Keeping Up

I am trying so hard to be faithful to writing here regularly.  I did for a long, long time, and then I felt burned out for a long, long time.  But I realized a little while ago that even if nobody reads it (except my mom, who of course reads it because she is, after all, my mom!), I love this blog and want to be able to relive our memories years from now.

But I have to be honest--consistency is not my strong point!  I'm not very consistent about very many things, other than the most important things.  Everything else comes and goes as I make time.  I'm also trying hard to be present in each day, not so busy behind the computer or iPhone or camera that I miss out on what I'm trying to record.  Does that make sense?

So here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to.

Two weeks ago, we got our fourth batch of chicks.  We ordered 35 this time, to make up for recent losses, and they threw in an exotic chick for free.  As of right this second, all 36 are still alive, although I'm not counting my eggs before I eat them!  We've discovered in nearly 3 years or raising chickens that life as a free range chicken has very low odds for long-term survival.  We have three of our original 19 that are still alive, and we call them the "old ladies."

The kids were super excited to pick up our box from the post office.  The lady made us wait nearly 10 minutes at the door, and I thought Caiden was going to burst a blood vessel from prolonged excitement!

 Chris built a critter-proof nursery inside the stall for our chicks, and so far no snake or possum has figured out a way in.  I hope these cute little ones make it to adulthood!  If they don't, it won't be for lack of trying.  Caiden is still as passionate about his chickens as ever.

And I'm still decluttering.  This was the contents of my dining room cabinets.  This is the project that propelled forward multiple other areas being cleaned out, and now I'm down to just two closets left.  It's amazing what a tidy house can hide behind its cabinet doors!  Now the house is much, much tidier--mainly because I gave away everything that continually was being left out and was driving me crazy.  Ironically, nearly four vanloads of stuff was taken to Goodwill, and nobody has asked me for a single thing I got rid of.  That's a pretty big clue that we had a lot of junk we didn't need or use!

It got cold here, and the kids acted like they were freezing.  I think Grayson just needed an excuse to raid the hat/gloves bin.  It's supposed to be 80 degrees here today, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to get truly cold!  On the bright side, the kids are able to spend hours outside every day.

We are almost done with this semester's co-op classes.  The kids have had a blast with their classes, and now that Addie is in kindergarten, she and Grayson are in the K-2 class together, and I love watching them interact.  Generally it involves lots of elbowing and jockeying for the best seat, but that's pretty par for the course for a brother and sister only 1 1/2 years apart.  I'm trying to be patient with the sibling squabbles that seem to have come out of nowhere lately--telling myself that they spend 14+ hours a day together, 7 days a week, helps a lot.  I'd probably feel the same way.

Caiden is taking a recycled art class, and it has been such a neat class!  He's made pumpkins out of sweaters and Wal-Mart bags, frisbees out of pantyhose, and now a chicken poster with reused lids.  It's not finished yet, but it's looking really neat.  He loved tracing the chicken shape on his foamboard.

 Gray and Addie are taking a Spanish class and are making pinatas.  Notice Addie's new scrunchy grin.  It makes me laugh every time!

 In Caiden's PE class one day they played indoor games, and we discovered that 9-11 year olds love marbles!  Definitely a good stocking stuffer idea for Christmas, I think.

 Painting his chicken before gluing on the lids.

This week I'm getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Chris' parents arrive Saturday for about 10 days, and I'm trying to make sure menus are planned and shopped for, and that my house is clean.  My vacuum broke, which is a grave matter when you have an indoor golden retriever and a Persian cat, so my mother graciously offered to bring hers when she comes in Tuesday.  I'm already excited about vacuuming, which is weird.  My floors are in dire need!

And I've discovered Pinterest, which I've totally fallen in love with.  Right after I told my sister I didn't think I'd like it.  See?  Not very consistent.  But I love having an organized bulletin board where I can store all my ideas!  It's so much easier and more convenient than bookmarks on the computer.  I've also found so many great ideas on other girls' boards.  It's so much more fun for me than Twitter or Facebook, but it can suck away just as much time, so I'm trying to not love it too much.

So that's what's going on around here.  A little of this, a little of that.  Nothing big or earth-shattering, and that's exactly like I like it.  I hope you're having a happy weekend, too!