Crazyville Zoo

(A brief break from Frugal Feasting. I'll post
Last Thursday was not a good day. I was in a great mood until I got a call from my daughter.

"Mom, can you think of any other reason for a bunny to pull her fur?" Rabbit's pull their fur out to create a nest when they are about to give birth. That is how we knew our bunny, Thumper, was going to have babies four weeks ago. But pulling fur again? No way, I kept them separated! There was no way she was having more babies - her other babies were only 4 weeks old!

"No, I don't. But I take a look at her when I get home. I'm sure it's nothing." Please let it be nothing.
I arrive home an hour or so later to a crazy house. Did you know that four children can make a lot of noise when they all work together? I went down to check on the bunnies.

"Oh crud!" It was obvious she was preparing a nest. And she was frantic - the "big" babies were all over her (she was snapping at them to get them to leave her alone), the daddy bunny, RCookie was, ahem, all over her also (he was "fixed" two weeks earlier, but still, give the woman a break!!). I put the "big" babies and RCookie on one side and put the wall in to give Thumper her own side. What was I going to do with even MORE baby bunnies??

I came back upstairs. Same daughter greets me with, "Mom, what is all this stuff all over the couch and windowsill and floor?"

Sigh. "Looks like someone has let the bunnies play here a little too long." Droppings were everywhere.

"No one had the bunnies up here. Plus, that doesn't look like bunny stuff." She was right. It was different.

"Oh great! There is something living in my couch!"

At this point, I went to bed. Really. I just went to my bed and shut the door and turned on the TV. Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away. Besides, I suddenly had a raging headache.

Hubby came home a little while later to find me still on the bed. "What's wrong?"

"I have a headache. Thumper is going to give birth again, and there is some critter living in my couch!"

"What do you mean, 'critter in our couch'?"

"Go ask you daughter." He did and she showed him, and he said, "oh." and went on with his night. I got up to fix dinner.

After dinner I went to check on the bunnies. Sure enough, she had given birth to five more baby bunnies. Now I have eight. Eight baby bunnies that I have to try to find homes for. Sigh.

I call my sister to complain. While I'm on the phone with her I decide to pull the couch out and check behind it.

A SQUIRREL! "Oh great, there's a squirrel behind my couch!" Hanging upside down from the windowsill. How do they do that?

"Hang up and call me back when you deal with it." My sister doesn't even want to listen about squirrels in the house, let alone see them.

Now, I have to explain that we live near a green space and we have lots of squirrels around. We've even had them in our house before so this wasn't earth-shattering news. But still, Hubby had left again by then and I was all alone to deal with it. Would this day ever end?

I got the squirrel out by building a "path" to the open sliding glass door. We pulled the other couches out and then "swept" the squirrel out with a broom. He or she was not very happy with me and let me know it! Squirrels are almost as loud as four kids.

By night's end things had calmed down. The squirrel was gone, babies were born. I would have a great story to tell at work the next day.

Then I came home from work the next day.

The squirrel was back! Build a path again, sweep it out with the broom, again. I really need to steam clean my couch.

We think we've fixed the problem. They were coming down the chimney. We put wire mesh over the top of it. But if I find another squirrel in my house today . . . . !

Anyone want a baby bunny?

Jill

Stir Crazy!

We are all going a little crazy here! It has been a week of bad weather here in the Northwest - something we are not used to. School was canceled three days last week and our Christmas parties last night and tonight have been canceled. We haven't been able (or willing) to get out much the last week.

It is starting to wear on us. Case in point, last night. We were playing a game of Clue as a family. People were, um, pushing each other's buttons. For the most part, it was in fun and the kids were fake fighting with each other. The screams and general loudness, however, were driving the parents nuts.

Finally, Hubby had had it! "The next kid who attacks someone is getting thrown out on the deck!"

Now, in order to truly appreciate that threat you have to see the deck:
That is a 18 inch snow drift covering the deck. Pair that with a temperature of about 19 degrees and suddenly being thrown out on the deck seems like a real punishment!

