Get Burned stuff off pans Automatic Dishwashing detergent

Yesterday, I pulled a stupid.  When my spagetti noodles got done cooking, I poured them into my plastic strainer/colander and then sat the strainer on top of the stock pot that I had cooked them in.  This is my usual way of doing this, except yesterday I forgot to turn the burner off that the stock pot was sitting on!!!  The heat from the burner burned the inside of the pot nearly completely black and that same heat had begun melting my strainer.  I pried it off the pan to discover that the heat combined with the weight of the spagetti had drawn the colander down into the pot.  It was not liquid plastic yet but it was like salt water taffy as it starts to set up.  The plastic colander sat in the sink, noodles and all until it was cool enough to put in the garbage and the pot went out on the porch, in the rain, to cool off. 

Anyway, this morning I put some dry Cascade (automatic dishwashing detergent) in the bottom of the pot and put hot water in on top of it.  They say that automatic dishwashing detergent is harmful to skin so I stirred with a metal spoon to dissolve the detergent.  I let this sit for a while and you could see the chemical moving around in the water mixture.  When it was nearly cool I stirred again and black flakes of burnt stuff started swirling around!!  I rinsed it thoroughly and then scrubbed with a scouring pad and nearly all the black stuff is gone!  My favorite sized pot from my stainless steel cookware is saved!!!

This same recipe worked on set tea stains in my plastic “diner” cups as well.

 

BTW- Angel hair pasta cooked up in 10 minutes, from before boiling water to ready to eat!!!  Lets say we had bread and fruit for an appetizer to the main course while we waited!! LOL

#4 How do you handle busy activity days?

Here’s what I have been doing on my crazy schedule days.  Right now, we have practice for something 3 days a week.  One practice is from 5-6 so we do the pizza thing after practice.  I have the dough out rising while we’re gone and throw it all together as soon as we walk back in the door.  And this is all we have.  Pizza and drink.  No extras or sides.  2 days,  practice is from 6-7:30 and so I make sandwiches.  The sandwiches are made whenever I get to that “switch gears” mode (transition from one task to focus on getting things around and ready for the evening acitivities).  Some evenings I get to switch gears when the boys get home from school and have time for hamburgers or hot sandwiches.  I make them at that moment and wrap everyones in foil. On evenings when we are running behind or just don’t have time, we have cold sandwiches (lunchmeat, PBJ, etc) wrapped in a napkin.  That’s all we have- a sandwich and a drink.  Why do I wrap everything up?  So, if time runs short, we can grab our sandwich and eat it on our way out the door or in the car on the way there.

 

Crock pot meals don’t work for me when we have away from home activities because it’s not portable – unless you want the kids eating stew or chili in the car- lol!!!

 

If you are feeling guilty about the lack of nutrition- one, teach your kids to enjoy lettuce on their sandwich (start with one thin, little piece and work your way up).  Or when you get home after the busy evening, pass out some carrot sticks or a piece of fruit with a glass of milk as an unwind from the day treat.  There’s no reason the meal can’t be spread out into phases.  You don’t have to eat each meal balanced.  You could have Protein for breakfast, fruit and veggies for lunch, and Carbs for supper and it would still balance out for the 24 hour period. 

 

One day a week is game day.  Luckily, nothing starts until 2:00 and that gives me time to prepare a decent meal and prepare for the activity of the day.  Sometimes, we do not get back home until close to 6 and so we either take sandwiches with us or I plan for a quickie meal when we get back home (grilled cheese, ramen noodles, etc).  6 seems pretty early to arrive back home but think about it:  animals have not been fed, the kids may have homework to finish, they have been in the car or away for some time and need to unwind, etc.  Before you know it, it’s time for bed and supper’s not ready yet!

 

Back to the guilt thing- My busy season is in the fall- it is temporary.  Other people have certain busy days that are the same day of the week all year round.  But it’s only for a season!  For 6-8 weeks my kids eat on the run 3 days a week!  That’s only 24 meals out of 365 suppers!!!!  Even if it’s a year round busy day- that’s only 52 meals out of 365.  If you multiply by 3 meals a day- there are actually 1095 meals total for a year!!!

 

Here are some ideas and things to spy in the store on clearance/sale to keep on hand.

1. cheese sticks (a cheese stick and a banana is very portable)
2. dried fruit
3. nuts
4. granola bar (high calories but will tide you over)
5. lunchables (on clearance ONLY- i bought the double sized ones the other day for a dollar each and they were still good for 2 weeks!-)
6. ham and pepperoni (both stay fresh longer than other lunch meats- and can be used for a variety of things if you end up not needing them for supper on the go)
7. hamburg/pork burger patties, frozen (kept frozen with double wax papers in between, they can be popped apart easily and grilled or broiled in under 10 min. from frozen)
8. hamburger buns (buy on sale, freeze, thaw in 10-15 sec. in micro)
9. peanut butter and jelly (can be made ahead and frozen- they thaw in minutes and are really yummy slightly frozen!)
10. juice bags/boxes or invest in good reusable water bottles and teach the kids not to chew on the sports bottle lid (once chewed on, they leak) Keep some filled in the fridge at all times.
11. bottled water- Meijer Spring Water is excellent and about 50% less than other brands.  Keep some in the fridge at all times but teach kids not to help themselves.  Only for supper on the go days.  The faucet is for everyday.
12. Keep apples and bananas and grapes around all the time
13. Keep baby carrots around all the time
14. Keep 2 sizes of ziploc bags around- snack size and sandwich size- use the snack size to pre-package your nuts, dried fruit, grapes, etc so they are ready to go at a moments notice
15. lunch boxes- they have them on clearance at Meijer right now-makes easier carrying for the kids to do it themselves and works as a temporary garbage can for the wrappers and things
16. 6-pack sized soft-sided cooler- will hold drinks and sandwiches for a family
17. re-usable freezer packs
18. tote bag for each activity (watch garage sales for these if you don’t have enough) We have: large bag for soccer (holds ball, cleats, socks, shirt, shin guards, and room for water bottle) bag for football (holds ball, mouth guard, first aid kit, shirt, and room for water bottle) bag for drink duty ( holds the gallon cooler, 2 quart cooler, and plastic cups), and I will be making a cub scout bag shortly (will hold 3 neckerchiefs, 3 slides, 3 books, patches that need put on, etc- their shirts will have to be kept on hangers to keep them nice I suppose)

