I'm sorry, do I know you?

As middle age creeps closer and closer, I find myself looking in in mirror and barely recognizing the reflection looking back. The morphing middle aged woman's body that stares back doesn't fit with the 20 something image my head is still clinging desperately to.

It all started with the kids. Boy, I sure do love them and the mark they have made on my heart but the marks they left on my belly. . . um, not so much. I addapted to the "decorated" belly, and accepted the fact that I would never in my life wear a two piece swimsuit again.

Now, y'all probably don't know this, but I love rabbits. Been collecting them for years. But the gray hairs on my head don't have the same appeal as the cute hares hiding all around my house. But for lack of my willingness to deal with the upkeep of coloring my hair, I am learning to embrace the changing appearance of life's seasons on my head.

Fast forward a decade from when the changes first started to take hold and Larry is hit by a lay off. By my calculations, which should be accurate as I am a math teacher afterall, I have found 1.33 pounds of "comfort" for every week Larry spent out of work. This, I am not so accepting of. Especially since he is working again and I certainly haven't lost a pound for every week that he has been employed! It is time to take action. It is time to start moving.

Now, I don't have hopes of becoming the next spokesperson for nutrisystem, jenny craig, or weight watchers and shopping to replace a wardrobe at a size that I have no desire to stay at is out of the question so . . . the more affordable alternative would simply be to eat better, and get off of my fanny.

This is all part of my decision to finally bring the country to the burbs. I can teach the kids (both my offspring and students at school) all kinds of things from raising the chicks, planning, planting, tending the garden, and composting (there is math and science and writing opportunities hiding all over the place in those tasks). And . . . I have to get up and move . . . A LOT. And the end result will be healthier food for my family, a healthier mom physically, smarter young 'uns, and the dream of being a country girl achieved (even if it looks a little different than I always imagined it would). Not bad. I think it could be fun getting to know the stranger staring back at me . . . she sounds kinda cool!

I know the due date!!!

If you read my last post then you know that I am expecting . . . baby chicks. I just got the conformation email about when my new brood will be arriving. They will hatch on either March 8th or 9th and I should have them by the 10th or 11th!!! That is almost a whole month earlier than expected. I just hope I am ready by then. In case you are wondering how I will get the chicks . . . they will travel via the US Postal Service. Scary, huh? They are shipped when they are just a day old so that they have the nutrient of their yolk sack and have to be sent in groups no smaller than 5 so that they have each other for warmth (along with something they ship with them to help keep them warm) . . . crazy!

There is still lots of work to do: setting up the brooder and finishing the coop. Meg and Cam are so excited. We get to cash in the change we have collected in our "chicken jar" so we can finish getting supplies. I hope we actually have some decent weather coming so we can work outside. We need to get the garden started and the coop ready, but with the foot of snow we got last Thursday that has all melted, the yard is a muddy, messy swamp. I'm sure all will work out, the baby chicks will have to spend their first 5 to 6 weeks in the brooder anyway! Just had to share the news!!

There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens . . .

I have officially lost my mind. I am the expectant mother to 5 Silkie Bantam chicks! I think I am more excited than the kids. All of those years that mom and dad wouldn't let me have all the different animals I wanted, I am making up for lost time. With 2 dogs, 3 hamsters, and 5 chicks I just wonder what will be next. Rabbits? Goats? I guess I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I probably shouldn't say anything since we have a pretty strict HOA. Currently there are no rules or regulations against having these animals but I have little doubt that as soon as someone catches wind of the critters on the Baum's Suburban Farm they will be all over creating new rules about them just because they can. Don't you just love those personality types? You know the ones that like to create rules for the sake of creating them and enforcing them just because they can, but when it comes down to it, they are not subject to follow the same rules. Yeah, that is our HOA. Oh well, what can I say, this city girl has always had dreams of the country and the reality is I probably won't get there, so I am doing what any determined woman would do and I am bringing the country to the city and lovin' it!