A chicken mystery...

After a long day of all the regular stuff we do around here, plus I DID go to that ballgame I wanted to see....I went to shut my chicken coop last night.  It was already completely dark because we had to repair a flat tire I had when I got home from previously mentioned ball game.  Yep, that's what I get for taking time out for me-ha!  The devil surely does not want me to do that apparently.  Anyway, as I walked to the coop, I noticed chickens were roosting on the dog pen-again.  I have worked SO HARD to get the chickens all back in the coop at night and merging the old chickens with the new ones.  Finally, it's been working great.  Then last night, all was amiss.  I found another chicken in the shed where I keep the food for them.  A third was in the pet carrier I use to bring new chickens home.  Weird.  I get to the pen and lo and behold, it's already closed.  Hmmm....how did THAT happen?  One chicken was inside.  I immediately asked if anyone knew what was going on, and Emilynn pipes up and says she shut the pen earlier in the day.  I will admit, I got a teensy bit upset about that.  I felt like all my hard work was down the tubes.  I am hoping tonight they will all go back in the pen like normal.  Sigh.  So.....we spent the next 30 minutes finding all the chickens.  Dustin held the light and I plucked them up one by one from their roosting spots and put them back in the coop where they would be safe.  Some had gone in the woods to roost.  Luckily, most of them don't mind me holding them and handling them.  We finally got all of them up, got the kids bathed and in bed, and I collapsed in bed myself.  I had to laugh at what a sight it must have been, us running around the yard searching and grabbing chickens.  I surely should have worn the shirt Meme was kind enough to pick up for me for my birthday last fall......

Yep, that's me!!!

Monday Musings

• Easter was great-it was beautiful weather, and a laid-back day full of family and fun!  The kids had a blast playing all the "egg games" as they called them.  I have pictures to upload, which I hope to get done this week!  I am very behind on posting pictures!!! 
• The caterpillar to butterfly kit is so neat!  It came Friday and the kids are loving it.  A very good homeschool project and educational project for anyone!  I am going to try to document the transformation in pictures.  So far there are 6 caterpillars in the jar, just walking around and eating.  They should build their "cocoons" within the week.  The company we ordered them from also has ladybug kits, worm farms, ant farms, frog kits, and lots more!  I think we may try an ant farm next.  You know I love anything educational-even if we aren't "officially" homeschooling right now.  Education should happen anywhere and everywhere I think. 
• Emilynn's specialist appointment went better than I thought.  She did great and we are trying a few changed to see if it helps with her stomach. 
• This is shaping up to be a busy week for our family.  Our family (and friends) "BBQ team" is doing a big fundraiser dinner Saturday night for a young man who has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  It is so scary to think one day you are feeling fine, and the next day you have a life-changing diagnosis.  I can't imagine what the family is going through dealing with a cancer diagnosis and a 2 year and newborn.  We must remember these things when we THINK we are having a bad day!   Our week is going to be filled with cleaning, cooking, and serving up a delicious meal.  I really hope we make a LOT of money to help this family.  Nothing makes me happier than serving others.  Truly.  I've been trying to explain to the kids what we are doing this week, as my biggest hope is for them to have a servant's heart, and a giving heart. 
• I have got to start planning Dustin's and my anniversary get-away!  It is so unlike me to be this last minute about it.   (It's in July!).  I know, I have plenty of time, but I do like to plan ahead!  What I am most looking forward to is sleep!  Ha!  I haven't slept a full night in 5 years!  Yes, it is impossible to sleep all night when pregnant with twins. 
• I cannot believe I haven't been to the first ball game this spring!  I have 2 sisters playing, 2 nephews playing, and 2 nieces playing and I haven't seen the first ball game.  So unlike me!  I hope to get to a game this week, maybe even today! 

Well, I am off to go run a few errands for different things.  There's always something to do around here!!!!! 

