Been a while! Got pics :D

I got my camera going again so I have to share some pictures :D It's been a while I know. I have been very busy with work and getting chickens ready for winter. We have since gotten rid of the kitten (just can't fit it into our budget with all the vet visits it will need) We have four animals in the house now and don't want another right now. So then what happens the next day after we get rid of that kitten? TWO MORE show up! Not even kidding! They are bigger so they were not from the same litter. Those two lived outside for a few days and then we found out they belonged to the neighbors. Took them home and within 5 min they were back. They locked them up in their barn for now to get them used to staying home again. I hope that works. So anyway...here are a few darling pictures and what has been keeping me so busy :D

Below are a couple of nice silkies (roo is the larger one) A blue and a black



Below is Mary, Kate, and Ashley :D I know! It was just too cute! They are ALWAYS together no matter what so I couldn't help naming them that hehe. They are bantam cochin...two are frizzled and one is a smooth blue





Here is my new bunch I travelled to MN for. Most are a very nice quality silkie and I have some BLRW (blue laced red wyandottes) in there and even two turkeys. Can you find um?



below is my newest little one It's a bantam cochin (hoping it's a blue)...this poor baby hatched out all alone, all the other eggs were either not fertile or did not make it :( They were all from others. This little one is now in with the chicks that are a couple weeks older but they are treating it nicely :D



The little one below is a mix (Serama and D'uccle) one of the little ones that tiny one is with.



Below is my darling boy spike (he's a Mille Fleur D'uccle), oh is he sweet. When I first took him from a friend of mine he was pretty mean to me and would bite me at times. Now he's the sweetest boy ever. Took a lot of holding and letting him know I wasn't going to hurt him. My friend had just recently got him back from a friend of hers who didn't treat him very well :( He's got a great home here now and he's doing well. When I got him his comb laid down now it's standing tall (a good sign he likes it here :D )



Here is my other good boy "lil Beast" (black cochin roo) He was another that would attack me at first. NOT NOW! He learned quickly that don't fly here (we carry him around for a while if he attacked us...not something he adored really ;)...now he's a sweet angel :D



Well that's it for now but I will have more :D Oh more good news...they are FINALLY coming out with the new apple comp in a few weeks so we FINALLY get to get it back! Oh I missed that! I am lost without it. It was bad this last year without one. So now I will be picture crazy! :D I will let you know when we get it.

Stefan is doing pretty good...he had been sick though...haven't heard back from him in a few days so waiting to hear how he's feeling. Little stinker prob lost his phone again! GRRR

Stefan called on VP :D

It was so cute...Last night I told Nic that Stefan was calling us on video phone and he just could not sit still at all. I don't think I could hold still LOL We were both waiting patiently with our kitten in hand that we found in the hen house: We were so excited to show Stefan ;) He's an animal lover as well.

Introducing: Baby Jaguar (Nic picked out the name)



So we sit in front of our TV waiting and watching for the lights on our VP to signal a call from our little Stefan. FINALLY it did :D
He looks so much older already and he is acting very mature and responsible. Were very proud of him. Nic signed I miss you to him and showed him his kitten. We talked for an hour which for Stefan that was really good! He had a date so he had to get going. He met a girl a few days ago and they hit if off so he was taking her to Subway and then they were going back to her dorm room to watch a movie. He told me "MOM, I FINALLY met a girl who doesn't party!" He was pretty excited about that. He was worried he would never meet someone who does not party or smoke. Two things he really does not agree with. He hasn't played wow for two weeks which we were VERY proud of him for that! I was worried he was getting way to addicted to that game. He starts classes on Monday and he's pretty excited about it. He took 15 credits and all classes he thinks he will enjoy. He said he has been talking to a lot of teachers and counselors who seemed to have really given him some insight on how to succeed in college. Many students go their first year and never return. He really loves it there which I'm happy about. I would hate for him to be so home sick that he would not want to stay. He has decided to come home in Dec rather then Nov (nov they are only out of school for 2-3 days. Doesn't really pay to fly home for that. Christmas time he will be home for two weeks. Picking him up from the airport is a day I'm looking forward to! SO he's doing fine and I got to actually talk to him rather then text only so we are good for a few days.

Stefan, you wanted to see what grandpa has been doing to the yard. Here are a couple pictures of that: It looks much better and the chickens LOVE all the extra forage room too ;)














Here are a couple Frizzled cochin chickens. They are the sweetest hens ever. There is a blue and a splash: The splash is Ashley and the blue is Kate...yes, I do have a Mary to alone with them. They are my trio Mary, Kate and Ashley LOL I do have an Olson but he is in another cage right now. To young to add him.










