Compressors, gardening and potty training

-We are preparing for our vacation to Colorado. I now realize why we don't travel very much. I'm utterly exhausted trying to prepare the animals and house for our departure. It sure isn't helping that the temperatures have been over 105 degrees for the past week. This is naturally the time when my air conditioning compressor in my car dies. This is the car that we are planning on taking to Colorado. A new compressor runs $1120 at the local Ford dealer. Yikes. We can order a compressor and hubby can install it for about a quarter of the cost but we don't have the time. So we might be renting a car or hubby might be able to tinker with the valve and get it working. Ugh, why do things always die at the most inopportune time? On a funny side note, I was talking to the mechanic that tested the AC unit and mentioned we needed the car for a trip to Colorado and he looked at me funny and said "You do know Colorado is on fire right?" Yep, well aware. We aren't going to those locations.

-The garden is starting to produce a whole lot of veggies. I'm sure everything will ripen up while we are gone. But not to worry, there are so many grasshoppers this year that I'm sure nothing will go to waste. I've never seen so many grasshoppers in my life.  I have managed to bring in several onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and corn. My favorite thing to do with the produce is make wraps for lunch. They make the low carb wraps and I slice up pepper jack cheese, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach and drizzle it with a little italian dressing. So good and a great way to get oodles of veggies into your diet. I am loving the garden.

-Potty training has been an adventure. Miss Greta is really ready but I don't want to full on tackle it until we get back from vacation. She's going number two on the big potty usually once a day but still urinates in her Pull Up. She absolutely loves her princess Pull Ups and pulls them on and off by herself. Whenever big brother says he has to go, so does she. So they sit in there together doing their thing....usually with magazines. When we return we are going to hit it hard, let her pick out big girl undies, candy as a reward and sticker chart. I'm ready, she's ready.....here's to no more kids in diapers!

Adventures of Crack Boy and Wedgie Girl

You should be happy it's low resolution. These kids can't keep their swimsuits where they belong. They are sure having fun in the water these days. Swim lessons are over and Wesley did great! Teacher said he was the most improved in his class. We are signing up for another two week class in July. But in the mean time it's kiddie pool time at home....and many wardrobe malfunctions.

Billy Bob

So I've been wanting another tortoise for awhile now. We built an outdoor pen for our leopard tortoise (which I'm now wishing we'd made bigger) and I was toying with the idea of adding another. If you know me at all, you know that once an idea forms in my head there is not much chance it won't happen. I get a bit obsessed. So when my friend Jessica suggested having a garage sale I jumped at the idea to sell off old junk to finance my new little friend. Last week I spent several hours gathering unused toys and scrubbing them clean. Then last weekend I sold nearly everything making just enough (see, it was an omen). Tortoises aren't cheap, hatchling Leopard tortoises run $170 and Sulcata's run $130. I decided on a Sulcata.

Sulcata's are an African desert tortoise and they can get big. I mean BIG. Technically they are the third largest tortoise in the world. They were a very popular pet about ten years ago right after the iguana craze. People would go out and buy these little tiny iguanas and then years later be left with these six foot animals. Well the same things go for Sulcatas. They can easily get 30 inches long and over 100 pounds. They say don't think about this species unless you are able to house a small pony (check!). An adult can keep a 50 ft X 50ft yard mowed. I know all of this is usually said to deter someone from buying a Sulcata but it just intrigues the heck out of me. I've wanted one for years and have researched them like crazy (as I do all of my animals).

On Sunday I went with my earnings to the local reptile house and bought my little Sulcata. He's one year old and came from a vet/breeder in New Mexico. He's super sociable and is not scared of anything. I named him Billy Bob (because it makes me snicker). He gets along with Cecil wonderfully. In fact when I put Billy Bob in the outdoor enclosure, Cecil popped his head out of his shell to check out the newcomer and trucked it over to say hello. They are nearly always next to each other. It's pretty cute. They eat the same kinds of foods such as clover, dandelions, mulberry leaves, petunia flowers, grass, marigold leaves and flowers and sunflower leaves. They have even taken a liking to the prickly pear pads that were brought up with Rich from New Mexico. Billy Bob will catch up with Cecil in size in no time, perhaps 2-3 years he'll be as big as Cecil.

