Chairs, Chicks, and the Couch to 5k

These are the 3 things that are consuming my waking (and sleeping) hours lately....well, these and my children of course!

Our dining room chairs have needed a make over for awhile now. We bought the dining set on Craigslist about a year ago, knowing that we would need to recover them sooner than later. And that time has finally come! After lots and lots of debating and going back and forth and wandering the aisles of Joanns, we decided, for sanity's sake, to pick a fabric we liked and then cover it with clear vinyl. They may not be the classiest chairs out there, but it'll be a whole lot easier to take care of them. And really, we're both happy with how they turned out.

Our little chicks aren't so little any more. My goodness these guys (and hopefully girls) grow FAST! Jon comes home every day and is shocked that he can see changes that have occurred during the course of the day. They really are noticeably bigger every night. It reminds me of Clifford, the big red dog. :) They quickly outgrew the box we brought them home in, and now they're about to outgrow the plastic tote they've been living in for the last 3 days. Jon is busily working on building a bigger cage for them to live in until they're big enough to go outside in the coop (that we're hopefully going to get next week).

This was the chick hotel that Emma's class made for the chicks after they hatched. They decorated the outside with signs and welcome cards. It is so cute. Unfortunately they got bigger and it got too crowded and they started trying to fly out of it. So, we put them in a big plastic tote....that lasted all of 3 days before they got big enough to fly out of that too.

This was their outdoor pen that Jon made out of an old shelf. We'd bring the chicks outside for an hour or two each day and they LOVED it. Since they outgrew their plastic tote home, Jon has converted this into their new home. He put a tarp under it and chicken wire over it and put it in the garage. It should do the trick for the next few weeks until they're big enough to live outside in their coop. Whew....raising chicks is hard work! 

This little guy (we're pretty sure it's a he) is a crowd favorite. We have tried not to name the chicks since we're going to have to get rid of the ones that end up being roosters, but this guy got a name anyway....Stripes. We would be really happy if we are wrong about it being a he.

 Ellie always starts out excited to see the chicks

Within a couple minutes she's just not sure what to think. I love this "I want to like this, but I don't know if I really do" face.

"Look Mom, I'm a pirate with parrots on my arm!"

The kids LOVE having the chicks here....sometimes a little too much. I feel like a broken record reminding them to be soft, be gentle, give the chicks a break, etc. Ellie is always excited at first and then starts laughing nervously and then gets a little scared. It's pretty funny to watch her watching them. We have our favorites, despite trying hard not to, and everyone has gotten pretty attached to these furry little babies. I have never wanted a pet, I am definitely not an animal person, but even I have to admit that I like having these sweet little chicks around. And I really am excited for this little adventure in backyard chickens.

After almost 2 years of getting no real exercise, I finally forced myself to get back in gear. I have wanted to run a 5k for the last couple of years, but pregnancy and having a newborn kind of got in the way. Now that I don't have those excuses, I've gotten out and started training using the Couch to 5k program. And it feels good....really good. I have been surprised at what I am able to do, how far I am able to run. I feel strong again. And it feels incredibly good to feel strong. Most mornings I go running at 6 am and it feels surprisingly good to get up and run at that crazy early hour. It's definitely helped my energy levels go up and the rush and stressfulness of the mornings go down. It's a good routine. I run 3 days a week and just added in Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout to do the other 3 mornings, and then I take Sunday off. The running is a good workout, but the rest of my body was screaming for a good workout that it desperately needed. And boy did I need it....it's been awhile since I've been this sore, but it feels SO good to feel sore and to know that all that work is doing something. I can't wait to run my first race!