Chickens, Broken Bones, Fabulous Friends, and much more.

I am so tired! Whew! It's not like I have done SO MUCH today. But man, it sure feels like it! This morning my ankle was really bothering me. I kept the aircast off this morning while at Home, and just stayed on the couch. I did some things online, read a little bit, tried to keep the kids from killing each other while speeding around the house on their riding toys, and pretty much just tried to stay put. I had a doctor appointment with Dr. Kim (gastroenterologist) that had been scheduled for next week, but when I was walking into the Orthopedic Specialist's Office yesterday (or hopping along on my crutches, rather) they called and said that Dr. would be seeing patients the following day and would I like to move up my appointment? So I said sure, and at 11am today went BACK to the hospital to see Doctor. So I took a long bath, during which Ardyn and Marek both wanted to sit on the potty. Marek came into the bathroom and wanted to get in the tub (per usual) and started to strip off his pants, and then tried to pull off his diaper. He got his pants down but not OFF is ankles, and then got his diaper off, but the velcro tab stuck to the back of his sweatshirt so he was hobbling around the house with his pants around his ankles and his diaper dragging along behind him attached to the back hem of his sweatshirt by the velcro. He was saying "Dadddddddy. I neeeeed go pottty." and I could hear him searching the house for daddy. I finally got him to come back so he wouldn't pee in the floor, and Ardyn located daddy, who came and put Marek on the little potty because by that moment Ardyn wanted to go too. Marek had tried to get on the big potty but he is WAY tooo short to accomplish that feat.

As soon as I put my aircast on to go to the Doctor... excruciating. It just touches the exact spot of the break, which happens to be very near the skin on the outside of the area of my ankle bone. When I put my tennis shoe on.... Yowza. I wasn't sure I could wear it at all. But by the time I had limped to the doctor and got through my appointment, it was tolerable, or perhaps just numb.

I am scheduling another scope, this time lower only, to check on the inflammation/colitis and see what exactly is the status. It's been just short of a year since my first one, and Dr. Kim is putting me on one additional med right now that is a fast acting tablet to soothe the acid in addition to the PPI. The PPI works great, with the exception of when I lay down at night. Dr. is giving me this as a supplement to the PPI, just for use on occasion when I feel that hard to swallow lump going on. He thinks that since things have been going well with the upper symptoms, we don't need to repeat the upper scope this time. So I scheduled the scope without my calendar because I am an idiot and didn't bring it with and haven't gotten everything into MobileMe yet... and of course I accidentally scheduled it so that the PREP is the same afternoon as the school zoo trip (uh-oh) and the actual scope is the day of Ardyn's Dance class Pictures, which she will wear her recital costume for. Just seems like a couple too many things going on those two days. So I think I will move it forward a bit, so that it's just AFTER recital weekend and BEFORE zoo day. Jeez. Doctor also has switched to a new Prep (MoviPrep) which (I know this may astound anyone) I am actually excited about. ha ha. I know. But it's all liquid, and seems to be LESS than the previous amount, and you can drink MORE Liquids of your choice, AND there is no "poop pill" that you need to take on top of it. About time. It also comes in a much more manageable container than the previous GIGANTIC jug. The girls at the office said that patients have been telling them it's much more tolerable and they get better test results as well.

So, anyway, after that fab appointment (I am not being sarcastic, it really was good) I got to see AO and CB for a bit, which was cool. Then I came home and my ankle was killing me! Off with my shoe. Sarah brought a casserole and Jamie brought lunch, we ate and then I went to the couch. Foot up. Then we took a nap, that actually lasted like an hour but took about 4.5 hours, because Ardyn kept waking Marek up, causing problems, and eventually was so exhausted herself (to bed late from coloring eggs and up toooo early) that she couldn't even function. We missed dance. I feel bad because I know recital is coming up, but my ankle hurt and Evan was gone and she NEEDED to be taking a nap. Then we got up, I got a casserole from Courtney and a loaf of bread, which went right into the oven and we ate supper. Then the kids took a bath and I put them to bed. Back to the couch. Foot up. Then I went down and sorted laundry. it took my SO LONG to sort that the load I started was doing it's final rinse when I finally got the clothes sorted. yay. Then I cleaned the chicken brooder and fed and watered them.

I just wanted to note, that I am so grateful for the food. The mail train has already been awesome. We have been eating well and we are in casserole heaven... and chocolate heaven :) I feel guilty because I have been given the "yes" to walking, but it is broken and it still hurts like hell, and I am trying to limit my time on it. Plus I have two weeks of laundry, two weeks of dishes, and a ton of other stuff to do... and I hope that I can slowly get some stuff accomplished while not being on my foot much. We have a big day planned tomorrow but hopefully not a whole lot of it will require me to be on my feet :)

I AM going for a second opinion. I called my family physician, and spoke to the nurse, who agreed that a second opinion was not a bad idea. She suggested seeing Dr. Perona at St. Margarets, who used to work with Dr. Sompalli. She mentioned that she was confident in Sompalli but that perhaps a second opinion can't hurt. I have had my records sent to the physician and checked that Dr. Perona is a primary care physician for insurance and that I can go see him so soon after just seeing Dr. Sompalli. So, next week sometime. they suggested that I might need to have another xRay because the xray will be over a week old by the time he sees me, and It may have healed or changed since then. So now we wait a bit.

