The Cheerios Lady (i.e. A Mother's Sweet Revenge)

Once upon a time, Adam went to work at Camp Bartlett for his second summer in a row.  His first summer must not have been nearly as fun, because his family got a letter from him almost weekly.  This summer, they received one letter (and finally a second), and very little other communication.

One day, after discovering the picture below on facebook, along with another without Adam but with a lot of the same people with a big fun fair in the background, his mommy's revenge-anator went into overdrive.

Before I continue, you must meet the Cheerios Lady.  The Cheerios Lady is the happiest woman I personally have ever seen, and all over a bowl of Cheerios!  A few years ago she appeared on the back of the Cheerios box, and we used her almost every morning to bring good cheer to everyone at the breakfast table.  If someone woke up grumpy, we would point her their direction, knowing that glowing happiness like that has to have some kind of affect.  Unfortunately for Adam, the effect was more annoyance than happiness, but we still tried anyway.

We even sent her to scout camp as some mid-week mail.  (Bit of foreshadowing - Adam received that at Camp Bartlett in 2009.)  He had to have been writhing on the ground in tears before receiving it for her to bring him to that state of . . . well . . . something.

Back to our present story.  After seeing my handsome son decked out in a cowboy hat I had never seen apparently at a fair in who-knows-where, having so much fun over the weekend that he didn't have time to check in with his family to tell us what he'd been up to, it was time for him to learn a lesson in communication.

We dubbed our beloved Cheerios Lady "Adam," took him everywhere we went for the next 2 weeks before we picked him up from camp, and posted them on facebook.  Here are some of my favorites (there are lots more, it was hard to choose).

Adam looking at the clouds with the other kids.

Adam watching "Princess Charm School" with Madeleine.

Adam swimming with Madeleine while Melanie waded.  Yes, Adam got wet.

I had a meeting at the park and Adam's good buddy wasn't there, so he sat by me nice and bored for a while.

He finally borrowed a book from another friend and read for a while.

I hired a couple of thugs to get after Adam for not communicating with his mom.

Adam helping me out with my Webelos.

Adam eating Chik-fil-a with us (Sam even shared some lemonade).

Adam playing ring-around-the-rosie at his friend's sister's birthday party.

Adam reading some of his favorite magazines at the library.

Adam watching Sammy compete in a Lego robotics competition.

Adam looking for deer at the nature center.

Adam helping me heft two bags of chicken feed (I was glad he was there!).

Adam feeding some ducks and geese.

Adam protecting the other children from the ducks and geese (we were surrounded!).

Adam having a tea party with his sisters and some cousins.

Adam taking a Sunday nap.

Adam helping out with a family home evening story.

What the house looks like while Adam is "babysitting."

(He was playing video games instead of watching the kids.)

Adam helping out at a cub scout raingutter regatta.

Adam giving some good scout advice to the newest cub scout graduate.

Sam shared some of his doctored chili.  This time Adam isn't smiling.  He's screaming in pain.

Adam learning to crochet from his sisters.

Picking up the real Adam at the end of camp.  Just like the other camp picture, so excited to be with the Cheerios Lady!

By the way, I really think Cheerios should print her on Cheerios boxes again.  Besides sharing her happy smile with everyone, my Cheerios Lady is getting pretty beat up and I could use some more copies of her.  Never know when I might need to use her again!

P.S.  The revenge worked.  Adam was warned at the beginning of the first week that some retribution was going to be happening, and he even guessed that it had something to do with the Cheerios Lady.  Mid-week another camp staff member noticed the pictures, told him about them, then showed them to him.  That week we got a letter and two phone calls over the weekend.  Wow!  A couple more phone calls during the next week.  Hopefully he remembers again next summer!

The Journey

Friday we took a drive that could have potentially taken 3 1/2 hours and we did it in 12 hours.

Sunday we did a similar drive in 5 hours.

A good reminder to me to enjoy the journey.

