I'm too tired

I have three blog posts started, but I don't have the energy to finish any of them.  EB has been so sweet, but not feeling well, so thus, very high maintenance.  To top it off, I sliced my thumb open on the cheese grater last night (ya, gross) and proceeded to jam it into the edge of the crib today as I was changing the vomit covered sheets after EB's aborted nap attempt.  I'm typing with no thumb right now.  It's kinda hard.

good night, for pete's sake!

Revisiting old ideas

So, back in January of this year, I wrote a list of things that would be true in 2008.  I thought it would be interesting to revisit that list now that we're more than half way through the year. 

this year I will:
have a 2 year old  check
and an 8 year old.  check
celebrate 15 years of marriage  check
finish our home   check
spend more time outside  definitely, check
grow something edible  big, huge, overgrown, check
show more gratitude  I'm working on it, and the progress is good
read books every day  So totally failed at this one, unless you count kids' books
get to know my nephew   I did spend some good time with him this spring
put greater effort into my friendships  Why am I still so bad at this?  My friends are better than me
find one new thing I love about me  I am even worse at this
host a foreign exchange student  Haven't found the opportunity yet, and may not since we live in employee housing now...
renew my passport and use it (one can hope right?)  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
be a better wife to S.  I work at it everyday, but still want to do more.
be a better companion to myself  I'm improving
hug my children longer and tighter for I know this time is not going to last  CHECK! and will continue to do so daily
go backpacking for N's birthday  circumstances prevented it
be more optimistic  check
See Kristy and April more often Well April went and moved to Kauai...
kayak  you'd think, wouldn't you?
eat at an all organic gourmet restaurant!  Pipe dream
what will you do?

All in all, not too bad.  Our move kind of changed things a bit.  Made somethings easier to achieve, others harder, or just less a priority.  Looks like I've got some work to do before 2009, huh?

hangin' with my peeps, y'all

My girls are finally home!    We have a temporary coop set up for them until we can get hold of the materials to built a more permanent home.  But it's plenty of space for now, and they seem happy so far.  Well, except for when the dog is outside.  She's not yet convinced that the chickens get to live.

We're all having so much fun with them.  They are the cutest, silliest looking creatures.  And their "peeps" are adorable.  I love going out in the morning and hearing them peeping at me.  When I come to the pen, they all come out of their little shelter and start jostling for position, for they know already that I usually come bearing spinach, which they love evah so.  So, meet a few of my girls (they're hard to get pictures of!):

The white one Chamomile.  She's my Big Girl.  She's bigger than the other 5, and her foster mama thought she might be a rooster.  So I guess I should say he/she?  But we can't tell yet.  The only way to know for sure is when they start to crow.  We'll be listening carefully for the next couple months!

The brown one with Chamomile is named Milkweed.  She has the prettiest black head feathers and white on her cheeks.  I could stare at her markings all day long.  She seems to be the lowest on the pecking ladder, so I feel extra protective of her.  Not to mention my dumb dog traumatized her the very first day.  EB and I were in the pen with the girls getting to know them and the dog ran around the side of the pen and managed (god only knows how) to get a mouthful of Milkweed's tail feathers before I shooed her off.  I still can't figure out how she did it through the chicken wire cage.

This light red one with dark red head feathers is Basil.  Basil is another who may actually be a he.  In my completely uninformed opinion, I'm guessing that Basil probably is actually a rooster.  The hens are supposed to have either a black or blue colored comb above their nose.  Basil's is burgundy.  He/she also seems to be developing cockles as well.  And from what I've hear/read these are both signs of a rooster.  However, Basil is very docile and not the alpha in the group.  He/she seems to share that honor with Periwinkle (buff) and Ginger (also light red).
Chamomile is on the box near the feeder, while in the foreground, that's Basil, and the two in the back are Periwinkle and Ginger.  See how they had already made a huge mess of their bedding!  They like to splash it on their backs and bathe in it.

Again, Milkweed in front, and Chamomile behind.

And that black one in the center?  That's Rocket.  Also a possible rooster.  Rocket was Nathan's greatest wish.  He wanted that chicken more than any other.  Because we ended up with a fairly high ratio of possible roosters, our friend gave us one extra, just in case.

The girls will move into a permanent home adjacent to the garden as soon as Shane builds it and they are large enough not to slip through the fence wires.  And they should start producing eggs at about 4 months.  They are a heritage breed called Japanese Silkies.  They are smaller than breeds like Rhone Island Reds, Plymouth Rocs, etc. and layer fewer eggs.  They are also broodier, so are likely to go into their brooding cycle more often during which time they don't lay.  The upshot is that they are very social and docile.  They are reputed to be good for "pet" birds as opposed to strictly layers.  We wanted the best of both worlds: easy to keep, good, if not prolific layers, and good pets.  The kids will learn how to care for them and will, over time, have the greater responsibility for the birds, so I wanted hens who would be affectionate (as a chicken can be) and easy going.  So far they all seem to fit the bill.

Just cross your fingers for me that none of them turn out to be roosters.