Things That Fly

It began with a short trip to the pet store a couple of months ago.

AJ took one look at those happy, chirping birds and he was in love.

He had to have one.

He begged.

He pleaded.

He finally won over Papi and made it hard for me to say no.

He was very patient as we searched online for a bird cage and a bird, and researched which kind of bird to get.

He wanted a parakeet, a boy, because they're not supposed to have as hard of a bite and there's a better chance of them learning to talk than with the girls.

Luckily, we found someone in Queen Creek who breeds parakeets and budgies.

So finally, today we were able to drive out there and pick out his bird.

But it didn't turn out at all like we expected.

I have one sweet, little boy.

As soon as AJ saw the six little chicks that were left he had his heart set on this little girl.

The breeder explained to us that she was a "special" budgie.

She never grew her tail feathers.

She never grew her wing feathers.

She can't fly.

She has an awkward little walk and a weak bite.

AJ didn't care.  He liked her.

I tried to explain to him that she might have some health issues and may not live as long, kind of like our angel, Mikey.

But he was okay with that. He wanted to help her.

He decided to look at the other healthy chicks that were there but he already had a "special" place in his heart for the "special" budgie.

The breeder let him have her.  He didn't have to pay for her even though he wanted to.

I was proud of him for loving this little birdie and wanting to give her a good life no matter how short it may be.

He was proud that his little bird could be held without flying away and that her bite didn't hurt.

On our way home we were talking about the bird and about Mikey and how sometimes bodies just don't form right.  

We came to a stop light.

I looked out the window and saw a red heart mylar balloon floating in the air directly in front of us. 

It was just like the ones that Mikey had sent to our door step a few months ago.

"Look AJ" I pointed out the balloon.

He smiled. "I think Mikey is telling me that he's happy that I picked her because he wants me to take good care of her."

AJ loves his new bird.  She never left his side until it was time to go to bed.

Little Budgie has found a loving new friend.

DJ's Best Friend

He worked hard all summer.

He saved his money.

He bought his own little mouse

and made sure his little friend had all the mice toys.

This tiny rodent has become DJ's companion no matter where we are; Home Depot, Walmart, Kirklands, Grandma's . . . he will not leave home without her.

I dare say this little mouse has been to more stores than some babies.

He takes her in her little ball, puts her in the front of the shopping cart and lets her roll around while we shop.

And you thought you only disinfected the shopping carts because of chicken contamination.

We decided on a girl since they aren't supposed to be as smelly as boys.

He named her Squeakers.

Funny, because my aunt Kristine called me Squeakers when I was little.

So my parents got an annoying little dog and named it Squeakers.

That way every time she called me Squeakers the dog would come running.

Best advice from the pet store:

Let him play with her in the tub until he learns how to hold her that way if she gets loose she can't get out of the bathtub.  Just make sure you shut the drain so she doesn't run down it.

DJ sat in the bathtub with her for hours the first day he brought her home.

He's definitely a mouse holding professional now and carries her all over the house.

Puppies, puppies, puppies

One more week until these cuties can live on their own.  Are you going to want one?

They're Open

We have eyes!

Just a couple more weeks and I think it will be okay for people to come visit these babies.

You're going to love them.

Puppies and an Awesome Boy

 Life lately has been mostly about puppies.

It was exhausting until I learned I can lock momma in the shower with them.

She doesn't really want to be with them much.

And who can blame her?

Ten little creatures all struggling to eat at the same time could be overwhelming.

LOL and you thought twins was complicated.

DJ is absolutely in his element. 

He is an animal lover and can't get enough of these little guys.

I even caught him trying to sleep with them.

If I ever need an animal job done he is the first one I ask.

I'm so glad I have him.

10!!!

Momma Chloe delivered her puppies the morning of May 31, 2012.

We are delighted with 10 puppies, plus 1 surprising addition born 8 hours later that decided she wanted to live with Mikey.

It was sad but I'm glad he gets to share in the fun with us.

These 6 boys and 4 girls wouldn't let me sleep at all last night.

Luckily my kids took over this morning and let me sleep in.

It's worth it because these babies are adorable!

It's hard to ask but I have to for the mom,

please no visitors.

She get nervous when people she doesn't know are here.

And she's really trying hard to be a good mom.

Give her a few weeks and I'm sure she'll be tired of them by then.

Let me know soon if you want one.

They are AKC registered labradors.

And Utahns, don't count yourselves out.

If there are a few people from Utah who want one you may be able to talk us into getting out of this heat and bringing it to you. :)

Coming soon...

...to a shower near...me!

Puppies!!!

Momma's miserable.

All she wants to do is lay on the tile

and try to build a nest in the shower.

I try to tell her just a few more days but she doesn't want to hear it.

Who's knocking on your window?

These girls like to knock on our kitchen window. I think they want in from the heat.

And some new additions to the flock.

Home Grown Eggs

So our first egg happened to be a double yoker. Cool, huh? And here's a picture of the yummy egg color after we scrambled them up.

Pals

Have I told you what good friends these two are? Chloe is the first thing Isabel asks for after she wakes up and lets me know she's "happy now". Maybe it's because they are the same size but I think that if I saw a dog come running at me full speed and it's head was as tall as mine I might be a little intimidated. Not Isabel, she loves it! She'll brace herself and once Chloe stops she gives her big hugs and laughs while saying "toey, toey".

