The chickens are in mourning. They have requested black ribbons for their chests. One of their beloved namesake has left this world for a better place.
Here's the story.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mourning Chickens
Monday, July 14, 2008
Chair mistreatment
WARNING: This post is not about the chickens!
Yes, the chickens are cute and all, but I would like for us to maintain a well-rounded blog, so today I'm going to talk about awesome decorating stuff.
Our computer chair was brought to our marriage by Alex and it has definitely been around the block. The original covering is some god-awful durable canvasy fabric in a puce color that is probably designed to hide stains. I have re-covered this chair 3 times now and it was time for the 4th recovering. Sorry I don't have any pics of the other fabrics-that was long before we documented every boring detail of our life with our camera.
The latest covering was the chicken fabric that matches our little recliner that's in the study. The fabric is very cute, but it's light and not very durable. As a result, the computer chair was looking pretty sad-it was covered in grubby toddler hand and mouth prints.
Doesn't he look sad?
I found a scrap of pretty upholstery fabric for $5 last week at Hobby Lobby. I thought I could make new couch pillows with it, but it wasn't even enough to cover 2 pillows.
So...I thought...I can take a cue from the nester and "mistreat" our computer chair.
The fabric covered the seat of the chair just fine-I used the staple gun to attach it underneath. When I got to the back of the chair, I had some difficulties. I couldn't stretch the fabric enough to tuck it in completely. I won't admit out loud how I got the fabric to stay, but I will say it involved a lot of burned fingertips.
After that, I had a seam that was in the wrong place-what's a girl to do?
Out comes a clearance yard of fuzzy fringe!
I love it! He looks like a cute little lion now, or actually, kind of like a tassel. Thanks for the inspiration Nester!
Yes, the chickens are cute and all, but I would like for us to maintain a well-rounded blog, so today I'm going to talk about awesome decorating stuff.
Our computer chair was brought to our marriage by Alex and it has definitely been around the block. The original covering is some god-awful durable canvasy fabric in a puce color that is probably designed to hide stains. I have re-covered this chair 3 times now and it was time for the 4th recovering. Sorry I don't have any pics of the other fabrics-that was long before we documented every boring detail of our life with our camera.
The latest covering was the chicken fabric that matches our little recliner that's in the study. The fabric is very cute, but it's light and not very durable. As a result, the computer chair was looking pretty sad-it was covered in grubby toddler hand and mouth prints.
Doesn't he look sad?I found a scrap of pretty upholstery fabric for $5 last week at Hobby Lobby. I thought I could make new couch pillows with it, but it wasn't even enough to cover 2 pillows.
So...I thought...I can take a cue from the nester and "mistreat" our computer chair.
The fabric covered the seat of the chair just fine-I used the staple gun to attach it underneath. When I got to the back of the chair, I had some difficulties. I couldn't stretch the fabric enough to tuck it in completely. I won't admit out loud how I got the fabric to stay, but I will say it involved a lot of burned fingertips.
After that, I had a seam that was in the wrong place-what's a girl to do?
Out comes a clearance yard of fuzzy fringe!
I love it! He looks like a cute little lion now, or actually, kind of like a tassel. Thanks for the inspiration Nester!Sunday, July 13, 2008
Ready To Leave The Nest
Today we are completing Week 3 for the chickens. They have grown in ridiculous fashion. At this point, they have most of their feathers, but still lack a little on their necks. Their wings have grown in, and they like to flap around the box. They also fight with each other when the box walls start to feel claustrophobic. I thought fighting would focus on beak attacks, but no. These guys jump, flap their wings, and use their feet to claw at each other's head. It's really quite violent and I hope Jackson doesn't see this. It is not in my best interest to give him another tool to use during a terrible tantrum.
I worked on the coop some more this weekend. I didn't get as much done as I wanted (as usual). It's close, but still not done. I think the girls will move in as soon as I can get it finished. Here's the current picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexlettie/2666614080/
We've decided the coop will move throughout the yard where next year's garden is planned. Our cucumbers have been growing like crazy, and the tomatoes will be excellent if they ever ripen. I like gardens. Next year's will be dramatic.
