A recent report on FOXNews states that “In the last 30 years, the number of women age 40 to 44 with no children has doubled, from 10 percent to 20 percent. And those who are mothers have an average of 1.9 children each, more than one child fewer than women of the same age in 1976.”  It also says that unemployed women had twice as many babies as employed women.

If “unemployed” means “stay at home”, it makes sense. Of course women who stay home with their kids would have more. Working full time with a child, or children, is very difficult; I did this for nearly 4 years with my oldest. It’s very tiring to work all day then take care of child, house, dinner, then have time for self. If I weren’t able to stay home with my kids, I know I wouldn’t have 3 by now. I would have just Gab, maybe Pierce, if I really wanted to stretch it.

Back in the 1800′s and early 1900′s it was common to have large families, with 5 to 12 children. The infant mortality rate was much higher than it is now. Survival rate among those children is much higher than it was then. Many people also lived on farms, where the more hands they had the better. Girls would work with their mothers in the house, doing all cooking, laundry and cleaning by hand. Boys would help their fathers work all day in the sun farming or ranching.

Families were also much more self-sufficient than they are now. If I want milk, I go to the store and use money (or plastic) to pay for it. I certainly don’t slaughter my own chickens, cows, or pigs (yuck). We have a garden, but it’s very small and we could never survive on what’s in it now. If a family back then had land and animals, they fed themselves and set away some for winter.

So, yeah, it makes sense we have smaller families now. One or 2 children is a smaller average than I thought, though. In my family (siblings), 3 is average. And if more women are focused on their career, they’re not stopping to have kids. To each their own, but I’m happy to have the number I have.

Two weeks ago, I decided to get serious with losing weight. *sigh*

My goal is to lose 1 pound a week…I set it low because my time is limited. I don’t have a big chunk of time during the day to devote to any one thing…Dean cries, or Pierce wants attention, etc. I wanted to set something I could accomplish. So I figure, from that point, it’ll take 15-17 weeks to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Yeah, Dean liked Dairy Queen and Burger King while he was growing in there. Had to feed the growing baby, right?

I met my goal the first week, and tomorrow, for “Weigh-In Wednesday” I hope to meet it again. We pulled a stationary bike out of the garage over the weekend and I tried that out today. OW! I was surprised I could only do 15 minutes. So I finished off my time on the treadmill. I felt kinda jelly-legged when I got off, but it always feels really good to work that hard.

I’m dying to get back to a gym, but my old one closed down. The closest one to me charges for daycare per child, so I’d either have to go at night or take the 2 boys while Gab’s in school and pay for the 2. Plus most of their good classes are in the evening. But with my headaches and cooking dinner and everything else going on in the evenings, it’s very difficult to impossible.

So I’ll do what I can on the treadmill, bike and badminton and hope it works!

I was goofin’ off last night and ran into this post and couldn’t have agreed more! I’m one of the few “lucky” (or good-hee hee) ones that hasn’t ever been a car accident while driving. I was in a car *once* when the driver was hit, if that counts. I think I’m so paranoid when the kids are in the car! Even with my good track record, we got a car with all-around air bags and excellent safety ratings (’08 Highlander).

One of my pet peeves is seeing kids under the recommended age in the front seat. I always want to yell rude comments to the driver, which I know I shouldn’t do…but it’s tempting. A couple years ago I saw a woman at a yard sale with a new baby. And I do mean new…no more than a month old. She got into a pickup with 2 other adults….ok, math time. Three adults, one baby, pickup truck. NO CARSEAT! One of the people I was with reported her/the pickup. My heart just broke for that poor baby.

Pierce loves watching “Go, Diego, Go!” on tv. One thing Diego says is “Seat belts, so we can be safe!” We recite that 90% of the time we get into the car. He never argues…it’s just the way it is. When Gab was little, she’d always (still does!) yell at my dad, “Papa, carseat!” Meaning, of course, put your seatbelt on!

There’s too many people who are careless or oblivious on the roads. It makes me do double duty to keep my kids safe in the car. So, buckle up your kids and follow the seatbelt recommendations!!

I saw this post today and was thinking about the term SuperMom. I talked to my husband about it and he of course said that I was a supermom, but that’s beside the point. To me the definition of a supermom is a mom that can do it all and not just do it all but be happy doing it all. You have to enjoy it and live in the moment. That includes changing poopy diapers while the older child is on the potty yelling “MOMMY!!!” and the oldest one is asking you to do laundry all at the same time your husband is walking through the door asking for dinner and the kitty litter needs to be changed. To me it’s not about working inside or outside of the home, it’s simply about doing it all.

