Ramblings from the chicken mama

A diet. Me? YES! ME!

2009-11-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

So, I started weight watchers Nov. 2. Yes, I say diet, not change of life. I hope, ultimately, that is what it will become, but if I'm being honest, right now, it is a diet. I want to lose weight. I want to feel better. I want to keep up with my kids. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

So far, I have lost 4lbs. As of yesterday, anyway. I am extremely obsessive about things so hubster hid the scale for me (I asked, he's not being a jerk or anything) until Friday morning which is my "official" weigh in day. Friday because my one week free trial will be up Saturday and I want to make sure it's working before I pay for it. ;-)

Things are going well so far. I feel good. I don't feel deprived. My biggest issues are eating enough points and trying to convert regular meals (what I feed hubster and kids) in to points or figure that out. SOmetimes I am just saying screw it and eating a lean cuisine with the WW points on it. Easy peasy and they actually taste pretty decent which is nice.

In addition to the diet, I am adding exercise which hubster so kindly and (trying to be) helpfully told me is just as important as diet. So our YMCA has a track and it takes 19 loops around to make a mile. I walked it with the kids Sunday for 10 laps when we didn't know how many it took. Monday I did 12 or 15. I lost track while talking to DD#2. (Need a pedometer, I suppose.) Tuesday and wednesday (today) we did all 19 laps so a mile each day. BIG DEAL! SO WHAT?! says those who do way more than that, I am sure. Yes, big deal to me since I live a fairly sedentary life aside from chasing after the kids and work.

Speaking of work, I have not yet worked since I started this diet so am a little anxious about that. I do not take a lunch break. I generally bring along a pack of crackers and a granola bar. I am going to substitute the granola bar for a fiber one bar (YUM!) and the crackers for a banana. Here's hoping that it works out. I think it will. I'll just have to eat my points mainly in the morning and evening on the days that I work.

I have taken before pictures. Well...sorta before. At the weight I am now. I lost 37lbs in 2008 (without even trying, just starting a new job) so I don't have any pics from then. The pics from now will not be posted until I start noticing a difference. Then I might share. Depending on how I feel about myself. ;-) I don't plan to get super skinny. Just in a normal weigh range instead of overweight and/or obese. Hubster says no way to the skinny minnie look and I doubt that will be a problem. ;-) I have no desire to look like a stick with boobs nor do I think I could get that size, even if I did want to.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

2009-10-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

The baby food...
The home made pizza dough...
The easy peasy shredded cheese...
The no more sore hands mixing together pumpkin muffin mix...

That's four so far. I'm sure there will be many more in the future!

Yes, still loving on the food processor. Stoked to try the home made pizza tonight. Am going to let the kids dress it out and decorate as they wish, but it sure feels good to make stuff from scratch without getting a big pain in the bum at the same time that I am doing it.

The kids all have off from school tomorrow and I am excited. Since I work every Saturday, which used to be our fun day to do things while the kids were in school, I adore it when they get a day off from school. I think we're going to schlep up to Asheville, hit some thrift shops, maybe the nature center. We shall see. The bigs seem to think that they are now too old for the nature center, but I beg to differ! I *heart* the nature center b/c most, if not all of the animals within are there specifically on a rehab basis so it is not like a normal "zoo" where otherwise healthy animals are taken from the wild and put in captivity. That's one of the many reasons that we have a membership there.

A new toy...I am in love...

2009-10-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

oOur anniversary is coming up shortly and I posted chattily on facebook that I knew what I was having hubby get me. A food processor! No sooner did I post it than my mother popped up and said "YAY! We had no idea what to get you!"

Shortly thereafter, a cuisinart food processor showed up on my door step. Oh my! The possibilities are endless. I thought I loved my blender. I thought I might marry my crock pot. The food processor? I may just run away with it!

So far, I have only made two trays of baby food for Baby G. He seemed to like it, although he wasn't sure what to think at first. It was so very cheap which gets two thumbs up from me. I spent $2 to make two trays of food. That same $2 would have bought me just under four jars of baby food. AWESOME!

So what did hubster get me? A puppy. Yes, ladies and gentleman, the man who swore we would never have another dog in the house, got me a puppy. A silly looking little mutt who I fear will grow up being picked on by the other dogs around the neighborhood, but the kids love him. He's supposedly part miniature pinscher, half toy poodle, but who knows where the truth of his breeds lies. He looks like a terrier mix to me, but so do all of the pictures that I have found of pini-poo's. Stupid name, eh? Yup. I suggested Poopin was more appropriate since he seems to poop in and on any and every thing! ;-)

I swear they know...

2009-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

they can sniff it out like food. Mommy is in a good mood! Quick! Go ask her for something! A popsicle, a treat, a raise in our allowance, a Mercedes!

Unfortunately, they are not quite as good at sniffing out a bad mood. That would be a very beneficial tool for them to have. Mommy is in a bad mood = stay away and don't push her. They've haven't quite figured that one out, yet. I truly look forward to the day that they do. For their sake and for mine. ;-)

Baby G has been exceptionally cranky lately. I am not sure what type of alien came and took my sweet, precious, well behaved baby, but he is no longer here. I can go on and on, telling people with babies that this happens, it's a stage when they are approaching a new stage in life, learning new things, etc. Yeah, well, that's all well and good when I'm telling someone else. It's another matter entirely when it's MY baby and I am dealing with it! *snort*

Today...

2009-09-11T12:45:00.001-07:00

started out as a bad day. I think all five kids and myself woke up in a bad mood and their bad moods only made mine intensify. Sent the older three off to school and sat here thinking about how grumpy I was. Ha! That doesn't help! So I got the two littles dressed in their swimming duds and we headed to the pool. Talk about relaxing! There were two senior classes there at the time and the littles just ate up all of the attention (and a little chlorine water, too. Whoops!). Little G looks so adorable in his cute little swim trunks, who could blame them for ooh'ing and aah'ing over him?!

Eventful few days and no internet.

2009-05-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

We woke Thursday morning to no internet. Just love when that happens and you call to find out when it might be restored and no one that you talk to has a clue! They came out Friday and said our satellite should be working again...only problem being that we do not have satellite through them! Oy! Finally got it working today (Saturday).

Thursday we were to go for a growth scan to see how baby was growing since they were concerned about his growth at the 34 week scan. He is looking good, growing on schedule and amniotic fluid was up again (almost double what our lowest amount was which is great!) It's supposed to be decreasing at this point in the pregnancy [38 weeks] so this was a great thing too find.

Unfortunately, we also found out at this ultrasound that bub had flipped to breech once again. What a disheartening and shocking thing to find! :-( I had been doing websters technique with a great chiropractor for several weeks (which I credit for turning him heads down originally) as well as inversion. As of the 36 and 37 week ultrasounds to check fluid levels and how the babe was doing, he was heads down. Wednesday night before our 38 week growth scan, I was awake from about 8pm-1am with what I THOUGHT was early labor. HA! on me who had just commented to hubby a few nights ago that I was surprised not to have weeks of prodomal labor as I did with the other four children. Well, apparently, it was not labor, but a stubborn baby who decided he would indeed like to be upright rathr than heads down. *sigh*

I spent Thursday afternoon talking to the midwife who strongly recommended an external version immediately, as well as tracking down the insurance company, co-pay costs, estimates for versions and c-sections, etc. Unfortunately for us (or fortunately b/c it made the decision even easier), their back up OB only accepted one form of our insurance which means that we would be paying a lot out of pocket (which we don't have since we have been living on DH's unemployment until the factory starts on full shifts again) for an external version (which may not even work and then we'd still end up paying for a c-section if he did not go and stay heads down at that point). The sad thing is that the version would cost us more out of pocket than a c-section. Not sure how a major surgery costs less than a version. I spent Thursday evening inverted as much as popssible and then again Thursday evening, I went through the same contraction like pain and pressure for a few hours so I am hoping like heck that he flipped heads down again.

Friday I went for another websters with the chiro, went to the accupuncturist for moxi and got some pulsatilla at greenlife, all things that are supposed to help turn a baby. I still do not know what position he is in as of today (Saturday), but I do know that I am having more pressure down low so am hoping this is a good sign. Movements are a lot less painful now and they seem to be (mostly) smaller and more subtle, as well as the hiccups seem to be down low as it was when I knew for sure that he was heads down. I am hoping this is a good sign and that he IS heads down and preferably not sunny side up, but I'd settled for a posterior heads down baby at this point, to be honest.

