Ava Jordan Marie

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My wonderful friend, Mim requested a chicken update so, per her request.... here it is! The babies have joined Toby in the coop/run now and they are getting along fine. The boys are also a semi-permanent fixture in the run. The chicks do not seem bothered by their presence, either. In my opinion, this is GREAT because I remember getting pecked and flogged, etc when gathering eggs as a child! Hopefully my boys can escape that!


This is Kaleb and 'Puffball'


Toby Keith and the chicks dine on some leftover corn on the cob.


Under the ramps seems to be a favorite hangout.




Jess allowing Toby to roost on his arm.





I think this is Puffball again - roosting in the corner.


Toby is surveying the scene from her place on my shoulder


This is the folding roost that Pa made - makes for easier coop clean-up.

Cabbage & Brussels & Maters, OH MY!

Texting Toads

This photo is my (belated) entry into The Domestic Diva's Fotografi Friday check her out!

The boys worked on the chicken coop and run with Pa & Nanny this week. It's quite the condo now. I was sitting there watching them paint and Glenn came running to me and said, "Mom, watch these for me until we're done!" Ummmmm, WATCH toads. Uhkay. So, being the Mother-of-the-Year that I aspire to be, I did ATTEMPT to watch them. However, who knew that toads were so tech-saavy? Yes, you read that right. The larger one, found out that we have unlimited texting and was sending messages right and left. The smaller one, asked me what kind of games I had on the phone. He was bored until he heard 'Guitar Hero III' then his little toady eyes lit up. He kicked toady-butt at 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' let me tell ya! We eventually let them go on their way. I was honestly afraid that they would star cutting into my roll-over minutes. (..or maybe I was afraid that I'd end up stepping on them - you decide)
The chicken coop, I believe, is near completion. The babies are just over a week old now. Toby is still not too crazy about them but she's going to have to get over it. Much to her chagrin, I'm sure, she will eventually be an outside chicken entirely. She moved from the gerbil cage to a travel dog kennel this weekend. I keep saying 'she' because that's what we are 90% certain that she is. Kaleb still holds out that it COULD be a rooster.
A dose of reality was given to me last night that I would appreciate ayone who reads this to keep in mind. I talked to my sister-in-law yesterday. She is a nurse. She and many others have been working on the levees in western Illinois administering tetanus shots to those who need them. There is quite a potpouri of individuals working to insure the safety of all those who live and work along the river. She mentioned National Guard, FEMA, prisoners, health department employees, Red Cross....the list goes on. Please keep all these individuals in your thoughts and prayers as they do their jobs to ensure the safety of others.
Have a great week, everyone! Blog ya later!

Mom, I'm bored.

So we haven't been home 5 minutes from Pa & Nanny's and I hear the infamous, "Mom, I'm bored!" Apparently, our house is the most boring place on the planet....if you're a seven-year-old boy.

Now, I could be a horrible Mom and tell him to clean something. Heaven knows there is plenty to do here, but no I told him to (gasp) go outside and play. I know, I know, that is apprently torture. I don't get it! All winter all I heard was, "Can I go outside?" and it was too cold to do so. Now, it's BEAUTIFUL out and he's bored!

{sigh} I want to go outside and play, but I have more laundry to do and a dishwasher to unload and reload. (hmmmmm...maybe that would break his boredom!)

Blog ya later!

...and it's Monday again ALL DAY!

Here it is again already, MONDAY. I'm fortunate this week - I only work 3 days. That means I get to hang out with my boys for 4 days! We have absolutely NO PLANS this week, either. We're just going to hang out, swim, read, knit and play with the chickens and dogs. Sounds like fun to me!

The latest project that they are doing with Pa is trying to seal up the holes in the chicken coop because a friendly neighborhood black rat snake decide he/she rather liked the coop, too. Dad grabbed it, but he wasn't able to pull it out of the hole so he's likely still hanging out up in the rafters. I'm quite certain that baby chicks would be a delicacy to said snake, too.

Yesterday, Father's Day, we hung out at Nanny & Pa's all day so the boys could swim. Rick and Pa worked on the coop a bit. Nanny fixed a WONDERFUL dinner for everyone. UB & Jules came out, too. Rick and Glenn went on a trail run to see how long the trail is - Glenn is determined to be a cross country runner and I say MORE POWER TO HIM! It's about 1000 meters as it turns out. It's pretty hilly and such which will be perfect for him training. When he gets a bit older, he can go over to the state park and train, but not right now - I'm not ready for that!

