Nerds With Birds

Congratulations! Congratulations!
I am so excited! I know, I know…I’m suppose to keep quiet and I am because I’m not using any names *teehee* but you KNOW who you are and I wanted to tell you how insanely excited I am for you and I can’t wait! Luv ya!

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(Life) Life has been same ‘ole routine for the most part. I’ve been going to school and doing my thing. I wouldn’t consider it “hard” but I wouldn’t say it was easy. My problem right now is making the time to study and to do homework on top of the housework, Cody’s school, the farm chores, ect.. So far so good though. I volunteered at Cody’s school this morning. Sharpening pencils *L* easy right? Yeah try sharpening 100+ pencils with an old hand crank sharpener *L* Let’s just say *ouch* I have blisters on my index finger and my thumb and my arm is sore. So I think I’ll buy a good pencil sharpener and donate that thing to the school. They need one! *L*

(Farm) The garden is gone..I’m not even bothering to water anymore. We got a good harvest with tomatoes and cucumbers so I’m happy with it I guess. Ok onto the zoo *L* The pig: She’s fine but has an attitude now :/ AND she likes to break chicken eggs - which is a BIG problem for me. So I’m not sure what were going to do about that. The chickens are all doing great. Everyone seems happy and they are all laying 1 egg each per day. Not to shabby. The rabbits are doing good despite this insane heat. I’m still swaping frozen water bottles out every day and trying to keep them cool in any way I can. They seem to be doing fine though which is good because I worry about them the most as far as the heat goes. The quails *hahaha* where to start?! I need to update the whole bird page and give all the specs and such - and I will…tomorrow *L* For now we had a total of 71 hatch and we have a few in the inky (just in case) they are late bloomers but I’m having my doubts. The babies are doing good but hatched out a day late for the swap :/ SO we are going to find another outlet to sell them.

(Kids) Emily is missing Cody everyday but is finding her joy in driving me insane instead *L* Actually she has been so good and minds so much better when he’s gone - strange huh?! She has been singing nursery rhymes lately and just loves when you sing with her. She scared the life out of me on Saturday though. Cody has this hard plastic tool set. It has a drill, screwdriver, saw, chunky bolts and a hammer. Apparently Emily thought she would use the screwdriver to fix the t.v. (which wasn’t broke BTW *L*) anyways she came running down the hall and right as she rounded the couch where I was sitting - she tripped. Emily starts screaming the pain cry and I realize that she had the screwdriver…yeah she landed on it. She fell on it and it poked her in the eyebrow. I didn’t know at first where it hit because her whole eyelid, and area was bright red and swelling. Emily refused to open her eye and I seriously thought that poked her eye and we were in for an ER visit. I thought about Jays sister when she poked her eye with the scissors when she was 2-3 - Emily’s age. I had an ice pack and was carrying her into the bathroom within 3 seconds of her falling. I got her calm enough to look at her eye and finally I realized where she hit. The big purple knot on her eyebrow was the first clue :/ So I sat and cuddled her a bit with the icepack and she was good to go. Then Sunday she bonk’d that SAME spot on the corner of the coffee table. Poor thing. Today it’s a big purple and green spot about the size of a dime. I was suppose to get her pictures done this month - stupid Murphey’s law *L* Now onto Cody man. He has been doing so good. Today he got super manners again - making that the 4th day in a row he has brought home a little certificate to put on the wall. He’s been excited about it but tells me he does it because he wants to leave early and is afraid of having to run on the track at recess. So I’m not sure what to think *L* He has been tracing numbers and coloring and learning about numbers. These are things he learned last year so when he tells me he doesn’t like school, I know he means he isn’t learning anything new and is bored. So I cant wait for him to get into the year and be learning new things so it will be fun for him again.

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Jay finally got the webcam up and running. It’s all linked up and should refresh automatically about every 15 seconds. He got it up and running just in time. They should be hatching tomorrow night. We’ve been watching the eggs jiggle and move all day. I’m hoping for a good hatch. This will be our first quail hatch where all the eggs are from our birds. I’m excited! Check out the birds page for more info.
Here’s a quick link to the cam:
Check out the Inky! They should be hatching 8/23-8/24. 