2011 Till Now

I need to get some thoughts out of my heart.

Through 2011 until now life has been crazy.  No problems to speak of, no major challenges, but incredibly crazily busy.  I would be talking to someone that knew a piece of what I was involved with, and they would comment that they didn't know how I could do it all.  In the back of my mind I would be listing off all the other things they didn't even know about.

Not saying I'm wonder woman or super mom.  Probably just some variety of crazy.

But two big things have come to an end.  On one hand it's nice to not have the responsibility and all that being "in charge" entails, but on another hand, there are so many wonderful opportunities to learn and stretch with each.  I will especially miss all the people.  I'm very happy sitting in my little corner of the world all by myself and my family, and really probably do that more than I should.  But I love being around great people and learning from them, and both of those involved being around and learning from a lot of really amazingly great people.

Before actually coming to "the end" of each I felt like I was ready, that I had had my time and did what I needed to do.  But both endings were a lot harder than I thought.  Hard to close a chapter of your life, especially knowing that with one of these things I will never get to do it again.

I believe that this life is about becoming, so why these things at this time?  What have I learned?

1.  It's always my job to care.  I don't need a special responsibility to do that.
2.  It's far less about who you are when you walk into responsibility, and far more about who you are when you are done.
3.  It's important to have a vision of what you'd like to do and communicate that well.  If people aren't following it, it's usually because of how well (or rather, how poorly) you communicated that vision, not that they don't want to follow.
4.  It's important to get to know people.  What you see and what you've heard usually aren't the real deal.
5.  No success can compensate for failure in the home.
6.  Prayer makes a difference.
7.  The atonement is real, and helps us be far more than we normally are.

Maybe someday I'll write about each of these so you can learn too.

The Best Baked Scones

After not writing for so long, I definitely owe the world something really good, so here it is.  We love eating these.  The blog I got them from is no longer open to the public and I panicked the day I went for the recipe and realized that.  Thank goodness my awesome friend, Cindi, that shared it with me in the first place had saved it elsewhere.  Another good reason to post it here - if something ever happens to my printed copies and my computer, hopefully it will still be here in blog world.

We've never used fresh fruit to make them, just frozen, and we always add chocolate.

Without further adieu...

The Best Blueberry Scones  from thedelectableword.blogspot.com

2 sticks butter, frozen (You will only use 10 tablespoons, however)
1.5 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup 1 percent milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1) Preheat oven to 425.  Remove half of the wrapper from each stick of butter (so 4 tablespoons are visible on each).  Grate unwrapped ends with the large holes of a box grater (8 tablespoons grated total).  Place grated butter in freezer until ready to use.  Melt 2 Tablespoons of remaining unused butter and set aside.

2) Whisk together milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract.  Set aside, in refrigerator.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.  Add frozen butter and toss with fingers until coated.

4) Add milk mixture to flour mixture.  Fold with spatula until just combined.

5) Transfer dough to liberally floured work surface.  With floured hands, knead 6 to 8 times (don't overwork!), until it just holds together in a ragged ball.

6) Roll dough into about a 12 x 12 square.  Fold dough into thirds like a business letter.  Then fold your new 12 x 4 rectangle into thirds the other way, creating a 4 x 4 square.

7) Transfer dough to a lightly floured plate and freeze for 5 minutes.

8) Remove dough from freezer and return to floured work surface.  Roll into a square about 12 x 12.

9) Sprinkle blueberries evenly onto square, and lightly press into dough.

10) Roll dough tightly into a log.  Lay seam side down and slightly flatten log into a 12 x 4 rectangle.

11) Using a sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle into four even rectangles (each will be 3 x 4).  Cut each rectangle in half diagonally.  You ought to have eight evenly sized triangles.

12) Place scones on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush each with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

13) Bake for 18-25 minutes, until top and bottom are golden brown

14) Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

It's Golden! Try it!