Well, I'm heading out for now but will be back to add more photos later now that I can figure that out :D

Mini Coop done

OH How I want my apple computer back! I just can't figure out how to get the pics to upload to this computer. I mean I CAN get them on here but they are humungoid! Then it's transferring them all one by one to photobucket and ugh! SO MUCH TIME! Hubby does two things and they are all small and on photobucket. So I wait for him, patiently....wait. He's been busy though with work so I will be patient. He has tomorrow off and I'm going to beg him to get the photos on here then. I'm going to at least get a couple I really wanted on here so you guys can see my mini coop :D It turned out really cute and I did it ALL myself. Well, with the exception of my dad holding one of the coop doors while I drilled a hole. And hubby screwed in three screws for me that were way up and I could not see them. I was going to get the ladder and do it but he just did it for me while he was out there looking at it. Otherwise I measured, cut and built everything myself. Sometimes I amaze myself. I will get the pictures on when I can.

Haven't heard from Stefan in a few days so I'm going to try to get a hold of him today. He has went to the whitehouse and I'm curious if he got to see the president or not. I sure wish he would text more often :(

Well, gotta get going for now but will update with pics later. Have a ton of them now to post.

Here are my pics of the mini coop (above nest boxes):

Work??? NOT ME! ;P

I have the next SEVEN days off work! I am thrilled. It's our Anniversary on Aug 29th so I took the weekend off (I usually have to work EVERY weekend) so it turned out that our large contract with an airline has downsized the amount of rooms they need so our hours at work decreased also. Just turned out to be the same week that I asked off for my weekend. So I ended up with that many days off in a row. The paycheck is going to suck but I'm going to enjoy the time home. I need to do some serious spring cleaning anyhow (cleaning under fridge/stove, curtains...that sort of thing. Plus I plan on building a mini coop inside my big chicken coop for my Serama chickens so they can be outside and still be warm for the winter. I'm planning on doing this on my own so that should be interesting. I will be sure to take pictures LOL I'm not promising what it will look like but I'm going to give it a try :D It's mainly going to be a frame with screen around it and a floor so shouldn't be TOO hard. RIGHT? Oh ya, I already have the nest box...made that last year for my cochins but they have their own coop now so I can use that for the Serama's.
I have baby chicks hatching today also :D I am giving them away, I just wanted to test fertility on my eggs before I started selling them. THey are INDEED fertile and VERY strong chicks too. Were enjoying watching the hatch today. The lady I am giving them to will pick them up this Sat. I also stuck several Cochin eggs under two broodies here. They are due to hatch in about 14 days. They are pure bantam cochin eggs. Can't wait for that.

In other news. You will never guess what my dad found in the hen house two days ago! Guess...did you guess????
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A........KITTEN! YEP another kitten. I'm sure you all remember the last kitten we found in the middle of winter 10 degrees outside at 4 weeks old! WHO was very sick. See this link. The pictures are screwed up on my journal but you can kind of see him. YES we STILL have him lol Cory is such a sucker for that sort of thing ;) Well this kitten was at least 6-7 weeks old and not sick at all at least. He is a adorable! And guess where that "kitten who was suppose to live in the hen house" is right now? Yup, in our house! UGH! I sure hope we don't run into anymore stray kittens cuz cleaning the litter box will become a regular every day job instead of every couple day job. I have pictures..will post later.



Well, better get going have lots to do today and it's already after noon.

It's cold here today!

It's not even going to reach 70 today and it's been raining all day. Where do my chickens hang out when it's raining?? Well, I have pictures I will add here later tonight. I can tell you this...it's NOT in their DRY EXPENSIVE 8' X 8' home with nice soft pine shavings and nice clean nest boxes NOPE...not there! Pretty funny really. I'm suppose to make a trip (about 45 min away) to pick up a hen but not sure if I want to do that if it's raining. May do it tomorrow in the morning. Have to be back in time for my book party tomorrow though.
Well, last week my MIL got into a car accident...she is not sure what happened but she is not feeling well right now. We decided to give her some time off of babysitting so my sister is watching nic (he gets to play with his cousins so it's ok with him). It's only Mondays and Tuesdays so not to bad and it's only an hour and 1/2 till Cory can pick him up. She can't drive anymore for a while at least. Nic got to visit yesterday for a bit and he loved that. We will see how next week goes to see if we will have her watch him or not. May give her one more week off. We just thought it would be best if we are home when Nic is visiting and that way if she gets tired she can just call us and say come pick him up...I need a nap. Work may adjust my time too so that was nice of her. They may change the schedule around so I can work 4pm to midnight instead of 3-11. I told her only if everyone is ok with it. That way it's one hour less she has to worry about. Cory can usually be home by 5:30 if he has to be.

Another OUCH for Nic...(this happened three days ago). I was up early about 5am and decided to start some laundry. Nic woke up and come down looking for me. He was standing behind me in the laundry room and all of a sudden started screaming. I turned around and he's hopping around on one foot screaming OUCH OUCH OUCH! I asked him where it hurt and he points at his heal. I look and then see a bee on the floor still alive. He was stung for the first time in his life. I was worried and watching for any allergic reactions. Give him some benadryl right away and put an ice pack on it. Within 1/2 hour it was like nothing happened. At least I know now that he is not allergic.

