New Blog

For those of you who are still (sadly) linked to THIS blog...I've been blogging elsewhere. You should probably switch over...unless you really never cared to read my blog in the first place. I'm over at Wordpress now so go follow that one and do some catching up while you're there!

New Blog Address!

Okay, so after my husband told me for the 10th time that there's another blog client that would work better with how I want it to work, I've moved my blog. So now if you want to read about our crazy road trip (which starts today!) and other mind-numbing blogs you'll have to go to: http://www.kamicornwalldesign.com/blog/ THANKS! Go now. Go! Quit reading and run! Well click anyhow.

The Sound of Silence

Yes indeed. It is possible once in a while to hear it. In fact, at this very moment I am sitting in an almost completely silent room. The only things that can be heard are the sounds of the lightly humming laptop fan and the aquarium (yes, it's saltwater and no, it's not hard to maintain) fans. Oh and that weird talk radio show that comes through on the baby monitor. Stu is playing with his best friend who also happens to be his cousin who also happens to live next door. Yes, it' really nice that they live so close. How I ended up living next door to my brother is another story itself but I have to say that if I didn't live next door, I'd either be driving my son to their house quite often or going out of my mind.

Every day this is what I hear from breakfast until... I give in: "Mommy, did you call Mary to see if I could come over? Mommy, who's that on the phone with you? Is that Mary? Mommy, I just don't have any toys here that I want to play with. Can we call Mary now? Mommy, you forgot to call Mary! Are you going to call Mary after you're done with the dishes? Are you going to call her now?" So despite my attempts to leave my poor sister-in-law alone, I eventually give in (after 5 hours of the 5-year-old inquisition) and ask her if she is willing to allow him to either walk next door or send her daughter here so that I can get a moment's peace. Ah...peace.

The youngest, Andy, is napping...or so I think. He's very good at lying in his bed and being content for 15 minutes at a time when in actuality he's not really asleep. He convinced me with his puppy-dog eyes and dimply cheeks to allow him to go to bed with a little puppy toy that barks when you squeeze it...which also comes from Mary's house. Yes, Mary's house is quite the treasure trove to our kids. Not that they lack in toys of their own. I should put all of their toys in storage someday and then bring them out a few months down the road. It would be like Christmas!

So here I am having my moment of silence and instead of my physical time being occupied by the boys, I'm spending my time...thinking about the boys. And my life comes full circle in this moment. I honestly can't remember what life was like without having a child around. It must have been really boring! Peaceful, but boring. But kids have a way of helping you appreciate the boring moments. It's not longer boring, but definitely peaceful. Ah....the silence.

Strange Sacrament Meetings

My brother sent me this link today for a laugh: http://www.mormonmommywars.com/?p=659 and after reading the blog and about half the responses I was laughing pretty hard and wanted to write my own blog about this topic. You really ought to click on the link and read the blog. It's hilarious! If you don't, I'll just say that the blogger had paid a visit to a strange ward in Arizona while she was scoping out houses and noticed a couple near her who couldn't stop kissing. In the hour and ten minutes of sacrament meeting the couple had kissed fourty-one times and the speaker was talking about "How to be a man" which was not only completely bizarre for a gospel subject but inappropriate for the congregation which was loaded with women. Those who read this blog also responded with similar stories of the bizarre and inappropriate moments they experienced. Here are a few of mine that make me laugh. Feel free to share your stories.

In one area of Colorado there was a lesson given on the "Word of Wisdom" which sums up as just eating right and not eating things that are addictive or harmful to your bodies. The teacher interpreted one scripture differently. Where it says, "...eat meat sparingly; only in time of winter or famine..." he was teaching that it meant to eat meat sparingly only in times of winter or famine. So all the rest of the year you don't need to eat meat sparingly. This was a big cattle industry area so the ranchers were all very happy to hear the promotion of gorging yourselves on their beef. I had to raise my hand and point out that there's a semi-colon there...and that eating meat at all was something that really should only be done in times of winter or famine...but that it was provided for our use and that we should be extremely thankful for meat. But the whole idea is to eat healthily and partake of grains and fruits/veggies a LOT more. Meat was to be rarely eaten. The speaker honestly had NEVER thought of it that way. I was shocked! How can you actually stand up there and teach that meat should only be eaten sparingly in times of winter or famine? Winter is one of the few times that you really might need the meat. I know famine would be a good time to eat meat if you had access to it. Why would it make sense to abstain from meat in times of winter and famine? What a ridiculous idea!

Another interesting moment was during a fast and testimony meeting (go figure) in a single adult branch in Florida. One girl got up and talked about some things she was thankful for but the testimony quickly went awry when she began talking about how much she hated her mother and then referred to her mother as a back-stabbing, conniving, two-faced witch who didn't deserve to live...and on and on. It was so uncomfortable. What do you do? Everyone's eyes were large and I think even a few people were shaking their heads as if to say, "No...stop talking now! This isn't something you need to air to everyone! It's not a vent-a-mony." I also met a girl in that same ward who made it a habit of keeping a list of how many times people scratched their noses, touched their hair, coughed, and sneezed. Wow. Way to listen to the talks, chick-a-loo. Of course...if the talk is going like the vent-a-mony maybe it's a good way to tune out and pass the time until the spirit returns and you are again listening to something spiritually inspiring.

