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The weekend that is. Ours was a little off, in that Friday and Saturday was our weekend. Sunday was sort of a "work day", Clint went to work today. He finally got approved for more OT. YAY!!
Actually, I'll start with Thursday. That started with an unexpected phone call from the P.O. My second batch of peeps had arrived a day earlier then expected! They were nice enough to run them out to the house for me. All 10 peeps that I ordered arrived alive and well. They are still doing well! Included with the order was 9 "males for warmth", also known as "packing peanuts". The life of a male chicken isn't so good sometimes. One of them did not make the trip. So, now I have 8 little roo's in the making. We might keep one of them but the rest are either going to be dinner or be given away.
Friday, Clint and Matty planted 400 of the 500 Norway Spruce trees. Not too bad for a days work. And, they only broke one tool! In the evening we got pizza for Emmy's bday. Good times. OH! It was beautiful that day. It was in the low 80's and just perfect outside weather. Emmy and I went to walfart and got water guns for the kids to play with. We also stopped at the beverage warehouse for some beverages since Emmy just turned 21. Woot!
Saturday, Clint had the kids all day. I got to go away for the day totally alone. I went to Target, Borders, TSC, Ollies, and the Hershey Outlets. Then I met up with Laura and the twins. We got lunch and had a picnic at a local park. We talked for a few hours while the babies played on a blanket. It was so nice. After I took her home I visited with my parents for a little. We decided to go to my Grammy's house to pick up her dishwasher and a full size mattress and box spring that she wanted us to have.
Today, it rained most of the day. We did get out a little this morning. I decided to try snapping some pictures. Oz was the most, willing? participant. Basically, he just wasn't fast enough at getting away. HA! Hadley did allow me the honor of taking her photo a little bit indoors but it was short lived. Here are some photos from today.
Matty and I went to a camera club meeting last night. It was the night for the "Print of the Year" contest. I wasn't going to submit anything but Matty, Mom and Clint talked me into it. I took the 3 individual pictures Mom has on her wall of Corb, Hads and Oz. My picture of Corb won "Honorable Mention" in the Color Category. I was very shocked to say the least. The other members of the club are very, very good. This may just be the little nudge I need to enter some other competitions. It is hard to find a knowledgeable unbiased opinion, this club is about as unbiased as I am going to get. Yay me!!!
Ozzy learned how to pull himself up to standing today!!!!! I went in to get him after a mini morning nap and there he was...standing, holding on to the side of the crib. I am proud.
Hadley's party was a hit. Everyone appeared to have a great time. We thought it was going to be cool and rainy but it ended up being warm and sunny the whole day. It was gorgeous! We had an Easter Egg hunt, bubbles, chicken watching, dog chasing, kite flying, bike riding and fun in the sand. We ate chicken, burgers, hotdogs, veggies, fruit salad, macaroni and potato salad, chips, pretzels, cheesy poofs, cake and ice cream. We rounded the day off with a face plant into our fridge and a bloody nose. The kids fell asleep early and then slept in the next day. Bonus! Hadley wanted the house to be "beautiflull" for her party so I picked up some 25 cent streamers at walfart. She loved them. She also loved her ginormous unicorn balloon. I think her favorite gift is a stuffed pink unicorn(surprise surprise).
My Dad called in the morning to sing Happy Birthday to her. Later, in the afternoon, my Mom called to sing to her. While my Mom was singing Hadley got a huge smile on her face and said to me "Mommy, her is singing me that song!".
Here are some pictures on her actual birthday.
I made a cake for her. She wanted it to be pink and purple. What you can't see is the inside of that cake is bright frickin pink. She adored it.
Opening her presents-new "barn" boots 
A nifty unicorn book
Checking the book out
The pencil sharpener-she also got with this colored pencils(since Corb refuses to share his) and a sketch pad. 
The Pegasus that Corby got for her. She hearts it. 
The very end of the hug she gave him.
This was at her party. Blowing out the candles on her cake. She kept asking where her pink cake was. HA!
Happy 4th Birthday Miss H! Hope you had a fabulous day!
This morning while checking my email I heard Hadley calling me. I went to see what was going on. I arrived at the kitchen and asked her what was wrong. She gestured wildly at the window and proclaimed "That frickin bird keeps banging into the window!" Sure enough, a Robin kept banging into the window. I just laughed and made her repeat it to make sure I heard her right. I blame Sheetz and their "Crispy Frickin' Chicken" campaign.
Where the hell have I been? What has been going on? Right here, and tons of things is the answer.
First, everyone got a virus from a cousin at the early Easter dinner. That had us out for about 2 weeks. Not everyone was sick for 2 weeks, really whatever it was only lasted a few hours(and it lasted longer on the grown-ups), but until it cycled through everyone it had been 2 weeks. Yikes.