Farm life is crazy, as usual. Everything seems to be growing faster than I can find the time or finances to make new space for them. People say the market is great for selling right now, but I have 12 started cochins outside that I cannot sell cheap which is disheartening. I would not be selling them at all if it were not for the current pregnancy and the fact that we have so much going on, but was attempting to in order to lighten the load. I won't give them away, though and that seems to be the only way anyone is interested. Meanwhile, everyone is laying again and well after weeks of no eggs so they'll go in the incubator, too. Yes, I have a hard time not sticking them in the incubator! ;-)

Big headed profile of the stubborn breech baby at 38 weeks

It's been a LONG time!

2009-04-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

So much going on here! It's Spring! Spring brings new beginnings, new babies, new flowers, new gardens!!!

We have hatchings out from ducks and chicks. Such cute (and messy!) baby ducks! We also have an even more exciting new addition expected, our 5th baby boy! He is due any day now, but officially mid May! I had grand plans for a garden this year, but that didn't happen. I bought a big incubator, but didn't plan to do much with it this year. That didn't happen! hehe Still not a lot, but we hatched out 13 cochins from our stock and four ducklings. I've given a lot of hatching eggs away to prevent myself from hatching them myself! ;-) I am not on maternity leave until...whenever...and the boys are both in Little League so we are up to our eyeballs in practices and games. Whee!

Sharing some pictures from around the animals, etc. below to show what we've been up to.

DS#1 fixing some wire issues on the chicken run

Ducklings first romp outside

DS#2 at his first game of the season

Ducklings first day outside #2

Ducklings before feathering out and getting big, loud and stinky! ;-)

My holes

2008-08-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

Piercings, that is. So far, ear wise, I have eight. Three helix (cartilage), four lobes and a tragus (which I LOVE). Probably going for a daith next on my right ear. I am probably an oddity, but I don't like to have matchy holes. I don't like them to be lined up and symmetrical on both sides. I just like what I like. I know piercings and such aren't for some people and that's cool. I like `em, though. :-) Posting this for those who have been with me since I started this mess...oh ya', the two helix on the left ear I actually repierced last night. I had taken them out a few months ago because they would not heal and I repierced them last night. BAD idea with just a piercing earring! Eep! (Pardon the bad pulled up hair greasy look, worked most of the day.)

It feels good to be back to work. Did I just say that?!

2008-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I did. It was nice to be back. After being over stimulated with people and things for 12 days, it was nice to be able to just let my body go on auto pilot. It was also nice to have some adult interaction again other than with the kids there with me.

I enjoy the driving part of my job best, of course. I can sit in the car for four hours or so, doing what needs to be done, but it gives me time to just sit and reflect on things going on in my life. My car is my own private sanctuary. Once in a while I'll have to talk to/deal with a customer or bystander, but not very often. Maybe 15-20 minutes total out of that 4 hours and that's seriously pushing it.

I need to go shopping for a hot (hopefully) dress tomorrow and then work again Monday. Hubby is bringing the boys to the ball field tomorrow so maybe I'll go shopping with the girls. We shall see!

Wheee! I get to get a dress and look hot! BUT I have to shop for it! sigh

2008-08-15T16:07:00.001-07:00

Found out today we are invited to a semi formal celebration...next Saturday! Whoops! My closet consists of t-shirts and jeans! heh

SOOOO I get to go shopping! I am going to try to find a sitter so DH and I can go to the party alone. What I would LOVE is to surprise him with a night at a motel afterwards, but I don't think I'll be able to arrange that without him having a clue and not sure if I can find someone to watch the kids, anyway. Wugh! I know he'd love it, though!

So, on to the dress...I don't have a clue! Semi formal? To me that means dress pants and a dressier shirt than what I own, but have been told it's something else. I know what I'd love to wear if I only had the body for it...something like this...

Ah well, I'll figure somethin' out! ;-) Something to make me feel good and his eyes pop is the goal. ;-)

HOME! We're HOOOOME! WOOT!

2008-08-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

We drove all the way through yesterday and got home around 8:30pm. It's nice to be home. I work tomorrow and Monday so should be nice and exhausted! heh

All the animals are doing good except my cochin roo. His eyes are all puffy so off to the store I went to get Tylan injectable and terramicin eye salve. Hope it helps!

My chicks and duckling have gotten HUGE. Eeps!

Random pictures from the childrens museum in NH

2008-08-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

Ch pretending he is a postal clerk...or is it jail?! ;-)
L and J "steering" the yellow submarine.
These were throughout the museum in individual buildings for the "mail carrier" to deliver the mail.
Trolley, anyone?
C making a pretty picture!
My boys trying to keep up with mom! Okay, not really, I begged them to put these on for a picture for me! ;-)
See?! He has the route idea! Even got them in the right box! ;-)

The music wall! Every noise made a different noise/music and you could see it on the screen.
When did L turn French?! Showing off one of the wooden masks...
A chicken mask?! Love it!
I, personally, think this was my best look EVAH! That mask was TALL and funk-ay looking.
My monkey boy!!!

Trip ~ Day 11 (Wednesday August 13)

2008-08-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

I love this pic of La and Grandpa. She kept telling him she couldn't walk in the water alone without holding his hand and he was trying to convince her that she could.
Another that I love of La holding Grandpa's hand.
Just a bunch of kids (Grandpa and kids) running in the water).
La trying to catch a seagull.
8-13-08 ~ Mom and kiddos ~ I know this is hokey, but the husband and I got engaged on a beach in Maine. We drew the date in the sand before we left and took a pic. Couldn't capture all of that plus our hands in this one so this is just hands. It's special to me, though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What better way to start out the last day of our trip than to wake up super early and hit the beach?! We set our alarm for 6am and got to the beach around 7. Lovely, but COLD!!! The kids were thrilled to go back and grandpa played in the water with them this time and they loved it. We also found some awesome shells..coplete clam shells.

After that, my mother and her husband took the kids to play miniature golf. Then her husband went to work and we went to the children's museum in nh. The kids loved it! More pics above!

Now we go back to the cottage and get things ready and the van packed for tomorrow so we can leave super early tomorrow morning. Hoping to make a last minute trip to the beach and Goldenrod Kisses (candy store) before we leave, but don't know if it will happen or not.

Trip ~ Day 10 (Tuesday August 12)

2008-08-12T17:57:00.001-07:00

We spent the earlier part of the morning doing back to school shopping at the outlets. The kids were thrilled, lemme tell you! We also went out to eat at the Weathervane. (Expensive and not my first choice since none of us eat seafood! heh)

In the evening, we went down to walk the beach finally. It was so good and the kids loved it! We also went to see the light house.

Trip ~ Day 9 (Monday August 11)

2008-08-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Day 9 - (Monday) We really did not do much Monday. I'm not sure what the plans were originally, but we ended up going to some thrift shops and to a department store to get some essentials for the cabin. My mother took us to a place called Bugaboo Creek with a "talking moose".Once we sat and I looked all around, I realized there were stuffed dead animals everywhere. I quietly commented to my mother that I hopedthe kids didn't notice that they were real. The bison on the wall starting "talking". Afterwards, my almost 9yr old son looked at me witha really disturbed face and asked "Mommy, are those animals real?" I told him the truth, that they used to be living, but were no longer and were just the bodies. He said "Even the bison?" Yes, I'm afraid so. Let the tears begin! He began crying with his head down on the table.I took him to the bathroom hoping to calm him down, but it didn't work so well. The food had not even been brought, yet so I knew we were in for a long meal!
They brought us a bloomin' onion or equal to. YUMMY! Then we got a loaf of bread, also yummy. By the time the food came, we were all full, though!heh We ended up eating a little, but bringing a ton back to the cabin. That was our supper that night! We then went to Yummies, a great candystore that boasts 10,000 pounds of candy! Holy crow! The kids went crazy. We didn't end up getting too much, though. I got some maple puffsfor myself and my SIL, some necco's for the kids, some satellite disks for all of us and some gummy lobsters for a guy at work. He heard metalking the last day of work about coming up here and told me to bring him back some lobster so it's a gag gift. Real lobsters would have smelled WAY too bad! heh They are super low priced right now, though so if I could have, I definitely would have.
We went to our new place to stay that night. It looked like a bunch of little houses. I thought it would be way too small, but once we got inside,it was perfect. Small full kitchen, small bedroom and a small bathroom. There were two beds in the bedroom and a small pullout couch in the kitchen.It was way better than I expected when I saw it. Very clean, too. Would highly recommend it!
Oh, forgot to say, I finally got on the internet at my mothers. Got to the villa, though and could not access it. Well, it acted like I could, but thenwasn't able to load anything. I called teir office and they said the router went out that day. Well crap! Something is telling me to stay off of the internet! heh

