Where Did Summer Go?

Can you believe that summer is over? I'm having a hard time getting back into routine! I can only imagine it's hard for my girls too! 

We had a great summer! We visited Rolling Hills Zoo & Museum  & played at the NEW park in town! We celebrated D-Bugs birthday in June & K-Dogs birthday in August!

We watched as our chicks that hatched this spring grew & are now running around terrorizing the bugs in the yard! We became "goat herders", as we purchased 4 dairy goats! 

Bandit, our buck (top) & Bandit, our weather

Liberty & Ariel, the ladies 

We should have babies come the new year! I will start milking a couple weeks after the babies are born! My plan, as of now, is to milk in the morning, allowing the babies to nurse all day. I know I won't get as much milk as I would if I would bottle feed the babies, but for this year, this is the plan. :)

We co-held a garage sale & sold MOST of the baby items we had stored in the basement! YAY!!! Only a few more items to go & the basement will be cleared of baby stuff! We are so looking forward to moving the playroom downstairs & the girls having their own rooms again! K-Dog & D-Bug are ready to have their own space, although they say they don't, all I hear is "mom she's in my bubble"! Oh the drama of being a little girl! 

With summer coming to a close, we started our new school year last week! New curriculum & new grades! We are using A Beka Academy this year & with one week down & only a couple more days to go in this week, we are LOVING it!!! 

K-Dog loves that she gets to watch the tv for her lessons (as the tv is rarely on unless the computer is hooked up to it) instead of listening to "boring ol mom". Of course there is lots of "one on one" learning with just me & her, which she is doing so much better with this year than last. I think that has a lot to do with not having to listen to me all day long, she's very stubborn strong willed & I love her anyways!

D-Bug is having a blast learning to write in cursive! So far just i's & u's, but she loves it & she is so excited when she gets a sticker for making a great letter! I hear her singing the songs she's learned & counting & saying the sounds of letters, so I know she's enjoying herself too!

Me, well, I love that it's super easy for the girls to follow & SO EASY for me to understand! They have lesson plans written out for every day, no me trying to figure out what we're gonna do that day, it's all there in black & white!!! AMAZING!!!

So far we have only had one day that lasted until 5pm, other wise we are done with schooling by 2/3pm most days! This gives us lots of time to have fun & get things done around the house! 

The girls have even learned to do their own laundry!!! At ages 5 & 7yrs, this is wonderful!!! I help them take their baskets down the stairs & I put in the detergent, but the girls put all the clothes in & push the buttons & when ready switch them over to the dryer, then take them out & hang & put them away! So nice not having to do their laundry on top of mine & DH's.

Well off to finish up supper before DH gets home & we head to church tonight!

Hope there are many New Beginnings in your life this year,
In Christ Love,
MommaSie

~*~ Chicks in the Bator ~*~

It's SPRING!!!! Oh how I LOVE spring!!! Pretty flowers & TONS of babies!!!

We are well on our way to experiencing all the "newness" spring brings!!! We had 1 of our 6 momma cats go into early labor, after she was roughly played with by our 2 youngest dogs (bad dogs dumb cat)  she had 3 kittens but was unable to care for them (neither was I) so they're stay here was short. Sad yes, but it happens so we move on.
We still have 5 prego momma cats that should be having babies in the next few weeks!!!
In January 1 of my hens decided it was hatching time...well I kept collecting eggs & about the beginning of March she "gave up". Now that it's spring time I have NO BROODY HENS!!!! Silly Chickens!!! So as I knew I wanted to hatch chicks I got out the incubator & put in 19 chicken eggs! Yes I know odd number *shrug* I also had a wonderful friend donate 6 duck eggs to hatch out. Last Tuesday I set up the incubator, collected eggs to be put in it & got busy. I was taking the box of duck eggs down the stairs (I put the incubator in the basement so it wouldn't get "bumped") as I was going down the stairs - you guessed it - I fell!!! the box fell out of my hands & bounced down the stairs, 1 of the 6 eggs bounced out of the box while the others went crashing together leaving a trail of egg goo down my stairs....that ONE egg survived with NO cracks!!!  I put it in the incubator after having a really good cry! I candled the eggs on Sunday afternoon & as far as I could tell I only had 1 chicken egg that was bad (showed a blood ring signifying death) 

My duck egg shows a beautiful LUCKY duckling growing inside!!! (along with 18 chicks in their eggs) 

I'm so excited that Lucky may actually hatch!!!!  I'm not going to "count my chicks before they hatch" but I will be candling them again next Tuesday!!!

The chicks should hatch around April 22nd & Lucky Duck should hatch around April 29th!!!

Please stay tuned for weekly updates & pictures of Lucky Duck!

~Momma Sie

Fluffy butt to Coop!

We have had some very busy days/nights/weeks over the last couple of months & I can FINALLY say that the Chicken coop side (& run) of the new building is up & functional!!! Our chicks are very happy with their new home! I think pictures do a much better job of telling about our coop than do words . . . .

From the tiny beginnings of 2 & 3 week old chicks . . . .

