MERRY CHRISTMAS

The Teuscher family (and Santa) Wish you a Merry Christmas!!

After taking our picture with Santa Ryan said to me,

"Next year can we go to a Santa that gives a Christmas coloring book instead of this educational stuff."

Me: (very confused) Didn't you get a coloring book?

Ryan: Yeah, but it's all about saving money, it has nothing to do with Christmas.

Me: I guess that's what happens when the bank sponsors Santa!

On further inspection...here are the words in the book (imagine corresponding pictures)
page 1: Money comes in two forms -bills and coins
page 2: Be smart. Learn how money works and where you can make it grow.
page 3: The people you give your money to are called tellers. When you give them your money, it is called a deposit. Your money is placed in a checking or savings account in your name and can be withdrawn at your request.
page 4: People who have checking accounts don't have to carry a lot of money. They keep it safe in their account and pay for things by check.
page 5: The money that stays in a savings accoutn earns interest and grows.
page 6: People save to take vacations.
page 7: People save to buy a new house.
page 8: Some people save for a comfortable retirement.
page 9: If you save your money, it will be like having your own money tree that grows and grows.
page10: You can save for your future education. You need a good education to get a good job.
page11: You can save to buy presents for special friends.
page12: You can save for the things you would like to have
page13: You can earn money by doing chores. You can save the money you get as gifts or you can save part of your allowance.
page14: Your plan for saving and spending money is called a budget. Be smart. Learn to budget your money wisely and always save some.

So while your kids are getting a sugar high from that candy cane Santa gave them, mine will be opening retirement accounts.

Friday Flashback

In honor of the "Friday Flashback" I thought I'd post this picture. I have no idea how old I am in this picture but for as long as I can remember, the Downey 1st Ward had a Christmas program/dinner/activity that included Santa. (This must have been a good year - notice the fancy background!) Santa would always give us these netted stockings that had mostly gross candy in them. Oh, how we craved that stocking! I remember standing in line saying over and over in my mind what I was going to ask for. Of course, when I got to Santa I would have the "Ralphie moment" and draw a blank. I let(or force) my kids to take a picture with Santa every year. It just isn't Christmas without a visit to Santa!

Hooked on Phonics ROCKS

My sister-in-law sent me this email this week. I've been under the weather and this made me laugh. I thought it was blogworthy.

My five-year old students are learning to read.
yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said, "Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"

I took a deep breath, then asked..."What did you call it?"

"It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!"

And so it does...

" A f r i c a n Elephant "

GO BIG RED!!!!

It's Husker season!! I know that this means nothing to most of you so let me explain. Come about September, it seems every weekend the city of Lincoln turns red to show support to the University of Nebraska football team. The schools and many businesses have "Husker Friday" in which you wear your Husker gear. Weddings are planned around Husker games; I even heard someone on the radio say. "Well, if you want people to come to your wedding, don't plan it during a Husker game." The first few years we lived here, we couldn't understand the craziness of the fans. Then I attended a football game. It is so fun!!! I'm not a huge football fan but I must admit I am catching the "husker fever." This weekend I was lucky enough to go to a football game with a couple of the neighbor girls. It was about 22 degrees with the windchill factored in. But the Huskers beat the Jayhawks (Kansas) 45 to 35...What else can I say besides....GO BIG RED!!!!!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Death

For Halloween we combined the sweet with the not so sweet. Cassidy chose to be Dorothy and Ryan wanted to be the Grim Reaper. Ryan chose his costume at the store but when we looked at the Dorothy costume at the store I just couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for such a piece of junk so I pulled out my sewing skills and made Cassidy's costume. Next year I am going to plan more time for picking out mistakes. I think I redid just about every step, some more than once. But it was all worth it because she was a darling Dorothy.

Cassidy is 7, next year she'll be 8!

Cassidy turned 7 this week to which she quickly told me, next year I will be eight. Colleen helped me wit the birthday cake (okay, she decorated most of it.) Cassidy's party was at an indoor playland called Lost in Fun. It was the easiest party I've ever thrown. Colleen and I played in the bounce houses too.