Tonight Evan brought in the two bags of chicken food I got on Wednesday. I bought another 20# bag of chick starter and a 40# bag of 15% starter finisher. I have been doing a ton of reading about chicken health and nutrition, and several of the books that I have read, recommend that you move chicks of my particular breed to a grower/finisher at around 8 weeks, instead of 10. Then you keep them on the grower/finisher until they start to lay and then move them to layer. I wanted to get some more feed at TSC the last time I went, and when I told the lady that I wanted to buy some starter/finisher and asked her where it was, she tried to talk me out of it. In fact, she downright refused to show it to me because she told me that my chicks needed to stay on chick starter until they were 10-13 weeks old. Um. Okay. I was stumped because I had read a bunch about being able to move them sooner, and the chick starter comes in fairly small bags and I was about to finish one. I wasn't sure I wanted to go buy another bag of chick feed and then move to finisher after that. I had intended on buying the finisher, opening the bag to see if it was much larger (pellet) or more of a crumble, and determine if they can swallow it. She wouldn't even show it to me. Grrr. This was the samek woman who told me that I didn't need to buy pine bedding for my brooder if I already had cedar, because it didn't matter, and then a week later I read in like 5 places that cedar contains a dust that causes a lung disease that will kill chickens, and that young chicks are incredibly susceptible to it. Nice. So I ended up making my THIRD trip into the store for the correct bedding, that cost me $4.50 - less than the gas it probably took me to make the trips. So later that day, when I got home and started researching feed again, I kicked myself for not telling her where she could stick it. AND then this week I went back and got a bag of chick starter and a bag of finisher. When I opened the finisher, I saw that it was really small crumbles and then I was cranky because I had already OPENED the bag of chick starter (duh) and I probably could have gotten away with taking it back. These chickens are HUGE, but they are about 5 weeks now so I just tell myself that I will feed them starter for another 2 weeks or so and then whatever starter is left I will start to halve with the finisher and transition them slowly as recommended. They are eating a TON now. To give you an idea, when they were little, they ate 1/8 quart of chick starter per day, for the whole six of them. Now they are eating a full quart feeder of starter each day. I don't want to give them much more than that because they are a heavy breed and I don't want them to get overweight as they will get foot and leg problems. Right now they are eating just that much, and leaving a tiny bit in the feeder by feeding time. So they are eating EIGHT TIMES what they ate 2.5 weeks ago. Yep. And they drink 2 quarts of water a day. They are already technically outgrown their brooder, but so far they aren't really fighting, are very healthy, clean, and happy... and have great appetites. I do have one runt, but it doesn't really seem like she is being picked on. In fact I sometimes wonder if she might be a he. I clean the brooder and their feeders every day, so I am not as worried about the crowded quarters as I could be. They still like to roost on their perch (a tension curtain rod) and they also like to fluff their feathers big and full and kick around the pine chips to make a nest like impression in the bedding and lay down together. Too cute.

So, that's the scoop. I have an icky feeling that there will be water in the basement tomorrow. All the rain that is already making water stand in the yard, and the forecast for tomorrow is for severe storms and rain. Wind, hail. I hope this isn't so, but I tried to tidy up the basement a bit so that things don't get wet. I put all the chicken feed and potting soil up on the potting bench, and then I refilled both 5 gallon buckets with fresh feed and covered them tightly. The only thing I didn't get done was sweeping the floor a bit, but it's 1am so I think I might be okay to just sleep now.

And Yes, this is how I take it easy. If my body rests, even the slightest.... my mind RACES.
For example, if God promised to never flood the world again, what is this inevitable doom that seems to make me want to build an ark and protect my family. All this rain. The storms and the rain get worse each year. The ice caps are melting, and I believe that scientists might be right when they say that the Earth is in this natural life cycle where it cleanses itself of our bad influences to start itself fresh again. We could be wiped out like the dinosaurs. What's God's perspective on that? I don't feel very safe here right now.
Goodnight!

Is there any topic I don't touch on?

It's strange that we have been so busy, but I don't feel like I have anything to write. This morning I am trying to get some things done inside, because we have been gone so much that I am again getting behind. I am having a hard time convincing Marek that he does not need to be outside every second of the day, particularly because mom sometimes has things like laundry or dishes that need to be taken care of. Although, despite all my green efforts and lack of paper plate use over the past two years, I am seriously considering some heavy paper plate use this summer. It would be so much easier to keep up on dishes if summer meals were on disposable plates!

Today is the second day that we have our new friend Asher over to play. It has been going well, he is a sweet little guy. Marek doesn't really do well with Asher being the small one, but whenever Marek even looks at Asher or tries to talk to him or play with him, Asher starts crying... so that's probably not helping much. LOL. But they are excited to see each other in the morning, and so that is a good start.

I am going to start trying out a new iPhone app, called Home Routines. I am hoping it isn't like the other apps that seemed like a good idea but I could never keep up with, like Grocery IQ, Groupon, Mealboard, etc. The Idea by home routines is much like Flylady, or Motivated Mom's Planner. Another mom brought the Motivated Moms Planner to MOPS last month, but I missed the meeting, so I didn't know about it until I saw Facebook talk. I googled it and looked into it. It seemed very promising, except that it didn't have the ability to customize, and if you want it customized, you might as well make your own planner. On the Motivated Mom's Planner website, I was looking at the cost ($8) and saw that they had an iPhone app. the app is a little more flexible and also costs about the same. But then I saw that there were other similar apps that were higher rated, specifically Home Routines, which allows you to fully customize your tasks if you choose to, and edit them, and also allows you to add your own tasks, your own zones (which can also be edited) and has options as to when your chores reset, which zones happen which weeks, etc etc. It was also less than half the price, and had more and higher ratings by users. I decided to go ahead and give it a try. It's great because I have morning chores, afternoon chores, evening chores, and weekly chores, and I can even add other things if I want to. The zones are so nicely customizeable, not just WHAT your zones are (I put the bathroom in the same zone as the playroom and kids' bedrooms, because we always tend to work on those three together) and I appreciate the fact that I can add a front porch, back porch, and pantry to the pre-programmed list of zones. I can cluster rooms together (like dining room and living room, because ours are sort of one in the same) and that I can edit exactly what I want to do in each room, like have the kids pick up their crocs and put them in their baskets, or replace the hand towels in the bathroom, or take the recycling to the van on a specific day so that it makes it's way to Princeton when we are already heading that way for preschool. I can even create a morning chore that reminds me on that day to take the recycle OUT of the van and to the recycle center.

