The truth is I actually think I'm pretty good at living in the moment. While I said this is a rough time of life, I don't let that get in the way of having fun. I'm hanging in there very well. I am indeed enjoying this time of life. We have crazy fun on a daily basis. And Spencer is more than supportive of all of my needs. I couldn't imagine going through this time of life...or any other time of life...with anyone else.
So here is my last (and brief) attempt at explaining myself. When I was pregnant with Parker and trying to decide whether or not to nurse, a doctor told me this; the best thing for your baby is a happy mother. I think the same counsel can be applied here. The best thing for your family is a happy mother. Whether a mother is happy at home, or happy in the work force...the whole family can benefit from her happiness. I think true equality for women lies in how the world views a woman's choice. Once all of society can feel that a woman who chooses to work is every bit as valuable as a woman who chooses to stay home, than we have reached true equality for women. I think the world is heading that direction.
Lest any of you don't believe I've been soaking up this time of life and truly living in the here and now, here are some pictures from the last week or so that I've neglected to post because I've been so preoccupied with my feminist rants.
We have:
made silly faces,
decided we like vegetables,
worn cute new outfits,
ran through the sprinklers,
bounced on an astro-jump,
tasted funnel cake,
graduated to the front seat of the stroller,
transformed into robots,
discovered boxing,
enjoyed flavor pops in our pajamas,
saved the world,
crashed our trucks,
and learned to make mom laugh (believe it or not, that's a happy face).
decided we like vegetables,
worn cute new outfits,
ran through the sprinklers,
bounced on an astro-jump,
tasted funnel cake,
graduated to the front seat of the stroller,
transformed into robots,
discovered boxing,
enjoyed flavor pops in our pajamas,
saved the world,
crashed our trucks,
and learned to make mom laugh (believe it or not, that's a happy face).
And these pictures are only from a small portion of the fun we've been having in just over one weeks time...only the events I took pictures of. I think I'll stick with posting funny stories about my crazies for a while. (And possibly the crazies I run into at WalMart.)
17 comments:
And you said your no good at this age...... :)
Very well said- a great way to bring to all together. Awesome pictures!
If you think you will do better with teenagers- you are going to be beyond phenomenal because you are pretty awesome as a mom now!
Very well put! I love your thought, "true equality for a woman lies in how the world views her choices." Profound!
In the mean time, I love how creative you were with the robot costumes (diaper boxes on their heads) and boxing (sox on their hands). See how creative you are?!!
First, I agree with you that a woman's right to exercise her choice under her own free will is fundamental. It's the reason we're here in many respects.
That said, at least in the Church, we receive guidance on ways to live that will lead to true happiness. We are free to choose whether to follow this guidance or not, and most of the time there is no formal punishment for not following it.
On this note, Katie, you stated the following:
"I think true equality for women lies in how the world views a woman's choice. Once all of society can feel that a woman who chooses to work is every bit as valuable as a woman who chooses to stay home, than we have reached true equality for women. I think the world is heading that direction."
I wonder what you mean exactly. Do you mean that, as a general policy, we should encourage women to work equally as much as we do for them to stay home? Or do you mean that if a women chooses to work, we should respect her decision, withhold our assumptions, treat her not as a pariah, and honor her accomplishments.
If it's the latter, I wholeheartedly agree with you. If it's the former, I disagree with you.
I think the counsel we've received has been fairly clear that the Church encourages women to stay at home. That's the general guidance given to all of us. It's not one-size fits all, however, but as a general rule it provides solid, time-tested advice for familial happiness.
Because it's not one-size fits all, there will, of course, be exceptions. We need to work those situations out individually with the Lord. An individual woman is the only person who can decide what is best for her and her family. That's why it is ALWAYS inappropriate to make assumptions about women who work. The exceptions, however, shouldn't swallow the general rule.
Talk about missing the message. My first thought is-how were you able to resist posting all of those incredibly darling pictures until now? Those are insanely wonderful. Talk about kid paradise. And that picture of you is too awesome.
If I'm reading the post right it doesn't look like you're really looking for input on reversing your views you title "feminist rants". :) And besides, as one of my friends (who shares different religious and political views-and doesn't agree with me on a lot of issues) says-if readers don't like it, they can "blog off". I've embraced this view. I suppose that doesn't invite opposing views, but I'm not really into that on my blog. In person, I like discussion, but not so much on my blog. I might be alone on this but I doubt it.
I don't think you should have to stick to certain stories about certain crazies. We'll just try to read the message more carefully! :)
Katie, I really enjoy your blog. Considering I am not yet a mother I cannot really relate. As far as future plans go, Ben and I are starting a business together. I'll manage it at home. Good times... although now I regret going into education rather than business... oh well. Hope you have a good weekend.
P.S. Dr. & Dr. does sound cool. I feel that Mr and Mrs just won't do for us either... sounds too old. We will forever be Benji and Rypie.
