Sunday, June 10, 2012

Sunday Thoughts...Not of the Spiritual Variety

*When I first sit down in Sacrament meeting, I glance at my shoes and silently congratulated myself on their cuteness and the sweet deal I got on them.  My friend Heidi put me on to them.  They were $3.50 on clearance at DSW.  I have the receipt to prove it.  I was so excited to find neutral low heeled sandals.  (I would later leave Sunday School, limp out to the car and go home to change my shoes...you get what you pay for.)



*Mitchell loves to get out of our bench during Sacrament Meeting and wander up and down the aisle.  He smiles at everyone and is about the most charming 2 year old you have ever seen...so I allow it.  I debate whether anyone cares and if I need to go get him.  I figure everyone is giving me the single mom pass. He is completely quiet..just a little distracting.  When he finally walked across the front, I send Luke to grab him.  Luke took him out in the hall and brought him back sopping wet from the drinking fountain.  I decide letting him wander is the lessor of two evils.  I grabbed him a dry shirt when I went home to change my shoes.


He still gives the best smooches.

*When I went out in the hall to get Buster, I ran into a friend who said "I know Ryan is your favorite."  I respond "How did you know?" and wonder how she has an inside track into my mind.  Ryan is my current favorite child (I think it is okay to have a favorite child as long as it constantly changes.)  She goes on to talk about the Bachelorette and I realize she is talking about Ryan on the show.  My Ryan is still my current favorite child..probably because he cuddles me every morning in bed and comes up with new compliments everyday like "I like your eyebrows mom."


(sneak peek of the new paint, darling Ry Ry and my lion mane hair=hair appt. this week!)

*Back in Sacrament meeting (intently listening to the speaker) I debated whether I had picked the right clothes for our family photo we just had taken..I reworked all the outfits in my head and scolded myself for not cutting Luke's hair BEFORE the photo..it looks so much better now.  I also wished I had worn the dress I wore to church today and not the outfit I did wear.

*I looked around and noticed which guys in our ward were wearing blazers/suit coats.  I have a weird theory about the strength of a man's testimony in correlation to whether or not he wears a jacket to church.  Go ahead and tell me I am full of crap..I don't care.  I will still hold fast to my theory.  Maybe it is just that I like a man in a suit jacket.



*I notice my friend David on the stand who is in our bishopric.  I think "I have the nicest people in my ward."  I really truly do.  David came over with a couple other guys last week and helped me move my furniture for the painter.  They also took all the stuff off my walls.  They are coming back tonight to put it all back.  Another guy in my ward, who lives across the street (Doug) insists on mowing my lawn every single week.  My lawn has never looked so good.   It means the world to me.  Look at that lush grass:



So what is the verdict folks?  Do you wear painful heels to church in the name of fashion?  Do you think it is okay to let Buster wander the aisle during Sacrament meeting?  Is it okay to have a favorite child?  Do you think there is a correlation between testimony and suit coats?  Talk to me.

24 comments:

Jill said...

I never wear painful anything in the name of fashion!

I sometimes find the wandering toddlers cute, but I do find myself wondering why their parents are letting them do that, so I'm not one to encourage it. I say sit in a side bench with bodies in the way so he's locked in.

I share your theory regarding suit coats! I find the white shirt tie guys close behind, but the colored shirt guys are pushing it and the sweater guys or outside jacket guys are way low on the apparent worthiness list!

I switch my favorite child often so I think it's okay.

Linda said...

ditto on Jill's comment. EXCEPT for Buster. My own grandchildren are the only ones cute enough to get away with the WANDER! (he!he!) I still remember sitting in my BYU ward in 1974, newlywed, no kids and watching the toddlers wander the chapel. I was disgusted. Then about 3 years later I was sitting in another chapel just beaming at MY ADORABLE little boy wander up and down the aisles. All of a sudden I remembered. . .

Ashley said...

Tyler was out of town for church today and I am so fried. So I say you absolutely deserve to play the single mom card and let Buster run. It may be the thing that keeps you active.

Another unrighteous look: short sleeves--unless you are in the tropics.

Your walls look great and so do you and the kids! Is there any possibility of the shoes breaking in or are they garbage? They are cute!

In closing, did someone seriously think Ryan I'll-Love-You-But-Not-On-You was your favorite?

Elizabeth said...

I love all your thoughts. The wandering toddler is fine, the screaming tantrum throwing toddler annoys me (take the kid outside people!). I love the shoes and cant believe they were $3.50.

Laura B. said...

I agree. Suit coat + White Shirt + tie = Celestial Kingdom for sure.
As for the wandering, you've gotta do what you've gotta do. If people judge, they're going to hell...not you.
I had on my super cute hot pink 4 inch heels today. But they were squeezing my feet to DEATH. I didn't even make it through Ward Council. I had to go home and change before church started. Oh well...at least the VIPs of the ward saw my cuteness! :)

Molly said...

Painful heels - no. I've decided fashionable CAN equal comfortable.

Wandering child - yes. Although I don't have the nerve. I wouldn't mind if other 2-year-olds wander the aisles, but I worry that someone else will mind if mine does. Which sucks, because he'd be much quieter sneaking up and down the aisles.