Meet Billy Bob. Ain't he cute?

 He enjoys his daily 15 minute warm water soak. You have to keep these youngsters well hydrated.  He's got such a lovely smooth shell (which I'm sure comes from being raised outside in sunny New Mexico). New research is showing proper hydration and humidity, when they are little, will keep that shell smooth without the pyramiding that Cecil has.

Father's Day Weekend

What a nice weekend we had. The weather was beautiful so we all hopped in the car and headed to the small amusement park in town to ride the rides and do the go carts. Greta was old enough (and brave enough) to ride some of the rides all by herself. It was really cute seeing her in a ride next to her brother. The boys got to go on the go carts which Wesley loves. It was humid and fairly hot but it was nice to get out with the kids and have a little fun. Hope you all had a nice weekend as well.

I hope all the fabulous fathers out there had a nice and relaxing day. It was nice having Rich here to celebrate Father's Day with. He's a great guy who raised the great guy I married.

The Wednesday Write-Up

Swimming lessons are going wonderfully. We are on day three of an eight day class. He's open to trying anything the teacher suggests and jumps right in. I couldn't be more proud of the little dude. By the end of next week he'll be able to swim the length of the pool. I'm excited to see that.

 

The garden is growing like crazy! Corn has tassels, tomatoes are about two inches round and there are even tiny little cucumbers. When I plant the garden I also plant something in the flower bed with the trellis. Last year I tried pole beans which turned out to be quite beautiful foliage but never made a single bean. So this year I tried morning glory. It's already to the top of the bird feeder and still going. Every morning it is packed full of lovely blue and purple flowers. So far it's a winner. I mentioned to my Mom (who was born and raised in California) that I planted some Morning Glory and she looked at me strangely and said "You know that's a noxious weed in California." I laughed. If this is a noxious weed then I'll take it!

The kids are at the glorious age where I can, for the most part, put them outside to play by themselves. Of course I check on them quite often (like every four minutes), but I'm able to go inside and start dinner or answer the phone without the fear or them harming themselves somehow. I've waited for this day for many years and it's all I could have wished for and more. They are still small and can get into trouble in no time flat but they do pretty good. Brother even gave Sis a ride on the hog the other day.

First Wheels

Talk about a parenting fail. Wesley is nearly five years old and this weekend was the first time he's been on a bike. Well, he's pedaled around a little tricycle in the house a few times but as for a real bike....nothing. I bought him one at a church garage sale last year and finally got around to fixing it up this weekend. Rich and Sean did their man stuff to it, like repacking the bearings and fixing the punctured tubes and we are left with a pretty decent little bike that will get him through the next few years. Yes, I did buy him a helmet but he's not wearing it for this little video. Once the training wheels go on tonight he will be free to ride it as he wishes....with a helmet. He's one happy little boy.

Zoo Shmoo

Sometimes I wonder why I even try. Every year summer rolls around and every year I get excited to go to the zoo. We have a lovely zoo here and I love going. I wish every year that comes and goes my children will start to enjoy going. But alas I'm starting to think the love of animals has skipped a generation. My children do not like the zoo. About 20 minutes into a 3-4 hour visit the whining starts. It initially started with hunger whines. So we had an early lunch at 11. Then the "it's so hot, I need shade" started in. It was a gorgeous day in the 80's with a nice cool breeze, seriously couldn't have asked for a nicer day at the zoo. Then Wesley started lying down at every bench he could find. This is while Greta is having meltdown number four which includes bizarre intermittent screams. The only way I can even get the kids somewhat excited is to tell them they can get something at the gift shop at the end of the visit. I'm starting to think I should just drop the kids off at the Grandparents house and I should go to the zoo by myself. Oh well. Another year down, maybe next year is the year they start to enjoy it.

