Intense

Or, should I say, "In Tents".

Although I never want to be one of those people who travels around from fair to fair, it is fun to do a show every once in a while. Ruth and I were both going to be in Utah this summer for family reunions, so we did the Provo Freedom Festival over the 4th of July weekend. It was so fun to see two of my old mission comps at the festival (Howdy Simmons and Lucas!) and to meet the moms, sisters, and friends of my friends (I love viral facebook marketing, don't you?)

We sold all of our normal Little Lit stuff, but also added play tents just for fun. Despite many a serger nightmare, we were able to make 20, and we sold every one (except for the one I pinned backwards that was horribly skew-wampus). We have fabric and supplies for 20 more, so we'll need to do another show of some kind next summer; but now we have a much better idea of how to streamline the process. The best part of the process was finding super-cheap, but super-cute fabric combinations. Most were one-of-a-kind (we had two duplicates) and I wish I had pictures of all of them, but these shots will give you an idea. Similar tents sell online for $288-$360 (I'm not just making that up!). But ours have cool portholes to peek out of and sold for only around $60.

The stuff you see in the background is our nextdoor neighbor's booth. They ARE the kind of people who spend all summer traveling around the country from fair to fair. Their winters are spent making the hair do-dads and neck coolers they sell. But, they are experts at making cute princess hair (as evidenced by Emma, Becca, and Mui-mui. Yep, even Mui-mui who won't let me put a barrette in her hair for more than 3 seconds looked sweet in her twisty-bun. And it lasted for about 5 whole minutes - a true record).

We all scream....

Tag team training

My recipe for successful potty training:

1. Make sure that your child and his best friend are struggling with potty training at the same time.
2. Go spend a week at said friend's house.
3. Be generous in the allotment of skittles after each successful toilet experience.
4. The children will take care of gloating to each other that they got a potty treat.
5. Whichever one did not get the most recent potty treat will dash to the bathroom to earn his/her own reward (heaven forbid that Becca has more treats than Go-go! And there is no way that Becca is going to stand idly by while Go-go eats treats without her!).
6. Hope that it sticks after Go-go returns home (so far, so good).

So, should I publish a book, or what? Doesn't everyone have a week to have a giant slumber party with their best friend? And forget the fact that Go-go will be four (!?!) in a few months - aren't I a prodigy (of course it's all about me!)? And, of course, we're also going to ignore the fact that we've only mastered #1 - I'll just write a sequel when I discover the brilliant and innovative method to tackle #2.

And if you're one of those people who just roll their eyes whenever the potty training topic comes up, roll away. I'm rolling my own eyes as I type this post, but can't resist sharing my glee and relief that the silly kid who can tell us the difference between a noun and a verb can finally pee where he's supposed to! Hooray for Go-go (and Becca!) !!

Bedtime Song

As I put the kids down to bed tonight, Go-go asked for one more song.  I started to sing my favorite lullaby, Edelweiss, but he cut me off and said, "No, Mom!  A Jesus song!"  OK, I know more than a few of those, so I thought this was an easy request.  I started off with 'Tell Me the Stories of Jesus' which he listened to politely and then said, "No, Mom!  Not that one."  So I started to sing 'Jesus Once Was a Little Child.'  This time, he only let me get through one line before telling me that I still had the wrong one.  'I Am a Child of God' didn't go over any better.

By this time, I was running out of ideas.  "What Jesus song do you want me to sing?"  

"Oh, you know, Mom.  My Jesus song."

"Well, remind me how it goes, OK."

The tune was eerily similar to the song they play at the beginning of a movie with the dancing soda cups and hot dogs.  You know, the one that goes, "Let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby, and get ourselves some snacks."

Go-go proceeded to sing with gusto and at the top of his lungs:

"Jesus had a transformer!

Jesus had a transformer!

Jesus had a transformer!

And He likes to fight with it!"

