"I feel more grown up already"

We had just gone swimming as a family and we were walking out of the family dressing room together when I took a final head count of the kids:


"One, two, three...uh-oh...one...two...three...which one is missing?!"

Then I realized that Alice was carrying Matthew out on her hip and I had completely forgotten to count her as one of the kids.

The tweens are officially upon us :)

She feels it, too. Just today, Alice turned to me and said, "I feel more grown up already, even though
I'm only 3/4ths the way to my next birthday." I smiled. She's turning nine in 2 weeks.

Alice is such a responsible person! It's so easy to give her a little more independence and expect a little more in return. She shoulders it well...most days. I love that I can trust her with stuff that really matters.

Alice and James in the garden, July 2014

Hello chickiboos!

I'd like you to meet the five newest tenants of our laundry room:

Sweet and sleepy. Just the way I like my newborns.

We drove out to my friend's farm this afternoon. I love going there. I love my friend's parents. I even love their dog. I tolerate all pets, but I truly love only two pets on this entire planet and that big galoot named "Moose" is one of them.

*sigh*

It was easy to spot our chicks among the 225 yellowish reddish ones. My friend's kids chased them down and packed them up into a little cardboard box for us. On the way home, I was glowing with excitement about this new adventure when we hit a little pothole in the road and a flutter of startled peeps came from the box. The sound triggered something in my memory and my heart sank with a sudden realization...a wave of emotion...of what I had just committed to do by taking on these little babies. 

"What have I DONE?!" I groaned to myself. 

Babies are a lot of work. And worry. I've gotta protect them, for one, from my human babies who are wrestling with each other to get the best look. The bars in the above picture are for the chicks' protection, not ours. The chicks are also guarded by a baby gate and one of those spinny, James-proof door knob thingies. Gotta keep my eye on that James kid in particular. 

Newborns. Starting from scratch. Doing this whole thing all over again. 

Excitement officially over, reality setting in. I'm glad we have them. Time to get to work.

Sweat, seeds, and chicks

This morning as I exercised, I noticed I was sweating more and earlier than in the past. I suddenly remembered one of my physiology teachers talking about how our body adapts over time to the conditions it is given. For example, when you perform exercise regularly, your body gets more aggressive and efficient at cooling itself off. Thus, I am taking my drippyness as a good sign that things are moving in the right direction :) Also, I did 2 burpees today (minus the push ups) and 1 jump kick. Feeling pretty awesome.

I ordered some seeds for this year's garden. Tons of flowers. I know what you're thinking, "First you join a gym and then you start planting FLOWERS?! Who ARE you?!"

Still figuring that one out.

I like flowers because they're pretty. Yes! They're pretty. I said it. Living ones are pretty, anyway. And the ones I've planted so far give lots of color for very little effort. Planting food crops takes a little more attention and energy and time (pest control, canning, freezing) then I'm willing to commit right now. I will still plant my favorite veggies for the kids to attack (cherry tomatoes, snap peas, baby sweet corn, green beans, cocktail cukes, parsley, mini watermelon) and for me to enjoy all by myself (other herbs, collards, swiss chard).

We'll see how the strawberries do this year...I haven't been the most attentive host. And the brambles took a serious licking last fall when I (finally) put together a trellis that could hold their weight. And the ENTIRE orchard of 7 fruit varieties produced a whopping 2 peaches last year. We did produce a pint of blueberries and 2 litters of bunnies, though ;)

Biggest change this year will be a regular watering schedule. Gonna set up some soaker hoses on a timer. It worked wonders for my front yard. Let's see if I can't coax a little more out of these plants with some regular watering.

In related news, our new flock of hens has arrived. My friend is holding on to them at her farm until I can pick them up (hopefully this weekend). I purchased only Australorps this time around. They look like this today (3 days old):

But will eventually look like this (4 months+ old):

Beautiful, easy-going, excellent brown-egg layers. Even kindergarten-aged Alice who was scared of everything could handle this breed with ease. Nothing like the spunky, nippy, curious, and flighty Rhode Island Reds I've got now. The Australorps won't be laying eggs until July, so the Reds are welcome to hang out until then.

Sneak Peek

Have a look at the concept for our new kitchen!

My favorite part of this whole process has been the logic puzzle: figuring out where things go to optimize our priorities. The major impetus for this update was traffic flow and functionality. Check and check. Imagine having a pantry actually in the kitchen instead of the guest room! Dreamy. And envision a major thoroughfare completely unblocked by a fridge and garbage can! Makes me want to dance a jig.

Now comes the part I have dreaded...choosing colors, shapes, sizes, and styles for all the cosmetic stuff.

*groan*

I know I want a cohesive design that makes the kitchen a warm, inviting space, but I have no clue how to achieve it. And I don't want to take the time to learn a whole new skill. And there's too much that I like to just "choose what you like" and call it good. Dumb free market economy.

Bobby scoured the internet for kitchen design pictures that might help us narrow things down a bit. We kinda agreed that this one came closest to the cabinet color and appliance color and lighting setup that we had mentally envisioned:

I'm not keen on the backsplash, but everything else seems just fine.

Fine. I find that feeling a little unsettling. Shouldn't I be passionately in love with the new design we choose? Then again, there are oodles of kitchen styles that I love more than this, but would never put in my own house. So why do I feel kinda disappointed about this one? Clean lines, pretty wood color.

Maybe it's just too neutral? My current kitchen is dark walnut and avocado green with cream counter tops speckled with blue, grey, and pink. I guess I could use the back splash to introduce a hint of color. Maybe blues.

This kitchen is also completely devoid of anything soft...curtains, dishtowels, rugs. Hmm.

Color and fabric will soften it a bit and make it more inviting. Maybe that's all it lacks. 

Just because it's there...

Robert and James played outside today for the first time in a month. They teamed up with the neighbor kid to chuck rake-fulls of those pokey-ball-tree thingies across the street. They just wanted to see how far they would go. They also smashed a large rock (grrrr) that I was using for another purpose. Why? Because the idea simply occurred to them and they thought it would be fun.

It's the story of my life these days...

Three little boy bums crawling around under a rug display at Home Depot.

At 16 months old, this little man climbs like Robert, obeys like Alice, and charms like James.

Frustrating as it can be at times, I wouldn't have it any other way :)