Report on Feb. R.S. Meeting

Last night's activity was a great success (at least the presentation part! that mod podge was trickier than I thought it'd be - sorry!! but they were still really cute!). Here are a few highlights from our presenters:

Elaine Tuttle:

Totes. Have everything you need for the job in one place. Saves time and energy when you don't have to run back and forth from the job to the closet for this or that. She has totes for cleaning, hair-do's, nail/pedi stuff, etc.

Clean from top to bottom.

Have a sanctuary. Elaine keeps her room clear and bed made so that even if the rest of the house is undone, she can go in her room and close the door and find peace.

Natalie Emmer:

House Of Order Handbook, by Marie Ricks. She has a system using 3x5 index cards to detail what jobs get done each day, week, month, etc. The website for House of Order is www.houseoforder.com.

“It is important to ‘neat’ your house before you ‘clean’ your house, and ‘clean’ your house before you ‘scrub’ your house.” Makes sense to me!

Monika Hopper:

Uses a reward system with a chart of 100 squares, and when each child fills a chart with stickers, they earn a designated amount of money. She also prints a daily chore chart for each child specific to the schedules and needs of each day. If the child does not complete the list, they do not earn the stickers, and if it becomes a habit of not completing the list, they lose friend privileges.

Angela Jensen:

Her children earn points by completing specific chores, and then they can redeem their points for "coupons" for things like movie night, and an outing with mom and dad, and extra tv time. Great ideas for those who dislike "paying" kids to do their chores.

Cindy Cahoon:

Cindy has adapted some of the House Of Order stuff and created cards for her kids which correspond to her jobs for the day. She also had some great ideas for making job time fun! Personally, I love the 30 second job idea (have jobs written on popsicle sticks and have everyone pick one. Set the timer for 30 seconds, and everyone races to get the job done before the timer goes off.)

**a few thoughts from the audience were:

They aren't bribes, they are incentives.

Create a list for multi-step jobs (like the bathroom) and post it in the room where it is done. Like the back of the medicine cabinet. This eliminates the constant "now what??" or "k, I'm done!" and it not really being done.


Finally, just don't give up. Keep trying things until you find what works for you and your family. It's not about having a spotless home. It's about being able to have a tidy home where the Spirit can thrive and your families can feel peace.

We did not have a ton of time for discussion and sharing of more ideas. Please feel free to comment with any tricks/systems that work for you!


*we will work on getting some of the info into a downloadable format. I'll let you know when that is available.

Relief Society - Groundhog Day Edition

Sisters - A reminder about our upcoming activity.

It is TOMORROW!!! Tues, Feb. 2 at 7 pm. We will begin in the Relief Society Room.
Seeing how it's groundhog's day tomorrow, we are tackling the chores that we have to do day after day after day, and learning about simple routines we can set up in our homes to make the most of our time and energy. We'll also be having a few people present their ideas for getting your kids to help out around the house as well (i.e. reward systems, etc).

I'm excited about the topic. I know, house cleaning??? Really? Really. When I feel the difference in how my house feels when it's clean as opposed to looking like a bomb went off, it makes me really want to do better - all the time. But then life happens. I get busy, and before I know it, it's been a month since my floors got mopped, and there are science experiments growing in my fridge. I am really looking forward to learning a few tricks to getting more done in less time so that I can become a better homemaker (because whether we work outside the home or not, we are all homemakers...) and invite some peace and tranquility into my home.

Can't wait to see you there!

**don't forget, if you signed up for a clipboard, bring your $1. Don't make me hunt you down for a dollar please.

Tap Shoes

Ok, ladies, I have inherited a darling pair of black tap shoes for a little girl size 12. They have white lace ties, and are in excellent condition. If anyone is interested, or knows anyone who could use some cute little tap shoes, please let me (Karen LaMunyon) know.


**and don't forget, our next Relief Society Meeting is coming right up! Tues, Feb. 2 at 7 pm in the R.S. room. If you signed up for a clipboard, don't forget your 1 dollar!

We had a fabulous turn-out at our Rhodes Bakery field trip! Thanks to Whitney for putting that all together for us. I know it took a lot of effort. We learned lots of fun tips and tricks for using the dough. The recipes are available online at http://www.rhodesbread.com/recipes

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Yes, that is just a mere 2 weeks away. We're still in the planning stages, so details will be available soon. Mark your calendars, though. We'd love to see you there!

Cranberry Chicken

This is the recipe for the chicken we served at our Christmas Dinner. We had a ton of compliments, and it was so easy, we thought we'd share!

Cranberry Chicken

8 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Mix:

1 bottle Catalina salad dressing

1 can cranberry sauce (whole berry)

1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

Place chicken in 9x13 pan. Pour mixture over top. Bake 400 degrees for 30 minutes covered with foil, 30 minutes uncovered. Serve with rice.

This recipe came from Jenny Camac. Thanks for sharing!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, there have been several changes in callings over the past couple of weeks in order to fill the holes left by the ward split.

The sisters who have been released and called are:

Released - Holly Brown, R.S. pianist; Marian Kelly, R.S. teacher; Jenny Camac, R.S. chorister. We so appreciate all that these sisters did in fulfilling their callings.

Called - Holly Brown, YW secretary; Jenny Camac, YW Beehive advisor; Janice Pan, assistant Beehive advisor; Renee Fabrizio, R.S. teacher; Geraline Cloward, R.S. teacher; Marian Kelly, R.S. chorister; Colleen Marston, R.S. pianist; Melissa Sauter, Primary pianist; Karen Andrews, Primary teacher; Robyn Cherrington, Youth Conference coordinator.

Whew! Lots of changes. Good luck to all of our sisters in their new callings. We know you will all do amazing things as you serve the members of the ward. And to all of our sisters currently serving throughout the ward, Thank You for all you have done and are doing as you quietly go about doing wonderful things. We love you all.

Ward Conference

Sisters, this coming Sunday (Jan. 10) is our Ward Conference at 11 a.m. The Bishopric has asked us to prepare spiritually for this meeting by doing the following:

Monday Jan. 4 - Hold Family Home Evening with a lesson appropriate for your family.

Tuesday Jan. 5 - Attend the Draper Temple. Adults must sign up with Sister Weaver or Brother Moon to attend the special 8:15 session for our ward. Or your are encouraged to attend on your own sometime this day or week. Youth are encouraged to perform baptisms for the dead sometime this week.

Wednesday Jan. 6 - Read General Conference Talk by Pres. Monson titled "Welcome to Conference" in Nov 2009 Ensign

Thursday Jan. 7 - Read General Conference Talk by Pres. Monson titled "School Thy Feelings, O My Brother" in Nov 2009 Ensign.

Friday Jan. 8 - Read General Conference talk by Pres. Monson titled "What Have I Done for Someone Today?" in Nov. 2009 Ensign.

Saturday Jan. 9 - Will you invite a friend/neighbor to attend Sun. Ward Conference with you?

Sunday Jan. 10 - Attend Ward Conference (11am) spiritually prepared to be uplifted by stake leaders.