They're HERE!

The daffodils are blooming, the song birds greet the dawn with a chorus of their sweet chirping and trilling, the grass is looking shaggier, our first mamma goat is due to kid in 3 weeks, and we now have tiny pompoms inhabiting a corner in the barn. Yep, meat chicken batch #1 has now taken up residence. It's always exciting when the first batch of chicks is in the barn; over the course of the winter, you forget how adorable the puff balls are and how sweet their little cheeping is. 

The baby Cornish roasters arrived this morning with the typical phone call that comes when everyone is still in bed. ;) But never fear! We were semi-prepared this time! Yesterday afternoon, Dad, Emi and I got the barn all cleaned out (all that deep bedding that has been building up over the winter) and the brooder area set up. All we had to do was flip on the heat lamps and fill the waters. Actually, everything feels too clean now - there's an echo. Oh well. We've filled the cavernous feel with the never ceasing peeping of chicks. ^_^  

After watching the news last night, we (okay, maybe it was just me) started thinking that the chick's box was going to get stuck in the Denver airport since they had a lovely winter storm blow in. (The very first time we bought chicks, they got stuck there for several days. Needless to say, it was a rough start to raising poultry.) But that pessimistic voice in my head was quickly silenced. All of the chicks survived the trip, and they're all feisty little goobers. 

And thus begins a summer of meat chickens. We learned from last year though - I put a cap on how many chickens we'll grow. 300 chickens is too many. ;) 

Country Chic Bridal Shower

Has it been a week since Sonia's bridal shower already? Wow, time is flying. I think I need to get started on my bridesmaid dress because the wedding is coming up quick. ;) 

So. Want the lo-down on party details? (you're supposed to nod your head 'yes' at this point) I don't blame you. 

And in case you're wondering, much of the inspiration for the decorating and whatnot came from pinterest. It's pretty simple to get the gist of what the bride wants when she has a board for wedding plans ;) 

Emily H. made up these gorgeous biscotti! We dipped our double-baked goods into chocolate, let it solidify, them piped on the words and doodles. :) Super easy, super cute.

And how can you have a country chic shower without a chalkboard, boots and a pitchfork?

A close up of the centerpieces

And mason jars. Can't forget the mason jars.

The bride isn't huge on everyone staring at her while she opens the presents, so we recruited the guests' help for assembling the wedding favors while she unwrapped the gifts

For an activity, guests created a country song for the bride and groom via 'mad-lib' style.

These paper lanterns get used in just about every party now. Lol!

And when the bride has food restrictions, you make sure that she has something to eat at her own shower. ;)

A better view of the centerpieces

The devotion was a time of prayer led by a good friend of the bride

Favor making

And now for pictures of everyone's smiling faces. :)

This picture makes me laugh. A lot. 

She has that glow about her. :)

This also makes me laugh.

Can't you tell that they're sisters? :D

Flower toss!

All pictures courtesy of Christi

Sebastian the Hedgehog Plushie

Sometimes when you see a project, you just have to make it. Thus is the story with this little dude. 

Let me introduce you to Sebastian the Hedgehog Plushie. 

I was perusing some handmade toy pattern lists, when I found this little gem here. He was begging to be made. 

And sew him up I did. I had some micro suede left over from a vest, and bunches of little brown and tan scraps laying around. Whipped out the pinking shears and snagged some of the safety eyes from my crocheting sister's stash. I'm debating whether or not to give him legs, attach some ears, or embroider on a nose. :shrugs: He'll probably get those eventually.

Conveniently, it's my sister's b-day, and she was asking for a hedgehog and an otter (it's a BBC Sherlock fandom reference. There's also a hedgehog in 'The Hobbit' which is where his name comes from). Well, dearest, you're getting your hedgehog. I couldn't find any otter patterns.

'Down on the Farm' Baby Shower

Remember the wedding I was in last year? Well, the happy couple is going to join the ranks of moms and dads in just a few short weeks! Yep, they're going to be parents. A neighbor and I organized a shower to help welcome their little boy.

Decorating was easy once we decided to do a farm theme. ;) 

The excited grandmas-to-be did the devotion

There was a noticeable theme when it came to the gifts. ;) 

Corn-fed baby

All pictures courtesy of my good friend, Seriah

Baby Quilt Top - 'Spring Chicks'

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Back-to-back weekends: a bridal shower and a baby shower. Mix in daily life, and you have a good idea of what I've been up to. ;) I'll post pictures once I get them pulled together. 

One of my goals was to have this quilt project done by the baby shower for the mamma-to-be... but I didn't get it finished. (Big surprise there) I got the quilt top finished though! I'd say that's a step in the right direction. 