The peeps moved to the basement 3 weeks ago, and then outside 1 week ago. The geese have been outside for 4 weeks and they are loving every minute of it.
Ozzy turned 1! He slept through most of his party(he was still a little sick). He did make an appearance to eat his cake. Not smash. He waited almost 10 minutes before he would even touch the cake. He is starting to pull up on things now. Scary. He had his 1 year well baby check. The Farmer said he looks fantastic.Ozzy on his birthday, sporting his birthday shirt. 
This is as messy as it got.
With his presents, including the pink wagon.
Hadley, being totally my daughter outside in the sandbox wearing her barn boots and fancy Easter dress. The dress was trashed by the end of the day. I heart her. 
The broccoli is growing like mad! We planted tomatoes last weekend(indoors) and they've started sprouting. Spring is coming.
Clint got his balls mutilated last Friday. He wasn't allowed to do anything at all this weekend. I think that hurt him more than the actual procedure. The nurse for his operation was a friend's sister. I laughed so hard when he told me. They gave him a "scrotal support", it is called "The Duke". I laughed at that, too. He did really well with the whole thing. He didn't even take any medication for pain after Friday. His "check" is on June 2nd. We have a bottle of wine ready and chilling for that day, as long as he gets the all clear that is.Clint and Hadley chilling on the couch Sunday morning while Clint ices his balls. 
Hadley turns 4 on Thursday! She is very excited. We plan on having an all strawberry menu for her birthday since she hearts strawberries. Her party is going to be this Saturday. She has requested Unicorns. Her "twin" cousin has requested Curious George. It is an interesting combo.
Next Thursday Clint is going to pick up 500 Norway Spruce seedlings that we bought through the Conservation Center. He is going to borrow a tool from his boss that plants trees. Friday he is going to spend the day planting the trees. They are going in various fields and pastures to block other houses and at one spot, the road that we can see/hear in the winter. Matty is going to come over and help out. Then, that evening we are going to have cake for Emmy's birthday(Mom and Dad are going to come up). Also on Friday our second batch of chickens arrives. 10 banty sized chickens and since it will be warmer when they come they will be able to go outside a lot sooner. Thank goodness, changing them all the time starts to be a pain after a few days.
Grammy and Papa's house along with other items will be auctioned on May 20th. It is going to be a hard, hard day that I am not looking forward to.
An era has come to an end. Hadley used her scissors on Lennon's last 2 "suckys". She cut right through the damn nipple. Clint wouldn't let me buy more. The first night was hard. But, he got over them really quickly. He doesn't even ask for them anymore. I feel sad. Since Oz won't have anything to do with one there will never be a baby in house with a suck again. Sigh. *But not so big a sigh that I would want another baby, just a sigh*
Oz, I apologize for the delay. I'll put up your pictures soon. I hope you had fun at your party(even if you didn't seem to like your cake...or opening presents, oh and you slept almost the whole time).
I am going to pick up my new glasses today. They are going to be so much fun. The ones I have now are old. The non-reflective coating or some shit on them is peeling off. It makes it hard to see. Oo, and my new ones have transition lenses. I wonder how long it will take to get used to that.
We went last night to pick out a wagon for Ozzy. They didn't have the color we wanted in the size we wanted so the guy that works there is going to go and hopefully pick one up for us. We want a pink one. I know, pink for a boy? Well, we aren't into pushing traditional colors on the kids and the first birthday present for the kids really ends up for them all to share in the long run. If they don't have the pink one, blue is our second choice. If they would have black we would go with that.
Clint is going to be home early today(so I can go pick up my glasses). I am going to go for all the supplies we will need for Ozzfest/Easter. I've got to make a list.
We've got about 4 dozen eggs in the fridge right now. I am going to make a pound cake for dessert tonight. It takes up 10 eggs. Hmmmm, I think I'll make some red beet eggs for Sunday, too.
Great weekend. Saturday I went shopping, alone. No kids. I haven't done that in over a year. I got Corb's summer wardrobe done, finished Hadley's next Fall/Winter wardrobe and picked up a cute thing or 2 for Oz and Lennon along the way. I dropped off 2 big boxes of clothing for my bff from elementary school. She is going to go through it and see what she can use for her twins. We didn't get to chat for long but plan on a longer visit soon. Saturday evening we planted 50 broccoli plants. They are on a table in the living room which gets lots of sun. Not sure if they are going to stay there until planting time or not. There was talk of a portable mini greenhouse.
