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!"

computer virus

my computer currently has a virus, making it impossible for me to upload photos or post a proper blog or anything else i have wanted to accomplish in the last few days. after doing two system restores last night, we seem to be rid of the virus but are still experiencing problems. with he help of google and the iPod touch andy was able to figure out how to fix what he fixed but we are still in need of a local computer genius to remedy our situation. technology...gotta love it. until it doesn't work or costs you undue money and then it just stinks.

on a positive note, i have perfected the orange muffin recipe and will edit that post as soon as i can. now i don't juice any oranges, i just quarter all four oranges and it all goes in the food processor. it makes me happy to not waste parts...but i AM a geek with things like that. ;) butter gets melted and goes in after the oranges and eggs are smooth. also, if you add mini semi-sweet chocolate chips these muffins turn into DESSERT! andy poked a few chocolate chips in the centers the other day which inspired the addition.

other good things...blankets have been mailed to my new nephew parker in iowa and miss molly ann in illinois. i'm finishing birdcage veils for my cousin and have been making biking jerseys in between training rides. the kitchen is fully functional and almost done and things are running as smoothly as they can here in oregon. there is less than a month left of classes and spring seems to be slowly showing more and more of itself. hooray! sunshine and vitamin d are needed by all! tomorrow is good friday and we are excited for everything we are celebrating this weekend.

I will have to proof read this another time. the iPod keeps autofilling words so if something doesn't makes sense, for today I will blame it on that! ;) have a great weekend!

on two wheels

yesterday i set out, by myself, for my first seattle to portland training ride. there was more than a bit of trepidation as i rolled out of bed and into my biking gear. will i figure out the shoes/pedals? was my dad right? should i be worried about riding such a long distance?  will i get lost out on my own? will i run into something i can't handle? or will i make it home in one piece? will i have to call andy to come get me?

i was feeling pretty official after putting on my spandex shorts and biking jersey. i even stole a cycling cap i made for jeremiah. hey, if i'm going to ride poorly, at least i could look good. i even wore andy's arm warmers...on my legs! shortly after getting dressed, fear number one (pedals and clip-in shoes) was put to the test. andy led me through how to get in and out of the clips and adjusted the seat for me. outside, i put my new skill to the test up and down the sidewalk and within five minutes i was off on my sweet borrowed signal bicycle ( http://www.signalcycles.com/ ) with more than a few butterflies in my stomach.

as i coasted down the washington street hill toward the beginning of the bike path, i tested out the brakes and wondered when i would first have to unclip on the ride...and if i would fall over. i did not want to fall over. i did not want to get hurt. i did NOT want to hurt emily's bike. the light at the bottom of the hill was red, so i braked early and gave myself plenty of time to kick out of the clip. first stop = success. i got back into the clip quickly and rounded the corner, nearing the path -- with long straight sections to ride...and less stopping. picking up speed, i shifted up and down, getting a feel for the integrated shifters. the last time i was on a road bike, was my old raleigh techmium and those shifters were on the down tube. oh yeah. my mountain bike (currently stolen by my oldest child) has grip shifters that you turn. the integrated shifters were easy to work, and by the time i rode past andy's work i was feeling pretty confident. i stopped well in advance of the sunnybrook and sunnyside intersections, the whole time chanting to myself, "i do not want to fall here. i do not want to fall HERE." that mantra was strong after having plunked over one exit earlier, unsuccessfully unclipping when i saw a car approaching. there was only one polite lady there who waited for me to get up, me laughing at myself the whole time as she pulled away. i did not fall in clackamas, praise Jesus. i did not fall in portland. i did not fall again the whole ride. SUCCESS!