Monday Musings

• Spring seems to have officially sprung around here, although I think a few colder days may be in store this week.  We have our garden plowed up, it needs to be tilled up and it will be ready to plant!  I am excited to have the garden going again, and the kids absolutely love it.  It's a great learning experience and I think all kids should know where their food comes from, whether it's veggies or meat or anything else-and I don't mean that it's from "the store"!  :-)  I think you could grow a few things in even the tiniest of spaces. 
• We attended an egg hunt at a friend's house Saturday.  It was so much fun!  The eggs were filled with so much fun stuff that wasn't candy.  We got tattoos, lip gloss, stickers, putty, and even fishing lures! 
• My mom and dad both have birthdays this week!  Dustin's cousin is also getting married.  It's going to be a busy week!  Lots of fun things going on!
• Emilynn has her first specialist appointment this week with the pediatric gastroenterologist.  I am really hopeful this is another part of the process of finding answers to her stomach issues.  I will post updates and more details on her problems soon.  I do know that she will probably have an endoscopy and possibly colonoscopy to see what's going on.  We have already ruled out celiac disease and a few other things. 
• We found 24 eggs under our front porch!  We finally found where one chicken was laying!  I hated to waste all those eggs but it was no telling how long they had been under there.  Come to think of it, I should have saved them for our annual family egg toss!  Darn! 
• I am ordering butterflies today.  I bought a butterfly "kit" thing and now we need the caterpillars.  I thought it would be a great homeschool project, and the kids have been asking since winter if it was time to order them.  Carson is probably the most excited, he loves bugs and stuff like that. 
• Speaking of spring, one of our hummingbirds is back!  I have to make some food for him-it is on my to-do list this week.  It is SO easy to make your own food for them, it is just a simple syrup with sugar and water.  I DO NOT add the red dye to it, and they gobble it up just fine.  I can't imagine what the red dye does to their little bodies, when I know what it does to our bigger ones.  I will post the recipe when I make it.  I got a $2 feeder from the dollar store, so it's a very cheap, fun project to have!  The kids love looking for them to come eat and watching them. 
• And speaking of homemade, making lip balm is also on my list to make in the next few weeks.  I have beeswax I ordered, so I will have to post the recipe if it turns out okay.  I love Burt's Bees lip balm, so I'm hoping it's similar. 
• Swim class was great Friday.  The boys really did good!  The teacher and I were wondering what happened to the boys!  Carson was much more comfortable in the water and kept doing things to show off for Ms. Elise, the teacher.  Henry was floating all around in his puddle jumper, kicking his little feet.  He is going to be a fish like Emmy.  There was so much confusion with the pool being broke for so long that the teacher is giving us an extra lesson for free this time.  That makes me happy!  Ms. Elise and the Y are great!  (In case you missed me saying that 5 dozen other times! Ha!) 
• The kids and I have been walking every morning for a week now.  It feels good to exercise and gives me so much more energy.  I have learned I have to do it first thing in the morning, and I WILL be interrupted at least 32 times.  Invariably someone will need more drink or something as I'm going along.  I basically just walk up and down our driveway until I am tired and that's that.  I only walk a short portion of the driveway, where I can see the kids the whole time if they decide to play instead of walk.  I am hoping it will help on the road to losing weight, but also showing the kids an example of an active lifestyle.  They are not sit in the house, play video games kids or anything by any means, but I think it's good to exercise and be active as a family.  After a long winter, it's nice to be back in the swing of working out.  As far as weight loss, I know that will be a slow process, as we choose to eat real, whole foods versus the low fat options on the market.  I just really feel we should eat food as God intended, not the new options that are made in a laboratory somewhere to mimic things like butter, milk, meat, etc.   My goal is to just eat less of those yummy, real foods.  We also need to work on not eating out so much as that seems to happen more these days as we get busier and busier. 
• Speaking of eating out, we went to our favorite Mexican place after church and did not need a highchair.  Henry wanted to sit like a big boy.  I was a little sad as we hit another "milestone".  He is growing up too fast for this Momma!  He even pooped in the potty last week!  One another note-Carson would probably still sit in the highchair if we let him!  Ha!  Kids are all so individual and different.  It's neat to see the different personalities develop.  Just in the last few months Carson has come out of his shell big time.  He is just less stressed really, he worries less about every little thing and just seems to be having more fun.  He is looking forward to school in the fall and he even spent the night away from home for the first time recently.  Big changes in my oldest boy! 

Well, I just wanted to do a quick update, and I am off to order butterflies, do laundry, and all of the
other things that pop up around here! 

Random updates...