Jackson has been talking like crazy lately. He wants to learn the right way to say his words, but most of them are still difficult to understand. Jackson is also excited about his upcoming Happy Birthday party. It's a 2.5 year party since he didn't get a 2 year party due to a little brother being hatched. Jackson expects everyone to wear birthday hats and I expect everyone to give praise to the finished chicken coop.
I worked on the coop some more this weekend. I didn't get as much done as I wanted (as usual). It's close, but still not done. I think the girls will move in as soon as I can get it finished. Here's the current picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexlettie/2666614080/
We've decided the coop will move throughout the yard where next year's garden is planned. Our cucumbers have been growing like crazy, and the tomatoes will be excellent if they ever ripen. I like gardens. Next year's will be dramatic.
Jackson has been talking like crazy lately. He wants to learn the right way to say his words, but most of them are still difficult to understand. Jackson is also excited about his upcoming Happy Birthday party. It's a 2.5 year party since he didn't get a 2 year party due to a little brother being hatched. Jackson expects everyone to wear birthday hats and I expect everyone to give praise to the finished chicken coop.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Weekend Update
The chickens have been doing great. They have already grown so much. Feathers are starting to show up on their wings, and they have all gotten bigger and taller. I have been amazed at the amount of food and water they consume. I am equally amazed at the amount of fertilizer that exits the chickens.
Rose has become a real pet. I placed my hand in the box this evening, and she ran over and jumped on it so she could get her petting time. The other chicks are still hesitant to jump on and go to the big world. That's ok, their jobs are to keep us in eggs. I think that will be a doable task since we used 0 eggs this weekend. I'm trying to keep up with consumed eggs so I know how many more chickens the coop needs to house.
All 4 girls had their first outside experience this weekend. They attended a picture shoot in Lucy's fence. They knew better than to stand around in the wide open so I had a difficult time taking pictures when they weren't underneath the grill. You can see close up shots of each chicken on the flickr site. For Drew, Lettie placed a description of each chicken so you can begin to learn their personality. I don't expect you to be experts on our 4 chickens just yet, their personalities are very complex and deep seeded.
Before they went to bed tonight, I adjusted the heat lamp for night time temperatures and I heard some commotion. Sophia was chirping and running around the box at break neck speeds. She had captured a moth. The other chicks didn't care, but Sophia knew she had a real treat. She just didn't know what to do with it. That Sophia, always the first.
Pop, Jackson, and I went to the airshow today. I missed Saturday's show as I waited on Jackson to wake up from his nap. He didn't wake up until after the Blue Angels started flying. Today I took him to the show before his nap and figured we would stay as long as he wanted. Jackson did fine thanks to Lettie packing lots of food. He had a picnic and vroomed his hand all over the sky with the airplanes. He got tired about the time the rain showed up. It was very unfortunate what happened when the tents blew over in the wind. The three of us were very close to the tents when they blew over as we ran to our car in the sideways rain. We knew something bad could have happened with all that pipe being flung around while the tents flipped like dominoes, but what did happen is heartbreaking.
Rose has become a real pet. I placed my hand in the box this evening, and she ran over and jumped on it so she could get her petting time. The other chicks are still hesitant to jump on and go to the big world. That's ok, their jobs are to keep us in eggs. I think that will be a doable task since we used 0 eggs this weekend. I'm trying to keep up with consumed eggs so I know how many more chickens the coop needs to house.
All 4 girls had their first outside experience this weekend. They attended a picture shoot in Lucy's fence. They knew better than to stand around in the wide open so I had a difficult time taking pictures when they weren't underneath the grill. You can see close up shots of each chicken on the flickr site. For Drew, Lettie placed a description of each chicken so you can begin to learn their personality. I don't expect you to be experts on our 4 chickens just yet, their personalities are very complex and deep seeded.
Before they went to bed tonight, I adjusted the heat lamp for night time temperatures and I heard some commotion. Sophia was chirping and running around the box at break neck speeds. She had captured a moth. The other chicks didn't care, but Sophia knew she had a real treat. She just didn't know what to do with it. That Sophia, always the first.
