a few blankets

i have a new nephew and a good friend from highschool just had her first baby, putting me into a flurry of chenille fuzz and applique. here are the newest blankets from the meschke sweatshop...

chickens!

we have had our chickens for almost two weeks now, and it has been so much fun for all of us. you may remember that we were incubating eggs. well, they were duds. after two weeks of faithfully turning and constant temperature monitoring, i candled the eggs only to find no air sac, no embryo spot, no signs of life. the next attempts to get new fertilized eggs were unsuccessful, so we ended up finding a farmer on craigslist who was offering sexed chicks ("90% assured AND if it crows, we'll buy it back") just outside of town. after borrowing a giant aquarium from a friend and making a last minute (chicks in the van) stop at coastal for bedding, food, and food/water containers, we finally arrived home with our brood. six, to be precise. two silver laced wyandottes, two gold laced wyandottes, and two road island reds. the kids (plus two friends who were with us that day) chose names: amidala, amelia, olivia, goldfeather, maya, and blue moon.

they are growing quickly, losing their down in place of feathers, and will be moving out to a new coop sometime in the next three or four weeks. pulp from the juicer is a favorite snack, though they love to peck around in the yard finding bugs, rocks, and whatever worms the kids dig out of the compost pile. it will be a while before we are getting any eggs, but for now they are the kids' favorite pets. :)

a family chronology

after we had kirby, my siblings gifted us with a family photography session. during those photos, andy came up with the idea for us to lay on each others' shoulders (like we used to do to have long talks when we were dating). then, he mused, we could add each new kid to the picture and have a growing family chronology. from that time, this photo has become our tradition. first capturing our expanding family, but now a yearly reminder of how each person is changing.

thoughts on mother's day

this afternoon is quiet and, for once in the past few years i am not wishing i am NOT a momma. was that confusing? well, i will expand and the meaning should become clear. for the past few years, mother's day has come and gone with a flurry of bad attitudes, screaming, and crying...and not all from the kids. while there are plenty of days that i thoroughly enjoy being a momma, there are a lot of peaks and valleys on this ride called motherhood. how can this be, you ask? i stay home with my kids, choose to homeschool...how can i admit that i have many days i would love to pack up and go to a warm beach. by myself. for a LONG time. well, for starters, it's the truth. secondly, i'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this. once we embrace the truth we can cry out in honesty to God who will sustain, help, and change us. AND, we can reach out to each other...because we all have those days when we want to sell our children and run away. i am quite aware that the last few years have been crazy. lots of young children with lots of needs. lots of energy required for each day and little sleep. a time is coming, and perhaps is already arriving, when independence and age will bring with them sanity...ever-increasing sanity. at least that is my hope. though then i may have to give up my url. :)

so this year, i am not wishing to NOT be a momma. i am happy to be a momma. later today i will probably go crazy and recant that sentiment, but for now i smile and say,

"happy mother's day!"