So what did they do? They stopped actually attacking each other and settled for screaming and yelling. So that was the new rule, "Anyone who yells, gets thrown on the deck!"

Kaden pushed the boundary just a little too far and Hubby picked him up and set him down in the snow drift. Upon which Kaden cried, "But I didn't do anything!" At that point, Jana decided it was time to post the rules:
(Have I told you all how much I love this white-board? It has almost never been used for messages - its intended purpose - but it has provided tons of entertainment for our family.)

After Kaden changed his clothes, we resumed our game but by the end of the night the board looked like this:

Can you tell what kind of night we had?

As much as I love the snow, please let it melt!!

Jill

Baby Bunnies!

Please welcome the newest additions to the Crazyville household - three little baby bunnies! We bought our two youngest children pet bunnies back in May for their birthday. I told the pet store guy "I need two males or two females -I don't want baby bunnies." I was assured that the two we got were two boys.

"If we get babies, I'm bringing them back to you." I said. He just laughed, "Don't worry, it's two boys."

Three months later, our "boy" named Thumper gave birth to three stillborn babies. We were surprised (although I had seen some "behavior" - ahem - which made me think twice), and my children were heartbroken that the babies didn't survive.

Because I am a wimp, and because I was as disappointed as the kids, we decided to let them have one more litter and then take a trip to the vet to make sure it doesn't happen again.

It took a lot longer than we thought but a week ago we were surprised with three baby bunnies! The mom is grey and the dad is all black and the babies are one white, one grey and one black. They are SO cute! They are tiny and still in their little nest. Their eyes are closed until about 10 days old so they are blind right now. We are trying to only look at them once or twice a day because it seems to stress the mom out a little bit (although she was less stressed today than she has been, maybe she's over that "new mom" panic stuff!).

The plan right now is to keep the white one (which Tali has named Buster - even if it is a girl!), find homes for the grey and black ones, and get them all "fixed" so we stop at three bunnies! I work for a school district so I'm hoping some elementary teacher is looking for class pets and will take the other two.

If not, I'm going back to that laughing man at the pet store. Ha.

Jill

Winter Wonderland!

It doesn't snow very often here in the Northwest. You can tell that by the fact that the TV stations in the area have pre-empted regular shows to talk about the weather all day. Reporters posted on every overpass in town, shots from ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) cameras of area roads, press conferences from the mayor of the city and the head of Tri-Met (our local bus/light rail). You'd think the world was coming to an end!

We got 2 inches of snow.

Yes, all that for two inches of snow. My kids' schools are closed for tomorrow, as are most of the schools in the area.

The problem is that Oregonians have no idea how to drive in snow. It really isn't safe to be out and about because there are a lot of really stupid people on the roads.

Which leads me to why I love snow in Oregon. I love it because everything stops when it snows. Schools get closed, people stay home from work, stores close early. People just stay home and play in the snow. The hill by our house fills up with all the neighborhood kids and their parents - and their sleds! It is so fun!

We only get snow once or twice a year here, I'm sure if it came more often we would have to learn how to cope and it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. People who move here from "snow areas" laugh at us, but we don't care. We just love the snow!

Jill

Menu Plan Monday - Back to School Edition

(This post was written on my husband's computer because of my daughter waiting until the last three days of summer to do her summer reading assignments for her honors English class on my computer, hence I don't have access to any of my images or pictures. It's boring, sorry.)

For more menu ideas visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Summer will officially be over on Wednesday when my kids go back to school. I know, we are much later than most areas of the country but all the public schools in Oregon start after Labor Day and our district starts on the Wednesday after Labor Day.

I started my new job (at my children's elementary school in the library) last week and I LOVE IT! I really love the people at the school and I'm really enjoying the job itself. I have worked at the school off and on in temporary jobs for 4 years and it feels good to be back. It is only 4 hours a day which gives me a life outside of work, too. However, I have the feeling that I'm going to be adjusting this week and feel like I'm working full-time!

With this "adjustment" period in mind, I've planned some easy meals this week.

