Weekending

This weekend, we crammed some work, some volunteering, a birthday party, some chores, some errands, a hive check, some gardening, and some wicked pork belly all into 48 hours, no regrets. Now, as the sun is sinking and the kiddos are running their baths (quite possibly unsupervised, so I won't linger long in this space...), we are all a little wind-blown, a little sun-kissed, and wholly satisfied with how we did our weekending. Hoping everyone else feels the same.

P.S. see that yellow sheet of paper with the bee stinger on it? I scraped that out of my chin after I was stung through the veil of my bee suit while going through my hive inspection, so yeah, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. But I'll still take it.

Beyoncé

This afternoon, as I was working around the house with a few windows open here and there, I heard loud chicken protests coming from the front yard. Right as it was registering that chickens shouldn't even be in the front yard, I heard Henry yelling at the top of his lungs, "Suka! No! Noooooo! Suka!" When I made it to the kitchen window to see WTF, I saw Henry running after Suka, who was running down the driveway with a chicken in her mouth.

So I flew out the door as soon as I could slip on my shoes and eventually got Suka to turn around and come back. It was a bit of a struggle to get the chicken out of her mouth- and keep it that way- but I was able to separate them and bring the chicken inside for inspection and observation. I knew as soon as I looked at her that it was Beauty, one of the kids' favorite chicken girls. She was in shock, and in between her attempts to bite me she managed to make some of the loudest, strangest bock-scream sounds I think I've ever heard. I stuck her in the cat carrier with some water and turned the light off to try to calm her down.

After about 10 minutes she was quiet, and about ten minutes after that she was drinking and pecking at the sides of the crate. I couldn't see any blood or evidence of any true injury, and she wasn't limping or having trouble moving, so I decided she'd be better off rejoining her flock... so out I took her to the coop, and she tried to bite me the whole way out there. Which was weird. But I decided she was still freaked out about her ordeal and I shrugged off the beaky insults.

I put her in the coop through the nesting boxes so she could hang out in the hen house if she needed a little extra time... and then I stood back and waited to see how she'd do.

And that's when I noticed Beauty.

Hanging out with the other chickens, cool as a cucumber, already in the coop.

This chicken girl wasn't Beauty. In fact, she wasn't one of my girls at all.

Right about the time I realized that this girl was a stranger, she laid an egg and marched right out of the hen house squawking at the top of her lungs with her tail straight up in the air and her head held high.

I'm not sure where she came from, but she's a survivor, and she's a diva, and she is now Beyoncé and part of our flock (and we all have Destiny's Child's song 'Survivor' stuck in our heads).

Welcome to the fam, Bey!

Being Home

After another week of everyone being away until well in to dinner time, we've noticed that Friday evenings have started taking on an especially light and happy-ness. It's the exact thing I was hoping would come from this new routine; a clearer sense of the beauty and value of Being Home.

TGIF!

Henry's Big Room Makeover

When Audrey turned 7, we made over her room into a "Big Girl Room," and told a wistful (and a bit jealous) little brother that when he turned 7, he could have a big boy room makeover, too. Well, guess who remembered that promise?

I remembered too, however, and the day before our little guy turned the big 0-7, we descended on his room and did our best...

I didn't get any footage of his reaction, but he was completely surprised. We had to pick the kids up from school and go directly to an out-of-town family wedding as soon as we were finished, so we had to wait for him to see it all. He thought we were finished celebrating him by the end of the weekend. (I just love that he was satisfied with what he'd gotten and had no expectations at that point, my sweet little guy!)

When we got home from the wedding, we sent the kids upstairs to "unpack," and stealthily followed him up to watch him notice. It was not disappointing.

It is always a pleasure giving gifts to people who experience true gratitude, and that is my little man to a T. He is the most grateful and gracious seven-year-old you'll ever meet, and a new round of Ikea furniture could not have fallen to a better little dude.

Happy birthday, Little Brother!

Right Now

We've got a little catching up to do, don't we?

Right now, we're...

...trying to get used to having a seven-year-old little man in the house... we had a birthday party the weekend before his proper birthDay, then did a little nod to the real thing while we were out of town for a wedding. He's full of himself now; didn't you know being Seven means you're so much more mature? We're starting to get an idea... 

...still getting used to having an Uncle John in the family, but feeling so glad we were invited to be a part of it all!

...still working on finding a new rhythm where roles are different, everyone pitches in, and things keep moving!

Right now, we're enjoying the first weekend in more than a month where there are a few hours to be found that can be filled with whatever we choose... and we're taking full advantage of it! Wishing all a few hours this weekend to do the same!

Happy weekending!

Easter, In Photos

That's about all I got, because the day flew by, lemme tell ya. Happy Easter, y'all!