Watched the "Hannah Montana" movie last night. It was cute. Cory laughs at me when I watch those "teen" movies he calls them but he was right there with me watching ;D HEHE SHHH I didn't say that on here! Don't tell him!

Ummm lets see...I don't thing anything else interesting happened lately so I better get upstairs and make some breakfast. I can't believe it's almost 9 already and I was up at 6am and got almost nothing accomplished so far today! Talk later :D Have a great week.

Been watching some movies finally

Hey everyone. My son "nailed" his placement math exam he says! It was a test to see where he will be placed in college when it comes to math. Also, we had been having trouble with getting his diploma and that is finally fixed. The school for the deaf had sent the incomplete transcript so we waited to hear from them leaving messages (everyone was gone for the summer) Finally I got a hold of the principal there and she helped me out and got it done. His grades were all A's and B's with one C being in budgeting LOL Go figure! Anyhow, we got it and it's all good and I get to pick up his diploma on Monday. He had to get it from our home school system which stinks. In order to get it from the School for the Deaf he had to go 2 years there. That's ok tho...he got it and he's happy.
We have been watching a lot of movies lately. One that was really good was "17 again" It's a watcher folks. Very funny! I will list the others later. Have to get going...gotta get up very early to go to work again tomorrow. This morning was a 4am work day too so I'm exhausted tonight. Everything else is going pretty good. Slaughter date for the meat chickens is coming up soon. About 2 weeks. That will be strange! Now they all follow my dad around LOL Pretty funny site really. He has 37 chickens walking behind him whenever he walks around. They see him most of the time so they know him well. The hens will follow me everywhere but not the meaties. Well, unless they are hungry then they will follow anyone! Gotta go! Talk later.

I got a text ;)

My son text me this morning :D It made me happy. Two nights ago I was trying to talk with him and I was asking all sorts of questions lol he sent me a text back saying Mom, I'm really busy right now I will text you back. UGH! That drives me nuts when I want to know answers to the questions I was asking him. It's way harder then I thought with him being almost 1000 miles away :( I miss him a lot and knowing I can't just drive to see him any time I want is driving me crazy. So this morning when I got his text you can imagine how happy I was. He was getting ready for class so he just wanted to say hi and tell me he would text me on his break. He still says he's loving it there though :D
Well, last night and the night before last we made home made bread...(four little loaves and one big one) I put four little loaves in bags and gave them to my co workers along with some fresh home made butter. They loved it! Then Cory brought some over to his parents and he said they loved it too. We had to make more last night so we had some LOL I think I could live on those two items alone! LOL Well along with farm fresh eggs and OJ so I could get some vitamins. Every day we try to omit another form of preservatives. The more we read on this crap the more we really want to make everything home made. Cory is a big helper when it comes to this because he loves the finished results we get. And he's worried about all the preservatives in the foods now a days. We all work together as a family so that's nice too.
Oh my daughter had a really good date the other night...he got her flowers, took her out to eat and they went to the fair. He paid for everything and she seemed to really like him :D He's the captain of the research vessel that she met.
Well, I better get going..Cory did all the laundry yesterday and I need to get it hung up and put away before I head off to work. Cindy, if your reading this I will bring over some fresh bread and butter the next time I visit. I also have some towels for you.

Home made??

Well we have made home made butter and let me tell ya...we are hooked! It's 100% better then the store bought butter and way healthier for us too. We will now be making home made butter. We are also making home made bread (that was a long time ago if you all remember) and now we have looked into making our own cheese as well. In three weeks we will have home grown chicken (they go to the butcher then) I may have to quit my job to keep up! LOL No, it's not really that time consuming and it's WELL worth it.

One highlite of our night tonight was meeting our daughters friend (hopefully maybe boyfriend some day) He's very nice and we think he would be good for her. He's a research vessel captain and he's 28 yrs old. Alex is only going to be 21 but I think she needs someone older. Nic loved him and when we got there he was under a tent with Nic talking with him. I should have got a picture of the two of them. Well, got a movie so were going to go check that out. I have to get up at 2:30 am to go to work and I work till 3pm. It's a long day like every weekend so I better get moving. Will update later. Stefan...you would like Brandon...his aunt is an interpreter for the deaf :D

Whats going on/bragging a bit ;) I love my kids

On Thursday Stefan will have been at Gally for two weeks! He has text me a few times now though. The night before he text me asking me to check out a website becasue he wanted to purchase a blackberry phone and asked me if that would be ok and what I thought of the phone and if his dad was available to look at it for him. I told him if the price was really what they say and there is no hidden costs (we all know how that can work) that it was fine with me. The phone is suppose to be free (with a mail in rebate that is) and then it is suppose to be 30 bucks a month. Well later that day a 280.00 charge came out of his checking. I text him back and said WOW that's a lot to spend for a blackberry. Was that FOR your phone? Later he text back and said...NO I put 280 in my savings account and waiting on the phone right now. THAT to me proves my son is growing up :D It made me very happy to hear that!

He is doing wonderful at Gally and I am just SO proud of him, I can't seem to say that enough. He really loves it there and has met a lot of new friends.

