Another Unofficial Chatterbox Thread- Everyone is Welcome!

[sameyeyam]

And with that I'm inside to take a break, finish a couple loads of laundry, put some wood on the fire, unload the dishwasher, and make my bed. Toodles!

 

[funnygarcia]

Your sig made me laugh Alison, nicely done!

I would leave the salamanders alone-- don't want them to get lost without their buddies.
We don't have many around here. They had one on display at a local nature center, somoene brough it in as it got hurt from being handled. . Our skin is very acidic to them, it caused burns on the poor creature and lasting scars.

Teach your kidlets: Always try to use wet hands or an object to pick up a salamander or newt. Or better yet, leave it alone.

I wonder if they bring good luck , like daddy long leg spiders?
I had one of those crawling in my sink yesterday. Too busy doing other things at the time, left it alone. I can use some luck

 

[sameyeyam]

Your sig made me laugh Alison, nicely done!

I would leave the salamanders alone-- don't want them to get lost without their buddies.
We don't have many around here. They had one on display at a local nature center, somoene brough it in as it got hurt from being handled. . Our skin is very acidic to them, it caused burns on the poor creature and lasting scars.

Teach your kidlets: Always try to use wet hands or an object to pick up a salamander or newt. Or better yet, leave it alone.

I wonder if they bring good luck , like daddy long leg spiders?
I had one of those crawling in my sink yesterday. Too busy doing other things at the time, left it alone. I can use some luck

Left the salamanders alone. Blew a few more leaves back into the flowerbeds, so they should be happy now.

Well if critters bring good luck, then I believe I am the luckiest girl in the world. I seem to have critters everywhere. Of course the fact that I feed them, give them a nice habitat, provide water sources and hiding places probably doesn't hurt. Actually I guess I am very lucky because I get to sit here and watch the birds, rabbits, salamanders, slugs, chipmunks, deer, dragonflies, crawdads...just about anything you can think of. And yes believe it or not I do like watching slugs.

Dishwasher is unloaded, kitchen floor swept, on the last load of laundry, life is good. I'm boiling a chicken right now for the Grannie Arkansas Mexican Chicken. I wish they would quit raising those modified chickens with huge breasts. Makes it very strange to try and cut up and cook a whole chicken. Guess I'm just going to have to get my own "regular UnFrankenChickens". Have some extra apples and going to make some oatmeal apple crisp. Then I'm headed back outside to clean out and wash both of my cars.

 

[sameyeyam]

Oatmeal apple crisp is in oven crisping.

Grannie Arkansas Mexican Chicken casserole is in fridge, waiting for family to come home so I can throw in oven. (The casserole, not my family).

Decided that the chicken stock that I boiled the whole chicken in was too good smelling to throw away. So I added some celery, onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and tomatoes, boiled some barley and invented a new soup...Alison's Chicken Barley Veggie Soup du Jour.

Yet I am still procrastinating on cleaning out the cars and washing them. I have no excuse...as soon as the apple crisp is done I MUST go outside and get to work.

Today is a much better day for me. I am feeling empowered, like I can do anything. Kind of bummed me out yesterday when I realized that my 70yo friend has my physical strength than I do (making apple juice). I guess the way to cope with my body's physical changes is not to focus on my weaknesses, but to celebrate my strengths.

 

[sameyeyam]

So what did I learn this weekend?

When life gives you apples, make apple crisp instead of apple juice.

 

[staley7580]

ooooohhh!! Im so excited! So... i know I have told you all about the guy that hubby works with that has triplets, right? Well. He brought in a truckful of goodies for us today.

3 convertible carseats
1 baby rocking chair
1 high chair
6 boxes of girls clothes sz 18 months-4t
4 bags of girls clothes sz 18 months-4t
and a Peg Perego triple stroller.



Anyhoo... Everything is in WONDERFUL shape. looks freaking brand new. the cloths are fantastic. no stains, all in perfect condition. Its really nice stuff to. They only had one girl, and 3 boys.. So I gather she was SPOILED. Im talking Laura Ashley, Baby Gap... Lucky Brand jeans.. NICE. I wont need to buy anything for the girl in those sizes at all!

We are going to go through the carseats and piece together the 2 best out of the three.. and give the third to the good will. I dont have a clue what to do with the triple stroller though. Its a freaking beast. Im talking HUGE. We have no need for it... Im pretty sure they just wanted to get rid of it. So if anyone knows anyone who needs a triple stroller.. Let me know! Its a freaking Peg perego!! We just have no need for it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Good afternoon, hyenas!
It is not sunny! But hey... At least it isn't raining!

So I just copied down Tinkermell's Apricot Chicken recipe and sent DH off to the grocery store. I'm eager to try this one out, since a few weeks ago I tried a similar recipe (it used dried fruit rather than jam and pineapple) and it was a good combination of flavors, but kinda bland. I'm hoping with the jam and the crushed pepper it will have plenty of flavor!

DH has been running the neighbors ragged today. He went out this morning and mowed the lawn, and about 15 minutes after he finished, the neighbor husband was out mowing their front lawn. They do this all the time! Last month DH mowed the lawn at an angle, just to see what they would do. And, yes they sure did!

So then he went back outside and washed both vehicles, and came back inside to eat lunch. Sure enough, when he went back outside, the neighbors were out washing their cars.

DH finds this hilarious. Does anybody but me find it a tad creepy?

 

[staley7580]

Oh... I was going to mention to Alison.. If you read this, they race motorcycles as well.. and gave us a pair of size 6 Fox racing pants. So if you guys know anyone who might fit into those... let me know. They are in really good shape, and we have no need for them.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

ooooohhh!! Im so excited! So... i know I have told you all about the guy that hubby works with that has triplets, right? Well. He brought in a truckful of goodies for us today.