I have a new favorite truth, and I actually get to teach it 3 different times this week to 3 very different groups.  Since I'm so excited about it, I wanted to share here as well.

Consider two varieties of laws - man-made vs. natural laws.  Man-made can be set by the whim of a person or by lengthy legislation process, they can changed, and they can be removed.  Man-made laws are created to govern people, and there is usually a punishment attached, though if you don't get caught, you can avoid the punishment.  Natural laws are always there, and no matter how much you argue about them, you can't change it (think gravity for instance).  If not followed, there is always some form of punishment, whether painful (again gravity) or unprofitable (think gardening and the laws of seasons and plant needs).

This truth is a natural law taught by Jesus Christ.  For a great introduction on the power of this principle, read the story at the beginning of this talk where he is sitting in his car and a little boy sticks his tongue out at him (it's a great story, go read it).  As he states, “That was a simple experience, but it demonstrated that in most encounters we can determine the kind of experience we are going to have by how we respond.”

So what is the law?

Matthew 7:12 & 3 Nephi 14:12 both state, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.”  Otherwise known as the Golden Rule!  This is also known as the Law of Reciprocation and the Law of the Boomerang, and in one circle I know of it's known as "The Greatest Leadership Secret" (isn't that lovely?).  It is also like unto the law of the harvest, that “whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap.”

I know you've all heard the Golden Rule over and over, but maybe haven't realize the true power that is involved with it.

From Elder Sterling W. Sill, “We are all human magnets.  Our deeds, our attitudes and even our thoughts attract in kind.  If you frown at someone he scowls back at you.  If you want smiles, give smiles.  You can know in advance how everybody will react to a given situation.  Therefore, a great power is placed in your hands if you choose to use it.  Just figure out what you want, and then give accordingly. . .  If you would like to be trusted, respected, love and followed, just learn to practice this law.”

I didn't know this until recently, but there is also something known as "The Silver Rule."  Basically that says that that you shouldn't do anything hurtful to anyone else that you wouldn't want done to you.  In other words, don't do mean things.  "The Golden Rule" is far more positive, stating that if you want good things to happen to yourself, you should do good things. 

Jesus explains the principle further in Luke 6:31-35 and Matthew 5:44.

This is a principle of self-mastery - accepting responsibility for our own actions, and choosing to do good.

What does it mean when you're playing a game and someone hands you the dice?  That it's your turn, right?  One of the most important things to realize with this principle is that in the Game of Life we're all playing, it is always your turn!  You're never waiting for someone else to move so you can act, it's always your move.  Until you realize you can take a bad situation and turn it around (like in the sticking-the-tongue-out story), you aren't using the full power in all this.

TEST IT OUT!

And a question for you...  Since natural laws have a punishment when not followed, does not following this law have a punishment, and if so, what?

----------------------

And a few extra quotes that follow along with this for good measure:

  

“The more we are filled with the Spirit of God, the more we extend ourselves to others. We become peacemakers in our homes and families, we help our fellowmen everywhere, and we reach out in merciful acts of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and long‐suffering patience. . . This is the peaceable way of the follower of Jesus Christ.” Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Way of the Disciple”

“Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ… Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple.” Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God”

“Our true claim as disciples comes when we can say with certainty that His ways have become our ways. . . “The blessings of discipleship are readily available to all who are willing to pay the price. Discipleship brings purpose to our lives so that rather than wandering aimlessly, we walk steadily on that strait and narrow way that leads us back to our Heavenly Father. Discipleship brings us comfort in times of sorrow, peace of conscience, and joy in service—all of which help us to be more like Jesus.” Elder James E. Faust, “Discipleship”

“The following has been written about discipleship: “. . . A disciple of Christ is one who is learning to be like Christ— learning to think, to feel, and to act [like] he does. To be a true disciple, to fulfill that learning task, is the most demanding regimen known to man. No other discipline compares … in either requirements or rewards. It involves the total transformation of a person from the state of the natural man to that of [a] saint, one who loves the Lord and serves with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength.”” Elder L. Tom Perry, “Discipleship”

Dyeing from all the Fun!