He told me a few days before he left for school "mom, what if I don't find the right girl?" I said what do you mean by that? He says "well, I have been looking and I can't seem to find a girl who does not smoke, do drugs, or drink and is nice all in the same person" I told him he just needs to keep looking and he will just know when that person comes along. He's so young but that has been on his mind for some reason since he has turned 18 or maybe even before that. If anyone knows Stefan they know he has always been a kid who does not drink, smoke or do drugs...heck the kid even refuses to speed and yells at me when I do! LOL And he never wants anyone who would do those things and we all know in todays world the peer pressure is awful and most kids are not strong enough to say no so I can see why he is worried. When Stefan gets married I know he wants it to be forever so I told him that he is allowed to be picky to some extent. The girl who finds Stefan will be a lucky girl indeed IMO :D

I am so lucky to have three wonderful children... My daughter just informed me she has an interview with a nice company where she can make really good money and I am so proud of her too for not giving up when times got tough for her. She is my strong willed child that is scared by NOTHING. She says it like it is and to your face. She doesn't care what others think of her. She is SO opposite of her brother (she speeds) LOL NO, she is a wonderful person and would do anything for anyone. She insisted she move out the day she turned 18 and she did, and she never moved back in (except for a week here and a week there). I give her credit for wanting to do it on her own even though she really could not afford to. She did it, and she is now in her own apt (paying for it on her own) and she seems much happier now. I just pray this job works out for her.

And we have Nic...well, he's sort of between his sister and his brother when it comes to personality. He is very quiet when we are around people but he's sneaky too. His new thing is saying "I love you 40, 90, 1000, 40, 90, 100, 40, 90, +1 40, 90 +2 (going on for 5 more minutes)" sort of thing. It's so funny. We need to get it on video. He has been addicted to grandma lately with me working so much he sees a lot of grandma. When he was little and I was home he wanted mom only. He sure is my lifesaver. I'm so happy to have him here with us now that both Alex and Stefan are gone.

Ok done bragging now ;)

LISA...YES, I do still have chickens. Could never give up my chickens. Only got more...were raising meat chickens now :D


My dad is gone this week...I think most of you know that my dad had moved in late last year? He went to my sisters to babysit her dogs for her. Seems strange him not being here...mostly quiet! And I have NO clue whats going on in the news! lol He always keeps me up to speed on that. I had to get into his room and CLEAN...he's SO messy! I washed his sheets (he doesn't see the need in that he says :/ ) and I washed his clothes. I wonder if he will notice his sheets are back to blue! LOL I will also have to add a garbage container to his room. He had empty bags of BBQ chips all over! Along with Coke cans. Ants had invaded his room. It has been nice though to get to know him sober. When I was a child he was always drinking so I never seen him and when I did see him I didn't want to be around him. He had to quit due to his health but by that time I had already pretty much decided I didn't care to have anything to do with him. Not that I didn't want to but I just didn't know HOW to I guess. He lived with my sister for 11 years and he has been here with me for one so far. I never knew anything about him so I was kind of nervous to have him move in. It's been nice getting closer to him for the first time in my life. I know Cory gets annoyed with him not taking off his shoes in our home and just some other annoying qualities he has but like I told Cory. Carpet can be replaced easily enough when he is gone. It's worth it to me to get to know him. Cory has been wonderful about it so I'm thankful for that.

Well, nothing else going on around here really...OH we went to subway last night for dinner and Nic opened the door for me :D I have been working on manners with him and that is one thing I told him (always open doors for lady's) It was so cute.

Back from Gallaudet

It was a very sad, exciting, tiring, hectic trip but we are back home and I still feel like I will see Stefan over the weekend but I won't :( It's going to be a LONGGGG several months for me and I promised Stefan I would keep the journal updated so he could read what's been going on in our lives. I hope he emails me to let me know what's going on in his. I do know he's been getting around. We added his checks to his checking account that he got from his graduation and we seen he is using the metro system and even going to target and subway. That scares me because I really didn't see him exploring to much. I just wanted him to stay on campus! LOL I know...silly, but I'm a worried mother! I can't stand this and I hope I find a way to cope with it and realize that he's not a baby anymore *crying* Oh it's going to be hard but I will do it.
Nic is not understanding the length of time till he sees his brother again. He is thinking it's going to be the weekend like before.
I explained to him that we would not see Stefan until AFTER he turns 5 yrs old and it 's snowing outside! Man, now that I say that it does seem SO far away :(
Nic was SO good on our trip...we had a couple times where he was a little stressed out but over all he did fantastic! He didn't even want to watch many movies. I think he only watched three the entire trip! (17 hours there over 20 back becasue we took a different route) That shocked us but we were happy about it.