Sunday we had an early Easter dinner with my Mom's family. It was good to see everyone. Sadly, my Grammy and Papa(who are in their 80's) have decided the time has come to move in with my Aunt. The decision wasn't made lightly. A cousin of mine wanted to purchase the house they are living in now but she can't afford it. As it stands now the house is going to be auctioned. Nothing is definite yet but it makes me very sad. I've thought about trying to talk Clint into buying it and moving back down there, but really I am not sure that we would be happy with the decrease in land(their house has a little over 3 acres) and the area were the house is located. It is along a busy road, a race track and a recently built casino. I am having an internal struggle. That house has been in our family since it was built. I have such great memories there, my Grammy used to get me on the school bus in the morning, Christmas's, picnic's, donut days....
This week is going to be busy. The geese and ducks are now old enough to be outside all day long. They will still need a good shelter to protect them from the cold at night. When Clint gets home tonight we are going to build them a temporary pen for them to be in during the day and make them a secure spot in the barn for at night. We also want to go to a local shop that sells Amish furniture and wagons. Ozzy is going to be getting a wooden wagon for his birthday. We want to get that sometime this week.
Speaking of Oz...I really can't believe he is going to be a year old on Sunday. He is still a baby, he can't be a year old already. Where the heck did that time go? He is so goofy. He just brings light into the house and everywhere he goes.
Matty and I have officially joined the local photography club. Meetings are twice a month in Giant food store. I had no idea they even had conference rooms, let alone 2 floors. We had fun at the meeting last week. I believe we will both be able to learn a lot from the meetings and field trips. There are a few old dudes there that are wicked good.
Corb stopped peeing on everything. It must've just been a fun phase for him. He is into doing magic tricks now. One day he made a button magically disappear in his butt. He really meant he put it in his underpants and it fell out but hey, that is comedy.
Hadley is finally into wearing dresses. I got her a pink dress to wear for Easter. She is actually excited about it. Of course, so is Corb(he wants to wear it) but whatever.
Lennon is hardcore into the toddler diet. He eats great at breakfast, so/so at lunch then rarely eats dinner. Maybe it is all the eggs we are trying to pump into him.
Ozzy is still getting teeth. His favorite food is Chicken corn noodle soup. It didn't look as appetizing coming out the other end this morning though. Carrots anyone?
This weekend we are going to start spring planting. 50 broccoli plants will get their start inside. They will be in for 6 weeks until after the last frost date when we can transplant them outside. We will have to find a nice, warm, sunny spot for them where the cats can't get them. Maybe next to the chickens.
We are also going to an Easter dinner. Giddyup.
Harriet is a 9 week old Lionlop Rabbit. She is so friendly, adorable, lovable, furry, soft and curious. She is currently residing in our...wait for it...living room. HA! Harriet is the kids Easter present from my parents. They bought her an awesome little hutch along with everything else she needs. It has been cold, windy and rainy out here. We want to wait to move her out until Clint can enclose the sides of the hutch. That way she will be out of the elements. She refuses to drink out of her water bottle. We've hand holding a water bowl for her. She is a goof. If she would get bigger I would think of litter training her so she could be a house bunny, but she won't get much bigger than she is now at all. I would be afraid the kids would smoosh her.And the we have the ginormous geese! They weigh over a pound each now. They've also had a slight name change. Toula is now Mahooganey Toula(say that first one with a really long "O" sound), Violet is now Daffoodil Violet. And this is only until the kids get used to the change. Daffoodil walks out of the brooder when you open it and climbs right up onto your lap. They still snuggle when they sleep. And they beg for snuggles. They will stand at the end of the brooder peeping loudly until you pick them up and hold them. We've had them outside a few times for a short period, it is still too cold for them to be out for too long. 
I placed my new second order with Ideal today. 12 birds coming, and I hope to get 6 from TSC the same week these guys come. The run-down
Ideal Order:
2 Golden Neck D'Uccles(banty)
2 Crele OEGB(to replace the ones that didn't make it last time)
2 Mille Fleur Dutch Banties
4 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Banties
2 Speckled Sussex pullets
Hope to get from TSC:
2 Buff Orpingtons
2 Barred Rocks
2 Easter Eggers
Tonight Matty and I are going to a meeting of the local Camera Club. It should be fun, I hope. I am curious to see if it is all just a bunch of Landscape and Environmental people. I like my photos to have people in them.
Clint is going April 4th to get his nuts snipped. Thank you Baby Jesus!!!!!
Clint was taking a leak in the bathroom when he hears Hadley mutter under her breath "I wish I had a penis". He said "WHAT?" She said in reply "I wish boys had a Jayjay and girls had a penis".
Oz is getting more teeth. 2 of the bottom front teeth and a molar. That molar must be a right bitch because he is not happy about it at all. He is addicted to teething tablets.
Our second order of chicks is getting all weird. I think I am going to cancel the McMurray order and re-order with Ideal. I want to wait to do this though until after I hit up TSC tomorrow. If they have any chicks there I'll just get whatever they have from my second order list, then I'll order what they didn't have with Ideal. I am going to re-order the crele old english game bantams that didn't live with the first order and I will probably add some d'uccles. Who knows what I will end up with in the end.