Saturday, Rick, Glenn, Jess, Jasmine and I went to check out how high the lake level is. It's pretty doggone high! I wanted to get pictures now because the Dam Road is closed now for maintenance or something to that extent. A lady from Lithia Marina came in and said they were having to shuttle people to their boats because the water is so high. CRAZY I tell ya!

We also had Tina and Clayton over on Saturday for swim fun and then came back here for a cookout. The 4 boys had a blast and I can only speak for my three but I think Clayton probably slept pretty well, too!

Well, it's about that time - I must go prepare myself for the drug business. Have a great week! Blessings and Blog ya later!

I'm a late blogger...

This morning is going to be short, sweet and to the point! I'm off this weekend, I'll blog more later! We have chickens now. Toby Keith is no longer a lone-chicken, he/she now has many friends. However, as the boys' friend so eloquently put it yesterday, Toby has been evicted from the run! Toby is a couple weeks ahead of the babies and of course tried to assert his/her dominance (pecking order) and Pa would have NONE of it! You tell'em, Poppy!
As Mim found out yesterday, I have adapted quite well to the chicken and said feathers that come with it - one of my phobias, in case you didn't know, is feathers. Pteronophobia is the fear of being TICKLED by feathers, mine isn't that, it's just touching them in general! I'm cool with it right now, but when these chickens get full grown and have the possibility of being lice ridden, FORGET IT! Not cool - no more!
So here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure - me as a roost and then Toby getting accustomed to his/her new playmates:
 
 
 
 


Blog ya later!

Did you see the size of that chicken?

Today was the last day of school. Well, technically, Thursday is the last day but they only go long enough to grab report cards and go. Makes sense, doesn't it? Our school's track coach had to decide between track & field or cross country - couldn't do both - I'm sure it's a funding issue. HOWEVER, they can justify driving busses around to pick up the kids long enough to drive them to school and pick up a flippin' piece of paper when they could mail them cheaper! Okay, stepping down off my soapbox now.

Kaleb's class hatched chickens this past month. Rhode Island Reds to be exact. There were 12 eggs and three did not hatch and a couple little chicks didn't make it. Sad, but honestly I think it's a good lesson for the kids to learn. Well, he convinced Pa that he needed these chickens! As it turned out, several other children apparently did, too! We ended up with one lonely little chick. As of right now, it's name is Toby Keith. I lovingly call it Nugget - it just has a ring to it!

TK is living in my laundry room right now in a gerbil cage. Jasmine and Daisy would REALLY like for him/her to come out and play, but Kaleb thinks otherwise. TK will live with us until s/he is big enough to go to the farm and live in the coop. So, for right now, it's a city bird!

 

 

 

Day 13, 246

I hate titles - don't have the creativity to come up with something striking, really. So there you have it. I've named this particular blog "Day 13,246" because that's what day I'm on. If you want it down to the minute, that may take me a a little while longer, but it would be just more that 12 hours (I was a morning baby).

We've had the normal hectic weekend here. The boys had a sectional track meet yesterday and it, I am fairly certain, was -30º outside by the end of the day. I could not believe, that there were actually parents there allowing their YOUNG children to run around with shorts, short sleeved shirts and no jackets. Wait, yes I could believe it, I do work with the public. I'm still stunned to see people drive through and not have their children buckled in. What's it take, 30 seconds out of your busy schedule? Sheesh! (stepping down of that soap-box)

I think I got about 12 hours sleep all total yesterday, though. I just could not get warm. My wonderful hubby tucked me in on the couch, asked me what I wanted to watch on TV, I responded with I'm watching my eyelids, ESPN came on and that's all I remember...zzzzzzzzz. LOL

Today, we went out to Pa & Nanny's for Kaleb's SECOND birthday party! Pa fried crinkle cut fries and crappie. Julie made lemon bars and (K's favorite) brownies. Nanny made cole slaw and tea. UB made the iron-skillet corn bread. The boys and UB threw the pigskin around a bit, K and Jules hiked the trails. Nanny and I puttered about the garden and I got a few outdoorsy shots. A good time was had by all, I believe.

