Ashton's First Talk

Oops... just found this from 2/21. I guess I forgot to post it.

Today, Ashton gave his first talk in Primary. Through out the week he said things like, "I wonder what I'm going to talk about." or "What do I want to tell the children?" Well, I pretty much decided for him and he practiced it. This was what he said:


"When Heavenly Father sent me to Earth, He gave me things to bless me. He created grains, fruits, vegetables, and meat so that we would have food to eat. Heavenly Father gave us wood for our homes. He gave us this beautiful world so that we can be happy.

The most important thing Heavenly Father gave me is a family. My family protects me and loves me. They teach me right from wrong so I can choose the right. I am thankful to Heavenly Father for my family."

A Movie Recommendation

Wednesday night, as I was cleaning up my stuff from a book party, the hostess and a guest started talking about this movie they had just seen and loved. It was called Fireproof. So, last night Jeremy and I had an at home date (the only kind we seem to have these days) and we decided to get Fireproof from the redbox at McDonalds. (We also got a James Brownie from Pollies so it could count as a real date and not just a regular old night at home. It was DELICIOUS.)

Anyway, here is my review...

The acting... pretty bad. (The main two characters are okay, but the supporting cast reminds me of a high school play.) Oh... Kirk Cameron is the leading man. Remember when he cute? I guess he is still kind of cute, but really now he is mostly just old. I guess that means I am getting old too. (Sigh.) I don't think his acting skills have improved much in the last two decades.

The writing... also, pretty bad. Seriously, sometimes I wanted to roll my eyes because the writing was over the top cheesy. It was also quite predictable.

The message... AMAZING!!!! Seriously, I was crying by the end (this is in spite of the cheesiness and predictability). It was a great movie about what love is and what it isn't, marriage, committment, Christ's atonement and love for us, charity...

Seriously, watch this with your spouse!! Watch it on one of those days when you are having a hard time thinking of something nice to say. (Hopefully, I'm not the only one with those kinds of days.) Or, you can watch it one one of those days when you think you are quite possibly the luckiest girl in the world to have such a great husband. Either way, I think you'll come away edified and uplifted.

Surviving Will's Toddlerhood

I am posting this in hopes that I will get some great advice on dealing with temper tantrums. Although this is my fourth child to go through the "terrible twos," I am about at my wit's end!

Will throws several huge tantrums a day. It isn't a communication issue... he speaks very well and has an excellent vocabulary for a 27 month old child.

IT IS ALL ABOUT CONTROL. I want to be in charge and so does he. In the past, I gave my kids choices (do you want to wear green jammies or blue jammies?) and they were fine. But when I give this kid an inch he takes a mile. He demands that I drive to and from the kids school a certain way, demands that he drink out of certain cups, demands that I tie his shoes while he stands in a particular spot, etc. He SCREAMS when he doesn't get his way.

I've tried everything I've learned (from my degree in Child Development, past experience, Parents magazine, etc.) and everything that has worked in the past, but to no avail. Currently, I am just leaving the room and letting him scream. But the noise is wearing on me.

HELP!!!

And now... just so I don't sound too negative (and to remind myself on a bad day)... here are a few of the many things I ADORE about Will.

1. He has the cutest, dimply smile. His eyes sparkle when he smiles.

2. He is really smart. He remembers so much and applies it to his life experience. Yesterday, he wanted me to play "Go Fish" with him. I didn't think he could do it, but he did. I can't believe he knows how to play cards and he is barely two.

3. He is actually pretty polite. He almost always says please, thank you, and your welcome. The other day when we left the grocery store he turned around, waved the clerk and said, "Have a nice day!"

4. He eats his vegetables (and pretty much anything else I place before him) without complaint.

5. He is a junk food junky. I know this isn't a good thing, but it is so darn cute when he says, "I need some candy in my mouth, please."

6. He absolutely adores his older brothers and sister. He loves to play with them, hug them when they come home, and be like them.

7. He has so much enthusiasm for life... he loves animals (from a distance), being outside, the farm, reading books, going to the store, etc. It is so darn cute to see his excitement for life.