Time Out before our Time Out

I finally twisted my friend, Colleen's arm, enough to convince her to fly from Logan to Nebraska for Time Out for Women. (She is really a Nebraskan, I just have to remind her every once in awhile.) I picked her up from the airport Wednesday night and we played and shopped, made a cake and threw a birthday party all before heading out for Time Out. Nathan came home early on Friday so that we could leave early to head up to Omaha. We decided to hit one last store in Lincoln when I got a call from Nathan. He could hardly talk. He told me he was in severe pain and needed to go to the hospital. We were easily 20 minutes away from home and another 15 to the hospital so I called my neighbor Scott, who works from home, to see if he could take Nathan to the hospital and we would meet him there. While I was concerned about my husband, I was also concerned about my Time Out. Long story short...Nathan had a kidney stone and passed it while in the hospital. Luckily he felt much, much better after passing it and Colleen and I were off only shortly after we had expected to leave. There were 8 girls that spent the night together. We had dinner at PF Changs and Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for dessert. We had a great time laughing and getting to know one another better. Oh, and Time Out was good too.


Wendy and Mary Ann enjoying their cheesecake.







Elizabeth and Colleen snack on their complementary apples.









Where'd you get that bag?

Chocolate...Chocolate...Chocolate...

So...lots of you know that every year, for the past three years, this is the time that I become the CHOCOLATE LADY. Not a bad title. I gather chocolate orders from everyone I can find that wants lots of chocolate. Once the chocolate is delivered, I divide the 25 pound boxes of chocolate into 5 pound bags of chocolate. So here are the pictures of all the chocolate after it was delivered and me holding a bag of 10 pounds of chocolate chips

It's Jack O' Lantern Time

 

Of course, we joined with thousand of Mormons across the country tonight and carved our pumpkins for Family night. These were not just regular pumpkins. These two pumpkins came from our garden. The kids did most of the work and I have to say I was impressed with their carving skillz. We also had to try out the spooky tip from last month's Family Fun magazine. To make our pictures have "spooky" colors, we put a post it note over the flash. I know...it was really spooky..wasn't it??

My Vote Counts

Who is the grey haired man, you might ask. This is Jeff Fortenberry, my Nebraska Congressman. Why am I blogging about Jeff. No, I don't know him but I think he has a crush on me. This is why....

Phone rings
Me: Hello ( That's how I answer the phone)
Jeff: Hello, is this Karen?
Me: Yes (hesitantly, thinking it is a telemarketer)
Jeff: Hi Karen (notice how he shortens to hi) this is Jeff Fortenberry, your Nebraska Republican Congress Representitive. I am calling hoping to receive your vote in November. Are there any questions I can answer for you personally that will help you make your decision.
Me: Ummm...
Jeff: I'd be happy to answer any questions your have.
Me: I can't think of anything right now.
Jeff: Well, if you think of something you can call me at XXXXXXX (like I'd give out his phone number)
Me: Thanks, you have my vote.
Jeff: Thank you, have a great evening

Okay, maybe he's not stalking me yet, but I definitely think he is interested in something I've got!

Church Activity Leaders

I'd like to put a word in for church activity leaders. When your child is involved in an activity, be it activity days, young men/young women, scouts or a primary activity, please pick your child up promptly when the activity is over. For example, If the activity is cub scouts and it is over at 7:00. This means that you should be at the church at 7:00. 7:15 is not an acceptable time. 7:05 is pushing it.

Now, I am a mother and I know that things happen that you can't always count and on occasion, you will be held up. However, if each person's mother in the group is held up only once every 3 months, and there are 12 children in the group, that means the leaders are waiting on a mother for every activity.

All I am asking is that you be respectful of the leaders time, they have made the effort to provide an activity for your child. You never know what life activities your leader has planned after the activity. Perhaps she has a meeting to go to, or perhaps she has a homework project that needs a little more work, or maybe perhaps she has two crying, sick children waiting in the car for her to finish the activity. (perhaps they are in the car because perhaps her husband is the bishop and perhaps he has interviews that begin at 7:00, the precise ending time of scouts. (see above mentioned example)) and there lays the problem.

Thank you for allowing me this time on the soapbox!! And pick up your kids ON TIME!!

I feel much better now.

Home Depot

After the Pumpkin Run we headed to Home Depot. The first Saturday of the month, Home Depot offers a free kid's clinic. This month the kids built fire trucks. Nathan was helping Cassidy. He'd hold the nails while she hammered. HELLO!!! Anyone see a problem with this??? Yes, Cassidy hit Nathan's thumb...FOUR TIMES. Some people are slow learners.

**A reinactment of the 2nd hit** By the 4th time it wasn't funny anymore.


The finished products!!

