Too Damn Cute

I got the baby chics today, and I swear they should come with a warning label..."WARNING, THESE CHICKS ARE TERRIBLY CUTE, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LEAVE THEM ALONE"..LOL

They are snug in their dog crate for now, but I'm sure they'll outgrow it within a week or two. They arrived in the mail, and had to pick them up at the Post Office. They are residing in my "den"/back room, and I have the crate equiped with 2 heat lamps, 2 thermometers, 2 food dishes/troughs, and a gallon of water. Its also wrapped with 2 flannel sheets, and kept at a snug 90 degrees F. The are just "peeping" away and I keep going in and peaking through the opening at them. TOO DAMN CUTE!! The pictures just don't do them justice! It was too funny, I didn't have a part of it properly blocked off, and the next thing I know I've got a chick running across the floor at me!! LMAO

the box they came in:



their new home:

The Garden

Finally! Yes, finally the weather has warmed up enough that I can till the ground and actually plant something in it! woohooo!!! What started out as a small idea..."lets just use this corner"....went to a garden that will be 70 feet long by 30 feet wide. I am so excited! So far, I've got peas, green beans, radishes, Vidalia onions, and gourds planted. I still need to get the peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, and califlower in. I can't guarantee I'll actually get anything out of this. It is a known fact that I have never gardened anything in my life, so this should be interesting. Hell, the hubby and I had a long discussion as to whether to plant in rows or furrows. How should I know? So we dug rows, and since he has waaayy more gardening experience than I do, I am watching, and listening intently to everything he says/does.

So here are some pictures of the 'before' and 'after'. The tractor/mower is the In-Law's, and we got the tiller from the equipment rental place. (no, that is not the name of it, but that's what they do..lol) I got a quick lesson in how to run the thing from the hubby and his brother. They actually stood back and watched me, which I found funny. They aren't used to a woman doing that sort of thing, so of course I had to get up there and show them that boobs don't make you stupid. But they seemed to approve of my work and actually didn't appear nervous during the whole process, so that's a good thing.

BEFORE:



DURING:







AFTER:







You can see here where we planted....



And finally, hubby surveying our work....





And a quick brief on other news:

Baby chicks arrive on Monday, so I need to take this weekend and get their new homes ready. They won't be outside just yet, as they will only be a day old when they arrive. So I am setting up a couple of small 'kiddie pools' in the back room so they can be monitored, kept warm, and free of drafts. These chicks will be raised for food. *waits for the animal rights people to flame this post* I will be getting 50 chicks in the mail, and I'm of course going to post lots of pictures of their arrival and progress. :)

Helen Keller

Do you all remember the story? Have any of you even read her story? Ok, let me give you a brief rundown....

Helen Keller was born blind and deaf back in the early 1800s. Her parents were wealthy, and were so distraught over her condition they let her get away with everything. SHe would throw temper tantrums when she didn't get what she wanted. She would get up from the table, and grab food from other people's plates, fling foot, spit, scream, etc. She was never made to do anything, and never diciplined.

One day they brought in a teacher for Helen. And although her name escapes me at the moment, she was great. She saw how they were treating Helen and decided she needed to learn respect. She took Helen out of the house, and they lived in a 'guest house' on the property. The teacher locked them in and commenced to teach her. In time, Helen realized she couldn't get away with being rude and unruly and began to behave and to learn. Eventually, they went 'home'. But Helen was smart. She knew she was home, and immediately reverted to her old behavior. Her parents refused to dicipline her, and the teacher was at her wits end. One day the revelation came to Helen and well, the rest is history.

Why am I telling you this? Because it is a bit similar to my previous post about my niece. Let me go on....

As I ranted before, she is a little hellion. However, 2 days ago she came to my house for a visit. What an angel! It was just her and I, and we planted ivy, fed/watered chickens, went for a walk, colored, ate lunch, and just hung out. There was no tv, no girly toys, no candy, no bribing, nothing. Just us. She did what she was told, and if I said "no", there was no arguement. She didn't act out to get my attention. If I was on the phone, she sat at the table with a book...ON HER OWN.