Now the thing is, I can still ignore tasks if I want to. So it all boils down to WILL I DO IT and WILL I KEEP DOING IT. I hope they come out with a motivation app sometime soon.

I am currently working on my Farmgirl Badges. This week I am hoping to get to Hobby Lobby to get some transfer paper so I can print out the badges I have earned so far.. and start embroidering them. I have Crochet beginner and Crochet Intermediate, Shopping Green beginner and Intermediate, Gaining Ground Beginner, Backyard Farmer Beginner, First Aid Beginner, and Aprons Beginner. I have several more that are partially completed. Once I get them all embroidered, I have no idea where I am going to attach them. Some put them on a denim jacket (which I don't want to do) and some on a tote bag (eh. I dunno)

We went out to the farm yesterday to work on the coop. the weather was beautiful and there was plenty to be done, but dad was working on seeing the hay ground, so I could only do the things that I could accomplish without any help. I took the roof off the chicken coop and pulled all the nails. Then I drew out the nest box measurements on the plywood. Last night I brought the plywood home, hoping that I would be able to cut it in the garage after the kids went to bed, but that didn't work because I couldn't find the circular saw. Someone must have taken it out of the garage. I found a the battery powered one, but it just couldn't cut it, which was SO frustrating. I ended up starting and having to leave it uncut. Grrr. Today Evan looked for the saw and said it is missing from the garage. Boo. SO now I am trying to determine if I want to feed everyone lunch and then load up all three kids AND the plywood and try to go to the farm and get it cut, or just wait till sometime later. Problem is, chicks are growing fast and weather is about to turn cool and rainy again, and I would love to be moving forward. Before we can side and roof, we need the nest box assembled and attached, and the holes cut in the back wall of the house for the hens to enter the next boxes. I need the side access door cut in the wall of the house, and a front and side door built and attached. The legs need to be put on.... and then I can work on siding. There are so many things that I feel like I can do if someone would just show me how to get started, but it's hard because dad has lots to get done too when the weather is nice. I know I should just be patient, but patience means full sized birds crammed in my basement.

This morning I got a call from the Gastroenterology Office about arranging payment for my bill. I had just opened it last week and thought it was awfully high, but what else is new. I hadn't gotten a chance to look up all the EOB's yet. I decided to go ahead and call the insurance company. Come to find out, all 4 claims were processed as out of network and nothing was paid.... because the Doctor's Office is not including the last two digits, the suffix, of the Tax ID number, in the physician's OR the group's billing information. This resulted in the insurance company's system NOT finding the physician or the group he practices with, and therefore made all the claims be denied for me. So the insurance company has corrected all of his tax ID numbers in their system and resubmitted them all through their system in order to have them reviewed and hopefully paid accordingly. So I tried to call the physician's office back, and they are at lunch. Of course. With no voicemail. I have such limited time to make a phone call without being interrupted by an ornery, screaming, hungry, persistent, or tired child... I hate when I can't at least leave a message so that they can call back later if they need more information. It sometimes takes me weeks to get a phone call completed.

For example, when I was on the phone with the insurance company, Marek decided he needed a banana. He had already had breakfast, AND a snack, and I was in the process of making lunch. The last thing I wanted him to have was more food because then he wouldn't eat lunch. Then 20 minutes later Ardyn starts asking me who I am talking to, and question after question, and then tells me that she needs to talk to that insurance lady about doctor bills because her ankle hurts and she wants to go see the doctor. Oy. This is why I get so cranky when my husband says "can't you just call" as though I am the person with all the free time on my hands. What he doesn't understand is that I have no QUIET on his hands. I am hoping that the new app will help me remember to make phone calls during quiet intervals.

So anyway, I call back after lunch, and I wait on hold for a little bit, no big deal. I get to the person who called me earlier and I told her that I had printed out all my EOB's and that I had them all in front of me, and had called the insurance company. I verified all the dates of service with her, and then I explained that the insurance company did not receive the last two digits of either the physician OR the group tax ID number. I told her that they were resubmitting each claim into their system with the corrected information and that it would take 30-45 days for the claims to be reprocessed and paid. This is when she started to get a little defensive. I told her that the claims had been paid as out of network providers. I told her there was one other issue that I wanted to share with her, and that the insurance company told me that the very first date of service, which was the time that I was an inpatient at the hospital and the surgery department called the gastroenterologist in for a consult, that the visit had been billed to the insurance company with an incorrect code for outpatient consultation, when it should have been inpatient consultation as I was an inpatient in the hospital. Then she got angry with me and started saying that this isn't possible, and she's looking right at the code and the location and I stayed calm and said "that's fine, I am just relaying what the insurance company is telling me, and they pay differently for outpatient consultations than for inpatient, and they may require you to resubmit the claim with the correct code." And then she said "But I am saying that is NOT possible and I don't know why they are telling you that" and I said "Listen, I understand what you are saying. I have done my part and called the insurance company and looked up all my EOB's and I am just telling you what the insurance company is doing and how they are now handling it. If you have a problem you are more than welcome to call the insurance company directly and discuss it with them." - Kind of like putting the conversation to an end.

