Robin's Nest

Good morning blog it is the end of the week and homeschooling is in full swing. Both girls are now doing it full time. The older teen is definitely more invested in finishing the work. The younger is still resistive for the most part. However, she is a lot less resistive to this than PS. So, onward we go. Keeping up with the four hours is the hardest part, I forget to write down what we did or maybe I procrastinate and then forget. Either way I have to find the book that was my "tool" to keep track of things, but I have buried it under something. I got up early to pack coolers for the trip to Oklahoma and have been running in circles since. DH had planned to head out by himself and with some of the forgetfulness that has occurred this week it was not what I wanted to happen. In the end he left with the boys following him in the Audi.  I will take care of the animals and kids and try to get done what needs to be done in the meantime. There was a lot more room in the horse trai...

 Today started out with little fuss until it was time for lessons. Then it was head-to-head for an hour or two. Not the spouse and I, the youngest and I. It was computer lesson time. After the first five minutes of sheer torturous whining and crying, (her not I) she weaseled a break in her task out of me. This was proving to be a long morning, and it was only 0805. I started the duck pond water and set about paying the bills that were due and calling the oldest in sick from school. I started a load of laundry and stacked the morning dishes with full intent to actually do them. That did not happen. We worked more on lessons and reading out loud. Health was on the schedule today too and they both hate that subject. Even though the oldest is still attending public school at this time, I have her participate in this program when she is home so that she is familiar with it when the time comes to switch to home lessons. At this time, we are thinking October is the magic month. Time will ...

 I woke up at 0430 today ready to take on the tasks that need attention the most. Re-enrolling the kiddos into the district, calling in an extension to the permit on the house, purging and sorting school supplies. So far, I have managed to extend the permit and leave a message for the code person... and chase the hawk away from my ducks.  The goose is on the lam again.  No telling for sure which way she went or if she will return for that matter. Yesterday she visited the neighbor directly behind us, he was a bit frightened by her arrival in his yard. He has a small patch of real grass! What was he thinking?! Grass is for the park and the park is for the geese!!! Here is a picture of Odessa as a baby with her duck friends a rear view makes identification easy She is a fully feathered out Canadian goose these days and because my phone crashed, I have no pictures of how pretty she has become. If she does return, I will try to remember to get a photo. I also attempted to re-...

 Packing has been slow at best. It is time to kick it up a notch. As well as paying bills today, I have to pick up packing materials for the move. The initial plan is to self-move, but as we declutter and travel to see what is at the new place we may find we don't need a lot from here to go there. I am going to start by decreasing the dishes and clothing here and the outside "toys". Well, first I am walking to the fence line and helping DH off the ground. A lot has happened since this post was first started. We have had the travelers return and start helping us and they have done so much work that the fence is almost done. Less than a quarter of it remains to be finished. We have traveled to the new home and while we do like it, there is much to be done there also. We are still struggling to decide on where the winter will be spent. We thought here at first, but as the nights get cooler and the morning chill greets my skin when releasing the yardbirds each morning, I begi...

 July came in with the promise of a closing, then the first delay, then the second, then the notary missed our designated time. She was 45 minutes late, but she did show up. To say the air went of the ballon would be an understatement. The kids went with us, and they were less than impressed and cranky on top of it. I should have left them at home. If it could go a miss, it did. Even I felt let down. It was as if she had no idea what she was doing. On the way home we dealt with feelings of disappointment from the teen and who cares from the new teen. The only one excited was DH. I was somewhere between them all. Once home I called the utilities to change the accounts, the electric is still not done. Perhaps by Monday all will be settled. Chicken round up went smoothly tonight; the usual holdout is the yellow hen. She will be around about 7pm and I will pick her up and put her in the enclosure.  Here it is 9pm and my hen has not shown up. She is not going to be coming in anymor...

 One week left and still so many things on the schedule. Today we picked up the items that DH purchased at the auction. The kids really enjoyed the gator-type vehicle that he purchased. They each got to drive it around the yard. They both did a surprisingly good job for the first time on such a vehicle. The weather today was especially nice, not too hot and not too cold. The baby goose is getting her feathers in quite nicely and will soon be ready to release to a group of her own kind. In the wild she would remain with her parents for more than a year. She may be able to find a flock and fit right in if she can fly and join them sooner rather than later.  I had to cancel two appointments for, today to accommodate the vehicle pick up and the new teen's mission to adopt a reptile. Mission accomplished after four choice changes in the store. Instead of a Pac-Man frog, or an Anole, or a Bahama Anole, she came home with a Leopard Gecko. Hoping I got the reptile names correct, pleas...

 Hello June, it promised to be a busy month, and it has been. It started with court on the 3rd of the month. We haven't heard anything in regard to that. The 6th of the month brought the teen and I to Arlington Texas for a concert of her choosing. We had a good time and a rapid round trip.  getting ready for concert waiting for the rest of the crowd the young mom that we hung out with on the bus one of the posters she made that we had to toss she planned to take her favorite water cup in but didn't The 11th was another trip with a party on the 14th. A great time was had by all. The return trip was better travel time than the get to the party trip. It was sprinkled with not so good things. In Iowa we witnessed and stopped the car fast enough to at least not become part of a semi-truck versus pickup truck accident. People were not very considerate behind us. I barely got over to the shoulder on the right with the collision in the left lane, and the traffic shot up through the mi...

