Monday Musings: Working Moms

The Family: A proclamation to the World says, “mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”  Some people might take that to mean any of the following: 1. Women must stay at home and care for their children. 2. Mothers who work are not good mothers. 3. Mothers who work are unable to teach their children in the home.  Simply put, none of these are true.
My mother has worked outside the home for as long as I can remember.  In fact, she has been at the same job for over 22 years (and I’m 23).  I remember coming home from church one day as a youth, and my mom talking about something that was said in Sunday school.  One ward member (a male) had made a comment along the lines of, “mothers that work outside the home will go to hell.”  Well, you can imagine how any working mother might take that statement.  I don’t remember the details of how my mom reacted, or even how she felt, but I do clearly remember how I felt.   I wanted to find that guy and kick him in the shins.   As a teacher, I have come to realize that the greater learning takes place in the home, not in the classroom.  If children spent as much time in the classroom as they did at home, then the story would be different.  But the truth is kids just can’t sit still for that long.  Plus, the government wouldn’t fund it, but that’s a different argument for a different day.  The argument here is that working moms are unable to teach their children because they fail to be at the “crossroads” of their lives.  That may be so, but let me tell you about what my working mom was able to teach me while working 40 hours a week.
1. My mom taught me to work hard.  Good things do not come to those who sit on their butt.  Things that matter come to those who bite the bullet, get their hands dirty, and get stuff done.  She taught me that no matter what my dream was, all I needed to do to achieve it was put in the hours and elbow grease.
2. My mom taught me to dream.  My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader.  Whatever I wanted to do, she was behind me cheering me on.  Orchestra? Sure thing. Let me find my sister’s old violin so you don’t have to rent again (after I broke the first).  Color guard? Absolutely! Choir? I’ll be at every concert.  Anything I wanted to do, she was behind me 100%.  When it came to what college I wanted to go to, she was more than happy I picked BYU-I.  When it came to my career choice, she couldn’t see me doing anything differently.  Although she couldn’t come to Chicago on Bonnevaire’s tour with me, I knew she was back home, cheering for me.
3. My mom taught me to listen to the spirit.  Her example has always been my biggest teacher.  I really started to take advantage of her wisdom when I was in college.  I always knew that if I had a question, to take it to the Lord and wait for an answer.  She always encouraged me to take advantage of having a priesthood holder in the home and receive blessings from my dad.  When I got my patriarchal blessing, she was right there beside me, taking in all the blessings my life had in store because she brought me into the world
4. My mom instilled in me a love of music.  She taught me to use my talents to bless the lives of others.  Because of her example and encouragement and support, best friends have become like family and my life is richer for it.  I can bear testimony of my Savior in a way that many cannot, and for that I will be forever grateful to her.
5. My mom taught me how to be a mother.  You might not guess it, but yes.  My working mother has taught me more about motherhood than any book written, or lecture given, or scientific study performed ever could.  Because she gave all she had for her family.  Every moment she did not spend at home was spent doing something for or with her family.  The fact that she worked didn’t change that.
You see, not everyone is lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom.  And those who have circumstances that don’t allow them to be there shouldn’t be condemned for it.  My grandmother passed away when my mother was only 7 months old.  Being the youngest child with the next oldest sibling 15 years older, she was raised by her single father.  She never had a mother.  Not really.  In the big scheme of things, I think she did a pretty good job.  And I think the Lord knows that too, and even though she wasn’t there waiting for us kids after school with milk and warm chocolate chip cookies, I think he’s willing to overlook that.  Because He loves her, and He knows she did the best she could.  So if you meet a mom with a job, before you judge her, take a moment to thank your Heavenly Father that you can be with your kids all day.  Because chances are, the working mom wishes she could be too.

