Life of an Albuquerque Mommy

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Date Night

Babysitter for 4 hours: $30

Gas used while driving around town: $5

Grout and Toilet Seat for bathroom remodel: $43.88

Tickets to the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra: $0

groceries for Sunday dinner: $23.17


A night out with my husband WITHOUT the kids and a reminder of our previous college lives: PRICELESS!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/28/2006 07:07:00 PM :: 6 Comments:

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Thursday, May 18, 2006

Evolution of Dance

I saw this on this blog. I was laughing so hard when I watched it! It brought back many memories of church dances growing up! We did many of these dances. Just as a warning it's 6 minutes long, but my kids were laughing and clapping through the whole thing! Enjoy!


Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/18/2006 09:46:00 AM :: 4 Comments:

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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Helpful Hints

(A few of these I've heard before, many are very new. Interesting list. Hope you enjoy a few helpful hints.)

THINGS TO KNOW

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair

2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish

3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes

4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair

5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any

6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea

7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water

8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste

9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!

10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too

11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer

12. Chigger bite - Preparation H

13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H

14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of>sutures at most hospitals)

15. Stinky feet - Jello

16. Athletes feet - cornstarch

17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub

18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)

19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also. Use Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it

20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's. Wipe off with a coffee filter paper

21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray

22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands. Keep a can in your garage for your hubby

23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls

24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with cornstarch and watch them slide on

25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar

26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice

27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak

28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia, soak for 2 0 min. and let dry, will last for many years

29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's

30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste

31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.

32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel

33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter

34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets, soak overnight

35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it

36. Dirty grout - Listerine

37. Stains on clothes - Colgate

38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup

39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola, it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries.

40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- Sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.

41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer Aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.

42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you everwondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White, and Saturday = Yellow . So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. Even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/17/2006 08:32:00 AM :: 5 Comments:

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Sunday, May 14, 2006

Old Favorite meets New Favorite

Old Favorite:

Since we were young my mom tried to introduce us to television and movies that we didn't normally watch on a daily basis. That would include musicals. My brothers and I would moan and grown but if we actually sat down and watched them we usually enjoyed it.

Along with musicals she introduced us to British comedy that would be on the local PBS station, usually during telethons. The two that we liked the most were Red Dwarf and Mr. Bean. Red Dwarf was funny and I liked watching it but it clicked more with my younger brother. Mr. Bean clicked with me. I loved it!

I didn't go around telling everyone I knew that I was into Mr. Bean. People I went to high school with either hadn't ever heard of him and I would have to explain it to them. Or had stumbled upon it while flipping through channels and thought it was stupid and therefore I must be a weirdo for liking it.

Two of my best friends when I was in high school happened to be Mr. Bean fans too. What's so funny is that Michael and Kevin had both "stumbled" upon it and got hooked just as I did. It wasn't like one of us had introduced the other two to the show. We all had been secret fans of the show. One night when in conversation, I believe Kevin mentioned to Michael that there was going to be a Mr. Bean marathon. I freaked out right there on the spot! I started screaming at them (not really screaming but you know what I mean) "YOU LIKE MR. BEAN TOO!" If we hadn't have been such good friends already this would have cemented us to each other immediately.

From that point on any time there was a Mr. Bean episode on one of us would call the other two to make sure they knew it was on. The phone call went something like this: "Hey! Mr. Bean's on right now! I'll call you when it's over! Okay. Bye!" Then we would call each other afterwards to talk about the episode. The three of us would refer to different episodes when we were together, and Kevin was the best and copying Mr. Bean's actions and sounds. The others around us wouldn't have a clue as to what we were talking about but we were okay with that. The three of us knew and that was all that mattered.


*****

New Favorite:

On Sunday afternoons my favorite channels are TLC, Discovery Channel, and A&E. I love to watch the homemaker over shows, and the "Sell This House!" shows. I try to flip around but I find myself getting stuf on Discovery Channel quite a bit. That's because I LOVE Mythbusters!

I think it awakens that little bit of scientist in me. That "figure out what it does or how it works". When I was in Junior High there was program called O.M. or "Odyssey of the Mind". It seemed like an elite club of the smartest kids in our class. But on Wednesdays the adult leaders of the group would come to my advanced math class (most of the O.M. kids were in that class) so the rest of us could be a part of it as well. We were given an assignment and a list of items. And we had to figure out how to complete the assignment using only the items provided. It had a MacGyver feel to it. I loved it and always wished that I could have been in that group.

Mythbusters reminds me of O.M. They have a Myth, with a little background info and they use what they have available and what info they get and try to prove it or debunk it. Being the wife of an explosives technologist it also gives me an insight to the possibilities of what my husband does at work. (It's all top secret goverment stuff so he can't really TELL me.)

*****

How The Two Collide:

This afternoon I discovered that Discovery Channel was having a Mythbusters marathon. WOOT! On the episode I was tuned in to they were watching an episode of Mr. Bean where he is too lazy to paint his apartment using a paintbrush. Instead Mr. Bean puts a stick of dynamite in a bucket of paint, lights the fuse and then walks out of the room. At the same time his nosey neighbor walked in just as it exploded. It left a silloette of the neighbor on the wall but the rest of the room was thoroughly and evenly coated in paint.

Just seeing that little snippit of the episode had me laughing in remembrance of how silly Michael, Kevin and I were. The Mythbusters task was to try to prove whether puting dynamite in a bucket of paint would evenly paint a room. They did numerous tests, using a lifesize room with a dummy as the nosey neighbor and also scaled down tests. In the end the myth was busted but it was fun to watch. Before they did the test I asked my husband if he thought it would work, being the explosives expert that he is. He immediately said it wouldn't work but that didn't make me not want to watch any less.