My view on working and putting children in daycare is that most of the time it is not worth the effort. Quite often the expenses of a daycare are so close to what a parent might earn, and then adding in gas prices, work clothes, extra cost of quick meals, stress, and missing out on your kids, that it isn’t worth it. After all of that calculate how much you earn an hour and see if that’s really worth it. Sometimes we just need to scale back on how new the car is, how big the car is, or how big our vacations are. Live simply and enjoy the day-to-day life with kids, animals, cooking, and all that goes into a stay-at-home mom’s life.

So am I a supermom? Most definitely Ask my husband.

Every night since Dean was born, we’ve wrapped him in a special blanket made for swaddling. He ends up looking like a cute little baby burrito, hands by his side. At 2 months old, he begins to get fussy in the evenings starting about 8:45pm. He’s ready to get ready for bed. I wrap him up and immediately he quiets down. It’s like turning on a light switch in the middle of the night. Amazing difference. Then he eats again and is happy until morning. He’s come to predict and look forward to the routine.

Many people feel that predictability in marriage and life is dull, in a rut. You hear it a million times. But there’s a huge difference in predictability and boredom. I can wake up every day with an outline of what will happen. Life is stable…I know what I’m going to feed the kids at each meal. I know they have beds to sleep in at night. I know my car is going to start when I have to go somewhere. I know there’s money if Pierce gets hurt, or Dean needs shots, or Gab needs her braces adjusted.

Fortunately, there are always ups and downs in my day. A couple nights ago, Pierce climbed in bed with us. I woke up in the morning to a huge wet spot by me..nice. So it was laundry first thing. Then the kitten peed in the dog’s bed. I had to go wash that by hand…fun. Then I knew I had company coming, so I had to rush to the treadmill and shower and clean up before they got here. All this by 9:30 am. This is what keeps life from getting boring.

So when you think life is getting too boring, just realize it’s stable. And, ultimately, stability brings peace. And if it’s still boring, shake it up! No one has control over your life like you do. There’s 2 things we can do: complain and do nothing and continue to be unhappy, or complain and make a change.

As for me and my life and family right now, I don’t have the option or time to get bored. With a 5th grader, a 3 year old and a new baby, every day is a new one. Predictable and stable but never boring.

Yes, another zucchini recipe! Luckily this one is a main dish. I heard someone mention doing this once, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I didn’t use a recipe, but just threw it together, so the measurements are kind of a guess.

• 1 1/2 lbs low-fat ground turkey or beef
• 32 oz sugar-free pasta sauce
• lg container low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 very large zucchini (medium ones), sliced lengthwise, 1/4 in. thick
• 2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp each basil, oregano, and parsley
• salt and pepper

1. Brown meat; add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add sauce.
2. Mix 1 c mozzarella cheese, ricotta, eggs, basil, oregano and parsley.
3. Pour enough sauce in a baking dish just to cover bottom. Layer zucchini, cheese, then sauce. Repeat until all used.
4. Top with remaining mozz. cheese.
5. Bake at 375 F until bubbling and zucchini is soft.

It’s surprisingly good. The only thing I would do differently is broil the zucchini slightly before cooking. Some of the pieces of my zucchini were still a bit more crisp than I would have preferred. I made a HUGE pan becuase I had a ginormous zucchini from the garden, so you may want to buy more zucchini than you think you’d use, just in case. I even had a couple slices leftover; I cubed them and threw them on top.

There’s much speculation about China around these Olympics. China is notoriously closed-minded to the outside world in many ways. They have magnificent technology, as we all know…think back to the opening ceremonies on the 8th with that huge LED screen on the ground. And they’re open to tourism…I definitely would LOVE to go to China. But the government is strong against change. Tienanmen Square in 1989 was an example of that. Sure, that was a long time ago and they got dirty looks and “what the heck!?!”‘s from the rest of the world. But they still didn’t open up much.

So with the games going on, many people, including myself, are wondering, “What’s next?” How is this going to change our views on China? How is this going to change the Chinese government’s attitude/behavior to the rest of the non-communist world?

