I am NOT over protective... well maybe a tad

I keep hearing conflicting reports on the low temps for tonight. We lost 2 chicks last night in the cold and I think tonight is going to be even colder. So I've got our two dogs and cat in the garage for the night, AND tons of baby chicks (in cages) in my kitchen. Have I mentioned how LOUD chicks are?! Luckily I have my little sound machine playing 'ocean waves' and I can barely hear them. I don't think I am going to make it to the 10 o'clock news, I am so exhausted, but SURELY this cold snap will end and quit robbing me of chickens!

Two of my Favorite Things..

#1 - Tulips... especially white ones. I planted a few at my entrance and these are called 'String of Pearls'. In the future, I plan to be real obnoxious and have millions of all different white tulips!

#2 - Laughing Children! I had an Enriching Lives Class at my home today. Funny thing... it was a cooking class and I was the instructor. There are a few things I cook well, and with my new found joy of cooking, I'm sure to get even better, hope, hope! I taught how to cook Calzones, and then we all ate our samples for lunch. Attendees brought their kiddos and the day was a wonderful mix of good food, great company, and lots of kiddos running around on this absolutely gorgeous day. I seriously hated to see them all go... but I thank them for brightening my day!!

Sweet Sixteen

Today is our 16th Anniversary!!

I feel so blessed to be completely in love with my hubby and I think he is the absolute cutest thing ever!! I will easily love him for eternity.
And what did we do on our anniversary... drum roll please...
we worked on the chicken coop, hee-hee, and he is still biting his lip and letting me be the foreman.

Funny sidenote:
I was telling Christian that we would add a big piece of screen to one of the chicken coop windows.
Ty overheard us and asked... 'the chickens are going to have a Big Screen TV?!
Now maybe in a chicken mansion that may happen... not in the little coop on the Callahan Farm, grin!

So now I am winding down a very busy day spent with Shawn and looking forward to a quiet evening too... Complete Contentment!

my EYE... has a BONE in it ?!??

NO ONE expects a mother to use REAL words or even medical terms in the thick of panic... do they???

Yesterday, Ty was trying to strap down a box for me with a bungee strap. He was doing a great job and was pulling the strap tight to hook it... and SNAP! I have never heard that kind of scream come out of one of my children.
Ty was doubled over, holding his eye and I could not get him to release his grip so I could see what happened. Later, I found out from my older son that I kept asking... 'did it hit your eye OR your eye bone...' over and over again. Don't remember doing this, but I trust in my irrational frightened state, I could have about said anything.

Finally, Ty was able to show me where the hook on the strap hit him. Just seconds after impact it was a tiny split in the skin... but it immediately puffed out and looked horrible. So very relieved that this morning we are only dealing with a black eye and not something worse!

Last night as Ty was getting ready for bed, he told me that he had not realized before that his eye had a BONE it. Hence, Christian needing to explain what I was saying during the ordeal.

So I guess I need to freshen up on the names of the facial bones. Our friend Dr. Stratton could clarify, I'm sure!! I know the forehead bone is the 'frontal bone', right? I know there is a bone closer to the cheek called the zygomatic, I think. Probably TOTALLY showing my ignorance here... what else is new! SO, Doc... at what point does the frontal bone meet the zygomatic bone and looking at the photo... what bone did Ty actually hit???!
Until I receive further info... I shall call it 'the EYE BONE'.

I promise to brush up on my Human Anatomy before my children take in for homeschool, grrr.

JAILbreak!!

The chicks are now outside in a cage.
We can't hear them EXCEPT when there is an escapee! Then they all go bonkers chirping things like... 'that's not fair!'... 'its MY turn to breakout!'... 'HEY, I'm skinnier than you so why can't I get through those bars!!'

This is pipsqueak. As her name implies, she is the littlest and therefore can get out of the bars.
She is causing civil unrest, but she doesn't seem the least bit repentant.

I think she actually mocks the others, if truth be told. Because she will run far, far, away... then struts back up to the cage and flaunts her tailfeathers. And the chirping gets deafening!

Meanwhile, where is the cat during all this... shouldn't she be terrorizing them, showing them whose boss, keeping them under control?!? Nope, she is lounging in my flower pots! I can't make her understand that though my pots seem to be filled with dead rubbish... there is actually some green things trying to grow back if she would just keep her kitty bum OUT OF MY POTS.

discumbobulated

NOT to be confused with 'twitterpateted'!!

I'm in a terrible mess. I guess I am battling a terrible case of insomnia. Not very familiar with this because I am an excellent sleeper, normally. To cuddle in bed at the end of a long day is my favorite time. I surrender to sleep normally... it is a welcome thing.

But for the past week and a half, not so. I either fall right to sleep only to wake up at 2:33am wide awake, or I lay in bed... hour after hour not being able to GO to sleep.

