Chickens!

Our new chicks arrived! A little back story first...

A few years ago, I got some chicks and Dan built me a coop and yard for them. They were great and were very much pets. The second year, I didn't spend so much time with the chicks so they weren't as friendly but still fun. The third year, I didn't spend any time with them at all and they were pretty much wild. Only two of the original group were around, so I wasn't having any fun and it's cheaper just to buy eggs each week. So I gave them away.

This year we weren't going to get any, but I missed having my feathered friends and thought that, if the feed store still had some when we got back from vacation, I'd get some...but they didn't. And then someone told me you could order them online! I looked into it, already heartsick for chicks. That wasn't a good idea! You have to buy at least 15 to have them shipped to you so they don't get cold. And they throw in a bonus chick, so I had 16 chicks on the way to my house!

The place emailed me and told they had shipped on Sunday morning. The post office called me at 6am on Monday morning to tell me they would be ready to be picked up at 9am when they opened. So we were there waiting for the doors to open! We were very popular when the guy came out from the back with a peeping box full of holes! 

We got them home and made them a house on the porch. It works best to have them up close to the house, so they get used to hearing us all the time and we are tempted to sit on the porch and play with them often. Last year I made their chick house in the chicken yard and they were wild when they grew up.

This is the house we made for the next couple weeks. It's the big bin I use for their feed when they are older. Jake took the lid off and this old fireplace screen fit perfectly over the top to keep them safe but ventilated. I had the heat lamp with hanger from the last time. I love how they bunch up under it!

I got a mix of colored egg layers, so I don't even know specifically which breeds they are. And the extra was a "bonus rare breed"...but I don't know which one. Here they are...

Five of these kind.

Two of these.

One each of these. A brown, a black, and a leopard.

Two of these. I think they are Arucanas. I've had ones like these before.

And four of these. 

Family Doings

This past week we drove down into the city and spent the day with MY Grandpa. We showed him the pictures of our vacation and then went out to lunch at my favorite burger place by his house. Then we visited an air museum. 

Yesterday was my nephew's birthday party, so we drove down to the city again, picked up Grandpa on the way, and went to my brother's house for some zombie killing birthday fun. The drive that usually takes us about 2 1/2 hours, took almost 5 hours! There were two accidents and so many cars. One stretch of five miles took us 45 minutes to get through! I seriously hate sitting in traffic. I was worried we would miss the whole party and my brother would be so mad at us. Tom reminded me there was nothing I could do about it, unavoidable delays. We made some phone calls to everyone knew our status, turned up the radio and rocked the whole drive.

I love it when we find others who are willing to entertain while we wait it out. There were a couple other drives showing off their car dancing moves. 

We did finally make it though and the party hadn't even really started yet. It seems others were delayed by the traffic as well. We had a great time eating and talking and opening presents. 

Dan didn't go with us this time though. He was taking Nikki to the airport. She's off on an adventure to intern in New Hampshire.

Today, we're resting. I don't even want to drive to the grocery store! It's hot today, so it's the perfect day to lay around and watch the boys play video games. I did wash the dogs though and got some laundry done.

Random Thoughts

Or are they? It comes up in my mind every once in a while, I roll it around, then I leave things the way they are. Facebook and Blogger. Do I need them? Do they make my life better? In some ways yes, in others no. There is so much to consider.

I started using Facebook about five years ago and have found it to be an amazing tool. There is so much wonderful information shared there. I've found people I thought were lost forever. I've found recipes I didn't even know to search for. I found gift ideas, projects, groups, photos, places, and gardening tips I never would have found in a magazine.

But there is a down side. Sometimes, I know more about acquaintances that I want to know. People tend to say things there that they would say if they were sitting at a park or a party with you. I'd get along fine with these people any other time, but knowing they are thinking THAT really bothers me and I don't want to hang out any more. Just in case any of my Facebook friends are reading this, no I'm not talking about YOU. It's generic and usually about people I really just don't know that well, they are acquaintances, not close friends or family. Maybe some people feel the same way about me though. I try to share what our family is up to and interesting things I find on the internet, but I also like to share a lot about how I feel about things I find. Writing a sentence or two about an article I've found doesn't do my thought process justice. If we were sitting together and you said, "Hey did you read that thing about so-n-so?" We'd talk about it, not just pop out a phrase and move on. Discussions are so much different and I really don't get to have them as often as I would like.

I guess Facebook gives me a false sense of companionship. Warning: I'm going to get sappy here. I've always felt a bit outside of things, not really part of the group. Facebook makes me feel like I am part of a group and I want to share my life and feelings with that group. But it's not real. Just because I worked with you, or went to high school with you, doesn't make us real friends. In fact, there are few people I even really got close to when I was working or going to school. I'm not saying all my Facebook friends aren't worth my time, but I'm saying we probably wouldn't go to a BBQ together. Does that make any sense? I think I'm figuring something out here...

