Crunchy Snowman Recipe

I found this recipe in Family Fun (See link HERE) and thought it would be cute to make for Alivia's class. But, making 30 of them was about 20 too many! :) The kids had fun helping me place the eyes and the buttons tonight. The ingredients I used:
Pretzel Rods
Dots (for hat)
Gummy Lifesavers (For hat)
Fruit roll up ropes (for scarf)
mini chocolate chips (for eyes)
mini Christmas M&Ms (for Buttons)
Almond Bark (for snow)
Orange decorator candy balls (for the nose)

I am not very artistic or patient. They are kinda cute, in the end, and look sorta like snowmen. Hopefully Alivia's class will enjoy them!

I'm Me

Yeah...that's me. 

I tell you like it is.

I write out the obvious. You don't like it? Then why are you reading this blog?

That's me...no fluff here. I am what I am. Like me or leave me alone.

I will take either one.

When I grow up...

...I want to be...

Alivia: a veterinarian.
Addison: a mommy with a baby. :) I am teaching her to be a wife first...
Asher: Spider man...then he said a pilot.

I wonder what they will say next year?

Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa!

Last night we celebrated Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob's birthday over pizza and angel food cake. Mmm! It's always nice to have guests and celebrate their special days in our home, We need to do that more often. Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa!

Merry Christmas from the Austins 2010

My Ring My Ring!

Yesterday I finally got my wedding ring back. And, it looks...well, AMAZING! I put it on my finger and kept looking at it over and over again. The prongs had to be remade and the diamond reset...and I love it! I vow to take better care of it, especially since I lost an organ in order to pay for the repairs this time. It is true...you sure cherish things more when you do not have them.

Addison's Preschool Christmas Program

Addison had her first preschool Christmas Program at Sacred Heart (St. Columbkille). It was adorable! They sang Halleluia, Mary's Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Shinking Star, O Where O Where is the Newborn King, Happy Birthday Jesus, and I have a Light. Addison just stood there, looking beautiful, but looking like she was going to cry. She told me afterwards that she was scared and the girl behind her was singing too loud!

Quality Fence? Take 2

After a series of phone calls and emails, I got a hold of "Quality" fence regarding our fence issues following the winter storm we had over the weekend. I was seriously mad by the time of phone call and their seemingly lack of calling me back or emailing us back. I was mad anyway considering that the gate of the fence had not made it through the first Nebraska winter storm, and I know there are many more expenses to come from this fence. Additionally, we drove through the neighborhood and found that our gate and a person's fence up the hill were the only 2 effected from this storm (the one up the hill was just installed within the last week and almost 50% of it was flattened. Nice!). Both were "Quality" fences.

Anyway, the woman, was less than happy with my attitude. She questioned my intelligence stating that I was not qualified to know what a quality fence was (um, I can tell that a fence that is demolished after the first snow storm is not quality). And, I wonder if she has her Master's Degree...Hummm...I really don't think one is needed to NOT see quality in the twisted plastic that now lays in a heap in our yard.

She went on to say that their warranty does not cover acts of God. Really? Air is an act of God. So, more of less, Quality Fence does not have a warranty? And, a blizzard is a Nebraska Act of NATURE. Blizzards happen here...that is not an anomaly . So, if a fence is going to be sold here, it should withstand Nebraska Acts of NATURE!

I am FUMING! I would not ever in my worst nightmare recommend Quality Fence to ANYONE. Especially considering that the 2 fences that were effected in our neighborhood were from Quality Fence. Humm...you have to question the quality in that. And, she, for whatever reason, had no explanation to that. But, she did take offense to me saying it was because it was just a crappy fence.

Guess we will be without a gate until I sell another organ and miss another Holiday outing to pay for it! Maybe we should wait until spring to fix it since I am sure this is not the last of the "Acts of God" we will see this winter.

Mommy and Me Day

Today was Mommy and Me Day at Sacred Heart, Addison's preschool. We ate cookies, sipped hot chocolate and decorated a gingerbread house. It was a lot of fun! And, thank you Daddy for allowing me to go (he came home for an hour to watch Asher so I could go to the party. Too sweet!).

Quality Fence?

This is our "Quality" brand fence after the FIRST winter storm it has been in. Nice...Quality? Let's see what they say when I call them tomorrow.

