Sometimes...

Sometimes the dog looks sad. He wasn't even asking to be let in. He was just sitting like this for about a half hour.

Pregnancy at 27 weeks

There is a point in all my pregnancies that I get impatient. The 3rd trimester. I start having uncomfortable/painful contractions, I start bumping into people with my belly, I begin to get tired again, flushed face, swollen hands. I know it's wonderful. That it means everything is progressing.

The contractions are completely normal. However, with each pregnancy they become more intense earlier on. I went to the doctor the other day to get checked. I was having 3-6 contractions every hour and I felt full. Like a bursting kind of full. Not a good full for a gal who's had a C-section before. They monitored me. Then they said, "Well, it looks like you have an irritated uterus."

It just sounds funny! It makes me want to say funny things. Like: "I need to sit down, my uterus is irritated." or "I need a drink of water, for my irritated uterus." "Or you think YOUR uterus is irritated, well my uterus..." and so on... I don't actually say these things.

I'm measuring out a little further along than I am. I'm happy about this. I would be happy to have little one a week or two earlier than expected.

I'm planning for the delivery. Which has a new twist this time. Eating gluten-free, oat-free and nut-free. Sounds easy until you know that the hospital does not have a dedicated facility and the food is not certified gf. It is interesting with all the diets and allergies, that they haven't done this yet. So I'll be packing my own food. I also have to plan ahead any meds they are going to give me. If they are taken orally, I have to get them from the pharmacy in advance. I know the ones I typically receive, I have to call the manufacturers to see if they are gf. I'm hoping that I can have another successful V-bac. Then I won't have to worry about a long stay. Maybe I'll give birth so fast, I won't make it to the hospital?! That would be great. I'm hoping to report good news about this adventure after baby arrives.

This also does a number on people bringing meals. Not a huge deal. But when people offer to bring food, and you have to decline. They just plain don't like it. This has been the biggest issue with gluten-free living. The social side. That is a blog itself. One I probably will never write about.

Baby is growing. She is head down. She pushes on the right side with her legs and likes her back tight up against me left side. She's been this way for a couple weeks now.

No name yet. I'm sure that'll resolve itself. You can't have a baby without a name forever.

New Chicks

Our newest additions: 6 Cinnamon Queen, Red Sex-links.


We used this method last year. A converted storage container. It makes cleaning, noises and smells a little easier. And because we only have 6, I only need to clean this every other day. They should be moving to the garage this weekend. Then they are off to the greenhouse the weekend after that.

I forgot how fun this was!

Names

Names are hard.....

And now for another name search. There is the typical naming problems. Such as "Don't name the baby _________ I knew this girl growing up. She was so mean." Or just not liking how a name sounds. Naming babies is not easy. The name of the baby is their label. Names have meaning.

Examples in our family.

Ryan: Kingly, descendant of a king.
Ryan himself is absolutely a leader. He leads his family, and is a manager at work. One of his co-workers once pulled me aside and asked...
"How is he at home? Does he expect perfection? Is everything in your home orderly?"
I guess that is how he is at work. I've heard he's very methodical. He is similar at home. But he is understanding of daily life messes.

He is good about foreseeing necessary tools for a job. Whether the tools are education, research or actual tools. Ryan tends to commit at the last second possible. But when he does, he's all in. Like a king deciding to go to war.

Shelsea: Blustery.
Can I just say I'm talkative. Really talkative. And I do have an energy about me, so I've been told. My Mom would sometimes get perturbed when I lived at home. She'd say something like "Shelsea, every time you come home from school you're like a whirlwind. (said not smiling) It's like the whole house is peaceful and quiet. When you come in, the very air around you is upset."

When I was little, I used to get up at 5AM, get dressed and go downstairs to meet the day. I tried to be quiet as I walked. Mom usually heard and told me to go back to bed. If I did succeed in sneaking past quietly, rarely was there anyone to greet me. Sometimes Dad or Papa would be up preparing a sermon. I'd wait until they stepped out of the room and drink their coffee. I liked coffee as a child.

Luke running wild in the house. He'd do this just before he went to sleep.
Luke ever running at the beach. He'll go all the way to the top and run down over and over. He's done this since he could walk
Luke teaching about fire safety.

Luke Harrison: bringer of light, detailed-as a physician. Ruler of the home.