Pumpkin Run

The kids decided to participate in Lincoln's annual Pumpkin Run. The kids run a mile at a local park. About 300 kids run from each grade level, K-5th. There were massive amounts of children in pumpkin run shirts. This was Ryan and Cassidy's first "race" (although they made it clear to me, it isn't a race..just a run) Both kids ran their mile in just over 12 minutes. Ryan ran with his friend Jonah. Cassidy and I ran with her friends Cameryn, Gabi, Sydney (and Gabi and Sydney's mom, Charlene) **side note** Charlene is a former olympic athlete, and is totally in shape,so imagine my how thrilled my butt and I were to blame my slow running on the girls. We had a great time and are looking forward to the Mayor's Run this spring.

A Little Dinner Conversation....

Ryan: Mom, I am still standing strong on being the Grim Reaper for Halloween.

Me: I see you standing strong. Cassidy, Have you thought about what you want to be for Halloween?

Cassidy: Yeah, I want to be Hannah...I mean Miley.

Me: How are you going to make yourself look like Miley?

Cass: I'm going to wear my Miley shirt.

Me: I think you will look like Cassidy wearing a Miley shirt.

Cass: No, people will see my shirt and know I'm Miley.

Ryan: Maybe, you could carry a microphone.

Cass: Yeah, I'll wear my Miley shirt and carry a microphone.

Me: I still don't think you'll look like Miley.

Ryan: Hey...maybe you could just be a brown haired girl walking with a microphone!!!

Nathan: (smiles)

Ryan: If I'm not the Grim Reaper, I saw a really cool cochroach costume!

(Nathan did add more to the conversation but with budget cuts I had to edit his comments, for the flow of the story, ya know. Hey at least he's still in the scene.)

Apple Fest

This weekend we went to Nebraska City for Apple Fest. We went down the Arbor trail to see all the trees and nature - okay - who am I kidding. There was a playground, a tree house and a little punch card for the kids to do, so we paid the crazy amount to play on the playground and punch a card. (Yeah, I know we could have done that at home for free, don't you think Nathan pointed that out to me already, but it's all about the memories, honey!!!) Here are some of our memories.
Notice Ryan's new glasses. He just got them this week. Aren't they cute!!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

We found this website where you upload a picture of yourself and it tells you what celebrities you resemble. I've never really seen Michael Jordan in Nathan before but...well, there was that one basketball incident.

Paul Walker and Patrick Dempsey...neither are my twin but I wouldn't turn either down.

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

I Can Bring Home the Bacon....

Okay, so I'm not really bringing home much bacon but I did enter back into the workforce this week. This is my first job since I was pregnant with Cassidy. I am working at Scheels. For those of you that don't live in the Midwest, this is a huge sporting goods store, kinda like a Big 5 or Cabella's but with more emphasis on sports than camping. It may surprise you that I am working at a sporting goods store but what I am doing is not really sport related. I hold the position of "Clothing Support" This is the formal way of saying "clothing folder and hanger." In the last three days I have become an expert in folding and hanging clothes. I know which hangers Nike clothes go on and which hangers youth clothes go on. I know that all Under Armour gets a security tag and when said security tag goes in the back and when it goes on the side. I am working 8am-12noon four days a week, so I still have sometime to do "mom stuff." It's been a busy week but I like my little non-stress job.

When I was leaving for work on my first day Cassidy said, "Wait, I want to take a picture of you on your first day of work." (Spoken like a true MOTHER! - I'm glad she's learning something from me!)

Recipe for Cinnabon Rolls

A few people have asked for the Cinnabon Rolls recipe so here it is.

½ C warm water
2 pkgs. yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
3 ½ oz. pkg. vanilla pudding
½ C margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
6 C flour
2 C brown sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Combine water, yeast, sugar. Stir until dissolved set aside. In separate bowl prepare pudding mix according to package directions. Add margarine, eggs, salt: mix well. Add yeast mixture and blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Cover & let rise until doubled in size. Punch down and let rise again. Roll out to 34 X 21" size and spread 1/2 C soft butter on dough. In bowl, mix 2 C Brown sugar & 4 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over top. Roll up tightly and cut every 2 inches. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet every 2 inches apart. Cover and Let rise until double again. Bake 250 degree for 15-20 mins.
Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting. Makes 20 rolls

Frosting:
6 oz cream cheese 3 C powder sugar
½ C margarine 1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

BEST POST EVER!!!