Now, here we are at home - I'm working on load 99 of laundry. One drawback of a traveling DH is the laundry comes home on the weekends! I have plenty more to get done in there. I really would like to have a set of washers and dryers for each member of the house! My own personal laundromat!!! Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Okay, apparently I have to now go feed these people. Perhaps I'll blog again later! Blessings to all!

Insert Title Here

So it's Monday again. At some point, I have got to get out of my jammies and get ready to go to the grocery store. I also need to shop for a bridal shower gift for our niece who is getting married next month. Wow, they grow up so fast, don't they? She is marrying an awesome guy, Brian. They are a gorgeous couple.
I have knitting I need to work on. There is laundry that I swear is breeding and multiplying as I type. My children seem to horde it upstairs and then spring it on me just when I think I am finished. ....and now DH hollers to say we are out of washcloths in the bathroom. WHAT?? How the heck!?!? My guess is that they are all in a laundry basket waiting to be folded and put away.
Yesterday, I taught (should say REtaught) Jess how to do laundry. I figure at 12 years of age, they are old enough to be doing laundry. I know I was - and I was ironing too and loved doing so. HATE it now! I think I will make a cheat-sheet for the washer and dryer so that they know what to do. I need to not be so anal about they rinsing the detergent cup and not spilling softener down the side of the dispenser, too. Baby steps, right?
Alright, next task at hand - grocery shopping. DH is done biking so that means he's going to be ready to leave as soon as he gets done showering. {sigh} Guess that means I need to get outta my jammies!! Have a great Monday!

Spring has Sprung!

You wouldn't know it to look outside today, but apparently, it is spring! We had our annual Easter egg hunt this morning. It was to be held at the grade school OUTSIDE. Well, as it turned out, we moved indoors because at 10 o'clock this morning, it was windy, it was cold and it couldn't decide whether it wanted to mist rain or spit snow!
I'm not real sure how many little ones turned out, but I had the 5th and 6th grade hall and there were only 4 boys - half of them were mine!! Needless to say, my three boys brought home about 5 pounds (yes, I said POUNDS) of candy. As with any other year, I will let them 'feast' for a couple days, then it will slowly start to disappear to work, friends, trash, etc. Then, tomorrow, they will get up and hunt eggs here at home and end up with more loot! We have never really gone all-out for Easter and this year is no different. I was STUNNED to see the amount of stuff that people were shopping for for their children for Easter, though. I guess they are doing their part to stimulate the economy, that's for sure!
Another sign of spring is that I have started to see the tulips, hyacinths, and more starting to emerge from their winter slumber. K and I have to sit down and figure out his garden plans this year. He definitely inherited my Grandad's green thumb! Perhaps when we get that going, I will post some photos to share with y'all - dirt and all!!
In talking to my enabler, Mim earlier, she mentioned that there was a contest to win some WONDERFUL WONDERFUL yarn over here at Happy Handwork - I cannot tell you how exciting this is! I am currently working with said yarn and let me just say, I concur with her statement about wrapping yourself up in every skein! I am making a prayer shawl at present and cannot wait to get it done. I will most certainly post a pic when it's finished. In keeping with the contest rules, I will say that my favorite flower is any and all varieties of daisy. I love them all!
Well, I guess I've been long-winded enough for one day! Any of you that know me KNOW that I am a talker! Have a Blessed and Wonderful Easter, everyone!!

Birthdays

So, a dear friend of mine just got a year older the other day and was stressing because (GASP) she is almost 35 and I guess that's like over the hill or something like that! Well, I may have ribbed her just a tad bit, but it was only because I think she's great and I know she has a sense of humor. So, Traci, I do love ya and I do wish you MANY, MANY more great birthdays!!
As for myself, I have never been bothered by getting older, getting gray hairs, getting fatter, having grandchildren, etc. I am, however, in complete denial that my babies are going to be in junior high next year. It doesn't bother me that I'm again, but I bawled like a baby on their 7th birthday. K will be 7 this year and I don't seem to be too terribly phased by him aging. Maybe because I know that eventually, I well have my bed back to myself and he will stop grinding his teeth in my ear at night! (...and then I'll be whining because I miss it!)
So, for those of you who are bothered by getting older. Don't sweat it, girls - the alternative may suck even worse! ;-)