• This is the first time I've been on the computer since last week!  I just don't have much free time if I do what I need to do (i.e. laundry, dishes, cleaning the house....etc.etc.!). 
• The kids and I have been exercising every morning this week and I hope its the start of a new routine for us.  They could actually play while I walk, but they usually like to walk too.  We seem to be more productive when we start the day this way. 
• Tumbling class is good.  Emilynn is the only one who wants to do it after the first class.  We've been twice.  She does pretty well at it.  I don't know if we'll keep it up because I don't like another night with an activity!  Swimming is during the day which is nice. 
• Speaking of swimming, we are back in the full swing of lessons.  My fingers are crossed that the pool will stay fixed! 
• Dance is winding down, with recital in a month.  We got our costume (it's so cute!) and all of the other stuff we need for recital.  We will enjoy a break this summer from dance.  I think Emmy will do it again in the fall, but that has not been determined!  She says no sometimes, yes others.  We'll see.  It will be on Mondays in the fall, which will be a change for us. 
• We are loving the warm weather!  The kids are outside most all of the day.  It helps keep the house cleaner and I think just puts everyone in a better mood.  We are not stuck inside on top of each other. 
• Our new chickens are laying great!  We are back in eggs which makes me so happy.  I was worried once we let them out to roam that it would mess up our egg situation, with the "old" chickens not wanting to roost in the coop.  It has been ok so far.  5 sleep in the coop, 3 sleep on the dog pen.  Whatever works! 
• I will post the homemade shampoo recipe soon-I am giving it mixed reviews.  As with most "natural" products, I think it takes some getting used to! 
• The kids' backpacks came this week-they are so cute!  They are so thrilled with them!  Next, I need to order lunch boxes. 

Well, I am off to get stuff done before swim class! 

Weekly Musings (a.k.a. my random thoughts..)

• I have not done well with my 3 posts a week, have I?  It seems as though each time I sit down to blog I get interrupted with all the various things that go on around here.....someone peed on the bathroom floor, someone turned on the water hose outside, Henry's in the fridge...etc.etc.  I wonder if anyone reads the blog much, but when I don't post I have so many people come up and tell me they miss reading posts. 
• We are loving the springtime weather around here!  It has been so nice to be outside pretty much all day and has definitely been a mood lifter around here! 
• I have gotten back into hanging out laundry with this weather!  Is there anything prettier than a line of clothes blowing in the breeze?  The kids are all about helping me hang laundry and they check it a thousand times to see if it's dry yet.  I love clothes fresh off the line.  And why pay to dry them when the sun will do it for free?  :-) 
• We are starting a new thing tonight- tumbling.  They've been asking forever to do it, so I was excited to try it.  I thought it would be something they could all do together.  I went to sign them up last week, and....well, no one wanted to do it but Emmy.  My boys are such little home-bodies.  We will see if they change their minds after we go tonight.  I love that it is so casual and very inexpensive.  You can go on Thursday and Saturday, or just one.....or both.  You don't have to even say which you are doing, you just go with what suits that week. 
  Dustin looked at me like I was nuts when I said we were doing another activity.  I admit it's a bit crazy.  But, if it doesn't work we won't do it in May!  He was just thankful I didn't want to do t-ball.  We are both still traumatized from soccer.  We are done with team sports for a while!  I can't imagine getting my kids to stand on the field waiting for 10 others to bat.  It sounds like torture for me-ha! 
• Dance is going to be wrapping up next month, so I guess we will have a big break from that, and just stick with swimming and tumbling if it goes well.  I have no idea if Emmy will do it in the fall.  I say she probably will want to, but right now she says no!  I think she is ready for a break from it.  She will get a trophy this year cause it's her third year, so I guess it would be a good stopping point if she chooses to stop. 
• We are back in the egg business!  We got 4 more laying girls on Sunday after church.  Now, we are back up to 8 and yesterday we got 7 eggs!  They are all in the coop until the new chickens get used to our place....for about a week.  I hope the "old" girls will get back into the coop at night.  It is crazy with chickens roosting everywhere!  We have had some traditional egg hunts around here-trying to figure out where the chickens were laying.  We had one that layed an egg in the back in Dustin's truck! 
• I found the cutest backpacks for the kids and ordered them this morning.  They are really excited about them!  Carson's is a print with tractors, dump trucks, and all things that "go".  Emmy's is a horse.  It's like an actual horse (Stephen Joseph brand-they are the cutest ones!).  I wanted something not too "trendy" for their first year.....I knew if we went to the store they would choose Disney princess and Cars or Toy Story.  I don't know why, I just wanted something different!  I am excited to see how they turn out with their names on them! 

Well, I am off to do some cleaning......my most frequent past time!  Ha!  I read a quote somewhere that said something like...."Trying to clean while your kids are still growing is like trying to shovel the walk while it's still snowing."  So true!!