Chick, chick, chick

We have little chicks! We got them on Thursday and they'll be in the office until we finish their home in the backyard.
Why chickens?
Mark was against the goat idea hehe!
Just kidding. We have a big problem with slugs and snails. They took half of our summer vegetables in just a few days. I even resorted to poison pellets with much reluctance but it didn't seem to do much.
Someone mentionned that chickens would eat the invaders. And they give yummy eggs too. Well, they didn't have to mention it twice :). I like chickens ( my grandmothers in between them had chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits. It was a little sad to eat the rabbit you had been lovingly feeding for a few weeks. But we won't eat our chickens).
So, we got four. We love them already and they are already quite friendly with us. Unfortunatly I think one is a rooster. We might have to give him up since we don't think the neighbors would like us much if we kept him. But he is so pretty :(
Anyway, here is a pic of them. It's not too good but was taken on the second day. They have a few feathers now already. I'll take better pics in the coming days.
Cause I know you are positively dying to see them again. And again.

How embarrassing

Almost a month gone. Ouch. I did not realize I was gone so long. I kept saying to myself I'd write tomorrow or the next day and here we are a month later.
I guess it's time to tell why I was gone so long: I have started my studies again. That's right: I'm an apprentice to a well known Herbalist and midwife. I definitely want to be an herbalist but I'm not sure for the midwife part...we'll see!
Needless to say this is a big change in my life and my family's life. I don't want to give up the jewelry business and we are still working on redoing the website.

(On this note by the way, I'm fairly certain that there is a special circle of Hell reserved for the Microsoft people.)

(And also, beware of forward slashes. That's right, forward slashes. I won't say anymore or I'm going to start swearing)

So, in between studying and practicing, the business, the 2 children, the house, the garden and all the projects that need to be done (or that I want to do), it has just been busy. But I'm getting more organized now, and I feel confident that it is going to work.
Well, let's hope so anyway because I'd really love to get my diploma ;)

Tomorrow I'll post pics and it'll include a surprise, hehehe...

The good, the bad and the ugly. And a booger.

Spring break was great, we went down to Mexico and sipped margaritas at the beach all day long, ate in great restaurants and...

Ah, no, sorry that wasn't us, my mistake.

My son and I were still sick at the beginning of vacation but we still managed to dig up the entire vegetable garden and plant everything we could for the summer:
4 different kinds of zucchini, 2 kinds of eggplant, 6 kinds of peppers, 2 kinds of strawberries, 2 kinds of cucumbers, 2 kinds of beans, tomatillos, peas and 11 kinds of tomatoes. Well, we like tomatoes :). It was very enjoyable to spend the beautiful days outdoors.
That was the good.

The bad.
I told my daughter that the Easter Bunny doesn't exist and I feel bad. But we never ever did the easter bunny before. The parents would hide the eggs and they knew it was us. Then they would take a turn and hide the eggs for us and on and on all day long. Then we would eat easter chocolate and that was it.
And they loved it.
But.
One of my daughter's friends called later that day to tell her that the easter bunny had brought her a ton of presents. Like a ton. And she went on and on about it.
And my daughter who had been delighted with her day suddenly was unhappy. And she came to me and Mark and her brother and the dog and the cat ( I'm pretty sure she talked about it to the hamster too) and went on and on and on about her state of misery since the easter bunny had brought nothing for her.
Of course I tried to reason with her, telling her she definitely didn't need any more toys, that she had had a great day and had eaten too much chocolate already. But no no no, that wasn't enough. So, after 40 mns of this I just told her.
So, she knows and she isn't traumatized in the least. I just hope she is going to believe in the tooth fairy and Santa a little bit longer.

The ugly.
A leak. A big one that nobody knew about because it was inside a wall, behind the desk of my son (which is also uncharted territory). Now we have to replace the walls, moldings, and part of the floor. It's going to take at least 2 weeks and my son can't even sleep in the room because there is mold to dry first and we have to spray with nasty stuff. So, he is camping in my office and I can't even access my desk, let alone sit there. We'll have to reorganize a bit. Thank god a friend of ours is a good contractor.

The booger.
My daughter decided to decorate one of the walls with easter decorations that she made. Great I said, I'll make some too. I wasn't looking to closely at what she was drawing on some because she was really quick to put them on the wall. A bit later my son arrives and looks at the decorations. He laughs and said: "why do all the eggs have faces with boogers hanging from their noses??"
I guess we won't make it in here this year.

What did she want already? Oh yeah, more toys. Over my dead body.

6

Candy Froggie tagged me and 5 other unfortunate bloggers. We have to divulge 6 habits. So, here I go:

1- I'm a pain in the ass for 3 whole weeks after every time change. I'll drag everybody I cross paths with in this silly "discussion" over whether we need to do a time change or not. Including at the grocery store. Nobody is safe.

2- I need to open the windows everyday for at least 20mns. The weather has no importance at all, including when sheets of water are coming in on the hardwood floors.

3- When my children complain over the fact that I'm not fair or mean or whatever I tell them the story of their birth in detail. I'm not sure they'll ever have children.

4- My original hair color is a very dark auburn. Since the age of 15 nobody has seen my real hair color because I didn't like it. Recently I decided that I'd like to let it grow back to its natural state. Except that now I have white hair and it's just not possible to leave it like that.

5- When I was little I wanted to live like Heidi and I still do. Making wildflower bouquets, sleeping in the hay and spending my day with goats in the mountains would suit me perfectly.

6- I only buy candy a few times a year but when I do I'll finish an entire big bag in one sitting, feel sick and swear I'll never do it again.

Voila! I'm sure that was fascinating. Every body's blog that I go to and they actually know it has already been tagged so whoever wants it, take it!

