April Fools!

Dear Winter,

Please go away! We want to go to the beach!

XOXO,

D

April, a new month, and one day close to warmer weather. Damon is excited about April Fools and I still haven't come up with anything fun.

Last year we had a silly dinner with meatloaf cupcakes, mashed potato "frosting" and dessert pot pies. I think I got the instructions for the pot pies at FamilyFun.com (not sure), but they were pretty simple and here are some pictures if you want to try it.Rolled up tin foil holds the pie crust in shape while it bakes, and then it is easily removed once everything has cooled. I used a fork to make our initials for vent holes.

The filling is shaped chewy candy like starbursts and chewy jolly ranchers (that's where I got the bright green.) You can eaily soften them in the microwave, but it only takes a few seconds. I learned this lesson the hard way on a seprate occasion (it happened on a late March evening in Iowa, anybody remember?) I also used dried apples for the "chicken." Then stir it all in vanilla pudding. It's fun and everything tastes pretty good. Now I have to think of something new for this year. If you have any ideas let me know.

Straws!

I know it has been awhile, and I have so much I could write about, but today is the day for a post about a recent straw purchase I made. I have been in the market for reusable stainless steel drinking straws. First, I searched online. I found what I was looking for, but $3-$5 per straw plus shipping was not within my straw budget. So, I searched all over town with no luck. Finally, after asking at Bed, Bath & Beyond a woman told me they could be found at Maverick. "Ummm, really?" I decided to check it out.

I went in with the image of sleek, classy stainless steel straws in mind and came out with these bright pink, giant milkshake size straws instead. They weren't quite what I had in mind, but for only $1 a piece I couldn't pass them up. I just wish "The Chiller" wasn't etched in the side.

The warning on the wrapper was so funny to me. When I read it to Tyler his reaction was, "Oh ya, that would be bad!" Not the reaction I was expecting, but true after I stopped laughing and thought about it.

Still, I decided to risk the recommend appropriate age of 12yrs. and let Damon sip away.

How fun would it be to come up with warning labels. Am I the only one that usually finds them hilarious?

Snowman Update!

A day or two into our snowmans life he started to lean. I kept expecting his head to fall off, and then I was sure the entire middle section would collapse anyday. As he is right now, nothing but the bottom ball is touching the ground (if you don't count the eyeballs which fell off the first day, the tips of his arms, and his nose which is also detatched.) It is so crazy! We even saw a girl in our front yard taking pictures of our snowman the other day. Damon thinks he looks like he is doing yoga. I just wish I had taken pictures throughout his very slow journey to puddle. Around day 3 his top two sections were parallel to the ground. Not sure what is causing our snowman to remain off of the ground, but it is fun to watch. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Damon has a basketball game tomorrow, which I can't wait for.

~A day for snowmen~

I finally got around to this snowman project. Isn't he the cutest? (The video quality isn't the best, but the pictures turned out really great! I can't wait to make a cute snowman shaped album?)

After spending time with "Mr. Snowman" in the morning, and all the snow we got throughout the day, Damon thought it would be fun to make our own friend in the front yard. It was getting late and I wanted to say no, but I am glad I didn't. We had so much fun!

While I hurried in to finish dinner, Damon decided to create a snowman of his own.

Our December

It all started with a fun, family party.

Tyler won this candy with these crazy mittens.

Then came sweet little Landon's blessing day.

We made a gingerbread house.

Cassie and Keith had a beautiful wedding.

We ate a gingerbread house.

We spent lots of time with our families.

We delievered and received lots of yummy treats, talked to Ryan on the phone (who was having an 85 degree Christmas), probably spent way too much time with a cute stuffed snowman, and so many other fun things. Hope everyone else had as much fun as we did.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

After our first real snowstorm in the end of November,Damon was so helpful in shoveling our sidewalk. I was so proud of him for choosing to do it on his own,and then following through to the end. Even though I think it was a lot more work than he anticipated. The snow lasted a lot longer than I expected and now with Christmas just around the corner it is almost all melted.

That's why I added some artificial snow, via photoshop, in some Christmas pictures we took the other day. Right now it is a little muddy and brown outside so I am hoping by Christmas everything is white again. If it's going to be windy and cold we may as well have some snow to go with it.