What frustrates me is that most insurance companies and physician offices expect that every person that crosses their path has no idea about their rights, their insurance claims, and the potential (the very HIGH potential) for mistakes and incorrectly filed claims. I am not saying that the doctor's office made a mistake, I am saying that somewhere there is an ongoing miscommunication, every date of service from August 2010 until March 2011, and that this problem is not going to be fixed by continuing to do what they are doing. Obviously.

I am fortunate (I think) to have worked in healthcare, and learned a bit (and just a bit) about insurance and coding and health billing. I was also fortunate to work in the office of a REALLY particular and stingy insurance salesman (no, not related to me at all :) Who went over every single EOB and medical bill with a fine toothed comb, comparing each thing and even taking a calculator to each one to be sure there were not mistakes. And I can tell you, he found a mistake on at least 3 in 5 EOB's. This taught me that there is a very high chance you are being incorrectly charged, billed, OR reimbursed. So, hopefully this gets all straightened out with the insurance and the physician, because I have another appointment with the gastroenterologist and probably also another upper and lower scope coming up in the next month or two.

My ankle has been killing me today. I think it's because yesterday afternoon I was just sitting around here with the brace off because my leg was sweating and itching under it, and then when I left home initially I forgot it. Walking on it without the aircast felt fine, but I ended up having to come home and get it because it started hurting. Then when I was on my way home after MOPS Tacos, my ankle started to itch again, so I took it off, and forgot it in the van. Well, I have been walking on it this morning without the aircast and it hurts pretty dang bad. I am going to have to take myself outside and get it pretty soon. When Paige gets Asher I need to have Ardyn all dressed for dance class and ready to go soon after, so I keep hoping that if I just sit here with my foot up I can just go out and put the aircast on when we leave. But man is it hurting! stupid weak ankles.

Well, Marek wants to cuddle and rock, he's a tired guy today. Later :)

procrastinating....

This is what procrastination looks like. I am supposed to be cleaning the kitchen and baking Marek's Birthday cake and cupcakes. See how well I am doing? The kids got up around 10, and I gave them baths and got them, dressed, and did a few loads of laundry, which is ongoing... but I have been purposely ignoring the kitchen. Oh boy. If I could just be motivated! It might be better if the sun was out, but then I would want to be outside, and so would the kids... so it's probably just as well that it's rainy and overcast.

I also still need to figure out what Marek is going to wear for his birthday, and make the shirt if I am gonna do it. AND I need to get the key to the community center. AND I need to wrap his presents. Oy. The day is half gone and I haven't even begun. Oh well.

Marek's birthday was a fun day. We did all the things he loves to do. We went to the farm and he rode tractors and 4-wheelers and trucks. They played outside and we watched daddy and grandpa burn the prairie plots. Then we went to Farm and Fleet to get some hardware cloth for the chicken coop, and then to take Ardyn to dance. While she was at dance, Marek and I went to the John Deere dealer and he got lots of tractor time, and he picked out a new toy for his birthday. He had such a great time that we were late picking up Ardyn from dance because I had to drag him out.

Then we came home and made mini pizzas for the kids at Marek's request, and after putting them to bed, Evan and I got some Chinese takeout and ate and chatted in peace and quiet. Then Evan went to sleep and I cleaned out the chicken brooder and spent some time with my favorite chick, who is now the largest, with the most feathers, but is also the most bold and curious, and loves to be held. I am thinking it might be a rooster based on it's forward and fearless personality, but secretly hope that it's a hen, because I really want to keep this bird! Ardyn and I have already decided one chicken's name. One of the hens that we keep will be Gwen the Hen... and now I am just hoping that this one can be our Gwen. I guess if it's a rooster we can call him Glen. Glen and Gwen :)

Anyway, they are growing SO rapidly. It's amazing. They have full wings now and most of them have tail and neck feathers. Their feet have seriously increased in size, and they have long necks and their combs are beginning to form. I haven't seen wattles yet, but there is still a bit too much fluff to see clearly. I am so excited about building the coop that I can barely stand it. I want to get started but I really need to wait until next week, after Marek's birthday party gets over.

I think it's about time that I start a movie for the kids, and make their lunch and start on the kitchen cleaning. *sigh* No fun I say!

Lush Period Piece

Sunday. Long Day. Pretty productive, though not at home. We needed to get out of here for a while. BADLY. With the weather being cool again and windy, the kids are dying to get outside. They started asking to "go bye bye" as soon as they woke up.

We got dressed and headed to Peru for some lunch at McDonald's. I thought the kids were going to explode with excitement at the site of it. Oh how they miss their beloved MCD's. We can't wait until the new one gets built in Princeton!

Then we went to Menard's and returned our broken rake. No one there seemed to know what to do or be able to make a decision. They kept passing me off onto someone else, asking them to make the decision if I could exchange it. Finally I just went back to the service desk with a replacement rake and told them that I had found the replacement and wanted to exchange it and they just took the broken one and I walked out. Simple. Eventually. Once I made the decision for them. Everyone important was out to lunch, (bah.) We happened across hooded towels on clearance for $6, which is a steal. Ardyn picked a puppy and Marek picked a lion. So $12 at Menard's and a new rake. Then to JoAnn for some white thread, which I was nearly out of. And I snuck in couple of 50% off Easter basket stuffers and got a half off licensed fleece throw kit, as Marek is outgrowing his John Deere fleece rapidly.