Breakfasts:

• Cereal, fruit
• Oatmeal with berries
• French Toast on the first day of school

Lunch:

• Chicken salad sandwiches on croissants (special for the first week of school, I don't normally send croissant sandwiches in the lunch boxes!)
• turkey sandwiches, fruit,
  
• yogurt with granola, homemade granola bars, fruit
• string cheese, lunch meat, crackers, fruit (or carrot sticks and ranch)
• Thai noodles (for Hubby and I, the kids won't eat these but we LOVE them!)

Dinners:

• Cottage Cheese Casserole, veggies with ranch
• Soup and Bread
• Chicken Crockpot thing (chicken breasts, Cream of Broccoli and Cheese soup, milk, cook in crockpot til meat falls apart. Shred chicken, serve with sauce over rice)
• Pasta bake , breadsticks
• Pancakes, hashbrowns, fruit
• Friday First Week of School Celebration! Navajo Tacos (Indian fry bread, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc), Spanish rice, chips, fruit salad, hot fudge cake for dessert! We will probably invite friends over to help us celebrate.

News of the Wierd

Kid, that potato is as big as your head! Don't try to eat that all at once now, ya hear?

What? It's for your whole family?

That I believe.

Jill

One of My Last Firsts

Do you see that boy up there? That is my baby.

Do you see that gap in his teeth? Those are his first lost teeth.

Why does that make me so sad?

I'll tell you why, because he is my baby and this is the last time I will have a child lose their first tooth. It's the last time I'll watch a child ride their bike for the first time, or go to school for the first time, or ride the bus for the first time.

Each of my baby's firsts have been lasts for me and while that in no way dimmed my joy over his first steps or first words, it has been bittersweet for me. Knowing that I'll never experience those firsts ever again has made me a little sad. I am content with my family and the decisions we have made regarding the size of it. I definitely don't want to be pregnant again! But still, my oldest leaves for college in two years with her sister just two years behind that. And my baby is starting 1st grade this year.

But time marches on. The only constant in life is change, right? I'm thrilled with how grown-up, mature, smart, friendly, kind and good my kids are becoming. But what about all those firsts?

There's always grandkids.

Jill

Success

How long does it take to put 50 lbs of peaches into jars? A LONG time! However, much less time than if I was doing it myself. Carina and Kaden (my two youngest) offered to help me, and help they did. They peeled, pitted, sliced and packed over 80% of the peaches. This freed me up to blanch the peaches, make the syrup, fill the jars with syrup, attach lids, and put the whole thing in the water-bath canner. We took a long break in the middle to pick up my oldest from work and eat lunch, but we were done by 3:30. Not too bad.

We did 28 quarts and two stuffed gallon bags of frozen slices to use for smoothies later.

As a reward for their help, the younger ones got to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Nothing says success like a Butterfinger Blizzard!

Jill

Family Picnic

This weekend, despite the triple-digit weather (a rarity here in Oregon), Hubby and I and Hubby's whole family gathered in a local park for a family birthday party. I have to admit I wasn't excited to go. The temperature had been over 100 for the past three days and the thought of going and sitting in a park did not excite me. I'm not going to lie, I like my air conditioning. I know it's bad for the planet, but it is good for my psyche!

Once we got there I was glad I had come. Our picnic area was mostly in the shade. The food was good and the company was even better.

There was basketball playing, present opening, lots of food and a couple of the cutest kids not given birth to by me. My niece and nephew:

Don't let that cute adorable face fool you! He's in constant motion and not always the direction you want him to go! But he's sweet and good natured and interested in everything. And mostly comes back when you call him. Mostly.
Does that girl not look like Betty Boop? When you see her in person, you think to yourself - "Where have I seen that face before?" And then it hits you - "She's Betty Boop!" I guess actually she is a Baby Betty Boop (say that three times fast!). She is as sweet as she is cute, too.

The two of them are great friends. He knows how to push her buttons and she stands her ground. That is kind of what family is all about, isn't it? In families we know how to push each other's buttons. Sometimes we get far too much pleasure in pushing those buttons. But having our buttons pushed, our boundaries tested, and our patience tried, helps us learn how to stand our ground. It is where we learn to deal with that grumpy boss or that neighbor who drives us nuts. So, really, we should be very thankful that our families know exactly which thing drives us nuts, and then proceed to do just that!!

