Chicks

Just a quick update on the newest members of the family.
They are all eating and drinking and full of energy. YAY!
The inventory is as follows....
~8 black with yellow spots - could be Barred Plymouth Rock and/or Dominique

~5 red - could be Rhode Island Red, Production Red, and/or Cherry Eggers

~10 orange - could be Buff Orpington and/or New Hampshire

~3 light yellow - could be White Leghorn, White Wyandotte and/or White Rock.

~5 striped - Golden Phoenix

I'm sure there could possibly be some Easter Eggers in there since the chicks come in a wide variety of colors.

Now some more chick pics.... Enjoy!

Summer is approaching

Every one who knows me knows I thrive on sun shiny days, blue skies and triple digit temps. The dog days of summer are the only days for me. But so far the coming of the season hasn't been an altogether joyous one. Namely all the complications we have run into trying to make our new house a home. First it was the propane, then the stove and the internet and now BAM! we have no water.

We are on a well and our pump decided to quit working on us Sunday afternoon. The well people came out to replace it, but whoever originally installed it did a shoddy job. Not only did they connect the PVC pipe directly to the pump rather than adding some galvanized pipe to allow for cooling, (which in turn caused it to swell and burst) they didn't attach a safety tether to the pump in case the pipe broke so they could pull the thing up.Well, guess what! That's exactly what happened and now the pump is stuck down in the hole about 120 ft down. They are out there now as I type trying to get it all fixed up for us so we can have water again.

That's right. Three days without being able to wash dishes or do laundry or take a shower or flush a toilet. We are not disgusting pigs though, so we have been purchasing bottled water for all these basic needs. And you know what? We use a hell of a lot of water. DAMN! I REALLY want to take a shower!! I hope it get fixed TODAY!!

Here are my silver linings for the week...

Our baby chicks are currently waiting for us at the post office. YAY!! I'm so excited. I can't wait to get them home and take inventory. I will do an update blog chock full of pics once we get them all settled in. I told the kids they each get to name 5 of the chickens (since there are 30 of the little fuzzballs).

Also, Memorial Day is this coming weekend and we are planning a camping trip to the lake. I always look so forward to the first camping trip of the season, after shivering all winter long, cold and miserable. I'm an outdoorsy person and go stir crazy when I'm cooped up for any extended period of time. So, DOUBLE YAY!!

I finally sold my no longer running yet still loved Saturn for $500. We were attempting to sell Big D's Rodeo as well and put the money together in order to purchase me a new vehicle, but alas, we ran into some snags and it just seemed more practical to put the $500 into the Rodeo. Well, the Rodeo is now running just fine, but I'm having a hard time letting go of the fact that my Saturn was so much nicer. With it's working stereo, AC, windows, and back doors. Is this pride? Sure. Maybe I got spoiled. I don't know. But I do miss my Saturn....

Uhem, right, we are talking silver lining here...

So, I ordered a stereo through Amazon.com (which I absolutely LOVE) along with Big D's Father's Day gift and got free shipping. The stereo was under $25 and has a USB port, SD slot, and AUX port. No CD player, but that's OK. Out here the heat quickly destroys CDs, so I really just wanted the afore mentioned features. The Rodeo now runs, it still needs all blinkers and tail lights replaced (as J and Small D thought it was a good idea to smash them all out a few months back), the back doors need new handles and made to where they can be opened. Three of the four windows don't work at all (one of which is smashed) and it has no AC. Also, the little hydraulic arms for the back window need replaced. I am incapable of getting the back door open because for some reason the spare tire latch just won't unlatch for me. Once all those things are fixed I will be happy as a clam, (what does that even mean?) even if it's not eye candy, I just want what's supposed to work to work. (Like a dumb ass smart phone).

There are two days left of school. I have mixed feeling about this. I'm really happy that I don't have to worry about notes and phone calls from the principal, and constantly reminding the kids to do their homework every five minutes until bed time, or searching for missing shoes as the bus is driving by. Plus I get to spend even MORE time with the kids.

Ummmm, yeah, that IS a good thing. Really....