Maybe you haven't heard of playsilks before, but they are a different way to dress up.  The dress isn't already make, you create it with silk.  I'd only seen places to buy it before (in the range of $17 for ONE), so when I saw something on how to dye them last week, including a link on where to buy the plain silk, I was all over it.

I used the method described here, but I suggest using more water in each jar (gives more uniform color - the first few I ended up dyeing more because there were splotches without as much color).

Kool-Aid color chart to get you started, I saw this site where a different lady talks about the colors she uses for dyeing yarn.  Some other color info just to get you thinking.  Hard to totally rely on everyone's color "recipes," because part of it is based on how much fabric you're dyeing at a time and such.

Buy the silk at Dharma Trading Co.  If you buy more than 1 yard of each it comes in a strip of however many yards you bought.  I loved that - I cut different widths so I actually got more than I thought I would.

Just saw another idea/method.  It says to iron them to make them shiny.  I tried it with one and didn't notice a difference.

One Ingredient

It's amazing what one ingredient can do.

It can take something from YUM to . . . huh.  From, "Mom, can I have another one?" to "No thanks, I'm not really hungry right now."

What's 1 cup of sugar anyway?  Of course in Kool-aid I can understand - after water, it's the main ingredient.

No, I wasn't trying to be healthy.  Blame a quick glance at the recipe, assuming I knew all I needed.  Take it from me, be sure to add the sugar in this recipe.  With it my family and I highly recommend them.  Without . . . not so much.

REAL GOOD NO-BAKE COOKIES 

Bring to Boil:  1 cup sugar and 1 cup white Karo syrup
Add 1 1/2 cups peanut butter.
Mix together and pour over 6 cups of corn flakes.

If I wasn't so uptight over the fact that I'm not eating what I would really like to be right now, I could probably come up with an amazingly symbolic lesson, but as it stands, make up your own.  WITH the sugar.

Laundry Love

I know what you're thinking.  "Did she really just say laundry and love in the same heading???"  Yes, dear reader, I did.  A couple days ago I read this post talking about a family's laundry system and immediately fell in love.  I presented it to the kids, wanting to get them on board, and they responded very positively as well.

And so, today we began.  Baskets in place, we sent a few loads through.  Because of space everyone is sharing a basket with someone else.  Melanie shares with Madeleine, and delightfully volunteered to fold her clothes as well.  (Yippee!)  Only time will tell how well this will really work, but I can think of few hiccups in this system.

While telling a friend about it, she mentioned something a friend of hers does to make sorting easier (that has been one of Adam's complaints with the girls' clothes - that he doesn't know whose is whose).  For instance, the oldest girl gets one dot on the tag of her clothes, the second two, third three...  You get the picture.  So for one, it's an easy tool to glance at the dot(s) and see who the item of clothing belongs to, but as said oldest girl grows out of something, another dot is added, continuing things down the line.  Easy as pie.  (Which isn't actually very easy, at least not easy to make it look lovely, but we can talk about that another day.)

Something else we've been trying to do, and with our new basket system will definitely push harder, is having everyone put their socks into a lingerie bag when they take them off instead of tossing them into the basket.  What does that spell?  No sorting socks!  Some are better at this than others, but it's time to make another push for that.

Bottom line - the coolest moms make jobs easy so there is more time to be the cool mom and less time being the slave driver.

Welcome

Welcome To My House

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there,
Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere,
For smears are on the windows, little smudges on the door,
I should apologize I guess for toys strewn on the floor,
But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read,
And if the windows do not shine, their eyes will shine instead,
And when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other,
I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother.

--Author Unknown

I read this while glancing through a book yesterday and had to come home and find it to share.  For more on my feelings about that, read this other post.

