If you had only one homemaking tip to give, what would it be?

There are lots of women who are more organized and who are better at the mechanics of homemaking than I am. But one thing which has helped me to keep a fairly orderly home is to pick up as I go. When we cook, I teach my girls to clean up as they make a meal. When I walk through a room, I try to pick up things on the way. Throughout the day, we take time to straighten the places we have been playing and working…usually before mealtimes and bedtime.

How do ya’ll respond to rude commenters in Wal-Mart? (Or do people not bother commenting because they figure it’s a lost cause?)

I wrote earlier this year about why I don’t shop at Wal-Mart anymore, and I have stuck with it. But I honestly don’t think I have ever had a person bold enough to say something rude about our family in a public place. Maybe I just look too intimidating, all 5′1″ of me! I have had some nasty looks, and I know people are talking about us, but I just smile sweetly and defuse the meanness with a “soft answer.” More often we’ve had people ask the inevitable, “Are they all yours?” and then say something very nice about our well-behaved children. Some older ladies have confided that they wish they had had more children. We still shop at Costco (Steve says he knows God loves big families because He created Costco).

Oh, good! Another short Mama. Being 5’2 myself, I’ve always thought my body wasn’t made for birthing. My torso is so short while my babies are so big, and it is just plain miserable (but it’s really not as bad as my other problem–vomiting continuously for months and needing intervention). My back just hurts thinking about it, but of course, it is more than worth it. Do you handle pregnancy well?

I have had fairly easy pregnanices until the 26th week or so, when I have to be on voluntary bedrest because of too many contractions. I’ve never had a premature birth, but with my fourth pregnancy, I did go into labor at 26 weeks and had to be hospitalized for a couple of days until it stopped. It was a bad case of stomach flu that triggered it…I won’t go into details, but the interior of my husband’s BMW did not fare too well. Those were the days, living the yuppie life in the Bay Area. We still have a BMW, at least that’s what they call it in Utah, I understand. It’s our 15-passenger van. I’ll let y’all guess what the letters stand for. My babies, however, are average size to small because they are usually born about 3 weeks early. Being short, I look pregnant before it’s confirmed that there’s a mini muffin in the oven, not fair when so many of my tall friends have to show me the baby before I even know they were expecting.

When was your toughest mothering time and what made it so hard?

In the past couple of years our family has experienced some severe trials which have stretched both my faith and my mothering abilities. I have not talked about those things publicly because they are not totally resolved, and I don’t want to say anything which would embarrass or hurt those involved. However, sometimes the toughest trials are the ones at the moment. For the past couple of months I have been dealing with some kind of mystery illness (which we are working to decipher) which has caused extreme fatigue, mental fuzziness and other inconvenient symptoms. This has been hard for me as I feel guilty not doing all the “perfect mother” things I wish I could be doing. I’m once again having to trust God’s providence, and I’m having to remind myself of what is ultimately important (hint: it’s not having the laundry caught up or cooking gourmet meals). My children and husband have been very patient and kind and helpful while I am not feeling well, so home and homeschool continue to function, even when I don’t function at peak performance speed.

Tomorrow, I’ll post the conclusion of my interview with Carmon as she takes us through a day in her house.

For anyone wondering why this post’s formatting doesn’t match yesterday’s or why I don’t take the time to lay it out nicer, just know that I AM DONE FIGHTING THE BLOGGER MONSTER. I am not entirely dumb: however, when you choose a font size and switch between screens, the font size should not morph into 1% or 29847598457982% when you return. My little piece of wisdom for today: You always get what you pay for.

See ya tomorrow.