Meal Planning Last Week

My weeks end up being pretty busy with work and teaching dance in the evenings and as result I end up having very little to no time to prepare dinner on weeknights. I decided that instead of scrambling for something to quickly put together on the weeknights I would try to do a little preparation beforehand and see how that worked. I took five and a half hours last Friday to prepare a couple of weeks of meals to keep in the freezer. Although the cooking was exhausting on Friday (I don’t have the normal stamina I’m used to right now with being pregnant!) I found it to be extremely helpful this last week! I just thought I’d share what I did in case anyone’s interested. 

1.      I started out by writing down a bunch of meals that sounded good to me. My list looked something like this:

Hamburgers

Saucy meatballs and potatoes

Veggie casserole

Teriyaki chicken

Stuffed peppers

Spaghetti

Lion house potato casserole

Chicken croissant sandwiches

Pineapple chicken and rice

Verde chicken Mexican lasagna

Etc.

2.      I then thought about what meat I had in our freezer (the meat at Smiths goes on clearance a couple of days before it expires so I only buy meat that’s on clearance and then freeze it. That saves us quite a bit of money) and I put together a more specific list of what I wanted to make for the week. 

My list looked like this:

Friday- Stuffed Peppers

Saturday- Crouton Casserole

Sunday- Hotdogs and Potato Salad

Monday- Chicken Enchilada’s

Tuesday- Veggie Casserole w/Rice

Wednesday- Saucy meatballs and baked potatoes

Thursday- Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Friday- Spaghetti

Saturday- Pork Loin with Rice

Sunday- Verde Chicken Mexican Lasagna

 

3.      Notice that I did not plan any nights for leftovers, date nights, or family dinners. I did this because the first week that I cooked I cut all the recipes in half or fourths and planned on multiple nights of leftover. We had no leftovers and ended up trying to throw food for dinner together last minute. Throwing together food at the last minute did not work well because since Josh and I just moved into our house there were only a few recipes I could find that we actually had all the ingredients for and we are very short on time in the evenings! We were missing lots of basics. I figured it was better to over plan and have extra meals in the freezer at the end of the week than it would be to under plan again. I didn’t cut many recipes in half when I made them either, I followed the recipe for the most part. I figured if we have a ton of food leftover we would eat it for leftovers or freeze it and do it for a meal another week.

 

4.      Because I knew I couldn’t make most of the meals on my list because we didn’t have the ingredients to make them I then took a Word Document and assigned one page per day with details on the meal for the day. This was helpful because I don’t have any recipes memorized, with my pregnant brain right now it helped me to remember what I was planning on for dinner each day (I looked at our meal schedule to know what we were going to have for dinner), and it really helped reduce stress for me. Each page of my Word Document looked something like this:

 

Page 5

Veggie Casserole w/Rice

Meal will consist of:

            Veggie Casserole (pull out of freezer)

            Rice (pull out of freezer and heat up)

            Milk or Water to drink

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup mayo, 1 cup miracle whip, 1 tsp salt, 4 tbsp lemon juice, veggies (carrots, celery, onion, peppers), chicken, cheese (whatever looks good), sliced almonds (optional for top), sleeve crushed Ritz crackers with butter (optional for top)

Cooking:

Cover and cook @ 350 for 60 min

 

5.      I then took my typed up list of meals for the week and went through the kitchen to figure out what I did have and what I was going to need to buy. I wrote down everything we needed to purchase as I went through each recipe. I also wrote down how much of a certain item I needed to buy (for example I’d write down 1 cup miracle whip for this recipe, potato salad also calls for miracle whip so I wrote down the amount for that recipe too, that way I ensured I had enough for each recipe). After figuring out exactly what groceries we would need for each meal I added on the couple of other items we would need for breakfasts and lunches (such as yogurt, milk, fresh fruits and veggies to snack on)

 

6.      Next came a quick grocery trip

 

7.      I got home and cooked and cooked and cooked. It was convenient to be able to cook all the chicken for the week at once, all the ground beef and ground turkey at once and then slice up all the veggies. I took any leftover veggies from the meals and cut them into veggie sticks (like the celery, carrots, and peppers) so that we would be likely to snack on those or eat those for lunch throughout the week. I froze any leftover meat so that I could use it for meals the following week. I simply made each meal and put each into a different glass dish that I would be able to pull out of the freezer and pop into the oven.