I LOVE the pictures!! My favorite is teh funnel cake pictures, one nevers forgets the forst time they ate funnel cake. :) You look like a fun mom to me!
I totally agree with the happy mom thing, the important thing is for women to be able to choose what it is that makes them happy!! What makes one woman happy would make some go crazy. It is not the same for all of us. If it was this would be a really boring world.
You have had quite the week- no comparison to mine, one that I couldn't even come close to! I am so happy that you have such fun there! I didn't think you were dissing anyone or anything, I enjoy reading your points of view= I just was missing you here! I love the pictures, of course, they are darling, and keep up the happy blogging, will ya?!
Love ya!!
ok, we're back to normal blog comments:
awww, your boys are so cute!
So, Im interested in your thoughts and ideas about global warming. Discuss.
Just kidding. Cute pics, your boys are crazy and I love it.
Your boys are adorable! Those robot outfits are a blast. They remind me of when we made TVs to ask some boys on a date!
ps. I agree with everything that Kimberly said.
As I see my daughters and their friends (including you) as they "mother" their children, I realize that you are all much better mothers than I was. You are amazing. Today I watched 3 little boys (ages 5, 3 1/2, and 9 months old.) I was worn out after 3 hours. My first three girls were close together, but they would sit quietly and play house for hours. These little boys were all BOY! The world needs more good mothers like you who are good at raising boys.
What a fun week!!! We've defintiely been enjoying the sun here. Hunter has sprayed up with the hose more times than I would have like, but it was fun and we all laughed. I love everything you post! Let people interperet how they will, you know what you meant.
While I don't see things to the extent that you do, I do agree on a lot of points that you made. I think that being a "stay-at-home-mom" is taken way too literaly. I stay home with my children during the day but then I get a chance to get out and utilize my talents a couple nights a week as well as bring in some extra income. As long as I have children at home during the day, I will be there. That was my personal choice. I feel that since I brought them into this world, it is my responsibility to care for them as opposed to sending them to daycare since my husband makes more than enough to supply for our needs. I worked while he got his education and then once we had children, he worked so that I could stay home and raise them. He is very adimant and supportive about me going back to school to pursue my career as a dental hygenist. I will go back as soon as my youngest is in school since I have to take a full class load during the day for the hygiene program. I can also take classes online to take care of all of my pre-requisists before that. I also have a children's book in the works which I am very excited about. I don't feel supressed in the least bit because I am doing everything I can to learn new things and then use the talents that I have been given and the ones that I am developing. I get to work, write, teach pre-school, have a cake business and take care of my children. I think I have a very blessed life. I get to do everything that I want to do. Again, I think that some women take that "stay-at-home-mom" thing a little too literally.
My husband and I are both very busy and the household chores are deligated to basically whoever gets to them first. Although, I always get to dinner first because either he doesn't get home in time or because I LOVE to cook. If I cook, then he cleans up. My job of raising children, doing pre-school and running my cake business is just as exhausting on most days than his job is. That's why we pretty much divide childcare and household chores 50/50 after 5:00. Plus, now that the kids are older, some of the chores get deligated to them. It's so nice.
I was at Women's conferance this past week and I remember thinking "Wow, they really are focusing on being a mother and raising your children a lot this weekend." The jist of the entire conferance was that the divine role of a mother in the home is being depleated and desensitized. Mostly by the women who do it. Women today are constantly thinking that because they are stay-at-home-moms, than they are of no consequence and that they don't do enough to contribute to society. They made it a point to explain how important it is to be there for your children and that the job we are doing should not be taken lightly. And then...they pretty much told us to get up, and do more! Be the best you can be. Explore your talents and USE THEM. Do all you can. Be busy but make sure you spend time raising and teaching your children. Prioritize. Don't spend your time being idle. Get rid of distactions that waste your time and take you away from your family. Focus on meaningful things that help your family. I think getting an education is very meaningful and will help your family a great deal. It's not just a selfish thing. It's healthy and worthwhile. So go get your PhD!! More power to you. Your children will be stronger for it. It will inspire them to reach for higher aspirations. You have decided that you will do the child-rearing while Spencer gets his PhD for now. That doesn't mean that you can't get yours and it doesn't make one PhD more important than the other either. How many times do we teach our children to "take turns"??? Right now, you are just taking turns. And whatever you want to do with your PhD can be done. There is a time and season for everything. My season right now is raising my children until they don't need me 24/7. Good luck, Katie. I will be waiting for an ivitation to your PhD graduation!
Love the pics! Especially the robots and boxing match. What a bunch of cuties!!!
Just one more thought on mothers. This was written by one of my favorite people in the universe http://ourpursuits.blogspot.com/2008/05/happy-mothers-day.html. The link she has in this post to her friend's blog is also really good.
I love seeing pictures of you and the kiddos! Very cute. Looks like a fun week. I also love the fact that you guys made robots! very creative.
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