December Visit to the Omaha Children's Museum

Yesterday, Addison, Asher and I visited the OCM for a morning of fun. We played in the big backyard with Addison's preschool friend, Lauren, went to the light-play (holiday music and lights), made a Christmas tree, and ended in the big play room. Addison loved dancing to the music at the Light- Play, but Asher wanted to be held while Mommy danced. It was a fun way of spending the morning before the afternoon craziness took over. We hope to go one more time before our membership for 2010 runs out! A membership to the OCM makes a great Christmas gift...the gift that keeps on giving!

Asher's Baptism Anniversary

This week Asher celebrated his 3rd Anniversary since his baptism. We try to get the kids a Christian book, but this year he got "How Dinosaurs Go To Bed" in an effort to help Asher go to bed peacefully (is that possible?). In God's Hands we celebrate!

Alivia "Rumbles in the Jungle"

Alivia and both of Bell Elementary first grade classes performed "Rumble in the Jungle" last night at Bell. Although I was disappointed that she was to wear jeans and a bright shirt over a cute little Christmas Dress and I wanted to hear them sing Christmas and winter songs, the performance was really cute. I guess this is the price we pay for public schools (although Alivia had a Christmas program at her OPS school and I hear that other public schools have a Holiday program). The class did a good job dancing and singing to the songs. Alivia was really excited that all of her Grandparents came to watch, too!

The Christmas Spirit

Asher and I attended the Mom's group this morning at our church. They are just starting this group, and we were glad to get involved. We talked about Christmas, traditions, and how to keep the real meaning of Christmas alive. Here were some of the neat traditions discussed:
* Advent Calender: Put a Bible passage in each day and do something special leading up to Christmas.
* What God Wants for Christmas (See link below): The kids get to open a box each day the 10 days before Christmas until they find out what God really wants for Christmas. Cute story that goes along with it. Our kids do this every year!

* The 3 gift maximum:
When Alivia was maybe 2, we decided to buy Alivia and Addison 3 presents each for Christmas. Afterall, Jesus only got 3 presents.

So, what ever happened to that idea anyway?

I believe we forgot about the 3 present policy. Next year it will be back to the 3 present policy.
Mom's group and that one mom's friendly comment was an awesome reminder for us. I forgot all about this "policy" until someone else in the group, who had 4 small kids, said that is what they do. If you think about it, why should the kids get more than Jesus? They shouldn't since Jesus is the reason. I will have to remember this for next year. Besides, buying all those presents for kids and family causes stress. I mean, there is the shopping for all the presents, the wrapping and then paying for them! I cut out a lot of the Christmas gifts a few years ago. We buy for our parents, grandparents, nephews and our kids. Chris and I do not buy anything for each other at this point. Chris and I tend to buy what we want if it is necessary. Chris wants a guitar and I want things like a vacuum cleaner. We want to keep the season more about the reason of the season and spending time with family, not shopping.

* The angelfood cake on Christmas as a birthday cake for Jesus. We do this every year too and the kids love it.

* Send Christmas cards right before Christmas. I am not judging, but we received our first Christmas card this year before December 1. Actually, I had Thanksgiving leftovers in the car as my lunch heading to work when I picked up our first card. Seriously, we don't wish people a happy birthday a month in advance? Why is Christmas so rushed?

* Along with the last suggestion, someone suggested putting up the tree in December just light up. Then, decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. I thought that was a great idea. We saw trees going up the second week of November. Again...what is the rush?

I had fun at the Moms group. It was, however, the first time I left Asher alone without Addison or Asher. I sat with him in the kids' room for a bit before I left for the hour of the Moms group. When I asked him what he did, he told me he colored a Christmas Tree, talked about Jesus and God, and got to eat crackers! I do believe he had fun!

Ebay Update

I have been selling some things on ebay a couple weeks now. It is addicting! I will say, however, that it is a total pain and can be quite time consuming. But, at night, there is nothing on TV without cable...so what else do I have to do than to clear out our old stuff?

I have sold just over $300 worth of stuff since I started. I say that, but $225 of it was 2 faucets and a shower head/tub faucet that were new in box that I had purchased for the old house and never got them installed. I sold the first faucet for $75 (which is a steal considering how much faucets are!) and the second one for $100) and the tub/shower set for $55 or something. I was happy to see them out of the storage room! Seriously, what were we ever going to do with them?

I have also started to sell the kids' clothes without much success. I sold a complete gymboree outfit for 99 cents...so it is not always worth it. I have learned to start my bidding closer to the price I actually want out of it. If the item does not sell...oh well. It was worth a shot, right?

Funny, I have been doing this for 2 weeks and the storage room is still a mess. I wish there was a quicker, easier way, and maybe one that was less painful. Until I find that way...it's EBAY!