I had a nice time though even if the kids didn't. The zoo was crawling with baby animals which was great to see.  A baby orangutan and half a dozen baby pygmy goats were by far the highlights of the trip. Jessica and her kids went with us and her kids seemed to enjoy themselves which was nice to see. Glad half the kids had smiles on their faces.

Summer Bucket List

Summer is here and now starts of daunting task of keeping two little kids happy for the next two and a half months. Thus the Summer Bucket List has been compiling in my head. It isn't complete but it's getting there. Here's what I have so far:

1. Swimming Lessons for Wesley
2. Zoo Trip(s)
3. Geocaching
4. Trips to the pool
5. Colorado Vacation
6. Fishing
7. Hiking
8. Wildlife Park

I wanted to get started on the list so I started at number one. Called around and found out that the new YMCA, that's fairly close to us, is offering swimming lessons for preschoolers. Went in there today and discovered that it's nearly the same price for a family membership as it is to just get the kids in there for swim lessons. So now we have a lovely family membership to the YMCA for the summer and I couldn't be more thrilled. We took a tour of the facility and I am so excited to start going with and without the kids. The pool looks great for the kids and the workout facility looks like a blast for me. I'm trying to figure out a way to escape without the kids that doesn't involve getting up at 5:30 am.

In the meantime we thoroughly enjoyed the indoor pool today (the outdoor pool was closed because it wasn't 80 degrees). It was the first time the kids have ever been in a big, non kiddie pool. It took some coaxing to get Greta in but after awhile both were hamming it up in the water. Swimming lessons start June 11th for Wesley, Greta will go next summer as she's too young and they don't offer any for her age group at this YMCA. I expect to be at the pool several times a week. And if today was any indicator, we will all be pretty exhausted by the end of the summer.

Last weekend we attempted a little Geocaching. If you aren't familiar with geocaching I'll sum it up for you. Someone creates a "cache" or what I call a treasure box. They put "swag" in it, or treasure. Then they hide the treasure box somewhere. Anywhere. Then they get on the website (www.geocaching.com) and put in the coordinates to their treasure box. You then plug those coordinates into your GPS (or Hubby's smart phone in our instance) and walk around until you find the cache. Once you find it, you open it up and write down your name and date on the little sheet of paper inside. Then if you want, you can trade out a piece of swag for one that you brought.

So off we went this past Monday in hopes of introducing the kids to the wonderful world of geocaching. I picked three easy caches all within a few miles of each other (they are EVERYWHERE folks). Got to the first one and hunted all over that bridge for something, anything....but there was nothing. I climbed completely under the bridge and even found the perfect spot but it was gone. Strike one. So we headed to the next coordinates and once again found nothing. Talk about frustrating. The kids where getting bored and tired and I think even the Hubby was starting to think I was nuts. We headed out to the last coordinates which happened to be in a cemetery. Now mind you it was Memorial Day. Perhaps not the greatest idea to be tromping around a cemetery on Memorial Day but it was empty so we went ahead.  Found the tree with the cache but also found it to be inhabited by a very angry mommy bird who wasn't about to let me near it. So we completely striked out. But, as one of my favorite movie quotes says "Never give up, never surrender," we will head out again soon to find some hidden treasure and this time we will not give up until we find one.

A home for Cecil

Cecil is our leopard tortoise. We've had him for eight years now. When we got him he was just a wee hatchling and cute as can be. While he's inside he lives in a tortoise table which looks like an old fashioned wooden coffin on legs. During the summer he occasionally goes outside to soak up the sunshine and feast on weeds but he's never had an proper outdoor pen. Until today. I've wanted to build him one for a few years now and finally got to it this weekend. He's a desert tortoise so I wanted to make it as a arid as possible. Desert tortoises that are housed on grass and moist soil tend to develop fugus issues with their shells so we located the pen in an area of the yard where grass isn't growing too well and put down pea gravel over the dirt.

We made the pen 5 foot by 5 foot and constructed it out of old deck wood from the torn out pool (the wood is actually almost gone...finally). I thought it might be a good way to hide the old unsightly pine stump.