Awkward and Awesome

It’s baaaaack!! That’s right. Awkward and awesome is back!! I know you are all sooo excited.  Well, at least I am.  So, without further ado, I give you:
AWKWARD AND AWESOME March 2014
Awkward:
1. Having two consecutive days of work off, and feeling like everything has changed since you were there last.
2. Talking to people you don’t want to talk to about things you don’t want to talk about.
3. Spending your Tuesday night reading all the texts from your mom since the beginning of time.
4. Having someone explain to you that the reason he has lost weight is because his “girlfriend is in town.” We’re just going to say “Increased exercise.” Ya, that’s good.
5. Fantasy Football and Macrh Madness Brackets.  I just don’t get it.
6. Spending your 45 minute lunch break just trying to find a McDonalds.  You live in Phoenix.  How hard can this be?!
7. Having to go to McDonald’s after you dropped your Costa Vida birthday dinner leftovers on the floor.
8. Having a male and a female of the only two fish on the planet earth that have live births.  I’m a grandma!
9. Admitting to your husband of 4 years that you have the social personality of a crazy cat lady. MEOW!
10. When you have oily skin and even though your mascara is supposed to be waterproof, it smudges up under your eyebrows anyways.  “No, I wasn’t going for that look.”
AWESOME:
1. When I come home from work and the dishes are done!  Thanks, hubby!
2. Game nights with the hubs, working on our Settlers skills.
3. Those nights that I make AWESOME dinners.
4. Successfully recreating one of my mother-in-law’s dishes. If you want to commit a murder and make it look like heart failure, I’ll give you the recipe.
5. Jamberry Nails.  They’re like stickers. For your nails.
6. Listening to the Book of Mormon on my phone while folding laundry.  I made it through Alma in 4 days! That’s a lotta laundry!
7. Hemp Golden Glow Bronzing Moisturizer.  I’m one sunburn away from skin cancer, so this stuff is a lifesaver!—literally.
8. Illegal Lengths mascara.  I cut my eyelashes in 7th grade (WHY?!?).  Again, a lifesaver.
9. Finally choosing a mirror for my dining room wall! Now to just figure out a way to hang it…
10. Autocorrect Fails.  And Cake Fails.  If you Instagram, search the hashtag #cakefail. Find the Belle and Cinderella one.  You won’t be sorry.
Ah, Awkward and Awesome.  You never fail to disappoint. Thanks for helping me relive some of my most awkward moments of the week.

FUN FACT FRIDAY

So, I realize I have never done anything remotely like a FFF, you know, telling you about us and what makes us tick.  I guess I just thought we were way to boring. Well, we may be boring, but we're unique and individual too, so I thought I'd try to showcase that a little. Where should I start?

Brennen:  Brennen is one of theeee most CREATIVE people I have ever met in my life.  Like seriously, he will forever be infinitely more creative than me.  I wish I could show you all of the mugs and bowls and figurines he made in ceramics back in high school.  He practically made the Christmas wreath for our front door, and he's always giving his input with the interior decorating (which i sometimes hate because I wanna do what I wanna do!). He is always thinking up creative and effective ways to fix things or make things.  Like how he used tie-downs to hitch his hammock to the railing on our porch.  He also started this thing where we take the stickers off our fruit and put them on the electric can opener???  I dont know where that idea came from but we still do it.

Grace: I HATE HATE HATE having greasy things on my hands!! I can't stand it.  I stay away from contact with oil, grease, butter, even baby oil.  I can do lotion as long as it soaks in, but after putting baby oil on my legs, I have to wash my hands.  Whenever I make snickerdoodles, I have to wash my hands after rolling like 5 dough balls in the cinnamon sugar because my hands get too oily from the butter in the dough.  A massage with oil? Fo-get about it! (said in a Brooklyn accent).  Even lathering soap on my hands is bad. I can deal with wet and I can deal with sticky, but not oily/greasy.

There you go.  The Larsen's first Fun Fact Friday! Now you know a little more about our boring selves!

Lately...

Why, hello! Long time, no see.  This is partially because I have to hook my phone up to my computer to get the internet and posting from my phone app sucks, thus, no posts for a while.  What has been happening you might ask? Well, probably the most exciting thing for me was the dedication of the temple! WOOHOO! If you know me, there is a tender spot in my heart the size of Texas for the temple.

Sorry for any Insta-repeats, my phone is my camera too, so all these pics have probably been seen before.  I went to the Gilbert Temple for the first time today, and it's huge! the ordinance rooms seat probably 100 people and there are three ordinance rooms! The weird thing is that you stay in one room throughout the entire presentation, where in Idaho Falls and Rexburg you get to move to different rooms.  It definitely makes it harder not to fall asleep, but for now, I just focus on taking in every detail of that room.  

Most recently though, probably the most fun thing we have done is go down to Tucson (about 1.5 hour drive) to hang out with our friends Nathan and Holly.  A few weeks ago, they wanted to go hiking up a nearby mountain.  I don't think I've been on a hike since...uh....girls camp, and this was super crazy.  Nathan had us climbing like a 45 degree angle up this mountainside.  But let me tell you, it was worth it.  (Again, sorry for the Instagram repeats)

We all thought Nathan was crazy for making us hike all the way up here.  And then we saw the view.  And that made it all worth it. It felt like we were back in Idaho just cruising through the mountains.  Definitely a reprieve from the every-day life of working and studying. Well, that's all for now I guess.  I will try not to be so lazy and post more, even if our lives are painfully boring to read about.  Hoping to bring back some Awkward&Awesome, and going to start working on a FFF (that's Fun Fact Friday for all you non-bloggin folk) for tomorrow so maybe you can get to know a little more about us, so keep an eye out!

