Welcome Home Chickadees!

We're making steady progress on the Chicken Coop, now called "Casa De Huevos". The weather hasn't been cooperating much, so we've had to put off the staining/painting. We are also still waiting on the roofing material from Home Depot (this was supposed to be in last Friday).

Interior

Exterior

Ken has added the egg door on the side, where we will be collecting the eggs. Also, a nice large window in the back. The window will be fully operational for cross ventilation on the hot summer days and able to seal it for rainy or winter weather.

We were able to find someone in South Carolina to obtain some Standard Ameraucana chicks (Blue/Green Egg Layers), so we drove out to Columbia to pick them up. Actually, Ken picked them up and Maria and the kids headed for the zoo with Aunt Melissa. We were told these are all girls, but we'll find out in a few more weeks for sure. Here they are:

These chicks turned out to be fairly expensive, as Ken received his first ever speeding ticket on his way back. The officer was nice enough to reduce the fine, but wasn't much consolation. Apparently, the speed limit sign was hard to see (per the officer's own comments). At least, Ken can't give anyone a hard time any more about traffic tickets. He's joined the club!

First Came The Eggs!

Our Buff Cochin eggs arrived last Friday and we were surprised to find 10 beautiful eggs waiting to be incubated. We had only purchased 6, but the breeder was very nice and included a few extra in case of damage in transit or eggs that don't hatch. So, here they are..... all 10 of our future chicks (hopefully).

I purchased two mini digital incubators, thinking this would be all we would need to hatch these. However, the second one malfunctioned and has to go back to the manufacturer. I was only able to incubate three eggs on Saturday. The mini incubator is really nice, as it maintains a constant 99.5 degree temperature. It also counts down the days, until hatch (21 Days) and lets me know when I need to add water. It even beeps, to let me know it's time to turn the eggs (it has an auto turner). I just wish it could hold a few more eggs.

Well, we still had seven eggs to hatch. So, we searched around locally for an incubator and found one at a local feed store. However, it's having trouble holding the correct temperature & humidity levels. This will suffice, until my replacement incubator comes in.

As our eggs are in the "oven," Ken and I have been hard at work on our chicken coop. It's coming along nicely and we have the main framing for the coop set up now. It's really starting to take shape. This is an 8x8 coop, which could hold up to 10 chickens (No, we're not planning on that many). Some of our chickens are going to be fairly big, so we wanted to make sure we had enough room. Plus, we wanted our chickens to have a nice house to lay all those eggs.

Spring has Sprung & Chicken Run!

We're diving head first into Spring and our vegetable garden is in full swing. We have planted tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, corn, cucumber, sweet potatoes, onions, cantelope, and tomatoes in the garden now.

We're still awaiting our strawberry plants and are getting ready to plant potatoes. We're really trying to go green this year. So, we'll be adding a real composter (contrary to Ken's belief, the ever growing heap in the backyard is not a compost pile). After months of consideration, we've also decided to add chickens.

We'll be adding four or five laying hens, so we can have fresh homegrown eggs for the family. I never realized there were so many different breeds of chickens, so I did my research and found which ones were best with children. We've settled on five different varieties.

We're starting off with a 1/2 a dozen Buff Cochin hatching eggs, which should arrive this week. I thought it would be educational for Ella to see the chickens hatch. We have an incubator and even have a candler to view inside the egg and watch as development takes place.

This is the Buff Cochin:

May 19th, our order of six day old Light Sussex chicks are being shipped to us from Florida. The Light Sussex; which is the #1 Chicken in England, due to egg production & versatility (plus, they have a great temperment). Below is a Light Sussex Hen and her chicks:

The Ameraucana lays blue/green eggs. The kids are going to love picking up eggs from this beautiful bird. It will be Easter every morning.

and lastly a couple bantam hens for the kids (Small sized chicken, lays 1/2 the size of a standard egg). A Bantam Blue Wheaten Ameracauna, also lays blue & green eggs:

and this Sesame Street or Dr. Seuss looking bantam, the Buff Silkie

It seems like a lot of chicks will be around, but in actuality I've already placed half the Cochin chicks that will hatch and expect to do the same for the Sussex. Once we figure out the hens from the roosters, we will be parting with all but one of each variety. I'll order the remaining Easter Eggers & Ameracaunas, once the other chicks have been placed.