Trip ~ Day 8 (Sunday August 10)

2008-08-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Day 8 - (Sunday) The kids and I met my mother and her husband early morning with big plans. First they took us on a tour of the bread factory thathe is manager of. They thought that was cool. Afterwards we went to the York Amusement park. The kids had lots of fun there. They got to pet and feed goats, a snake (pet, not hold! ;-) ), deer and ducks. I had one duck eat out of my hand which was very cool, but made me missmy ducks a lot. All of the deer letting people pet them and feed them was neat as well, but did make me wonder why they were all so tame and in captivity. There was a beautiful butterfly garden and one of them landed on my sons finger. He thought that was pretty neat as it was theonly one that we saw land on anyone. From there we headed through the amusement park to show the kids where I used to work. That was cool except it has changed so much that the games that I worked on most were no longer there.
We headed to the arcade on the beach then. The kids had a blast and won 300+ tickets. When they were done, we headed over to the candy store, Goldenrod Kisses. The kids were amazed at the choices. I remember being just as amazed when I was a kid there, too! I let them make a fewchoices, bought a box of candy for my nephew, a mug for myself and some postcards.
Once we finally got back to the van, we headed to the duck pond which is another place I also went a lot as a kid. We had gotten some old bread from the bakery to feed them. Well, the duck pond had turned in to a mostly goose pond, but the kids still loved it and they ate itjust as happily and quickly as the ducks always did! ;-) I took some pictures, but not many because the geese wanted to take a bite of my camera. ;-)
We headed backk to my mothers then tried to find our motel for the night. Finally found it and it was well worth the wait. Gorgeous, waymore than I expected from a microtel!
The only bummer of this trip so far is that I cannot get the internet on my computer AT ALL which makes it pretty difficult to update myblog and keep in touch with people that might be worying about me! Oops! Not much that can be done, though. Im' not missing the internetother than that and talking to a few friends and acquaintances, though.

Trip ~ Day 7 (August 9)

2008-08-12T17:33:00.001-07:00

Day 7 - (Saturday) We headed out early. It was bittersweet. Hard on the kids and all of us, really to leave our "second home". We stoppedseveral times right away, to get breakfast, get gas, get ice and use the restroom. Overall, the trip went really quick, though. We got herein Maine only to find out that there were no vacancies anywhere around! ACK! We headed over towards my nieces and nephews house and found amotel that way so headed in to see if there was any vacancies. SCORE!!! It was little...two full beds and no room for any cots. Shoot! BUTit was all we could find so we stayed. We didn't plan to be there long. We headed to my ex-bil's house, met his new wife, his two new sons and saw all my nieces and nephews. It was really nice to finally meet her and see their adorable little boys. We stayed quite a while and then took them out to eat. The kids enjoyed playing with them so much. My toddler started crying this morning that she missed her cousins. :-(

Trip ~ Day 6 (August 8)

2008-08-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - we had planned to start the day out by seeing the oldest son of the family we were staying with. We hadn't seen him in years.He was supposed to be there early, but by after 10, he wasn't there and we had an errand to run so we had to run down and do that.We got a few things at Wal-Mart while down there, then drove over towards Weston to try to find a bowl museum there that my dad re-membered. We didn't find the museum, but did find an awesome (and expensive!) country store. I bought some YUMMY fudge and some drinksand we went on our way (continuing to try to find the museum). I hate going around aimless when we can just stop and ask so I had mydad stop at a gas station so I could ask. While there, I saw they had YUMMY little grinders in their refrigerator so grabbed four forall of us to split. Those suckers were HUGE! Found out the museum was no longer there, in the mean time.
We then went to the Maple Museum one last time. My dad heard the van making weird noises so went in to serious mode. The kids and Iwere dropped off at the house and he went to change the transmission fluid and filter. I was feeling bad so laid down and let the kidsplay quietly for a bit. After that we went to get Gill's grinders. BEST grinders. YUM! My mother loves them, too so had us bring someup to Maine for them.

Trip ~ Day 5 (August 7)

2008-08-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - Thursday we spent driving around again. I keep meaning to write this down as we go so I do not forget, but alas, here Iam again, several days later and I have forgotten what we did! *sigh* I know we got pizza from an awesome Sicealian (sp?) placethat evening and we went to Wal-Mart at some point during the day, but aside from that, color me clueless! I'm sure it was something memorable, though! ;-)

Der! Just remembered! We went towards Burlington and Lake Champlain. We had big ideas of bringing the kids on a ferry or boat, but the ferry...hehe When we saw a tractor trailer drive on it and another waiting to get on, we turned around quick! ;-) Both my dad and I are afraid of water and boats SO the boat thing didn't work out, either! hehe It was beautiful, though, even if the water was wicked choppy.

Trip ~ Day Wednesday August 6th

2008-08-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

(Will add pics from this day shortly!)

Day 4 - We headed out this morning without many plans. Originally we were going to ride the boat on Lake Champlain, but we woke in the middle of the night to a thunder, lightning and rain storm. It was still raining wicked bad by the time we got up so decided that idea was out as neither my dad nor I are really about boats and water. We want to do it for the kids, but during a storm would not be the thing since we would not cope with it well! heh
So we ended up going to the Maple Museum. I got some things for people at work and at home (not everything, but a lot ~ I'll get the rest and things for myself once I get my pay check Friday). Then we took a tour of the maple museum and my dad showed the kidswhat he used to do when they tapped for maple when he was a kid.
From there we took a ride to Bridgewater, Plymouth and Ludlow and then back to Rutland for lunch. In Bridgewater, we went up to thefamilys old camping cabin where my dad used to go hunting with his brothers and brother in-law in his younger days. His nieces andnephew wanted to keep it in the family. My dad and uncle tried to buy it from them, but they refused since they wanted to keep it intheir immediate family. Unfortunately, it has not been taken care of and basically needs to be torn down. What a waste! :-( There island right next to it for sale, but it's basically a steep decline down a cliff.
We headed back to...hmmm...don't ask because I don't remember the name! heh to the Marble Museum. This was also important for my dadto show the kids since his dad, uncle and brother used to work in the marble mines many, many years ago and he had gone down there in them with his father in the past. It was incredibly neat to see all of that and the kids thought it was very cool. We also got to see the sculptures and such made out of the marble from around here as well as many marble samples. Very cool! That night, my cousincame to visit with her daughter and we had ice cream. It was good to see her and visit as I hadn't had a chance to really talk to herin a while.

Trip ~ Day 3 (Tuesday August 5th)

2008-08-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Day 3 - We didn't have much planned today. We went to visit my aunt in Rutland. It was great to see her after so manyyears and she enjoyed seeing the kids. She took some pictures and so did I! ;-) She brought out lots of pictures from our family, past and present. The kids had a ball looking through them and asking who everyone was. (We didn't knowall of them, though and neither did she.)
After that we went to the fish hatchery. The kids had a blast seeing the salmon at different stages, from newly hatched to huge grown land locked salmon. Those last ones were HUGE and beautiful! They had a little dispenser with food in it for them for 5 cents. We got one load out, but then no more came out. Shortly after, the ranger came over with a bucket.He said no one else had been to feed them today so gave us a bucket of pellets to feed them. The kids had a blast feedingthem, as did my dad and I. Some of the "show offs" would come right up with their sides above water, showing their beauti-ful colors. We stayed quite a while doing that.
Then we took a long drive down a beautiful road with a river bubbling by. (I call it a creek, dad called it a river, theycall it a brook here. Anyway, I commented to my dad, oh, how I'd love to walk in one of those! My dad laughed and said, that's pretty funny since that's exactly why I came down this road! I used to do that as a kid and have wanted to do it againfor so long! Imagine the kids faces as grandpa pulls to the side of the road, pulls his socks and shoes off and walks in to the river, telling them to follow! They did hesitantly, but they did it. We could NEVER do that in NC. Between the snakes and the nasty spiders and the trash and just nastyness and trash...ugh! So we did that for a little while and got back in the van..only to find an even better spot! I got some good pictures there and a hilarious video of my dad.
We came back to meet Dianna ( my best friend growing up that I hadn't seen since I got married) and then Bobby and Cara's oldest daughter led them around on her horse, Riley. They had a blast. I let the boys ride the four wheeler with Bobby, too (againstmy better judgement) and they were thrilled. THAT won't be happening again for a long time, though.

Random pictures without words

2008-08-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

In order, the kids in front of the house we stayed in, a mama cow (soon for sale), a young bull, a baby calf and Lily Mae. I LOVE that picture of her and it's even better full sized.