If you are a TWILIGHT reader or are in the mood for a good laugh, you have got to read this post. It is my favorite post EVER!...if only someone had a crush on me... the jolly: a secret crush

Cassidy's Quwis (Quiz)

Cassidy sent me this Quwis via e-mail. I thought it was so cute, it need to be posted. It cracks me up that my 1st grader uses the computer as well as I do. Feel free to take the quwis. I'm not sure what it says about you when you are finished.

chose a color.
red blue purpl volit black wite

chose a letter.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

chose a boy
ryan j.r. justin.o cater

chose a girl.
cassidy tara brianna emillie colin(Colleen) anet(Annette) karen

chose a car.
limo car

chose a job
make donlds(Mcdonald) brgr king nodls(Noodles) bbq mackaroney gril

now wonce your done send it back to me and send it to 7 other peple.

School Started and I'm off again

My mom called me Tuesday to let me know that my Grandma Gorringe had passed away. She has been sick with Alzheimers for awhile now so it was not a suprise to receive this call.

Wednesday, the kids went back to school. Cassidy began 1st grade and Ryan began 4th grade. They were both up early and ready for school 20 minutes before they needed to leave. (If only that would last all year.) They walked to school with some of the neighbors.
Thursday morning after getting the kids off to school, I flew to Salt Lake City for my Grandma's funeral to be held on Friday. One of my brothers and my sister were already there. That night we watched old home videos. I laughed until I cried. My brother said, "Do you think if I took this to my therapist it would help him understand why I am the way I am." We laughed so hard and decided that would probably explain alot!!!
We got up early the next morning to drive to Burley, Idaho for the funeral. I was able to see all of my cousins, with the exception of one. Some of my cousins I haven't seen in almost 10 years. The funeral was very nice and my counsin's wife Joelle put together a beautiful DVD depicting my Grandma's life.


My grandma was known for her Raspberry jam. Anytime you visited her house she gave you Homemade bread with raspberry jam. She was always trying to feed us. We had a full spread for every meal three times a day. When we were little she would tell us to "wash your patties" before we could eat. When we would leave her house she would always say, "Grandma sure does love those kids." She always had snapdragons and bleeding hearts growing in the planters outside her house. Grandpa had his garden and Grandma had her flowers. I'm so thankful that I have so many happy memories of my Grandma and I'm glad that she is home in heaven and out of her sick body. Grandma, I love you.

Call me Martha...

I've been baking lately. I tried a new recipe for cinnamon rolls. They are supposed to be like cinnabons and I have to say they were pretty darn close. My kids loved them!! I took the picture before frosting them. There was yummy frosting too.




I also baked a cake for a friend of Nathan's.

I Need Some Sleep!!

I don't know what my problem is, but I can't get to sleep at night. Last night I fell asleep around 2:00, the night before it was 3:00 and the night before that, 2:00. I don't know what the deal is. I am tired but I just can't get comfortable and fall asleep. I'm beginning to feel like my mom!! AHHH - HELP!!

You're Gonna Miss This

I heard this song on the radio the other day and it made me cry.  (It's not hard to do!)  I can't believe I'm to a place in my life where I will have no children at home with me once school starts!!  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about this - It's the day I've been waiting for for 9 years, but it still makes me a little sad.  Anyway, I thought I'd share the song and lyrics with you.

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaning, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

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My kids used to make me laugh all the time with the things they would say. Now that they are getting older, it doesn't happen as often. But, last night Cassidy was waiting for the bathtub to fill up with water. I peeked in on her to see if she was okay. She told me, "I'm just waiting for the bathtub to finish loading."

If I can make it THERE I'll make it ANYWHERE

Our hotel was only 4 blocks from Times Square so we got up the next morning and attempted to see Miley Cyrus on the Today show. We didn't even get close!! We heard people were there at 5 in the morning waiting. We did a lot of walking and a lot of shopping. We were able to get tickets to see Chicago on Broadway. It was really good, better than I expected. We quickly learned that we were not going to be able to "do New York" in a day but we did quite a bit in a short time. Annette was a trooper too. She had had knee surgery 8 weeks earlier, but it didn't slow her down! The next day we rented a car and drove from Manhattan to Long Island. I was so nervous but after a few cabs cut me off I got the feel for how to drive in NY.

Here are my top three rules for driving in NY.

1. Those lines on road are more of a lane suggestion than a rule.
2. If someone stops in front of you, either honk or go around
3. When in doubt - HONK - HONK - HONK!!!!

Laurie's wedding was so nice. Laurie looked beautiful. It was so fun to see her again. The reception was so nice and must have cost a fortune!!! I wish I had pictures but unfortunately my camara stopped working on this day. During the recpetion I was also able to catch up with another high school friend. We had lost touch and she had moved during that time, so it was great to reconnect. The next morning we were up for a 6 AM flight home. Why such early flights, you wonder? Nathan had miles for us to use but it meant that we had early flights. It's amazing what you'll do for a free flight.

