Stanley and his Chicks

Did I tell you that one of our hens ended up being a rooster?  I can't remember.  But yes.  We have a rooster.  I named him Stanley.  Punk wanted to name him "Rooster-y" or something like that.  But I over-ruled her.

Stanley.  He is a very pretty/handsome boy.  Some days I want to make him into chicken soup.  Other times I ignore him.  You know that he cock-a-doodle-dos ALL.DAY.LONG?!  Not just in the morning.  All day.  He starts about 5:00 am and goes from there.  Thankfully he takes breaks and we have a couple of hours of quiet.  Stanley and the rooster across the street talk to each other too.  One will crow and then the other and back and forth they go.  It's funny actually.

I haven't shown you our chickens since they were little. 

Stanley.  The leader.

and some of the girls. 

You know what's exciting?

Our bounty!

Eggs!  We got eggs!  Not sure which is laying already but we have eggs.  You can't tell from the picture but they are little.  Not regular size large eggs that you would get at the store.  I'm hoping that over time they will get bigger.

I have another chicken story but it will have to wait. 

Enjoy your day!
Jen

First Day of 2nd Grade

Amelia started 2nd grade this week.  2nd grade.  Time sure flies by.

Feels like yesterday when she started preschool at age 3

look at that sweet little girl.  Oh how I miss her sometimes.  I miss the curls too.

 And here's my 7 year old, 2nd grader (I forgot about the "sign" tradition.  I wish I kept up with it.)

My baby.  All grown up.

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Punk and the Big Reveal

We celebrated Amelia's 7th birthday on Saturday with a party and happy stuff.  Lots of kids running around, swimming, face painting and balloon twisting.

 

It was a great time. 
We had cake.

And presents.  Now here comes the big reveal.  I ended up putting two balloons with a special note in a box and wrapped it up.  I was so excited to give her this gift. 

I couldn't contain my excitement but I had to.  I've kept the secret too long to blow it now.  So I was patient.  It was the first gift Amelia wanted to open.

And she opened it.  See her expression up there?  Yah. That's all I got.  No cheers.  No tears.  No "hip-hip-hoorays".  No hugs.  No nothin'.  She pretty much said, after reading the note, "I'm going to Disney.  Next present please."  What a letdown!  I'm telling you.  My heart SANK.  I'm still a little disappointed but I'm slowly getting over it. 

We chatted the next day about it and she said "Mama, all I opened was an empty box.  A box with 2 balloons inside."  The concept was lost on her, I think.  If I had gone with my original idea and given  her a stuffed Mickey and Minnie in a box with a special note, she may have reacted a bit differently.  Oh well.  It's done.  She knows and slowly she's getting excited for it.  Once she's in school (TOMORROW!), time will go by faster and she'll be ready for a vacation.

So, there you have it.  My big reveal was a big BUST.  However, 3 weeks - 21 days from today, I will be hanging out in the pool at our resort on our first family Disney trip.  I think I can handle it.  :)

Enjoy your day!
Jen

The Big 0-7!

Happy Birthday to my Punkie Pie!

Amelia - Age 2

Today is your 7th birthday.  Wow.  7 already.  What a year it's been.  You ACED 1st grade.  You learned how to tell time on a "real" clock.  You're reading chapter books.  You got your first pair of glassed AND your ears "drilled" (pierced).  The Tooth Fairy came to visit 4 times!  You got chickens (and Stanley the Rooster).  You attended a day camp for the first time and loved it so much, we signed you up for a second week.  And you are getting the biggest surprise of your life in a few hours (1st Disney trip!).

You are a funny, sweet, smart and loving girl.  Daddy and I love you so much!

July 2012

Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet girl.

Love-
Mama

Inspiration

Carol spent the month of July posting things she made for Christmas.  Either for gifts or decorations to use in her home.  Not everything was "christmasy" and one of her projects caught my eye.  A table runner she made with Hometown by Sweetwater.  I really like it and thought I would make the same for my new kitchen.