Even though the myth was busted I really have the urge to call up the guys and say "You'll never guess what I just watched!"
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/14/2006 04:15:00 PM :: 14 Comments:

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Friday, May 12, 2006

RANDOM!

When I was at college I had become famous for using the word RANDOM alot. Okay I was famous for it in the Music Department and in my apartment. It was funny though. I loved saying it and I loved that people knew it was my word. It's funny how some of my favorite words and phrases kinda phased out once I left college. I used to say "You're Fired!" quite a bit too. It was great to use on friends and family members. Some would "argue" with me saying they couldn't be fired from being my friend or whatever. It didn't work so well once I was in the work force, people didn't know I was joking. They would say something like "you can't fire me." That phrase didn't last long, people didn't get the joke.

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Wednesday I walked to playgroup at the park. I pushed W and Sy in the stroller. I put sunscreen on them and on myself. But I guess on myself I didn't put it in the right places or enough. My upper arms are fine, I got sunburns on my forearms, backs of my hands (from pushing the stroller), the tops of my feet and my toes (from wearing my teva sandals), and the fronts of my shins (from sitting on a bench talking to the other moms.) You would think after almost 4 years in Albuquerque that I would learn that I burn easy and fast here. Being at nearly 5500 feet in elevation it makes the air thinner and we're close to the sun. I.e. I get sunburns!

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Yesterday was tennis day at the park. I remembered my sunscreen! Today was volleyball day. We had a lot show up today. We were actually able to play 6 on 6. Usually its more like 4 on 4. I found myself diving more today than I have ever. I got some good sets up and I received some good sets for some great kills. I'm very competitive, I've mentioned that before, and it just feels so good to play a good game!

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I've discovered that our little squirrel friend we've been seeing actually lives IN our backyard! LITERALLY! A few weeks ago we noticed a hole. We thought it might belong to a prairie dog or something. The other day I watched as our little gray squirrel friend was running around in the backyard. He was stealing strawberries and attempting to eat the flowers off my petunias. I'd bang on the window when he tried that. I watched as he stole a strawberry and ran up the cinder block wall. He was running along the top when he dropped the strawberry ran down the wall after it and right into the whole that I thought might be the home of a prairie dog. I caught him running into that same hole a few times later on in the day as well.

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Our bathroom remodel is coming along. I just updated my bathroom remodel blog. There are 4 new posts all with today's date. Stop by and check if out if you like.

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My husband's string quartet has 7 booked gigs for the month of May. They've had one already, and another 6 to go before the month is up. Then they have like 3 for June and 2 for July currently booked as well. I'm not sure about August, I think at least one. Maybe as we get farther along in the summer those months will start to pick up too.

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If anyone ever decided to come visit me in Albuquerque I would suggest the first weekend followed by the first full week of October. That is Balloon Fiesta time in Albuquerque. Its in the fall, the weather is cooler but still very pleasant, and when else can you see over 700 hot air balloons all at the same time!

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Random is a great word. I should start using it more often. But then again it was fun to say it for many different people. The only people I'd be saying it to now are my husband and kids. They'd probably get tired of it pretty quickly.

I love quotes so I thought I'd share one too.

"Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you."
~Frank Tyger

Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/12/2006 02:23:00 PM :: 11 Comments:

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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Bathroom Trip

HE needed to go to the bathroom. Though HE didn't tell me.
SHE went in to help him. I didn't know.
SHE likes to try to help wipe.

THEY had been quiet and I went to go check on them as to why THEY were being so quiet.

I walk into the bathroom to see THEM both standing in front of the toilet mesmorized by something in the water.

HIS underwear is down around his ankles and the toilet water slowly is rising.
There is an empty toilet paper roll on the holder.
It was full this morning.
All over the bathroom floor is remants of the roll.

THEY had obviously tried flushing it a few times.
The water didn't overflow. But it was close.

SHE was put in her crib so SHE couldn't be of more help.
HE needed a thorough bum wipe and underwear replacement.

I used the plunger for a few minutes to no avail.
Time will help the plunger work better later on.

The bathroom door is now locked.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/09/2006 01:32:00 PM :: 10 Comments:

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Monday, May 08, 2006

Backyard Friends-Update


Two mornings in the past week my son and I have spent a good amount of time sitting on the floor looking out the window to our backyard. What are we watching you wonder?


Oh one of these:

We have a new little friend. Its a happy little cottontail. This morning in particular we sat and watched him hop around in the yard for a good 30 minutes. We watched as he dined on his private little backyard buffet of all our plants and flowers. My son happily watched him hop around, worried when he couldn't see him and excited when mr. cottontail would appear from behind some flower. I watched to verify which plants he was filling his tummy on. He seems to prefer the big leaves of the hollyhock plants. He can't do too much damage to those so as long as he doesn't invite 20 of his closest friends for a party both my son and I will remain happy to watch him hop around in our backyard.


Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/08/2006 08:36:00 AM :: 4 Comments:

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Thursday, May 04, 2006

"go sit in the hall"

It was reported on the news tonight that a 4th grader in Roswell, New Mexico was punished for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. The teacher made the student sit in the hall. Apparently the Roswell school district has been teaching the Pledge of Allegiance in English and Spanish for many years. The mother of the child wasn't upset because they taught the Pledge in spanish but because she feels her sons constitutional right was violated. The school was asked if the teacher would receive any punishment for her actions. The principal refused to comment.


Just thought I'd pass this along. I think it stirs the same emotion in me as when I heard that the National Anthem had been rewritten in spanish, including changing some of the lines.

I don't want to go on a rant, but I just feel that this is the United States, the national language is english. Why then is there so much being changed to spanish to accomodate those from other countries?
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 5/04/2006 04:53:00 PM :: 17 Comments:

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