Trip ~ Day 2 (Monday August 4th)

2008-08-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Second day - We slept really well Sunday evening at the house. The bed and pillow seemed softer than any I'd felt before! Granted, that may have been a lot due to not much sleep before and being exhausted from the trip.
We went "site seeing" that day (Monday). Went around to some of the old houses from our family. I wanted one good picture of our old house in Pittsford. We were so sad to see that not only was that not possible, the house was in bad shape. There were overgrown trees and shrubs covering the entire front of the house. All I could think was in the South,the amount of mold and mildew in that house would be astronomical. Not to mention, just so sad that I could notget a good shot of it. I took a picture, but it's basically just trees and a little bit of brown (the house) showingthrough. The pond on our old property looked just the same as did my uncle's house a little down the road, but every-thing else had changed. My dads old house was caving in. The shed down below that my other uncle lived in and that we'dgotten a lot of stuff out of that my grandfather stored there years ago, was still in the same condition.
We became tourists and stopped at a covered bridge to take a picture. I had the kids go near it so I could take a picture of them with it as well, but there was really no way to capture the beauty of the bridge and my kids in the same picture.We went around to various roads and farms that my dad remembered visiting or having friends at/in as a kid. I enjoyed it, butthe kids complained about being bored. That made it a little less enjoyable.
We came back to change the toddler (b/c I stupidly forgot to bring diapers in the van) and my dad had to change his shirt because the great meatball sub that he had at an awesome diner on lake dunmore got on his shirt. We then found out that the place we are staying is actually 38 acres of beautiful farm land! I wake up in the morning to cows and horsesoutside my window moo'ing and nehh'ing (sp?). What a dream! Anyway, we went back out to show the kids Pike's Peak(which my dad then told me my grandfather had a chance to buy way back when at $2/acre! Holy crow! Wish he had of,our family would be well off now! hehe). Then we went up to Killington. The kids loved seeing that. We finally stopped and got some maple candy, too which was so yummy, but expensive!
We then came back home and had farm raised beef hamburgers! The difference in taste was amazing! Best hamburgers EVER.We ate them in the sun room and watched the fields as a flock of young turkeys passed through the side field. Does it get any better than that?!

Trip - Day 1 (Sunday August 3rd)

2008-08-11T13:25:00.001-07:00

Trip day 1 ~ We left at 3:30 Sunday morning. Thankfully, we had gotten all of the luggage, car seats and essentials (i.e snacks and things to keep the kids quiet! ;-) ) packed the night before so it was fairly quick to leave. Have the kids pee eleventy million times, throw them in the car and pray they go back to sleep.
Dad and I had talked the night before about possibly driving all of the way through. Originally I thought it was 18 hours to get to Vermont, but my dad calculated the mileage and figured out it was only about 16 3/4. Oooh! Surely we could do that in one day! So we left with that frame of mind. I am still not sure why that 1 1/2 hours less seemed like enough reason to drive it in one day. Surely we must have been CRAZY to try do that with four kids entow?!
We got to Virginia and gas was down to $3.44! Holy crow! It was $3.78 at home (NC) and by the time we got up north,it was $4.14! CRAZY!
My dad actually drove a lot more than he planned. One of the reasons I went along on this trip was because he was sure he could not do it alone as he cannot stay awake that long. I kept offering to drive and dad said he wasn'ttired. He was amazed at how much he could drive when he had someone to talk to in order to keep him awake. In reality,I think it was the kids louds and consistant whining and bickering that caused him to stay awake. ;-)
About 3/4 of the way through, we decided we might as well indeed finish the trip. By around 2pm, we were quite a bit further than we had planned and really didn't see the sense in stopping and paying for a motel. I got 3 hours sleepthe night before and dad got 4, but we were still amazingly awake. I'm sure I talked crazy at some points, but thatis the fun of the trip. ;-)
It was a rathe uneventful trip, really. We stopped to get gas every 200 or so miles as my dads gas meter is messed up. So wewould take the kids to potty every time he got gas. I think that ended up being 4 stops which for four kids age 3-10,was really good, I think. We did have some bickering and such which drove me CRAZY, but it was okay.
We ended up getting lost about one hour from our destination due to some construction, but we got here between 9-10.Later than we had planned, but it was okay. We'd also hit some major pouring rain around Albany, NY (which STOPPEDtraffic! Who knew! We drive through that stuff all of the time in NC, these people can handle ice and snow, no problem, but not downpours?!) We sailed right through most of it and saw at least five rainbows b/c it would start,stop, then get sunny every few miles. Super weird!
It was dark when we got here, but the house and land looked beautiful even in the semi light. I had not been to the new house.Actually, haven't been here to visit since before I got married 12 years ago.

LONG time no post! All is fine!

2008-08-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have been unable to get the internet since I left Saturday night (the 2nd). Ack! Talk about blogger withdrawal! I've been blogging on my notepad like crazy, though so will c&p those as soon as I get a chance!

Two more days so mostly pictures, not much talk

2008-08-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

Two more days until we leave. Holy heck. I have most things done, but certainly don't feel like it. I am going this morning to buy the trip presents. That's something my parents did for us ~ would buy and wrap small presents and give them out randomly during the trip to break up the monotony of the trip. Doesn't have to be anything special. In my case, I'm just going to the dollar store. It's quantity, not quality in this case. heh

Here are some pictures (above( that I took last night of my ducks. I am still so happy with them. We found a home for our silkies and showgirls so I have the cochins and ducks in the same pen so my aunt will only have to take care of one cage.

These are australian spotted bantams and maybe one miniature silver appleyard.

We so didn't need this right now!

2008-07-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

My oldest son is sick. Poor thing! Headache, stomach ache, sore joints, vomiting, sore skin. I checked for ticks at first. Nope. Seems like the flu. *sigh*

Hoping he gets over it quick and no one else gets it. I've been swallowing echinacea and vitamin b complex plus vitamin c. I sure hope it helps! If anyone else gets it, I hope it's soon and gets through us quickly.

We have found a new home for our silkies and showgirls. Now we're down to just the cochins, bantam ducks and then some silkie and cochin chicks in the basement. Hope it makes it easier for my caretaker while I'm gone.

Because I wanted to add more chaos to my life...

2008-07-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

I stupidly decided to call my eye doctor to see if they could get me in before I leave. I've run out of my contacts and want them for the trip so I don't look quite as dorky as my usual self! hehe

So, they had an opening Friday at 10.

Lessee what else I can do to drive myself crazy(ier) this week! ;-)

Starting to pack...continuing to stress

2008-07-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed to Asheville to get some things (mainly luggage ~ haven't gone on a trip in over 5 years aside from chicken shows) for the trip. I packed the boys clothes last night (and found out that my oldest lost my favorite abercrombie & fitch shirt that I bought him! grrr!), the snacks, the 2nd boy childs large bag of medicine, nebulizer, etc. diapers, baby wiipes, etc., etc., etc. So...it's a start. We (being I! ;-) ) still have a ton left to do, though and for some reason, I'm stressed. I shouldn't be b/c we have five days left and I still have a ton of time left to finish.

On the other hand, I haven't packed a thing for myself. Heck, I don't even have a bag for me to pack it in! hehe Guess I'd better look for that today. Don't think it'd be a good thing to go with no clothes! ;-)

Six days and counting...

2008-07-28T04:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's how much longer until we leave for Vermont and Maine. Guess I should get on that whole packing and getting ready thing, huh? Now if it were just myself, it would be easy, but with four kids along, too? heh We will have to pack everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink! ;-)

Naw, seriously, my kids are pretty cool with stuff like this. The main thing will be figuring out things to bring along to keep them busy for the original 18 hour car ride. (Would be 20+ if we were driving to Maine first.) I got some very "helpful" tips at work for things to keep the kids...er...quiet and myself less harried. Things such as Adavain (sp?), Vodka, Benedryl...I only hope they were kidding! ;-)

I am bringing my laptop along on the trip and the motels and the villas all tout things that would make any internet addict thrilled with...wireless internet. So, hopefully I won't have to be away for 12 days (so I don't go even MORE insane) and can update this page with updates and pictures of our beautiful trip.

It's over...

2008-07-26T17:34:00.001-07:00

This week, that is. Thank goodness. What a long exhausting week. I was told it would be a light week. It was soooo not a light week. I'm tired and I'm so glad it's over, but that check is going to kick butt! hehe On farm news, Popple, one of our March rabbit does passed away today. We don't know why, it just happened. We have found a home for Cadbury and George and they will be going "home" Monday to what I believe will be a great home for them. One week from tomorrow we will be going up North. There is so much to do and not enough time to do it. We'll be okay. We'll figure it out...as long as I don't let the stress freak me out before hand. heh

Tired...just some little poultry pictures for your viewing pleasure...