 

8.      I taped a sticky note to each dish that I put in the freezer with the name of what was in the container (such as: “Chicken Enchiladas”) and cooking instructions (such as: Cook at 350 for 60min or until heated through). This way I didn’t have to look up baking instructions when I pulled out the meal for the day. Josh and I use google calendar to schedule each hour of each day and I created another calendar for our meals so that about 15 minutes before I started teaching for the day a reminder would pop up on my phone reminding me what we were eating for the day and I would put it in the oven on a delay start for the amount of time needed. This way the meal was ready to take out of the oven within minutes of my students leaving and I could pop it back in the oven on warm for Josh to pull out when he got home from work while I was teaching another class.

All in all planning out our meals proved to be super helpful for us! I posted this thinking that maybe these ideas would be helpful for some of you to (even if it just means you get an extra 30-60 minutes to read with your kids or relax during the week instead of trying to quickly pull together dinner). Honestly, this past week we ended up only using a couple of the meals, we had our date night one evening, family dinner another, pizza another, and a couple nights of leftovers so I only cooked the stuffed peppers, chicken enchiladas, and chicken salad sandwiches. Oh and we ate some of the potato salad with our leftovers last night. I’m hoping to cook up replacement meals for the ones we used this week (different meals but something to replace them in the freezer) and stay on top of having meals prepared in the freezer so that I don’t get stressed out about trying to put on dinner while working in the evenings and being so tired with pregnancy (and to save another Friday of only cooking!). There are freezer bag meal recipes that I’ve seen online for the crockpot that look pretty handy to me (people have also said they lay really flat in the freezer) I didn’t make any of those though because I stick to the clearance meats and didn’t want to have to go to the store for the meats that they all call for. I am curious though, have any of you tried them? Did you like them or find them helpful? Would you do them again? Any other great fast go to meals that you use during the week (with little to no prep other than quickly putting it in the oven or crockpot)?

Love of love!

           Sheri

March 14

TJ and I are an odd couple in one very key way: one of us really loves math and one of us really loves dessert.  I bet you can all guess, first try, who's who.  

ENTER MARCH 14

Also know as 3/14

Or, with a stretch, 3.14 - PI DAY!

∏ (Dear Sasso, please can you insert a pi symbol here?  I can't figure it out).

Behold, a day where we both can have our pi and eat it too.  

This year to celebrate we've invited about ten couples over (Pi Day is conveniently on a Friday this year) and have asked them all to bring whatever kind of pie they'd like!  We'll eat dessert and chat and enjoy good company.  Maybe one of you would like to plan a pi party too!

Anybody have good recipes for pies they'd like to share?  I've only made one, and it was an epic failure, so I'm all ears.

Chop Like a Pro!

I took a class called "Chop Like a Pro!" from the Arkansas Extended Learning Center.  After learning these tips/tricks, my prep time in the kitchen has dramatically decreased.  

First off- I use a wooden chopping board as it is the softest surface for your knife.  I only use the wooden board for chopping veggies- I don't want to cross contaminate raw meats with the board.  You could have a board for veggies, one for fruits, and one for meats (I would recommend plastic dishwasher cutting boards for meats though).  As for the knife itself, this is a chef's knife.  There are other long knives, and you need to find a knife that feels comfortable in your hand.  It should feel like an extension of your arm/hand. 

Holding the Knife:

You should grip the blade of your knife with your thumb and finger (almost pinching it).  It is the most efficient way to hold it.  You can hold all knives this same way, regardless of their size.  It is most common to find people putting their pointer finger on the top of the knife to push the blade down, but it is much slower and all the strength must come from one finger rather than your hand/arm.