Yes, Yes and holy smokes yes! Luke is loud and bubbly. He is an extrovert. He moves his feet and hands even when he is trying to sit still. He does laps around the table when he's doing school. Currently he's jumping on one foot around the house.

He started organizing toys before he could walk. Somewhere around 9 months he started putting all his cars in one toy bin. He would line up, sort, tidy up, etc... before he was 2. He was really into identifying similarities/differences. We would walk out of the room, and come back in a few minutes later. We'd find he'd lined up all his toy cars. He wanted to leave them like that. He didn't stack blocks, he'd sort them by color.

Now he memorizes facts. Facts that sound fake. He especially likes animals and lands. The other day, this was the conversation...
Luke: "Do you know what the largest rabbit in North America is?"
Me: "No"
Luke: "The Swamp Rabbit"
Me: "Really? (unbelieving tone) Where did you hear that? When did you learn that?'
Luke: "I read it in my book"
Me: "Could you show me where you found that?"

We went to his room. He pulled out one very large book. He turned to the correct page. And appeared to envision the very paragraph in which the answer would be. Then he found it. the Swamp Rabbit is the largest rabbit in North America.

And he is a "Ruler". He organizes, bosses, and pep-talks people. He leads his sister, and teaches her. In fact he teaches anyone who will listen. And he is facts, facts, and facts most of the time. And boy howdy, is this guy is ever super chatty.

Daphne dressing up with Erika at the Oregon Trail.
Singing, dancing and putting on a performance with Liddy Voetberg.
Sitting with Papa.
Daphne prefers to dig a hole at the beach. She doesn't like to run on the dunes or get in the surf.

Daphne Rose: Victory, A rose, love
Daphne is a funny, but also a very serious, introverted child. She is very affectionate (to those she knows, trusts, and chooses). She is the best hugger. She likes to lean into my cheek and hold the other side of my head and squeeze. She's done this since she was a baby. She likes to be with us. She preferred to sit with us in church. So she never went to the nursery or even the toddler group until recently.

Then we come to victory. She is stubborn. She doesn't like it when things don't go as planned. She wants victory. Victory over whatever she is choosing to conquer. The good things like hanging up a coat, putting her shoes on properly, completing a school assignment, or learning a new task. The not-so-good things like completely dumping out an entire bottle of soap or playing with a toy someone else has. She can set her mind to something and go! That is why I lost her several times when she was small. She'd just decide to do something else. Something that normal children wouldn't do.

Once was at the zoo. We were all together. I even had another mom with me. She just walked out. About 20 minutes later, a couple brought her back. She was apparently following a group of teenagers. The couple said Daphne was dutifully following behind the teenage group.

One other time she was playing a a park. Up the slide, down the slide. Over and Over again she'd go. Then I didn't see her. I looked all over. Then I spotted her WAY across the parking lot headed towards a group of people, with several pit bulls in chains, looking much like a gang. When I stopped her and asked what she was doing she told me she wanted to see if Luke was over with the people and their dogs. Man she kept me on my toes for awhile.

She does not consider tidiness or organization a priority. But man does she imagine all the time. She's one of those that imagining and reality can come together. She tells marvelous stories about going to far off lands, as if she really went there.

She tends to be shy at first, then she gets very chatty. She doesn't like to talk on the phone. She likes to dress up and stage scenes. She likes to help with chores. She likes to sing and dance. Dance has really helped her to follow instructions better.

What about the newest Weems? With Luke I had a feeling about his personality. I knew he was energetic from the womb. He used to take his foot, place it between my ribs, and wiggle his toes. Or take a foot and push out on my tummy so hard, you could see his foot shape. Luke was so wiggly, I'd rock at night so we could both go to sleep.
With Daphne she seemed very deliberate in her moving. She would roll over. Like a child who was getting comfortable in a bed.
I saw them both in my mind's eye. I saw them doing and wearing things. But I don't have a feeling about this sweet babe. She doesn't wiggle much. Mostly in the evening, a little during the day. I'm waiting for the feeling to "Hit". Hoping that when Ryan or I say a name it'll "Click" or something. Nothing yet.....

Chicken House

Here is the finished chicken house. The large door is for getting eggs and cleaning. The small door is for refilling the feeder.

When I was growing up we had a chicken coop. I never liked going inside the coop. I didn't like collecting eggs while the chickens flew all around me, stepping in poo, ducking because of spider webs/hornet nests, and scrapping the floor a couple times a year with rakes and pitch forks. It was a little claustrophobic. So when we designed our chicken coop, I wanted to do all those things without ever going into it at all.
We planned this for sunlight. The windows are mesh. It helps the coop vent.


