Chicks and squawking

The lady at our rural post office called this morning and said, "Mrs. Renee? Your chickens are in." I could hear anxious peeping in the background. The kids all hopped in the truck with Andy to go pick them up. There was only one "expired" chick in the box. 23 out of 24 is supposedly good. Now the kids will need to keep a curious puppy and two dozen chicks alive and well. Oh my. I adore bird watching and listening, but I detest actually touching birds. These littles are on.their.own! (That call from the lady at the post office was the latest "China" moment, by the way. How many of you have gotten a call from the post office telling you to come pick up your chickens?)

The chickens are all hens, and we anticipate fresh eggs soon. I only cook eggs on the weekends, but I do use eggs frequently for baking, especially in the fall and winter. It should be a treat to have our own. And hopefully these little things won't grow up to require too much work. We (Andy and I) have never in our entire life felt like the days are so short.

We simply can not manage to EVER get even a fraction accomplished that we would like. Making relationships and home schooling are my top priorities right now. And those are good things! But my housework is always behind, and I rarely find myself organized enough to make it to the grocery store with any idea of what needs to be bought. I have always been a menu/shopping list planner. This current state of "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" craziness is a little distressing for me. So I keep telling myself to just "do the next thing". It works pretty well until we are half way through a shower and run out of shampoo (with the nearest store being a half hour away). Or until I find myself pushing my car to the nearest gas station because I didn't keep my eye on the gas meter due to rushing around preparing for guests. THEN "the next thing" is not so comforting (albeit a little funny)! (This past weekend I ran out of gas in the car for the first time in my life.)

My Dad came by today and made himself at home in our living room. I didn't hear him and I was simultaneously cleaning the toilet, disciplining a child, talking on the phone with a friend (about how behind I am in my housework :) ), and chugging a Diet Coke. He just sat and listened to it all from around the corner. Later, he politely suggested that I ask the neighbors if anyone would like to come and clean my house. He said "the farm account" could foot the bill. Without hesitation or any dignity whatsoever I said, "Sounds great. Let's do it." So I think relief is in sight! What a purely delightful gift that would be! Just the thought of it thrills me more than Christmas morning.

But for today, house cleaning was on my own. With relief in sight, I pressed on and organized the kids' rooms, washed all of our curtains, cleaned the house top to bottom (mind you we only have a total of 9 rooms!), and washed all of the clothes. I also did basic homeschooling lessons (math, grammar, spelling, memory work, reading, and history). Our guests will be here tomorrow and slowing down was NOT an option. I did, however, boycott cooking dinner. Andy and the kids are out to dinner now, and I am eating a bowl of cereal with a sweet puppy in my lap.

Maybe the solution to my organization issues is to just have house guests or a party every couple of weeks! That would provide accountability and fun!