Scallions:

Cut the tops off, then rock your knife and move down the length of the onions.  You should lift the handle up, then press down and slide blade away from your body.  Practice rocking the knife to see if you like the feel of it.

Dicing/slicing Tomatoes:

If your blade is sharp enough, you can use a chef's knife.  Otherwise, you might want to use a serrated knife to cut the skin.  Stand the tomato on the stem (it is the most stable surface), and make slices almost all the way through (if you cut all the way through, then it takes forever to dice them all!).  Then turn the tomato 90 degrees and slice down almost all the way through.  Now turn the tomato on its side to slice into dice.  Consistency in size is your goal.

Herbs:

You can cut most stems and use them if you want.  I removed the stems here as I didn't need all the cilantro.  You want to roughly cut the herbs, then rotate them, cut again, and again and again.  You can see that once the herbs get smaller, I switch my hand from a "claw" (with tip of finger tucked in), to a flat hand to assist.  You will rock your knife, gather herbs into a pile before rocking your knife through them again.

Bell Peppers (Apples, anything with a core):

There are a few different ways to cut things that have a core, and this one is called the box method.  You trim the bottom so it is a stable surface, then take your knife and go around the core.  Once all your pieces are off the core, you can slice them as fine/chunky as you would like.  Once the bell pepper is off the core, cut into slices with the shiny side on your cutting board (then your knife won't slip off).

Onion:

Cut your onion in half so you have a stable surface.  With the stem away from you, slice around the onion (but do not cut all the way through it yet.  Keep it intact!).  Then put the stem in your non-knife hand and cut toward the stem twice.  Now take your knife and cut down to dice your onion.  See pictures for better explanation.  You can adjust your slices to make them as thick/thin as needed for recipes.

A goal to always keep in mind is consistency.  When cooking veggies especially, you want all the pieces to cook at the same rate.  If you have some pieces of onion that are really large, and others very small you will have some overcooked and some under cooked.  I did not show how to cut mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, etc, but you should be able to apply the above pictured methods to almost any fruit/veggie.

Happy chopping!  

Angels Among US

We are lucky in the Peterson Family to have many guardian angels watching over us.  We love our angels.  We miss them so much and often contemplate and wonder how life would have been different if they were still with us.  Unfortunately most of our children were very young and have very few, if any memories of their grandparents.  We want our children to know through our memories who their grandparents were.  Each year we still celebrate Grandma and Grandpas and now Tigger's birthday with angel food cake.  We each blow out a candle for them and share a memory we have with them.  It has became a very special tradition that we look forward to each year because we feel when we are talking about them and celebrating their life that they are close and we have angels among us.

Angel Food Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  

In a small bowl mix and set aside

1 cup of cake flour 

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

In another bowl (I use my Bosch bowl) add the following ingredients

12 egg whites at room temperature 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix together in Bosch until stiff peak form and then slowly add 

1 cup sugar

When the mixture is very fluffy turn mixer down to low and slowly add flour powder sugar mixture.  Continue beating only until combined.  

Pour (actually it is more like scoop)  cake batter into clean pan - meaning not sprayed with anything nonstick.  Bake immediately for about 30 minutes or until cake is beautifully browned.  Take out of oven and turn upside down so the cake stays fluffy. 

Once cake is completely cooled slice and top with strawberries and cream.

Beauty Buzz - Gallon Sale!

So I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the shampoo and conditioner "Moisture Recovery" by Joico. 

If any one remember what "Mira-9" was like, their conditioner is very similar.  It helps with fly-aways and is great for every day usage.  I have used this on all my clients, family and recommend it to anyone who is struggling with their hair dry or fly-away.  This leaves your hair smooth and able to comb through right out of the shower!  I can comb Stacey's hair with a comb after her bath and have no problems getting through it.

Next month (all month) the Joico gallon containers will be on sale for $22-ish dollars per gallon.  This is only a twice-yearly sale and it's only for beauty professionals (which just means I'd have to pick it up for you). 