Well, let me tell you a little about what went on over the week. We had two days at Gallaudet just taking some classes of our own (only the first hour was with Stefan and the rest of the two days we were separated) and we learned a lot about the campus and about money for the students etc...we even had an exercise day LOL It was fun and with that we learned a lot as well. The last day we had a session on "letting go" THAT was harder then I thought. One of the single moms there (by the end there were only four couples left and two single moms) started crying so hard (she was letting go of her only child...a girl) and that made ALL of us women start crying. Oh I felt so bad for her. It must be extra hard for her to lose her one and only. At least I still have Nic here to help me through it. We got to see Stefan a few different times...the first day there we figured we would have lunch with him so we were looking for him and where do we find him? At a table with three girls! Well, he's fitting right in and he seems happy to be there. The last day he looked a little sad and I asked him why he was sad...he said he wasn't sad to be there just sad that we were leaving and he wouldn't see us for so long :( He has already made lots of friends there in just the two days WE were there with him. I have to say I am SO SO SO SO glad we went with him. I would have been a nervous wreck if I hadn't. Now I seen the campus which was BEAUTIFUL and I know he's going to be safe. It's completely fenced in and they have a guard on duty 24/7 at the gate where you drive in. I have some pictures to share with you. We were not able to take many as I forgot to charge my darn camera before we left but I did get a few.

Another great thing that happened on our trip was I got to meet one of my online friends from IN :D Her family and ours went out to eat and we talked for a few hours before we had to head out to our last hotel stay on our way home.

PICTURE TIME:

This is Nic in front of the Gallaudet hotel which was full so we had to stay 12 miles out which was ok...traffic was NUTS but we survived.



Here is Stefans summer dorm (Peet Hall)



This is the center court of Gallaudet...it was very pretty here and relaxing. I wish I would have had a better picture of it.



This is where Stefan will move the middle of August for his freshman year. Poor kid has to more his microwave, fridge and all his stuff.



Don't know the person standing by the sign but wanted to get the picture of the sign.



This is a really cool interactive sign in one of the building at Gally It signs all the instructions for the deaf. VERY cool!



The cutest part of our trip: BABY DUCKS!





The kids walk across the stepping stones rather then go around



Stefan during one of HIS sessions with his group (he's in the red shirt and grey shorts)



Stefan with his ID badge (around his neck)



Stefan saying goodbye to Nic



Nic in the pool in IN on our way home. This is our last night in a hotel for this trip!







And last...me (on left) and my friend Shelley whom I was so happy to finally meet! I may see her again in Oct as we may go back for the big homecoming weekend and see Stefan. I just may HAVE to!



That is it folks! I will be updating more often here now so my son can keep up to date with the family and it's goings on. I have grad pics I'm adding in my back entries so they are by the correct dates check those out too!

Leaving for Washington DC soon

Well, Wed morning we will be leaving at around 4am to head to Washington DC. We are taking our son to college :( It's a sad thing but a really happy thing to. I'm really going to miss him! I have been slacking on the journalling lately but hope to get back to it soon. I hope everyone is doing ok and I miss you all! I have just been SO busy lately that I don't have much time to get online anymore. Still working full time and now we have upgraded to three chicken coops (yes, I STILL love my chickens) :D They have really made me happy and everyone here is doing great! Nic is getting big (he's going to be 5 this Nov already) and nothing big to talk about right now. I will try to update with pics soon after we get back home next week sometime. Take care!

Busy

I'm very busy raising Meat chickens linked here---> http://freedomrangers.blogspot.com/ And working of course. ALSO getting ready for a graduation party July 11th! That in itself is a lot of work. So I put everything on hold until July 14...everyone will be gone and my life will begin to get back to normal. But I do update my meat journal every day because we are keeping a diary on how well/bad it goes and if it's worth it or not.

I took the babies away from mommy :(

WHY? Because I wanted to put them in with my meat chicks so they can all get to know each other since they will be sharing a coop this summer. I don't have any where else for the two little ones to go otherwise. The chicks were just fine and playing with the other 25 babies and every gets along great. On the other hand mother is IRATE! She is pecking on all the others in the cage with her and calling for her babies :( I feel bad but it's the best for all. Plus she eventually has to give them up. She has started to do a little better (an hour later) and I'm sure every hour will get even better and soon she will forget. She yelled at me and fluffed up her feathers and attacked my had when I tried to get the babies LOL She doesn't hurt but she just acts big HEHE. She's so sweet and such a good mommy. Can't wait for her to hatch some more! Maybe this year yet IF I start getting fertile eggs.
Well, Stefan got his wisdom teeth out this morning and he's feeling some pain this afternoon. They got him on vicadin (SP) and 4 ibuprofen every four hours. Poor kid!
Nic is his normal get in trouble Nic LOL He's such a cutie! I can't believe next fall he goes to school already! I don't want him to!

A few pics of mother hen with her babies/ my frizzle

UPDATE: Here is my new link to our meat chicken journal

I thought I would get this picture up finally...didn't get all the pics downloaded yet but I will some day and share them with you. Here is the silkie hen with her two babies:

See the two babies?? Under the hens wing



Here is a closer look of one of them:



Watching her raise them is just the most relaxing thing ever! I could sit there and watch them for hours :D

Her is my blue orp rooster who is just gorgeous!