We've named all but a few of the chickens and the ducks. I want to wait and see what gender the ducks are before we name them. I am going to take individual photos of the chicks with names later today when Ozzy is sleeping. I'll post them then. It is going to be so much fun to watch them grow.
I found out that TSC(tractor supply) might be getting chicks, ducks and bunnies this weekend. Mom and I are going on Saturday. Look out. I know if there are peeps there I will have to get one, or six. And ducks? Yikes. I am also doing a run to Tarjay and Party City. After I run my errands I am going to meet up with my bff from elementary school. It has been about a month since I saw her last. I am going to take a bunch of clothing, baby food and the bumbo for her. I can't wait to have a good chat with her.
I am looking forward to the time change this weekend. Sure, I'll loose an hour of sleep but at least it will seem like the kids are "sleeping in" until 7:30 instead of waking at 6:30.
Obligatory poultry update: The broody hen that I thought was going to sit on eggs gave up already. Darn. But, on the flip side...Little Sexy laid her first egg yesterday!!! And we all watched her do it!! It was light brown with white speckles and the size of a banty egg. So cute. I think Spicy will be laying soon also, she was making a bunch of hen noises yesterday.
The Geese are still stealing the show. They now talk to us. If you sit in front of their brooder and talk to them(peeping noises or just flat out talking) they come running up peeping at you. It is so cool. I gave them all(ducks and geese) a little bowl of water to play in. They have a blast in it. The ducks are really funny when they get in to splash around. They make a big mess but it is fun to watch.
The chicks are growing rapidly. We are going to sit down to name as many as possible today. Hadley wants to call her favorite "Little Blue". I think I am going to name the little black Silkie "Elf". The Naked Necks are going to be "Hyacinth" and "Mabel". Old lady names for the old ladies. HA! I know I want to name one of the ducks "Jemima", I just need to wait and find out if we have a girl.
In other news:
I ordered Hadley some shoes for next fall. I ordered a size and half bigger than she is wearing now so I think it will be ok. Crossing my fingers anyway. If they don't work I can always sell them on ebay. They are from Morgan and Milo(one of my fav. brands) on sale 50% off. I see the boots I got are sold out now but here are the shoes I ordered.
Get ready to laugh at the kids. They are too much like Clint and I, poor things. They love the bird book field guide from the National Audubon Society. We've used it all winter to identify the birds that come to the feeder. They usually ask at least once a day if they can look at "the bird book". I decided to see what other guides they offer and found one for Insects and Spiders. Hmmm, the price has decreased since yesterday...need to email them for an adjustment. Anyway, I thought they would really enjoy it especially with warmer weather coming. I asked Clint what he thought about the idea of getting it for the kids as a shared "gift" for Easter. He thought it was a great idea. Anyway, that is coming for them all to share. I also ordered this unicorn book for Hadley for her birthday.
And last but certainly not least I ordered this shirt for Oz to wear to Ozzfest. He is going to rock.
Alrighty. 4 were DOA(dead on arrival). One of the blue Silkies, and all 3 of the Crele Old English Game Bantams. I am kind of bummed that all 3 of those were dead, I really like that color pattern. I might get some later this summer or in the fall. We lost one more a few hours later, it just never pepped up. It was a Blue Mille Fleur Old English Game Bantam. I called the hatchery and they are crediting my account for the ones that died. I expected some losses naturally and I was very happy they weren't all dead. This leaves us with 25 peeps, 3 ducks and 2 geese that are doing fantastically. They are warm, eating, drinking, pooing, sleeping and running around. The geese are huge compared to everyone else. The kids and I have been watching them all day, and of course holding them a lot. I want to handle them a lot while they are little so they will be super friendly. Hadley just adores them. She hasn't left the brooder side all day and begs to hold them all the time. She really gets upset when we give them all a break from being handled. This is everyone in the nifty brooder that we built. We are going to get the second one built this weekend so we can get the geese out of there ASAP.
The Silkies! 2 Grey(the stripe ones) 2 Red(Yellowish) and a Blue-which is really the color black. This happens, it is a blue color thing. That little Black one is hilarious. It makes more noise than any of the other birds and it loves to be held.
2 Turkens(should be girls) Aren't they ugly? They remind Clint and I of little old ladies wearing a fur coat and hat. HA!
2 Barnevelders 
2 Cream Brabanters
2 Blue Andalusians These are the most lovable little peeps in the bunch. 
3 little bantys. The one on the left is a Porcelain Dutch, the one behind it is the same thing(I think) and the one on the right is a Blue Mille Fleur. The little bluish one on the left is soooo tiny. It is the tiniest one in the bunch.