These are great to use!  You can just fill your existing containers using these and they last you forever!  We bought our last ones a couple years ago and I bought 4 shampoo and 4 conditioner!  I will be buying more for our family next month and if anyone is interested, let me know!

Love,

Sara

Eye Makeup Tutorial

This week I decided to be a bit cheesey. About a month ago, Rachel asked me how I did my eye shadow and how I got it to stay on. I decided to do a little tutorial on how I apply my make up, so here goes.

1st thing is first, I apply my eyeliner and mascara. I use liquid eyeliner because it stays on my eyes longer and I switch off mascara all the time. 

 Next I take a little q-tip and clean all around my eye. On the top of my eyelid I drag the q-tip away from the tear duct and on the bottom I drag up so it is right under  my eye.  The q-tip is slightly damp. (I don't use water proof so I just put a little water on it.)

I then pull out my Neutragena Healthy Skin
Cover-Up. ( I feel like i'm advertising.) 

   I put the cover up all over my face. Usually between the eyebrows, below the eyes, on the eyelids and around my lips. I also like to cover up any of my little friends that have decided to join me for the day aka ZITS!!

I then take my finger and dab it all in. I generally don't like to
 rub because then it comes right off. 

Here are some of my nice assortment of colors. Today I used the light blue one,
and the dark purple one.

 So the picture to the left is my eye with the light blue applied. It has a nice light color, I switch off between the light blue, white, or cream. Generally, I put it on with my finger, I'm no professional or anything.

 Then I take Brush A and put the darker color on the tip of it. I apply it to the bone that arches across the eye. I put it about half way in and just dab the color all across to the out side.  The bone arches downward and I usually just follow it.

 I then take the smaller brush, brush B and dab it in the black or a color that is just a little bit darker than  the 2nd color I apply. Sometimes I even will use a Navy Blue so that it will help my blue eyes pop out.

 This picture shows what I do with the black color. The eye on our left is the one that is done. You can see that it has a little bit of a C shape at the bottom. I just make it darken up a little and put it a little bit of the dark color on the bottom half of the shadow.

After I put the black on the top of my eye I follow the eye liner in the corner of my eye in just a little bit. It has a little almost triangle look to it in the far corner. I know it looks really dark but that is okay, that is how you want it!!

 I then put a base all over my face to even it out the skin tone.  I just use this one, but powder or anything will work. Below is a scary ghost picture of my face haha enjoy it, because it was really awkward to take hahah. I know my eyes look crazy and my face is pale but that is where you get to the next part!

I

 I use this blend of tan colors and suck into my fishy face! And I follow the check bone down about half way on both sides. Then I put more on the T (that is on the forehead and down the nose.) I also help blend my eye shadow by usuing the same brush and just lightly touching the eye shadow. Warning: Pull out ward so you don't put the dark eye shadow close to the tear duct.

Then I put some lip balm on my crusty crusts. Thanks to Glozelle haha (Youtube her, she is hilarious!!)

Well that is how I do my make up everyday. I hope you enjoyed!! If you have any questions just let me know.  :)

A Variety of Foods

At the Royal Palace in Madrid with Emily

It was almost ten years ago now (!) that I spent a semester in Spain on a study abroad trip.  I was there with about 30 other kids from BYU and we all lived with a family during our 100 day stay.  Each morning we had classes at the local university and each afternoon we were free.  We traveled frequently, sometimes for a week, sometimes just for a day trip, so we stayed busy during our stay.  There were a number of students on the trip that would jump on the train to Madrid every day after class, spending hours exploring restaurants, theaters, museums, palaces and cobblestone streets in the heart of Spain.  I can think of once that I joined them: the rest of the time I walked back home and spent my time with my familia.  My hope in spending time in Spain was to find out what it was like to live there, not just sight see.

A huge part of the Spanish life, and probably European life at that, is eating.  Each day after class I walked the 20-30 minutes home and would help my madre prepare our lunch.  Everyone sat at the table together for a three course lunch each day.  It typically lasted about 90 minutes and was such an enjoyable part of my time there.  Meals are such an integral part of daily life in Spain; it was really neat to watch how food helped form the backbone of their daily life.  