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(Life) It has been so freaking hot! The temp here has been averaging high 90’s to 100+ for the past 2 weeks and I’m about ready for it to be over with! I hate this kinda of heat with humidity. It’s just awful trying to do anything outside and trying to keep the animals cool has been a royal pain. I already talked about that so let me think about anything else happening…OH! Jay tried to burn the house down. OK well he didn’t burn anything but he did smoke the place up and make our eyes burn and water for a half hour *LOL* After he had cooked his chicken/pepper meal he *thought* he turned the burner off but instead turned that baby up to high. 5-10 minutes later the kitchen was all smoky and an awful smell was covering the house. Thankfully he had the lid on the cast iron pan so he just took the whole thing outside. Let me tell you a grease fire is no joke. When he took the lid off (outside) the grease was on fire and when he hit it with the hose (which your not suppose to put water on a grease fire but it was already on the lawn) the flame shot up about 3ft high and then it went out. So yeah never put water on a grease fire *LOL* Some other news is I start school in 2 days. I’m getting alil nervous but I think it will be ok. Gosh it’s been 10+ years since I’ve had tests and homework *L* So wish me luck! I’ve also completed 2 things on my 101 things list and have 3 in progress :)

(Farm) The darn rabbit didn’t have babies! I’m so frustrated. She has teets full of milk, pulled fur and made a nest but no babies! Darn rabbit. Maybe next month…The quails have been laying an average of 17 eggs everyday and let me tell you I have eggs comming out my you know what! They are small but there are many *L* I have them in jars, egg cartons and basically any space I have is being filled with eggs right now *LOL* Still only 1 chicken laying so nothing new there. The pig is doing fine. I think she’s gained some more weight so I’ll have to have Jay weigh her again so I can update it. Jay is suppose to be getting the inky cam (check out the bird page for more info) up so soon - I promise!

(Kids) Cody is super excited about starting school next week. I’m kinda freaked because I am trying to transfer him to a different district (basically I want him to go to the same school he was at last year for preschool) and I wont know if he will get the transfer until Monday! Only 4 days shy of when he should be starting school. So I’m nervous about the whole deal *ack*

(Garden) I think it’s dying…It’s just been to hot. The 100+ days are taking their toll on my poor plants. The cucumbers . pumpkins and the strawberries are looking so sad and pitiful. The tomato plants leaves are turning tan-ish and I can’t seem to water them enough :/ The only plants that are still doing good are Jay’s peppers. Which by the way are insanely HOT *lmao* Jay was attempting to eat some last night and it was all he could do to take the 2nd bite *lmao* then he gave up - Which is unusual for him because he likes that type thing. I also didn’t know they would burn you skin if you rub it on there…but apparently it will *LOL*

(Website) I uploaded a few more pictures - here’s a quick peak at a few of them

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Springfield has finally added a website for pets that have been picked up by animal control <link>

Shelfreliance - I want one…or a Cambells soup one - that would be even better! *L*

Paperback Swap - Super cool free book swap site

RateMyProfessor.com - Rate your college teachers

Fico Score - Don’t want to pay for your score? You can estimate it here.

KnitChart - an image chart for knitting/crochet

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(Life) Jay will be home tomorrow! WooHoo *happy dance* It sure has been a long week for me. We missed him a lot. He’s been having fun in Florida; well he was working and it was a business trip but he got to play after work :) We have never been apart more than a day since we got married (almost 7 years ago) so it felt different around the house. Having the bed to myself was only nice for the first day, then I missed him stealing my covers to throw them on the floor *lmao* I can’t wait for him to come home. I haven’t updated the blog all week because I haven’t been online much. I’ve been hanging out with Mamoo (Jays Momma) and Aunt Holly and if I wasn’t doing that I was doing the “farm” chores. Mamoo stayed home this week to help with the kiddo’s while Jay was gone. Cody stayed over there for a few nights and Emily spent her very first night away from me last night. Now that was strange. I had the ENTIRE house to myself - overnight. I didn’t even know what to do…so I took a bath and went to bed *LOL* and I slept so good. I even got to sleep in until 10am *woohoo* Since PawPaw & Mamoo started driving the big rig the kids have been really missing their Mamoo so it was really good that they got to spend some time with her. PawPaw should be home tomorrow as well so they will hopefully get to spend some time with him a bit before they both go back out on the road. Alright onto the rest of the updates…

(Farm) Wow, I never realized how much easier it is having 2 people doing the work at once. Normally it takes 10-15 minutes to feed and water and tend to all the animals and the garden. With Jay gone and me doing alone it was taking 45+ to get it all done. The rabbit has been pulling out her fur and has made a soft little nest so hopefully she really is preggo and will have some kits. The first possible day is Sunday - so only 2 more days. Our chickens are doing good. The Rock is the only one laying still and I think she’s a double-yoker.Every 3 days she has an egg that is twice the size. So that’s kinda interesting. I ended up counting the quails a few days ago. We were having a bad rain storm and their area got flooded so I went out and caught them all - in the pouring rain BTW - and stuck them in cages for the night. I went out the next day and counted 15 males and 18 females. I have been gathering an average of 14 eggs each day so a few still aren’t pulling their weight *LOL* I started collecting eggs for the inky (incubator) on 7/28 and should have a full box (130 eggs) tomorrow. I think we will have it up and running by the 7th so I’ll update ya’ll in a few days with a link to view their progress.

