Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins with the Kurzawski's last night. They turned out pretty good. Aaron took a great picture of all the pumpkins lit up so you can really see what they are. I will have to post it when I get a copy.

Down on the Farm

Last week I had to work in Tucson which is an hour from Sierra Vista where my brother Spencer and his wife Marlee live. So I took Carley (my niece) and Carter with me and we stayed with Spencer and Marlee. Carley and Carter had so much fun playing with Marlee all day while I was at work. They didn't want to leave. Carter's favorite part was definitely feeding the pigs at Marlee's parent's house.

Tips to make life a little easier...

I came across some cooking/cleaning tips recently and thought there were some great ideas. I have already tried the vanilla in the ice chest idea and hope o try the other ones soon! Here they are:


1. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
2. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.
3. Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispie treats in the pan. The marshmallows won't stick to your fingers!
4. To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop. Skillet will be MUCH easier to clean.
5. Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces--no more stains.
6. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead-no white mess on the outside of the cake.
7. If you accidentally oversalt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato--it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."
8. Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the fridge--it will keep for weeks.
9. Place a slice of apple or piece of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.
10. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
11. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away. (I've never tried this, so if you do, let us all know if it worked.)
12. Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
13. Ants, ants, ants everywhere. Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march--see for yourself if it works.
14. When you get a splinter reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Put the scotch tape over the splinter and pull it off. Might be a life saver for a kid who's scared of those tweezers.
15. Now, look at what you can do with Alka-Seltzer:
* Clean a toilet--drop in two tablets, wait 20 minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
* Clean a vase--to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water adn drop in 2 tables.
* Polish jewelry--Drop 2 tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for 2 minutes.
* Unclog a drain--clear the sink drain by dropping 3 tablets down the drain followe by a cup of White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.
16. When storing large thermoses or your camping cooler, to keep it from smelling bad: First, wash it , of course. Then put one or two drops of vanilla flavoring in to the thermos or cooler and wipe around with a paper towel. When you're ready to use your cooler and thermos again, they won't have leftover camp food smells that seeped into the plastic.

Who loves Nursery?

I love nursery! But more importantly...Carter loves nursery! Yesterday was his first time going (by himself) and he loved it! I almost forgot what it was like to be able to sit through Sunday School AND Relief Society AND actually be able to listen!!!

What are the odds?

Officer: "Did I pull you over a couple of months ago?"
Me: "Yes"
Officer: "I thought you looked familiar."
Me: "Well, it was actually one week ago today about 5 minutes earlier and about 10 miles back."

What are the odds that the same cop would pull me over in the same spot twice?!?

Luckily I didn't get a ticket either time. Both times I was pulled over for driving too close to the car in front of me---but I don't buy it. There is no way I was too close either time!!! The cop told me that he looks for women driving rental cars (which I was in both times) because this is how people trafficing drugs are doing it these days. Weird.

Bounce U

We went to Family Night at Bounce U with our friends the Kurzawski's (we missed you Alicia!). Carter and Kaden had so much fun running and jumping around. But I don't know who had more fun....the kids or their dads!!!

GymBugs

My Sister-n-Law Katie teaches gymnastics from her home (Katie's GymBugs) and has a class for kids 3 and under. Carter is in the class with 2 of his cousins, Mallory and Tyler. One of the perks of working from home is that I get to schedule my office days on Thursdays so I can take Carter to this class. He loves it!! Today Katie had them jump over a stuffed snake in the middle of the group circle and after Carter did it he ran right to Katie and gave her a big hug. It was pretty cute.

A day (or two) in the life of a Working Mother...

Yesterday: Woke up at 5:30AM for 4 mile run
Worked (answered emails, administrative tasks, etc...) until 7:30 when Carter woke up
Had breakfast with Carter and got him ready for the day
Worked again until 9:30 when Sean had to leave for school
Took Carter on a quick walk and Played with him until his nap at 10:40
Showered/packed/worked/did a load of dishes/took out the trash/did a load of laundry and got ready to leave on my business trip
Woke Carter up at 2 so we could pick up my rental car
Tried to mail letters with Carter for work at FedEx Kinkos--apparently they only ship packages
Dropped Carter off at my sister's house and then went to the post-office
Drove 5 hours to Gallup, New Mexico to my hotel---got pulled over on the way there
While on the road I made calls to clients and to doctor and dentist to reschedule appointments due to work/home schedule for the 4th time---I don't think they are very happy with me
Worked at the hotel until I went to bed at 11:00

Today: Woke up at 5:00AM for 10 mile bike ride
Had breakfast meeting with colleague at 7am --didn't have time to change so I was in my gross sweaty clothes with no make-up---embarassing!)
Got ready and left for 1 hour drive to the school
I stopped to get gas first and to grab a lunchable--I am going to the middle of nowhere and will have nowhere to eat
I drove in fog and on dirt muddy roads (only thought I was going to get stuck twice)
Arrived at the school only to find out the principal forgot I was coming and wasn't there
Met with the teachers briefly in their classrooms
Sat in the computer lab the rest of the day (snacking on my lunchable)and printed out reports for the teachers and made assignments for the student's based on their test results.
While printing out reports I answered emails from clients and defended my schedule to my boss--no I cannot fit in anymore visits to schools this month!
Met with the teachers again to show them what I had done all day
Left the school and drove again on the dirt roads--not so muddy anymore and not foggy
Called to check on Carter---no cell phone service all day
Drove for 3 hours until I got to the next hotel in Winslow, AZ to find out they don't have a gym---how can I do my running tomorrow?
Collected Visiting Teaching Numbers from the Supervisors to turn in my report(I am the VT Coordinator)
Currently taking a break before I start on my long list of work items to do tonight
I'll call to say goodnight to Carter, work some more, and do it all over again tomorrow.


I'm tired...maybe I'll take a quick nap...