Pop, Jackson, and I went to the airshow today. I missed Saturday's show as I waited on Jackson to wake up from his nap. He didn't wake up until after the Blue Angels started flying. Today I took him to the show before his nap and figured we would stay as long as he wanted. Jackson did fine thanks to Lettie packing lots of food. He had a picnic and vroomed his hand all over the sky with the airplanes. He got tired about the time the rain showed up. It was very unfortunate what happened when the tents blew over in the wind. The three of us were very close to the tents when they blew over as we ran to our car in the sideways rain. We knew something bad could have happened with all that pipe being flung around while the tents flipped like dominoes, but what did happen is heartbreaking.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Case of the Mondays
I didn't see this coming. Our chickens didn't show up today. I have everything ready for the little girls, but no one showed up. I called the chicken factory, and the United States Postal Service but I didn't get any answers. I'm working at a gov't building now days, so I fully understand our government's efficiency challenges. I have a few majorly ridiculous stories which have occured this week, but I'll put that on my Sharepoint blog at work (does anyone actually do that...Just because Sharepoint has it, doesn't mean we should use it IT guys). I should not have been surprised that they didn't come through for me.
USPS says they will call me at 5:30AM if the chickens get off their next truck. I might be there before they call to help unload the truck and look for my little darlings. Here's a picture of the Bob proof brooder with it's heat lamp. I doubled it's size after I saw how much space the food and water bowls take.
USPS says they will call me at 5:30AM if the chickens get off their next truck. I might be there before they call to help unload the truck and look for my little darlings. Here's a picture of the Bob proof brooder with it's heat lamp. I doubled it's size after I saw how much space the food and water bowls take.
In other news, we got a fence quote today and we have 2 more coming tomorrow. It looks like we'll have to keep looking until we find a vendor that doesn't mix Si clarity diamonds into their chain link. And, there is a much greater chance that everyone will be invited to our house for a fence building party. Stay tuned.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Toddler Emotions
I had a draft written that was all complainy about how Patrick is not sleeping anymore and the grumpy, bleary-eyed Lettie was back, but I guess our little angel baby decided to return because he slept peacefully all night last night. Yay!
I really wanted to get a post in before our blog becomes overridden with chicken information and pictures, so I thought I could talk about what the boys have been doing and learning lately.
Patrick's 6-month birthday was yesterday. He's been super cute lately. He's started giving sloppy kisses on the cheek and saying "ma-ma". He's still the best baby! He is trying desperately to be mobile. He kind of swims in the floor and tries so hard to crawl, but he can't get his arms and legs moving together. He also constantly bounces and moves his feet when he is being held. He loves his big brother more than anything. All it takes is a look from Jackson to entice a belly laugh.
Jackson has been learning about emotions. He's understood "happy" and "sad" for a couple of months now and just recently introduced "bored" one day while shopping at the mall. Not only is it cute and neat that he understands these complex concepts, but it has come in handy as a parenting tool. It always gets his attention when I declare "Mommy is sad" after, for example, he drops a bottle of apple juice on his little brother in the shopping cart, or scribbles a multi-colored work of art on the laundry room wall. The "mommy is sad" announcement always gets his attention and he is usually on his best behavior until he can get happy mommy back. And now that mommy is sleeping, she is definitely happier!
Oh yeah...the chicks shipped today, so they will be here soon... Prepare yourselves!
I really wanted to get a post in before our blog becomes overridden with chicken information and pictures, so I thought I could talk about what the boys have been doing and learning lately.
Patrick's 6-month birthday was yesterday. He's been super cute lately. He's started giving sloppy kisses on the cheek and saying "ma-ma". He's still the best baby! He is trying desperately to be mobile. He kind of swims in the floor and tries so hard to crawl, but he can't get his arms and legs moving together. He also constantly bounces and moves his feet when he is being held. He loves his big brother more than anything. All it takes is a look from Jackson to entice a belly laugh.
Jackson has been learning about emotions. He's understood "happy" and "sad" for a couple of months now and just recently introduced "bored" one day while shopping at the mall. Not only is it cute and neat that he understands these complex concepts, but it has come in handy as a parenting tool. It always gets his attention when I declare "Mommy is sad" after, for example, he drops a bottle of apple juice on his little brother in the shopping cart, or scribbles a multi-colored work of art on the laundry room wall. The "mommy is sad" announcement always gets his attention and he is usually on his best behavior until he can get happy mommy back. And now that mommy is sleeping, she is definitely happier!
Oh yeah...the chicks shipped today, so they will be here soon... Prepare yourselves!
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