 It is Monday and it shows. I took today to run an errand and pay a couple of bills. There are more than a couple to pay but I'll get there. I resigned myself to what DH really feels he needs. A change of venue. I have not completely agreed to which venue, but I have agreed to a change. As I did the animal care today and watched the ducklings as they go in and out of the duck door to the henhouse, I smile. They are cutey patooties for sure! The rhubarb and the irises and the day lillies are all coming into bloom. So, they need the water. So do the animals. The ducklings are getting big enough that they can have a bigger water source, but they still need it changed out at least twice a day. Of course, at night they all have to be closed in for the night, especially the turkeys as their door allow access for predators to get into the henhouse. The rest of the openings are not as crucial. Owls and stray hungry cats are the biggest threats. The neighbor feeds all the stray cats but sev...

 Last weekend we finally were able to trim 90% of the matting off of the one dog. He looks good with the amount of fur we took off. There is more to do. We have thought it should be every two weeks until it is done completely. Let's see how that works out. In the title of the previous post, I mentioned a "break-up". I had been informed by a reliable source that the tweens had parted ways. However, I'm not sure my source was informed on any "special" circumstances. The next day the mom asked if the boy could come visit after school. So, I asked the girls if that was okay. They were fine with it. So, I am thinking it isn't a real break up just a special one. That is all I know. It is the weekend not just any weekend. It is Mother's Day weekend, and it is not a holiday that I have ever made a big deal about. I do not know why, it just isn't. In fact, I avoid church on this weekend as they make the mothers stand and get attention. I do not like that....

 Good morning blog. The baby ducklings escaped their pen today and mama couldn't. Today is definitely a day to add the baby duck run to the pen. The weather says no though. It is getting chilly this morning, and I feel the need to bring the fruit trees back in. I have started cleaning out the front living room in an effort to have more room for all the seedling starts until the weather allows them outside. I am also setting up my sewing area in the middle size bedroom. The rain has started. That puts an end to taking the liner out of the pool today. It also puts an end to setting up the duck run. I guess I work inside only today. There is plenty to do inside. Starting with making a plant area in the sewing room. It is way past time to start seeds also. As I try to figure out the moving of the furniture plan, I realize the piano is my biggest obstacle. So of course I turned to google to find a solution. On order are wheels to put under the piano, not so much a piano dolly, but a set...

 The month started off much like the previous month ended. Nothing new today either. It is SIL's birthday, she would be 66. She will be forever 65. This weekend is supposed to get colder, so I'll have another two weeks with plants and trees in the house. The weather is fickle.  Mama duck and the week-old ducklings The travelers will be taking a day trip to Wyoming today. They offered to take the kids, but I was not feeling well and so I declined so that the kids could just have a day at home. Of course, most of the requests have been to "go somewhere". Sadly, for them I am not up to it. Plus, I have so much to do here that I cannot.  My energy level is in the negative digits. I know exercise breeds energy, but I struggle to wrap my focus around deliberate exercise. Most days start with the high energy of the tween, most of that being negative energy. I feel like the negative start to most of my days is a big influence on decreased productivity. It is now after lunch a...

 Good morning blog! I wish my energy level matched my enthusiasm level. Alas, it does not. The weather is fickle. Nothing new. The fruit trees are living in buckets to facilitate being wheeled indoors or out depending on the nighttime temperatures and risk of frost. I went out and took new pictures of the tulips yesterday evening. They are much brighter colors in person Today is expected to be very busy. Breakfast with a Realtor friend, Doctor appointment, a need to hit the DMV for a title to lose one more car from the property and a few other things. I need to make a little duck run for the mama and her ducklings. I am sure there is much more I need to do but first, coffee. I am going to try to add a bit to this each day and post on the weekend. We will see how that goes. Yesterday DH told me he had something important to tell me. He has decided he doesn't want to sell this house. He did not give a reason. With that thought to me there is no reason to buy another house. I do not t...

 Good morning blog. It has been quite a time with not much shared from this blogger. Yesterday was a very busy day. The tween had Friday school, Hippo therapy and there were things needed from the store. It was hatching day too! these I stole from the momma duck These she hatched on her own The cannibalistic chickens stole two that had "pipped" and that was my fault. In the end we have 5 new ducklings and a happy momma duck! We also picked up feed, made plans for Saturday as it is the big 15 for the oldest. On Saturday we picked up the bestie of the birthday girl and each and every one of our plans went out the window. It turns out the bestie had never been to HuHot and wasn't sure she wanted to try it, she had already been forced to watch the Minecraft movie with her younger brother, and a host of other issues arose. All things that could be overcome, with a little patience and energy, okay a LOT of energy. After all the decisions were made everyone dropped to their resp...