chachy

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Everything posted by chachy

  1. I had only been an investigator for a few weeks when I went to General Conference of April '06. It was at that conference that I saw Pres. Hinkley for the first time, and it was that day that I decided I wanted to be a member of the Church. I know it sounds daft but I kinda had a conversation with him in my head, I told him the next time conference came around, I would be there as a member. I am so glad I kept that promise, and I will always have a special place for Pres. Hinkley in my heart as being part of my conversion.
  2. Can I just add a wee congratulation to one of the missionaries currently serving in my area? When he arrived here he was finding anything more than toast challenging, but I have been getting him to cook our Friday night D/A for the past month and he can now make Shepherd's Pie, Carbonara, Palak Lamb and Spaghetti Bolognaise. He even knows how to cut veggies like a real chef! OK so I'm pretty sure they are still living off Pot Noodles and beans on toast in the flat but I guess it's a start
  3. I worked as a chef for a couple of years and I picked up some great stuff during that time. One French restaurant I worked in, the head chef gave me this great recipe for fish. Use whatever white fish you like, haddock, cod, whatever, but it's best when it is smoked. Bung it in a deep saute pan with cream, leeks and a wee bit of onion, and gently poach it for about 15 minutes. That's it! The cream sauce thickens up nicely and you can keep the fillet whole or break it up during cooking. I love having it with tons of mashed potatoes And the next time you make meatballs, try putting a cube of really mature cheese in the centre, it's all gooey and lovely!
  4. Hey thanks Susie! Though when you said child geniuses like my daughter....oooh that made me squirm! Very rarely, you will hear of a kid that is home schooled over here, it just isn't a popular option, and I think it's something like 2/3 of all mums that work outside of the home so that makes it impossible for many families. I was always a bit funny about home schooling as I thought that the kids wouldn't develop their social skills, I always thought that school was better from that perspective, as they are constantly interacting with other children and adults outside of the family unit, are there any home teaching parents reading who would like to comment on that? I might be dead wrong simply because I've never talked to anyone who does teach their children themselves, so I'd quite like to know how it's done, and what the pro's and cons are. And since I love this smiley so much, I will put it in
  5. Yeah I get that, it's just over here we never refer to college or uni as school, only primary and secondary, that's why I'm always like "Huh?" when they say it!
  6. My oldest was supposed to be starting Primary Two but was put in Primary 3/2 instead, quite an achievement considering she started school a year early. If I'm honest, I'm worried sick about her, she is only five and most of her class mates are about to turn seven, at that age, it's a huge difference when they are that young. She seems to be coping just fine, actually, she was complaining that her homework was too easy for her!! I find it quite hard to get my head around the fact that she seems to be really smart, half of me loves to tell people because I'm so proud of her, the other half of me wants to keep quiet about it because I don't want people to think I'm boasting! Am I going to end up with a scary child genius that's smarter than me?! Quick question, would someone be able to explain the American school system to me? I get confused with pre school, kindergarten and so on. Here in Scotland, kids go to nursery from 3-5 years, then primary school from 5-12, then secondary school from 12-16, with the option to leave after 4th year exams (standard grades) or stay on till they are 18 doing 5th and 6th year exams (highers) after that, it's college, uni or the real world. I frequently hear my American friends who are in university say they are in school, which always confuses me, as I think of school as either primary or secondary, and at 22, they are far too old to do either! Sorry if that is a bit of a thread jack
  7. chachy

    Tomboys

    I too have checked my fingers and they are both the same size, which I thought was very interesting (OK not VERY interesting, I do have a life, but it did get me thinking) as I do seem to be half and half when it comes to being girly v tomboyish. Some days I will be in the scruffiest pair of jeans you have ever seen, and joining chair football matches with the guys, the next day, I'm in a skirt and flowery top doing knitting with the RS. I think I've always been like that, if I had just thought to check my fingers before, all would have been clear. Notice that this is not a useful post, and that I'm just making a randomly related remark....