No Fair. Second Round.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
Have I ever said here what kind of a patient I am when I'm sick? No? Ah. Well I'm not. A patient that is. Because see I'm never sick. My nose can be running, my throat hurt and so on and on. But I'm not sick. Nope. Deny, deny, deny is my motto. This is why I never go to the doctor except if I'm pregnant that is. Which is really silly because then, I'm actually just pregnant and not sick at all. But I guess that I feel that it's not just me anymore but another human being so I go. And I'm sure I'm quite difficult when I do go but it's their fault after all. Why do they have to make you feel like like you have some kind of disease instead of just carrying a baby. It's not really conducive to peace and happiness to pee in a hobbit size cup every month in a doctor's office bathroom when you can't even remember what your legs look like. And then it goes on your fingers and...hum? Sorry I disgress.
So, I knew I was sick of course, you can't really fail to notice a fever when it goes past 103F ( 39.4C.). But, actually I was a little sleepy and that's about it. I took fever reducing medicine and sipped my tea and continued life as usual. After 3 days of this it morphed into an mind splitting headache and neck ache. At that point I was miserable and in bed because I couldn't move anything anymore. Painkillers only took the very edge off but that's it. And then...I couldn't breathe through my nose and pain increased and that was 2 more days. At the end of that second day I'm told I looked so bad off that Mark came very close to get me to the emergency room.
And then it went away as quickly as it came on. I'm very very relieved, I wouldn't wish that thing on my worse enemy.
Or maybe like a really bad one maybe.
Did I just say that?
The only thing left is that horrible cough that hurts like you have a broken rib. But, definite improvement.
And today is the beginning of spring break. That's great. I can enjoy my 2 children all-day-long. They were at each other's throat 45 mns after coming back from school already.
I want to go to a spa.

No Fair

They had a wonderful time in Yosemite. There was quite a bit of snow where they were staying and snowball fights were a favorite...and a treat for children living in Sacramento ;). They hiked for miles and saw quite a few coyotes and deer. They visited a cavern in the dark. The only person with a light was the guide who relayed info about the terrain to the person behind them who told the person behind them etc...They arrived in a chamber and listened to Native Americans stories and songs. They went on a solo hike in the snow. The nearest people were at least 15 mns behind and in front.
I wonder if they could hear you scream.
My son loved the solo hike. He said it was very peaceful.
I wouldn't know, I can barely pee in solitude and I don't remember peaceful.
I'm still a little aghast at the solo hike. You know, considering that the first thing they advise you to do when you go into these parks is to not hike by yourself. At least I don't think there are mountain lions in Yosemite but there are a lot of bears. They actually saw one at night wandering into the village, in search of food, no doubt. Considering that a certain number of people lose their lives to these animals every year I'm amazed that they do these things...without actually consulting the parents first. I understood that the form I signed was for the inevitable things that can happen when you are hiking. I did not quite understood they would actually make it dangerous on purpose. You know.
I wonder if I would have said yes if they had asked me first. Probably I would have. The risk is still small. I think. Well, maybe not. Pfffff...I thought that the older they got the easier it got...I guess not!
The only bad thing that happened is that one of the kids in my son's group was very sick all week. It turns out he had the flu and my son got it. He came down with it the day after he came back.
Of course I got it too.
The day after he got back was also the day that my daughter and my husband chose for their 2 day trip to go skiing ( it was my daughter's christmas' present).
They had a great time on the slopes, at the restaurants and at the motel.
She was starting to get a cold the day they left. She got really sick the day after they came back.
Of course I got that cold too.

So, let's sum this up, shall we?

My son goes to Yosemite for a week and has a great time.
My daughter and husband go skiing and have a great time.

I get the flu and a bad cold.

Oh, and did I mention that my husband is back skiing today while I'm still coughing my lungs up? Did I?

Ooooooooooommmmmmm

This week we are only a family of 3. Well, I guess 6 with the dogs and cat. My son and his entire classroom, teacher and 10 parents are having a blast in Yosemite National Park for the whole week.

They have done several miles hike at high altitude in the snow, visited a cavern in the dark, listen to native american songs, did ice skating on frozen ponds, etc...

So everything seems wonderful and all. Except for the parents left behind who can't help but worry a little. Just a smidgeon. After all they had to sign a consent form. And what a consent form it was. Here is an excerpt:

"Environmental risks and hazards include rapidly moving, deep, or cold water, insects, snakes, and predators, including large animals; falling and rolling rock; lightning and unpredictable forces of nature, including weather which may change to extreme conditions without notice.

Travel may be by vehicle, skis, canoe, on foot, and by other means, over rugged, unpredictable, off trail terrain, which may include boulder fields, downed timber, rivers, river crossings, high mountain passes, slippery rocks, ocean tides and currants, and waves. Participant risks include falling, capsizing and drowning.

Possible injuries and illnesses include hypothermia, frostbite, high altitude illnesses, sunburn, heatstroke, dehydration, and other mild or serious conditions.

Communication and transportation are difficult. Consequently, emergency evacuations and medical care may be delayed.

Personnel may be required to make decisions under difficult circumstances, based on perceptions and analyses that may be imprecise and subject to error."

Yup. Did I mention that every year there are quite a few problems in between humans and bears? I sure hope they are still fast asleep.
Ah, and for the cherry on top, we received an e-mail from the teacher over the vacation that explained to us that a 12 year old boy had died from a fall in Yosemite the day before. He was not with the same people that our classroom was going but you know.
So, a bit worried.
A bit.

But Yosemite is incredibly beautiful, go see these pictures. It is worth it, isn't it?

Or not.