Then we came home and took a late nap. The kids were exhausted and I was too, needed a quiet break from their constant chitter chattering. Tonight Evan brought home Ardyn's request for Taco Pizza and we all ate and watched a movie together. It was nice. We just put the kids to bed and carried a cattle tank down to the basement for the chicks to move into. The darn thing is so cold from being outside, that I have the heater running INSIDE of it, to warm it up before transferring the chicks, so I don't freeze them to death. They are really really getting big! I have taken some photos. They are flying all around (well, like 6 inches off the ground) and the largest one is getting nice and tall, and not only does he? have magnificent little wings now, but also a tail coming in! Exciting!

I am watching another "B" movie. Well, I have found several lately that have been really good. I tend to look for period pieces, historical fiction, or anything that is English :) Tonight I am watching "An Education" and so far it's entertaining. The co-star was born in Illinois :)

Last night I watched "Heartbreaker" which is the subtitled version of the French L'arnacoeur. It was awesome. I LOVED it. Even subtitled. I didn't KNOW it was subtitled when I started it, and had every intention of NOT watching it, but it was really good from the get-go, so I just had to stick to it. I also watched FAME (the remake) which was also awesome. I am just trying to tide myself over till April when the next Masterpiece Theater starts. :) I LOOOOVE Masterpiece Theater. I think if I ever donate to a cause it will be PBS. I adore PBS.

An Education is about a high school girl in the 1960's who is 16 and hopefully heading to Oxford, who meets an older man, like out of college, and somehow her parents either don't see them as romantically involved, or just think him trustworthy, because they let him take her out to cultured events. He has money, and a sportscar, and convinces her parents to let him take her somewhere for the weekend (!) and.... that's what I am watching. He turns out to be in a questionable profession and she has to overlook or accept that in order to be with him and a part of his cultured life. In P.E. She sneaks off with her friends behind a tree to share Russian cigarettes bought in Paris, where he will supposedly be whisking her off to on her 17th Birthday.

It's not a to die for movie, but good enough to keep me from pausing it so far to go check the chicks :) Oh yeah, better check the chicks!

Okay, chicks transferred to their new home! I also raised the light up since it has been a week or so, but I am thinking I might have to raise it higher because the walls of this are so much higher, and metal, that I think it might retain the heat more, and it might be warmer in there than previously. I let Boyd come down after I had transferred them. This time he was really really interested in them. Sniff sniff... and lip licking. LOTS of lip licking. This will be an interesting journey!

OMG This movie just took a serious turn. I don't know WHY I didn't see it coming. wow. Her parents didn't see it coming either. LOL.

Hmmm. Have you noticed I seem to have nothing of any significance or importance to say tonight? Well. I guess Happy Spring Break to so many of you, and I will write more tomorrow if something noteworthy comes to mind. Perhaps I will start "Young Victoria." Since it is described as a "lush period piece" I am sure it will be right up my alley.

Cooped up

It's almost Friday! Which generally means nothing to me. Except that I don't have to take anyone to school, dance, or MOPS. So, yay me!

Today the kids were mostly little monsters. Marek has just still been stuffy and snotty and coughing here and there and I think that he is really feeling the terrible two's sometimes, and he stops talking and proceeds to endlessly whine and talk in a foreign language. Now he could be Belgian (kidding!!! kidding!!!) But I think that he is actually just not feeling tip top and when that happens a whole lot of everything goes down for him. Ardyn for some reason has spent a couple of days just plain DISOBEYING or DISAGREEING at/in every single situation that is presented to her. Normal I suppose, but exhausting just the same.

Today she got her finger caught in a mouse trap at Grandma and Grandpa's, specifically by disobeying. I didn't even feel badly for her, because it was so blatantly disobedient that I figured she learned her lesson. She wasn't injured, just scared, shocked, embarassed... you name it. And I know it hurt some too. She later told me "I thought it was just something made of wood but then I saw PEANUT BUTTER...." I had to laugh at that. That is completely a child's logic. But mom, there was PEANUT BUTTER. Kudos to Grandpa Dave who can trap anything under the age of 10 with his own very favorite food. I saw it as soon as we walked into the house.

The story was that she had to go potty while we were measuring the dog house that we will be converting to the chicken coop. So I sent her into the house, with strict instructions to go potty and come RIGHT. BACK. So, time passes. I measure the doghouse, I go back into mom and dad's and she comes running out of the living room. I say "What are you doing, did you go potty?" and I can see by the look on her face that she had been caught red handed doing SOMETHING and that she had not gone potty at all. I said "You had better go now before you pee your pants!" and she said "Mom I was just looking for that little tea set so I could play it..." and I knew right away that she was looking for the tiny china tea set that I had bought at the Amish Furniture store earlier in the week. I had brought it to moms and that's where I opened it and let her play tea party with the bunnies. It was funny because she apparently thought it was grandma's and that It was at grandma's house and she was searching for it in the living room. So, off she went to potty, and came right back, and we left. Then we were at GREAT grandpa's outside and when we left there she said "I left my ring at Grandma Deb's!! It's in the bathroom" so we went BACK to grandma deb's (right next door, don't panic) and we went in together and I saw the mouse trap. I said "go up and get your ring and come right back" and I went to the basement and heard her come back down. She called for me and I said "Stay RIGHT THERE (at the top of the steps) and I will be up in one second." I heard "Okay Mom." and then I said "RIGHT. THERE. Ardyn" and two seconds later I heard a scream and I knew right away what she had done. I just knew it. Silly girl. Well, now she knows what a real mouse trap is. We use sticky boards at home because of the kids and the dog. Well, and because I can't set a mouse trap :) and I don't want to have to empty and salvage a mouse trap.