2008-07-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Look how big Kanga is compared to one of the Sumatra babies that hs is brooding with! I keep calling it a HE/HIM. I don't know it's gender, yet, really, it just seems like a boy to me.

Kanga with the three Sumatra babies. (My aunts, I think two blacks and a blue.)
Hello?! WHAT do you want?! This is one of our blue cochin babies that hatched out yesterday.
Are you STILL here?! Another blue cochin baby ~ we hatched out 10 babies total, 7 were mixed colors and I think a guy at work wants them. We'll be keeping the three pure color ones.
Five silkie babies from okcarla on byc (backyardchickens) swap and three cochins from our stock.

Our final hatch until we get back from vacation is due in two days, on the 23rd. They are all silkie eggs and all from Bobbi Porto. I'm excited to see what hatches from the 17 eggs and I have no clue what colors are in there except no white or partridge.

Stressing about the trip

2008-07-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

We will be gone for 12 days. My father, my four children and I. We are going "home" to Vermont and the coast of Maine. On one hand I am super excited because it is home and I miss it. I have so many good memories there, not to mention relatives and such that I want the kids to see and meet and experience.

On the other hand, I have never left my animals before! My aunt is coming to care for the chickens and rabbits. DH will let the chickens out of their pens in the morning and my aunt will feed and water them at night as well as put them in their coops/barn if they don't go in on their own. DH will be caring for the indoor animals, the doxie, poodle and all indoor brooding chicks. I am nervous, to say the least! I'll have baby cochins and baby silkies of whatever hatches from Bobbi's eggs (indigoegg.us) indoors as well as some slightly older silkies and cochins (under a month old) that I hatched a bit ago.

Biting my nails. Notice I don't say work in there? Yeah, they'll be fine without me. I'll only miss one regular scheduled Saturday and I won't be able to sub or train on any routes while I'm gone, obviously, so others will get a head start on me. BUT I already got a head start on them in training and since they actually started a month before me, I'm not *too* worried about that.

So I work Mon-Sat this week, have Sun-Fri to get ready for the trip, then work Sat the 2nd and leave around 4am to head towards VT. (18hr car ride if all goes as planned, 20 if we were heading straight to Maine, but we decided not to.)

I'm tired.

2008-07-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

I have nothing interesting to say. Work kicked my butt today. Came home to loud and rowdy kids and DH was making supper. Still feel tired and thinking about next week working every day is making me more tired. heh

Sending to have my RCA scores transferred to our local office this week since the information I'm getting from two different people above me is totally opposite of each other. I'm just going to bite the bullet and do it and hope they don't hire someone to take my place b/c my score isn't as good as theirs. Fingers crossed.

To make this somewhat farm related, I have a bunch of eggs due to hatch today. Some were internally pipped last night, but none are out, yet. These are all from our birds, mostly cochins with a few silkies *maybe* if they made it that far. We'll see.

Mmmm! Yummy local farm fresh fruits!

2008-07-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

So we went shopping today for some things for the trip. Matt from NCPoultry2 had told me about some places in Morganton that had fresh fruits and veggies from local farms, etc. I went to the produce place down on...hmmm...I think it was Sterling St., but it might have been Fleming? I know them by sight, but am bad about remembering names. ANYWAY, they had a nice variety and as soon as I walked in, I saw blueberries on the counter. Mmmmm! I am not big on blueberries, but had been craving a blueberry pie for a while so thought I would grab some. Then the tot wanted "Nanas" (bananas). Yeah, I know, not local grown, but still! ;-) Each kid then saw the apples and each picked out two of whatever color/kind they wanted. We all came home happy campers and I am thrilled they were just as happy with the fruits (if not more so) as they would have some silly toy that they would have forgotten about in a short amount of time.

We went to the apple orchard off exit 104, too because they had this wicked awesome apple fudge last year. The sign said open Mon-Sat, but no one was there so I'm not sure what their season is or hours.

Now I need to figure out an easy blueberry pie recipe, as well as peach pie or peach cobbler since my dad brought me some farm fresh peaches the other day, too.

Just something about buying fresh and local makes me feel so much better than walking in to the grocery and buying them from who knows where!

Our garden grows weeds, but our fence grows...

2008-07-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

BLACKBERRIES! Not many, yet, but there are lots more red ones out there so I have high hopes! I have ordered blackberry and raspberry seeds for next year. Have not received them, yet, but they were supposedly sent on the 7th. It took the girls a matter of seconds to eat that pitiful amount of blackberries, but they sure did enjoy them!

I received strawberry starts in the mail from a swap on BYC (backyardchickens.com). They're sitting in the box because I do not know what to do with them. heh When I told the spouse that I received strawberry starts in the mail, the older girl child jumped up and down excitedly, "Strawberries! Strawberries in the mail! Can I eat some?" She was not very humored when I replied, "Maybe next year."

We hit Lowe's today searching for some lime for the chicken/duck run. Those ducks have made it a mucky muddy MESS and although it does not stink, yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Well...I made the mistake of looking at the plants while I was there, too. Yeah...see where I'm going with this? I ended up finding a huge sale and got like 23 plants, 3 bags of soil and a bag of lime for $22 and change. WOOT! Can't beat that! A small step towards making the porch a useable space. There are squash plants with squash growing on them already and just lots of various plants. Made my day!

Working Monday and Tuesday got me all messed up. I went shopping today and forgot to get drink for work. Went through most of the day trying to enjoy it since it's my last day of work free freedom for 7 out of 8 days. Well, no, today is THURSDAY, not FRIDAY like I thought. Harumph! I hate when that happens! Got all psyched up to work tomorrow and now have to do it all over again tomorrow instead! heh

This guy rocks (and I love youtube)

2008-07-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, I rock on out my laptop! heh

I was searching for Chris Daughtry singing Simple Man (I've heard him sing it before and wanted to hear it again) and came upon this guy. He is REALLY good. Worth a listen if you like Shinedown, Chris Daughtry or anything in that genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm8vDvKGjYM

Busy work & Kanga ducks first swim

2008-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

First, my R key is messed up. No clue what's going on, but I really have to stomp on it to make it show up so if I have typo's, blame it on the laptop!

Phew! It's been a crazy week! Monday, my boss (I am a rural carrier with the post office) called to ask if I could come in and sub. Super short notice. Sure. Okay, but it's an auxillary route.

Let me explain that a little...an auxillary route is a much smaller than normal route. My normal is about 7hrs45m evaluation time (which means you should get it done in that or less). This one is 4hrs. Easy peasy, right? Yes, except I've never subbed this route before. Heck, I've never subbed ANY route before! I had been asking them to train me to sub another route and they said they would once things got switched around on the 19th (4 people are doing musical routes, switching around).

So I get thrown on this route. I know some of the roads b/c I have lived here forever, but figuring out where they go on the case and stuff? heh Yeah. Fun! Thank goodness the other aux. driver knew my route so he helped out a ton. Showed me on the map where I'd go to which I came away with an UHH DUHHH! what'd you say?! feeling. So he gave me written instructions which were FANTASTIC, very detailed. I'm still singing his praises! hehe The route went well, but it took me 6hrs from start to finish. However, first time, thrown on the route without being trained on it, etc., etc...meh, I did fine.

So this morning, 8:30 "They did it to us again. Can you come in?" Yeah, I'll be right there. Same route. It rocked. I knew it like the back of my hand (the route, not the casing! heh Still having issues with that one!) and got back just a minute or two past the 4 hour eval time. Woot! Go me! The regular is off tomorrow, too and I have a feeling I'll be called again, but we'll see.

Okay, that's totally not farm talk so here is some sweet little baby Kanga having his first swim in the tub. He was trying to swim in the water dish tonight so I thought he'd like this. It was soooo cute to see him paddling his little legs. Poor thing had sea legs when he got out, though and couldn't stand up for a little bit! hehe

Making use of empty useable space

2008-07-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

That is my current goal. I have a big(gish) porch. Not so much big as wide. It is along the entire front of my house. We do nothing with this porch aside from walk off it to leave down the steps. Well, that's silly! Why waste good space?!

SO my goal is to make use of it. I got some pots on our local freecycle (freecycle.org) and plan to get a lot more. Maybe not from freecycle, of course, but I will gather some somewhere! I also plan to make some raised beds (on legs) for the porch. I plan to make a nice useable garden space for the porch, growing herbs, some small veggies and probably some colorful plants to brighten it up.

