NEED HELP!

Calling all moms!

This is embarrassing and I've been trying to deal with it on my own but all of the tips and advice I've found online aren't really helping. My skin is suuuuper dry. Like, ridiculously dry. Particularly my face and my scalp. I have dandruff. Really bad, embarrassing dandruff and no amount of medicated shampoo or deep moisturizing conditioners are helping. And my hair is falling out far more than ever before. I know that your hair falls out post-pregnancy but I can't even take a shower without clogging the drain so much the water won't empty. A 5 minute shower turns into a full bath. This is even if I comb my hair a lot before getting in.

Please help!! I'm not an unhygenic person but this is just gross. I'm tired of being worried about my hair falling out everywhere and even worse, having those nasty little flakes all over everything. What worked for you??

Oooh no...

I think I'm turning into a hippy. I'm listening to "Boston" right now while thinking about how wonderful it would be to be able to grow all of our own food. I love gardening and I love making healthy food. I also don't understand why there is so much waste (does a razor REALLY need so much packaging? Come on, use the plastic for something useful. Like, medical stuff). Don't tell my dad, but I think I'm turning into one of "those."

I guess New England got to me after all. Even though I haven't lived there full time for almost 5 years. Jenny- we can be the crazy New Englanders together!

A Clean House is a Happy House

It's no secret that I don't like clutter or messes or things to be disorganized. Yes, for me this is somewhat of a new thing. (No comments about the condo following finals and the bowl game, Erin! My room was a mess but the rest of the place had help from the other girls who WERE there.) However, I know that when a place is "lived in" it can be more difficult to keep it as clean as you might like. Is it impossible? Nope. Does it take some work and help? Sure does. I like the way that my mom approached housework growing up. At the time I didn't really care for it and as an absent-minded child/teenager, I know I didn't get it most of the time. The rules were simple, though. Put things away when you get something else out (if I was told "when you're done with it" it would never get put away. I was never 'done' with anything!), jobs need to be done before play and if you're bored, don't tell mom. She'll find something like weeding or extra cleaning jobs for you to do.

Where Craig and I are living now, there is an almost constant flow of people in and out of the house. Grandpa has lots of company and that's a great thing for him. For me, I feel like I need to have the house perfectly clean all of the time. It's not, but I try. There are a few things that we do that work for us and some things that I'm going to put in place once we have our own home.

1. Never leave dishes in the sink. In our house, you have to walk by the dishwasher to get to the sink anyway.

2. Use an "up" & "down" basket on the stairs. This comes from mom's rule to never go up the stairs empty handed. A basket just allows you to carry more at a time (fewer trips, too!)

3. Keep one central calendar. No need to have a million papers on the fridge. We like to use our google calendar but I also like having a large month one with notes for quick reference. (Grandpa's for now, our own when we have our own house.)

4. Leave a room a little cleaner when you leave it than when you entered. This could mean making a bed, putting a few clothes away or just tossing the socks in the laundry basket.

5. Have labeled laundry baskets for different loads. We have a basket for Whites, Colors (mainly socks & jeans), Colds (Craig's work clothes) and Baby clothes (we use different detergent for her.)

6. Have kids do age-appropriate things to help. I remember having a child size mop & broom set when I was little. They were red & yellow. I don't think I was actually supposed to get the mop wet but I remember enjoying thinking I was helping. Mom, did I actually help or did you just let me think so?
Sophie isn't old enough to help yet, but we talk about folding clothes and putting things away during the day. She also takes rides in laundry baskets but that's because I haven't figured out how to carry two loads of laundry and a baby yet.

7. Let the kids/spouse/whomever know that what they're doing is actually helpful and useful. When mom let me know that what I had done was both worthwhile and helpful, I was much more inclined to continue doing it.

I know every family is different and different things work for different people, but these are things that I am doing or plan to do when we're in a position to do so. What things work for your family?

All in one place!

With the events that I've been fooding lately, I figured it was about time to just put everything in one place. It's a work-in-progress and there will be more pictures and such coming as I finish events (I'm working on another wedding reception right now). As with many things, the best advertising is word-of-mouth. If you or anyone you know is in need of affordable catering, send them my way!

My new food blog can be found here.

The anti-feminist?

As I've said before, I don't care what choices other people make or how they choose to live their lives. That being said, what I'm about to talk about has nothing to do with the choices other women have made but just how I would feel in a similar situation. Please do me a favor and don't leave me hateful messages about how it works for you or that you enjoy the choices you've made. I hope that's true! I wish that every single person could be completely happy in the life they've chosen. This world would have a lot more going for it if that was the case.