I've been working on the embroidered blocks all winter (when you have ADD and there's a TV or Shakespeare class going on in the background, well... let's just say that I'm not a very fast worker. ;) ), and the quilt blocks are simple 'shoo fly' which were easily finished in an afternoon. The original pattern that I was working from called for teeny-tiny 1.5" blocks all put together for the sashing, but that became really tedious really fast and they didn't line up. :face palm: Needless to say, I got to spend some very good one-on-one time with my seam ripper. I think that tool needs a name, actually; I use it so much. Since I took these pictures, I've been able to get this all quilted up, so now it just needs some binding then it's done! :) 

Trip to the ER: part 2

His bike handle

To see the beginning of the story, go here. I think leaving you on a cliff hanger for a week is mean enough.

Where was I? Oh yeah. We were leaving Urgent Care to go to the emergency room at a different facility. I left my copilot sister in charge of the cell phone. :boring ring tone: It was the parental units. They were at home, and apparently Emily relayed the story in a tizzy. We were going to meet them at the ER.

Well, we beat them there. By a very long shot. ;) And it wasn't F1 racing down the highway either. We pulled up to the special ER entrance and headed in. We did the same thing as before - I headed in to get the process started, Jess helped Jake in. When the gals at the desk saw Jake teetering in, they stated (in a very nonchalant way), "Can you get him a wheel chair?" What if I want the wheel chair ride? Oh well... We sat him down and carted him into the back. After a quick general assessment and some questions, they gave him his bracelet with his info in it and directed us to the ER floor. I'd never been in the ER before. Jake hadn't either. I would ask who was more bewildered - me or him. But he was still pretty dazed with a 'deer in the headlights' sort of expression and not remembering much. The nurse helped him onto the bed, got him a hospital gown, and hooked him up with the electrodes.
And in come Mom and Dad. I told 'em my part of the story, just as I had told the nurse, then headed out to the lobby to bring my heart rate down (I'm pretty sure that my pulse was racing five times faster than his).

Back in the waiting room with Jess and Oma, we did just that. Waited. I've decided that even though 'emergency' is part of the ER's name, they're not in any sort of a hurry. While chilling out and sucking down water bottles that we found in the cafeteria, Jess told me that she had never seen Mom run as fast as she did from the car to the hospital. Even with all the rodeos that we unintentionally have when animals escape or we're running after coyotes. I chuckled at the mental image that I got of Mom sprinting. Since we were just waiting... I thought I would call our neighbors (Jake had spent the afternoon playing games with them) to see what time he had left their place and to fill them in on what was going on. It appears Jake was only 'missing' for about 30-45 minutes - the time that he left their house and the time that he walked in the kitchen.

The life-saving helmet

Meanwhile, Em and Eli held down the home front. Very well might I add. They got dinner finished, animal chores done, and they were playing games.

Dad decided that we could probably head home since we were just playing the waiting game at this point. I just needed to retrieve my car from the Urgent Care and get Miss Jabberwocky feeling full again. ;) Once home, we packed dinner for Mom (we all have wonky food restrictions - hospital food has become a big no-no) and sent it back via the Oma-express. We got the goats milked, the last of the chores wrapped up, Eli to bed, and settled in for a chick flick (Pride and Prejudice anyone?). The crew at the hospital was gearing up for a late night of more waiting.

Well, long story short, they ended up taking Jake up to another ER because the CT scanner at the hospital they were at was 'under maintenance.' After more waiting, a scan, stitches in his chin and an x-ray later, it was time to go home. It was about 1 o'clock when they came up the driveway. The doctor's diagnosis? A concussion. And a pretty decent one at that since there was memory loss. But there wasn't any internal bleeding, broken bones, etc, etc, etc. When looking at him, he should have at least broken his cheekbone and possibly chipped some of the bone around the eye socket.
After a while, he was able to recall someone stopping to ask him if he was okay. He soon remembered leaving our neighbor's house and turning onto the road. Then he remembered sitting in a grassy patch in the sun. But the actual accident? Nothing. Maybe it's for the better.

Come that Monday, he headed off to classes for midterms. I guess he got quite the reaction from everyone. ;) Our chiropractor couldn't believe that he didn't break any bones. The natropath couldn't believe how well he's healed in the short time that has lapsed since the accident; within 5-7 days after crashing, you could hardly tell that he hit his face as hard as he did. We've come to the conclusion that we must be on the right tract, diet and supplement-wise, since he healed up so fast.

So. After the lengthy, drawn out retelling of this tale, what did we learn? Two things:
1) ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET! No matter how much it clashes with your colors, makes your face look fat, or leaves your hair in a funky, sweaty mess. It could mean the difference between a headache and the drastic change in your lifestyle.
2) If you see a biker on the side of the road, you need to stop and start asking questions beyond, 'You okay?' Start by asking what year it is. ;)