Bonfire

We woke up to our chicken coup ablaze last week around 4:30am. This is the coup where we keep the baby chicks not ready to transition to the big hen house. You know, the coup right by our bedroom window. I heard the chicks chirping wildly as I was in and out of sleep. When their chirping began to sound panicky I looked outside our bedroom window to see a light not quite like the sunrise. It only took a moment to realize it was a roaring fire. I have to tell you, in theory I do not do well with emergencies. I am easily rattled by the idea that harm might come to me or my family. But in the face of my first really dangerous situation I did great! The first thing I did was wake Shelby up. Next I ran outside to let the chicks out. In retrospect I should have gotten my kids away from that side of the house first, but it hadn't occurred to me that the fire might have reached the house as well by then. The chicks were huddled in the coolest part of the gated area outside the coup and I could not get them to exit. I finally pulled the fence up where they were and they escaped unharmed. Then I ran in to gather my kids just in case the fire spread to the house. Shelby in the mean time did the thing that never even crossed my mind. He worked on putting out the fire with the garden hose. Once my kids were safe I asked if we should call 911, but he assured me the flames were under control. My guy is such a man. We decided that between my instinct to save all living things, and his instinct to fight the danger we make a pretty good pair. Amazingly I was able to get back to sleep once there was no immediate threat. Shelby was not so lucky. He spent the rest of the night wide awake and keeping guard.

Carson poops pretty much exclusively in the toilet now. I know this is not the thing most people want to read about but it is big news to us. That means in the potty training department I have 3 down and one to go! In other Carson related news, I sent him to wash up for bed last night and then I got distracted with something else. Several minutes later, once there was peace and quiet upstairs, I heard the bathroom water running. When I went in, Carson was covered in bright pink lipstick (I have to say, not my lipstick. It belongs to the girls). He had it all over his face and hands. When I asked him what he was doing he said "Umm, washing mine hands." This morning he still has a smeary ring of pink lipstick all around his mouth. Luckily he is secure in his masculinity.

One of the hardest things about being a mom is dealing with fairness. My sense of equality is constantly under scrutiny. If I tell Carson I love him in front of Lilly, she insistsI tell her I love her too. While tucking in the girls, I do not hear the end of it if I spend more time with one than the other. This is an aspect of parenting I did not anticipate. For a few months now my response to questions like "Why did Rachel get the first one?" or "How come Carson got more than me?" is always "Because I love him/her more than you." That response has mostly lost its shock value at this point.

I am so excited for summer I can hardly stand it! I have scheduled out our summer fun on our calendar, but not in an attempt to be super type A (which I am not). Rather it is my way of making it a priority. Otherwise doctor appointments and other things will get in the way. So here it is in a nutshell. Mondays is library day, which will take place promptly after boot camp. Tuesdays is swimming day. If the weather does not permit, we will go bowling instead. I signed the kids up for a free bowling program this summer. On Wednesday we will do a craft. For those of you who may not be aware, I am not super crafty so this one scares me a little. I figure we can always paint rocks if nothing else. Thursday is field trip day, and I have a whole list of places to take them. Friday is free day because I think we will all be ready to chill by the end of the week. I am so excited!

P.S. I have photos but the computer is not cooperating. Stay tuned!