Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A NEW for us!

I am so excited!  I can't hardly type...lol.  Hubby and I just bought our first house!!!  The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with an unfinished basement.  I can't wait to get moved in.  The house is a new build that hasn't been lived in yet.  It has been sitting empty for a couple of years.  It has some cosmetic problems (ie; cracking where the sheetrock wasn't properly taped) but with able bodied people around we are going to fix this before our things arrive from storage on the 7th of January.  It will be a busy couple of weeks getting things in order so that the movers can move in all of our stuff but we are ready for the challenge. 
We got to show the kids the house today and they are in love!  The went around to each room claiming it as if they actually got to choose it...lol.  I love those guys! 
Right now everything outside is completely snow covered but we know we will have a beautiful view in the back because of the pond that is located on the rear of the property.  It is a small run-off pond but we think it is great that we don't have a direct backyard neighbor.
The neighborhood has many kids.  You can tell because of all the playgrounds in the backyards and the numerous trampolines.  Today we even saw a bunch of kids (probably about Butterfly's age) playing outside. 
We are so excited about our new place, I can't even tell you.  This is the first property that we have ever owned and couldn't be more proud of it.  Soon we will make it our own with new paint (since we have to re-do it anyways) and our own flair. 
Wish us luck in our do it yourself project!

<3 Alison

Monday, December 27, 2010

Pizza Hut Story

This is starting become a pattern that I do not like!  So much has happened and I haven't written about it.  What is wrong with me?!
I posted on FB a while back about an incident at Pizza Hut.  I thought I should start there....
So...here we go!
It was a Friday night.  The kids and I had been cooped up all week.  I thought, what a great opportunity to get out of the house for dinner and enjoy seeing things other that the four walls of my parents house.  Apparently, I had a momentary brain lapse and forgot that you should NEVER allow the FIRST outing after a week inside to be in a restaurant where it is highly recommended that you stay in your seat.
We get seated (and yes I am using that term loosely) and we have the two girls on either side of my Dad, Bubby on the end next to me and my Mom on my other side.  My Dad is really good at keeping the girls in line so I was very ok with them sitting next to him.  We put our order in and it is THEN I realize that I have AGAIN made a carnal mistake.  I didn't bring ANYTHING for the kids to DO while we wait.  You would think that this was the first time I had ever been out with children!  Oy.
So, I did what any self respecting mom would do.  I opened the diaper bag to see what I could scrounge up from the depths of the bottom of the bag.  Lo and behold, I found a kids magazine for Butterfly...THANK GOODNESS!  And I found a few sheets of crumpled paper and a very sticky pen for Bee.  Bubby was occupied with food I had brought for him...which he ran out of much too soon and waaaaay before our pizza came.
Unfortunately, the magazine was an old one and Abby had done everything in it and heard the stories about thirty times.  Bee quickly became bored with the sticky pen and crumpled pieces of paper.  So the craziness continues.  Up and down and all around.  And then it happened...someone I knew from high school walks in the door and are seated right behind us.  OY!  Of course she has a family now and they are all acting like angels with their coloring books and crayons. 
Much of the rest of the night was a blur of sit down and be quiet, trips to the bathroom, passing Bubby around and hurrying out the door after the adults had a slice or two of pizza.  The girls didn't TOUCH their pizzas.  Sigh. 
We get back home and put the kids to bed...and then finish our dinners in peace.  Next time I have the brilliant idea to go out after a week of being stuck in the house, would someone please come and knock me up side the head?!
This is just one of the many adventures as of late.  I will post more often to catch you all up.  Hopefully I will have pictures soon to add as well.  :)
<3 Alison

Monday, December 13, 2010

Is it really only 2 weeks until Christmas?

I find myself this year stuck in a long dark tunnel with only a spark of light in sight.  I have always loved Christmas.  I love the hustle and bustle of the season, the shopping, the stories, the family, and most of all celebrating the birth of Christ Jesus our Lord.  This year, I sit here two weeks from Christmas barely able to remember the true meaning of Christmas and none of the hustle and bustle done.  And frankly, no desire to do the whole hustle and bustle of things. 
I love to bake and I have yet to make a single Christmas cookie.  I usually have multiple projects for various people completed or started with my sewing machine...again...nothing.  I usually have an advent wreath with candles and the stories that correspond ready for my kids, again...nada. 
I truly need a Christmas miracle.  I feel like a scrooge.  I don't want to help anyone decorate or bake or go shopping or wrap presents. 
Ironically, as I sit here and type this post the song, "Where are you Christmas?" is playing on the online radio.  I wish I put the joy for the season.  Maybe it got packed away with the rest of the house and is sitting in storage.  I desperately want to enjoy the season, I just can't figure out how. 
So, here is yet another post that leaves me wondering what to do.
<3 Alison

Friday, December 10, 2010

A crisp winter afternoon

...and I sent the girls out to play in the fresh Minnesota snow today.  It was a glorious 30 minutes of quiet.  My dad was here and he watched the girls through the window so I could go take a shower and Corbin was sleeping.  When I got out of the shower I had just enough time to make a cup of tea before the first of the girls wanted to come back in.  Bee's mitten had fallen off and she fell in the snow.  Her hand had, and I quote, "icicles on it!"  Such a sweet little girl.  Butterfly wanted to stay out longer but she got bored without her sister and came in as well. 

This weekend has much fun in store as long as the winter weather isn't too bad.  My mother in law is performing with her church for a Christmas dinner.  We are all looking forward to that.  Then on Sunday Hubby and I are planning to head to the "city" and do our Christmas shopping.  It is going to be a great weekend, even if we get snowed in.  We will all be together as family.  That is the best part about Minnesota winters...the togetherness that you get in a blizzard. 

I am hoping to get some more cookies made this afternoon but my back is starting to act up so I might have to put them on hold until tomorrow.  Here's to hoping that a quick nap will fix it. 

<3 Alison

Monday, December 6, 2010

Long time no blog!

It has been a while since I last blogged.  I am sorry for leaving you all so abruptly.  There have been many new developments.  One of which is that of a house!   We are actively house hunting.  We have found a couple that we like and are contemplating how to go about choosing the one we want.  The market is rather small where we are looking so our options are limited (we are talking 2 here people)...lol.  But that is ok.  We think we have figured out the one that we want but time will tell.

Last week Hubby's grandmother passed away so we have been dealing with the emotion of that.  It was a hard weekend for all of us.  But we know she is in a better place and that she is free of all that encompassed her here on Earth.  She is with our Heavenly Father and her twin sister.

The kids are still loving being at Grandpa and Grandma's and love visiting Mimi and PopPop.  I think this week we will head up to MiMi and PopPop's for a few nights.  We need to get some Christmas cookies baked so we can have something to share with our friends!  I hope that we can get enough made.  I am very disappointed that I didn't remember to grab my Christmas cookie recipes.  Guess it will be a year of all new recipes!  Watch out you are all my guinea pigs now!!!  :D

I hope to be able to share some of my favorite recipes with you...once I find them that is.  :)

<3 Alison