Gimme.

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Chick bum.

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Harper is showing her lip balm to the chicks, among other treasures. I think she wants them to ooh and ahh. Maybe the frightened chirping is good enough.

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Power Outage!!!

Today I freaked out about the chicks. Yes, again.

At 3:00pm, I was getting everything together to take Sky to a birthday party. We were ready to go when the power suddenly went out.

It was bad timing, but it was also good timing. If the power had gone out after I'd left and no one had told me, I might have run some errands before picking Sky up and come home an hour and a half later to a pile of frozen chicks!

Then I would have needed therapy.

While they are tiny, chicks have to stay warm. I mean WARM. They prefer a temperature of 90-95 degrees F. It's warm for February here, but 65 degrees doesn't really cut it. Until they are older, the heat lamp is on 24/7 to keep the babies toasty warm.

I gave the chicks a towel to cuddle with and dropped Sky off at the party. When I got home, the chicks were piled on top of each other and chirping like crazy. "WE'RE COLD! WE'RE COLD!" I'm pretty sure that's what they were saying. That, or "WHAT THE CRAP?!?!"

They were so cold! Even Duck (Harper's chick) wasn't running from me, and she's by far the flightiest of the bunch. That really got me worried.

In my freak-out state, I consulted Mike for chick-warming ideas. Mike, in turn, consulted his coworkers. Luckily, we have a gas range and can boil water without electricity in the house! I ended up foraging for stones in the front yard, which I then boiled and wrapped in cleaning cloths. I placed a box in the brooder, then a hot tea kettle wrapped in a towel and a bunch of hot cloth-wrapped stones. The chicks all piled into the box and I draped a towel on top. Voila! Warm chicks!

I reheated the stones once before the power finally kicked back on a 6:30. With the heat lamp working again, the chicks were excited to run around their world. I was relieved, to say the least! The chicks are all chirping and eating and running around under their heat lamp now, happy as ever. Phew!

Everyone needs a Mike. And Mike's coworkers.

Then Mike whipped up a brooder

A brooder is a temporary home for chicks until they are ready for the great outdoors. It is meant to be used with a heat lamp to keep the chicks toasty and happy.

When we brought our chicks home last Thursday the girls and I discovered that the makeshift storage bin brooder I'd slapped together that morning wasn't going to work out. It was just too small for six chicks and wouldn't last long.

I called Mikey and told him we needed to build a larger brooder. Something cheap, since it's only a temporary home for the chicks. Mike stopped by Home Depot on his way home that night and whipped up this little puppy Friday morning:

That picture should give you an idea of the size. You know Harper was ticked off when we made her get out! I thought the window would be good for Harper, but she finds a way to look over the top anyway. Mike built the brooder. I told him what I wanted, and he delivered! I can't say it enough: everyone needs a Mike.

We have the brooder in the house so we can keep an eye on the chicks. Yep. We're obsessed.

Meet Delilah

After the two tiny chicks died, we were feeling down. Both of Sky's favorite chicks were gone, and Mike and I felt awful about it. We decided to buy some older chicks so the chance of losing one would be slimmer. Please be fighters! And please don't be roosters!

We accidentally stopped at a different feed shop on our way out and Sky fell in love with a little Speckled Sussex chick, only three or four days old. Meet Delilah:

Are you surprised that Delilah fell in love with Sky as well? We're not! Look, even her jammies say "Sweet!"

Delilah is adorable. She is cuddly and sweet and inquisitive. I was nervous to buy another tiny chick (we were on the hunt for older chicks, after all), but she has been great since we brought her home on Saturday. Tomorrow, Sky and I are taking some up-close pictures of the chicks, but this picture is too cute to resist posting!

A Rough Start

We had a rough start to our little flock. I didn't want to write this post because admitting the loss of two little chicks is hard. I did everything I could do to try to save the little babies, and it wasn't enough. We lost two of five chicks in less than 48 hours.