And here is one of my newest chicks. THis is a blue bantam cochin...not sure if it's a hen or a roo yet but will be able to tell soon enough.



New news...not sure if I told you all that we are going to be raising meat chickens from now on? Well, they were in the mail this last wed...did not get them yet. I'm worried they are lost in the mail. I have calls in to the distribution center and I'm hoping they get them there this afternoon. I would drive to get them there vs waiting for them to be delivered to my P.O. tomorrow morning. My chicks have always only taken two days to get here :( I'm worried if I wait till tomorrow 1/2 of them will be dead :( I am also starting a new journal JUST for my records of our meat birds so if anyone is interested in watching this journey your welcome to join me there. I will put a link in here when I get it made. There will also be lots of pics to see the growth...were going to be trying different meat chickens and we want to know the what the best tasting one is etc...just a record keeping journal really but it will help us know what to do in the years to come.

Stefan is home on break and we are getting invites ready for his grad party on July 11 :D He leaves July 27 to go to college. I will have lots of pics of his graduation and party when hubby gets them all uploaded for me. Watch for those later.

Update on how things are going.

Missie, to answer your question...yes, Stefan is heading off to Washington DC on July 28th :( It's going to be a happy day and a sad day for us. It SOOOO far away from us :(

Update on how I have been doing on my new health trek...well I have been doing pretty darn good. I have lost 5 lbs since starting the gym...I can tell a difference in my clothes now (just a little but I can still tell) so that's good. Like I said before...as long as the weight is coming off (even slowly) I am not going to change what I eat. I still eat pizza, soda, whatever I want and whatever I did BEFORE I started exercising. I need something to change when I hit a plateau. When that happens I will go down on calories but not until then :D I LIKE eating, why stop if I'm losing?? I DO eat fruit and healthier foods too but I don't cut the sweets or fattening things. If I want them I eat them. I am still going to the gym every day (except weekends) and I believe I am starting to feel better. And feel better mentally for sure! I have to admit...it's darn hard getting up every morning and pulling my butt out of bed to go work out but I do believe I"m starting to enjoy it. I was there today and I will be there tomorrow. Starting to get to know the "regulars" who go about the same time we do.

Chick update: The mommy is showing them food and water today so they have both ate and drank :D And still hiding under mommy to stay warm but coming out more often to investigate things. They are just too darn cute! I can't wait for the next batch she sits on. I just know I"m going to have TONS of chicks running around just to see this again. She will even be a better mother next time :D

Were getting plans made for our meat chicken coop. YES, I said meat chickens. We have decided to buy a dozen freedom rangers and send them to the butcher to have fresh chicken for our table. We are also starting a long process to prepare us for beef cattle. We will get two cows hopefully next year maybe the year after. Depends on how long it takes us to learn about them and how to raise them. AND to get our field fenced in and a shelter built for them.
We got our garden half planted now and expecting some nice veggies soon :D I really need to learn how to can so we can preserve them. Other then those things, I have been working and playing with the chickens and gardening.
I better get moving for today but wanted to come update.

We have TWO now/ MOVIE REVIEW ...SAD!!!

The other hatched out yesterday and she is just super cute! She has little puffy cheeks like her mommy (an EE or Easter Egger) and she has feathered legs like her daddy (Cochin) I just hope it's a girl now cuz I really want to keep her. I hope they are both girls and I will keep both of them. This is the cutest thing ever to witness! I can't stop watching them LOL they are always doing something different and mommy is now teaching them how to eat and drink :D She wasn't a very good sitter but she sure is a good mommy. Well I guess she did ok since they both hatched right?! They are getting brave and starting to come out from under mommy too so we get to see them more. I pick them up now and she is just fine with it.
I have my video camera on the charger so tomorrow when I get home from the gym I'm going to take some pics with that and a video too. BOY this is SO much easier then having the brooder light running 24/7 AND cheaper! I just let mom do all the work.

I did get to the gym today again...I also went thursday and Friday of last week which I wasn't here to report. I am starting to notice a difference now too. I was looking in the mirror at myself and I"m starting to firm up in certain places now :D NOW I just need to step up on the aerobics to get rid of the flab so I can SEE the firmness LOL.I lost 5 lbs since starting the gym which is good since I'm prob putting on muscle weight. We are going to get our fat % tested this week too so we can see the difference after a months time. I am also calling to make an apt with the doctor to see what my levels are. Hadn't done that since 2005. Cory got his done and all his levels improved since 2005. He is still riding his bike almost every day or every other day for sure. And we are planting our garden (1/2 done now) so that is hard work too!

Well, I better get some things done before I have to run out to work. Last night work sucked by the way. NO laundry was done at all so I got the whole works! Two HUGE carts full and our carts are the huge types on wheels. I was not a happy camper yesterday when I got to work. I did have almost all of it done by the time the auditor got there. He only had 1/4 load left to fold. Today I'm sure will be the same. Thank god I have three days off coming up here.