Then came yesterday. I went to her house to help her mom move some furniture around. Ahhh, the little devil was in full form. Trying to hurt her baby brother, doing the 'fake cry' to her mom, pouting, stomping, having to be bribed with candy just to put her shoes away. At no time did mom take serious action to get her to do anything, or stop her from things. I kept my mouth shut. Its not my house, not my kid, not my place. If she can't see the problem and continues to try to be a friend before being a mother, then she will suffer the consiquences. I am at my wits end, so to speak. Some may call it giving up, but here is my thought...if she behaves for me, that is all I ask. Its not my job to raise her, but if she can grasp even a small amount of dicipline, or morals from her visits to my house, then thats all I can ask. The hubby even asked mom "so, you don't have a problem spanking her if she acts out?" ......mom: "well, not if she truely deserves it, I mean if she is doing something wrong, I expect her to be corrected. So no, I guess not".....hhhmmmm.

Anyway, draw your own conclusions, but like I said, I am only the Aunt, and can only do so much.

New Arrivals...

WOOHOO!! Yeah, I'm in a better mood, the sun is out, its supposed to be in the 60's all week, and I am outside doin' stuff! Ok, you are wondering about the title? HA! If you recall, I discussed in past blogs about chickens. I GOT CHICKENS BABY!!! lol

Sunday the DH and I got up really really really early and went to the swap meet/flea market. Braving the wind, cold, sleet and snow, we found 2 roosters and 19 laying hens!! I am so excited! We came home aroun 0900 and the sun was starting to part the clouds. We whipped up the pen, and got the coop finished in about 3 hours. They are some happy chickens!! Anyway, I named the roosters Jon and Brad...no idea why, but that is their name. Jon being the Barred Rock cross, (black/white specked) and Brad being the Buff Orpington cross (brown/red color). I am having fun with them! I go out about 3 times a day to feed them, and make sure they have water (they go through a lot!) and to make sure everyone is doing ok. I'm hoping after they get settled in the next few days they'll start laying. I know the roosters are doing their part, lol, so now I'm waiting on the girls...here are some pics!

Serious Delima..sigh

My heart hurts...I won't deny it. Call it age, call it getting "soft"...whatever, I don't care. But my heart hurts. Let me explain....

As most of you know, I have several nieces and nephews, so this could be any one of them...no names will be used. Anyway, there is one that is soon to be 4, and the sibling is 2 1/2 months old. I get asked for assistance on a regular basis from their mother, and am happy to oblige. However, we have different views on child rearing. I know, everybody does to some degree, but this is just killing me.

How many times do you tell a child to stop doing something before either giving up or making a feeble attempt at dicipline? Especially if the act of the child could involve them getting seriously injured? Or seriously injuring another child? "Stop standing on the back of the couch".."Please stop it...please..now come on, please stop"....."Stop jumping off the couch please...really, I don't want you to do that, please stop" blah blah blah...And the look of "F*ck you" on the child's face is appauling. The father is just as bad, and its unbelievable.

So knowing that, here is the story leading up to my delima.

I go with them (mom and 2 kids) out shopping the other day. The stroller is in the store with baby in it. The diaper bad (a monsterous thing) is hanging off of the handle of the stroller (it weighs more than baby) making it unstable...but who am I? Anyway, older sibling grabs the handle of the stroller, and it begins to tip backwards...mom grabs the stroller and says "Honey, you can't hang on that, it will make the stroller tip, and the baby could fall out." (she says this very soft and sweet)I continue to shop, and the child has the look of "Whatever". So we browse around, and I am standing by the stroller looking at clothes, the child walks up behind me (those eyes in the back of my head ya know) and then I see from my perifrial vision that child is grabbing the stroller...again. I turn around in time to catch it before it dumps baby out. The look on child's face? "sweet". So I get down in her face and tell her in a very quiet, yet angry voice while holding her arm "You DO NOT do that! That baby could fall out and get hurt! You WILL NOT grab that again!" What does child do? Yanks the arm out of my hand and hits me...with the look of complete hate on the face. So I grab her arm again, really hard I won't deny it, and tell her "You DO NOT HIT...Do you understand me? YOU DO NOT HIT ADULTS OR ANYONE!!!" Child was shocked, then pissed and walked away. BUT....Child then wanted to follow me around all day... "Aunt Jen, can I come with you?"

