Rewind Time for a Pumpkin

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

So you got excited that it was officially fall, and you carved your pumpkin a little too early huh???
Well join the club--because I totally did--but now it's withering before we get to Halloween night (when everyone sets out their pumpkins and lights them up) so what now? Carve a new one? Have none?
Nope! You're going to save that pumpkin!! How?
Why soak it in a sink full of water of course! I know what your thinking because I was too when my sister-in-law suggested this...

"Won't it get soggy and fall apart?"

Nope here's proof in my photos.
Just run a sink full of water (room temperature) and soak it for a few hours (or if your like me overnight) and ta-da!! The pumpkin "re-hydrates" itself, and is ready to go!




(Sorry, no photo of the withered pumpkin, but the after photo is 6 days after the before shot!)

Happy Halloween all!!

Fun with Audio Books

Sunday, October 7, 2012

An amazing invention that our family has recently been hooked on are Hallmark's amazing audio children's books. These are not just any audio books with some boring narrator, these books let you customize the audio "play back" with your own voice or anyone else's that is near by! So if mom and dad want to record themselves reading the book to their child, taking turns with every page, they can. If grandparents want to send a book to their grandkids with their voice narrating, they can! If we wanted our Hispanic sitter to help us record a Spanish version to play as we read it aloud for Liam, she could! If you wanted to read it with sound affects, funny voices or funny add-ins, you can! Any way you can think of is possible with these books; there's so many ways to record the book for your child! 
We have found that even when Liam's visual impairment keeps him from seeing the small print and the small items in the pictures, we can "set the scene" for him as we record it do that he doesn't miss anything in his reading experience. Hallmark has so many different books to choose from too! They brought us comfort when we were unsure of how bad Liam's vision would be because we knew with these books he could still enjoy reading like we do or more!  So thankful we found them!! 


Foto Friday

Friday, October 5, 2012

It's that time of year again, FINALLY!!! Time for grilling, eating dinner on the back porch every evening, and playing in the cool night air until we collapse from exhaustion (Liam not us)! So glad to welcome Fall back!! Hope it stays awhile!

Dusting Off The Ole Resume

Saturday, September 29, 2012


Recently, after several years at the same desk job, I found myself needing to break out my old resume and do some major editing and revision before distributing it out.  After many copies landed in the trash can (and the floor around the trash can) I thought I finally had an average resume. Then after returning home the following day after delivering it to a small handful of hiring companies, my lovely husband pointed out that none of them would be calling me in for interviews anytime soon seeing as I'd left off my phone number and all other contact info.
UGH. 
Unless they decided to go door knocking for call backs I was screwed.
So I sat down at my computer once again to rewrite my resume but instead came up with the following:

10 Things to Remember When Writing a Resume
1. Don't forget your contact information!!!!!
2. Don't misspell words like savvy or your/you're
3. Have a special skills section to list any useful skills for the job
4. Use bullet points or numbering
5. Make it stand out either with the layout, the headings, or simply the smell of the page. I have had friends spritz their resumes with perfume and get hired!! 
6. Make the resume job specific -I.e.  no special carpentry skills for a nanny gig, no babysitting and cleaning skills listed when applying for an office job, but do list if applying for that job type. etc.
7. Don't say "etc."
8. Include any degrees, licensure, or certifications 
9. Include any extra schooling even if no degree was attained 
10. No family references! Use wide range of people who know you, close friends only, mentors, old teachers or bosses and make sure they will remember who you are!!! 

AND DO NOT FORGET TO START WITH YOUR NAME!!!! 

Oh and don't sit your coffee down next to your printed stack of resumes!

Foto Friday!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Make a funny face!! Or two....or three !



Foto Friday

Friday, September 21, 2012

Find a porch swing and relax awhile, these fall days will soon be gone too fast!


Dear Liam-White Cane Rule No. 3

Monday, September 17, 2012

Dearest Liam,
Your white cane is for walking not for golfing, though I know I insist on putting you in plaid shorts, you are not (as of yet) a pro-golfer, so for now let's stick to using it just for walking okay?
My ankles much appreciate it,
Mom