Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

Conga Rats!

The trees are leafing out. Apples and crabapples are flowering. It's BEAUTIFUL here!

Baby is doing great! Thankfully, he's an easy-going baby like his big brother! I was so worried about if I would be able to cope with a normal to high-needs baby. All that worry for nothing!

I'm feeling well, but thanks to little-to-no sleep, I'm not getting much done. The blueberries aren't getting pruned this year. Most of our seedlings are up in the garden and I haven't even thought about weeding yet. DH made a failed attempt at sheep shearing... I tried to help, but I didn't do much better. 20 chicks hatched (out of 27 fertile eggs). They're out in the barn, so I haven't seen them at all. I haven't been out to the barn at all except for the sheep shearing fiasco.

The avian flu is spreading in this area. Several more turkey farms in this county got it. One is close - we're in the quarantine zone. :/

I got my naughty little poodle back! He was living with a friend while I was pregnant because I couldn't keep up with him with all the complications. I'm happy he is home! And I forgot how much of a PITA he is!

MIL, FIL and SIL are visiting tomorrow. I haven't vacuumed the carpet in weeks (actually months, because my mom was doing it for me when I was on bed rest). It's past the point of being able to ignore it. My poodle rolled in something VERY stinky and needs a bath ASAP. :sigh:

Did I mention I haven't slept for more than an hour at a time? Baby was up every hour last night. Normally not a big deal - I would bring him to bed with us. But last night I wanted my fluffy blankets and pillows so it wasn't safe to bring him to bed. Rough night.

I don't miss those days in the least. But there are other parts of babyhood that I miss. I've always liked this poem.

"Babies Don’t Keep"

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Author: Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Babies don't keep! I spend most of my time just holding him. I wish it would last forever; it goes way too fast. I don't think I can handle another pregnancy. I think this is my last baby. Which makes it even more bittersweet.

Mother's Day!

Started this one off with an elbow in DH's side - your turn to get up with Baby! He did and I slept for 4 hours uninterrupted!!!

I groomed my poodle this morning since he rolled in some stink. When I finished bathing and drying, the dishes were done, dining table cleared, and DS1 was vacuuming.

Don't worry, your baby will always be your baby-- even when he's 6'2 and 25 years old (ask me how I know). But yeah, treasure these first few months because you won't get them again until one of your children presents you with a grandchild.

Or, when he's 29 and 6', or when she's 23, 5'5.5" and married.

Baby is 2 weeks old today. He has already started rolling from his back to his belly! DS1 started doing that at 13 days old. DS2 is so stinkin' cute, there are no words! I'm taking a lot of photos, he's growing up so fast already. He's trying to lift his head - and getting close to being able to do it. He likes to look at patterned fabric; I've seen him reach out and touch patterns he has been looking at.

Our sheep were shearer (professionally!) this morning! I was so impressed! The shearer offered to drop off some useable wool for me since our wool was junk from all the burdock. The shearer noticed our ewes a bagging up and we were able to palpate BABIES! DH and DS1 cleaned in the barn and set up a lambing pen.

2 of 20 chicks didn't make it through the first 24 hours after hatching, but the remaining 18 chicks are doing well!

Weeding the garden is becoming a full-time chore! It's the first year, so we're fighting crab grass from taking over. DH tills between rows to keep it down to a dull roar, but of course it comes right back from the roots. We go out and dig roots out in the evening. It rained a lot last week so we have a lot of catching up to do!

I'm getting another rabbit doe this coming week for foundation stock for my rabbit breed project. I'll be at 2 does and 1 buck. And no more empty cages for babies! I don't like homemade cages, but I might need to do that to be able to breed this year. I want to grow rabbits out to 6 months old and cull before the barn gets below freezing temps. It might not happen that way this year.

That grass can be a bugger to get rid of.

We had heavy frost last night that wiped out our tomatoes, peppers, beans, and all our "hill plants" - squashes, pumpkins, melons, etc. The potatoes look rough, but should be able to bounce back from it. DH covered the peas, so they look great. We love peas fresh from the garden! They're our MVP (most valuable planting). We have like 200 row feet of peas in there. They're the reason for putting electric fence up around the garden. We replanted the hill plants and beans. We'll need to buy tomato and pepper plants from a greenhouse.

I got the mini-rex rabbit. She's a sweet little thing!

DS2 had a rough fussy night, and has been clingy and needy all day. He has been waking up crying whenever he is set down. Even the bouncy seat hasn't fooled him. I love holding him, but I'm getting over-tired too.
DH cut rhubarb and made a divine rhubarb bar. It's essentially a lemon bar with rhubarb on top. So yummy!