Just some randomness

This is just a post with pictures that do not relate to any of the others.

Oh my goodness.  The zucchini plants will not stop producing.  We are getting so sick of zucchini.  We've traded some zucchini for tomatoes, because our tomato plants were not cared for as well as they should have been.  Tomatoes and zucchini are prolific, and so we are happy to trade with my friend Chantel.  No one ever wants as much zucchini as I have to give away, however.  This picture below represents one day's haul.  

I let the kids put the pie crust in the pie pan.  Can you tell?

Next is the toy room.  I am so tired of this room.  I am also tired of the grumpy inhabitants that refuse to clean up after themselves.  We've tried "locking" the kids in the room until it gets clean.  That doesn't work.  We've tried bribes.  We've tried "consequences."  We've tried reasonable talking.  We've tried yelling like crazy maniacs.  Nothing works.  The kids play, fight, hurt each other, make up plays, fashion shows, scream, hurt each other some more, and pretty much anything else you can think of not cleaning that dang toy room.  That was pretty much our entire month of August.

It was awful.

So, on the first day of school, I cleaned up that toy room by myself.  And then I left a ransom note.

If you want your toys back, it's going to take a LOT of work.  Sadly, the kids did not view this as the calamity I hoped they would.  But they are working towards earning one box of toys back.  They can only earn back one box at a time, a week at a time.  Here's hoping they learn how to pick up after themselves, finally.