3 convertible carseats
1 baby rocking chair
1 high chair
6 boxes of girls clothes sz 18 months-4t
4 bags of girls clothes sz 18 months-4t
and a Peg Perego triple stroller.



Anyhoo... Everything is in WONDERFUL shape. looks freaking brand new. the cloths are fantastic. no stains, all in perfect condition. Its really nice stuff to. They only had one girl, and 3 boys.. So I gather she was SPOILED. Im talking Laura Ashley, Baby Gap... Lucky Brand jeans.. NICE. I wont need to buy anything for the girl in those sizes at all!

We are going to go through the carseats and piece together the 2 best out of the three.. and give the third to the good will. I dont have a clue what to do with the triple stroller though. Its a freaking beast. Im talking HUGE. We have no need for it... Im pretty sure they just wanted to get rid of it. So if anyone knows anyone who needs a triple stroller.. Let me know! Its a freaking Peg perego!! We just have no need for it.

Those are nice! You could donate the stroller to the local chapter of MOMS (Mothers of Multiples.) Did you ever get in touch with them? Was the South Puget Sound chapter centered in Kent? I have friends who are in the Bellevue chapter.

 

[staley7580]

Good afternoon, hyenas!
It is not sunny! But hey... At least it isn't raining!

So I just copied down Tinkermell's Apricot Chicken recipe and sent DH off to the grocery store. I'm eager to try this one out, since a few weeks ago I tried a similar recipe (it used dried fruit rather than jam and pineapple) and it was a good combination of flavors, but kinda bland. I'm hoping with the jam and the crushed pepper it will have plenty of flavor!

DH has been running the neighbors ragged today. He went out this morning and mowed the lawn, and about 15 minutes after he finished, the neighbor husband was out mowing their front lawn. They do this all the time! Last month DH mowed the lawn at an angle, just to see what they would do. And, yes they sure did!

So then he went back outside and washed both vehicles, and came back inside to eat lunch. Sure enough, when he went back outside, the neighbors were out washing their cars.

DH finds this hilarious. Does anybody but me find it a tad creepy?

Depends.. Is it the creepy neighbors?

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Yup.

 

[staley7580]

Those are nice! You could donate the stroller to the local chapter of MOMS (Mothers of Multiples.) Did you ever get in touch with them? Was the South Puget Sound chapter centered in Kent? I have friends who are in the Bellevue chapter.

Thats what I was thinking!! I keep meaning to, and forgetting. Go figure. We have one here in Tacoma, and it meets once a month. I told dh about it, and we keep meaning to check it out. We just forget.

 

[staley7580]

Yup.

Then yes.. it is creepy.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Thats what I was thinking!! I keep meaning to, and forgetting. Go figure. We have one here in Tacoma, and it meets once a month. I told dh about it, and we keep meaning to check it out. We just forget.

I know they have a program for people who are pregnant; I think someone in the org serves as sort of a mentor and support person for dealing with multiples, because it's (obviously) different than dealing with a single baby. They are a great support group, they have a TON of information on those deals you hear about (freebies or low cost things for multiples), and at least the one in Bellevue has a sale twice a year of baby/kid items, including clothes, toys, furniture and other necessities. My friends and I used to go to the sale, you can get great items (DVDs, toys, clothes are mostly what I went for) for cheap! And they always have a members-only sale the night before it's open to the public, so their members get first crack at the best stuff. It's really awesome!

 

[staley7580]

I know they have a program for people who are pregnant; I think someone in the org serves as sort of a mentor and support person for dealing with multiples, because it's (obviously) different than dealing with a single baby. They are a great support group, they have a TON of information on those deals you hear about (freebies or low cost things for multiples), and at least the one in Bellevue has a sale twice a year of baby/kid items, including clothes, toys, furniture and other necessities. My friends and I used to go to the sale, you can get great items (DVDs, toys, clothes are mostly what I went for) for cheap! And they always have a members-only sale the night before it's open to the public, so their members get first crack at the best stuff. It's really awesome!

Yep. thats what I have read on the one here. they have a once a year sale... Its in February every year. I need to check it out, I really do. I just need to remember.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

You will not believe how big it is! And nice stuff, too! I went to a few other garage sale type places before DS8 was born, and bought basics. One was a bag of onesies, it had maybe 5 in the bag, and the two on the outside of the bag looked nice, but once I bought it and opened it, the ones on the inside were gross with stains. Ah well. But you likely won't even see stuff like that at this one; they comb through the stuff pretty thoroughly and don't even put out the crap, they get rid of it.

 

[staley7580]

Oh jeez... im starving! Maybe I should bust out some of those brownies I made today.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Mmmmm, brownies.

I haven't had lunch yet... Guess I should eat something. Probably something besides that pumpkin pie in the fridge...

 

[staley7580]

Mmmmm, brownies.

I haven't had lunch yet... Guess I should eat something. Probably something besides that pumpkin pie in the fridge...

naww... After all. I had brownies for lunch. They were TASTY! I should have cooked them a while longer though.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

This week when my mom and sister were coming, I called my mom to ask her to bring her pumpkin bread recipe. Last year I made it, but it wasn't her recipe and came out kinda dry and a lighter color, I think. (Hers is really dark brown, really dense and moist.)

Anyway, so my mom said she couldn't find it at the last minute, so my sister found one she had and wrote it down for me. I asked, "Oh. OK... So have you tried this one out?"

"No."

"Oh, so is it from a friend? Is it really good?"

"I don't remember where I got it from. I haven't ever tried it before."

"Oh. Ummm, well thanks."