" They can write or draw their feelings (pencils only). As soon as the sacrament is over, the journals get put away. This keeps them special & keeps the girls from getting bored with them.
6. No snacks! Certainly even the smallest child can go for 1 hour w/o a snack. It may take some getting used to, but believe me, there is more reverence w/o them! A lot of Stakes are actually starting to ask congregations to do this, so you might as well start now!
7. Appropriate materials only! No cars or trucks, or anything that can be distracting to others' kids. (please!) There are lots of resources online for coloring pages that are bible-based, and you can get the Friend archived on the church site. They have coloring pages as well as word searches and stories for young readers.
8. Let them grow! As our kids get older, we expect them to act older. When they turn 8, they won't be allowed to get their bags out until after the first speaker, and by the time they are 12, the bags will be gone!
9. Be Patient! Anything you undertake will be difficult at first, especially if you're trying to mold your children's behavior. Just stick with it, and soon they will know that you expect and what they can or can't get away with!

6. What tips do you have for painting?
Hire out!

7. How do you remove hard water and rust stains from sinks?
You can remove that stuff?

8. What's the best way to kill weeds in a flower bed?
Did you want to keep the flowers?

9. What is the best parenting advice you have been given?
Every child is different, so you can't be the same parent to every child.

10. What is the most fun date you have been on in the last year?
You mean ALONE...just me & my hubby...no kids? I'll have to get back to you on that one...

11. How do you keep a car uncluttered and clean?
I'm still working on the house--the car is years away...

12. What is you favorite cleaning product?
Oxy!!!!

13. Favorite two or three step recipe...easy but good?
Parmesean Crusted Tilapia--I'll post that recipe next!

14. What is the most helpful cook book you own?
http://www.allrecipes.com/

15. Any food storage tips?
My friend's Stake does a food storage order once/month for a different food item. The Coordinator finds items in bulk, then takes an order for the whole Stake. So far they've gotten most of their major items (wheat, honey, rice, beans, etc.) in less than a year!

16. What is the favorite thing hanging on your walls?
I have some vinyl lettering around the pictures of my 4 kids that says, "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all"

17. What do you use for Family Home Evening lessons?
General Conference!

18. Grocery shopping hints to save money?
Stay away from the bakery!

19. What is something you admire about your parent's relationship?
They still don't have each other figured out yet...

20. Do you have a family motto or mission statement?
Let's make it through this day without killing anyone!

21. How often do you do laundry?
3X/wk. But I also have a high capacity/high efficiency machine.

22. What is your favorite family tradition or vacation?
Bear Lake!

23. If you had only ten minutes to tidy what would you do?
Pick up the living room, vacuum, & wipe down the toilet & sink.

24. How do you help motivate children to do chores?
They are actually very eager to do chores..it's their mother who needs to learn to let them help, even though she knows she'll have to redo whatever they did...
Actually, one thing my kids love to do is pair up socks! It keeps them occupied & helps them practice sorting!
25. What is your most read children's book?
The Bear Snores On & Skippyjon Jones are tied!

Okay, who wants to attempt "The List" next? You can just answer a few if you can't get to 'em all!