In Time for Easter

We got an egg!! This is our first egg ever. It was a present from our little hen, Foxy. She's an Amerucuana so she lays cute green-blue eggs. And what good timing, just in time for Easter. Alexandria found the little treasure Monday morning when she went outside to attend to her job of feeding the chickens. It was a happy moment.

New Home

Our chickens should be very happy now. Mom's happy too. Whenever the kids get to be too much I have a place to lock them up outside in the nice fresh air. (Kidding, kind of.)

She's a HE!!!

7am the alarm goes off. I get Alexandria up and tell her to start getting dressed. All of a sudden we hear this awful noise. It sounds like a cat is dying and wailing at the top of it's lungs. The dogs in the neighborhood start to go crazy and the animal cries again. I already know what's happened. I've had my suspicions but from what I read online you should never assume until you hear it. I pull a sweatshirt on and find some shoes. Alexandria comes running in my room, a little scared. "Mommy, did you hear the noise? It sounds like a bad person outside!"

"No," I let her know, "we have a ROOSTER!" Oh yea one of our chickens, that when it was born was supposed to be sexed by a professional sexer that has a 98% success rate to make sure that it is an egg layer, turned out to be a crower. Little "Roxy" as the kids so lovingly named her, is now "ROCKY". His first little crow although loud was really not pretty. Our neighbors are going to love us. A live alarm clock. Unfortunately, this alarm clock will be going back to the feed store unless, any of you know someone who would like a free rooster. And I think I'll be going to bed early tonight just in case he decides to make his alarm go off earlier than my digital alarm.

COCK A DOODLE DOO!!!

New and Improved Hand Washing Technique

See Grandma, all you need is a dog. Problem solved.

CHLOE!!!!

"Why do we still have her around if THIS is what she does?" I ask myself.

I guess it's for the moments like this.

New Chicks

The kids have been begging me for some chickens ever since we saw the chicken at our contractor's parent's house. So we finally found some chickens. We started out with 3 but one of them got played with a little to roughly. So now we're down to 2. I thought it would be the dog that I would need to watch around the chickens but apparently it's DJ I need to pay more attention to. So there's a new rule. . .DJ can't touch the chickens until they're bigger. I think we'll get another one if we can to replace the one we lost so hopefully, we'll have some delicious organic, cage free eggs by February.

Irresistible Peaches

YUM! Don't these fresh peaches and pears shipped straight from Utah look delicious?

Apparently, Chloe thought they looked yummy too. She was sneaking them out of the box in the pantry.

Princesa Chloe

We finally settled on a name. I think we went through about 10 or so before one finally stuck and it was a toss up as to what to call her but Alexandria finally won with Chloe. AJ wanted Princesa so we've officially called her Princesa Chloe. She's been a lot of fun but we have had a few issues. DJ will not leave her in her crate. He lets her out and she goes on a rampage (we've already lost a few toys and a rug to those puppy teeth) if no one is around to watch her. I even tried locking the crate and DJ found a way to get her out. I think she gives him those puppy eyes and he falls for it every time. She always has to take me with her to go to the bathroom. You know how girls are. ;) She will not go outside without me. In fact she hates it so much that she'll resort to anything to get back in if I leave her out.
Yup, that's our fireplace. She somehow found her way in through the fireplace!! I wish I could have gotten a picture of the kids too when she popped her head out of the fireplace. Their faces were just as funny. Let me tell you she is one smart puppy, literally.

Introducing . . . .!!!!

It's good to be home!! The very first thing we did was stop by to pick up . . . .

She's our new dog!! (That's not slobber it's her toy.) I've always wanted a lab but they're so big I never thought I would actually have one. An opportunity came up and we took it and we are so glad we did. We've only had her two days but so far she's an angel. I know it'll get harder before it gets easier though. After we brought her home we set up the crate which by the way seems HUGE. (Remember, I'm used to our little Simba.) I left the room to go get some towels and when I came back . . . .

I had to laugh. Alexandria said she had to be in there with her so she wouldn't be all by herself. DJ was so happy that she doesn't growl until she started whining to get out of the crate then he said, "Mom, I just don't want her to growl!" He's still remembering Simba and all of his issues. We're still coming up with names. I'll update when we finally decide on one. We're all so excited!!!

Isn't she beautiful?

Princesa our "fill in for now" Puppy

Our neighbors here are from Venezuela. He plays baseball with Dionys. Someone gave them this little dog a few weeks ago. It's only 6 weeks old and it's the same kind of dog as our dear Simba but it's a girl. The kiddos have really taken to this little girl. And how could you not love her? Just look at that cute little face. Alexandria and DJ have named her Princesa (AJ added Sophie to that). They know she's not theirs so it's working out well, kind of easing the pain of losing Simba. She'll spend the day at our house and then we'll take her back at night. Our neighbors are happy with this arrangement since they don't like having to take her outside. My kids love it. Plus our neighbors are not sure if they'll be able to take the puppy to Venezuela so I think they're hoping maybe we'll take her if they can't. Although Dionys isn't really up for that. He's hoping for something a little bit bigger than our last dog.