And then this blog. I say I keep it because I want my family to know what we are up to. I think only my Dad and Step-Mom read it. I could share our adventures with them when we see each other. I also say that I'm writing to keep track of our adventures, for posterity. But wouldn't a scrapbook of pictures and notes be more personal to my kids? So what's the real reason? I think the idea that someone might come across it and find something that inspires them, is what keeps me writing.

I don't know what to do. I spend a crap-load of time on Facebook looking to see if anyone has posted anything. There are a couple groups that I belong to that have really helped me grow as a person. Hmmm...what to do...

Comparison

Nazi Germany convinced the people that the Jews were the problem with their progress. They made it illegal for a German to help a Jew. Talking to a Jew could land you in a concentration camp along with them. You were sympathizing with enemy.

So if I have friends in other countries like Iran or Afghanistan, and they happen to be Muslims, am I now suspect if those friends of mine happen to be involved with our countries so called enemies? Now my calls and emails are being kept in a big database somewhere and if my friend ends up helping his people somehow hurtful to my own country, they can look up and see if they can interpret my conversations as suspect?

I don't like this.

Conversations

A "coexist" sticker on the back of a car sparked a pretty deep conversation between my sons and I this morning on the way to see a motocross race.

My son asked me what exactly did that mean. My first response was "Everybody is right.", but he didn't like that answer. "If everyone were right, that means no one is wrong. If I'm right, the opposite must be wrong. That can't be what it means." He was right. We explored it a bit. Lots of talk about religion and what God is. Very nice. And a bit uncomfortable.

I told him my belief, that "religion" is man made, but God is real. I know in my heart that He sent Jesus to teach us something that we've distorted by our own imperfect minds. I try to know what that really was by direct conversation with that still small voice daily. I know some of my Christian friends will not like this. But I can't help what I feel. To me your relationship with God is just that, yours. I know He knows better than we do about what He is and wants. I trust Him, not what others teach about Him. I know he as a connection between each and every one of us and what we do with our connection is up to us. God will work in people's lives as he sees fit. 

What I would like to do, as a Christian person, is not frighten people away from God by telling people that I know the right way to worship Him. What I do is what I feel that God wants me to do, it may not be what He wants for His other children. I think He created us all individually and we all have a place on this earth. 

So what does that have to do with the "coexist" sticker? My son says he thinks a lot of religions all look very similar at the core so he doesn't understand why they would not coexist. I think they look similar because they are all based on the same God, talking to them through their culture, and their world. I think a religion on Mars would be similar to ours because it's the same God. I have no right to tell them what to do and how to worship. It's between them and God. So I wish we could "coexist" for the sake of our common Father in Heaven. Maybe we could all learn something from each other.

Saturdays are for my bedroom!

This is me! I got this from my Grandma Shirley's house. Too cute! 

I save vacuuming and dusting in my bedroom for Saturday because it is also my sweet husband's office. I don't think he would appreciate me doing that while he was trying to work!

Wash the sheets, vacuum and dust, put away things that have been left out. It usually takes me about 30 minutes. Today it took a little longer because things got a little disorganized this week.

This is my cool dresser.
It used to belong to the boys
and they put all those army stickers on it!

Nice paneling, huh?!
The whole left side, that you can't see, is a window!

Friday is Sewing Room Day!

This is my very short cleaning day and sometimes I skip it. It's also our local park day, so if we want to go to the park early, go shopping, or stop for some lunch on the way there, I skip it and head out the door!

Dusting, vacuuming, and the general putting away of things that get dropped here is what happens on Friday. Take a look!

My sweet crafty closet!

This room is bitter sweet to have. It used to be my step-daughters room, but she has moved next door to Grandma's...so I took over! I have lots of craft stuff and this room will be filling up fast as I now have an indoor space to keep it. I need more shelves!

Math

Why do math and science questions come up right as we are trying to go to bed?

Last night we spent a half hour listening to Jake explain multiplying large numbers to Tom. And then Tom needed Dan to explain how to subtract large numbers. He's great at math in his head and was trying to do it that way, but Dan showed him "borrowing" in column's on the white board. Funny to watch the understanding look on his face. I tried to show him that years ago and he about through a fit. It was "highly illogical".

And Jake was very proud that he understood how to do something that Tom didn't. Jake totally gets math on paper, you know. He learned in at Kahn Academy a while back and sat there for days doing practice runs at it. He isn't very good at doing larger numbers in his head, like Tom is. But they both are great at figuring out what they need to get then answer they are looking for. You know, word problems.

Thursdays are for Bathrooms!

