The Flock 2015

We have been fussing over our feathered babies for the past week or so and I must say that these chicken mamas are acting like pros! As the girls are getting older they are taking on more responsibility with our chickens. I must say,  I am quite impressed with how well they are doing with our tiny new chicks. They have been feeding, watering and butt wiping (because that is a thing with baby chicks.) Don't they look like proud mamas?

The flock this year consists of 25 birds of 5 breeds, however 3 of them will be leaving us when they get bigger to be city chickens at my sister's house. We loved the breeds of chickens from our first flock and they were great layers so we decided they were a necessity, but I couldn't resist throwing in a couple more breeds. This years flock includes: 4 Rhode Island White, 4 Barred Plymouth Rock, 4 Cinnamon queen, 5 Easter Egg, and 5 Single Comb Rhode Island Red. Here are pictures of our chicks at one day old. Grow, chickens, grow!

Easter Egg

Cinnamon Queen

Barred Plymouth Rock

Rhode Island White

Rhode Island Red

I've Got a Crush On You

So I have a serious crush on this boy... only he turned 30 this week so should probably no longer use the term "boy" and instead say "man." When we met we were at the age where it seemed funny and maybe even somewhat romantic that he would throw coasters at me. We were also at the age where I felt no shame in pretending to like cats so that when he was holding a kitten I had a legitimate excuse to sit beside him. We were also very mature in telling our family about our relationship. I think the conversation with my sister went a little something like this: "Do you want to go hang out at my friend Andy's house? Oh and don't freak out if he tries to kiss me, we may be dating."

The photograph I came across (in print, taken from an actual camera-because we're that old) perfectly shows the maturity. I mean like amazingly well. We look 12. Okay maybe 16... 18 tops. We sure felt like we knew everything and were ready to take on the world though. Little did we know then that we would be looking back at that picture nearly 11 years later and laughing at how naive we were.

Here we are, all this time later, and I still have the biggest crush on the man who is my husband and the father of my children. The world keeps changing around us and we continue to grow together, which is the best part of having a partner to spend your life with. I feel pretty lucky to spend my days with him and I look forward to the day we sit down and look back at the picture of our 30 year old selves and laugh at all the things we thought we knew and reminisce about all the great things we were a part of that we never could have foreseen. Happiest of birthdays, my love. I hope to spend many, many more with you!

P.S. This picture makes me wish we took more pictures with actual cameras. Selfies are awkward (and in this case blurry.) I'm sure 40 year old me will totally make fun of us. 

Mail Order Chickens

We laced up our shoes and zipped our jackets up to head out. There was so much excitement and chatter between the girls that buckling in took much longer than it should have, but alas the car shifted into gear and we headed off down the road. These chicken mamas were off to pick up their new flock. As we pulled up to the post office and strolled inside the girls shared the exciting news with everyone they passed. They were met with strange looks and the question, "You're picking up chickens at the post office?"

Of course to most this would seem like a strange transaction, I mean chickens in the mail?? I get it. But for someone purchasing chickens for the first time it seemed like the best way. We weren't connected to anyone raising and hatching chicks and after hearing stories of less than healthy chicks from stores that wasn't a route I was too comfortable with. Health is of utmost importance as these birds are a food source for us. We want to make sure the chicks are from healthy, non-medicated birds. We also wanted to be able to pick a specific breed and only pullets and if we sought out someone hatching backyard chickens we would be limited in what we could get. Our attention shifted to hatcheries and we decided it would be the best decision for us. We researched and found a reputable hatchery and read about all the breeds of birds they offered, their decision not to medicate and the ability to order chicks at different times and our decision was solidified. The only thing with this hatchery was it was too far to drive which meant our chicks would be arriving via the US Postal Service.

I'll admit that this seemed quite strange to me. Who in their right mind puts freshly hatched chicks into a box and onto a truck to drive them all about? Turns out it's not that strange, or uncommon. It isn't much different than if we would have gone to pick them up and put them in our own car to drive home. The chicks hang out in their box all snuggled together and seem quite fine upon arrival. A quick dip into a water dish and they are eating, drinking, sleeping and growing just as any other baby would be!

We raised our first flock last year that consisted of three different breeds and we were not disappointed. We had healthy, laying chickens that were quite entertaining to have around. Our plan was to continue to add a few birds to our flock each year so we would have a rotation of layers and a few birds in the freezer. It seemed that the mail order would continue to be a good method for us as it provides healthy birds of breeds of our choosing that we order whenever we see fit.

Unfortunately our first flock met an unlucky fate (RIP ladies) but we are starting with our second flock a little wiser in the ways of raising chickens. Our second flock is busy growing, spending their days under the heat of a lamp and being fussed over by their chicken mamas (AKA my girls.) At some point we may seek out someone local to purchase a chick or two from. We may even get really brave and decide to hatch a few chicks of our own, but for now we are liking our mail order chicks.