Of Pilgrims and Projects

I was about to start this post with the sentence, "I've always struggled to find my place  in the church and in the world as a woman and as a Mormon," but I realized that, although I liked the sound of it, it would be a lie.  In my early adulthood, I felt perfectly at ease with myself and my church.  Granted, I was a Democrat at BYU ("What!?!  I'm pretty sure it's in the temple recommend interview somewhere that you must vote Republican!"), but my testimony was fairly mainstream and strong.  I'd heard of the feminist organization on campus (VOICE), but somehow never made it to a meeting to check it out.  And I had never considered most of the issues I'm sure they were talking about at the time (long, long ago in an early '90's galaxy far, far away).  I followed a fairly traditional path for a Mormon girl; I went on a mission, got married in the temple, graduated from college (finally), and had some kids (finally).  True, I threw in a little graduate school along the way, but although that may not be typical, it certainly isn't way out there.

Fast forward a few (OK, many) years later and I can say, "I currently struggle to find my place in the church and in the world as a woman and as a Mormon."  Problems with a male-centric hierarchy that seemed normal and natural to me before, now grate on me.  I find it confusing to love a church when I don't love everything it stands for or promotes.  People I meet in the outside world make invalid assumptions about me when they find out I'm LDS, and people in my ward throw out casual comments about those apostate feminists and liberals.  

I was lucky to land in Pittsburgh around the same time that I was growing more into my own sense of self.  There I met a group of amazing women who showed by example that it is possible to navigate the space that includes an awareness about and intolerance of sexism in the church and a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.  A few weeks after I moved to Pittsburgh in 2000, a stranger (now my dear, dear friend Christine) invited me to a mini retreat held at a cabin up in the mountains.  She described it as "a relief society gathering for liberals."  What had I said to blow my cover?!  How did she know?!  Whatever I had done or said, she was right that I needed it.  Here was a group of women who were not afraid to talk about anything and everything.  Nothing was taboo, having questions was not considered a sign of doubt, and having doubts was not considered a sign of unworthiness.  That spring, I attended a similar, but larger gathering in Indiana - the Midwest Pilgrims Retreat.  It's been a good place to work out my frustrations, vent about my pet peeves, explore my doubts, renew my faith, connect with amazing women, and have a good time.

This year, the group from Pittsburgh was in charge of planning Midwest Pilgrims Retreat in Chicago and it has been a great project for me.  I put together the website (which you can check out here if you're interested in the program we put on), ran registration, made a labyrinth (with Michelle - see below), and led one of the workshops.  Having something tangible to plan and to do that also involved coordinating with lots of other grown-ups on a daily basis brought me out of a funk that had me in its grasp all winter.  Yes, spring, sunshine, new house, and new neighborhood to look forward to all helped as well, but I have a renewed belief in the value of projects.  

The workshop I led was a discussion about an article in Dialogue: "How to Worship our Mother in Heaven (Without Getting Excommunicated)".  Right about here is where half of my cousins have gasped and started to worry about my eternal soul (a few of them started worrying back when I talked about being a liberal feminist).  But, don't worry, it was a great discussion and I learned many ways to incorporate this important and unique aspect of Mormon doctrine into my life and mind.  And besides, I have so many questions and concerns about other things that many consider fundamental to salvation that a little speculation about the feminine divine is absolutely not even on the top ten list of things you should worry about with me (and a very special hello to my R.S. president who is probably reading this - Hi, Eliza!)

The retreat itself was rejuvenating.  So many of my friends who are still in Pittsburgh or who have moved away from Pittsburgh were there.  Below is a shot of all the current and former Pittsburghers who attended (and two are missing from the picture).  Twenty-two of the seventy-four attendees were from Pittsburgh (now or at some point in the recent past).  I don't know that I'll ever find another group like this in a Mormon congregation, and I haven't had much luck converting even a small group in my current suburban ward (can't wait to try it in the city ward).

