Well…I blinked and somehow several weeks went by.
I haven’t written a life update, a garden update, or much of anything lately other than the weekly menu posts. It’s not because nothing has been happening.
It’s because everything has been happening. And I mean everything.
So, here’s the very short version of how the end of summer flew by and the start of school slid right in it’s spot.
Mom
Mom had a total knee replacement, and while the surgery went well, her recovery was a lot more complicated than we expected. She had some pretty rough reactions to the pain medication and ended up staying in the hospital for about a week and a half.
She’s doing great now, thankfully, but between checking in on her while she’s staying at my sister’s house, working, and keeping up with the boys, the animals, and everything else, things got a little…busy.
Shush, I Have Turkeys Now
I had completely given up on getting turkeys this year because the delivery charge was ridiculous. I did see two young adults at an auction, but they went for $40 each and I was not set up for adult turkeys. Plus, I wanted the experience of baby turkeys.
Then, while I was sitting at the hospital on the day of Mom’s surgery, I saw an email about the last hatch day for turkeys.
Shipping was deeply discounted (that was the hiccup for me with holding out on ordering them in the first place). So I ordered five Broad Breasted White turkeys.
Because what else does a normal person do when they are sitting at the hospital waiting on your mother on surgery?
They arrived the next day, and when the post office called to let me know to pick them up they told me that they were so loud that the employees were taking bets on what was inside.
I was convinced they were going to die, so I didn’t even post about them. I read that can be so dumb, that even changing the location of their water in their brooder can cause them to “get lost” and then end up dehydrated and on deaths door.
Almost three weeks later, they’re doing fantastic and getting HUGE.
Their names are Baby Thanksgiving Dinner, Baby Christmas Dinner, and the triplets Baby Turkey Legs. Yes, I know that those aren’t the greatest names, but they are cute and the names remind us of their purpose. Also, yes, there are five of them.
And no, Ryan did not know I ordered them until I called to tell him why I was going to be late coming home from work when they arrived.
The Boys Started School
Big is doing fantastic. He’s loving school, doing well in soccer, and apparently has a girl he’s pretty smitten with. His soccer team also recently finished an end of summer tournament 2–1 and came home with a second-place finish to start off their season. To officially start their season, they won their first home game.
Little is having a harder time with the transition to kindergarten. I’m pretty sure the loss of nap time is a major factor in his struggles. He is a wild man when he’s tired.
He’s had some issues at Before & After Care and on the bus, and I had to request to separate the boys at Before & After Care because they are capable of turning into professional wrestlers at school.
But he’s absolutely killing it at soccer. He scored nine goals in his first game.
Meanwhile, I’m Teaching Third Grade
I’m slowly transitioning from more than a decade of middle school life into third grade ELA.
And I’m really enjoying it.
I miss my middle school kids, but third graders have their own hilarious little personalities, and I’m enjoying the challenge of teaching them during such an important year for reading.
At first, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. After two PD days, I now know what I don’t know. lol Progress? I think so!
My classroom is also slowly coming together after starting with a mostly empty room. Every day I discover something else I need, but it’s finally starting to feel like mine.
I am also learning that third graders don’t understand my jokes, don’t understand my music references, and apparently need to use the bathroom approximately 47 times a day. I’m now more worried about these little guys becoming dehydrated (from bathroom use) than I am with the baby turkeys.
The Garden Had a Sneak Attack
The fall garden started out wonderfully. The beans were beaning. The radishes were coming up. The summer carrots were getting bigger and the fall carrots were popping up.
And then something started eating everything.
Sweet potato leaves, all gone. Bean plants disappeared from the soil. Carrot tops chewed up. Recently, baby radishes are going missing.
I tried BT spray. It barely helped. Then I complained to handsome hubby and Big. Big put a trail camera in the garden. And we found our culprit…a groundhog.
He’s been caught on camera in the tomatoes, beans, and radishes. I’ve named him Dead Man Walking but don’t have any official plants to “meet up” with him.
I finally gave up and pulled the sweet potatoes early.
The tomatoes and peppers are still doing great, though, so it’s not a complete loss.
The Chickens Have Also Become Complicated
Two of the juvenile chickens turned out to be roosters.
So now I have three rosters when I really only barely wanted one.
The original rooster is now Big Daddy (originally PooPoo), and the two new ones are Big Boss and Ugly Boy. I’m currently trying to decide what their futures look like.
Meanwhile, the hens have slowed down on egg production, which means I may actually have to buy eggs this winter. After a spring and summer of not having to buy eggs and raising my own chickens, I’m taking this personally.
Somehow, I’m Still Running
I’m still running and training for my Kiawah Island full marathon in December.
The move to elementary school has actually helped because I start an hour later than I did last year.
But getting up early enough to run 6–10 miles, working all day, managing the boys’ schedules, feeding animals, making dinner, and keeping up with everything else… It’s a lot. Even when handsome hubby is off and with my mother in law helping out. Somehow, though, I’m still doing it.
And the outdoor kitchen is still going, too. We’re using the basic furniture for now and will probably upgrade it over the winter or early spring. Big did win some nice outdoor chairs with fresh cushions at an auction at the end of summer, so I might swap out his chairs for the chairs that are out there with the table we bought off of Facebook Marketplace.
So, That’s Life Lately
And I think the best way to describe the last few weeks: Chaotic and a lot happening all at once.
Mom had surgery.
The boys started school.
Big is thriving.
Little is adjusting.
I started teaching third grade.
We gained five turkeys.
The garden was attacked by a groundhog.
The chickens have three roosters.
I’m still running.
And somehow, we’re all still functioning.
There’s a lot more to several of these stories, though.
So, because apparently I have no concept of doing anything halfway, I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks catching you up, one adventure at a time.
Welcome back to the chaos. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do and a lot to talk about.
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