8. He tells us he loves us all the time.

9. He really says the funniest and cutest things. Seriously, I laugh so much at the silly, witty, and down-right adorable things he says.

Okay... that list could go on for awhile. And by writing it down, I feel better already. Maybe, that is just what I needed... to realize how lucky I am to be the mother of such a wonderful kid (and three other pretty great ones).

Still... I will take any time-tested temper tantrum advice. :)

Venting... Warning: It's Political.

This morning I followed a link from a friend's facebook page to a Conservative Politics blog. There was an article posted there on titled "Building a Conservatism that Can Win Again." Being something of a political junkie, I was intrigued, but what I read was SO offensive to me (I am not even posting the link because I don't want to be responsible for people reading it) that I have to vent. And this is my blog so I can.

Anyway, it talked about how the best two Republican 2012 Presidential candidates are Gov. Jon Huntsman and former-Gov. Mitt Romney... both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). He outlined the reasons why he thought they were the best candidates and it was really interesting. Side note: Even though I am not a registered Republican, Romney was my first choice for President last year (as people who have been reading my blog that long know), because the two most important issues to me were the economy and health care and I LOVE his record on those two issues.

Anyway, this article went on to stay that it is unfortunate because a significant number of people in America (and especially conservatives) will never vote for a Mormon. No big surprise. We saw that in 2008. Then the author got into the reasons why people won't and here is where it turned ugly. The article reported half-truths and down-right lies about deceased church leaders, church doctrine and church membership in general. Seriously, about 1/2 the article was filled with this stuff. I can't believe people really think/believe that. It was so eye-opening. I thought that America was past that.

Anyway... I hope by posting this I don't offend any friends/blog readers of faiths different than mine. I just had to vent my shock and outrage at the way my beliefs (and in large part who I am) are seen and have been represented. I thought people saw me as a normal person. Sigh....

Loyal Commenter Award

Amanda Padgett of Moving Forward gave me a Loyal Commenter award as part of the 5 Minutes for Mom Say it Forward Carnival. (The 5 Minutes for Mom blog is quite excellent by the way. So is Moving Forward and her other blog, Beautiful Blog Designs.) So now, I have a loyal commenter badge to post this blog. Pretty cool!! Some day, maybe when I have more commenters :), I am going to participate in the Say it Forward thing. It is such an awesome idea.

Valentine's Boxes

I wrote last Wednesday, but get my camera to upload the pictures on this computer so it has just been sitting here! I'm going to finally post it now and hopefully, Jer can get the pictures uploaded asap... because WOW!!... That Wall-E Valentine's box was cute.

Today the kids had their Valentine's Day parties at school (no school Thur or Fri) and so they needed boxes. Jer apparently loved to make Valentine's Boxes as a kid and so he and the kids came up with some great ones this year. He said that as he was helping Matthew carry his box into the school this morning several kids shouted across the playground, "Hey it's Wall-e!! That is awesome!" and things like that. Matthew was thrilled with the attention.

Katie's box collected valentines in her classroom while she lay in bed at home. She was just to sick and weak to make it to school this morning. Thank goodness for the long weekend. She needs it to recover from being sick.

We had a great Valentine's Day party at Grandma Coxes, but I think I left my camera there... so to see some pictures, please visit my sis-in-law's (Jenn) blog.

Happy Birthday Great-Grandma!!

Yesterday was Great-Grandma Coxes birthday and we all went over for a visit. Well, I say all, but really Katie and I had to stay home because Katie has been quite sick this week. I will maybe post about that later. Since Katie knew couldn't see Grandma to wish her a "Happy Birthday" she spent the day drawing several lovely "Happy Valentims" and "Happy Birthday" cards for her. Jer said Grandma loved them.

So, in honor of my birthday blog tradition, I will now share the kids' favorite things about Great-Grandma Cox:

Matthew: She always loves and us and never wants to disappoint anyone.
Kathryn: She is always nice and loves to hug me. Everytime she sees me she gives me a hug. (Katie didn't say this, but she also likes Grandma's name. She always tells people, "My great-grandma is Dorothy Belle Cox."
Ashton: I like to play with toys from her toy drawer.
Will: I wanna visit Great-Grandma Cox.