10 Pet Peeeeeves

We've all got them, right?  Some more than others.  Me? I'm one of those "more than" others.  Let's talk about them. 1. Unknowingly being kicked out of automatic bill pay and finding out when the renters insurance company sends you "termination of coverage" notices.  Then getting the bill on the 29th that was mailed on the 22nd but due on the 17th? I hope they have a time machine for me to borrow. 2. babies with name that have more than two vowels next to each other.  For example. Masaiah. Huh? This is coming from a teacher: If you love your children, make their name pronounceable. They will be less bitter as adults. I promise. 3. People that come into work hung over and all but useless. If I ruled the world, hung over people would be sent home and asked to not come back. 4. Arizona traffic when there is an accident on the freeway. 5. When your spouse eats all your Christmas chocolate. And then finds your secret stash of Dr. Pepper. 6. Paper cuts. 7. Small, creepy, eight-legged monsters living under my appliances. 8. Coyotes waking me up in the middle of the night howling at the ambulance siren (I don't know where they live, but yes, there is a pack of coyotes nearby.) 9. People who cannot alphabetize. 10. empty container left in the fridge/cabinets.  JUST THROW IT AWAY, DANGIT! Ten's a lot, and believe me, I have more.  However, I don't want you all to think I'm totally nuts, so we'll stop there.  What are your pet peeves?

Resolutions

I know I'm a little behind, but I just now decided I wanted to make some resolutions for this year.  I can't usually remember what they are by the end of the year, but, oh well.

Resolution 1: Get in at least 2 hours of exercise a week.  That's 30 minutes 4 times a week.  Or something like that.  I'm a terrible exerciser, and it's probably been a month or two since my feet have hit a treadmill.  I need to work out more for the sake of my poor, confused, messed-up body.

Resolution 2: Go to the temple at least twice a month.  I really don't live all that far away from the Mesa temple.  It's not like when we lived in Rexburg and I literally lived down the street from the temple, but I have good, reliable transportation and a current recommend, so there's no reason why I shouldn't go.  Plus, the Gilbert temple will be dedicated in March and since I live within the boundaries of that temple district, I will have two temples within 10 miles of me.

Resolution 3: Get a teaching job.  Or at least apply for my reciprocal licence.  I can have a hundred million interviews and no one can offer me a job, but I can at least be prepared if they do.

Resolution 4: Continue learning.  There's a lot I've missed about the education world since I've graduated (like common core), so I need to research some things and become better acquainted with all the new stuff that's going on.  Plus, it's hard for your students to be motivated to learn when you aren't willing to learn new things yourself.

Resolution 5: Read the Book of Mormon, ALL THE WAY THROUGH.  I don't know the last time I did this.  I always start, but like so many I'm sure, fizzle out around Alma.  I really want to study and become more familiar with the scriptures this year.

Five's a good number, right? I better stop now before I get too carried away.  I would like to say that I'm sharing all this with you so that I can remain accountable, but the truth is: you're going to forget it quicker than I am.  So, you know what they say.  "A goal unwritten is only a wish."

**UPDATE**

I forgot one of my other resolutions that I was going to do before I even thought of these other ones.  It's called Facebook Free Friday.  Fridays are my date night days with Brennen, and I used to not work Fridays.  Since I can get Facebook on my phone now, I kind of get on all the time.  So, in an effort to not appear addicted, I implemented Facebook Free Friday as a day where I can focus on my family and home and not be distracted by social media while spending time with Brennen.

Here's to 2014

I see all of you have written something about the new year, so here I am, too. Ah, where has the year gone? 2013 has been full of so many little surprises and ups and downs. In January, I started my very last semester at BYU-Idaho. In March, I turned the ripe old age of 23. In April, Brennen and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary, and I completed my student teaching and "officially" graduated from college (remember, I walked in December?). In June, we made the biggest move of our lives: 14 hours south to sunny Mesa, Arizona where Brennen began the 27-month Physician Assistant program at ATSU. In August we made a week-long trip back to Idaho to visit family and take the new boat out on the reservoir. We also made one of the biggest purchases we have ever made-a new car! In November, we headed to Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with the the Larsens, Brennen turned 28 and we went to a Phoenix Suns/Utah Jazz game. We also expanded our family-by 8! We committed to caring for 8 live fish. In December we headed back up to Idaho where the Christmas holiday was spent with family and friends. 2013 has been good to us, but we hope 2014 will be even better. Our lease is up in May, so we may be making another move! (I really, really want to find a house to rent in Gilbert!) Brennen will start rotations in August, and hopefully I will be able to quit my day job and be a teacher. I have a feeling that this year will be a big one for us with lots of growth and changes. And I'm excited to see what it will bring our way! And, my motto for the year. While I have a feeling it's going to be a big year for us, that doesn't mean it will be easy. Hoping to make the most of ever moment-good or bad-and keep moving forward.