  8. so THAT is how you grill fairy cakes! Yes, that is exactly how I ended up grilling fairy cakes, did you know that when they are grilled, they get HUGE and kind of expand all over the oven, it's just a tad messy
  9. OK an embarrassing true story... My friend Katie decided she would like to meet the missionaries, so I called them over for lunch. Me and Katie set to work making some really nice soup, with some lovely fresh bread we had bought from the supermarket. I happened to comment that it was a shame I couldn't find my mixing tool for my bread maker, else we could've made the bread ourselves. Now me and Katie are good for a laugh, so we thought we would sprinkle flour over our shop bought bread and shove it in the oven right before the missionaries arrived and pretend we had made it ourselves. Ten minutes before the guys were due, we put the bread in the oven and went to muck about on youtube for a minute. After about four minutes my husband, in a very unconcerned voice called to us, "By the way, there is smoke coming out the oven", then went back to his paper. Katie and I ran into the kitchen and sure enough, smoke was billowing out the oven, I whipped it open to find a big black flaming mass that was once called a loaf of bread. See our oven is a combi oven, and somehow we had managed to set the oven to the grill setting. It must have been about 300 degrees in there, and the blooming thing had caught fire. I'm not good at emergencies and I started doing what I do best, flapping. "TAAAAAM THE BREAD IS ON FIRE!! WHAT DO I DO?! TAAAAM!!" Katie was hovering about trying to think how we were going to get it out before the smoke alarm kicked in and kept giving really unhelpful suggestions like, "Should I spray something on it?" No Katie, I don't think kitchen cleaner will really help. Right about then Tam called through again, still supremely unconcerned "That's the Missionaries here, you might want to let them in" Still stuck in his paper. I run out to get them, yell "Come in boys, by the way, THERE IS A FIRE!!!!" Then ran back inside, leaving them in the garden looking completely confused. By the time I got back into the kitchen Tam had taken pity on us and had quite calmly taken the bread out the oven and put the flames out. Then me and Katie snapped and started howling with laughter. The missionaries, who had decided they should probably just come in, stood looking at us like we had two heads each. Then they snapped out of it and reached across the smoking husk to shake Katie's hand and introduce themselves. Once the whole sorry story had been explained they found it almost as funny as we did and even drove over to the supermarket to get more bread. After lunch we took photos of the bread, then hollowed it out, spooned in the leftover soup and hurled it over the fence at the neighbours dog who keeps peeing through the fence. Both Elder G and Elder P had the pictures stuck in their Tbooks and I swear I think they told the whole mission about it at their next zone conference. So there is a lesson for you, do not try to trick messengers of God, it just doesn't work
  10. Both my kids went through phases of wanting to sleep in my bed, and would often get up through the night, but I wasn't having it, no matter how tired I was, I would lift them up and tell them in whispers that it was night time, and that meant sleep, and that I would tuck them in and come back in five minutes to check on them, then I would do just that, if they were out their beds again, I would go through the routine again, if they were in their bed but awake I would praise them for staying in their beds, then give them a kiss and tell them I was going back to bed. It was very rarely I had to do this for more than an hour, they tire themselves out eventually.The younger the child, the quicker they will get the message, so a two year old should only take a week or so to get it. Because you are living with relatives, if you were going to do it, I would sit down and tell them in advance, that way everyone can prepare themselves for a bit of night disruption, but in the long run, it's better for everyone to have a good nights sleep. Also, maybe he is anxious about living with other people? Lots of extra attention and reassurance during the day could maybe help? I always found the kids sleep would be off if there was a big upheaval going on, and a little bit of extra TLC often helped them feel more secure. Hope this helps, and in the meantime, if you can, have a nap when he is at nursery/with relatives/just generally not about, gives you way more stamina to make it through the night!! Good Luck!!
  11. I just wanted to let everyone know how we have got on these past two Sundays. We have been taking some good quiet toys along with us, he has also been taking pass along cards of the temple with him (he has a thing about the temple just now, but I'm definitely not complaining!) and have been practising the "shhh" that he did by himself a couple of weeks ago and I think there has been some improvement, either that, or I'm learning to deal with it better! We haven't had to take him out of sacrament in the past fortnight either, so I'm really happy. I want to say a really big thankyou to everyone who offered suggestions and encouragement, there is an old saying that goes, "It takes a village to raise a child" Well in this case I would say it takes a forum! Thankyou everyone!!
  12. I feel most at home when... ...I have a house full of people over for dinner, and there is no room left at the dining table, so they are sitting on beanbags or at the counter in the kitchen, with music and noise and mess. My house would not be home if it wasn't in a complete state of chaos!
  13. We don't have a car and have no intention of getting one any time soon, I love getting the train to college in the morning, and when we occasionally go in a friends car somewhere the kids are really excited as it's such a rare thing for them. But here in Scotland, public transport is really good, I guess there are a lot of places where not having a car just wouldn't be feasible, I think that's a shame, and if the public transport system could be improved in those places, prices dropped, more buses etc then a lot more people would be able to do it.
  14. I ma hoping my avatar will show up, i just put it on.... If you can see it, yes, it's a Llama, I have listened to the Llama Song ( http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama ) just one too many times methinks K it's not showing up, can some one help me out? tomorrow though it's 10:30pm here and I'm beat!