While I'm on the topic of awesome moms, isn't this a fabulous cake?   I'm definitely going to have to make that for someone's birthday soon.

And speaking of cooking, I am make two of THESE last night.  Don't you wish you were going to be at our Thanksgivings?  The second is mainly to ensure I have leftovers.  YUM.

SHINE

I Love to See the Temple

For the Relief Society lesson today I was asked to share an experience when I sacrificed to go to the temple and the blessings I received for doing so.  When I first thought about it I could think of plenty of sacrifices - time, distance, being away from family, and the like.  While reading President Monson's talk "The Holy Temple--A Beacon to the World," the basis of the lessons, I went online to google maps to calculate where 2500 miles would be from me so I could have a better perspective on what the people described in two of the stories sacrificed.  From where I live, 2500 miles would be to either Miami, Florida or Southern Maine (Anchorage, Alaska is almost 3000 miles).  Already humbling.


But then google maps tells you how long it would take to travel by car - 1 day 18 hours.  And that's in a nicely air-conditioned car on well-paved roads with plenty of snacks packed and restaurants and rest stops abounding.  In comparison...

Those faithful Saints journeyed by boat for four days on the Amazon River and its tributaries. After completing this journey by water, they boarded buses for another three days of travel—over bumpy roads, with very little to eat, and with nowhere comfortable to sleep. After seven days and nights, they arrived at the temple in São Paulo, where ordinances eternal in nature were performed. Of course their return journey was just as difficult. However, they had received the ordinances and blessings of the temple, and although their purses were empty, they themselves were filled with the spirit of the temple and with gratitude for the blessings they had received.

With a temple 20 minutes away, what really do I have to say about sacrifice?  "Once upon a time I drove for 10 minutes to pick up a friend from work, then drove another 10 while minutes to the temple.  When we were done there, we stopped for ice cream before dropping her off again.  The house was messy when I got back."


It was a kick in the pants that I need to get there more often.


The temple has been a different blessing at different times of my life.  When my children were all young (making it necessary to find a babysitter to go), the biggest blessing for me was the peace I felt there.  Now, the blessings are answers to prayer and other types of instruction, reminding me that God knows there is such a person as Marni, trying to do my best to be a good wife, raise the children He blessed me with, and fulfill the other responsibilities He has given to me.  I assume the blessings of attending will continue to grow and evolve.


I like to sing a song or two with my baby before putting her to bed.  It always makes me smile when I start to sing a song only to have her stop me with, "No! Temple!", letting me know she wants me to sing "I Love to See the Temple."  She does like other songs, but she's never "requested" me to sing any other song.


Can't wait to go take you there someday.

I Really Should Do This Once in a While...

For a quick update...

We've had a sick house this week.  I would prefer everyone to get it and get it over with, but at our house we have to spread things out one at a time (though the two littlest started first, about a half hour apart).  Seems that the stomach flu has about a 48 hour incubation period...

The Hall Family is working on memorizing:
Moroni 7:45-48
Isaiah 64:8
The first quote on this page.

Together we are reading:
"I am David" by Anne Holm

I am working on reading (by this I mean I've picked it up within the last month and read part with the intent to eventually finish it):
"Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
"Daisy Chain" by Charlotte Yonge (I'm not going to admit how long I've been reading this)
"Baden-Powell: Two Lives of a Hero" by William Hillcourt
"Daughters in My Kingdom"

Jamie introduced me to the movie "12 Angry Men" this week.  I sadly admit that I've complained about those jury duty letters, though the closest I've been to actually being on a jury was the one time I had to go to the courthouse where the other potential jurors and I sat for about an hour before we were dismissed to go home.  After watching that movie I realized why we need good, intelligent, moral people on juries.

Our chickens are doing fabulous.  They are just over 20 weeks old (average "start to lay eggs" age), and two of them have been laying for a week.  It's a gift finding those eggs every day.  We have to rotate through the kids, because they all want their turn gathering them.