It may not look so festive outside, but I am trying to fill our home with Christmas. I made a new Christmas playlist for the I-pod, Damon keeps the pine scented candle burning most of the time, and we have far too many Christmas treats in every corner of the kitchen. I'm also displaying all of the Christmas cards we get from family and friends, so you are always on our minds.

A few years ago I covered a bunch of wooden clothes pins with a strips of wrapping paper.

I clipped them to the evergreens on our banister so I can add each new card as it comes.

Now, as we walk down the hall (at least 20 times a day) we see them and think of you.

P.S. I'm still getting lots of use out of the coffee filter flowers Damon and I made months ago. Make some, you will like them.

Snow Day!

Yesterday school was closed due to snow. Damon was excited at first, but then sad when he remembered he would miss his A.R. Party and Thanksgiving feast. He was also a little sad when he didn't get to go out and play in the snow. He was feeling a little sick and needed new boats so I told him he needed to wait until today. This is he and Ellie playing in the first real snow fall of this year, last Saturday. The snow day gave me some extra time to get ready for Thanksgiving.

I have this little "blessing jar" on my table to help us all catch the Thanksgiving spirit.

Next to the jar I have strips of paper and a pen. I like everyone to write something they are grateful for and stick it in the jar. These things range from really sweet to really silly (which I love). I use different colored paper each year to help keep the dates separate and I ask everyone to put their name on it. It is fun to read what people put. Last year Elise and Brady were here so it was fun to remember what we were doing then.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Caught in a bad romance!

Lately I have found myself using products whose warning labels scare me just a little.

After noticing the warning on the front of this glass etching cream I put on a second pair of gloves and banned Damon from the kitchen.

A few days later I decided to make soap. I knew something was up when I went to Lowe's to get Lye (which is no longer labeled Lye on the shelf's because of it's use in Methamphetamines) and the salesperson said, "That's some pretty strong stuff. I don't think you want that to make soap." After Damon found 100% Lye on the label I knew I had the right stuff. (Many people don't realize you must have lye to make soap, because before it processes it is so caustic.) I went home, put on my gloves and covered everything with newspaper once again. Both projects turned out pretty well and I think they would make fun Christmas presents.

I think I etched nearly everything. No piece of glasswear was safe. I put our last name on everything that might leave our house (also great for a wedding gift) It turned out great and was a fast project which always scores extra points with me. Using vinyl would be a little bit easier, but I am all about saving money so I used contact paper. I cut it down to fit on my Cricut cutting mat.

I removed all of the negative spaces and used masking tape to apply the sticker to the glass.

Next it was time to spread the cream on the glass. I found that thicker is better, and it's more important than the length of time you leave the cream on the glass (I assumed longer would be better, but I didn't notice much of a difference. The cream only needs to stay on for 5 min.)

I think it makes everything look cute, and now I won't have to label our dishes with masking tape, that might fall off, when we have potluck activites.

Soap was a little bit more time consuming. You must get a recipe you like and follow it specifically. It seems that, besides being extra careful while handling and measuring the lye, it is most important to mix the lye solution and the oils when the temperatures are nearly the same.

I made a simple castel soap, but I added ground oatmeal and lavendar. It turned out, just, okay. I learned a few things, such as: a little oatmeal goes a long way, pour quickly, don't touch the soap until it hardens (chemical burns are not cool, and after all the care I took while making it, opps!)... I am making soap again this week so I hope mistakes from last time can contribute to better soap this time. I also hope I can keep some enthusiasm for getting my Christmas gifts and planning done early so I can relax in December. I wish the same for each of you!

The glue was still hot, but we made it.

I spent so much time looking for Damon's green hat that I only had a few min. to put together a costume for me (Tyler's and Damon's were pretty easy so I guess I thought Princess Peach would be too, but it's clear I was wrong. I still wanted to be a part of the dressing up so I wore it anyway). I didn't have time to sew anything so I grabbed the hot glue gun and a bunch of saftey pins and finished up as we were pulling in to the park. Our trunk wasn't decorated and Damon's hat wasn't green, but we still had lots of fun. And, we didn't run out of candy this year. We spent the rest of the night with family at our house eating food and candy and playing games. We had lots of fun!