Next week is Stefan's graduation! I'm so proud of him! He's getting all A's and B's He goes on his class trip to Chicago this week too. We are having his grad party on July 11th. Should be fun. I have lots to do before that time though so I'm asking for a few days off work right before the party. I have to remember to do that tonight. I want to shampoo my carpets too...they are getting so bad. My dad refuses to take off his shoes and we always had that rule for our family...still do. So him being 83 and set in his ways we can't get him to change. He is forever hauling in dirt and mud everywhere. We want to replace carpets in a few years anyhow so it's not so bad, we can live with it for now. At least the rooms that got new carpets he doesn't go in thank goodness.

OH MY GOSH! I almost forgot...did anyone see Marley and Me? IF YOU DID NOT, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ FARTHER! STOP NOW AND GO WATCH IT! HOLY cow was that sad! I was crying my eyes out! Seriously! I don't remember a show that made me cry more. It so reminded me of our poor Baily when we had to get him put to sleep. We carried him home and buried him in our back yard and put rocks over his grave just like they did with Marley. It just brought back so many memories. SO SAD! The only difference was the whole family went in when he was put down. We were all crying like big babies. Poor Alex and Stefan grew up with Bailey and they took it the hardest. He was SO old though and he had a good life. I was bauling becasue I felt so bad for them! It's so hard to see your kids hurt. I'm not looking forward to doing that with Max someday. That will be just as hard. This time it will affect Nic the most. But all the sadness is worth it in every way just to have them in your life. Dogs are wonderful MOST TIME LOL We all know Max was NOT a good doggy at first...remember what our basement looked like with all the feathers from the feather pillow?! LOL Max is like Marley in a lot of ways. He's still naughty sometimes and gets into things but we love him to death and he loves us. We could never get rid of him no matter how naughty his is. The other day he peed on the couch! YESS, the couch! Thank god it was the one downstairs so I took it all apart and soaked the cushion and it's all clean and fresh smelling now :D Lots of word though. Not sure WHY in the world he did that...sometimes he dreams so deep that he doesn't wake up...that's what were thinking happened. Plus Stefan forgot to let the dogs out before bed like I asked him to do.

Ok I'm gone! I have to get something done today and I have to get ready to go in an hour...doesn't give me much time at all.

WE HAVE NEW BABIES!

I STILL have not found my camera (BUMMED) and now we have two new chicks that hatched from under the broody silkie. OH THEY ARE ADORABLE! Even more so seeing them under their mommy. Well she is not THEIR real mommy but she is a mommy to them. They are hiding under her right now but the one that hatched last night is getting brave now and showing himself to us for a few seconds before zooming back under mom. This is my first time witnessing this and I'm thrilled. Also thrilled that my dad got to see it because he wanted to see that. He said well, I'm shocked that she did it! LOL I am too since they are three days late I was beginning to give up hope. I was going to toss the eggs tomorrow if they hadn't hatched yet. I knew they would be a little late as this was her first time trying to hatch out eggs and she wasn't the best at it. We found them both outside the nest twice and she couldn't get them back in so we put them in for her. It prob slowed them down a bit. I'm going to try to get a video of this...we still have our video camera so on my day off WED I am going to do that.
I have to get ready for work now so I will chat at you guys tomorrow. I DID get to the gym again today too :D Tomorrow is another day and I will make it there then too. I lost 4 lbs so far even eating what I want to eat :D It's worth it!

Back to the gym

Well today after taking a few days off from the gym...Sat and Sun becasue of working all day and Monday it was closed and I was sick on top of that...Tue and Wed I was really sick SO today was the first day back after days. I was still not feeling the best but I just didn't want to take yet another day off. It was hard going back and I got tired more easily because of having crap in my lungs yet that I am coughing up all day. Nick has been sick too but he is getting better faster than I am.
We just got in from mowing, taking care of chickens, raking the lawn to get some nice greens in our compost pile, and cleaning chicken coops. It's been a long day today. Plus I got some laundry done and a little cleaning. Tomorrow is another gym day and then it's back home to clean some more. I told Nic that him and I could have a picnic outside for lunch so we will make sandwiches and have a fun time outdoors.

I have chicks due to hatch tomorrow :D Two of them...the eggs that the silkie is sitting on :D I can't wait to see what type of mother she is. I hope she doesn't eat the chicks like the other darn hen did.
Our blue orp rooster has taken a liking to the hens and is spending the night in the big hen house tonight. He hasn't quit figured out the mating part yet but he's young.