3 Black Runners! They are so fun to watch. 
Last but not least, 2 Geese. I have no idea what breed they are. I am guessing they are a Brown Chinese and a White Chinese but I could be totally off. They are absolutely hilarious. They are so big and clumsy. I love them.
Clint just left a few minutes ago to pick up our peeping box. I just hope they aren't all dead. It was so cold here overnight. I am worried. I told him to call me as soon as he got there and saw them. The brooder is all ready, the lights are on, warm water. I hope some are alive. I didn't sleep a wink last night. I will have pictures at some point.
And the only prescription is more chicks!!!!
THEY SHIPPED!! THEY SHIPPED!! I am going to set everything up tonight just in case they would happen to get here tomorrow morning. I highly doubt it, buy weirder things have happened. In any case, they will soon be here. Cross your fingers that they all make it. I am expecting some losses due to the stress of shipping but it would be awful to open a box of dead peeps.
One of my hens finally went broody yesterday. She has been acting like she was going to go broody on and off for 3 weeks now. Yesterday she finally committed. I am letting her sit on 5 eggs. If she keeps at it, in 21 days Big Sexy will be a Momma. Big Sexy isn't the one sitting on the eggs, but one of the eggs being sat on is hers. How cool is that? A second generation Beck Farm chicken(Big Sexy the momma, Temp(who was Big Sexy's hatch mate is the Dad). Crazy, eh?
I can't get Oz off my boob. No really. Nighttime is the worst. He thinks he has to have a tit in his mouth to sleep. He refuses a sucky. Isn't even content to just lay next to me in bed. He must be attached to me. I am getting tired of it. I feel awful for feeling that way since in a year he won't give a rats ass about me. Maybe it is the lack of good sleep. He wakes up every couple of hours to reattach. I have to lay all funky. I should be cherishing these last few months while he needs me. He likes to play with my belly button ring while he eats. It is goofy.
Corb is still challenging. It is all attention seeking and "I want to control everyone" all rolled into one. No matter how much attention we give him, it isn't enough for him. He likes 24/7 one on one attention and it just isn't possible. He really likes controlling what Hadley and Lennon do.I think he thinks he can control Clint and I. He is now smacking us when he gets mad. It is so frustrating and hard some days. Then, on the flip side, he can be sweet and helpful. I have been focusing on making a really big deal and pointing out when he does things that I like instead of just getting upset when he does something he isn't supposed to do. I am hoping that over time this will improve his attitude towards us and his siblings.
I would really like a weekend away. Not so much to be away, but to have some time where I only have to worry about being responsible for myself. Just have to think about feeding myself, dress myself etc. Not think-when did I change you? what are we all going to eat? I need to clean that up. I need to wash your clothing. What was I doing before I had to break up this fight? etc. I don't even know if that makes any sense. And, now this turned into a woe is me fest. No one likes that.
Hadley and I are going to a baby shower this weekend. That should be fun...ok, at the very least we will get some cake. HA! No, really, I think it will be fun. I might even get to see my cousin whom I haven't seen since before Christmas. My Mom is also going. It will be neat to see all the fun baby stuff. Mom and I went to BRU last week to get a gift for my other cousin(whom the shower is for). The first thing I thought when we went in was "Whoa! This place reeks of baby!". It really smelled like baby. I never noticed before. I got her nipple grease(I am a big fan and it was on her registry), washable boob pads(also on registry), a sheet saver, a swaddleme, teething tablets, diapers, a cute baby blanket and "The Happiest Baby on the Block". I hope she enjoys everything.
25 little peepies, 3 ducklings and 2 geese ship out tomorrow!!! TOMORROW!!!! All the waiting is almost over.
We accomplished a lot this weekend without really doing anything. The chicken brooder is finished and mostly set up. The temp in it holds a good 100 degrees under the lights but provides cooler temps on the outskirts of the lights. The chicks, ducks, and geese will have ample room to move where to the temp they feel comfortable at. Wednesday I'll set up the pine shavings. When Clint goes to get them the morning they arrive I'll add the water, food and turn on the lights. The kids have been asking every day if "today is the day the peepies come". They ship on Wednesday, I predict they'll be here Friday.
We talked about what the kids will be getting for Easter. Each of them is going to get a metal bucket and a really nice shovel. They will each get some M&M's, mini chocolate eggs, chocolate bunny, kit kat bunny ears, and marshmallow peeps. Now for the best part, I was checking stuff out at walfart yesterday, I can color coordinate the candy with the buckets and shovels. How simple am I? I was too excited about this discovery. I need to get out more.