I found and ordered the pattern and made mine out of Lucy's Crab Shack.  The colors in the fabrics coordinate well with my kitchen.  I followed Carol's lead and did my borders the same.  The ric rac border used in the pattern is cute but I wanted to finish this one quickly and didn't want to fuss.

I haven't had a chance to quilt it yet but I HOPE to get it done for Amelia's birthday.  Simple straight lines for me.  But I'm not holding my breath.  There are 4 quilts that I would like to get quilted and I have been having a hard time pinning my husband down to help me cut the backings.  He is the math whiz.  I just wing it but I need him for these.  :)

 

 

That's the little sewing I got to do.  I will make this pattern again. Super cute.  Super quick and really easy.  My kind of project!  :)

Thanks for the inspiration, Carol!

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Amelia's Sunshine

I'm not much of a gardener.  The year we were getting married, I hustled in my yard, getting flowers "just so" and driving my soon-to-be husband crazy with the watering and weeding that need to be kept up with so that the yard looked glorious for our wedding.  Then 3 months later... surprise!  We're expecting our Punk.  Needless to say, no weeding or planting happened that spring and summer.  I was overly pregnant and very swollen with excess fluid and the heat.   Gross.  I never went back to the yard because I was just busy with a baby and working and didn't have the time.

Let's fast forward to this year, shall we?  Earlier in the spring, Amelia got it in her head that she need her "own" garden.  Daddy and Amelia went to get more chicks and she talked him into getting her some flower seeds: marigolds, wildflowers, sunflowers and something else.  I dreaded the idea but Daddy busted out the big equipment and dug out an area for his little girl and the planting began.

She was very good about making sure the seeds got watered and she weeded at first and then the idea got boring.  The flowers were left to fend for themselves.  The weeds took over and the other flowers got choked but the sunflowers grew and grew.  Deer are known to love the plant so I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  Thankfully, all of Chris' machinery is in this general area so I think it keeps the deer away.

I didn't think they would ever flower.  Then this morning, I looked out our bathroom window and guess what I saw?!

A SUNFLOWER!!

There are about 11 more that will hopefully bloom.  I am so happy for her.  She is really excited.  I have decided that next year in this spot, it will be our sunflower patch and we'll plant double or even triple what she planted this year.  I will make sure that we keep up with the weeding.  ;)

Enjoy some sunshine today!
Jen  :)

Wow. August Already.

Where does the time go?  It's August already.  Amelia and I were talking about the month and all that's going on this morning.  This week she is attending a swim day camp.  She did a week in July for the first time and really enjoyed herself so we signed her up for another week.  Then she has a "free" week and then she's going to New Hampshire with my MIL the week of her birthday.  Then it's back to school.

Where did the Summer go???  But the GOOD thing about the summer ending and back to school... DISNEY!  43 more days, my friends.  FORTY THREE more days!  Which means 18 more days until the big reveal!  Getting soooo close!

Do you all want to see my kitchen??  Oh it is soooo pretty!  I love it.  Love it.  Love it!  Few more things need to get finished in the space before we'll call it "done for now" but we're getting there.  Window needs to be trimmed out and the exhaust hood needs to be hooked up.  Right now it vents to nowhere - actually it blows back into the house.  Defeats the purpose of an exhaust hood, doesn't it?  Chris just has to go outside and cut into the house.  Just hasn't had the time.  Next year, flooring and glass tile back splash.

Here it is!  A clean slate before I unpacked the "stuff" that goes on the counters.

 And here it is - unpacked.

 The rest of the old kitchen cabinets have been taken off the walls.  Sink base is still in the space.  The plumber was here last night, capping off the old plumbing.  We're moving along.  I actually snuck in some sewing!  But I didn't take any pictures of it yet.  LOL.  I am very scatterbrained these days.  Now that the kitchen is done, I hope I get back to normal.

Be back soon!!

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)