A Blogging Award!... Exciting!

So, this morning I was excited to find out I awarded the "Lemonade" award for good attitude and gratitude on my blog. My first blogging award.... Yeah!! I didn't know you could get awards for blogging... what do I need Usborne for now? Oh, yeah... $$$$. ;-)

Anyway, I received this award from my wonderful friend Amanda Padgett in SC. (Amanda if you are reading this Leah said your presentation at the Carolina Regionals was EXTREMELY helpful.)

So now, I am supposed to nominate some blogs I read and am inspired by. So here it goes. (If you are on the list you need to post the award and your nominees on your own blog.)

• Teresa... She has been amazing and inspiring me for years!
• Jody... Someone I've always looked up to and now am learning so much from!
• Jenn... The epitome of a good attitude and gratitude
• Sharie... Love her honesty!!
• Cashelle... Reminds me about the importance of cherishing those little ones.

Now is there an award for creative inspiration and beauty because I would also like to recognize:

• Tiffini... I admire people with amazing creativity
• Amanda... This one is for you latest blog. It inspired me to change my background. :)

I have so many blogs I love to read! It was so hard to choose.

Thank you all for the beautiful backgrounds, inspiration and laughs!

Usborne Regional Training

Camille, Me, and Suzanne

My downline supervisors. We missed Melinda (my other downline super) that day.

This Friday and Saturday were the annual Usborne Salt Lake City Regional Training for consultants and supervisors across the intermountain west. We had a great time and after fourth months of Jer working 70 hours a week, I was ready for a "slumber party" with my Usborne friends. (The kids were thrilled to have a sleepover with Stacie at Grandma Craguns!)

The meetings were inspiring, motivating and super informative. I trained on the software (mailing lists and bookkeeping) the company provides, on why my Usborne Business is the BEST job I've ever had, and on Home Shows. I was also in charge of the scheduling and training on Saturday.

It was also SUPER fun to see some of my wonderful consultants receive recruiting and sales awards. I am so proud of them!!

It was a lot of work, but so much fun!! It was just what I needed to recharge my batteries... all of them.

Readasaurus' Birthday

Friday was the Readasaurus' Birthday. The kids had literally been counting down for a week. The theme this year was Pirates and the kids could either dress up as a pirate or wear their pjs. This was a great theme for us because we have a plethora of pirate costumes at our house. Matthew decided to wear his Captain Jack Sparrow pjs with a pirate hat. The kids loaded up their backbacks with pirate books (we also have A LOT of those) to read during the day and they were delighted when Captain Jack Sparrow (our neighbor Kory Howard) appeared at an assembly.

Readausaurus' Birthday was my FAVORITE "holiday" when I was little and it is so fun to see the kids so excited about it too.

Hurray for Katie

We just got back from the Reflections Regional Open House where we learned that Katie won Regional Honorable Mention for her poem about Alaska. She was competing against K-2nd grade students from several different elementary schools.

Katie is taking the whole thing in stride. She was mostly thrilled to get a certificate, pencil and candy bar. I don't think she realizes what an accomplishment this is. I took a picture of her standing by her poem on the "Winner's Board" with my phone. Maybe I'll be able to upload it later. (I would have brought my camera if I would have known she was getting an award.)

We are so excited for her!

Another Blog

So... I started another blog. The address is www.readstome.blogspot.com. I love to research, I love to write, and I love to share what I learn. My two main research interests are child development and politics and I figured there are enough political blogs out there. :) Hopefully, I can not get too carried away and spend all day blogging when I should be cleaning my house and stuff. :) But, I've wanted to do something like this for sometime and figured this was as good of a venue as any.

If you have any suggestions for topics I should research I would love to hear them.