I thought it was interesting how much cheer Cuba got in the opening ceremonies from the Chinese. No country was boo-ed, but it was palpable when a favored country appeared. The US got cheered quite a bit, too, another interesting note. China is doing well, as far as golds go. And I think that’s a good thing in some ways. It may elevate the “outside’s” opinion of the people and country. But I also wonder if the govt. will say, “See? Told ya we were right.”

During the opening ceremonies, there were also quite a few bold statements. A large group of children presented their flag to soldiers, who, in strong military style, stiff-stepped it and hoisted it up the flagpole. A woman, beautifully dressed and dancing, stood on a platform carried by many men. In the very beginning, a couple thousand men in total unison banged on drums. The messages were quite clear in each instance. Paul and I just looked at each other and our jaws dropped!

But, overall, I’m very excited. I hope things open up and attitudes become more positive.

Back in the early days of the LDS church, yes, polygamy was practiced. It started because many men were killed in massacres and fighting and the women and children left behind needed care. Then it continued on, and was declared official in Utah in 1852 by Brigham Young. Years later, when Utah was trying to become a state, the US government said, basically, “You can become a state, but the polygamy has to go.” In 1890, under Wilford Woodruff, Utah agreed to ban polygamy.  When Joseph Smith was alive, he wrote the Articles of Faith….13 short statements of what we believe. One of those articles is to obey the laws and follow the rules of the government. And the church was willing to follow the laws of the government. Utah became a state 6 years later. (There was a lot of controversy and tension between the Utah territory and the government between 1852 and 1890, so I’m just giving a quick overview.)

Many in Utah felt that the government had no right to tell them how to practice their religion; they felt that if a commandment came from God, it couldn’t be revoked by man. So they splintered off the mainstream group and continued polygamy. (One thing I don’t understand is if the group still believed in Joseph Smith and the Articles of Faith he wrote, how they could not follow the one about following the laws of the government.) They were (are) called the Fundamentalists, which group still continues today.  This group is not associated with the mainstream LDS church in any way. If someone in the church is found practicing polygamy, they are quickly excommunicated.

Sometimes we (me, Paul, my family, many “Mormons”) often joke about polygamy. I’m writing this because there are so many lies and distortions about the church floating around. It amazes me that people still think this is something we do. Which is why I’m putting it out there, as many others have.  If Paul ever came to me and said he had a revelation that he should have more than one wife, I would tell him that it was fine with me. But not to include me in that number! Besides, I think if he had 2 of me, he would change his mind pretty quickly.

A friend of mine is getting married in a couple of months and is having her bridal shower tonight.  It really takes me back to when I was making plans for marriage!

We’ve been married for 6 1/2 years…7 in February. My bridal shower was on the same day as my birthday, exactly a week before the wedding. It was just family but it was simple and nice. I still remember most of the gifts that were given to us/me. I’m still using the laundry basket my sil (Katie) gave me. It’s a constant reminder of how we started out….

Long story short, I was on vacation in Florida, hanging out with a friend. Paul was his roommate. The friend disappeared for most of the day, leaving Paul and me at the condo. So, being the nice guy he was (is), he started talking to me to entertain me. We found that we got along quite well. We decided to ditch the roommate and go hang out that night…but we did end up bringing him. The 3 of us had a lot of fun, but Paul and I started growing on eacher. By the time I left a couple days later, we had decided to swap email and IM. We spent countless hours on the phone and computer. I think we averaged about 2-3 hours a day. Three months later (after seeing each other once more), he moved to where I was living and in less than 24 hours later we were engaged.

Then the wedding plans began. It was great; we agreed on everything and it turned out to be simple but everything was beautiful.

So, seeing my friend make the same plans is exciting. Paul and I have had a great (almost) 7 years together and I hope she has the same good fortune.

I decided to take some snacks to the beach with us, so I made some healthy banana bread and this one. It’s a whole wheat, sugar free zucchini bread.  It went so fast, it was gone before I knew it! I’m planning on making more today, since we have so many zucchini in the garden.  The recipe makes 2 loaves, so I always freeze one and save it for winter when squash is so expensive. The other loaf disappears within 24 hours. It’s really great with a little low fat cream cheese. So here it is!

• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 c splenda
• 1 c applesauce*
• 1 T vanilla
• 3 c shredded zucchini
• 3 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix eggs, splenda, oil and vanilla. Stir zucchini in. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Stir into large bowl and combine until just moist. Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

*if you really want this “no sugar”, use unsweetened applesauce. I’ve also used cinnamon applesauce, and it works deliciously, too.