New digs

The time has come. The time when I grow tired of having baby chicks in my kitchen and decide it's time for them to take up residency outside in the coop. The time when I check my previous blog posts (here and here) to find out if I'm kicking them out too soon or if I'm right schedule. 

After finding that it was around this time last year that I put the chickens outside, we got ready to make the move this year. Last Thursday, we cleaned out the coop in preparation for their arrival. I hadn't touched it since The Massacre so we needed to shovel all the old straw out to get rid of all the feathers . . . and anything else that was left.

Cael helped me carry it all to the garden nearby, where we dumped it. (Kieran was riding his bike and finding other things to occupy his time with.)

Once we had the coop cleaned out,we cleaned up the Eglu and put down some pine chips inside the run.

And then on Saturday, we introduced the chickies to their new home.

Cael was interested in finding out what would happen if he stuck his finger into their cage.

They seemed to enjoy being able to stretch their wings a bit more. 

 And set about exploring their new digs.

And then we spent the rest of the day making sure the larger coop was secure and mink-proof. Seth added some more small chicken wire to the door area, and the boys and I went down to the creek to get some more rocks to put around the bottom of the coop.

We put them in the back of the truck and hauled them up to the coop.

Here's hoping we've got the coop predator-proof enough so that we can get our egg-laying money's worth out of these new chickens!

Scarry Toys

Way back in 2009, when Kieran was 10 months old, I blogged (here) about purchasing some of Richard Scarry's Puzzletowns (throwbacks to my childhood). I had gotten Dr. Lion's medical center and Farmer Alfalfa's farm and put them up on a shelf in the closet in Kieran's room to be used later, when he was ready. 

Apparently, later has finally arrived. 

Kieran saw the boxes on the shelf recently and asked about getting them down. He was attracted to the tractor he'd seen on the side of the box. We weren't able to when he first asked about them, but yesterday, he asked again and so I pulled both boxes down and opened them for the boys to play with.

They liked looking at the photo of the entire town on the box, which made me think I should look into getting a few more of sets (so I did).

And both boys spent some time playing with the two sets.

It was fun revisiting a toy from my younger years and remembering some of the times my sister and I played with them. Did Puzzletown have any place in your childhood?

Visiting the outside world

Our new chickens have made their home in the cage Seth made for them inside our house for the past few weeks. Today, since we needed to clean their cage, we took them outside to experience the great outdoors for the first time. 

Although the sun generously warmed the air, the wind stripped away some of the heat, so we didn't keep them out too long.

They seemed to enjoy their brief foray into the outside world and I'm looking forward to the time (perchance within the next week or so) when they'll find permanent residency in the soon-to-be-more-secure coop outside.

Products I like

I don't use my blog as a way to make money. I have no desire to. And I don't ask for free products to review on my blog, nor do I use affiliate links to make a little money when you buy a product I recommend. In fact, I actually have to pay $2.00 every month to Google so that I can keep posting photos on my blog. That's like reverse-mommy-blogging (or something). Everything I write about and recommend is something I've bought with my own hard-earned money, actually use, and receive no compensation for. That's just how I roll. 

However, this isn't a post about my opinion on the mommy-blogging-for-money-craze. Instead, I say all that to say this: there are two products I've used recently that I really like and want you to know about, too. And I don't get anything in return for sharing my opinion on them, so you can rest assured that this post is purely because I care about you and your happiness. Really. 

The Hair Thing

So, if you've seen me in person lately, you may have noticed that my hair is a bit more curly than it has been in the past (either for  better or for worse). 

When I was young, my long (legitimately blond) hair was stick-straight.

And it seemed to stay that way for years. But "they" say your hair changes every few years and in the past few, I've found a bit more wave in my hair. And, over time, the wave seemed to be getting more pronounced, even to the point of being more on the curly side of things. It was crazy. 

And then my friend was hosting a Norwex party and, in the spirit of helping her with her party, I found this hair turban thing that I thought was cool and would be easier to use than a towel for drying my hair in the mornings. So I bought it and started using it. 

And, oddly enough, I noticed that my hair was staying more curly after using the microfiber turban than when I had been wrapping the terry-cloth towels around my head to dry my hair before I used the blow-dryer.

Me with the hair turban

I never know where to look with a mirror-selfie -- 

at the camera so that I can see myself taking a picture of myself? 

In the mirror so that I don't look like I'm looking at myself taking a picture of myself? 

Someone needs to write a Selfie Etiquette Book, please, for conundrums such as these. 