Special Offer

This last couple of weeks I have been notifying my customers of a couple of special offers I have going on. Then, I realized... if I am going to make these offers to people I hardly know, why not make the same great deals available to my family and friends!! So here they are!! Special #1: Book at 2009 party now and receive $20 EXTRA free books. February is DOUBLE FREE BOOK month where hostesses will receive $120 in FREE books with just $350 in sales (about 8 orders). I can guarentee ALL my hostesses $100 worth of books (some free, some half-priced books... most get $100 in free, plus $75 in half-priced). Book now and I'll even cover the shipping on your free books. :)

PLEASE NOTE: I am behind on earning the Usborne trip to Cabo San Lucas and need to do a lot of home shows in February-April (especially Feb). If you are remotely interested or have any ?s please let me know. I will travel ANYWHERE (in UT anyway) and would LOVE any help I can get!

Special #2: Join the Usborne Book Club and receive $10 in free books, plus any new title for 1/2 price. Earn free books from your book club purchases! Choose from over 1,400 titles and have books delivered to your home each month. You choose how many books/month and which books come when. PERFECT for gift-giving, birthdays, and to plan ahead for Christmas. Your puchases earn you free books.

Special #3: 15% off any January order. 10% off any February order. (Excludes book club purchases.) Just email me (or call) with your choices. You can preview the entire online catalog from this link.

Just a reminder... Usborne Books are award-winning, based on child development, and much loved by kids of all ages! They also have a lifetime warranty.

Also, if you or anyone you know is interested in some extra income, and/or a fun hobby, and/or a great way to build a home library our kit special this month is a AWESOME deal... $300+ in books for only $99.

Okay... I think that is everything! Again, I need some help (or I can kiss Cabo good-bye) and I would LOVE to help you get LOTS of WONDERFUL books, homework resources, and other educational materials. So far all of my January hostesses have received $100+ in free stuff!! SO FUN!! (And their friends and I were grateful for a chance to get dressed up and fight off the Winter blahs.)

If you have questions, please email me at: jill@utahusbornebooks.com or just give me a call. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma

Last weekend we celebrated Grandma Cox's birthday.

I asked the kids their favorite things about Grandma and this is what they said:

• Matthew- She is always nice and she always lets us come and visit her whenever we can.


• Katie- I love how she loves us.


• Ashton- I love playing upstairs at her house.


• Will- "Happy Birthday to You" (singing) I don't think he quite got what I was asking.

We all are so grateful to be in her family! Happy Birthday! We love you!

More on Cooking Once a Month!

So... between the comments on the blog, messages on facebook, and emails I've received, I've decided to post more on this whole cooking once a month concept. (And Jer is at work so I'm lonely. :( I do have Usborne trainings to prepare, but procrastination is so fun. :) )

By the way... I have 27 main courses and three desserts frozen in my freezer right now. Because we sometimes eat with family, eat out, and sometimes I feel like/have time to do cooking that should last us about 5-6 weeks!! YEAH!!!

FYI: This is also wonderful because you already have something prepared if someone you know has a baby, gets injured or for some reason needs a meal brought to their home!

Before I start I do have to say it isn't ONLY my dislike of cooking that made meal preparation difficult. It was also the logistics. Fitting time to shop, prepare food and clean up in between school pick up, karate, homework, afternoon naptime (VERY important) was the difficult thing for me. Everything needed to happen at 3 or 4 pm. If dinner isn't ready by 5:30 there are 4 ornery, whining, quarrelling children (and thus one stressed out, mean mother) at our house. So this system is a life-saver.

As far as recipes go... USE YOUR FAMILY'S FAVORITES!! Really, it is that simple. Some things will not freeze well, like raw veggies and cooked potatoes (unless they are REALLY cooked and mashed up like in a creamy soup). That book I suggested in the previous post (www.dinnerisready.com) had a list of things that will/will not freeze. She also has great and easy recipes if you are really worried about that.

Here is how I do it. First, I choose 3 meats and make all of the meat dishes out of those. This helps because you can buy those cuts of meat in bulk and get a better deal. (This last time I chose ground beef, cut up beef (stew meat), and chicken. The dishes I prepared included: lasagna, cheese manicotti, shepherd's pie, chicken noodle soup, corn chowder, chicken tortilla casserole, beef stroganoff, beef stew, Swedish meatballs, porcupine meatballs... and I think that was it for this time. Other times I've prepared a couple of different chicken and rice casserolles, funeral potatoes, sweet and sour chicken, chicken alfredo, barbque ribs, and sloppy joes.) I copy the recipes from the book I found them in, print them off the internet, pull the recipe card or do whatever I have to do to get a copy of each recipe. You don't want to have to switch back and forth between pages in a cookbook on cooking day.