Nobody got driven nuts this weekend (well, no one over the age of three!). We had a fabulous time catching up and visiting.

Families are so important. And I'm so thankful for mine.

Jill

I Love Living Here

It is blackberry season in the Northwest. Oh, I'm in heaven! When I was growing up, my grandmother lived in a house which was surrounded by blackberry bushes. In fact two whole sides of her house didn't have fences - just really big, giant blackberry bushes. I'm positive that those blackberry hedges kept out far more people than any fence in the world. Maybe they should plant blackberry bushes along the border in Texas?

Unless you live here in the Northwest, you really don't understand the magnitude of the blackberry "problem." They are everywhere! Along roads, along bike paths, in abandoned lots, in parking lots, in everyone's backyard, in everyone's front yards - seriously, they are everywhere!! We don't plant them, they just grow. And grow. And grow. Cities have a budget to deal with the blackberry growth. We live next to a green space and the city comes and mows the blackberries back every year. If they didn't we wouldn't have a yard, we would just have blackberries.

Now, while this is a problem in the sense that they are prickly and invasive and will take over, the upside is that they produce blackberries! For free! Everywhere! Happy day, happy day!

The city doesn't completely mow down the bushes in back of us, they just trim them back severely. The blackberry bushes don't mind, they still produce tons of beautiful shiny blackberries.

Then, they call to us. "Come and pick us! We are yummy! We would taste good in cobbler! We make great jam! Eat us with crepes! Put us in milkshakes! Come. Come. Come to me!"

So, we come. We pick and pick and pick. This year we have picked lots and we still have a month of blackberry season left. I've made jam, I've frozen some, we've had milkshakes, we had them with crepes, we've had them in smoothies, we ate them on cereal. And we still aren't sick of them.

You need lots of pickers, and I have the best right here in my family. Hubby is the best 'cause he's tall. The others are wily, though and have come up with strategies. The best and most useful is the "reaching stick" strategy. You find a stick with a crook at the end and you hook it on the bunches that are just out of reach and pull them down to where you can get them. Didn't I raise smart kids?

Oh, wait! I think I hear something. Is it . . ? Yes, it is! I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go. The blackberries are calling me!

Jill

Excuse me, Your Bed is Racing!

Last night our family, my sister and her family, and my Dad went to the downtown in our little corner of the world for the "Historic Bed Races."

We all met at my Dad's house and piled in two vans to head downtown. All the kids went in Grandpa's van - my Dad has a full size conversion van that has leather seats, paneling on the walls, and plush carpeting. The kids all love to ride in Grandpa's van 'cause "it's cool." All the rest of the adults rode in our car. We aren't cool.

The first stop was pizza! The pizza place is on the same street as the bed races and we figured it would be easy to find a spot after we had dinner - wrong! The street filled up with people while we were waiting for our pizza (the restaurant was pretty full, too. Lots of people must have had the same idea!). The pizza was really good and we managed to find a spot down a block or so.
Here is the whole gang (we start with the cute kid in the yellow shirt and end with the beautiful girl in the purple sweatshirt - the adults are in the back). This was on Main Avenue and it was packed with people (well, "packed" is relative - there isn't usually very many people in Main so this is pretty packed!)
That is one of the beds doing their introduction lap. After the races started they were going to fast for me to get good pictures (believe me I tried - I'm just not a very good photographer, yet.)

The beds didn't look much like beds in some instances - more like large carts.
And all of them were decorated - this one followed the theme of the event "Rocking Around the Block." There were teams for political candidates, local restaurants, local churches, charitable organizations, and more.

Unfortunately, they ran in heats. The heats lasted about 30 seconds. The wait in between heats was about 10 minutes. The kids got bored fast. The adults got bored even faster. We lasted about 10 heats and then we left to get ice cream.

But now we can say we went to the bed races. Not sure we can say we'll go back.