Tastes Like Fall!

There are a few foods that taste like fall to me. One is my mom’s amazing zucchini bread. Prepare to fight for the end pieces. A little bit of butter and yummy! Enjoy-

Deb’s Zucchini Bread
3 eggs – beat until light and fluffy. Slowly add…
2 cups of sugar – beat while adding
1 cup of olive oil – continue to beat
3 t. vanilla
2 cups of zucchini – mix well

In a separate bowl….
Mix 3 cups of flour with
1 t. salt
1 t. soda
3t. cinnamon
½ t. baking powder
Slowly, sift this mixture into the first while beating.

Spray 2 bread pans and divide

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 60 min. – Do the toothpick test!

Makes 2 loaves of bread

Poo outside

Will discovered going poo in the forest a couple weeks ago while I was away. Ted took the kids camping and Will was delighted to poo outside while on a hike with no bathroom in site.

Last night we called the kids in for dinner and I heard Natalie saying, "You did it Will. It is YOUR responsibility." I asked her what happened and she replied, "Will pooped on the grass and now he wants me to get him some toilet paper." Ted and I looked at one another in disbelief. I quickly called out, "Not it!".

Ted to the rescue! Sure enough our son had gone number 2 along the side of the house. As "discipline", Ted sprayed him down with the cold garden hose. This totally backfired, Will laughed hysterically and asked dad to do it again.

William, I am your mother and I love you, but you will be reminded of this story as you grow up to be a man.

So much for the live trap...

I said live trap, but Ted heard tennis racket and shovel. Hmmm.... and I am a former zoo employee!?!? I "distracted" the kids in Will's room while Ted waited on guard outside. The chipmunk was out of his hole and ran from one side of the house to the other. Mind you, he went around the front side of the house to get to the other side. He's a smart lil rodent and was VERY bothered that Ted was standing at his "front" door. Needless to say, no blood was shed. The chipmunk, surprisingly HA!, didn't get close enough for a whack. Maybe we'll try live traps tomorrow??

Natalie said, "Dad we can't hurt him. He lives in the wild and this is his home."

Will said, "Dad, how are we going to kill that chipmunk." To which Ted responded, "Don't worry bud we're going to get him." Somehow, I see a pellet gun in our future.

It's a chipmunk!!!

What on earth could it be?

I am 99% sure it is a chipmunk, or possibly a whole family?? I spotted the "scout" today while on the deck. Much to MY surprise, he seemed unaffected by my presence and ran right past me. He then ran back and shot down a hole and was heard inside the walls. Hmmm...... I later discovered the kids had filled his hole with pine cones, although I'm not sure I want these critters stuck inside nor that pine cones are much of a deterrent!?!? I read on the Internet that fox urine would take care of it but I can't imagine wrestling a fox for a urine sample. We'll start with live traps and see how that goes.....

Our newest nephew... BRIGGS!!!

Although just over a week old, my newest nephew Briggs has already taught me much. Mainly, we are not in control! This can be hard for me, I admit. Can anyone else relate to that?? I mean it's one thing to say and a whole different ball game to be thrust into a circumstance to demonstrate it. Briggs was born with Downs Syndrome and a hole in his heart. It was all unexpected and a lot to digest. I am reminded again and again that God knit Briggs in my sister's womb and he is wonderfully and beautifully made in God's own image. That is enough. I trust God with Briggs for he is His. God chose Jeremy, Tracy and Owen to be his family and what a beautiful choice He made. It will be a different journey than any of us expected, but it promises to be a richer one I know. I love you Briggs and I am thankful to be your aunt.

We are HAPPY minivan owners

I am often struck by watching people in their minivans. Especially by the very unhappy men driving, and there seems to be a lot of them. They look like a mylar balloon 3 months after a birthday party. The kind that you know needs to be thrown out, but your 4 year old pleads, but it’s mine. They seem passed embarrassed and wondering is this seriously “it”? I want to roll down my window and say, “It’s ok, go buy a suburban or other “non-minivan” 6+ passenger SUV and be happy driving.” Seriously. There faces may just decide to stay like that.

Ted and I are happy minivan owners. We love our van and 10 years ago if told I’d be writing this post, we would’ve laughed so hard we both could’ve peed our pants, truly. But now, it just makes too much sense and is convenient beyond imagination so we love it. We have always enjoyed road trips. The uninterrupted time traveling and talking about everything. It’s the best. Now, with the minivan, our family of 5 has room to spread and so the open road is a happy one.

So, to all you saddened minivan driving dads, muster some courage and tell your wife it’s time to be driving a suburban. After all, it is the modern day minivan. As for us, we’ve always liked vintage so we’ll stick with the original.

*Two side notes worth mentioning.
1. There are a few other dual spouse ecstatic minivan owners out there. We have seen them on occasion (And we wave!), it’s just a rare breed in my opinion.
2. If we lived in ‘I can’t believe it is this cold’ Duluth, MN, we’d be driving a suburban or the like for the 4wheel drive. Drifts the size of a school bus could not be parted by our mini van friend.