On to my actual topic. I have a friend who introduced me to a blog written by a women who is very similar to me in several ways but in others is a polar opposite. We both love our families, we both love having clean, organized homes, we're close to the same age and we share similar religious beliefs. That's about where the similarities end. This woman believes that she must do ALL of the housework, ALL of the child care, ALL of the cooking and be the best wife, the best cook, the best crafter... everything. I read a post this morning where she was talking about her fabulous "Saturday Evening Fun!" Know what that was? Doing laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. (I'm as crazy as the next person and like to go on a marathon of laundry doing on Monday mornings and just have it over with for the week.) That's all fine and dandy, but why wasn't she out with her husband? Why wasn't he helping? And why why why was it such a big deal that her "hubby-hubs" was soooo amazing to leave his whites in one pile for her?

Again, I'm glad that this sort of life seems to work for her. Putting myself in a similar situation, well, I'm sad just thinking about it. I love that Craig and I will go out and do something (even something as simple as walking around Riverwoods) together every week. Sophie absolutely loves her daddy. To this point, he is the only one who has gotten her to have a real, full on, baby belly laugh. She loves sitting with him in bed while he's on his laptop and either watching the colors change on the screen or trying to push the buttons. It would be really sad if he wasn't involved and didn't have this sort of relationship with her. I don't do all of the dishes, all of the cleaning or all of the baby work and while we're both trying to be better at things, there is not ridiculous strain or demand to be perfect all of the time. Oh, and Craig puts his clothes in the correct laundry basket all the time. ;)

The last thing that made me sad was the fact that not only is this woman attempting to be the perfect everything but her loyal blog-followers also left comments lamenting the fact that they aren't perfect and went on to list their flaws in the house-keeping, wife-being, child-raising department. Can we all take a minute and compliment ourselves on the things we do well? Why is it such a bad thing to recognize the things that we're good at? This doesn't mean that we're better than everyone else or that we don't have room to improve but it's about time we start recognizing the things we're good at. Shall I start?

I am good at planning events.
I am good at teaching primary with Craig.
I am good at making sure we have a healthy diet.
I am getting better at time management.

Okay. Now it's your turn. What are you good at? Stop the "I don't want to brag" line. It's not bragging or being prideful to recognize that you're doing well or are good at something.

Another gig...

There are a few things I LOVE. I LOVE food. I LOVE projects. I LOVE color. I LOVE LOVE LOVE happy flowers. (Gerbera daisies happen to be my very favorite.) I am super excited because I get to, again, combine my very favorite things and cater another wedding reception. I have been given a lot of freedom to create menus (could be scary, could be amazing... I'll let you know) and I'm looking forward to creating something truly stunning. Lucky for me, the bride is using BRIGHT colors and her flowers are gerbera daisies. WOO! I'm excited to spend the next several weeks taking inspiration from a fun-loving couple, beautiful spring, creating and practicing my decorating. (Anyone need frosted treats?)

Education

I've always been taught that education is vital. Yes, our church DOES highly value and encourage the education of women. Here are a few quotes I happened to come across while doing some primary lesson research today (oddly enough, this has nothing to do with the lesson I'm working on):

“What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well.”

There must be respect for the interests of one another. There must be opportunities and encouragement for the development and expression of individual talent. Any man who denies his wife the time and the encouragement to develop her talents, denies himself and his children a blessing which could grace their homes and bless their posterity.

--President Gordon B. Hinckley

The whole gamut of human endeavor is now open to women. There is not anything that you cannot do if you will set your mind to it. I am grateful that women today are afforded the same opportunity to study for science, for the professions, and for every other facet of human knowledge. You are as entitled as are men to the Spirit of Christ, which enlightens every man and woman who comes into the world. . . You can include in the dream of the woman you would like to be a picture of one qualified to serve society and make a significant contribution to the world of which she will be a part.

--President Gordon B. Hinckley

If I had a choice of educating my daughters or my sons because of opportunity constraints, I would choose to educate my daughters. -- Brigham Young.

“(1) Formal education directly teaches health knowledge to mothers; (2) Literacy and numeracy skills acquired in school assist future mothers in diagnosing and treating child health problems; and (3) Exposure to modern society from formal schooling makes women more receptive to modern medical treatments” --Paul Glewwe, senior economist for The World Bank

In a speech to his fellow Ghanaians in the early 1900s, the visionary educator, Dr. J.E. Kwegyir Aggrey, declared, 'The surest way to keep a people down is to educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family.'"

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I am so glad I have a husband who not only "lets" me pursue my educational and professional goals but encourages me and does everything he can to help me achieve everything I could hope for.