So today my feathered kids decided to cheer me up with their crazy antics. I have half a dozen Buff Orpinton chickens that I have raised from day old balls of fluff. They've been through their trauma, but they are fabulous birds.

About 6 weeks ago, our town was hit by a wicked thunderstorm with 70 mph winds and hail that destroyed corn crops, stripped paint off of houses, and injured my babies. Two of them were trapped under my daughter's climber. It's a slide/climbing wall/fort combination made of heavy plastic that probably weighs at least 150 pounds all assembled. The wind blew it 12 feet, sideways, to land on their legs. One's leg was broken, the other's had a gash clear to the bone. Another chicken had a broken leg from getting pelted by the hail, and I found a fourth hiding under a pile of lumber. Initially she seemed ok, but I realized later that she must have gotten beaned by the hail and had a concussion of sorts. Without going through the details of our bathtub hospital, I will say that they've all recovered nicely! I was told that I'd probably have to put them all to sleep, but these guys are more pets than livestock, and there was no way I was going to do that unless I absolutely had to!

Anyway, to return the favor, I had a rough day, so my kids decided to cheer me up. My daughter and I were out in the garden picking some of the last of the carrots, when one of the birds snuck over and grabbed her pacifier. She ran off with it and when I gave chase, she dropped it and ran. In the meantime, another bird picked up the pacifier and ran for it. You should have seen my daughter and I, chasing this bird around the garden with a pacifier in it's mouth! I wish I had pictures; it was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time!

I'm glad those birds are still around...

Feelin' it

So, had two toddlers all weekend... REALLY not sure that I want to have another child after that!! I could really use a vacation now. But THAT's not going to happen!!

I think one of the hardest things for me about being a "stay-at-home" mom is feeling isolated. I'm sure it's the same for all moms in my position. Someday I hope to lick my health issues so that I have the energy to get done all of the things that I have in my head. My brain has much more energy than my body! Besides eliminating the junk in my house (of which we have copious amounts) and organizing what we keep, I want to start my own mini-farm (details to follow), sew clothes for my daughter, build corner cabinets in both the dining room and the sitting room, recane half a dozen chairs, paint two of the bedrooms, completely renovate both the bathrooms, make all gifts from now on and learn to play the recorder! In addition to driving a school bus and raising a child. Oh, and overseeing the children's ministry in our church with my husband, and, by the way, maintaining our relationship! I'm sure there are several hundred things I've forgotten in my list of things to do eventually, since I can't seem to maintain a continuous thought. Maybe blogging will help that. At least it's all down in writing and I can go back and see what I've forgotten. Imagine what I'm like in conversation...

Anyway, off to give Adara another cookie so that I might have 5 minutes to work on the anarchy in my bedroom. I'm not a great leader, but I'd prefer not to be deposed by my laundry...