And then I found, in my Internet wanderings, that other people already knew this and there was a whole "get curly hair" subculture out there and that one of the rules was to use microfiber instead of terry-cloth. And that there was an already developed way of "plunking" your hair into a turban so that one's hair came out curly (there are lots of videos about it on YouTube). And so that's what I've been doing these past few months. After I finish washing my hair, I squeeze the water out of it, flip my head upside down (while still on my body), run my fingers through my hair a bit, and then wrap it all up in the turban and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. If I'm just at home for the day, I let my hair air-dry, which keeps the curls better, but if I need to go somewhere, I use the blow-dryer on a low setting.

So there you go: the first product I like -- a hair turban. Find one somewhere and try it, and then let me know how it works for you.

The Fat Thing
A little over a year ago, I posted about my new exercise regimen in order to lose some post-baby weight. And my cousin very kindly sent me an email in which she gently encouraged me to remember that even with weight-loss, the overarching principle should be to glorify the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23). She's right--our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and we need to treat them as such and do what we do so that God receives the glory and show that we care about what God has given us.

So, with that in mind, my exercise regimen fell apart after a few months when I hurt my elbow somehow and couldn't continue lifting the kettlebells. I figured it would eventually heal if I rested it for a bit, but even now, it hurts. I don't know what I did to it and don't know how to make it better except to not exacerbate it further by using it more than I need to. And so my weight-loss program came to a halt for awhile.

Skipping forward a bit -- a few months ago, a friend posted about something called "It Works" -- a wrap thing that supposedly helps you lose inches in a matter of a few days. I was skeptical but thought I'd give it a try just to see if really did work like it claimed. And so I bought four of the wraps and have used them over the past month or so. And, amazingly, they work. I've lost several inches in the places I wanted to. I don't know how it works, I just know it did, for me.

So there you go: the second product I like -- It Works Ultimate Body Applicator.

End commercial that I don't even get paid for.

Selfies by Kieran

This is what happens when Kieran gets the camera . . .

This one is my favorite. 

And then we got the camera back from Kieran and Cael wanted a picture of himself on there, too. So here's a self-selfie with my other son, just for fun.

Little Chickie Coop

When we buy new little chickies, I keep them in cardboard boxes until they're big enough to graduate to the coop outside. Apparently, Seth was tired of the cardboard boxes because after he bought the chicks with the boys the other day, he picked up some materials to make a more permanent, reusable place for them (the chicks, that is -- the boys live quite happily in the house with us). 

The original materials didn't work out like he wanted them to, so he went back to the store for some good-ole PVC. And yesterday afternoon, he and the boys worked on putting it together.  

After they finished, they filled the tray with the wood shavings and moved the chicks into their new pen.

Cael asked if he could take a picture of the girls in their new place.

So he did.

And then some.

And after he was finished capturing Life Through My Fingers, I took the camera back from him and took another photo of the chicks in their new digs.

Yes, there's a red light aura because the heat lamp we have for them is red. It was the only one we could find (Seth had bought some to keep the older chickens warm before they were . . . you know) and, it turns out, red is a good color to use with the chicks because it helps them sleep better at night (would you sleep well with a bright white light shining on you all hours of the day?) and, for some reason, keeps the pecking (at each other) down (maybe they're kinder to each other because they're not sleep-deprived from a white light?).

The chicks seem to enjoy their new home and have been happily peeping and chasing and scratching, as little chicks do.

Spring arrivals

Ever since The Great Chicken Massacre of 2014 a month ago (has it only been a month?), we've been without chickens and without fresh eggs. We've been thinking of getting new chicks but have been busy, and the one time we went to the store to check out the chicks, they were sold out (the store gets a new shipment on Fridays and we stopped by on a Sunday--who knew there so many people hungry for fresh eggs?). 

So, after we returned from a week in Florida, Seth took the boys to the chicken store so they could pick out some new chicks.

And they came back with these babies. 

There are 8 in all. Four Easter Eggers, three black sex-links, and one barred rock. Seth figures the more we start with, the more we have to lose (or something like that). 

The boys are, again (see here and here), enjoying watching them.

Last night, Seth and Cael started working on building a small box to hold them (instead of the cardboard boxes we usually use) until they get big enough to go out to the coop (which will, hopefully, be mink-proof by then). However, things didn't go as Seth had planned, so the chicks are still in a plastic tub until Seth can get the parts he needs to continue the build.

Let the fun and fresh eggs and mayhem begin -- again!

The friendliest flowers

I agree with Kathleen Kelly (in You've Got Mail) that daisies are very friendly flowers. But I'm not sure I'd give "friendliest" status to them. To me, the friendliest flowers are the ones that faithfully greet me every spring, letting me know that winter is (mostly) over and warmth and sunshine are here to (mostly) stay. 

Flowers such as 

 daffodils,

 and yellow crocuses,

 and purple crocuses,

and blue dwarf irises.

What's the friendliest flower in your opinion?