The girls and I were anxious to get our chicks, so when I discovered that the majority of the breeds we wanted were hatched and ready, we jumped the gun and zoomed to the feed shop to get our babies! And so it was that last Thursday night, we brought home five adorable little chicks.

We were immediately in love. Mike stopped at Home Depot on his way home to buy materials to build a larger brooder, and everyone was excited. We had everything the little chicks would need to be happy!

Unfortunately, not knowing any better, we snatched up the chicks that were easiest to catch. Two of the little babies just didn't have it in them to grow into hens. One had a disease of some sort and couldn't walk, eat, or drink. Despite my best efforts to give her food and water, she died Friday afternoon.

She was the sweetest little chick and Sky's immediate favorite. When I told Sky I didn't think the chick was going to make it, she asked, "Can I hold her one last time before she dies?"

This picture breaks my heart. Could Sky be any sweeter?

I sobbed for hours the night that first tiny chick died. I didn't even mean to bring her home in the first place. She was a Silver Laced Wyandotte, and I'd already chosen one of those. She ended up in our box while we were looking at the breeds, and I distractedly (Harper was dumping out the bunny's water) put the wrong chick back and brought the sick baby home. 

Skylar and I buried her while Mike was at work.

And then there's Lucy. Sky picked a name for her chick a week before we picked the chicks up. She wanted a yellow chick, so we decided to get her a Buff Orpington. This chick was the one I was the most excited to add to our flock! Here she is, top left, cute as can be. 

The feed shop had some Buff Orpingtons, so we brought a sweet yellow chick home with the group. She seemed fine for a day, but started to go downhill Friday afternoon, soon after the first baby died. That night, I knew little Lucy wasn't going to make it, either. But I really hoped she would.

Sky came into our room Saturday morning and said, "You should come and look at Lucy." Sure enough, Lucy was gone. I'd already spend the night sobbing about the chicks, and I just couldn't take it. Mike helped Sky bury Lucy next to the little Wyandotte.

If you are planning to get chicks, take your time choosing. Go for the strongest! Chase after the fast ones, and maybe buy older babies. These chicks were only 2-3 days old, and I didn't really believe the feed shop owner when he told me to buy 6 or 7 if I wanted to end up with 4. I knew there was a chance one wouldn't make it, but I never thought we could lose two. It was a hard start for us, but the chicks we have now are curious and busy and perfectly happy in their brooder! Here's to hoping they don't start crowing in a few months.

Chickens? Why?

I'm writing this post separately so the other chick posts can be more exciting. Feel free to ignore it if you just don't care. :)

I decided about a year ago that I'd like our family to have some backyard chickens. I checked some books out from the library, bought a fun book, and (as always) researched the hell out of chickens. I researched breeds, coops, noise level, city laws, chicken food, chicken poop, farm fresh eggs, benefits, negative, and did I mention chicken poop? You name it. I've logged a lot of late-night hours reading up on chickens. As I write this, I'm watching a super weird video about chickens on Amazon Prime. Mostly because Hulu isn't working and Mike is at work.

Mike was on board with the chicken talk as soon as he realized I wasn't joking. Or sometime near that.

So why chickens? Am I a granola eating, tree hugging hippie? I do like the occasional handful of granola, and I'll probably hug my lemon trees when they finally fruit, but you know I would never give up my Oreos. Also, I don't plan on giving up chicken in my diet, but Heather hopes I might.

My main reasoning:

1. They make great pets! Chickens are somewhat low maintenance, on a household pet scale, and teach responsibility without too much stress. I guess we could train them to walk on a leash, but I'm not Kramer. And hopefully none of these chicks will grow up to be roosters! 

2. I'm a big believer in kids having and caring for pets. Kids need something to take care of at least some time during their younger years! If you never had a pet growing up, you should know your childhood lacked a lot of happiness. That's sad. You should have had a pet.

3. Chickens give back. Sky and Harper will be able to collect eggs from their own chickens. We can make cookies with those eggs! Pancakes! Scrambled eggs! I hear backyard eggs taste much better. I'm sure the chickens do, too, but we're not eating the chickens. Stop it.