Episode Three

Chatter from inside the hen house. Hans was the only distinguishable voice. Harriet, Helga and Hazel will be quoted as "said Hen" as the egg layer is currently unidentified.

"I did it. I did it. I really, really did it. Yeah for me!" sang said Hen.

"Girl, girl, girl do tell. Did it hurt? I heard you squawking up in there so don't you go lying to me now." said Hen.

"Why did you do it? I can't believe you let it out." said Hen.

"You listen here ladies. It did hurt, more than I care to relive by discussing it. Why did I do it? Well, let me tell you no amount of kegels in the world could've held that egg in any longer. It wanted OUT! I say, my body needed to push and that's what it did. And now, I feel great. Did you see how excited that Natalie was? No pot pie for this hen." said Hen.

"I'm too scared. I'm keeping my egg inside." said Hen.

"You just wait. You'll be singing a new song soon enough." said Hen

"Ladies, ladies, ladies. You don't know pain. Why just yesterday I stubbed my middle toe on the water dish. Now that's ......." Hans boasting was interrupted by what can only be 3 hens attacking him, and let this narrator tell you, feathers flew.

Pun Intended

I once heard that pun's are the most sophisticated humor to create, but the lowest form of humor on the ears. I agree with that.

In the Bailey household you get a point for saying a pun. However, the points don't mean anything and we don't keep tally of whose scored what. You do get the few seconds of notoriety of "I just scored a pun point, Yahoo!"

Have you ever sat with a friend and tried to create a pun? It's hard! Ted and I have had some heated road trip "discussions" about whether an intentionally created pun is a pun. I think they are hard to create on the fly because they often require the setting to work.

Case in point.....

A thief broke into the local police station and stole all the toilets and urinals, leaving no clues. A spokesperson was quoted as saying, "We have absolutely nothing to go on."

So, if you are in our home and say a pun (intentionally or not) you have rights to shout out proudly, "Pun point!".

Ladies and Gentlemen, our FIRST egg has arrived!

Paint me orange and call me a pumpkin, our first egg arrived today!

Natalie made the discovery. I put on my rubber boots and headed out in my pajamas and there it was. The prettiest egg I ever did see. The kids each got to hold it and then Natalie thought we should bring it inside the house. “I think the hens are worried we’re taking their baby mom.”

Ted and I estimate that this little (and I mean that literally) beauty is worth about $400. We are being serious. Between coop renovations, bedding, water supplies, pooper scoopers and so on and on and on...well, you get the idea. It all adds up. The Olympia food co-op chicken expert wasn’t teasing when he said, "Raising your own chickens for eggs is NOT cheaper." Good thing that’s not why we got into this.

It was an exciting day at our house. Natalie has checked the hen house about 32 times today and I am sure it will be her first stop in the morning. I am just pleased that ‘A Year with Chickens’ has FINALLY yielded an egg.

As a side note, we do not know who the first layer was. Harriet, Helga and Hazel have been silent on the matter.

Toy Jail

I'm done returning 4.2 million toys and toy parts to their "home" each night. Last night I decided to go around and collect any toys laying out anywhere, other than the toy room. I placed this large collection in a clear plastic bin and set them in the living room. The toy jail was now open for business. This mornng I showed the kids the bin and explained that the toys were in toy jail until Saturday. Natalie was very bothered, Will was untouched but did like hearing the word jail, and Lydia wanted breakfast. I hope this plan works. I hope I don't have 5 bins, filled to the brim by Saturday. Keeping track of when each bin is "released" sounds like a nightmare. I'll report back on how this "inovative" idea goes. :)

Rooster "Attack" rated PG 13

I ran in the house for only a moment....

Natalie was in the chicken coop with her lawn chair talking to the chickens when I left her. Minutes later, Will came bolting through the house screaming my name and swinging his plastic golf club. He exclaimed, "The rooster attacked Harriet. Come quick!!" I asked what he was doing with the golf club and he replied, "I hit the rooster mom. He attacked Harriet. He jumped on her like this and moved his legs up on her." (He demonstrated this for me...) I tried to hold a straight face and said it sounded like they were "wrestling". After some mommy investigation work, I learned that my son did not assault Hans, my Friend's rooster. He was running in to inform me of the incident and to ask my PERMISSION to hit him. (I did say no.) I went outside and Natalie was quite upset at Hans. I explained my "wrestling" theory and she replied.... "but mom, he didn't even ask her permission to wrestle. Will you talk to him?" Which I then did. Still waiting for eggs, and yet never a dull moment.

What on Earth Could It Be?

Speaking on the mysterious noise, scratching etc..., on the other side of the master shower and sometimes living room wall. It is louder than a mouse, more squirrel like in size and often quite loud.

What on earth could it be?
A rabid raccoon preparing for a hot date?

What on earth could it be? Washington's largest bat looking to hide from Guinness Book of world records?

What on earth could it be? A commune of rats looking for a safe haven to live in peace, harmony and blacklights?

What on earth could it be? A medium sized squirrel collecting a mountain of nuts for his annual Deck the Halls squirrel ball. This years party location? The other side of the Bailey's shower.

What on earth could it be?????