Conference Bingo

This weekend when we explained to Jessica that it was General Conference, she eagerly asked if we were going to do our Conference Bingo again like last time. It's amazing how quickly 6 months passes. It seems like yesterday that we were trying out this new gimmick to get Jessica (and some others) to stay awake and pay attention to conference. I assured her we would and stocked up on the M&M's and Jellybeans for the game. I think we have started a new tradition that hopefully will make pleasant and positive memories for our kids during Conference.

We set up conference on the TV in our living room thanks to a nifty cable Jhonny bought to hook up the computer to the TV screen. The Bingo works pretty well for 5 year olds who might not otherwise listen to a word going on. She actually looked forward to all four sessions and never complained that we didn't do much else all weekend! Wow. I don't think I ever sat through two days of conference at her age.

It didn't work so well for our almost 2 year old however. She ate all her pieces within the first fifteen minutes and tried to steal everyone else's. She pretended to play along for a little while, but ended up in a nap before the first session was over.

Overall, I enjoyed watching conference and sustaining our new Prophet. My favorite talk however came at the very end by Elder Ballard. He spoke to mothers. How appropriate! I loved his advise to maintain sanity by finding time for ourselves and enriching our lives so that our buckets will get replenished to give to everyone else. Enjoy the fleeting moments, and don't overschedule yourself.

The best advise had to be when he spoke to husbands and children about what they could do for mothers - give her appreciation, validation and a break once in a while, do your chores without being asked, say THANK YOU more often, and give her hugs and tell her you love her! Amen and Amen!

His words reinforced exactly what I have been feeling in the past few months as I've eased into this stay at home full time mom routine. It was very validating. My only regret was that I didn't have more room in my journal to get it all down. I will be reading this one for sure!