Things I'm Dying to Tell You

1. I've been buying raw fresh milk from a local farm. It's THE BOMB. Also Mariah isn't allergic to it. She's allergic to store bought milk, but not raw milk. Explain that one.

2. We still have 5 chickens making their home in our backyard. One almost got eaten by a hawk....but didn't.

3. They're finally laying eggs! Three or four a day.

4. I made my own mozzarella cheese today and it's good!

5. I'm officially a freak! (deduced from the first four items I've been dying to tell you).

Ummmmmmm, also my kids are doing great. The house is great. I'm still homesick, but it comes and goes.

Pictures are coming as soon as I can find my camera battery charger. I've been looking [read: gazing aimlessly] for it everywhere. I have so many wonderful chicken pictures to share with you! Aren't you excited?!?!?!*

*Please refer to #5.

Hello World.....or the 3 People Who Still Read This (I Heart You).

Okay, I know it's been a while. A really long while, and to be honest the thing that bothers me the most about not blogging is that I've got about a thousand chicken pictures backed up that I'm longing to showcase. I know, it's sad. Several months of not blogging and the only thing I care about is showing you chicken pictures. My gosh somebody slap me.

We are completely moved into the new house now. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll get around to it eventually....probably when we're ready to move again. I have to say, after living here for a month, I'm in love. We were really skeptical about this house for a few reasons. One: it only has three bedrooms so Hayden and Mariah have to share. Two: there's this big awkward space right when you walk in the front door that we can't figure out what to do with and we definitely don't have enough furniture to put in it. Three: It has a smaller yard than our last place and we value a big yard. All three points have worked themselves out though. The room sharing has actually been quite fun for the kids. I thought having them share a room would be a sleep loss nightmare (for me), but Mariah is a heavier sleeper than I thought and has so far slept through all of Hayden's nightly strolls and potty breaks. The bonus room has turned into a temporary piano room/play room, which when we're having a good day is almost magically wonderful...like something from a movie, And the smaller backyard has proven that quality is better than quantity....what can I say, I appreciate mature trees and SHADE.

I don't have any pictures to display right now since per my facebook status I am out a computer for a while and am borrowing Helmut's to make this long overdue post, but hopefully something soon.

Also, we took the kids to see Toy Story 3 today and it was hilarious. Mariah didn't quite make it to the end, but Hayden was still jamming popcorn in his mouth as the credits were rolling. As far as scary goes, i don't think it was as scary as the first and will probably be my favorite of all 3 of the series.

Life with Chicks: The Raddist Cage on the Planet

After the chicken eating contest that the cats held a couple weeks ago, Helmut took it upon himself to build the remaining chickens a cage to keep them safe. This also means they no longer take up a stinky space in our garage. I'm pleased....as are the chickens.

Life with Chicks: One Down

Whelp, it has happened. The cats got one of the chickens and ate it for dinner while we were enjoying some time out with friends.

Before we left, knowing we would be gone for 2 or 3 hours I thought to myself, should I put these chickens back in their stinky box in the garage, or should I allow them the pleasure of a few more hours of fresh air?

Life Lesson #15: Better to spend a few extra hours in a stinky box than to become a cat snack.

Life with Chicks: Still Alive

We've had the chickens for a few weeks now, and miraculously they're all still alive. I say "miraculously" because last week Hayden tried to play softball with them and almost broke one of their legs. I actually thought he broke it because the bird didn't move for a few days, but now I can't tell which one got hit, so I think they're all fine.

New House Rule: No playing catch with the birds.

That said, the chickens are easy to care for, and hardier than I thought. Hayden has been quite rough with them despite repeated time-outs, spankings and conversations about why we shouldn't be rough with the chicks i.e. "they will die!" I realized before I got them that it would be a challenge to keep them alive around Hayden. He doesn't have mean intent, but he really likes to play rough. What I didn't count on though was how badly they would smell. I now know why birds are called Fowl. The stench emanating from our garage at this time can be described using words such as: Special, Unbelievable, Disgusting, and FOWL. I never realized they could smell this badly. I gotta say I'm really looking forward to getting them out of the garage in into the farthest corner of the back yard so I don't have to vomit in my mouth every time i feed them. Even I who claim little to no sense of smell can smell more of these birds than I ever cared too.

I wish it had been possible to buy full grown egg layers. That would have made my life much easier. But I guess this way Hayden is "bonding" with them.

Confession: Poultry

Confession: Every time the chickens fall asleep in the pen outside I think they're dead.....every time.

Life with Chicks.....and by Chicks, I mean baby birds.

Did I mention we got some chickens? Just in case I forgot, here are a few pictures of the six new additions to our household. They are currently taking up a few feet of our garage space, but will soon be taking up residence in the backyard.

Reasons for getting chickens:

1. Eggs

2. Pest Control....apparently they love to eat fire ants and other "pestilence."

3. I always wanted to have some chickens....I would probably also get a cow if I had experience milking one.....and while were at it lets throw in a pony, heck our back yard is pretty big.

4. Bug Allergy help - You all know how Mariah has a freakish bug bite allergy, where if left untreated the bites grow to the size of an oreo cookie, followed by insomnia and a wicked diaper rash. Last summer after a few of these instances we came across Apis Mellifica (a homeopathic treatment sold at health food stores), and our lives have been much less stressful. While this stuff works almost instantly on the bug bites I consider it a band-aid. I'm hoping that by eating the eggs of the chickens that are eating our bugs, she will be able to build up some kind of immunity.....if not, well then we'll just have plentiful free range organic eggs.