My mind isn't racing. I do not have any big worries weighing me down. I would count myself as very stressfree overall. UGH!!

So today, I rise from bed a zombie... again. I don't even have enough energy to be a royal grouch, I just keep pushing through my days numb. Any mommies with new babies out there feeling my state of exhaustion... grin. THIS too will pass, I hope real soon!!

I love my guy!!

Several years ago, Shawn and I stayed at a B&B in SanDiego. It was incredible. The hostess was adorable with the most precious little family. It was a stay to remember always.
Each morning she served us a huge spread of fresh fruits, baked goods, and... triple cream brie.
I was so giddy each morning!

Now that we have late church, guess what my guy brings me in bed each Sunday morning?
He even goes to the store each weekend to purchase these items for us.
I just wake up each Sunday, sit up in bed, and enjoy.

Changing the subject a tad... this is where our future coop (aka, Chick Inn) will be located. It is off to the side of the house on the other side of our driveway.

The kids and I made the foundation frame and leveled it. Which was NO small task since I picked a very sloped location, not so smart.
But after a few adjustments, it is level, and we layered the bottom with gravel.
Do you remember in my prior post that Shawn was forbidden to help with the chicken coop/fence?! He begged and begged to let him help with the cement. I stood firm! I have researched this for many a day on DIY sites and I felt confident.
But he promised, and promised again... to be a helper and not take over the project.
It was hard, but I trusted him in his attempt to be the muscles of the project and switch off his ever racing mind!
I am here to report that it IS possible for Shawn to stop thinking so hard and just help me crank out a project. Whew!
I was really bummed because the kids were not around after the cement was poured and I had hoped we could get all their handprints.
So I pouted a tad, but then moved on to our other million projects we had planned for our gorgeous weekend.
I decided to take a peek at the cement pad one last time before calling it 'a day', and this is what I found carved into the cement.
YEP, he's a keeper.

Now, I will attempt to build this coop, never having built any structure before in my life. I am optimistic. Afterall, I have hours and hours of HGTV viewing under by belt... I can do this.
And when it is done, and the first big wind doesn't topple it to the ground, THEN I will celebrate!
More photos in coop building saga forthcoming, don't let the anticipation kill ya, grin!

Wonderful Weekend

I am going a little back in time to last weekend.
We got a beautiful layer of snow on Sunday morning. I didn't believe it would actually happen like forecasted... but I knew it did happen when my children enthusiastically ran outside to feed all the animals that morning.
Usually, only Savannah does that task willingly. Seems a little snow provided her with two assistants.
Funny thing is that it took twice as long as usual, giggle, I'm sure a few snowballs had to be made along the way.

Saturday was Savannah's first Youth Dance. She was just busting with nervousness and excitement before she left. I would have loved to have been there... she wanted to tackle this one on her own, sigh.
She returned with tons to tell. Yes, her Uncle Nate did embarrass her, she was already prepared for that! She danced a lot throughout the night. And she was sure to tell me all about the cute guy that asked her to dance, twice! She is so tight lipped... has never been boy crazy, so for her to even mention a cute guy, meant she had fun.

And as a side note, I just finished 2 books by Nancy Turner... 'These Is My Words' and 'Sarah's Quilt'. Loved them!! I now have to show restraint and not start another book too soon!
I can not be trusted to PUT THE BOOK DOWN and do other things.

I have a chicken coop and fencing to build. I'm trying to do them without the assistance of dear hubby. He tends to not take orders well, likes to be general contractor on projects. I am being stubborn on this one because I want it to be cute! It will be functional too, but logic will not outweigh CUTE!!! So Shawn has been given another task and it is about to drive him crazy
being ordered out of the chicken coop area!!

This weekend is supposed to be beautiful. Hope to be able to report on lots and lots of project getting done on the Callahan Farm by weeks end.

Taken down by a yellow puffball

My sense of balance sure isn't what it used to be, whimper...

It has become my normal routine each morning, to take a peek at the chicks in the garage and wish them happy morning. THIS morning ended up with me... on the cold cement, holding my breath in pain, terrified to look under me to find a squashed chick!
Seems as I was walking down our garage steps... I should have first looked down! We currently have the chicks in a plastic swimming pool, which this morning I found out... too late... that they are now big enough to escape.
All I know is that I took a step and felt fluff and decided that little chicks life was worth leaping awkwardly from the step... in which case I DID not make a good landing, an embarrassing flop is probably more accurate.
I heard a pop, feared the worse.
X-rays found no breaks, just a severe sprain.
After all our drama this morning... Ty simply stated, 'Sure glad you didn't go and smoosh the chick mom... that would have been real sad.'
I guess the sight of his mom crying and rolling around in the garage floor was not sad at all.
Where's the love?!