The White House

The White House

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Whew! Such A Busy (Great) Life!

I haven't been blogging, but I've been up to somethin'.  Or lots of somethin's!  A few days ago I split a pile of kindling and wood for the stove.  Well, split with my log splitter.  That we set up in the house 'cause it's damn cold outside.  If you've seen me swing an axe you would understand. This morning all the wood on the right is gone.  My boiler is running over time (it's 9*) and I'm going to have to get my butt in gear and haul in some more logs to split.  
 This drives me crazy.  It's that desk I showed you awhile back that is set up for Emily, Olivia and Lucas.  Let me just tell you those two girls are constantly creating books and drawings for me, but can't seem to tidy up after themselves.  So much so it spilled to the floor!  Then when they run out of room they move to the kitchen table.  I guess it is worth all their creativity.
 I always wonder why the little things drive me nuts when I can over look the big stuff? Every marker, crayon, gel pen, colored pencil has its own drawer.  I spent too much time straightening this out.  It will make me nuts if I don't.  Or more nuts than I already am.  Aren't you glad you've here learning all this about me? :)  And why do we need 100+ gel pens? 
 My dear husband brought me home four bags of sawdust.  It's winter here, it isn't covered therefore it isn't dry.  It's not soaking either, but too damp for my tastes so I'm now drying sawdust by the stove for the coop.  Seems like an awful lot of work for chicken poop, doesn't it?  I shuffle it around then sweep it to the big pile.  It's working.  The heated slab helps, too.
Emily and I started Christmas shopping last week.  Oddly enough our first purchase was a gift for her step-mother and now, a week later, her father is chosing to no longer commuicate effectively with me and is taking a hostile stance to the detriment of everyone.  Figures. Now what do I do with it? 

Her and I have decided on some other gifts that we are going to make together since money is too tight to shop like we'd like. It's okay, though, because I love spending time creating with the kids.

A random shot of one of the dinners from this past week...salmon fillets.
 Nick's mouse pad covered in hockey tape and colored.  He really uses his time wisely.
 Remind me again why I dug up all those Impatiens and brought them in my house?  Such a messy plant!  They have a ton of buds, but I don't think there is enough hours of day light for them to open.

 Elijah and I managed to take out one bag of too small clothes and one bag of trash out of his room.  The chicken coop is nearly 100% so then we'll work on the house.  The inside stairs are first and then Elijah's new room which will be twice the size of what he has now.  I'd like to have him in it soon, but something tells me basketball season is going to slow that down.
 Millie is such a puppy.  She's 4.5 months old and a pretty cool dog.  She knows "sit" and "lay down", but she's had a few accidents this week and that is so frustrating. 
 Through the trees I can see that the setting sun must be quite a sight for those who have a view.
 Homer has put so much time in the chicken coop.  I give some help in between caring for kids.  I'll be glad when this is all done.  Working in the house will be so much better.
 Wall and door separating the chickens from the furnace.

 Flooring and trim completed.
 Emily came  home yesterday...Wednesday's are the best.  She always so excited to get here and jump into a busy life.  She helped me spread some sawdust (which we quickly figured out one bag wasn't enough so I'm getting a second bag dry right now).

 Then she helped get some of the birds inside.  Unfortunately, a good portion of them would not come out of the pen outside so we could catch them.  After an hour I was pretty cold and will try again today.  So most spent the night in zero degree weather while these smarter birds were sitting in a 60* house.  You can see there is still more to do, but it's getting there.  They need nest boxes, a roost, feed and water dishes hung, exhaust fan and the automatic lighting system.  It sure is quite a project, but the three younger kids love it.  Nick and Elijah not so much. :)
 This kid spends so many hours with his little men making up stories.  Such an imagination!
 There was some friendly Wii competition last night.  Or maybe not...it appears that Olivia has tackled Lucas and has him in a choke hold!
 The lens didn't open all the way messing up the shot, but I just had to share.  The whole family is so happy when Emily comes back home and she loves being with her siblings. 
 Oh, another randomly placed shot.  Olivia ready for school.  Yes, she'll dress up for a Monday because she can!



Well, there you have it...a small taste of what we've been up to.  I can  hear the boiler running and that is bugging me so it's time to throw in some wood.  I really dislike being cold, but I need to buck up and get it done. It's almost time for Olivia to go to school and then I'll try to catch more chickens.  I may have to wait for Emily to get home from school.  She's a very good chicken catcher. Did you catch Survivor last night?  I've been watching it with my kids for ten years.  We were actually cheering for Jane  and it got pretty loud in here when she won the contest.  Oh, and blindsiding Brenda.  Loved it!  We can't wait for next Wednesday!

8 comments:

Lori Skoog said...

That chicken house is like a studio apartment. You guys did a fabulous job with it. In spite of all the work you have been doing, you sound very up. Nice!

Corey~living and loving said...

loving your chicken house. tee hee....you are awesome. I can't imagine that cold weather. eeekkkkk

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

My you have been busy. And what a fancy floor for the chickens.

We've been watching Survivor since it first started too. Actually, it is the only thing we watch on TV these days. Although on the 28th we're going to watch a Hallmark movie with Sam Elliot, we saw the advertisement for it on TV last night. :-)

I yelled and clapped too when Jane won. Bless her heart.

Is it mandatory for Emily to be with her father part of the time? I'm sorry he's giving you a hard time.

Have a great weekend.

FlowerLady

RottenMom said...

I think that Chicken house is bigger than my sons NYC apartment! Love the pictures of the kids, but especially LOVE that picture of Olivia all dressed up. How sweet!

Queen-Size funny bone said...

that looks like the floor in my bathroom

Martha said...

those chickens will be livin' the good life. i hope they repay you with lots of eggs.

i haven't watched Survivor yet (for this week) but glad to hear Brenda is gone. I've been watching it with Tara since the first season when she was 2.

Janie said...

Wow, you use a lot of wood to keep warm around there. Just splitting it could be a full time job.
Those chickens ought to be smart enough to come in out of the cold, but I guess they don't call them birdbrains for nothing!

anymommy said...

I think your chickens live better than our dog. That is deluxe! I love these updates. It's like you have 10 more hours in the day than I do.