Next was the hinged top panels. This allows sun in but keeps predators and Minions out. I just used regular zinc coated wire mesh from the local farm store and pressure treated 2x4's (oh and an awesome Hubby to cut it all for me).

Nearly done! All screwed together with hinged top on.

I told the kids they'd better be good or they'll go in the box. Naturally they wanted in there anyways. Silly youngins.

Time to go get Cecil and introduce him to his new home for the summer.  He looks so small in there. He'll still come back inside at night for safety.

I told Hubby poor Cecil might be lonely in there all by himself. Might be time to get him a friend. Have I mentioned how much I've wanted a Sulcata (another African tortoise)?

Hubby said he's getting pretty good at building animal enclosures. He never knew he was going to work at a zoo when he grew up. I have an awesome husband.

One foot in front of the other

I'm still running. Hard to believe the half marathon was four weeks ago. I've been keeping the weekly mileage pretty small ever since, between 4-6 miles. I'm just running on the weekends now and I've had to revamp that lately. Last weekend I went for a four mile run in town around 3ish in the afternoon and it was 83 degrees out. No biggie right? Wrong! It was hot and humid and downright miserable. I started getting goose bumps around mile three and decided I'm done with afternoon runs. So this morning I got out nice and early and ran a glorious six miles on the dirt roads. Felt great and thus I've found my new summer routine.

During the week I've been messing around with weights in a desperate attempt at creating a swimsuit ready body. The kids are having swimming lessons next month and I cringe at the thought of putting on a swimming suit. Jillian Michaels has been helping me too. I love her new DVD titled "Ripped in 30". It's much like the "30 Day Shred" but offers four different workouts instead of three and changes it up quite a bit (I was getting a bit bored with the 30 Day Shred). The only problem I'm finding these days? Now that both kids have officially given up nap time it makes it darn near impossible to get even a 25 minute workout in. They jump on me when I'm doing sit ups or take off with the weights. It's a bit frustrating. But oh well, they will both be in school soon enough and I'll have so much time to myself I won't know what to do (I just giggled like a school girl at the thought). Well, off to get some work done.

Hay, Fencing and Welding

Whew, another busy weekend done. I always wonder if the average person works as hard on weekends as we do. We just fall into bed at the end of the day. Anyhow, it's the time of year when I run out of hay for the horses and goats and usually have to scrounge around begging some local farmer to sell me a round bale of last years cutting which is usually brown and gross. So you'll understand my delight when I find a local guy (7 miles away) selling round bales of this years hay. He literally cut it last weekend. It's beautiful green and smells lovely. I love the smell of hay, call me strange. The kicker here? It was even not all that badly priced. Coming off of a summer last year where round bales were selling for $90+ because of the drought, I think these $60 looked pretty good. I suppose it's still astronomical compared to just a couple years ago when they were $30. But I'll take what I can get. We don't have a trailer so my awesome Father-in-law offered to follow me in his truck so I didn't have to make two trips to pick up the hay.  They even unloaded them for me, how sweet.

On the subject of trucks, I got my truck out this past week and the kids and I gave it a much needed bath. It's stored in the shop and rarely gets much use these days but when we do need it, it's sure nice to have around. I don't think I could get rid of it really. I've had it nearly my whole adult life and I love my truck. I get this strange attachment to vehicles that I like. I bought it new when I was 18 years old and I just turned 33 this month, you do the math. Looking pretty good for an old truck.

On Saturday I batted my eye lashes and asked very sweetly if we could redo a section of the horse fencing in between the corral and the lagoon. The goats have done a number in that fencing (much like they do to all fencing) and it was, as I like to say, "a vet bill waiting to happen". The fence was fraying and loose wires were poking everywhere. The goats and horses like to rub on everything (myself included) and a fence is the perfect scratching post. It got so bad that the younger goats were squeezing under it and going back and forth between the corral and lagoon. So we took down the old fence, pulled the t-posts and pounded in new ones. This time we put them four feet apart instead of the usual 6-8 feet apart. Ha! Try and get under that fence you punks! Rich was visiting for the weekend and offered to help. Thanks Rich!