Favorite child - as long as it keeps changing, yes. If it doesn't change, you probably want to start looking at yourself and if you're giving that child preferential treatment.

Suit jackets - Probably does correlate for many, but you know that there is a huge population of guys trying to convince people that they have stronger testimonies (or are super spiritual) just by wearing a suit jacket. So I don't necessarily trust it. Christian rarely wears a suit jacket, but I think he looks great at church.

Holly said...

I totally wear painful heels every day in the name of fashion. It's really ridiculous. I figure I have when I'm over 50 to wear comfortable ugly shoes.

I let Grayson wander because I feel the same way about him. He's the cutest 1 year old you've ever seen and he's quiet. Plus, I figure everyone is bored and happy for the distraction.

Yep, I have a favorite child and right now it's Grayson - he doesn't talk back.

I think guys that wear suit jackets are just trying to look like they have a stronger testimony

Liz said...

We had strict Stake President who made a big deal about suit jackets.....Bill is fanatical about it now.

Walls look awesome. Now I'm wondering if I made on the baseboards I picked since I'm admiring yours.

I tend to think the people sitting behind me at church are so lucky to be staring at my cute children. I'm probably wrong.

Laura said...

I wish I was still in the 25th ward!! I miss it there.

Liz said...

That meant to say "if I made the right decision on my baseboards"....it's late. I am slow today.

Em said...

I think wandering being okay is directly correlated with the cuteness of the kid. I'm with Molly and Jill on this one, but if I saw adorable Buster wandering around I would love it!

I do love a man in a suit coat! And I think a man who wears one most likely has a deep respect and understanding of Mormon culture and leadership. But I'm not sure it necessarily relates to worthiness. :)

I'm sure your family photos look amazing--they always do. I was thinking of you the other day b/c we are getting studio portraits taken soon (thank you, Groupon!) and I've been mulling over outfits and thought, "What advice would Brooke give?" Didn't you do a blog post about that?

Quelly said...

If I had your legs I would totally wear the shoes - they look fabulous on you!

Heather said...

I give single moms any pass they want... that stuff looks hard. I also think about offering to sit with single moms and help them out, but then I worry that I might come across as thinking they are incapable, so I sit and debate and then the meeting is over and I haven't done anything helpful at all.

I can wear painful heels for 3 hours at church because I take them off when I sit down and hope that no one notices.

Jill T said...

Your outfits looked great! I have so many cute Brooke and Sammy shots! I'll be burning your CD today!

Lisa said...

Your Ryan story had me laughing so hard! I love how you thought of your favorite child not the Bachelorette Ryan. I needed a good hard laugh today.

I am not the one to ask about the shoes, I don't think shoes and comfortable belong in the same sentence. People will ask if my shoes are comfortable and I will just give them a weird look, I don't know what they are talking about. I'm still waiting to find some running shoes with a wedge. Pop some Tylenol and wear the shoes!

Yes, you let Buster walk the aisle during church. He's too cute to be put on a bench. I love the little toddlers walking around during church, they add entrainment to the meeting.

I guess I have had the same theory about the suit coat without knowing it.

Great post!

Jenn J. said...

I agree with the belief that wandering toddlers are entertaining. It's a good boredom buster. Let him run.

I agree with the suit coat thing too, although, my own husband doesn't wear them that often because he says they're hot in the summer... which I can see too, so I kind of let the theory slide in the summer.

Kimberly said...

I love the suit coat theory. My own theory is that if a guy shows up in a colored shirt and a goatee he's halfway out of the church (only kind of kidding). My husband always wears a suit coat to church but he also wears suit pants on "casual Friday" and khakis on "jeans" day at his office so he tends to overdress. When I was at BYU you weren't allowed to pass the sacrament in my ward if you weren't wearing a suit coat.

As far as wandering toddlers, I'm totally ok with it. Unfortunately the shhhers in my ward are not so I feel like I have to keep a tight reign on my toddler. I had to attend church by myself this Sunday b/c my hubby was speaking in another ward in our stake and it was HELL. I give you props for even going every week.

I often wear uncomfortable heels to church and live to regret it.

alexandra said...

First, I love your dress and cardi. Where did you find it? Second, I allow Porter to wander the aisles because he is not otherwise disruptive while doing it. Some people probably judge me a little, but I think you do get a single mom pass. I do not wear uncomfortable shoes anywhere, but I also am generally not the person everyone looks to for fashion ideas.

brooke said...

Alexandra, the dress is from Dillatds but it is about three or four years old. The brand is Jessica Howard and Dillards seems to carry the same style every year..my mom has the same dress in a different color.

cindy said...

I agree with everything you do because I think you are brilliant (and drop dead gorgeous and funny as heck). ox

Natty said...

Interesting...I was unaware that one could simply purchase a testimony by shopping at a local department store. I will be sure to tell my neighbor who is currently investigating the church.

Andrea said...

Loving the shoes!!

Stephanie Eldredge said...

love the colored shirt and goatee comment --funny

Anonymous said...

Hey! I saw those heels today