Back to Colorado I attended this really great discussion on Christ and all the things he was: A leader, father, brother, best friend, etc. All of the comments were really great until one lady stood up and declared very authoritatively, "Well one thing we know is that he was a poligamist! Just look at his relationship with Martha and Mary!" She tried to defend her comment by bringing up Judaic law and how men wouldn't ordinarily spend time with two women in their homes that way unless they were married to them...blah, blah, blah. The whole room erupted and everyone was up in arms. WHOA!!!! Someone get this lady to quit supposing things, sit down, and shut up so the speaker can get us back on track to gospel principles! Yipes! Where did THAT come from? Show me where it says THAT anywhere in the Bible! It was a little scary/uncomfortable for a few minutes but the teacher saved the day with a quick "thanks for your comment...and interesting idea...but let's focus on what we KNOW. Christ died on the cross and suffered for our sins..." etc. Whew! You can find wierdo comments anywhere you go in any religion and any place in the world. It's always funny...after the fact. I've had a few "funny in the moment" comments too but did a good job at not going into giggle fits publicly.

One more story: In a neigboring ward the lesson was on King David and Bathsheba...and how David was such a great guy but made such a horrible choice in life by lusting after Bathsheba and having her husband sent to his death so he could claim her as his own. Then this very old man raises his hand and says, "Should we really be so hard on David though? I mean, men are just hard-wired that way. What was that woman doing bathing in public anyhow? Seems to me she was the wrong-doer there. If she had just kept herself clothed or stayed indoors to bathe none of that would have happened. And besides...her husband wasn't "murdered" per-se...he was killed in combat. That wasn't David's fault either." I blinked and in my head I was screaming, "I can't believe what I'm hearing!!! Are you saying it's all her fault? What the heck?! So it's all the victim's fault? Good one." Where do people come from? I wonder sometimes if the comments that are made are strictly to strike up a controversy or if they actually believe the bizarreness they spew forth?

Awwww....True Love

I LOVE babies. I love how cuddly and squishy they are. I love hearing them laugh. I love hearing their first words. Although I don't love being woken up at night, I love that on the rare occasion that my 19 month old wakes me, he pats my back the way I pat his in reassurance. I love how affectionate he is. He smooths his little fat hand along my arm when he sits on my lap just to let me know he appreciates my presence.

I love my 5 year old too. How amazingly smart kids are. I've heard that each generation is smarter than the last. I don't know if that's true or if the truth is really that each new generation of parents is equally awed at how quickly children learn and absorb information...and then spout what they've learned. My 5 year old can snap his fingers, sing a song after having only heard it twice, and blow a bubblegum bubble. His stories are insanely long though. He gets that from me. It's the old mother's curse: "One day you'll have a child who is JUST LIKE YOU!" He's a lot of fun, but boy, he can talk you're ear off!

These are just random thoughts I had today.

Scoop rhymes with...

Worst movie ever!!!! I don't like Woody Allen movies anyhow, so why would I sit down and put myself through another one? Because my favorite actor, Hugh Jackman, was in it! Plus Scarlett Johannsen isn't a bad actress, right? The movie would have been at least 50% better if Woody Allen WASN'T IN IT. UGH!!!! 20 minutes into this film and I'm sighing and saying, "Get that guy off the camera! He's so annoying!" Then his character threatens to go back to his humdrum life and leave the girl alone. Yeay! Go home! You're not needed here! She can figure it out on her own! But no. She invites him along almost every aspect of the adventure...if you can call it that. I think she spent too much time around Mr. Allen because Scarlett Johannsen actually began acting like him!!! It was incredible! She started talking too fast and stuttering in parts but came back into character soon enough. I think I was supposed to be sad when Woody Allen's character died in a car wreck but I was almost cheering. FINALLY! I don't have to listen to him anymore! His jokes aren't funny, his card tricks are lame, he doesn't pull off the sweet, loveable, silly old man that he's trying to make himself out to be. He just comes off as annoying. Wow. No more Woody Allen films for me no matter WHO graces the screen.

Who is that masked man?

I got a good laugh from a blog someone wrote where her child mistook Josh Holloway for Jesus. I find it funny only because my own son had this identity crisis over Viggo Mortensen when he saw an oversized poster a few years back promoting one of the Lord of the Rings movies. You know....guy with a beard....long wavy hair...he looks kinda like the Jesus paintings....sort of....doesn't he? What was embarassing was that the mall-shoppers were all getting a real kick out of it. I had to nearly drag him away from the poster as he kept pointing and shouting, "Jesus! Jesus!" I felt like yelling, "No, I don't worship Viggo!"