You Don't See That Every Day

What is it about zucchini bread with nuts in it? It just tastes too good. I can't stop eating it. At least it's nutritious, right, with all that zucchini in it?! And the kids gobble it up. I am wondering if it is a good enough bribe to take to a friend so she will watch our pets..... I love to iron. I love the smell of the warm clothes. I love to get the wrinkles out and see the crisp lines. What I don't like is the crisp lines that don't belong there and won't come out! I had to iron today because the pile of clothes needing it was overcoming the hook where I keep them. My husband's shirts are generally wrinkle free if I get them out of the dryer soon enough. But when he wears long sleeve ones, I can't/don't put them in the dryer. I have learned the hard way that they shrink just enough to bother him - being as tall as he is, the arm length is a big deal. Dogs. Why do we have dogs? The adults of the house are leaning towards sending them to a new hom...

We went to the zoo yesterday. Spent all day there. My wonderful older sister treated us, and bought us lunch. And we saw it all, except for the penguins. We wanted to get home before the traffic. Ha! It took 1 hour to get to the zoo. It took 2 1/2 hours to get home from the zoo. But we had a very memorable, wonderful day! (click on the photos to see them better)

"Katie-bar-the-door"; phrase, meaning "watch out!" or something similar. Once again, we thank my dear husband for this phrase of the week. And once again, I had not heard this phrase until I married him. He does not use it all the time, but generally when he is excited about something, or ready to take off. Then it's "Katie-bar-the-door, here we go!" An Update: my sister in law found the possible meaning behind the phrase. If you are a curious sort, you can find it at http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/213750.html

I am having a happy dance moment right now! My son finally got it! He has it mastered! I told him to watch out for cars (riding his bicycle around the neighborhood) and he breezily, but politely, said, "Yes ma'am." It has taken 10 years of excruciating parenting to get him to say those two words as a instinctual response. I hear him say "Yes, sir" to his dad all the time now; but today it happened to me! So maybe people who live in the South might think, what's the big deal? But to our relaxed, casual Western way of living, hearing my husband's coworker say, "Yes, ma'am" in answer to anything was a thrill. Such politeness! Such respect! (Such a nice drawl!) And I guess that is what it really comes down to. The Farmer and I want our kids to show respect for us, and other adults. And this is just one of our little ways of teaching it.

So here's one picture from my birthday that I *forgot* to put on that post last month. Surprise! I have had mixed feelings about this for some time. But after my first doctor's appointment this week, I am much more positive about this big change in our lives. We finally told our other 4 what was going on. Now they understand, maybe, a little bit more why Mom is always on the couch sleeping. And they are super excited. I don't think they remember what is was like 4 years ago when the youngest was born and made SO much noise... Of course, she still makes a lot of noise, just a different kind.

**Warning: Adult Content** So last night my husband was talking with our two older girls (age 6 and 8) and the subject came around to babies. They would really, really like to have a baby sister. One besides the Princess they have now. And Dad said how they would have to really help out Mom if we have another baby around here. Well, the 8 yr old says, "I can't help feed it! I don't have those humps Mom has." And her lil sis chimes in, "Oh, you mean those antennas?" !!! I've never heard them called antennas before.

I love the beach. Have I ever mentioned this? I could sit for a long time and listen and watch. And I don't sit still for long very often. This past week the family went to the coast for our annual back to school yurt/camp out. We stayed in the same yurt we had tried a few years back. Except this time I had no baby paraphernalia to contend with. No crib, diapers, stroller, blankets, extra extra clothes. The yurts have enough bed space for 5, so we brought along a cot (Thanks go to C.H. for this one!!) and we had enough room. The weather was gorgeous. It was not typical Oregon coast weather. There was no wind. NO wind! None on the beach; none in the campground. And the sun was shining. The sun! Shining each of the 3 days we were there! We went to bed looking at stars through the sky light. We woke up to a little bit of gray that quickly cleared out. My little beach bums spent most of the time playing in the water. For anyone who has not been to the Oregon coast - this is rare becaus...

"Hopper" -- noun, meaning "a container" as in, " Once I put the insulation in the hopper, I'll start blowing it into the attic. " This well-used word is courtesy of my husband. He uses it a lot. A LOT. Everything goes into the 'hopper', whether it is actually a garbage can, an insulation holder, a paint sprayer, or a child's arm. He puts everything into a hopper. I had never heard of this until I married him. After 12 years of I finally asked him, Why? Why does he use this word. He thought everyone uses this word. He thinks this of many words and phrases ... some of which I will be featuring here later. I hope. Depends on if he reads this or not.

From this: to this: and afterwards, there were lots of little corn kernels waiting for me on the floor. After 200 cobs pared down into 90 bags, a few little kernels didn't bother me too much. While I was busy in the kitchen, my dear husband was busy putting mud on the walls in the playroom. After 3 (?) years, the texture is finally on the walls and we can start painting this week!! This is a picture of how it looked a few months ago. Once I get some paint on the walls I will post some better looking photos,. And this one, well it's just for fun. As I type away, my dear Farmer is napping... underneath a quilt.