Source

COURSE ONE

We always had fresh bread and typically started with a vegetable soup.  "Vegetable soup" is not what you're thinking: my madre would simply take whatever vegetables needed to be used, boil them until soft and blend them with her immersion blender.  Every day was different: bright orange with carrots, lime green with peas and cabbage, brown from lentils, white from cauliflower.  She always put in some olive oil and seasonings and some days were fantastic while others were...not.  While here in the US we often start with a salad, that was very rare in Spain (I can think of one or two times).  We may have also just had fresh vegetables: sliced cucumbers with some olive oil (are you seeing a theme here?), salt and pepper, for example.

The emphasis for the first course was always lots of vegetables.  I went to Spain thinking I hated vegetables but after having them so well seasoned, cooked so many ways (boiled, pureed, steamed, sauteed, baked, in main dishes, etc.) I found I really love vegetables.  I still shy from raw vegetables, so thank heavens I can cook!

Source

COURSE TWO

After soup we jumped into the main course, which was sculpted by foods I still dream of!  Garbanzo beans with tomatoes and chicken, fish with rice, rice with potatoes and ham, a warm salsa mixture with poached eggs.  It was all so different for me, but always fresh (based on what was at the market that day), always different, filled with vegetables and seasoned beautifully.  I wrote down many recipes there and have sadly not been able to get many to turn out.  I look forward to the day I go back and join my familia at the lunch table again.  

Source

COURSE THREE

The third course was dessert, but so different from our dessert I hesitate to call it that!  Cookies and cakes are usually for breakfast in Spain (my kind of breakfast!), so dessert was often fresh fruit, a cheese platter (which was actually a foot-long tupperware filled with cheese - some of which was there when I arrived and still aging when I left!) or yogurt.  We would sometimes have a plain yogurt cake, which is a simple combination of a few ingredients (called yogurt cake because you use the yogurt container to measure everything).

Over the past few years I've spent a lot of time reading about French eating, a very trendy topic, and have found that the Spanish have very close ties to the French.  Both cultures highly prize their culinary habits and both derive deep satisfaction out of their time eating.  It is a fascinating lifestyle, very different from our own in many ways (they would never eat standing up or in the car, never eat alone, don't really snack, and don't feel guilty for indulging in foods they enjoy).

I don't think it's possible for me to mimic their lifestyle, but I do think variety is realistic.  The French have an unwritten rule of not serving the same meat twice in a week, for example.  The focus is on always changing things, modifying recipes, adjusting seasonings, and focusing on what is fresh.  Fruit is enjoyed in the spring, summer and fall, when it is growing locally and full of flavor.  Winter is for stews, meats and roots.  Vegetables are eaten in season, at their peak, enhancing their phenomenal richness.

Like several of you, I sometimes find myself stuck in the same dozen recipes, making them over and over until I am sick of them.  I want to shift my cooking focus to be on novelty and change, so I want to go one full month without cooking the same recipe twice!  Would anyone care to join me?  I'm just going to focus on dinner, which will likely be just a main dish and a side (no three courses here for us.  Yet.)

A few of my online favorites, to kick you off:

Poached Eggs with Cheese and Chickpeas - we are not often vegetarian, so you can be sure anything vegetarian on this list is fantastic.  This is great with crusty bread.

Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl - this is pretty unreal and, I timed it, took me 23 minutes from start to finish.

Carrot Soup - we made this with fresh carrots and were quite surprised at how great it was!

World's Best Lasagna - more than 8,000 reviews and five stars should definitely mean something.

Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas in Creamy Avocado Sauce - a great excuse to eat even more avocados.

Jalapeno Popper Chili - we just made this two weekends in a row and loved it both times.  We have done two jalapenos (no seeds) and it has not been spicy enough for our liking yet.