On the down side, I will be spending an extraordinarly exaggerated amount of extra time with the kids. All day. Every day. Desperately trying to keep them entertained while at the same time trying to keep up with my other responsibilities and keeping my sanity all at the same time.

OMG, I need a job now more than ever! Somebody PLEASE call me for an interview!!

Also, Big D's kids will be spending the summer primarily with their mothers. So we will be lacking half of our family. And even though I regularly bitch and moan, I do love the little bastards. They make me crazy, but they still have my heart. What can I say, I can't help it. On the upside, we get Small D and A every other weekend during the summer and I'm planning on making every one of them count.

MOVING INTO THE NICE BIG NEW HOUSE

First, a few updates...
Big D won custody of the kids, which I had no doubt he would. It was a no brainer. However, the judge seemed intent on dragging out the suspense by waiting almost two weeks to mail out the verdict. Ridiculous. We switched up the birthday parties since we know nobody will want to make the trip all the way out here two days in a row. We had Small D's party last Saturday and J's is tomorrow. I didn't get to make the cakes I wanted because the oven isn't working, so we went with store bought. Jayden is back in public school and so far I haven't received any phone calls or letters. I haven't heard from G's dad since I told him to go F***K himself. I have yet to get started on any of my really cool and exciting projects. I just haven't had the time or energy. We have been here a little over two weeks and we're still not fully moved in. I'm steadily working on it though.

=====================================

As you all know we have been waiting to move into our new bigger, nicer place that fits us all. Well, we finally did it with many headaches. We had issues with the propane and issues with getting the RV over here, issues with the internet (which is why I've been MIA) and we are still having issues with the stove; awaiting the arrival of a new one. Needless to say the first two weeks were rough, with cold showers and crock pot dinners. I'm not much of a cook, and actually, factually, I down right hate it. But I do it. My family has to eat. Taking the stove out of the equation just makes it 10x harder to think up meals that everyone will eat. Six kids and they are all so damn picky.

But we are getting through. Barely. Becoming a family of eight is proving to be a difficult challenge. Being the evil step mother is draining and heart wrenching. I have grown to love my step children, but they still see me as the evil rule maker and fun taker. This hurts my heart. I don't want to be the wicked witch of the East. I want to play and have fun little conversations about pink unicorns and purple dragons. But I also cannot allow them to become fat couch potatoes that live in a filthy pig sty, (when I say this, I'm talking about ALL SIX of them) and for that there must be rules and chores.

Remember that movie "The Sound of Music"? The dad was super strict and needed ORDER. Well, that's NOT me. There are eight of us in this house. That equals a lot of mess. Laundry, dishes, trash, etc. It also equals a lot of bickering about who's turn it is to play on the XBox or computer or whatever. I cannot keep up with it all. It makes my head spin and my heart race. I just need some organization.

Tell that to the kids and they are being tortured. Why on earth should THEY have to help keep this place clean? And why on earth should they NOT be allowed to play video games 24 hours a day? Try explaining to them that the rules and chores are because I actually CARE about their well being and success as adults elicits rolling eyes and blank stares. So it is a constant battle to strike a balance between earning their respect and keeping this place in order.

OMG, I NEED A FRICKEN JOB!! With a pay check and other grown ups.

I had been deluded to think this move would somehow make things a little easier, giving us more room to breath and have our own spaces to retreat to if needed. Oh how wrong I was. Somehow it seems the dynamics have changed in the complete opposite direction. Tension is high and stresses are unavoidable. WTH has happened? I'm a bit confused here.

To be fair, Big D is trying to quit smoking, which I know from experience is SOOO hard! I quit a few months back and was a complete raving bitch. And Big D stood right by my side through it all. Sure, we bickered, but he was very patient and understanding. Treating me with love and respect. Remembering this gives me more patience than I would normally have with anybody else. And that's saying a lot. These days I'm not a very patient person. So now I'm just trying to ride out the wave.

On a side note, I can totally see why the kids these days are so bad. Not that I condone it by any means, but It would be so much easier to just let them do, say, and eat what ever they want. Being a good parent is really HARD!