After the mouse trap debacle, we took turns sitting in Grandpa Dave's tractor (the 1086) and then we went to Princeton so that we could pick up our book order and take Ardyn to dance. Marek and I got a lot done during dance, picking up the book order and then dropping school pics off to Great Grandma, and also going to a few stores in search of some graph paper. After dance we came home and I cleaned out the chick's brooder.

I can't believe how much they have grown in the two days we have had them! It's amazing. Their little heads are now peeking over the edges of the baby pool and today one jumped up on the edge of the pool when I was cleaning it out. Tomorrow Evan will bring home the stock tank to put them in as they are now able to escape. Hopefully they just stay put tonight, I think they will because they will just sleep under the light. I am also impressed with how much they have eaten and drank in 24 hours. A decent amount! They really are growing. They now have wings! I know that sounds silly, but when born they are just all fluffy and soft and now their fluff is starting to come out and their wing feathers are all coming in. It's quite impressive. Pretty soon they will go through their "ugly duckling" phase, so I am trying to enjoy the soft fluffy chicks while I still can. I don't know how I will wait until they are all soft and fully feathered. Buffs are really full and fluffy birds, and are classified as a heavy bird, weighing about 8 pounds. And they are good for cold climates and lay eggs year round. This is what a grown Buff Orpington looks like :)

Tonight I went to mom and dad's and drew out the plans for the chicken coop conversion and for the run. There were a few compromises that I had to make, which I realized after the measurements that I took this afternoon, but overall I LOVE the design and am super excited about it. It took some convincing for dad (which I am sure is not over) because to him, of course, the dog house is "just find how it is" and really doesn't need much of anything. I, however, Can't wait to tear off the boring vinyl siding and paint it barn red, and add a green steel roof, and the external nest box and a sliding coop door, and barn doors for cleanout. Yep. When I showed dad my drawings he was surprised, but I think we are at least on the same page now and he has stopped telling me to just set the house on cinder blocks and "voila." (although dad has probably never said Voila in his life)

I am in bed... but should totally go get those drawings and take a picture of them to show you. *sigh*

Can we please wait till tomorrow? No? okay, fine... hang on....

Chillin with my Peeps

Chickens. On the Brain. That's the only way to describe us. I thought that when I got the idea to get chickens, I would be the only one (well, besides the kids) that would not laugh hysterically at the idea... or shake their heads disapprovingly. When I first told Evan that I wanted a chicken (it started with just one) He was not only open to the idea, but he seemed to encourage the idea. I wasn't sure if it was just because he didn't want me to launch into debating convincing fact-providing Meagan mode, or if he really truly thought it was a good idea. In the next day or so, the excitement with which he researched online with me was proof that he really DID want to have chickens.

I have never had chickens. When I was in high school, we moved the chicken shed (an old and very cool shed that used to house feed and chickens at different stages in it's life) from my great grandparents house on the farm, to our house on the farm. I was entirely excited. It was going to eventually be converted. I wasn't sure if I would do chickens, but was excited about possibly pheasants or quail or something that I could raise and release into the wild. I saw an animal related project, another FFA Project... I was entirely excited. I guess at the time I didn't see that my dad must have been excited too, because he moved the building for me without much prompting. At the time I probably meant that HE didn't want me to launch into debating convincing fact-providing Meagan mode, but I should have taken into account that as a child, he was raised around chickens. He had a pet chicken on a leash. He had animals all around him, thanks in part to his amazing grandpa, and his dad (my grandpa.) He had a goat looking into his bedroom window in the morning, from the garage roof. He had a pony. He had chickens. He had cows. He had pretty much any animal that they wanted to raise. I have to believe that there is something about animal lovers that just might be genetic. (I know that someone is laughing) But I have always loved animals. I have wanted to raise them, nurse them, care for them (and eat some of them) regardless of whatever stumbling blocks might have supposedly been in my way.

Growing up, no matter what animal I wanted, no matter what reason that I was given that it just couldn't happen, I would try to find a way. The only animal that I was absolutely forbidden to have, was a cat. This is probably a big reason why I am not a cat person. But my dad would never ever give on cats. And I think we knew that, but when we were young, I know we still harassed him about cats.

I am not really sure that I actually asked permission for some of my animals. Okay, for most of them. I know for a fact that I was occasionally told no.... but did it anyway. That's kinda my style. As a parent that must have been insanely annoying. But I did bring home a rabbit from school when it let out for the summer my senior year. And it was a mean rabbit. Like a wild one that we bred in class. But it needed a home and it was cute and small at first. Then it got mean and it bit and it clawed the shit out of me on a regular basis till it got to the point where I didn't have much enjoyment from it anymore. Eventually it got some type of tumor or growth on it's chest that just kept growing and eventually it got so that I could lay it in a small cardboard box and it wouldn't even try to get out. Not because it was well-behaved, but because it wasn't healthy. It was devastating and relieving at the same time... to know that the rabbit's time had come. I remember one day I left for school/work. I told dad that I was leaving the rabbit in a cardboard box on the front step and that I knew it was very sick. I told him that I hoped that it would be gone when I got home, and that I didn't want to know if it hopped into the wild or if my dad ended it's suffering. I still don't know to this day. Dad was good like that :)

Lots of animals have lived in that rabbit hutch since then.

And I had cows. A gentle, cud-chewing, pacifist mamma cow named Geraldine who I raised from a bucket calf that I bought at the sale barn, right up until the day she got on the truck to go back to the sale barn after her calving years were over. She was tame as can be and I walked her around with a halter on and my beef cattle records won me a section FFA Award for Beef Proficiency. And her first calf was named Rowdy, after it promptly head butted my dad when we tried to rope him after birth... and gave dad a serious black eye. I remember not thinking that cow would see his next day of life that moment.