Then I make a grocery list. My list is on a big piece of scrap paper and I have sections for meat, produce, frozen, dairy, packaging material, etc. I go through each recipe and write the items I need on my list. I use tally marks for each cup of shredded cheese or sour cream, each can of soup, etc. VERY IMPORTANT: I've been buying those aluminum baking pans... WONDERFUL!! I can freeze them without using my regular casserolle dishes and cake pans and I can chuck them when I am done. You also need Extra Heavy Aluminum Foil and gallon sized freezer bags. Also, if your store offers them (ours don't), get paper bags. You need as many "garbages" as possible on the cooking day and those would work well.

The book suggests (and I agree) that you don't put your groceries away (except the items that need to be kept cold, obviously) because you are just going to use them the next day or two. It saves time on the cooking day to have everything out already.

The night before I cooked the ground beef and chopped all the veggies. This was the first time I've done that and it was very helpful. Chopping 10+ cups of carrots, 8 cups of celery, and 10 cups of onion is time consuming.

Also, forgot to mention this... you want to choose 1-2 recipes for a crock pot, 2 recipes that you can cook in your oven, 2-3 recipes that you cook on your stove top, and 4 or so recipes that you can just assemble. Because you don't cook the pasta before you freeze it, manicotti and lasagna are assemble recipes. Most casserolles are assemble recipes.

I start by cooking all the chicken... this usually takes 2-3 pots... which gives me the broth I need for other recipes. (I used to just use bouillon or canned broth. Now that I have "real" broth I can taste such a difference. The food/soups are so yummy!) Then I start a crock pot meal. Then I start something for my oven.

Again, you are cooking DOUBLE portions of everything you cook. Chicken noodle/chicken tortellini/chicken and rice soups are something that everyone at my house actually likes so I quadruple the recipe for chicken soup and then just add the starch (noodles, rice, tortellini) when I reheat it.

While all those are cooking, I start the assemble recipes... beginning with the most labor intensive... saving the easiest ones for last. When something is done cooking I take it over to my kitchen table to cool and prepare the next one for that method (stove-top, oven, slow-cooker). The assemble ones I just fit in while stuff cooks. Some assemble ones go together naturally. For example, last time I used the same cheese filling for the manicotti and the lasagna so I prepared those back to back. The more practice I get, the more efficient I am. Also, you want a garbage by where you are assembling, the stove, and where you are packaging.

When a dish has cooled sufficiently, I put it in the gallon bag or cover it and freeze it. Label what it is and the cooking instructions (if it needs to actually be cooked, not just reheated).

The book (again their website is www.dinnerisready.com ... I promise I am not getting anything for promoting it... just want to share ;) ) has lots of helpful hints and it goes into greater detail on the system. It also has some recipes I tried that Jer has LOVED.

Another thing: you can keep reusing the same knives, bowls, measuring cups, etc. if you just rinse them between recipes. Of course, wash stuff that touches raw meat and eggs, but everything else you don't have to wash until the end. It takes an extra load of dishes in the dishwasher that day, but overall it saves tons of dishwashing. I am not "cooking" a full meal each night so I can get by with one load/day now instead of at least two. After dinner clean up is so much easier because there aren't knives, measuring cups, frying pans, etc. to wash... it is just the plates, cups, etc. and maybe one pot.

And that is it!!

I can't say enough good things about that book and this system. It really has been a huge lifesaver. I love going to my freezer in the morning and pulling out something for dinner that night. I love being able to pull something from the fridge and put it in the oven before I leave to take kids to karate and have it done when karate is over. I love that I'm not trying to cook at the time of day my kids need me most.

So... this is a long post... and I REALLY should get working on my Usborne stuff, but I just wanted to share that information. Thanks for reading!