Asian Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing - this is so fresh and a great combination of flavors and crunchiness.  We don't put the dress on ours until we serve: it keeps great in a bowl in the fridge for several days of lunch!  Mary, I bet you could change this to be peanut free easily.

Lemon Lentil Soup - another vegetarian recipe.  This one is also great with fresh bread.


Do you have suggestions of some great dishes?  I'd love to see comments below!

Bon appetit!

-Rachel

Roasted Vegetables

Harmon’s grocery store offers fantastic cooking classes that I love to consider attending.  To date, I have been to two:  TJ and I attended a knife skills class that we loved and for a friend’s birthday last year, she and I attended a class on herbs and oils.  It was enjoyable (though I stink at tasting spices and naming them blindly) and we made roasted vegetables, which has become one of our regular recipes.  This is a great way to enjoy fresh vegetables and roasting makes them extra flavorful.  Feel free to mix up which vegetables you use (we have never used zucchini because…I just don’t adore it).

Roasted Vegetables

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

½ yam, cubed (*I usually just use the whole thing)

1 zucchini, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 parsnip, diced

½ red onion, quartered

1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (worth getting fresh, but if you don’t have it, just use dried)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (worth getting fresh, but if you don’t have it, just use dried)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

On a half sheet tray combine all ingredients and cook in a 375 degree oven.  Cook until vegetables are fork tender, but still have a snap.  Cooking time should be around 25-30 minutes depending on how the vegetables are cut.

*Note on cutting these: peppers and onions will cook fastest, so cut them largest.  Also, we typically use a parsnip in this.  Have you ever had a parsnip?  They look like big white carrots.  They are great (disclaimer: we have only had parsnips roasted, so can't attest to their flavor raw or otherwise).

*Another note: I thought that the longer these marinated in balsamic vinegar (which I could drink) the better they would be.  Wrong.  They get mushy, so don’t do that.  

*A final note: we don't peel our carrots anymore.  We wash them well and save ourselves a lot of time and peels by just eating them as they come.  It's terribly liberating.

Enjoy! And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY (here's hoping Holly gets a ring!)

Blessings

Last Sunday we blessed Cooper Scott and Brock Daniel at church.  Per request, I will share some of the highlights from their special day.

Mom, Dad, Jane, and Dan all flew out for the blessings.  Mom was able to shop and find beautiful blessing outfits for Cooper and Brock.  She spoiled Max and Kate with new outfits too.  All our kids looked fantastic for church, don't you think!?

We had Cooper blessed first, as he was born first.  Some of the highlights from Cooper's blessing included:

• knowing the great love his parents have for him, as well as his Father and Heaven
• a keen knowledge of the Savior and what He has done for him
• physically develop and be strong
• being a leader among his peers
• a kind heart, and charity towards fellow man
• serve in the church, family, and on a mission
• marry in the temple and have a family

Brock had a wonderful blessing as well.  Here as some of the highlights from Brock's blessing:

• blessed that he might know he came as an answer to prayer
• a happy heart
• know the strong legacy of ancestors, to remember them and learn of them
• be mindful of his siblings and helpful and an example to them
• be a man of high character
• serve a mission, be a leader in the church
• have a family and be married in the temple
• draw near to the Savior, gain a testimony of Him and share it with those you meet

Rob and I invited a good number of our friends to attend the blessing.  Our good friends, and neighbors, Judy and Ron were top of the list.  Unfortunately, Ron got sick on Friday night and was laid out in bed until Tuesday so he was not able to attend.  Judy was able to come.  Our other next door neighbors, Dave and Carol, also came to church for the blessings.  A few of Rob's co-workers: John (and wife Mollie), Tyler (and wife Rachel), and Wes showed their support as well.  It was wonderful to have so many friends there.

It was Fast and Testimony meeting (our Ward Conference was on the first Sunday in February), and Robert and I were both able to share our testimonies from the pulpit.

It was a memorable day and I had many tender moments.

