Kermit wins the DVD set!! 

It was the Sam Adams comment.  Priceless.

Email me, Kermit, and we’ll get these DVDs out to you ASAP.

Thanks everyone–your comments were great.

The biggest confirmation that there is a God is when your husband is out of town again and you are at your wit’s end with your children and your house and your crazy dog and you think that you can not possibly handle another minute alone with the children, one of whom kept you up all night with croup and bouts in a steamy bathroom and the other who woke up screaming about needing a drink of water which woke the baby up after you had finally settled her down after 5 hours of trying to get her to relax and you are trying to function on a cumulative 6 hours of sleep over the course of 2 days and you wonder if you have enough energy to make it through the rest of the day and then your children do something so amazing, so wonderful, so unbelievably cute, like the 6 year old reading ‘Alexander who used to be rich last Sunday’ to his 10 month old sister who waves at the book every time the words “Goodbye, 12 cents” are said and they snuggle and laugh together that you genuinely reconsider throwing them out the window and running for dear life and decide that you love them deeply after all.

Seriously.  Only divine intervention can explain it.

I’m GIDDY to announce that we put in blueberry bushes yesterday. Of course, when I say “we”, I mean that DH worked up the sweat digging the 2 foot holes while I jumped up and down next to him, clapping my hands. But I did have to buy the 5 cubit feet of spaghnum peat moss and fill the holes with bushes and peat moss mud, so I deserve some credit, too.

Of course, filling a hole with peat moss mud felt an awful lot like I was a kid making mud pies, and I clapped my hands with glee and jumped up and down again and got mud and dirt all over my shirt, pants, and arms, not to mention what all happened to my hair, despite my very fancy and stylish ponytail/visor look, so maybe I don’t get quite that much credit after all.

Here it is: (more…)

Ever since Easter, Toddler-Man, who is almost five and can no longer be called a Toddler in any way, shape, or form, has taken to ripping up pieces of paper and hiding them around the house. (more…)

Fatouma Kondo, 34–”Pama”, as she is known–is the first of Soumana Natomo’s two wives: Fatoumata Toure is the second. Both families eat together, share domestic tasks, and spend most of the day at Pama’s home. Fatoumata, 28, leaves in the evening with her children to sleep in her own house, which is a short walk away. Soumana, 41, alternates houses, spending the night with each woman in turn.

The joint household is tranquil. Pama (the first wife) says she is glad Soumana has a second wife, and that she would welcome a third or even a fourth. Like Fatoumata, says Pama, the additional wives could help her with the children, the housework, and the family mango orchard. (more…)

Faithful reader Erin Marie has offered us a great giveaway–a box set of 4 family friendly DVDS! (more…)

Well, I was wrong.  The mushroom lady, who this week made a solid brick of macaroni and cheese, did not go home.

But her time is limited. Seriously. (more…)

Guest post by Sheridan 

In talking with my LDS friends at park day, they seemed to feel that most LDS moms breastfeed and that potentially because of the support of each other we breastfeed more than the national average.    I don’t know if this is true and last night at 3 AM I thought, I should make a survey.  I am somewhat limited in my local mormon friends.  We are also in California, so I was thinking maybe we are influenced just by living here. 
 
So then I thought, I can do a guest post to Mormon Mommy Wars! 
 
So, I am created this informal survey to gather information from LDS moms regarding their experiences with breastfeeding in relationship to their LDS relationships.  It is just 10 questions and I would really appreciate the input. 
Go here. 

Editor’s note: If this turns into a flame war about breast vs. bottle, I will shut down comments, hunt the flamers down, and throw heavy things at them.  Thank you.