  15. Oh the wonderful things children say...my daughter once changed the lyrics of the institutional British song, "Rule Britannia", she was wandering around the house warbling, "RULE LASAGNE, LASAGNE RULES THE WAVES, BIG PONDS NEVER EVER WILL BE SLAVES" At least she know the tune I guess
  16. Continuing on that theme... "And forgive us our trash baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets" 4YO Jimmy A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3 The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!" A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mummy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"
  17. Mmmmmm Chutney Hmmmmm I don't know quite how to explain it, a bit like, practice your own religion but this comes first kind of thing, meh, I guess I just don't get it, but thanks anyway, it got my curiosity going
  18. I'm liking the idea of having toys and stuff that are just for church, and changing our routine to match church, they sound like really good ideas, and I might try "boring time" in an empty room too I actually had a really good breakthrough with Daniel that I wanted to share, after reading some of the posts from yesterday, at quiet time, we pulled out the new testament stories book and read about the last supper/first sacrament. Lexi was of course answering all my questions, little swot that she is, but when I asked Daniel what happens during Sacrament at church he sat up, folded his arms, put a finger to his lips and said "shhhhhhh"! I was so pleased, maybe he's taking it in after all!! From now on, I'm constantly going to ask him the same question and see if it makes any difference come Sunday. Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice!!
  19. Thankyou for the great replies, one thing, I have been told by a few members that taking kids out during a sacrament meeting is a pretty bad idea as it's only teaching them if they make enough noise they get one-on-one time in the foyer with the poor parent that had to drag him out. How many people agree with this? Is it something I should start doing again? I'm sorry but I always have a constant stream of questions!
  20. Do you have a 'quiet time' at home, so that he learns at home that there are times to be quiet? Does he know that no matter what you WON'T discipline him in front of other people? We do have a quiet time at home, every day between about 6 and 7 we try and get them to chill out a bit before bed, but it doesn't seem to work with Daniel (the 2YO), Lexi (5YO) tends to be quiet if you ask her. I have to admit that I do discipline him in front of people, it never occurred to me that that might be a bad thing, thanks for pointing that out, but could you explain how that helps? I guess my other problem is he associates church with fun, that's not a bad thing, far from it, but when he's got missionaries and members bouncing him about and letting him tug badges and ties etc, it kind of justifies his behaviour from his point of view. He gets spoiled in church as the next oldest to him is Lexi, he is "The Wards' Baby" Daniel's behaviour has become a bit of a standing joke and I don't want to be mean to everyone by telling them to leave him alone, especially since they are all trying to be so nice about it!!
  21. I have a two year old boy who is a nightmare in Sacrament meetings, he throws things, crawls under pews, yells at the people who are giving talks and generally makes his presence felt in the most disruptive ways possible. I am part of a very small ward, and he is the only child his age, so I feel terrible every time he kicks off. Nearly everyone in the ward has been lovely about it, and do their best to make me feel less embarrassed, plenty of the RS will say, "we've all been there" and smile sympathetically, but what I could really do with is some practical advice, we have discovered that sitting in the foyer doesn't work, as soon as he gets back in he's off again, and filling his gob with junk to keep him quiet just produces a sugar fuelled tornado that takes hours to calm down. There is only so long he can hold a toy or crayon until it is sent soaring over the pews to conk some poor member on the back of the head. My other problem, is how do I stop myself from resenting him? Other people may be able to faze him out but I can't! I can't even close my eyes during a prayer without him making a dash for freedom. More often than not, by the end of Sacrament, me and my hubby are snapping at each other and the kids are miserable, what can I do? I don't want to miss Sacrament, not at all, but I don't want to have to put myself through the stress and hassle every Sunday brings either. HELP!!
  22. "I will always follow the command of Mand'alor." Mand'alor is the elected leader of the Mandalorians. S/He is elected from all the leaders of the aliite. Mand'alor oversees the entire Mandalorian society. All Mandalorians must obey the command of Mand'alor. However if the current Mand'alor is no longer deemed worthy or no longer commands respect from the Mandalorians another Mand'alor will be elected." Above is a quote from your website, and that, more than anything else gives me the heebiejeebies. For me, it just a bit too culty. In essence, it comes across as an organized religion without a deity. And anyway, what happens if you don't follow the command of the Mand'alor?
  23. They way I was taught it, was that the spirit prison is a kind of waiting room between this world and our eventual destination (Celestial, terrestrial, telestial or outer darkness), and that it was for those people who did not have the fullness of the gospel brought to them in this life or who did not want to hear it. It is a period of waiting, when souls are given the opportunity to have the gospel. If they accept, then they will eventually progress to one of the three kingdoms of glory, depending on the life you lead, as explained by the previous posts. If they don't, then it will be outer darkness for them. I think this is about right, but I'm quite a new member so I might be a bit off. If I am, someone fell free to correct me!