Ahh the job I hate most. At least it gets done regularly now that I have it on my schedule and if anyone comes over to visit, all I have to do is run in and wipe down the toilet and get a fresh hand towel!

Believe it or not, this...

The bathroom drawer!

 ...is my sons bathroom drawer. I discovered the organization of it a couple weeks ago when I went to borrow the scissors. He's weirder than me!

Thursdays, I clean the toilet, the shower, and the sink, wipe down the mirrors and cabinets, and dust the little knick knacks like these...

My favorite little shelf in the front bathroom.

These two pictures are from my bathroom. 

Things I want to remember.
My Grandma Sylvia when I see the plate I 'made' for her when I was five and the cross she gave me.
That depression lies and the battle is never over.
And one of my many turtles. Slow and steady wins the race, right!?

My own bathroom. Never thought I'd have that! :)

A conversation with my son

On the way into the mall yesterday, Tom says to me,

"Mom, you know that guy Harvey? He found out that blood circulates in your body? They used to think that your liver made blood and then it went into your veins and was absorbed but this guy found out that your heart circulates the blood through your veins and arteries...by EXPERIMENTING! On what?!"

He went on about veins, arteries, heart valves, and something about tiny veins that transfer blood between the two. What kind of experiments he might have done. That kind of thing. He read about it in a "Life of Fred" book and looked it up online for more.

Biology is something I think I took one semester of in high school because it was required. I took it my senior year...last. I don't remember a single thing about it. But he will.

Boys' Room Day

Straightened and dusted!

Wednesdays are for cleaning the boys' room. I straightened and dusted and vacuumed. I got them to help me with some of the things they have left about. Tom would have a huge pile of change, magnets, sticks, bottle caps (you know, boys pocket things) piled to the ceiling on his nightstand if we didn't go through and clean it up each week, trust me, I know. We didn't used to do this.

Shelves are straightened, books put back, edges vacuumed, window sill cleared of insects, cobwebs sucked away, sheets washed, and beds made up well.

Tom's shot glass collection.

Bins full of toys we only get out when we have company. But at least it's easy to clean up.
We took the doors off the closet because they are the sliding ones that are not boy friendly.
They were always getting knocked off the runners by projectiles!

Jake's pin collection. 

For the porch cleaning week, I found some more things to put away in the garage or throw away, but not much. I'm planning on pulling some weeds in a planter out front tomorrow.

We went to the mall in Palm Springs to find a birthday present for a cousin. The wind mills were in a funky position! The smaller canyon ones were still, the bigger ones along the 62 were pointed south against the mountain, and the ones further down the 10 were pointed north. As if the wind were coming from the north across the desert and hitting the mountain, turning around and coming back north across our desert. That's just strange.

We struck out at many of the stores we went to, decided to have lunch at the mall (one of our favorites), and then went to the bookstore. I got a couple new books, just in time. I'm almost done with the one I'm on now. And we found something interesting for our cousin. Tom got one of those HexBugs and we've been having fun harassing the cat with it.

Oh! And on the way there, the boys asked me if we were going to the zoo. I thought they were bored of the zoo, but they emphatically want to go again. Crazy! We thought about going right then, but we would have missed feeding the giraffe, so we decided to save it. Maybe next week.

Some Spring

The weather got cold this week! We had been waking up to 55 degrees the week before, but this week it's been 40! And only about 60 during the day. And the wind...I'm growing very weary of the wind.

Yesterday I walked around searching for some more spring on our property and here is what I found.

This is a beaver tail cactus. They have the softest looking flowers!

Some Mormon Tea. This plant doesn't bloom every year, only when it gets enough water.

A crazy looking doves nest in my "greenhouse".
It's piled pretty high and she flies off and does her "come eat me" act when I go in there.

And the creosote. It has the bright yellow little flowers that the desert iguanas like to eat.
I've been keeping my eyes peeled for one, but no such luck.

I have to admit, I am a little glad it's still cold. It had been getting pretty warm in the afternoon and I was starting to worry about a long summer. Some cold mornings are putting me at ease. But I really would like a break from the wind. Sheesh!

Living Room Day!

Jake's sweet space station.

I know you really want to know this! Right?!

Tuesday is "Living Room Day", so that means I dust, vacuum, and generally clean up the living room. It's a futile effort to keep back the tide of animal hair and desert sand in my living room.

Here are some pictures of our day.

Cleaned up games and my latest knitting project.

Tom, just after I finished vacuuming, hoping I don't kill him.

Ahh, to have a wall full of books!

Who wants to play Scrabble?

The dry erase craziness!

One of my treasured possessions.

I did not work on the porch today because we had a resurgence of winter. When I got up, it was 40 degrees and there was frost, FROST, on my windshield. Must of been some of the Orange County moisture seeping over the mountains. Weird though because it has been no less than 55 in the morning, all week. Today it only got up to about 55 degrees all day! So I put off any outdoor work. I'm that much of a baby.