And then there were all our dogs. We had bad luck with dogs. Beagles. LOTS of beagles. Beagles that got sick and beagles that got hit by hay mowers and beagles that got stolen. We were attached to LOTS of beagles. We love beagles. And one mean black poodle that we took off someone's hands when they were moving and it needed a home. Then right back to beagles. Eventually I wanted my own beagle and so despite dad's answer of NO I bought Boyd for $50 from my husband's cousin back in 1997. And he will be FOURTEEN this May! And salamanders. OH did I have salamanders! I would catch them on the road, and dad would find them, and I kept them in a muddy aquarium in the garage with slimy leaves and things in there. I loved those things. I think dad loved them too.

And I had fish in my bedroom and little crabs in the water that jumped out and I found like MONTHS later all dried up on the floor. When I was really little (4 or 5?) I had a fish named... Molly? I know that was our first bucket calf's name... but I think it was the fish's name too? It was in a goldfish bowl in the living room and one day the fish was gone and mom said she grilled me over and over about what I did with the fish, and even tried telling me I wouldn't get into trouble if I would just please tell her where the fish went. I swore up and down that I had no idea and then a while after that, she pulled out the couch to vacuum and we found the petrified fish behind the couch. She said It must have jumped out of the bowl and that then she felt bad for accusing me and drilling me for info on the missing fish when I truly did not know where it was.

Unfortunately my first attempt to have chickens or quail or pheasants never came to light, because a bad storm came through that spawned tornadoes in our area, and it sheared off pine trees in the backyard and flipped that little chicken coop right over and did enough damage that we deemed it fit for the burn pile. There are pictures of that somewhere. I was sad.

I never thought that 15 years later I would be sitting in my own house with 6 baby chicks in my basement. They are so wonderful. I love everything about them. I think I was always dissuaded from liking chickens because I was always told they poop too much and they are filthy and loud and smelly and that they peck at you and eat your plants and kill your grass.

The day that Marek and I stumbled upon the new chicks at TSC, I didn't really think about having chickens. I thought about having chickens "someday." You know, "someday" when I get to live on a farm again. "Someday" when the kids need a pet project. But for some reason those darn chicks nagged at me all day. By early afternoon I had already decided that I could have just ONE chicken. Right? I had been googling and reading and seeing things about backyard chickens... and my research rapidly expanded and continually came up with encouraging, positive, happy chicken owners. Even in CITIES. Not in villages like we live in... in CITIES. Houston. Seattle. Chicago. Really.

We set out to find out about out local ordinances (clear!) and then to find out what we would need to provide (doable!) and then to choose a breed. As soon as I opened a magazine, I saw a Buff Orpington and instantly was in love. Beautiful, fluffy, soft hens. They looked like everything a hen should be! Plump and soft and mothering. But I thought right away that those pretty chickens probably couldn't live in Illinois. The more I researched, the more pleasantly surprised I was. They were recommended for city and town dwelling. Tame and Quiet. Docile and good with pets and children. Great Egg Layers and Meat Birds. Beautiful Fluffy Plumage that keeps them nice and warm in very cold climates. The list of positives just went on and on. Heavy birds so they don't fly (bonus!) The problem would just be finding them.

I went through lots of online hatcheries, discovering that most required a minimum order of 15-25 chicks. I only wanted 1. Then a friend had told me that was really not a good idea, because one chicken won't live long without some companionship. So then I thought... well 2. Then it became three. But there was no way I could take care of more than 2-3 hens in this little yard. I wanted the chickens to be able to free range in the front yard when we were home during the day, and be outside with the kids when we played. I wanted to provide them with a small but adequate coop with a small run they could use when they couldn't free range. But there was just no way I could even raise 25 chicks... I just don't have the space! Then I found a place that lets you buy 5... but 5 chicks were going to be insanely inflated because the shipping cost of that small number was higher than for a whole lot of them. It would cost me MORE to have 5 chicks shipped than to have the same breed shipped in a lot of 15-25 chicks. What? $46 for 5 Buff Orpingtons. I set out to find a hatchery "locally" that would have chicks or even eggs I could incubate if I had to.

The most local I could find was almost 2 hours away, in Miller Iowa. I made plans to potentially drive there, sent the hatchery an email, and they didn't respond. As impatient as I am, the very day after this chicken idea popped into my head, I decided to call TSC Back and just check to see which bird breeds they were carrying. I was sure there wouldn't be Buffs there, but I was curious and thought maybe they could give me an idea of where I could go. The lady at the store ran through the entire list of chicks and ducks they had, and then said "Oh, and there is our feature chick too... let's see. What are those called? *rustling of papers* Buff something..."

I nearly jumped through the phone at her "Buff Orpingtons?!?!?! Are they Buff Orpingtons?!?!" Well, she said "that might be it." and I thought I was going to have to reach through the phone and say "For Gods sake woman, Go look!" She still couldn't pronounce the name, but I spelled it out for her and she said "yep, that's our feature chick" and then I asked how many they had and how much they were and asked them to hold 6 for me at $1.99 each. Yep. Six chicks for $12. I did only want three, but there is the issue that these are straight run chicks, which means they aren't sexed, which means that there might be a rooster (or 6, hopefully not) in my lot... and I don't plan on keeping a rooster...

