So Long Ordinary

I have no idea what to say here. No idea.

We got this bouncy thingy for Paige a few weeks ago. It's been a real hit! She loves jumping and standing and playing with all the toys. This kid can move! I can't believe how fast she's growing up. It wasn't long ago that she was a tiny little bundle...now she's a lump of soft baby chunk. She's by far my "chunkiest" baby. I love it. Love squishing those chunky legs! Paige is a joy. She's such a happy-go-lucky little thing. Truly, she barely ever cries. And when she does, it's almost always because she was startled by a loud noise. Sneezes are the worst! Poor baby puckers out that lip and makes a face that would melt your heart before she lets loose with the crying. Breaks my heart every time. But it's awful hard not to sneeze when you need to. Paige is already getting her first tooth and, okay, she's cried a tiny bit more lately. I'm devastated. Utterly devastated. My baby can't be getting a tooth already! Beca...

I should be in bed...but I'm savoring this nice little quiet moment. All. By. Myself. ......well, me and the kitten who is on her nightly rampage and is attacking her own shadow all over the living room floor. I don't mind it so much unless her shadow lands on my leg. Ouch! Life is never dull here folks. Or completely still. Ever. The good news is that we seem to be all well and over that yucky...whatever it was. We went to a library at the park event today. It was a lovely, lovely day to be out. The park was beautiful. The games were fun. Everyone was having the time of their lives. And we got to watch it all! Unfortunately, my children refused to participate in all those fun games. So we watched. Not what I was going for. I can't say I blame them - it was a little overwhelming and they didn't know any of the other kids there. Okay, okay, I NEVER, EVER, EVER liked playing those silly get-to-know-you games with strangers. And I never liked it when our youth...

Brooklyn had it last week. This week is Maddie's turn. She honestly scared me today when her temperature got up to 103.5 degrees. Called the doc, he suggested some different medication and it went right back down. Phew! She's still not herself....yeah, she goes about the normal pace now instead of 100 mph. I prefer the real, wild, hyper Maddie to this little weakling. She gets up from a rest and does her best to play and then crashes hard. Then we do the same thing over again. Poor thing. I hate to see her laying so quiet with a washcloth over her head while she watches Blues Clues. I'm not feeling quite right either. It makes me mad. So far I mostly just feel...ick, tired, achey, weary, and scratchy-throated. Didn't know that was a word didya? Paige is still fine. I really, really hope she doesn't get this. The high fever thing is scary enough with the older girls. Thanks for praying!

So the other day, I was out at our mailbox. I had my camera with me. It may or may not have been the same day that I took several fifty pictures of my beloved chickens... Anyway, I was at the mailbox and glanced down the road and saw a rather common sight around here. Can you see it? That little speck down the road? The jackrabbit? Apparently, he and his buddy. Or is it, she and her fella? Whatever. They were out for a jog. Much to my surprise they kept running right at me! Whoa! They finally spotted the crazy lady wildly taking pictures while trying not to drop the mail! I can't figure if that rabbit is startled at the realization that a human is standing in its path or the fact that said human is wearing a ratty sweatshirt, cut-off capris, and cowboy boots. But they just kept truckin' by. (Too bad they didn't stop and nibble down some of those weeds. Sheesh!) The end.

You may have noticed that things look different. How very observant you are! I wanted to change things up....but in the meantime, I lost what I already had. Now I'm stuck in a not-so-very-creative slump and a blog to match it. Ah well. Someday, I'll work on this. Not today! We've been a little on the ill side the past few days. Brooklyn is still not quite herself and I feel myself succumbing...either that or I need to eat dinner. Either way, now is not the time to mess around with blog design. In my head, I'm brewing up an idea...stay tuned. Bu-Bye now!

We've had a little project in the works for a few weeks. We've just been waiting for the "barn." And the "stock." But now we're in business!! As you may have noticed Sean and I are on a bit of a homesteading kick. We have our garden, a full greenhouse, and, now, chickens! The goal was to get some pullets (that's a young female if you are like me and have no clue) that were already starting to lay but we just couldn't find them. My parents, who also recently entered the chicken ranching business, happened to have 50 "extra" chickens and decided they could part with 7 or so. These chickens just received a pardon - they were among the meat stock! Now they get to lead the leasurely life of a "layer" (and the rooster, I suppose, is the "crow-er") Whew! They'll never know how close they came to the sharp end of an ax head. Can I say that I'm in love with my chickens? Seriously. They are so much fun to wat...

Look what came in the mail the other day!! Woo-hoo! I still can't believe it's real. I'm still wondering what I'm going to do with my life...but here's evidence of what I've been doing (along with a few other things) these past NINE years. With this much school under my belt, I could have been a doctor!

Backyard camping and hot dog roast. They were forced to come in at 1:00 a.m. because of rain. Sean was glad...somehow we lost his sleeping pad in the past umpteen moves and, well, he ain't 17 anymore. I slept great in my nice soft bed, though! One of these days, we are going camping. At this stage, it's a rather daunting task with three little people under 6....this was hard enough! But it must be done! Working in the garden. This has been FUN. We have no idea what we're doing but we look good doing it! Paige's first solids. Yeah, she liked it! Lots of rain and cooler weather. I had just caught those girls licking the rainwater off of the swingset. And we wonder how they get sick so often. I could have at least cropped out the clothesline and lovely makeshift clothespin bag...but then you wouldn't see the awesome new clothesline my hubby and daddy made for me!

Wow! What a busy summer already. I'm way behind in everything, including updating this blog. I still have so much to share! But I'm beginning to loathe time spent indoors at the computer. I still love blogging, but somehow we need to figure out a way I can do it outside! (Yeah, I know. Laptop. Maybe someday.) So good grief, I haven't even had a chance to introduce you to Mittens. We've had her a while. Going on three weeks already. She is our second attempt at having a mouser on the property. We're keeping her inside until she's big enough to handle herself. Our neighbors have informed us that owls and coyotes in this area really like kitties. It's actually been quite fun having this little tabby around. She's playful and cute and super-friendly. She's also got the patience of a saint. This kitty has been thrown from top bunks, held around the neck or by the tail, locked into play kitchen ovens, and probably a million other things I ...