(Garden) I’ve been steady collecting cucumbers and grape tomatoes and have picked a few of the regular size tomatoes finally. Those plants just didn’t do what I thought they would. They had a lot of leaves and limbs but not much fruit. So I may buy a different brand next year. The rest of the garden is doing fine…same ‘ole really.

(Hobby) I actually crocheted this week. I made Emily a pair of slippers. It was a very easy pattern and took me a little over an hour to whip up. She loves them and has been wearing them everyday. I think I’ll make her another pair in a different color just because she looks so cute in them and likes to wear them.

(Funny) A few things I’ve learned this week…

1. If your going to boil eggs…Don’t forget about them *L* I boiled a few dozen quail eggs for over 2+ hours. The outside coloring and spots were peeling off but they tasted fine *L*
2. I don’t know why I set the mouse trap out when I can’t get them out of it. Normally Jay does that…I’ve been feeding a mouse that is trapped in the Tin Cat mousetrap for 4 days because I am to freaked to get it out of there myself *LMAO*
3. Avacodo seeds will sprout eventually and will grow to 12 inches and stop. I swear this plant hasn’t grown in 3 months *lmao*

(Website) Updated the Birds Page (Egg Counts / Quail Count) and Pictures

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(Family) We have been spending a lot of time with Aunt Holly. I think out of the last week we’ve seen her 4 of the 5 days :)
The kids are loving all the time together with her. We went to Branson (about 30 minutes away) and took a mini vacation this past Wed. We stayed the night at the Grand Country Hotel. It is an indoor water park and has a few outdoor water pools with places to eat, shows and the hotel and water park all on one lot. We had a lot of fun although I don’t think we will ever go back. I just like white water better. Splash country was overloaded with water chemicals - just walking in the building burned your eyes and lungs for the first hour you were there. Then getting out of the water made you itch when you dried off. It’s an indoor and a some-what heated water park so I get the whole germ thing but good grief it was a lot of chemicals and fumes. We had a good time outside the water park to though. We cruised the strip, bought some homemade fudge, took a million pictures and had a lot of good laughs. No one got sun burned this time and everyone had fun - a good mini vacation! Speaking of burned…my sunburn was pretty bad. I got water blisters all over and for a few days it looked a lot like hamburger meat. I took a picture today to show you - this is 9 days after the fact and it still hurts and itches like crazy!

Jay left this morning for Florida *whine* the lucky nerd. It’s actually a business trip so I cant say to much but I do wish I could have went, I have yet to visit Florida. He had a lot of flight delays so it took all day to get there but he arrived safe and that’s all that matters. I took the kids to the Local Fair that happened to start today to cheer them up. They woke up to find daddy gone and were not at all happy. We got to see all the fairs animals and exhibits. The sheep were being sheared, cattle were being shown, the bunnies were on display and the draft horses paraded around like they owned the place. We got to see all the crafty items and homemade delights. It was to hot with no wind to enjoy anything so after a few hours we called it quits and came home. I did take them back around 7ish after it cooled off and so they could see all the rides lit up and basically the fair in all it’s glory. We left at 10pm and by the time we got home both of them were passed out from the excitement of the day.

(Farm) WooHoo we finally have chicken eggs! Well only 1 chicken is laying but 1 is better than none. The rock started laying on 7/24 so the others better be following suit soon. We weighed Zsa Zsa on 7/24 and she weighs 22 pounds. She is getting to be quite the little monster. She looks so cool the way her hair/skin is colored. She is having so much fun in the backyard with her own mud bath and area to root around in. The rabbits are doing good. I’m starting the count down on Sassy in case she is preggo *hope so* I’m calculating at the least (28 days) only 10 more days until K-day. K-day = Kits day *L* kits are baby bunnies you know.