So, to sum up - I love my friends.  I love my Mormon-ness.  I love Midwest Pilgrims.  I love my crazy ideas and ideals.  I love Chicago.  I love Pittsburgh.  I love holding the camera at arm's length and hoping against all previous experience in my life that I'll get a decent shot (see below).  I love a weekend without the kids.  I love my family (liberal and conservative sides).  I even love the struggle to find my place in the world and in the church.  After all, how boring would it be to just go back to being comfortable.

Welcome to the American Dream

So, we did it! In the last whirlwind of a week, we've gotten word that the funding for Erik's dream job will be ongoing, got ourselves a real estate agent and pre-approval for a loan, looked at some houses, fell in love, made an offer, and bought ourselves a house!! Of course, everything is still contingent on the inspection, etc., but we are thrilled. 

The house has 3 bedrooms and a full bath on the top floor.  On the 2nd floor are a living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, pantry, half bath, bedroom (office), screened-in porch, and 2-car attached garage (something I never thought we'd get on the kind of older home we wanted).  The basement has a finished playroom, an unfinished workroom (that I plan to finish as another office), laundry, and storage. It's on a corner with a fenced yard and it even comes with a swingset. It's a 1930's home which gives it all of the great character I love - hardwood floors, built in bookcases, lovely fireplace, archway between the living and dining rooms. But, the current owners have made a lot of great updates - new bathrooms, new roof, new windows, new boiler, etc. Plus, they have great taste in paint and decor - we can just move right in. It's on the smaller side of our square footage range, but the spaces are all perfect. It's got a very 'not too big house' feel to me - smart spaces with character and charm as opposed to big empty space for the sake of space. 

The neighborhood is great. We're right across the street from a tip-top rated elementary school with a fabulous playground. The library and some cute shops are a quick walk away (and there are sidewalks everywhere - the lack of which are a major source of stress in my current life). There are a TON of kids in the neighborhood - I've met the mom across the street who has two kids the same ages as ours. She assured me that Go-go and Mui-mui will never lack for neighborhood playmates. And we'll be changing wards - we'll be in the city ward which has a really nice vibe. 

The timing has been amazing and a blessing. We've seen a lot of houses online and have been doing the open house circuit for the past month and a half; we've seen several that had one or two things missing from our lists or could work if they had to. But this house came on the market just a few days after we decided we could go ahead and buy and we were able to get to it first. We'll close at the end of July. Here are some pictures (obviously not our furniture): 

Sorry to gush - we're property virgins and I was really dreading the whole process.  So far it had been great and we both feel incredibly calm about everything.  I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when we close.

What I learned in Sunbeams

Every week, I pick Go-go up from his Sunbeam class at church. When he sees me in the doorway, he shouts, "Mommy!" and starts to run for me.
Every week, his teacher calls out, "Wait a second!" and hands him the picture he drew along with any other craft project or handout they did that day.
Every week, I ask him to tell me about his picture, and every week he replies, "It's a big monster!"

A few weeks ago, I suggested that maybe he should draw a picture about the lesson they had in class, or maybe just a picture about Jesus.

The boy does not disappoint. Here is his picture from last Sunday:

"It's the big monster that scared Jesus!"

Easter wiggles

Most of our Easter fun was at Becca's house on Friday and Saturday. Eggs filled with candy and scavenger hunt clues, ring pops, a glitter ball, and a Batman scooter were all involved. Great fun - but, alas, no pictures.

Sunday morning, the kids looked dashing in their Easter finery, but were in no mood to take pictures. Here are a few of their wiggle-rific poses:







Of course, for maximum Easter Portrait fun, running away is always a good approach:






By the time church was done, so were the kids:



So, no sweet smiling portraits of cherubic children in their Easter frippery, but we had a lovely holiday and you'll just have to believe me that they looked charming.

By Popular Demand

So many of my faithful readers cried out for messy blueberry pictures the last time the kids ate frozen blueberries that I simply had to post pictures from this morning's blueberry adventure. I couldn't disappoint my loyal fans, now could I?