The day ends with no problems, even child crying and upset because I was going home..."I want Aunt Jen to stay with me! I want to go with Aunt Jen!"...Believe me, I am not bragging about this. It is common knowledge that children crave guidence and dicipline, they just don't know it. Child is acting out due to jealousy, lack of direction/dicipline and attention from parents. I'm no psychologist, but I know that much. You see it in dogs all the time. STRUCTURE PEOPLE!! Anyway, I come home and nothing else is said about it....until today. I get told that child told Grandpa about how I grabbed her arm. Mom didn't explain why to grandpa, or tell child that it was deserved. Nope, mom is letting child tell everyone she knows about how I am mean, and abusive. But that isn't the kicker....sit down folks, the next paragraph is a doozy....

I get told through Instant Message that "She told grandpa" and I said "Well, I'm sorry but the stroller was going down and it was instinct...plus she tried to hit me and I stopped her".....The response? "Well, she is tender-hearted and it suprised her...she knows I would do that, but not you."....WHAT????? Are you KIDDIN me??? Tender hearted??? All I could see was the many, many times that child had the look of contempt, hate, jealousy, and "what can I do to get attention and hurt people?" on her face. I was speachless. And in the same message mom asks me..."Can you come over here and babysit the 2 of them on Sat night?" OMFG I couldn't believe it. Lets go to another paragraph....

Ok, I'm going to digress and give my views of child rearing to you all....Structure and dicipline are key. Why do I sound so strict? I'm not really, but here's the deal....IT COULD SAVE THEIR LIFE ONE DAY....need I say more? If I tell my son to get off the couch, he does it without hesitation, question, or contempt. He knows I say it for a reason. If I tell him NO, he stops immediately, no questions asked. Do I offer explanaition? Sometimes, if I feel he doesn't understand the point. He is soon to be 9. When he was very young...not quite a year, he tried to hit me one time....he never tried again. I have hardly EVER had to swat his butt. He respects me, and my decisions. He knows that what I say goes, no matter what. He knows there is NO HITTING of anyone, unless it is self defense. Funny thing is, all of my In-Laws go on and on about how well behaved he has always been, even as a baby. They know that if they ask him to do something, he will do it without hesitation. He says Please and Thank You and Excuse Me. He doesn't interupt adults when they are talking, and he waits his turn. Am I biased? Maybe, but my step son who is now 16 used to be as unruly as they come...ADHD, etc. And what do the In-Laws say about him now? "Wow, he is so good, he is calm, and really acts like a gentleman. He talks to us, and is a nice kid"...YA THINK??? How the hell do you think he got that way??? NOT FROM ANYONE BUT ME He used to say "I hate you" but cry when he had to go home....He calls ME when he is sad, or has an issue. Am I bragging? Yes. Why? Because as parents society has let the child rule. Now we have kids getting pregnant, killing people, beating up their parents, KILLING their parents all because mom/dad said "NO" one time, and never diciplined them growing up. hhhmmm...kids bombing the schools because they are mad, confused, and lost. They weren't taught how to handle stress, anger, disappointment, and loss. We are raising a generation (or 3) of people who CAN'T HANDLE LIFE. Are you pissed at me yet? I don't care.

So here is my delima....do I babysit? Do I tell her "No, I can't, because I'm scared that if I tell your kid "NO" it will be broadcast all over town that I am a child abuser"...or "I can't because she doesn't listen to me, and if she gets hurt for not listening, like if she breaks her leg/arm/NECK it will be my fault"...Lets say I tell them that...the reprocusions are ENORMOUS. You have no idea what that would lead to within the family. It would mean disaster. I need a whole new blog to explain it. The DH is at a loss as well. Its his brother's kid for crying out loud. I guess I just don't have the testicular fortitude to tell them that their kid is a freakin brat, and I just can't live with myself if she gets hurt on my watch because they FAILED to dicipline her..

Example: In the store, child is in the shopping cart and proceeds to throw a screaming fit because mom wouldn't buy her certain shoes...mom snatches her up and says "You stop that right now!" ....Child starts to cry and mom then says "Oh honey, I'm so sorry, mommy won't do it again, just please don't scream in the store"...WTF???

My typing is done...I can't type anymore due to my severe rise in blood pressure just thinking of all this...comments are welcome, ideas, etc. I just don't know what to do. And by the way, mom wants me to go with her over the weekend at the end of the month to a seminar...to watch the baby...sigh