(Garden) I have been steady picking cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. I decided to add a picture of what I have collected just this week and I’ve already eaten 4 or 5 cucumbers out of this weeks batch. My regular tomatoes aren’t doing as good as Id like. They fell over a few days ago so I tied them back up and hoped for the best but I’m having my doubts. I think some of the root systems were damaged when they all fell over. I guess we’ll know in a week or two. The peppers are doing good. Well one of them is the other not so much. The jalepeno has about 10 peppers but the other plant has ONE *LOL* and that one the sorriest looking pepper. The pumpkin plant is trying to take over. It stretches to the end of the garden and is working it’s way up the fence now. What about The strawberry plant you ask? What strawberry plant? It’s pitiful. It has a few leaves, no blooms and has produced no more than 8 strawberries. Just pitiful!

(Website) I uploaded a bunch of pictures. Updated the chicken page - egg counts.

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1. I hate watching or reading the news. It’s always bad news and the media hypes you up to make it out like the world is ending tomorrow but buy a new car today…on credit *LOL*

2. I cannot spell worth a crap without spell check.

3. I cannot paralell park. Actually I can but it’s not going to be pretty. I will park 10 miles away just to avoid paralell parking.

4. I’ve always hated the way I look.

5. I think about all the bad things that could happen - each and every day.

6. I think that I have a really good life even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like it.

7. I think about what people are thinking about and if they are thinking the same thing as me.

8. I’ve tried to learn to speak spanish. It just never stays attached in my brain.

9. I am terrible at direction. As in which way is North vs. South. I don’t think I’ll ever be good at that.

10. I used to wish I was stranded on a deserted island like in “return to blue lagoon”

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Ok so ginormous isn’t a real word BUT it is when your talking about this quail egg we found in the pen today it is. This sucker is twice as big as the biggest egg we’ve found. When we broke it open it was a double yolk. So that was kinda neat. We have never had a double yolk even counting all the chicken eggs we had last year.

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(Family) Holy cow! I found money :) Well actually I found Cody’s money. Back when I was pregnant with Lil man I signed up for upromise.com. I signed up my grocery discount cards and then forgot about it. Well 5 years later here I am sitting in my college entrance class and they start talking about upromise. I remembered “hey! I did that for Cody!” so I figured out my log in and guess what?! Cody has 50 bucks saved for college that I didn’t even know about. Granted it’s not much but its free and its his. The information they had was all incomplete or incorrect so I updated my account and added the princess to it. So I thought that was super cool. I like to find free money - even if it’s not for me. Let’s see what else went on this week? Aunt Holly came over to visit us and stayed a few hours just visiting which was nice. We made a cake and just B.S’d for a few hours and she played with the kids a bit. Always good when Aunt Holly visits.

(Farm) Everyone is doing great. We bred the rabbits again on Monday. I’m still erked that she didn’t have babies but all we can do is try again. The pig is doing great in the backyard. She has been using the kids sandbox turned mud hole to have her mud baths in. It hillarious. She turns into one giant mud ball. She is sectioned off from the dogs but has gotten loose twice and she wasn’t attacked. It’s strange to see her running in the “pack” it doesn’t look right *L* We are working on a new way to fasten the gate so she cant get it open because I’m just not comfortable that they still wouldn’t hurt her sometime. The quails are doing alot better since we got them out of their cages and into their new pen (basically an aviary) They seem alot happier and have been laying on average 4 eggs a day (38 eggs laid so far). The other day we had a tragedy involving them though. The dog next door dug under and ate several birds and wounded a few more. It was sad :/ nothing we could do but fill the hole. The chickens STILL aren’t laying. I’m getting a little annoyed. I bought them a higher layer ration and we’ll see if that makes a difference.

(Garden) Finally the grape tomatoes are starting to turn red! About freaking time. I’ve picked a few more cucumbers and they are sooo good. I love cucumbers. Well worth the hunt to find the plants ;) There are 3 blooms on the pumpkin patch. The book says I need to pick the blooms off and wait until the plant is at least 10 ft long but I cant bring myself to do it *L* So I’m leaving them alone. I finally got to pick a ripe strawberry but just as got ready to eat it I saw another bug beat me to it. Darn bugs!

(Hobby) I reworked Emily’s red/black/white blanket. It kept coming unraveled and making me made so I’ve been meaning to redo it for 2 years *L* Well I finally completed it and it looks great. Instead of sewing the blocks together I crocheted them. That should make it 3x as strong and it looks neat to :)

(Website) I will be adding(*done*) another crap load of pictures. I’ve got a ton from the 4th and a few updated pictures of the animals and the garden. I should have them all uploaded by Sunday night. I also updated the rabbit, bird, pets page.

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