Born and raised in the province of Maissade, northwest of Port-au-Prince, Madame Dentes Delfoart followed rural tradition and replaced her name with that of her husband, Dentes, along with the honorific “Madame”.  She makes ends meet by doing what she calls “a little selling”, which means she operates a sort of convenience store out of her storage shed.  Mme. Delfoart, 41, seems to never stop moving.  Busy days become busy nights, and throughout, her house draws a steady stream of visitors–both family and friends.  Food isn’t plentiful, but she is able to scrape together enough to feed anyone who happens to be present at mealtime.   Having joined the neighborhood Pentecostal church in 1985, both Dentes and Mme. Delfoart attend services regularly and consider themselves deeply religious. (more…)

I succumbed to the public pressure of everyone here (and if I’m being honest, I have to say that means no pressure at all) and I opened my own Etsy shop.

I am still a novice at this stuff, so be nice.  I’ve made more stuff, some for little kids, but my camera isn’t happy with me right now.  Or I’m not happy with it.  Anyway, we’re having a little argument, but rest assured, it will all be worked out soon.  My camera does not hold grudges. 

So, look at my THREE WHOLE LISTINGS, and see what you think.  Hey, thanks.

My 9 year old daughter was recently asked to bring a modest and immodest clothing outfit to the church for Activity Days.  It was stated that the girls were going to model the clothes for each other during the activity.  If my daughter did not have immodest clothes to bring than she could cut out pictures of immodest clothing from magazines and paste it to paper.  I feel that having a lesson on Modesty is important but, I have some issues on the way this activity might go about. (more…)

Well, it seems that every single bug between here and California flung themselves at my windshield.  It was unbelievable how nasty my windshield got, becuase hey - you know what?  I jumped in the car and drove for six and a half hours by myself, and I loved it.  And then the next day?  I did it again. (more…)

In honor of Women’s History Month, this week we will be doing a series (among other things) of excerpts and paraphrased (by me) conversations from the book _Women in the Material World_, by Faith D’aluisio and Peter Menzel.  This book consists of interviews, pictures, and stories of women from around the world. 

At the age of 18 Zenebu Tulu was kidnapped by her future husband, (Getu) Mulleta, and taken to his brother’s home.  Tradition forbade the tearful Zenebu from returning to her parents and the pair was married after negotiations between the two families.  Such forced unions are not uncommon in Ethiopia, where men often have near total control over women’s lives.  For Zenebu, now 29, the abduction is a distant memory.  For Getu, 32, it is a source of embarrassment–a reminder that he was “ignorant” as a young man. (more…)

I’m writing this tonight before all the doctrine of love and the talk of a risen Lord is on our minds and in our service. Because while that is lovely, my current easter hang up is the egg hunt. (more…)

Not expecting that ending.  Not at all. (more…)

Did you know that flour spilled on a burner will burst in flames?

Well, neither did I.

But we still know that our smoke alarms work.  Ladies, you just can’t buy that kind of piece of mind.

 update: (Um, y’all know I meant “peace”, right?  Of course, sometimes it feels like I’m losing my mind, piece by piece, and, well, I suppose you could buy a piece of it, but be warned that the pieces come gently used.)

One of the reasons I love this show is that I learn so much.  I don’t know that I can use it in real life, but some things are fun to know.

For example, apparently a dish of anchovies and quinoa that looks nasty, sounds nasty, and would never appeal to me is quite tasty.  Who knew? (more…)

How many of you Googled old boyfriends after whatserbucket’s last post?  Raise your hands.  (more…)

Just so you know, ‘Random Crap’ is code here at MMW for ‘I have nothing profound to say, my brain is actually slowly turning to mush, but we put something up to keep y’all coming back because our traffic stats are sacred’.  I tell you this in the interest of full disclosure, lest you think we tricked you somehow into thinking this blog was thoughtful.  We are now no longer liable for your brain turning into mush as you read us.  See?  Sometimes it pays to have a husband who studies the law. (more…)

And if you don’t have a Beatles song stuck in your head right now, well, then, you’re un-American.  Or, non-British, I guess.  Or, not a Beatles fan. 

Ok, moving on.  Yesterday was a good/bad mail day. (more…)