Friday, February 24, 2012

Lost and Found

I was afraid that I'd have to write this post today saying that we lost a chicken.  One of our buff orpingtons (yellow, named Sol Dos) disappeared yesterday afternoon and was still MIA after dark.  But this morning, she was ready for snacks when I let all of the chickens out, and as of right now, all 10 are accounted for.  Plus the 6 eggs Sol is sitting on.  (The other Sol, not to be confused with the wandering Sol Dos!)
Yesterday, I decided that we needed to try beets, and so I made some.  They were actually pretty good.  Nathaniel pronounced them "not bad".  The kids tried the tiniest bite and then wouldn't eat more.  Sigh.  But I threw the beet tops into the vegetable stock I was making, and turned it all pink.  I think it looks great:
Now, will anyone eat the Morraccan stew I'm making tonight with the veggie broth?? 

Monday, February 20, 2012

A Good Day Off

The boys had a day off of school today, and we thouroghly enjoyed it.  The boys had a little Spanish lesson, and Lydia and I had a gardening session.  We planted lettuce, arugula, and lavendar in my new greenhouse. 

Sol is busy trying to hatch eggs.  So far, she's on day 3, and she's keeping them under her.  She's sitting on 6 eggs now.

See how puffed out her feathers are?  We have her in a separate area of the coop, with her own food and water, that she can't get out of and the other chickens can't get into.
And this really warms my heart:  Elijah was trying to teach his sister how to ride her bike.

And lastly, a cutie photo:

All in all, it's been a great day. 

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Zoo Day

The weather has been so nice the last couple of days.  It was warmer today, but it was sunnier Friday.  Anyway, we took advantage of the nice temperature today and took the kids to the zoo.  We all had a good time.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I finally got around to making that chocolate trifle.  Now I can't wait to eat it for our Valentine dessert tonight.  (Although, of course, I did sample it as I made it.)  I made a balsamic chicken for dinner, with mashed potatoes and steamed cauliflower.  Everyone should be pretty happy tonight! 
The kids have already gorged on the M&Ms my parents sent and spent a long time reading their Valentines from school.  Since we had a 2-hour delay this morning, they had a short day at school.  Lydia and I surprised both boys by showing up for lunch.  Then, after we left, both had parties in their classes, so I don't think they had too much learning today between the holiday and the late start.  They were very excited. 

Elijah brought home his recorder.  He's learning to play "Hot Cross Buns" for his white belt as a "Ninja Recorder".  The black belt is actually "Ode to Joy", so I guess he'll get pretty good at it!  Or that's the goal, anyway.

Malachi won 2 games of Valentine bingo and came home with stickers and a tube of chapstick.  He's so excited about that chapstick.

Lydia has been playing with stuffed animals all the time lately.  She prefers her brothers' animals, of course.

Katie has decided that she's having a second puppyhood, or something, because she's playful most of the day lately.  I haven't seen her with this much pep in years.  She's 8 years old!

The chickens are good.  Sol is still broody, although she's not yet setting on eggs after the moving fiasco.  Nathaniel and I need to decide our next plan.  The kids really would love to have chicks, and Sol is willing to set, but where she's located is not a good place for several reasons.  Trying to get her to prefer another nest has been a failure.  So I'm not sure what we'll do next.  The good news is, it seems that if she does hatch any eggs, there's not much that we need to do to care  for the chicks. 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Picture Book Giveaway!

Check out this link : http://www.whitesugarbrownsugar.com/2012/02/giveaway-my-hands-sing-blues.html and enter to win a picture book.  It sounds like a really good one! 

I plan on telling you more about Sol and her so-far unsuccessful broody attempts soon.  (We're still trying to get her to stay on a nest in the corner rather than in the boxes where all of the chickens lay eggs.  I've got one more thing to try, and I'll try to get some pictures and such later.  She really wants to hatch eggs, she's just a bit uncooperative on the site.)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Broody Hen and A New Skirt

The boys are very excited that we have a broody hen.  One of the buff orpingtons, which the kids named Sol (Spanish for sun because she's yellow) is sitting on 7 eggs.  She started yesterday, and continues to sit, so the kids are hoping for baby chicks.  I'm pretty sure it takes 20 days before they'll hatch, but I have to double check in a chicken book. 
In other news, I made Lydia a new skirt.  She says it's a dancing skirt, and she wore it to church today to rave reviews.  I plan on making more for sale in my etsy shop.  It's my version of a half-circle skirt, and I'm excited with how it turned out.  It has an elastic waist, and yes, it is great for dancing since it has enough fabric for some swishing action.
She loved posing for the camera, as always!