4. Chickens are funny. Have you ever seen a chick fall asleep? Hilarious. Come over and watch.

5. I really love the idea of eating food that is produced in our own backyard. The eggs, not the chickens.

6. Chicken poop is a great fertilizer? This wasn't actually a deciding factor, but it's a bonus. Chicken poop is definitely a plus AND a minus. But my flowers will be gorgeous!

After lots of research, I decided on a few specific breeds. I was more interested in a flock of friendly chickens than a colorful egg basket, so we've ended up with all brown eggers. I'm okay with it! I really wanted an Ameraucana for some blue or green eggs, but we've already filled the coop. So to speak. Haven't actually built the coop yet.

Oh, you. I can hear you forming that joke in your head. I said stop it! Seriously, we're not eating the chickens. Don't joke to the kids! They will cry! Do you want to make two small girls cry? What kind of person are you?

There. That's why we just brought home 6 baby chicks!

Missing Little Morgan

Today I'm missing Little Morgan.

Little Morgan, between the ages of 4 and 10, would wave and say, "Hi!" every time you walked past her, no matter how long it had been since the previous, "Hi!" I would get so mad at her, with all her waving and happy greetings. I was a very stressed child, okay. I was busy; it was disruptive. Also, I may have been a touch impatient.

I tried attacking her with hi's one day, to give her a taste of her own medicine, but it just backfired and we were both saying hi to each other until it ended in the usual Little Me screaming at Little Morgan to shut up and stop waving. She was so cute and friendly and fun, and such a goofy little sister. She still is! But I'm especially missing Little her today.

Harper is aspiring to be Little Morgan. All day she has been saying, "Hi!" to Sky. It went well for the first 30 or so hi's. Then Sky started saying, "I've heard enough hi's, Harper. That's enough." Soon her reply moved into, "Stop saying hi! STOP IT! I've heard ENOUGH HI'S TODAY, HARPER!" Of course, Harper's reply to this was a bright and happy, "Hi!"

We ate lunch before a brawl could break out and now Sky's back to her patient self, accepting the hi's with sisterly love. These kids are the best!

Growing! 2-Year Stats

Harper had her 2-year physical today. It went great and she's in perfect health, despite her choice to skimp on the talking!

She's finally reached 25lbs, putting her in the 26th percentile for weight. Go Harp! She's come a long way from her single digit percentiles. I kind of miss that teeny tiny Harper, though. I wish I could squeeze her itty bitty hand again and snuggle her doll-sized self! 

2 years + 1 month stats:
Weight: 25.2lbs; 26th percentile
Height: 33", or 2' 9"; 25th percentile
Head: 19"; 68th percentile

You'd think, with those stats, that her head would look huge! It doesn't. It looks cute and perfectly proportioned! And look -- her first piggy braids today! I love this tiny trouble maker!

Addendum #2

Harper has time outs in her crib. I forgot to take the water sippy cup out of the crib while I was cleaning up the water mess in the family room.

At this time, I'm sure you've concluded that she and her crib are both soaked. I trust that you can come to these conclusions on your own by now.

Addendum #1

I pressed "publish" on the previous post a minute too early. 

Harper just walked up to me with a cup full of water she found who knows where. I said, "Don't dump that out." She looked me in the eye and tipped the water onto the carpet. She's having another time out, and she's pretty happy about it.

A Typical Harper Morning

Harper.

This kid is a busy one. She gets into everything, she licks everything, she kisses everything; she breaks things just to see how they look when they are broken. Then she gets upset because, hey, this thing is broken!

Today I decided to get over my hatred of Walmart and try out the new nearby Neighborhood Walmart, or whatever it's called. It wasn't bad! It was clean and well-stocked! I never found ground beef, but I didn't look very hard. Everything was going well. After I swiped my card and started putting the bags into the cart, Harper decided to dump all of the change out of my wallet. A nice Indian man helped me clean it up--even the second waterfall of coins that fell from her lap when she tried to get out of the cart! Nice guy.