It's also the day I do the grocery shopping for the week. List made. Groceries bought.

AND I got my Blog2Print book of our trip in the mail today! It looks great. I'm going to make one for each of our trips. I'm going to make one every few months or so until I catch up. Very cool.

Sleeping

It's 8:45AM and my sons are still sleeping. They must have been tired. I know they were asleep at midnight because I got up to get a drink and they were snoring away. One of the things I love most about our lifestyle is that we get plenty of sleep. Not only plenty of hours, but uninterrupted and at the time our individual bodies really need it. It wasn't always like that for all of us!

When Tom was tiny, he was not a sleeper. He slept for a total of about 45 minutes at a time, day and night. It was a chore getting him to go to sleep. No matter what I did, he was awake. A story we like to tell around here is when we drove to my mothers house, ten hours away. We decided to do it in the middle of the night. We left late evening, so we thought he'd be tired. It would be dark and quiet, no distractions. Then he wouldn't go crazy for ten hours in the car. We drive. Some talking and singing, playing. Then silence....for twenty minutes or so. Then a little voice from the back of the rented van, "Mommy?" He only napped here and there, just like every other night. I couldn't believe it. What kid doesn't fall asleep in the car!?

Fast forward, he goes to bed on his own time. He reads until tired, turns off the light, and then sleeps until 10am every day. If we need to get up early, he goes to bed a little early. No problems getting up...usually. It used to be a nightmare to get him up early.

When Jake was tiny, he slept when he was tired, regardless of what was going on. You'd find him under the coffee table during a party, sound asleep. He fell asleep at his half-sister's "Rock-n-Bowl" party! For years, at bedtime, we would read Tom's book, then Jake's book, then Mom's book. I would lay down with Jake until he fell asleep, then Tom. Then I'd go to my bed only to be followed by Tom. Jake would (and still does) tell us he was going to use his "time skip" in the car, lean up against the window, and conk out.

Fast forward for Jake. He's on his own at night as well. He is usually asleep way before Tom and is irritated that Tom insists on telling him things when he is sleeping, or that he has a light on at night. Jake would love to have his own room to sleep in. He gets up earlier than Tom usually. He's a morning person for sure. Up and dressed, things he has on his to-do list done, and playing whatever game he's focused on, first thing in the morning, while Tom is still laying there thinking about getting up.

Me? Finally, twelve years into the parenting thing, I'm sleeping, in my own bed, all night. I have ear plugs and sometimes I take a sleeping-aide. I've never been a deep sleeper and wake up to the slightest noise. Sometimes those noises are imagined. It's just crazy.

Dad sleeps like the dead and nothing will wake him. He goes to bed, rolls over, and is out. I envy him, but then I think who would hear the fire alarm or notice the boys are crying if we both slept like that?!

It's 9AM now and I still haven't heard any stirring in there. I guess I'll have to go jump start them! I love going in and sitting on their beds. I pet their hair and snuggle them, sometimes they wake up, sometimes they just stir and go back to sleep. We have some of our best times like that. I hope I remember them like that always.

Kitchen Day!

I thought I'd start sharing a bit of the every day stuff, so here it goes.

Each day of the week I focus on a room of the house. And each week I do extra stuff in one room of the house. So, Monday is "Kitchen Day" and this week is "Porch Week". I also have "Daily Chores", but I go into that another time!

Here's my kitchen...

My sweet old kitchen. I love these cabinets!

That used to be the front door, but now it's a
mud room and then the front door.

On kitchen day, I clean the counters good, wipe down the front of the fridge, wash the trash can lid, and sweep and mop the floor. So that all gets done once a week.








I also mop the bathroom floor since I have the mop and bucket out and it's the only other part of the house with a mopable floor. Sometimes I'll wash the rugs on this day too. Some day I'd LOVE to have this bathroom remodeled, but everything works fine and cleans up well, so I can't really justify the cost right now. That charcoal drawing of a coyote was here when we bought the place. I love it and sprayed some clear coat over it. I don't want to cover it up!

Our poor neglected back porch.

And then the porch! Each day I find one project to work on for an hour or less and do it. We have a LOT of porch.

Here are some pictures of it.

I sweep, put away things left out, pull weeds, generally clean up things that have gotten crazy since the last time. Sometimes I recruit the boys' help. Then the outside of the house is generally clean and if we're going to have people over, I don't have a ton of work to do to get ready.

And the front porch.

Some day, I'm going to have this house painted! Maybe next winter.








So. That's Monday. I love to have schedules and lists, so this is how I feed that. I spend an hour or so on daily chores, an hour on the room of the week, and an hour on the weekly area. I spend the rest of the day doing anything I darn well please.