To having "play-times" outside . . . . 

& spending nights in the garage . . . . . 

...in 2 separate pens . . . . 

One sunny day the walls began to go up!
(North side - aka back side of the building)

(South side - aka front side of building, where the door & window will be)

(West side)

Outgrowing our pens in the garage - moved outside . . . 

Watching as the roof beams go up!

(From inside the NW corner looking SE you can see where the window will be placed)

Watching as the tin siding goes up!
YAY We have WALLS!!!

Moving INDOORS!!! The inside of the building was split in half - half for chicken coop & half for storage & dog/cat feeding station . . . .

. . . Rose checking out a weed . . .

Roo-pert laying in the dirt with his girls!

Smart hens roost in color pattern
Black-white-red-white-red-white-red-black (SPACE Roo-pert supervising)

My wonderful hubby putting up the chicken wire over the top of  the run!
I love that man!!!

Looking inside (kinda) at the door to the chicken coop & their window!

A few of the girls enjoying a warm spring morning in their finished run! 

Again . . .

Here we see the gate (Left side of the picture) & Louise heading inside . . . 

Looking into the coop from the unfinished storage side of the building . . . 

The coop door . . . .

The coop window & what will be the "hospital room/brooder" once the cat (yes cat) learns to love the outside & no more breaking of family loved & passed down lamps (yes I am very angry at the cat)

My oh so friendly girls!
(loving the sweats & boots right!?!)

  

A few of the girls hanging out on the floor roost
(need to build & place permanent roost for the girls but this works "ok" for now)

. . . Rose telling me I'm not paying enough attention to her . . . .

So she stands on the toe of my boot!

WHAT a DIVA!!!

"HELLO!!!! Do you see me!!!"
(I have 7 black hens so I haven't named any of them as they all look alike!!!)

Louise & Snippy heading out the door....
(we are working on a slide door for the girls - right now we just block them in with a big framed window that is screwed into the wall)

Enjoying the weeds D-Bug & I pulled for them....

And to think this all started because I feel in love with some fluffy butt chicks at the feed store!!!

In about 2-3 more months we should be seeing our first eggs!!! So excited!!!

On new beginning on to the next!

Happy Belated Mothers day to all!!!!

Full Time Chickens......

So I am by all means a expert beginner when it comes to chicken care....I knew they needed food water bedding & heat....what I wasn't expecting was how fast they GROW! Along with all that growing is a lot of chicken poop &  noise! Wow change ONE thing and those babies really let you have it! I gave them a different waterer...got "yelled at" took the rocks out of the water, got "yelled at"....I can not win with these girls! LOL
I'm thinking the babies are between 2 & 4 weeks - - - yep I didn't ask at the store how old they were (although I'm not sure the guy that was helping me would have known anyways.....that's another story)  - - - so here we are, I've been a chicken momma for a little over a week now (10 days) my babies love me LOL they are just like my DD's they tell me when they don't like something I've done :p
In the following photos I was trying to get a good picture of each lil chick.....needless to say they weren't interested in being Chick Models (as you will see)....

 White baby  - more concerned with whats under the kennel :/ 

 Box full of 16 peeping babies....they are about to out grow their "clean up time" box :(

 One of my Rainbow Layers - this is her 2nd photo her fist one the flash scared her & she jumped (so cute to watch but didn't make for the greatest of pictures)

I'm watching the comb on this lil one...not sure if this is the rooster I picked from the Red Sex Links or not,  (this is the same one from the first picture) but I have 2 white ones I'm watching pretty closely - I really only want 1 Roo - Lil guy here has at least one black spot under a wing....he really didn't want me messing with him too much, he had things to see & stuff to talk about.

 Standing Tall Pretty Lil Lady

 Alright Fluffy Butt, turn around so I can see you

Better thank you  - doesn't she have pretty lines on her feathers!

 At least this lil Rainbow Layer isn't giving me the "butt"

 How bout the whole lot of ya come say hi again! (do you see Whities toes.....) 

 Am I a bad Chicken momma???? :( She/he walks just fine I'm just worried I caused the toes to curl :(

WAIT!!! Where'd you go!!! Seriously! What a bunch of PreMadonas!

The other white chicken I'm watching for Roo-ness
I did have some white chickens in with the Rainbow layers, but they SHOULD be all hens!

Pretty baby & yet ANOTHER fluffy butt! lol 

 This lil Rainbow Layer was half asleep....I got a few "talkings to" after the flash went off *oops*

 WAIT!!! I did have her set & then OFF she runs!

 There she is with her head in the feeder....speedy lil lady!

 Next one was the closest black Rainbow Layer - - She jetted off the second I put her on the floor....I tried to move her a few times & just gave up

This lil lady is a Rainbow layer - you can't tell from the picture but she's got 2 straight lines down her back between her feathers....She's really cute!

 Lots of pretty babies

 Is this how models eat when done with a shoot?

Looks like we have outgrown the LARGE dog kennel :(
I guess I know what part of my Saturday will include :(
Oh how fast they grow...

Happy days
Happy Chicks
Love,
Momma Sie