Along with Easter comes Ozzfest(Ozzy's first birthday). We always go really big on the 1st birthday with something they will be able to use for years to come. We've decided to get another wagon. We figure that then there will be 2 kids to a wagon. It was between this and a ride on tractor type powerwheels thing. Wagon won because of the longer predicted use. We use the wagon we have now to bring in our garden "harvest", moving hay/straw to the chickens, taking weeds to the compost and so forth. So, a wagon it is. Luckily we don't have to trek the 2 hours to Lancaster to get this one. There is a place 15 minutes away that sells the same wagons that we have now(the big ass Amish made one). We'll go get it sometime before his birthday.
Along with Easter and Ozzfest comes Hadley's birthday...2 weeks later. We decided on new rain/farm boots for her. Hers are really too small. I love the ones we ordered. I think she will, too. See them here. I found them on ebay for cheaper than that. I love pretty much everything this brand has to offer. I am also going to order a Unicorn book for her. That girl loves unicorns.
Once again, I have to thank ebay. Corby found a little Ty beanie baby from a McDonalds Happy Meal that I had gotten years and years ago in my Mom's basement. He has been carrying this turtle around with him ever since. It reminds him of Franklin turtle. He calls it Little Turtle. Little Turtle basically lives in Franklins shell. Little Turtle jumped ship in the driveway when my Mom brought Corb home on Saturday. Little Turtle was found yesterday ripped to shreds by Dewey. RIP Little Turtle. Corb was very upset. I popped on ebay....BAM, 10 min later and we have a new MIB Little Turtle on it's way to us.
Finally, a note about Corb. He has been peeing in and on things. It all started with him peeing in the bathtub(and I don't mean when he was taking a bath), we talked about it and it stopped for a while. Last Monday Hadley comes running out to us yelling 'Corby peed in his hamper!'. Sure enough he had pissed in his hamper. I made him clean it, talked to him about where he is supposed to pee. He was at my Mom's for a few days. Saturday I hear Hadley "Corby is peeing on the sink!". Sure enough, Corb is standing on the bathroom counter and he had peed in the bathroom sink. WTF? Poor Lennon got the short end of that stick. He got piss in the eye. He kept saying "Corb pee my eye". Again, we made him clean it up, told him why we can't pee anywhere but the potty. Then yesterday he pissed in the bathroom vent(it is on the floor). And again, he cleaned it up, got a talk. We also told him he must tell us when he has to go potty and we will be going with him so we can watch him. He wasn't happy but this is getting nuts. If he was a cat he would be banished to the basement. I am guessing it is an attention/control thing. I just hope it passes before my house smells like a giant pot.
A bright red Cardinal visited our feeder. I hope he comes back many times. Another new bird came today. I had to look it up in the bird book. It is a Common Tree Sparrow. Very pretty little bird. Oh, and I need to correct myself...that other sparrow is not a Black Capped Sparrow but a White-Crowned Sparrow. I was trying to go off of memory when I should have just looked it up again. We have 2 of them actually, and adult and a juvenile.
I decided to make bread today. It is a good day for some nice warm homemade bread. I am going to try making one of the loaves into cinnamon raisin bread. Here is to hoping it turns out!
Add 5 Old English Game Bantams(mini chickens)- colors: 3 Crele and 2 Blue Mille Fleur. As well as 2 Dutch Bantams-Color: Porcelain.
I swear, that is my last addition. They ship out in 6 days.
The deals on out of season clothing is amazing right now. Amazing. Hadley needed some new underpants. Hers were too small and they "hurt her butt". I went to the outlets to get some from Osh Kosh...all of their previously reduced items were an additional 30% off! I am talking long sleeve shirts for 2.99 plus the additional 30% off. I called Clint to see if it would be OK if I got some things for Corb and Hads for this coming fall. I got the go ahead. I've pretty much finished up their at home fall wardrobes, got Hads some winter hats, gloves and boots, Hadleys entire summer at home wardrobe, got jammies for this spring and fall for the 2 of them, a bunch of pairs of underpants, some "for good" shirts for Hads and I got Hads an adorable dress, tights and hair clip(horses) to wear for her bday party for a grand total of $150 bucks. All bought at the Carters, Osh Kosh, Gymboree and Children's Place outlets. I think the best score was the pair of winter boots priced at 3.99 and then I got 15% off of that. It was kind of euphoric.
Yesterday Hadley went into the bathroom. A few minutes later she yells "Mommy! I need you". Corb, ever needing to be in the know, goes running into the bathroom a head of me. After a few seconds he comes running back out all in a tizzy. He shouts at me, arms flailing with enthusiasm, furrowed brow "MOMMY! You have to come. Hadley. Is. Turning. Into. A. BOY!!!" Oh God, what is going on in there. I open the door to find Hadley sitting on the floor, nekkid as a jay bird from the waist down. Spread eagle. Corby says "See that? Hadley is growing a PENIS!!!" Oh God. Corb, go out and don't look at your sister there was my awesome retort. After reassuring Hadley that she is not growing a penis(But Momma, I see that fing growing out!), and that that is just indeed how her "Jay Jay" looks I just held my head in my hands and laughed. What will tomorrow bring?