I am also going to begin building raised beds for the front yard. My goal by next Sping is to have the entire front yard made in to a beautiful area consisting of raised beds (most vegetables), some flowers and just be a beautiful landscaped, yet still useable (i.e landscaped with something we can use rather than just pleasing to the eye) yard.

Just pictures, nothing more...

2008-07-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

We're getting guineas again. Yay. Sense the joy?

2008-07-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

It was neccesary. Found too many ticks on my kids and dogs. So we got five guine babies (month old) from a nearby farmer. Here's hoping it works out better than last time!

Emergency preparedness or overreaction and hoarding?

2008-07-11T15:18:00.001-07:00

I was reading on some homesteading boards about emergency preparedness. Some of it makes absolute sense, but others...not so much. Mind you, I know we're coming at it from totally different viewpoints. Many of them are coming to it from a "the end of the world as we know it" aspect and then others, like me...are thinking this would be helpful (particularly the food aspect) when finances are touch and/or prices get way worse and/or we get a bad storm. It would just be nice to have a lot of that here at home already and not have to worry about it.

So...I want to start that, but to that extent? I don't think so. I just can't see stocking 100's of pounds of wheat and flour, etc. And where would I put it? My basement is not dry so I can't see putting it there and we do not have a pantry upstairs nor room to put one.

Hmmm...I will say I would love to get a freezer and fill it full of things, though. And an emergency first aid kit, too. I want one of those bad. Maybe two...one for the van and one for the house...or maybe four...one for the house and one for each vehicle. hehe Gotta get on that before we got up North for sure, though.

I don't even know if anyone reads my blog, but if anyone out there IS and knows what I am referring to, can you post any good and not quite *out there* lists of items to "stock pile"?

Sick of ebay? Yeah, me, too! So check this out!

2008-07-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.alterna-auctions.com/index.php?

I don't gain anything from this posting other than, I hope, being able to use a great new auction site that will kick ebay's butt! Sooo sick of eBay treating sellers like they're nothing when we're the ones paying them to begin with!

2008-07-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

Here is our livestock guard...er...uh...cat? hehe Freddy likes to climb and the higher he can climb and keep an eye on...well, honestly, when we put new food out for him (no, not that fowl! the cat food!), the happier he is!
Here's a pic showing him close up, on the very top of the bird cages. And here's one further back so you can see where he actually is! hehe
New ducks! Whee! All bantams...yes, BANTAMS! They should be 2lbs max for the drakes, supposedly. Australian Spotteds and possibly two Mini Silver Appleyards. What fun they had in their new pool! The water WAS clean and it looked like this pretty much as soon as they got in it. Wugh! I think most of these are boys, but I'm not positive. There's another younger one in the barn that I forgot to snap a picture of and then I have a wee one brooding in the barn.

2008-07-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

New ducks! Whee! All bantams...yes, BANTAMS! They should be 2lbs max for the drakes, supposedly. Australian Spotteds and possibly two Mini Silver Appleyards. What fun they had in their new pool! The water WAS clean and it looked like this pretty much as soon as they got in it. Wugh!

OH. MY. DUCK! and more...

2008-07-04T08:07:00.001-07:00

Wheee! We're hatching! One australian spotted duckling, two baby blue cochins from our stock and then some chicks for my aunt. I, of course, was in search of a duckling to go along with Kanga so he didn't have to be alone (as no chicks had hatched out at that time) and someone made me an offer of some started Australian Spotteds and two Miniature Silver Appleyard (LOVE these!) that could not refuse. They're not close to Kanga's age, but I adore these breeds and couldn't say no! Called my neighbor who had fallen in love with my Call ducks (that I sold before I knew she wanted them) and she said she wants some, too so we're going to split up the group together. Which is great since I'm totally unprepared! hehe AND I got two dozen eggs from Bobbi Porto (indigoegg.us) yesterday. Woohoo! I told her I'll take any silkie eggs except partridge or white. Just colors I don't particularly care for. SO I am anxious! I hatched some gorgeous buffs out from her last year...we lost power the day they were due and still had a great hatch despite being out for many, many hours. Her quality is gorgeous and I'm just so psyched to see these babies and what hatches! :-) Visions of chickies peeping in my head! hehe Now to get another brooder once again since I hadn't planned on having many chicks going on at once. Got the incubator sterilized and am hoping that is why I was having so many problems with hatching previously. They'd get to 18 days and just. stop. No pipping (internally or externally). Nothing. Very discouraging! Nothing planned here today for the 4th. Need to go fill my gas tank for work which I'll have to get a loan out for (j/k) and going to bring some cochin eggs over to Matt in hopes that he can hatch out some blues for himself. The girls I got from Mike are in there, though and I doubt their eggs are pure, yet so he'll probably end up with some black/buff cochin mixes. Other than that, my left hand is killing me, wrist is really messed up and thinking I need to go buy a wrist protector since I have to work tomorrow. I know a lot of people in this profession end up getting carpal tunnel (sp?), but didn't think it would start so quickly for me. I suppose using the computer for making money all these years, combined with all of the repetitive movements with the job is not helping at all. *sigh*

At least something good came out of it...

2008-06-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

We are donating the girl childs hair to locks of love. Hopefully it will make someone happy. She was sad last night and wishing she could put it back on :-( but I know it feels a lot better this way and she has no snarls which is great. It was easy to explain to her what we were doing with her hair since we have lost several loved ones to cancer and have some currently dealing with it.

Well, I am about to downsize again. It's finally cool enough to ship these ducks out to their new home. I *think*. Temps say it is, but I'm waiting for the post office to call me back to let me know if they can actually go out today! They are cute little things, but oh so loud and I can't say I'll be upset to see them go!

What a small world!

2008-06-29T03:39:00.000-07:00

One of our first breeds of chickens was silkies. Last year when things got very overwhelming and finances got incredibly tight, I sold some and gave a bunch to acquaintances.

WELL, things are better now and I miss my silkies! I got some silkies and showgirls (= naked neck silkies) from a fellow NCPoultry2 member that are beautiful, but I want more! hehe I contacted the acquaintance that told me I could have some buffs back if I ever wanted them, but have not heard from her, yet. Sooo another NCPoultry2 member put me in contact with her neighbor. She called me and started asking questions about who I was..turns out, she bought some of my stock from me last year! How awesome is that?! She raved about the quality and sweetness of the silkies that she got from me. That makes me so happy to hear, but is bittersweet because I no longer have any of them and am not sure if I will be able to get any back.

Anyway, I am going up there this week and she said she'll give me some since mine made her so happy and she knows I'll give them a good home! I am going to enlarge the end coop so I can make that a seperate area for the showgirls and have the silkies in the other side of the coop. Or vice versa. We'll see how many silkies I end up with.

Totally unrelated to farming and chickens...

Chris Daughtry is coming back to Asheville to the Orange Peel! HOLY!!! DH told me, but unfortunately, the tickets are all sold out. I looked on eBay and people are asking ridiculously high prices. DH says I should buy, anyway, but I don't want to see him *that* bad. If it were three days grace at a REAL concert, I would, but for Orange Peel tickets for a group that only *I* like and DH was just going alike (probably b/c he knew I'd be all...er...*happy* afterwards? hehe). Nah. Can't do it.

And on another side note, while I was at work yesterday, the girl child apparently told her daddy that she wanted her hair cut. So he cut it for her. Badly. I evened it up when I got home since it needed it and no beauty salons around here were open. She is thrilled and loves it. I am still mourning her bum long ringlets. :-( It's going to take a while for me to get over that...but it's just hair. Granted she's had it like that for years and it's her "trademark". Everywhere we go, people comment. But...oh well....*sob*

I can't bweeve.

2008-06-25T06:10:00.000-07:00

How am I supposed to do anything when I can't breathe? Wugh. DH came home and sent me to take a nap. I slept for about a hour. That was nice.

I have stuff that I would like to do today...like feed and water all the animals myself so I can make sure it's done right. heh And go down town and get some free wood chips from the piles by the factory so that I can landscape some around the barn or...at least...cover up the gunk where the ducks were in their raised pen. heh Guess that won't be happening today, but we'll see. Who needs to breath out of their nose OR mouth to breath, right? hehe

Neighbor called yesterday to see if I got some new roosters. Ummm...yeah...why? "I keep hearing new roosters and they sounded different than the other ones." hehe Yup, I did. I got four new pairs. Whoops. I need to downsize some chickens badly.

Losses are part of farming, but it's not getting easier...

2008-06-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there will ever be a time that I do not mourn the loss of an animal. Granted, it doesn't hit me as hard as it used to, but it's still so very hard.