I hope you found this helpful!  Give yourself some credit!!!  And remember- if you’re late to something, you’re just late- that’s all.  It happens!  No one died, No one went “mad”- you’re just late. . .. . . If you have to do something last minute , just do it and make do.  Remember that the kids are capable of doing a lot of things themselves. When you are in a hurry would be a perfect time for them to show you!  If you’re driving back to home to get ready for an activity, talk to the kids while you’re driving about what they need to do the moment you walk in the door. 

Cold and Flu Season

With all the recent hype about over the counter cold relievers not working for young children, I thought it might be helpful to mention some old fashioned remedies that seem to help.  Let’s start with what a cold, cough, and flu actually are: I read this once and hopefully I have remembered correctly.  A cold is a gradual onset viral problem.  That can include chills, fever, coughing, congestion, runny nose, tired etc.  A cough is just that- a cough.  Typically a symptom of a cold but sometimes exhibits itself with no other symptoms.  The flu has sudden onset and can include symptoms of a cold but may also include intestinal symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, gas, nausea, etc.  These are all viruses and can not be treated with antibiotics.  Antibiotics treat bacterial infections.

Why is it then that doctors prescribe antibiotics for these illnesses?  Sometimes doctors prescribe them simply because you want them.  Why then do you get better after taking some of the antibiotic?  Because the disease has run its course and it just happens to coincide with your use of antibiotics.  Sometimes they prescribe them because the illness has drug on for close to a week and they want to make sure it has not turned into a bacterial infection.  They are “covering their butts”, so to speak or covering all the basis.  Sometimes they can tell from your symptoms that you have acquired a bacterial infection along with your virus. 

Just from being a mom, I don’t have any medical training so this is NOT medical advice,  here are the symptoms and signs that you or your child might have a bacterial infection and need to see a doctor.

• Green snot, boogers, discharge- whatever you want to call it.  If the stuff coming out of your nose or being coughed up is green, you probably need to see a doctor.
• Ear pain- not to be confused with the feeling that they are plugged.  However, children cannot tell the difference.  Little babies who cannot talk will rub their ear constantly, tug on it, cry a lot, scream when the ear is touched (sometimes)
• High fever- For children, their temperature can go quite high when their body is fighting a virus.  Even up to 103 with none of the other symptoms in my list could mean their body is just doing its job.  If they have high fever and it scares you, call your doctor.  Adults, anything over 101 is probably a sign of needing to see the doctor.  Adults bodies handle viruses differently than children and high fevers are in the “need to see the doctor” realm at a much lower range.
• Severe headache in the front of the head or in the face- could be signs of a sinus infection.  If a hot shower does not help and moving around makes it feel like your face is going to fall right off your head and it has lasted for several days, call the doctor.  Dark circles under the eyes or puffiness in the face sometimes occurs with this sinus pain.
• Symptoms of Croup in children-Croup almost always occurs at night.  Children with croup bark like a seal.  It’s a little more high pitched than the bronchitis-like bark that we hear more often.  Their breathing sounds raspy like they can’t get enough air.  They may complain that it hurts in their throat and chest area but differently than the “I have a sore throat” complaints.  Croup also causes “chest retraction”.  Normal breathing in children, the stomach portion of their body naturally puffs outward when they inhale.  When a child has croup, it does the opposite.  The stomach sucks way in and the rib area puffs out a little as the lungs try to suck in air that won’t come in very easily.  Children with severe croup may have a gray tinge to their skin or their lips may be blue.  If the gray tinge or blue lips is present, this is an emergency.  If there skin and lips are normal color, you can try something.  Take the child outside into the cool night air.  If you are concerned about the cold temperatures, wrap them up but leave their face out so the cold, moist night air can get into their lungs.  If their barking does not subside, you can also turn the shower on hot and let it run while your child sits in the bathroom (not in the hot shower, silly) for 10 min. or so.  As soon as you turn the shower off, take the child immediately outside.  This sort of shocks the bronchial tubes and sometimes works better than just going outside.

Anyway, back to the home remedies for cold and flu season:

1. Hot beverages- with children, make them warm, not hot.
2. No dairy- dairy increases mucus/snot
3. Chicken soup- really!  Studies show that something in chicken soup really does work but they don’t know what it is. . ..
4. Vicks Vapor Rub- rub on chest, back, or even feet to thin mucus. 
5. Hot Shower- in childern, make it warm but a shower will have more ongoing steam than a bath.  Then wrap up really warm and take a nap.
6. Sleep sitting closer to upright position to reduce coughing.  Sleep with 2 pillows or in your recliner.  With infants, place a folded blanket underneath their crib mattress on one end.  Do not put it in with the infant but between the mattress and springy part.
7. Rest