Since I can finally post pictures I figured I would update the winter long bird feeding project. The kids are really having fun watching the birds and can identify quite a few of them by sight now. I can identify a few of them by the sound they make(chickadee, goldfinch, titmouse and bluejay). It is really fun when you walk past the feeder and see a new bird. I like trying to find it in our bird book. Hadley's favorite are the Titmice, Corb likes the Bluejays, Lennon likes them all. So far we have identified the following birds at our feeder...
1. House Sparrows(in hordes)
2. Titmice(a lot)
3. Goldfinch(more than you would think)
4. House Finch(also a bunch)
5. Chickadee(only ever seen 2 at a time)
6. Junco(started slow, now a ton)
7. Nuthatch(Clint saw this one once, I hope it comes back)
8. Bluejays(4 of them and only first thing in the morning, they like the peanuts)
9. Wren(not sure what kind and only seen twice very early in the morning)
10. Black Cap Sparrow(I think that is the name, seen 2 times)
11. Mourning Doves(they hang around on the clothesline but come to the feeder every now and then)
Lots of good fun planned for today. Most of it involves food. HA! Hopefully I will have some pictures to post tomorrow.
Hads has a raging ear infection. The Farmer said "I wish I had a Med Student here. This is a really beautiful ear infection." HA HA HA! Hads did so excellent. I was skert she would scream when the farmer went to look in the bad ear since she freaked if we got within 10 inches of it. But, she just sat there all purty and let her look. Gold star to Hads! She won herself a round of antibiotics for 10 days. I picked up yogurt for her to eat while she is taking the antibiotic. I don't want to add a "thingy baking bread" on top of her ear.
It is snowing. Ice to come later...I think we will have a movie day today. It is so yucky outside. And cold. Doesn't snuggling up under big blankets watching movies and eating popcorn sound divine?
I made a perfect cup o' coffee this morning. The coffee, to water, to sugar, to French Vanilla creamer ratio was perfect. So good.
Hads has been complaining that her ear hurts for a few days. Last night she kept waking up saying it was hurting. We are taking her to see the farmer this afternoon.
Snow and ice are coming tomorrow...
We went to Home Depot and Tractor Supply to get all of the supplies needed for building a brooder for the peeps,ducklings and goslings(yes, goslings) coming in just...18 days or so. We got chick starter, heat lights, wood, wire, dishes, zip ties(to tag them so we know who is who) and a bunch of other little things. Building this brooder is going to be fun. I really can't wait to have the little ones here.
Anyway, yes I added 2 goslings to our order on Friday. They really make it way too easy to add things to your order. All you have to do is email and bam, it is done. They should make it harder. I added the goslings after reading that you can use them to weed your garden for you. I want to try it. We spend many hours weeding our pretty big garden. I can just see them out there now...
Speaking of the garden, we made a plan of action for planting. We wrote down what needs to be planted when, what needs to be started indoors, etc. We usually end up planting something too late...like watermelons. It stinks having ripe watermelons in October and not in August. HA!
Finally we have confirmation that Big Sexy is indeed a hen!!! I was 95% sure that she was just by her feathers but it was my first "sexing" of a chicken so I wanted some definite evidence. 2 days ago I happened to catch her sitting in a nest box. I decided to wait a few minutes to see if I could catch her laying an egg. After a minute...bam, egg. I was so egg'cited. HA! She lays a purty little brown egg.
It was in the 60's a few days ago. I just looked out the window...it is SNOWING! WTF?
Yesterday turned into a frustrating day. The children just did not want to listen. Hadley did make me smile at one point though. They were picking up their playroom. I overheard her singing "Pick up the toys every day, So Mommy doesn't take the toys away". Goof.
I wanted to make hot dogs for lunch...spoiled. Then, I took the meat out of the fridge to make broccoli and beef. Most of it was a normal raw meat color but there was a fairly large portion that was black. It was gross. It turned out alright though, we ended up just getting subs and pizza. We haven't gotten take out for AGES.
We got our seeds yesterday!!! Woot! Then, we just had to start planning the garden. It is going to be bigger this year. It is going to be so awesome.
Alright, so the first 2 years or so are crazy but as I watch Corb and Hads playing checkers it was worth the craziness. Those two entertain each other so well. They are even starting to include Lennon in most of their games. When they play checkers Lennon really just sits and watches, same thing when they play tic-tac-toe. But, when they play Bigger(our friendlier sounding version of WAR), go fish, UNO and the Toy Story card game they include and help him. Clint has even been teaching them to play Rummy. I love to watch them playing these games. How great is it that they have built in playmates? Yes, there are times when they don't get along. Those are times when they just need some space. They are good at giving each other some space after I explain it to them. More times than not though they are together doing all kinds of crazy things or just playing a game. It is just what I pictured when we said lets have them all close together. All of these memories they will share.