The "triplets" as I call them, the baby bunnies, I think there were all three peanuts. I checked on them when we came back from Asheville. I could only find two mixed in with the fat and wiggly four that are good sized. One was already deceased. S/he looked like it had never gotten food. Being so tiny, I doubt it could have fought for a teat amongst the fatties, even if it had the energy to try. I placed it on top of the nesting box and Sapphire sniffed at its lifeless body, tried to get to it as if wondering what I was doing to one of her offspring. I proceeded to search through the next box and could only come up with 5 more bodies. There used to be seven total. I found the other triplet, teeny tiny, another lifeless body. I placed it on the nest box, thinking we would bury them together as they came together from the womb. Wait...no...it was still fighting for life and wiggled just enough to squirm so it fell back in to the box with its brothers and sisters. Wow...hmmm...

I didn't know what to do. I tried to hold Sapphire up so it could suckle her. It tried desperately. I held her firm and it tried several times. It knew what to do, but she would have none of it. She is a great mama and is very tame and good for us. They say you will never see a mama rabbit nurse, but she has allowed us to see her do it before. She wanted nothing to do with being held for this one to nurse, though.

I put it back in with the others, hoping it would be able to suckle the next time she came in the box...but I doubt it very much. I searched my mind for information on feeding newborn kits myself, but I honestly think I would just be delaying the inevitable since I am fairly sure it is a peanut and they rarely make it past a week or so, if that. (Both parents with dwarf genes will/can create peanuts which basically look like fully formed rabbits, but are long and are not really formed right to survive.)

I still cannot find the third triplet and I am feeling guilty that I am not running right out to try to sustain this kit...yet. I can't promise I won't run to try to get the recipe in a moment, but the fact that it doesn't even have the strength to get in to suckle Sapphire with the bigger four tells me it would just be an effort which would end in heartache. I would prolong it's life possibly...but for how long? And how much more heartache would I have once it died and I was attached to it? Yet still...

BABY BUNNIES! And the insane chicken posse!

2008-06-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

I got a call at work Friday. "Ummm...Sapphire had babies! I think 3-4." Really? Cool! A little later than planned, but cool.

So I get home and she has SEVEN babies! She is a jersey woolie. Norm for her is 3-4. Four are big and fat and wiggly. Three are tiny (about the size of my thumb), but they're wicked active. It almost looks like they are triplets. I don't know if that even exists with rabbits, though. OR maybe I left her in with the buck for two long and the three littles were from the second horn? I don't know if they're going to make it. We shall see! Originally I thought we would keep what she had, but seven? Sooo not gonna happen. We have a waiting list for these babies, anyway and have since her last litter so we'll get on that. They'll all be pedigreed, too so maybe I can use their rehoming money to finally start landscaping the front yard. Ha! Not that the dogs won't ruin it in a hot second!

Yes so...the insane chicken posse. I think that fits. Yesterday I had to work which meant I could not go to one of our groups sales/meets. *sigh* I've missed so much since I've starting working! Matt (co-mod of our group, ncpoultry2) was nice enough to go for me and pick up some hens that came from my stock last year. A little incentive of gas money helped, I think. ;-) Anyway, I'd given these as chicks to someone. They weren't in the best shape at all. We'll spoil them and nurse them back to pretty, though. ;-) They are laying well so that will be nice.

And today...to add to the insanity, Luann Keller from SC has sent some Seramas to me via a member from BYC. She sent four pairs because she wanted me to have a good assortment. D wouldn't take anything for bringing them to me so I've told him he can pick a pair out if he wants one. I'm anxious to see these. I've seen some that Ron had, but never touched them or dealt with them myself. These are supposedly the smallest breed, some are full grown only as big as a coke can. Wow! It helps the "addiction" to have small breeds...you can fit more that way. ;-) I have rebuilt the raised cage somewhat that I originally made for the bantam ducks and will see if I can house the three pairs together in there. I'm not sure how the roos do together, though so we'll see. If worse comes to worse, I do have two spare rabbit cages I can put pairs in.

It seems like we're constantly growing here, but the only thing productive that I seem to be doing is adding to the feed bill. *sigh*

First attempt to volunteer at a shelter - FAILED

2008-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

I went to try to volunteer at our local high kill shelter today, in hopes of getting the available pets pics on pet finder and hopefully finding homes for more that way.

We peeked at the dogs. (I must say the shelter is VERY clean and the animals seem well taken care of.)

We were leaving and I said to the guy that seemed to be in charge "I noticed you used to have animals on petfinder and you no longer do..." and he started shaking his head no. *sigh* I said "Would you be willing to add pictures again if someone volunteered because I have found.."

(he interrupted) "No, it caused too much hassle. Too many people calling about the animals including out of state and wanting us to hold them so they could be adopted."

WHAT?! How dare they want to ADOPT dogs that are going to be put down instead?! THE HORROR!!!I am just...disgusted. Basically what he SHOULD have said was "Nah, it's jut way easier for us to euthanise so we prefer not to advertise lest we get someone wanting to adopt." *sigh* They have a lot of smaller animals, too. No cats, though. All cat cages were empty. I'm thinking they must have been put to sleep Friday as I believe that is their day to euthanise from what I remember. I asked if any of the smaller animals were up for adoption and they said no, they keep them to bring around to schools. Which is fine.Most of the dogs (there were probably only 8 in there, I'm guessing) looked beautiful, happy and healthy. Most bully breeds (that's normal, I'm guessing from what I've seen) with one beagle on the end who ALMOST came home with me. Need to get that fenced in yard first, though. ;-)

There was one dog that looked in horrible shape, mange, scaly scabbed like skin. Poor thing. :-( Two dogs had a sign saying "BAD DOG! DON'T TOUCH!" and then something about rabies testing.

So...that's that, I guess. :-( I do want to volunteer, though...I doubt mosst will let me go along to do it with a child along, though so I'm not sure if it's feasible. Maybe on Sundays when DH can keep the kids at home.ANYWAY...that's all. Not a happy ending. :-(

Onward and upwards, right? I'll find someone that wants my services to help them, I think...hope...I feel the "calling" to help and am not equipped to foster much/if any so...we'll see.

I am so proud of my kids' compassionate hearts!

2008-01-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

Saturda, we went to look at hamsters for my DD. (Got one, too!) Afterwards, we went to lunch. We saw a stray cat in the parking lot of Wendy's. The kids begged me to go get him/her. I went over and attempted to, but just couldn't get her to come to me. If I went near her, she'd scare away. If I got back in the van, but left the door open, she'd come near, but not close enough for me to catch her. SOOO we went through the drive through and found out she is there every day and has gotten close to being hit multiple times. :-( She said she wishes someone could catch her. I attempted to again, but no luck. We did share our chicken lunch with her, though. Not the healthiest, by far, but all we had on hand. Poor thing!

As we were leaving, my son (8) told me that from now on, we need to keep a bag of cat and dog food in the van just in case we find any more strays that need to eat. Awww! How sweet is that?!

Then yesterday we were in Asheville at a little gas station. I needed air for my tire. There was a lady there that was quite definitely homeless, bundled up in a blanket, bags by her side, nursing a warm drink, it looked like. We had just gotten donuts (Dunkin Donuts! WOOT!) so the kids and I talked and decided I should go see if she would like one. She declined, but still that they had that thought is pretty amazing, I think. So many people, adults even, just overlook people in this busy world so it made my heart proud to experience it.

Shelter closing, got some new kitties, long drawn out rambling post

2008-01-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

I am just pasting this here from an e-mail I sent to my poultry group because I am still decommpressing from the experience and don't really want to relive it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kids and I went to all creatures great and small today (hendersonville, nc). For those that want to go, it's super easy. I-26, exit 49B. Turn right. You travel there a ways until you get to Binions Roadhouse. There'll be a fork (sort of) right after. Stay right. You'll find the shelter on your left. It says the address is 1050, but we were keeping track and it comes up way sooner that it appears it would.

I am glad I took the kids with me, just so they could see the other side of the shelter life (as our other cats came from a spa compared to anormal shelter). I will say, these people greatly care for them and you can tell it, but IMO, they just took on too many, more than they could care for. The smells are very strong, worse than most shelters I have been to, but I suppose that is normal with the amount.

In the "cat room" there were cages and cages and cages...I'd estimate at least 100..maybe more. They held approx. 2 cats each. I will say the cats looked very well cared for, cages were cleaned, they all had litter boxes and hammocks. The only thing "off" that I noticed was that I heard several with sniffles and sneezing.