My tractor is coming along nicely. It needed some things welded so Hubby took advantage of his Dad being here and got everything welded. The mig welder that he brought back from the farm all those years ago finally got used today. The tractor is moving along bit by bit. Hope you all had a nice weekend!

The Wednesday Write-Up

-A big milestone in Greta's life happened over the weekend. She officially moved into a toddler bed (or toddly bed as she calls it). She likes to show anyone and everyone that comes to the house her new, awesome bed. She had been climbing out of her crib for some time now and we decided it was time to get rid of it. The crib has earned a new name over the years. I like to fondly refer to it as the "Woodchuck Crib". It literally looks like it housed a family of hungry woodchucks or beavers. My children have both sharpened their fangs on every available wooden surface in the once beautiful crib. We'll be lucky if we can give it away in the condition it's in.

-I haven't written much this year about the garden, but it's growing! I have to admit that my enthusiasm for it is pretty low this growing season, not real sure why. I can hardly keep up with the weeds even though I've been getting mulch down. I've mentioned in past gardening posts that I'm a mulcher, not a rototiller. I never rototill the garden, instead I just pack mulch on all winter and in the spring just uncover each row and plant.You know, the lazy method. The problem? This past winter I failed to mulch. So now my mulch is thin and weeds are making their way through. Plus some of the weeds look like the blasted crop itself. Like corn, I have this weed that looks just like the corn stalk and I sit there trying to decide which one to pull...and in the end just don't pull either and give up. But there is stuff growing back there. Lots of corn, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, bush beans, sugar snap beans and cucumbers. Oh and lots of cilantro, cilantro goes on everything in my kitchen. I also went colorful this year and planted about every other row with flowers, zinnias mostly since I had such good luck with them last year. Can't forget sunflowers. Gotta have more mammoth sunflowers.

-Greta has been changing a whole lot over the past few months. The terrible two's is gaining a whole new meaning. She's growing into her own and she's not taking any guff from her older brother. He pushes her, she pushes him back harder. Wesley's been coming up to me crying more and more lately because little sis is beating him up. I can't help but smirk a little because he's finally getting some of his own medicine. In response to her new attitude he's started expressing himself through his artwork. *grin* He spends about half an hour drawing these big, brightly colored pictures and usually somewhere in the picture is a representation of Greta's head with a big "X" through it. It makes me laugh out loud each and every time.

The Graduate

My little boy graduated from preschool tonight. *sob* Hard to believe we are already here! He had his program this evening where he and his fellow classmates sang songs and he got to walk across the stage and collect his "diploma". He's certainly growing up and I couldn't be more proud of my little dude. He's off to Kindergarten!

 

Opening graduation presents from the grandparents. Greta got a little outfit as a gift for the non-graduate. She preformed a split second outfit change in the parking lot, flinging her cute dress to the pavement in record time.

Wesley got an awesome Captain America shield that shoots stuff. He loves it so much I believe he's sleeping with it right now. Thanks Papa and Noni. Congratulations little Captain America.

Little horse aerobics

Part of the outside menagerie includes two miniature horses. Rocky and Desi are both gelded boys and they spend their days in a corral. I had purchased them initially with the intent of them being backyard grazers but then learned quickly that miniature horses can't handle too much grazing....or any in our instance. Desi came to us morbidly obese and had foundered in his last home. They didn't control what he ate and he literally ate himself sick on a giant round bale of brome. Rocky, whom I've had since he was six months old, used to be let out to munch on sweet grasses but would also get sick quickly. He had problems with colic in the first couple of years of life which our vet eventually narrowed down to food. Feed was switched and grazing was ceased and he's had no problems in years.

They are healthy little horses, but bored little horses. Luckily they have each other. Every evening they perform their little ritual of trying to murder each other. They've done this for years and I have watched it like a little TV show in the corral. I think they like to imagine they are tiny little dueling stallions. This goes on for about 20 minutes and then they are best friends again. Silly animals.