Julie

Praise

For my birthday I was given the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - it is a marvelous book and I would highly recommend it.  In it Rubin devotes a year to her Happiness Project and each month focuses on a different aspect in her life and strives to make it happier.  I was intrigued in her "Parenthood" chapter when she mentioned the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk was life changing for her.  Rubin said, "As part of my research for the month, I reread, for the fourth time, the collected works of the world's greatest parenting experts, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, and in particular their two masterpieces, Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.  I discovered these books when a friend of mine mentioned that two friends of hers had the best-behaved children she'd ever seen.  So when I met that couple, I asked for their secret - and they swore by How to Talk So Kids Will Listen.  I ordered it that night, and I became and instant follower of Faber and Mazlish."

I was intrigued because she read the book four times!  I figured it had to be good so I too ordered one right away.  I love this book.  It is full of insightful advice not just about raising children but on human interactions.  I wanted to share a bit from my favorite chapter "Praise".  

Praise and Self - Esteem

Instead of Evaluating

("Good"…"Great!"…"Fantastic!")

Describe

1. Describe what you see

"I see a clean floor, a smooth bed, and books neatly lined up on the shelf."

2. Describe what you feel

"It's a pleasure to walk into this room!"

3. Sum up the Child's praiseworthy behavior with a word

"You sorted your Legos, cars, and farm animals, and put them in separate boxes.  That's what I call organization!"

I tried this with my kids this morning.  We have never had such a positive morning.  Usually mornings are a mad dash full of threatenings and bribes to get everyone out the door fed, beds made and prepared for school.  It was a huge difference.  The kids were independent and proud of their efforts and results. I also found that I was giving sincere compliments and praise.  Instead of mumbling "good job" and only half noticing and acknowledging what they did I found I had to take a minute and really see what they did and think for a moment how to make them feel as proud as I felt.  I also felt a shift in my attitude.  Instead of focusing on negative I started searching for all the positive things my children did so that I could praise them effectively.

This is only one of the many little tidbits of helpful suggestions for better interactions.  I am nearly finished and can't wait to start Siblings Without Rivalry.

Money Saving at the Market

I have found the most amazing thing! For a long time I have followed a blog/website called "Coupons 4 Utah."  (www.coupons4utah.com)  I have done a couple of things with it off and on when there's something that catches my eye.  For example, I know some of you went down to the Shade Shirt sale last year, but I haven't really done very much with it other than when something catches my eye.


Over the past couple of weeks though, that has changed quite a bit!


I decided to try to use the site for actual grocery coupons and mixed the coupons with the Smith's Mega Sale Event that was going on.  It was so awesome!  I've never done anything like that before and it was pretty cool to see my total at the checkout go from $179 down to $84.  I got All Laundry Detergent for $1.50, 10 oz. Skintimate and Edge Gels for $1.00, LA Looks Gel (Stacey uses it) for $.25 etc.  I've never really used coupons or ad matches before and although I find that it takes me more time to both put together a shopping list and shop, the savings I get are pretty much worth it.


Since I don't get the Sunday newspaper, I'm restricted to printable coupons.  Usually you have to install the coupon printer on each site but then they'll print just fine.  I've found that some of the policies are that you can print 2 coupons per device (no photocopies), you need to cut your coupons out before you get to the store, watch expiration dates, and let them know up front that you have coupons and/or ad matches.


A couple other sites I've used are:
The Krazy Koupon Lady (for Julie)
Coupons 4 Utah
Freebies 2 Deals
Utah Deal Diva
Saving Cent By Cent


The nice thing about these sites are that they do a lot of the work for you!  For those in Utah County, Tuesdays are double coupon days at all WalMarts and I believe that Julie will have the same thing in some of her stores.


Hopefully this may help some of you especially if you want to put in any kind of food storage etc.  So far I've found that the most effective way to use the coupons is to combine them with sales.  Also, as a side note, WalMart will pretty much match any other store's sale as long as you have the information of where and what price the item is on sale for.  I've only been using this for a couple of weeks and only for things that we already use, but thought I'd share!  It's so easy, all it takes is a little time and prep work!


Good luck Sisters!