Farm Dreams

Our friends and neighbors have asked us to watch their "livestock" while they're away for Thanksgiving: rabbits, laying hens, and an ancient Siamese cat who just can't get enough love. It's cold work in the semi-darkness (rabbits need to be fed about the same time every day, dusk). We discovered this little beauty in the chicken coop yesterday:

Alice didn't want to put it in the fridge right away. She held it for a long time, whispering sweetly to the teeny "chickie" inside. Then she asked to eat scrambled eggs for lunch.

Someday, somewhere, with the right amount of space and a little more nurture room in my life (i.e. kids get a bit older and I need someone/something more to nurture), we will have a few laying hens. Nothing big, but it's a little dream of mine. Think she's dreaming of it, too?

Speaking of dreams, here's the Boy in a spontaneous 3rd nap yesterday:

I think he's praying for more rest. I am, anyway ;) Robert is getting better slowly. He seems unhappy almost all of the time. I haven't heard him laugh for a few days. That's rare. He's having a hard time sleeping at night, which means Bobby and I are having a hard time sleeping at night, too. Argh!

Two young kids is on the edge of what I feel I can handle as a mom. I don't get to enjoy either of the kids as richly as I want to. It's a treat for me to take just Alice to the store. It's a rare treasure to spend 10 minutes on the floor with just Robert. I still can't believe I'm a mom of two most days. I love this work more than I thought I would. Honestly. After a good night's sleep, I can't even imagine wanting to do anything else. Really, truly. It's a Gobstopper: hard and sweet and difficult to describe when your life/mouth is full of it.