So now I'm home and after a week, I feel like I'm caught up....And now so are you!

New York....I mean Chicago?

Once we got home I washed clothes and repacked for a quick trip to NYC for my friend, from high school, Laurie's wedding. My neighbor, Annette, was able to go with me. It turned out to be more of an adventure than we counted on. Our flight left Thursday at 5:40 AM... yes, that was AM... We arrived in Chicago at 7:15 and had a layover until 9:00. We grabbed a bite for breakfast and went to sit by our gate. As we sat down everyone got up and left. We went to see what was going on figuring there was a gate change and learned that our flight had been canceled. After some searching we learned that the next flight we could get on was 6:00 PM!! So, we made the best of it. We got a cab and went to the "Miracle Mile". We walked all over downtown Chicago. We visited Macy's, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, GAP, and had some Chicago style Pizza. (Oprah recommended) We saw some beautiful architecture and some REALLY tall buildings. We were even brave enough to find the right train and take it back to the airport. (The picture is a self portrait taken on the train.)

WOW - What a Month!!!

Our month began with a trip to Utah. We had a family reunion based in Provo. It began with a lunch honoring my great-grandfather John Franklin Shelley. There is a reception center in the Hinckley Alumni building at BYU that was named for John Franklin Shelley. It was very inspiring to hear about his life.

While we were in Utah we stayed with my parents in their NEW house. It was so nice. All of my siblings stayed there. Everyone had their own room/bathroom. It was nice to see everyone and to have a little space too. The kids loved the playroom and the theatre room. To see pictures of my parents' house go to http://www.kshelley.com/ Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the "Parade of home pictures" links.

Our time in Utah was too short. We had so many people to see. It seemed like every visit was so rushed. Maybe one day we'll be able to move back, then no one will want to see us anymore.

Talk about Losing Your Mind

Slappy, the dummy, belongs to Ryan. Ryan bought Slappy with his birthday money. Slappy comes from the "Goosebumps" book series. His eyes glow in the dark and he kinda freaks me out. Which makes this story even better. This morning I was talking to Ryan and he picked up Slappy. Apparently Slappy had been to the guillotine because when Ryan pick him up his head fell off. This made me giggle and made Ryan cry. The best part was the first thing he said was, "He cost a lot of money!" (Ahh...finally he is learning the value of a dollar) Anyway, I used my motherly skills and fixed Slappy's head but I thought it was a perfect start to my week of single parenting while Nathan's at scout camp. Talk about losing your mind!!!

Cassidy wants to Blog too!

Cassidy is 6 years old and already loves to IM her friends - unfortunately most of her friends don't IM yet. I told her she could help with our blog. When I showed her our blogspot, she said, "Can I have my own? That one says Nathan and Karen, it doesn't say Cassidy or Ryan anywhere. So we are making a post that is about Cassidy.

Besides IM-ing Cassidy loves Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, playing with friends, walking her webkinz dog, and making crafts. She is really excited to go to our family reunion this summer where she will get to see Miley Cyrus in concert. (I hope our nosebleed seats meet her expectations.)

Ok, I am giving this a try

Up until now Nathan has been our blogger. At the beginning of the year I set a goal to learn how to blog. I have been told that it is sooo easy but I have my doubts. I'm not really a writer, I'm more of a talker. So I will do my best. Anyway, I don't have much to blog about right now other than, I have learned how to make posts, so I will look for things to post on my blog.

Waterfest 2008 Video on Youtube

You can see the video from Waterfest 2008 on Youtube. Go to www.youtube.com/nathanteuscher. Enjoy!

Karen, Ryan and Cassidy on TV

Karen, Ryan and Cassidy went to "Waterfest" in Lincoln last night and made it on the late local news. They were interviewed, and Ryan did all the talking ... pretty good job, I think. Go to the news website (www.klkntv.com) and look for the video on Waterfest. Enjoy!

Back from the Cruise

We had a great time on our cruise. We visited Key West, FL, and Cozumel, Mexico. It was warm, sunny, and beautiful. We spent time rock climbing, shopping, swimming, sunbathing, and eating 12 meals a day. Here are a few pictures to enjoy:

A cruising we will go!

We are off to Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise to the western Caribbean. Grandma Shelley volunteered to stay with the kids ... We are very appreciative. We'll post more when we get back.