The dogs...were another story. If you are looking for a bully breed as a pet or a hound, please go take a look. We did not look much outside, but did look inside. They do have quite a few outside, too, but the inside made me sad enough. You do need to ask and don't touch any dogs unless they say it is okay b/c the lady did tell me some of them were too viscious/mean and not to try it. Some of the cages were just obviously too small for the dog that was confined in it. The dogs that were not incredibly angry and barking (and it's not huge in some of the rooms so it echos so loud and I swear feels like it's shaking the whole building!) looked like they had given up. (I know, very common with shelter dogs) I wish I had more room and I would have taken some of the older ones who had obviously resigned themselves to this fate home with me.

Well, we ended up coming home with two cats. We have renamed them Romeo and Oreo. They are white with black. She said they had been there the longest and ironically, they were the ones I had my eye on before she even told me that. This just settled it for me. Their adoption fee is $65 per cat. That covers vax and spay or neuter at their local vet. Right now they want you to take the animal home and take it back to be vetted whereas previously they'd have you come back to get the animal once it is vetted.
With that said, I told her how far away we are and I'd like to take them to my vet so we didn't have to travel back there. She told me in that case, she would waive the adoption fees and if I wanted to make a donation, I could. I did and I have an appointment for Romeo and Oreo to get vetted and neutered Thursday at the same time as my poodle.
So...if you're looking for an animal, definitely go check it out. So many need homes and I hope their fate is not what many are saying and they WILL be able to find rescues to take most that can be rehabilitated, but the lady that I talked to almost sounded like they are in denial that this will actually happen.

I can give you their phone # if you like, but they are having a hard time having time to answer the phones and you may not get an answer. They are open 7 days a week 1-6. Do be aware if you go that the smells are very strong and the situation is not a pleasant one to see if you know it. It may not be the best situation for most kids to see, but my kids and I have been talking about this a lot and I thought it was important for them to see it.

WHY buy farm fresh eggs?

2008-01-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

I COULD put lots of pictures here, but I won't. This is one of my soapbox issues, but scaring people and using shock value is not, IMO, the way to do it.

Battery hens are not treated humanely. They live and die to lay eggs.

Most are in cages their entire lives, with bright lights on simply to make them lay more.

They do not see the light of day, nor do they ever get a chance to scratch in the dirt or eat grass and bugs.

Battery hens are debeaked as they are stuck in a small cage with multiple other hens and if they are not debeaked, they may peck one another.

Battery hens are given antibiotics...lots and lots of antibiotics. Do you want that in YOUR eggs?!

And be aware, most of the eggs in the grocery store that they market as "cage free" or free range are NOT actually that. They are compared to battery hens, I suppose, but it is still not a good life for a hen.

Check out your local farmers market or small farmer!!! If there is any difference in price from the grocery store eggs, it is WELL WORTH IT!!!

More bento on a budget!

2008-01-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

It's going really well. The kids love it. I am having fun with it and they are eating healthier!

P was feeling a bit left out so he's taking some to work as well. This is what he is taking to work tonight. This is all from the crock pot so super duper easy to "cook", too.

Upper left is chicken, container in the chicken is worcestshire sauce, right container is corn and carrots, large section is rice and the small container is bbq sauce just in case P decides he needs/wants more sauce.

Now for the "on a budget" part...the container was a rubbermaid from Big Lots for $1.50. The sauce containers were actually makeup/shampo containers from Dollar Tree which come 5 in a pack. The meal (which also fed the children) was chicken tenders for $3 (on sale), can of corn for less than $1 and 4 carrots for about $1. Fed 5 people including P's supper at work. (All they have at work is vending machines which he would have ended up spending more on that than the $5 that fed the entire family!)

Google how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

2008-01-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

I love you when we're playing hidden object games and I cannot remember what an object looks like!

I love you when some lost idiot comes to my door asking for some guy I do not know with a vehicle that I have never heard of. (So nosy me does a google image search!)

I love you when I have a tiny bit of a songs lyrics in my head, but cannot remember the band or title.

I love you when P and I make a bet about something stupid and I check my facts through you only to find out that I am RIGHT!

I love you when my artistic son BEGS to look at animal pictures so that he can get ideas on what to draw.

I love you when I wake up in the night trying to remember something and you are always there for me, no matter what time it is!

Gah, I'm so lame! But I still love you google!!! ;-)

Dream a little dream...or a big one if you like...

2007-12-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got it, the oppurtunity to take the exam and possibly work for the post office. No, that has not been my dream, but being able to have a great paying job to support my family has been. I have been a stay at home or work at home mom since I had children 10+ years ago. P and I always joked that once the kids were all in school, I would get a great job, he would quit his not so great paying factory job and be a stay at home dad. (To which I now think, how fair is that since they'll be in school all day?!, but I digress...)

So I am excited, but anxious, too. Can I do it? What if I blow it? And do I want to do it? I always thought I would have a few more years at home (my youngest will be 3 in May) and I truthfully was not 100% sure that I was done having children. If I am the sole breadwinner, I will be because I will not have a baby and go back to work in 6 weeks. I could not parent the way that my heart leads me to if I did.

Regardless, I am as giddy as if I had discovered a 20 dollar bill in my coat pocket on a rainy day or a hidden chocolate at the back of the cupboard. Not to mention the fact that P agreed that if I ever became the sole breadwinner, the choices were mine...so I may some day actually get that mini farm with the gobbling turkey, the great pyr, the mandarin ducks and a mish mash of chickens running around my property..now if that thought doesn't keep my motivation alive, I don't know what will!!!

Good bye, dear friend...

2007-12-29T05:04:00.000-08:00

My son's first cochin chicken, Captain, passed away this morning. I know, I know, to many, it's "just a chicken". Not to Christian, though. He was a cuddly two legged puppy. He thought so, too! He loved to cuddle, he was a great rooster and, Christian would say, a great friend. He taught kids in Christian's 2nd grade class that not all chickens looked alike. Some were friendly and sweet. He was truly the nicest rooster we have ever had and I know we will never find another to replace him.

Just a few days after getting Captain

Bento world on a budget

2007-12-26T05:46:00.000-08:00

The world of Bento!!! I am now convinced. It looks like such fun! I showed the kids and they are amazed! However, four kids x four bentos = $$$. So we will have to do it on a budget. We will hit the dollar tree tomorrow and see what we can find. The oldest two (boys), are beyond the character bento boxes and, I truly think, beyond the shaped sandwiches as well, but they think it will be grand and they will not get picked on so I am going to follow their lead.

My daughter (kinder) is all for it and can still get all of the cutesie stuff, of course. The baby (2 1/2) will just have to eat the bento here at home or perhaps we can take it in the van when we go on day buying trips. Sure has to beat Wendy's or McDonalds as far as healthy eating goes!

Now I wonder if I can convince DH to bring some to work. I am guessing not if I try to "sell" it to him as a "bento box" and surely not if I am packaging them up in little hearts and car shapes! ;-)

We shall see how long this lasts! I tend to go in spurts of enjoying new hobbies. If the kids like them and seem to appreciate them long enough, I will continue doing them, but, alas, they are kids so who knows!

Farewell to 2007.

2007-11-23T05:03:00.000-08:00

It has been a long, hard year and I just need to write it all out. This year has flown by. Many months have flown by in a bad way with lots of chaos and and bad times. Sure, they have been some bits of sunshine peeking through the clouds here and there, but being the pessimist that I am, the chaos always seems to stand out more when we look back on it.

We lost a dearly loved family friend, Gretchen, to cancer earlier this year. She lived many wonderful years, raised a lovely family and was survived by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It's not often a shock when older loved ones pass, but it is a sad event just the same, especially when they pass in such a horrific way. Cancer is one of my biggest fears in life and one of the things that I cannot control whether or not it effects me or any of my family.

We recently found out that another long family friend had double breast cancer. In her early 40's with a young child and two slightly older children. She had a double masectomy and such a great outlook on things. Unfortunately, afterwards, they found out she has an even more insistant form of cancer in her lymph nodes and although they will attack it as hard as they can, the prognosis is not a great one by any means.

I started typing today to talk about all the issues we have dealt with in our immediate family this year, but truly, a few ER visits, a few scares, a kidney stone, a kidney cyst, some allergies and possibly asthma, financial worries...they do not even begin to compare and truly do not deserve an in depth mention in this blog. So this is all they get, a tiny little blurb at the end of the blog.

Yes, 2007 has been a bad year. I will be glad to see it go...but in retrospect...it could have been so much worse for our immediate family. I have no room to complain.

Gentle sympathies and hugs to those who have lost loved ones this year.