If I ordered online I could have gotten pullets (female chickens under a year old) but I wasn't paying $46 for 5 chicks. Plus there is a minimum quantity of 6 chicks from TSC, and you have to order in multiples of 6. I suppose this is so they don't have someone just take ONE home as a pet and also because they won't be left with just ONE or TWO at the end of the season. I wonder if chicks go on clearance? LOL.

So they were holding the chicks and The kids and I feverishly got dressed and Evan looked at me and said "Now, you can't just go buy those chicks without having everything you need all set up for them." (really, I could tell that he knew that's exactly what I was about to do, and he knew exactly that I would make it work, but he wasn't prepared to let me do that) and so I put the kids in the van, we drive to the farm and got our baby pool (good ol turtle) out of the bottom shed and then drove to MY parents for a light, gathered the wood chip bedding that I had in the basement already, cleared a space for them, plugged in our light and then hopped right back in the van to drive to TSC to get the chicks, some starter feed, and a waterer and feeder.

So, 24 hours after I saw the chicks for the very first time with Marek, with no idea or thought of having chickens in my near future, I was already on my way to pick up 6 baby chicks. If you haven't noticed already, this is how I operate. Most people probably think that I jump into things without thinking them through, and that I am impulsive and silly. But I have to say, it's quite the opposite. In fact, I might just be one of the quickest researchers I know. The night after I saw the chicks the first time, I had already spread out a pile of about 25 hobby farm and homesteading/natural living magazines (which I already owned of course) and had read every chicken related article in every single one of them (and there were plenty) Then I got out my sustainable living book and read about every type of poultry or fowl and how to raise, care for, and shelter them. Then I read how to process them and store the meat and eggs. Then I googled and spent hours researching breeds and looking at coops and reading about backyard chickens.

The next day the kids and I talked about chickens like crazy. Evan too. We are already in a great little routine of checking on the chicks a few times a day, and today I cleaned their bedding and replaced it, and the same with their water... and also checked their food and removed any debris. They like to be held and softly petted (especially on the chest) and are nestled all snug. They lay sleeping and we like to sneak down and catch them all laying flat with their eyes closed. Evan and I both commented that the first time we saw them sleeping like that we thought they had all died. LOL. So far, it's been more than 24 hours and we still have all 6. I sure hope we can keep them healthy and safe, but I know realistically (because a hundred people have reminded me) that chicks do get sick and die, or predators get them, etc etc.

So now I have been all crazy researching pens and coops and on all the backyard chicken websites looking at photos and specs and ideas... and at things that the coop owners or builders would do differently. I have a sided and shingled wood doghouse that we are planning to convert to a little coop. I have decided that I want the coop to look like a miniature barn or cottage. I would love to have a miniature barn, red with white trim. I would REALLY love to have a cupola on top for venting with a miniature rooster weather vane (believe me, I have already looked into all of this!) But I realistically know that perhaps my helpers won't be as excited about barn details as I am, and if this is the case I am going to rally my cause for a cottage looking coop with a windowbox... maybe yellow with white trim or even a pretty blue or green. My luck it will look like a dog house that got attacked by chicken wire :)

So, that's the story. Well, someone is coughing in their bed, so I had better wrap this up. I will leave you with a couple of images that might make you smile :)

Top: Chicks Huddled together sleeping right after they got home. 2nd Row from Left: Ardyn helping pack the chicks up at the store, kids and daddy checking the temperature in the brooder, Ardyn listening for the peep peeping in the checkout line. 3rd row from left: chick close up in my hand, Marek is so excited about the chicks!

These pics are currently serving as my coop inspiration. They were generously shared at backyardchickens.com by other chicken owners.

I would really like mine to have a compartment that is latchable, perhaps under the coop, where I can store a sealed plastic containers or buckets of food, grit, etc with the food scoops. Then I don't have to find a place "elsewhere" when I can just have the supplies on hand right there. I also want to make a slatted floor that is ABOVE a solid floor, with a space between that will fit a plastic tray, like you can buy at the farm supply stores, just like the kennel trays that are in dog kennels. I would then make a small door that I can open from the outside, and slide the tray and dirty bedding out to dump or scoop, and then freshen. The plastic tray could also be cleaned/scrubbed/pressure washed whenever necessary. I choose a slotted floor over a wire floor because the specific breed I have chosen is a heavier breed and can be prone to foot problems if not on a slatted or solid floor. They don't do well with wire flooring in their coops. I think it would be nice if the house were on stilts, but I honestly don't think I want it too high off the ground. Just perhaps 2-3 feet. I want the kids to be able to see inside and help collect eggs and care for the chickens too, and I don't want it to be toooo tall and obviously glaring above the fence in the yard... plus that wouldn't block the porch windows in the location we have in mind.

I want an externally added on nest box, and I am thinking just one, but perhaps two just to be safe. I am considering that the nest boxes themselves be removeable and just nest perfectly inside the "addition" and the roof of the nesting addition be hinged for easy access and removal of the nesting boxes. I would also like a lightweight roof, instead of a shingled one. I have considered tin, or perhaps even that corrugated looking plastic that mimics tin. I have seen one coop that used the clear corrugated plastic in the roof, which allowed lots of natural light into the coop. This could be good and bad in summer heat.... so not sure about that just yet. Tin roof seems to be lightweight, sturdy, and logical. The lighter roof would allow for removal of the roof for cleaning, maintenance, and additions to the coop.

I am currently undecided on the floor of the small run. Some people have solid wood. Some people have wire bottoms. I could do slatted wood, but there would still need to be something to stop digging predators. Unsure about this. The solid floor is nice because there is a definite bottom to the coop... but at the same time, it isn't necessarily easier to clean, and I have seen dust baths with play sand done either way. Oh the decisions!