Another Chickie Got the Hint!

Since we had one egg yesterday and one egg this morning, I assumed that one hen was laying. But we just found Egg #3!!!!!!!! Hallelujah! More than one of the Chicken Mansion Mommas got the hint!!!! :)

Seriously, this is FUN. ;)

Day 34, Miracles Continued... (93...Free!)

You've been holding your breath, waiting to find out what was inside THE egg, haven't you??? Well, here it is! Beautiful and currently baking in a gf coffee cake in my oven. :)

And the BEST NEWS??? The Chicken Mansion chickens laid Egg #2 this morning!!!!!!!! Maybe they'll make it a habit? (Only 6,998 to go!!!)

Are you amused by how little it takes to make my day??? LOL. ;)

Day 33, Miracles Never Cease!!!!! (93...Free!)

"Hey, Girls!!!!!!"

"What's that thing in the doorway??? Never seen the likes of that around here!"

Miracles never cease!!!!!

1st Egg!!!

(One down, 6,999 eggs to go in order to finance the
Chicken Mansion.)

Christmas Music!

In college, my roommate and I used to get in trouble with our dormmates for starting to play Christmas music too early. Today I had a lot of sit time and thought it'd be fun to hear a little Christmas music while I worked. I was astounded to find that there are a LOT of stations to choose from.

Enjoy! (or ignore me if the idea of X-mas music this early repulses you!) ;)

Day 32, PB Popcorn Snack! (93...Free!)

We don't eat a lot of dessert around here. Neither do we buy many snacks. But this delicious recipe from More-With-Less is one that we pull out occasionally for our traditional Sunday popcorn "dinner". Enjoy!

Peanut-Butter Popcorn
-from More-With-Less

Pop enough corn to make 2 quarts.
Cook to a rolling boil:

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup* or honey

Remove from heat and add:

1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla

Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.

*I don't like using corn syrup. This is the only recipe I use it for. And, actually, I ran out of the stuff about a year ago and have found that honey works fine.

P.S. This would be a great, inexpensive Christmas treat. Yummers! ;)

Where Do Your Old Electronics Go???

Anyone else catch 60 Minutes this week? If not, you might want to check out "The Electronic Wasteland" reporting on the immense numbers of used electronics--computers, etc--that are being shipped to China where the heavy metals (particularly lead) end up contaminating the country...and the people who live there. The story shows how what is sometimes advertised as "clean recycling" in the U.S. may not actually be...

Beauty of Fall!!!

Enjoyed taking a few photos this week. Just wanted to share...

I AM ALONE!!!!

This mom of soon-to-be-5 is ALONE for 4 hours this morning!!! I don't remember the last time I was ALONE. I hardly know what to do with myself. ;)

Off to attack a long-forgotten work pile...

Day 31, Sock Exchange (93...Free!)

In the process of organizing photos (I'm only 3 years behind), I ran across a picture from a past Christmas. That year our extended family had a sock exchange. Each person brought one pair of socks to enter in a white elephant game. We had great fun with the variety:

* sock coin purse
* an old, ragged sock (in which someone hid $10)
* organic materials
* fuzzy socks
* socks with toes
* bright, decorated socks of all kinds
* woolen hiking socks

The game portion of the activity was hilarious, good for all ages (including my then 92-year-old Nana)...and everyone left with something that they were really going to use. Just one more idea to have fun with Christmas gifts!

Day 30 Exercise on a Budget (93...Free!)

15+ wheelbarrow loads of leaves. Any questions? ;)

It was a joyful afternoon. 'LilDude had a friend over to play. They played and played and played. A balmy wind was blowing. The boys eventually abandoned their sweatshirts and got filthy dirty leaning off the swing and scraping their backs on the ground. They laughed loud enough to wake the neighbors.

Sara the dog had an equal amount of fun, racing in figure eights through the leaves. After spending a rainy week indoors, she thought she'd died and gone to doggy heaven.

It was a beautiful, leaf-raking afternoon. Joy all around.

We'll sleep good tonight. :)

Bee-bim Bop!