OUr little silkies are getting HUGE! Remember I got four babies a while back. A black, blue, splash and white. I know for sure I have one hen and one roo but two are stumping me...I'm thinking two hens and two roos. Not sure yet though. They are always so hard to tell. They are in a different cage right now away from the new mother to be but will be added to it again after the chicks are big enough to move out. The chicks will get a new home as well (they are mutt chicks from the hen house)...I am just hatching them to check her mothering ability before I allow her to hatch other eggs. OH I also got a splash Frizzle bantam cochin and two (I think) blue bantams...one frizzle one straight. I cant wait to see them all grown up :D
I haven't been able to find my camera for days now and I have LOTS of pics I want to take. I could have had a few really cute ones that I missed. LIke Nic and Olivia (our barred rock hen) looking into a puddle of water. Nic was all scrunched down by her on his feet and it was so darned cute! Not sure what they were looking at but something got both of their attentions.LOL Our chickens are just getting so very friendly because they know we are trust worthy now and they aren't afraid of us at all. Most of them will jump right up on your lap now. Max and Cubby are both great with them and even left alone they do not even bother chasing them. It's wonderful! Just a little training and they are just fine. Well, were going to watch Marley and Me so I will update tomorrow. OH eating went fantastic tonight :D HEATHER!!! I need you to send me your link to your journal. I can't find it!

Almost done with week two!

Today was a great day...well, maybe not perfect but today I did a lot of research on weight and what calories I have to stick to to lose my desired weight. I have to eat about 1600 calories...or just a tad bit over that to continue to lose. I can do that! I can~! I did today in fact and that was with eating out at McDonalds for lunch. My total intake at Mc D's was 1060. More then I would have liked but it didn't ruin my day. IF i had had breakfast I would have been over for the day but since I didn't I was ok. I had Tuna over biscuits with green beans for dinner. I stuck with only the 2 biscuits per serving amount and I was just right. Not to full but not hungry after eating. I had a nice LARGE glass of water too. I did end up having 2 sodas on top of everything but even with that it didn't bring me over my calorie limit. My calories today were right around 1660 for the whole day. Not bad. Now I just have to choose healthier items next time.

I did 30 min on the elliptical and our regular weight training (usually takes me 30 min) Week one and two were 2 sets of 12 reps each. Week three and on will be 3 sets of 12 reps. If that gets to easy we up the weights. SO far it's NOT so easy! I have also started a food diary. Keeping track of EVERYTHING I eat will help me keep track of calories in/calories out. I want to KNOW how much weight I'm going to lose each week. Right now it should be between 2 and 3 lbs a week if I figured it out right. That is with 1600 calories and 30 min of reg moderate exercise. I can tell you this...I'm thinking I'm doing more of the excessive exercise the way I'm feeling lol! According to the exercise charts it's considered "moderate" :P '.'. Oh well!

The gym will be closed on Sunday and Monday for Memorial day break. I'm thankful now that I have the 24 hr gym to go to. I will have to use that on Monday. I don't exercise on Sat and Sun YET... I think I will have to go down on hours worked (11-12 hours each day) at work in order to do that. And right now that's not possible. Even though I don't go to the gym I'm getting pretty good exercise at work. I mean I DID lose my first 20 lbs just adding work and not changing anything else so It should be a good source of exercise for the weekends. The big thing is I have to keep control of my eating there. I can't eat the candy bars or the chips anymore like I did before. I just have to make healthier choices. They have fruit and even steamed veggies If I choose so there is NO excuse. Just have to be firm! I will do well this weekend! I WILL!

TEN whole days!

Can you believe it? I can't! LOL Out of those 10 days I exercised all but two so far. I am really loving the exercise even though I have sweat dripping from my head while doing it :D It's hard, it's not SUPER fun, it's not even relaxing but I do love it. I remember in my young days I was addicted to exercise and I HAD to exercise every day no matter what!

Well after losing 20 lbs since starting work (I was in the early 290's when I started work back in October of 2008...thanks Christopher for catching that error ;) ) I had to go to an 18-20 pants instead of the 22-24 like I was in before. NOW today I tried on the 22-24 after wearing only my 18-20's for two weeks and they feel even bigger :D I'm getting rid of all of them and starting over with 18-20 sizes only. The weird thing is I'm still in a bigger top! I know my bust is bigger and I can't WAIT for IT to shrink so hopefully after a few months that will change as well. I'm still buying 22-24 shirts...sometimes 26! What the heck!?

Hubby told me today that I can go buy a few more pants to hold me over until I have to go down again to the next size ;) MWAHAHAHA I'm feeling good about this! So anyway...I went to the gym this morning and we did the usual workout plus added the extra 10 min of cadio. I found a new elliptical that does NOT make my toes fall asleep :D (did I tell you that last time?) SO I do 20 min on one and 10 on the other and sometimes I even hit the treadmill for 5 min all at close to my max heartrate :D (treadmill is at 3.0 mph and the elliptical is right around 4.0 now...started out at 2.9! Big improvement just over a week and 1/2. I am also getting a mile in before my 20 min mark now :D I am SO proud of that. I'm sweating like a crazy person and my face is red as a beet when I'm done but I feel good afterward! Nic was kind of scared when my face was so red LOL He told me he didn't like that face. HEHE
Ok off to Fashion Bug to shop! I have a coupon too :DDDDD Talk to you all tomorrow.
OH BTW hubby lost 12 lbs! He's riding bike almost every night now. And I also had an amazing breakfast buritto I made myself. Scrambled eggs, onions, salsa on a buritto shell. YUM