watching the mile markers speed past, i marveled at how painlessly i was able to reach points that had seemed so far away in the car. i wasn't sure how far i was going, but knew for every mile i pedalled i would have to ride them back home. for now, my legs were doing great, my lungs were fine, my spirits were high, and my newfound freedom seemed to give me wings. if i had realized that andy would be so giddy to watch me pull away on a road bike, i might have gotten serious about this before. a whole morning to myself? i would endure physical exertion to have some alone time. :)

the airport was in sight before i knew it, and as i passed under the 205 bridge the sky darkened, clouds moved in and the sunshine i had been enjoying all morning disappeared. i stopped on the other side of the bridge to put on my rain jacket, and right about that time started getting pelted with hail. one moment prior to the ice balls, i was ready to ride the path as far west as it took me, but as the weather changed so did my plans and i coasted back under the bridge to have a snack and wait for the worst to clear. about ten minutes later i set back out, this time pointing east and south. i didn't know what time it was and was happy about that. my legs were still doing fine, so with a little clif bar in my stomach i set off for home. the path jogs a bit a few places in portland, but after navigating these changes on the way up i was able to mindlessly maneuver back south. mindlessness is one thing i have always liked about road riding. i can zone out and think about nothing...or think about everything. that is where road and mountain biking differ for me. with moutain biking i had to be all there all the time or i was going to crash. blissfully disengaged, songs ran through my head as my legs found a steady rhythm and i charged up hills and down, again watching the mile markers zoom past.

nearing oregon city i had a choice to make. go UP washington street, or go up the elevator. it is nice to have this option, but i knew i would be wussing out if i took the elevator. in the end, my desire to not fall over on washington street while trying to climb the hill -- the very big hill that, if my legs gave up, would surely leave me lying on the road  -- won out over my desire for andy to not call me a wimp and i coasted along main street to the elevator. a leisurely lift left me blocks from home, and with a somewhat worried phone call from andy ("just wondering where you were. didn't think you'd be gone for three hours.") i pulled up in front of the garage.

shaky legs carried me up the stairs and i devoured two sandwiches and water...oh, water. something i should have had more of on my ride. lesson learned. the raging headache that followed two hours post-ride was enough to help me remember to drink more next time. as i ate lunch, my restless legs told me that if i stopped moving right then i would regret it later. so i grabbed the kids and we went for a little walk downtown to see about a new cupcake bakery. wrightberry's was our destination, and we ended up going most of the way down with our neighbor, eli, who was out for his daily walk. good conversation and ample cooldown time were just what i needed. our cupcakes were delicious and we walked home, two in tow for andy who was at home grinding our last concrete countertop.

netflix distracted the kids while i showered and got ready for a little nap. by this time i was very tired. i laid on the couch with the kids and drifted in and out of consciousness to the sound of the backyardigans. dinner and bedtime came as a blur, but i was very happy with the day's accomplishments. i could do it. i rode close to 50 miles without dying. today i am walking around without any aches and pains, except for my seat. longer rides are coming. i may not keep up with my dad and andy, but i will finish seattle to portland. blissfully pedalling along...

BIKES ARE COOL!

incubation and anticipation

there are unborn babies at my house. eighteen to be exact. eggs. being held at a temperature of 100 degrees for three weeks. everyone is very excited. even andy, who was not completely sold on the idea, is anticipating the hatchings. their unexpected arrival last thursday afternoon sent me into a whirlwind of last minute preparations. one friend brought over her incubator just before another arrived with the fertilized eggs. the first eight hours were spent fussing with the thermostat...not self-regulating. i was a bit paranoid after consistently swinigng from 100 to110 that i was going to kill all of the chicks before the weekend was over and have to crawl back to my friend and ask for more eggs. by lunchtime, i had gotten up the confidence to put the eggs into the incubator. we left to go rollerskating with friends, me a little anxious about what i would find when we returned. the temperature was holding at 100 at 5:30pm. i left for the basketball game with andy, praying the eggs would still be fine when we got home. they have stayed at 100 since i put them in the incubator! hurray! (and phew!) every 8 to 12 hours they are turned, all X's up or all O's up. andy had the kids design coops the other day...which means they drew pictures and had lots of ideas, but he will still build it the way he wants to. :) we're plotting backyard locations for early summer. with almost one week under our belt, we are nearly a third of the way until we hear the peep-peep of our new chickens! there are so many things to do and learn before they push their way out of their shells.