It is warmer outside today than it has been in a few weeks. I hurried the kids through breakfast so we could enjoy some of the warmth before the rain came. We ended up only having an hour to play before the rain but it did wonders for everyones mood.
Corb is having fun painting. My Mom got him a set of good watercolors, brushes and nice thick paper for his birthday. He loves painting at the easel. We are going to have to get him some more paper soon. His favorite scene to paint is the sun, sky and an apple tree. He was having a rough couple of days-rough in that he was having trouble listening and picking on his siblings. I finally got him to take a good nap yesterday. The nap coupled with getting outside today has really changed his attitude. That child just needs to always be doing something. He can't stand to be bored. It is challenging to keep thinking up new ways to keep him busy.
Ozzy is getting another toof that he is not happy about. He has been sleeping crappy for a week and a half now. Up every 1.5 to 2 hours at night and he is exhausted. Yesterday he didn't nap at all during the day. Then, last week he had what we thought was an awful diaper rash. Poor guy was bleeding and screaming when he poo'd. I never saw anything like it on the other kids. He spent his days nekkid or in a flat diaper that was changed as soon as he peed. He soaked in a bath twice a day. We tried diaper creams, powder, I even tried boob juice and it still looked the same. This went on for 4 days. Then it hit me like a wall..."I wonder if he is chafing from his butt scooting". We stopped everything and just starting using Vaseline. That did the trick. It was looking much better within a day. I guess we just need to keep his crack lubed so he doesn't chaff.
I believe the seeds for our garden should arrive today. I am more than ready to get things started. I hope the seeds grow well for us. It would be much cheaper to start seeds every year than getting seedlings. We are going to try a few new things this year-Kidney beans, hard corn(to feed chickens) and popcorn. We want to get some blueberries and grapes, too. We are planning to have a lot more carrots this year since last year we used our small harvest more than I thought we would.
The chickens have started laying again! We are up to getting 3-4 eggs(2 brown, 2 green) every day. I missed having fresh eggs so much. It feels so awesome finding those eggs waiting for me when I go out to feed the chickens in the afternoon. Only 24 more days until our first batch of babies arrive. Woot!
Yesterday was our annual donut day with my Mom's family. Lots of fun was had by all. Everyone enjoyed my chicken "dramas". Those chooks are crazy. That is for another time.
Hadley said something hilarious. When my Dad asked her where my Papa's hair had gone(he is bald) she looked around for a bit, thought, and then pointed at my Uncle Roy(whom has an abundant amount of hair) and said "He gave it to Uncle Roy".
The kids new thing to do is run about the house screaming "DARE YOU" at the top of their lungs. I have no idea what this really means. They don't dare one another to actually do anything. They just go around screaming Dare you.
I'd like to thank my Mommy(birthday money) and ebay for making my spring chick orders possible. Without you we would've been too poor to make this happen. We have many, many chicks coming our way. The first order:
18 chicks 3 ducklings(yes, ducklings I sneaked them in my order) from Ideal Poultry. Their ship date is Feb 27th, that puts them here the 28th or 29th. I'll label them accordingly...Eye Candy, Useful Engines, and Kinda Turns me On.
Blue Andulasions-2 pullets. Lays a white egg. Eye candy, and kinda turns me on.
Gold Laced Wyandottes-2 pullets. In my second order(coming in April) I am also getting the Silver and Blue Laced Red varieties. Lay a brown egg. Eye candy, useful and kinda turns me on.
Barnevelder-2 pullets. Lay a dark brown egg. Eye candy, kinda turns me on.
Brabanter-2 pullets. The cream variety. Lay a white egg. Eye Candy, kinda turns me on.
Sex-link-2 pullets. The gold variety. Lay a brown egg. Useful.
Silkies-6 straight run. Red, Grey and Blue varieties(2 of each). I know, they are foofy looking. I think Hads will heart them. They do have a usefulness. They are really good at acting like incubators. I plan on using them to hatch eggs for me. Lay a white egg when they aren't trying to hatch eggs. So they are-all of the above(eye candy?, useful and kinda turn me on)
Turken-2 pullets. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Lay a tinted egg. So weird I had to get 2. They are nothing...just weird. Ok, they kinda turn me on.
Runner Ducks-3 straight run. How freaking cool are these? I've heard they lay a good amount of eggs. I can't wait to try duck egg. Kinda turn me on.
That's a run down of the first order. I'll be sure to post pictures when they arrive. Only 28 more days.