These are pictures of a most wonderful accident. The original idea was to staple mesh inside this space in the coop. However, we did not consider the 2X4 on the roof. They just didn't line up. The result is a wire space that spans aver the run area. I'd heard that large chickens (ours are large) cannot stand on wire. I thought this would be a problem. However, it was a fantastic happening!

Now, the chickens roost here every night. They prefer the wire. Only two of the chickens, who are lower in the pecking order, actually use the roost. Thus, most of the waste drops into the run and NOT the coop. This has helped with cleaning.
We used 5 gallon buckets and cut half of the bottom out. These are the nesting boxes. Very easy to clean. Soap and water. And a big plus, the bugs that live on chickens cannot live on the plastic.

The floor is a fine mesh. We put several small pieces of plywood over top of the mesh. With the exception of a washing machine drip pan under the feeder. Then the drip pan catches the wasted food. Then we covered the plywood with straw.

Cleaning starts with raking the loose debris off the plywood. It goes directly into a wheel barrel because the height of the house. Then we just pull out the plywood pieces to get the caked-on debris off. We plan on replacing the plywood once a year, or as needed. No more hacking and scraping poo from the floor! And because it is not floor level, it is also much easier on our backs.

I cleaned it today, in my pregnant state, and it was hardly a chore! It took me about 30 minutes. The only issue...my tummy kept getting in the way. The 2x4 in the front limited my ability to lean into the house.

Even the under space is used. The chickens group under here to get food that dropped through the mesh and eat bugs eating their waste/food. They also use it to get out of rain and short hail storms.

I'd say Ryan did very well. To boot, this was his first ever wood building project. I'm very pleased with it. Ryan has always been handy. Living out here, he is turning into a very handy man.

Our Cows

Here are the latest farm animals. Awhile back, we decided animals intended for food, should be named after food. So their names are Coal (#9 ) and Weber (#14). Chosen because the boys will be ON the coals INSIDE of our Weber grill.

I must brag a bit. Ryan had sympathy for the cows standing in the cold rain. He thought up this dandy idea. There was a lean-to on the barn. He rearranged the fence, added two well-placed gates, and created a shelter. It really works wonderfully. They actually behave happier. And they eat less because they are retaining body heat.



This is Coal. He has a black tuft on top of his head. This is about as close to him as I can get. He is less dominant. This is Weber. He has a white tuft on top of his head. He's the one that challenges us if we get too close. Recently, he knocked out a fence board and went out to our non-electrified fence. He was looking for greener pastures, really.
I can't get over Weber's tuft. It reminds me of Pebbles from the Flinstones. Do you know how tempting it is for me NOT to put a barrette on it?

Baby Pictures

Here are the most recent pictures of our new baby girl!




It was really neat to watch her suck her thumb.

Ballet

I received an email from our homeschool co-op a couple months ago. A college girl, previous homeschooler, offering very reasonable ballet lessons. She is semi-pro. And she is 5 minutes from our house.

Daphne is absolutely enjoying these lessons.

Philip Foster Farm

The wagon ride was a thrill!







Grinding corn to make corn meal.

A "Real live" wagon. There was a "Real live" hornet nest in the back.
I think these two are as excited as I am to do laundry.



Can you tell these guys are related?


Giant Lincoln Logs. I wish I'd had these growing up.
This is one tired Grandma.
Sleeping accommodations in a pioneer cabin.

Do not try this at home, ever. We didn't have a choice. All the activities had to take place on this day. Let's just say Elisha and I anticipated this was going to be a very long day.

Brandon and Ryan left to go fishing for several days. Brandon had scarcely been here for 12 hours. At a little after 5AM, all the children said goodbye to their dads. Many tears were shed. No one went back to sleep. Then Grandpa and Grandma arrive.

Later that morning the Hollenbecks arrived for a visit. We had to run out of the house, hugging friends along the way. Sorry Sue! This to go to Philip Foster Farm, a pioneer settlement that has reenactments. All the kids were very excited to go to this. Tom, Michelle, Kyla and Brad joined us.

Then it was time to go. It was a fun day, but a long one. Extreme high, low, high, low, high, etc... I was very happy to sleep that night!

Lions at the Zoo