Of course, the chickens will not be living in our house. We're in the process of building a chicken coop for our backyard. We've purchased some plans and have already layed the framework this past weekend. Stay tuned as our eggs are arriving any day now and we continue to build the chicken coop.

From Start to Finish!

Ken worked for three straight weeks to complete our bathroom, before our little "Pumpkin's" arrival. He did everything himself and can add "Bath Remodeler" to his long resume.

The plumbing complete and bath installed.

Tile surround complete.

While Maria picked out all the color combinations and fixtures, Ken did an excellent job installing everything and finishing the bath in record time. He worked to the wee hours of the morning, getting the bath done. He even put a new vanity light in and went the extra mile to make sure everything was just perfect.

A Kids Tub!

A new vanity light and cheery paint!

Ella is so happy to have her bathroom back and is so excited to have a bath tub. "Thank you Daddy, I love my new bathroom!"

A Bath in Progress!

While I prepare for "Pumpkin's" arrival and have been nesting (doing laundry, packing our hospital bag, cleaning house). Ken has taken the kids Jack and Jill bath and chosen this time to remodel. We knew when we purchased the house that we would want to change out the '70's yellow shower stall for a nice white tub for the kids. We've been using just one bathroom in the house (the upstairs master), but with "Pumpkin" on the way we definitely wanted the kids to have their own bath. Taking the now or never approach, Ken demolished the bathroom with Keegan's (Pearl's Dad, a Co-Worker of Ken's) help. Here's some before and after shots:

The guys did a great job demolishing, now comes the constructing. Stay tuned, as I post our progress through the month. Ken's project plan takes us, through September. However, he promises me and is working hard to have it done before our little "Pumpkin" arrives.

D-Day Approaches!

We officially took the house off the market, the beginning of the month. We had not had a showing in months and were no longer comfortable having it listed so close to Maria’s due date. We’ve hunkered down for Maria’s last trimester and are looking forward to the birth of our little “Pumpkin.” His room is ready and waiting:

We are trying to take advantage of any quiet/free time we have, spending some extra quality time with Ella. We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary with Ella, as Ken surprised us with a weekend downtown at the Francis Marion Hotel. We enjoyed a fun filled and much needed weekend away. We took in the sights, sounds, and tastes of downtown and found a couple new restaurants to be sure to share with our future visitors.

We had a heart wrenching decision this month, as we decided to place one of our Cavaliers. We have always been seeking the right home for Chance, but had yet to find what we were looking for. Just a few weeks ago, we were approached by a wonderful women and historically prominent family in the Cavalier breed, who has proved to be an excellent home for Chance. Chance now lives the retired life in New York, where he can receive one-one attention he has always craved and desired. We hope to see Chance in the coming months, as his new owners have a home on Folly Beach, not to far from us. Here’s Chance on his last day, with one of his new owners:

A Season for Change!

Amazing news to share, as we are so excited to report we are expecting our second child in October 2008. We are so thrilled at this new little miracle growing and look forward to meeting him or her. Ella is also just thrilled and very excited to be a big sister!

You can see and learn more about our "Pumpkin" baby at

http://swiftpumpkin.blogspot.com/

In addition, to our new addition.....Our house is For Sale.

Ken's commute and travel schedule, plus all of Ella and Maria's activities & friends outside of Summerville, keep us in the car for countless hours during the week. Unfortanatly, there is not a lot of activities and opportunities for Maria and Ella closer to the house. So, we will be moving. Ken will definitely be continuing his job with Blackbaud, so we will be weighing our options on where our next move will take us. We have some time though, as the housing market has slowed a bit. We just hope to be settled by the time our little "Pumpkin" arrives.

We continue to rent our houses we own in Colorado. We have some wonderful tenants in both our Colorado Springs and Parker homes. They are both on 2 year lease options, so we have high hopes to sell the houses once the market turns in a couple years.

Spring Creek (Colorado Springs)

Pinery (Parker)

In the mean time, we are enjoying all our time in South Carolina. We thoroughly enjoy our weekends at the beach, the downtown farmers market & shops, the many year round activities Charleston has to offer, or just sitting by our swimming pool, working in the yard/garden, and playing on the porches.