We came home and I took Harper's car seat cover out of the car so I could try to clean off whatever red thing she'd magically smushed into it in the past 24 hours. I brought the groceries in while she put the car seat cover back in the car. I brought the car seat cover back into the house, covered it in OxiClean and put it into the washer. She helped by picking up the clean laundry and mixing it in with a basket of dirty laundry that was waiting for the washer.

We came back inside and I turned a TV show on for her so I could wash some dishes. I put two bowls and two spoons into the dishwasher, and two clean bowls that she was playing with back in the drawer. That took about one minute. I spent two minutes looking for Sky's new toothbrush, which mysteriously disappeared this morning while I was helping Sky get dressed for preschool. Then I stopped and thought, "It's quiet. Where is Harper?"

Ah, yes. Putting makeup on. Again.

I was too worried about her getting makeup on the walls and furniture to take a picture of her beautifully painted face, but I will tell you that she used an eyeshadow brush to first apply lip gloss to her lips and right cheek (face, thankfully), then used the same brush to apply blue, purple and green eyeshadow over the top of the lip gloss.

It took 5 minutes to clean her face off. I put her on time out so I could clean up my bathroom. She said, "Thank you!" After trying to clean the brush for several minutes and looking at the damage she'd done to the makeup pallet, everything ended up the trash. It was 11:30am.

I guess my favorite little pallet had a good run. Anything that can survive Harper's curiosity for more than 3 weeks should be proud of itself! Right now she is putting a pair of Sky's underwear on over her pants. So...who wants to babysit?

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Sky and Harper love to hold hands. Sky, especially. She is willing to go to extreme measures to get in some hand holding!

Yesterday, on the walk home from preschool, they held hands like this all the way home. I love these girls!

January Skyisms

A few funny Sky moments from January :)

1.10
Watching the tub drain.
Sky: "I want it to be called a swirl-pool."
Mike: "Oh yeah? A swirl pool?"
Sky: "Because it SWIRRRRRRLS!"
Love her logic.

1.11
Me: "Are you excited about Harp's birthday, Sky?"
Sky: "Uh huh. Yup! Because I really want to get a piece of that cake..."

Later in the day, Harper dumped her cup of water onto the kitchen floor. I was washing off a plate, so I threw a paper towel onto the table and said I'd clean it up in a minute. Sky jumped out of her chair, grabbed the paper towel and climbed under the table to clean up the spill.
Me: "Oh, wow! Thank you, Sky!
Sky: "Oh, Mom. You know I'm your special helper every day!"

And later yet:
Sky: "If I give you a hug and a kiss can I put on a puppet show for you?"
Me: "Okay, yes! {hug and kiss} A short one?"
Sky: "Yep. Just like you're short."

1.13
Mike: "Do you like that we're in Sharing Time with you now?
Sky: "Yeah, but you don't."
Mike: "What do you mean?"
Sky: "You know, 'cause they just shoved you into CTR 4s, hello!"

1.14
Me: "Thanks for all of your help today, Sky."
Sky: "Ha! Mom, you know I'm your special helper every day, right?"
Me: "Yes, I do! But I wanted to say thank you."
Sky: "And when Harp grows up more, she will be Dad's special helper. Because...he needs it."

1.28
Sky: "Tomorrow is your BIRTHDAY, Mom!!!"
Me: "Yes, it is!"
Sky: "What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"
Me: "Oh! I don't know, are you making me a cake?"
Sky: "Haha, not by myself! Well, I'm going to help Dad."
Me: "Oh good. Did Dad say he is making a cake?"
Sky: "No. But, I just think he is."

Later in the evening, while watching the DVD of the Merry Little Christmas Show performance:
Me: "Here comes Laney!"
Sky: "Yeah, haha! In jammies. Why are they wearing jammies?!"
Me: "Because, that's what costume they were supposed to wear for their dance."
Sky: "Ha! Because they don't have any better clothes?!"

A few minutes into the next dance:
Sky: "Rudolf is REAL! And his nose, too!"