One of our favorite books, Bee-bim Bop!, uses playful rhyme to depict a child and her mother making this Korean dish. It's a cute, cute book with directions for parent and child to make Bee-bim Bop! together. If you need a book idea for the 4-8 crowd, we highly recommend this one! :)

Bee-bim Bop!!!

Mix it! Mix like crazy!
Time for Bee-Bim Bop!

P.S. EVERYONE in our family LOVES this dish. Highly recommended recipe for kids AND husbands. ;) Here's a link with a recipe, but it's better with the story. ;)

Putting the Suitcase Down

All political partisanship aside, the results last night made me tear up several times. To see the excitement amongst the crowds. To hear McCain's gracious concession. To hear Obama speak of hope. To see tears in the eyes of Civil Rights leaders...people who risked their lives for their beliefs. It was a beautiful thing.

As I write, I'm listening to The View. I was curious to see how the opposing sides would comment. I listened to Elizabeth Hasselbeck (who campaigned for McCain) passionately say that this is a victory for America. She alone made me tear up.

But then I heard Whoopi Goldberg say something that made me cry for multiple reasons...

"I always thought of myself as American, but last night I felt like I could put my suitcase down finally. ...People have always said that anybody can be President. ...[But] this is a moment when you realize that you have become the fabric of America."

I rejoice for her. But I am sad for my boys. I am sad that I cannot say to them, "You can be ANYTHING you want to be." I cannot say, "YOU can grow up and be President." Because they can't. 'LilDude, born in another country, a country he lived in for less than six months, is not eligible. How do you ever look a child in the eye and say that? When will the day come that he can "put his suitcase down?"

Feeling teary for his loss and for others' newfound gain.

November Blessing

November Strawberry ?!?!
Just picked this one! ;)

Day 29, No More STUFF!!!! (93...Free!)

The other day, a good friend and I were talking about "stuff." You know, the unwanted items you receive...for birthdays, for shower party favors, for Christmas; everywhere we go, we are handed more stuff. It fills our cabinets, our kids' rooms, our garages, our junk drawers. Today I made a quick stop at a local store and was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that retailers are thrusting at us, begging us to buy in early November...with CHRISTMAS MUSIC in the background to put us in the mood for holiday buying.

In our family, we're trying to minimize "holiday gift stuff" by setting a $20 limit per person. That really helps. But even with a $20 limit, it's still sometimes hard to know what to give people who really have everything they need.

A few years ago, I turned to the idea of consumables. If I give/receive gifts that can be consumed, we end up with a lot less stuff...and with some pretty fun/creative gifts. Here are a few examples:

1. For one exchange I bought a sheet of cartoon stamps which ended up being one of the most popular items...it was "stolen" several times during the exchange game. Everyone can use stamps and there are a lot of fun ones out there.

2. Kid stocking stuffers

• character bandaids
• TicTacs
• gum
• TAPE (yes, scotch tape! My young kids LOVED tape and wanted to use it all the time. When they received their own, they could use it whenever they wanted.)
• art supplies-paper, pens, glitter glue
  

3. Other "big kid" gifts:

• Pringles potato chips
• Other special chips or treats--my husband got SunChips one year and everyone was jealous. I've also bought kids their own boxes of sugar cereal or packs of character "fruit" gummies.
  
• Sparkling Cider or other sparkling juices
• Starbucks bottled drinks (teen gift)
• scrapbooking supplies
• camera film
  
• stamps (Star Wars and other characters)
• special hot drink mix (my kids love Russian tea)
• decadent chocolate
• lotions
• bubble bath

As you might imagine, the items I listed are NOT purchased in our household any other time during the year; it wouldn't have nearly the same effect if these items were part of our daily life. But since my kids are "deprived" :) the rest of the year, this stuff is pretty interesting to them.

If you have other ideas, I'd love to add to my lists. :)

Day 28, Book: A Simple Christmas (93...Free!)

Since More With Less is one of my favorite cookbooks, I picked up A Simple Christmas (by the same publisher) after reading the description, "Hundreds of ways to bring Christ and joy back into Christmas in the spirit of More-with-Less." If you're looking for some ideas, there are several used copies on Amazon for less than $1.

Off to read... ;)