If you want to check out the hatchery we order from you can find them here. If you want to read more about our experiences with chickens you can read about it here.

Fancy Shoes: DIY Project for about $5

Why is it so hard to keep kids in shoes? It seems like as soon as they get a pair they out grow them! I particularly hate shoe shopping with the girls in tow because they pick out hideous, sparkly shoes or, even worse, shoes with characters on them. All of these for the low, low price of (roughly) $40.

After spending money on some shoes to put up for the school year my kids promptly outgrew their current shoes so it seemed I would be spending even more money on shoes. We walked aisle after aisle in store after store, striking out on finding the right size, color, and comfort level. (Are everyone's children this picky??) I gave up and went to walmart and bought two pairs of plain white canvas shoes for $5 each. My children cannot be trusted to keep white shoes clean for more that five minutes so we took those shiny white shoes home and broke out some sharpies and my knowledge from the short stent of being on the pep squad in middle school. The result was their "fancy shoes" that they helped make themselves.

To make your own fancy shoes (which I'm tempted to do for myself!) you need a pair of canvas shoes, sharpies, rubbing alcohol and about 30 minutes of your time. Start by coloring basic designs in the color(s) of your choice. We did hearts, stars, flowers and butterflies. These are just rough shapes that need little thought because they will change in the next step. Once your shapes are drawn,  drip rubbing alcohol onto the colors and watch them spread out onto the canvas. (I helped ours along a little with the use of a cotton ball to drag the colors onto all the white areas.) Once you have the color you want achieved you let the shoes dry. You can do this by setting them outside in the sunshine or with the help of a blow dryer. Once they are dry use a fine tip black sharpie to draw the outline and design into your shapes. Then all that's left to do is proudly sport your new, fancy shoes.

We Are Officially a Two Vehicle Family

There are times when the things we do in our day to day lives come up in conversation and elicit questions about how and why. Take for instance the time the guy from Dish came out to set up our TV and after getting it up and going he asked where the others were. I told him we just had the one and he laughed and said he had never seen that before and asked if I was sure I didn't want to put a couple in the bedrooms. I didn't realize until after the conversation that people thought it strange to have only one TV. After telling other people about the encounter they asked what we did when we wanted to watch different things or for the kids to watch their own shows. It seemed it wasn't just the Dish guy who found it strange that we watched it together or not at all, although to us it meant spending more time together and practicing compromise as well as limiting the amount of time we spent in front of the TV.

Similar conversations ensued after disclosing the fact that we had one vehicle. How do you get anything done? What if there were an emergency? Don't you ever just want to get up and go somewhere? Followed by many comments like, "I could never do that." I'm sure that at one time I felt the same way about it, but it happened as a turn of events and quickly just because our normal. When I had one child we would get up and go for the sake of getting out of the house. We would visit friends and family and go to lunch or to the store for something I had forgotten or suddenly wanted. It was our normal and probably very similar to what others were doing. After our second girl was born the outings slowed because it was more work taking two kids around and it wasn't very friendly to the budget to go out to eat and make extra runs to the store. (As a single income family of four I became more concerned with the budget because if the budget didn't balance I would have to return to work.) Once Andy's car was gone the luxury of those things were stripped away. We said it would be temporary and that we would just have to find another car but then weeks turned to months and the desire for the car gave way to a stronger desire for a house. We were diligent about savings and soon after giving up the second car we realized just how cost effective one vehicle was. 

I went through a somewhat tough transition, losing the freedom of having a car, but it gave way to a nice routine that our girls seemed to thrive in. There was consistency in the day to day that made life easier. There were few distractions taking away from my time with them, there was more time to maintain the house and cook meals at home and I became very focused on what I wanted our family structure to look like. It was our new normal. We did miss out on time with our friends and family at those lunch dates and a couple birthday parties as a result, but the money we were able to stash away for a house made the inconvenience of it worth it. We were saving money every month by choosing not to take on a car payment (averaging between $300-500), increase in car insurance ($50-100) and increase in gas consumption ($200+). 

Flash forward three years and we were still a one vehicle family, but we knew we were going to transition out of this stage of our lives. With a child starting school in the fall and work changes that could result in my needing to return to work we decided it was time for us to purchase a second vehicle. We waited until our other vehicle was paid for so we would not be taking on more than our budget would allow and my husband was diligent about his research before we purchased and as a result he has his long awaited pick up truck. 

The idea of transitioning back to a two vehicle family is harder for me than I thought it would be, partially because of the other big changes that are coinciding with it and partially out of fear that the new found freedom will come at a cost to our structure and budget. I'm ready to embrace the new season of life we are in but mostly I am very thankful for the time we spent as a one vehicle family. It was that time that afforded me so much more time with my family as a stay at home mother in a home of our very own.