Every spring I remember how much I love spring. Oh yeah, this time of year. It's lovely, isn't it? 

As I write this, Justin just left for work. He gets up with the kids, because he is a morning person and I am a night owl. I get out of bed a little later, usually because the kids are being so loud and rambunctious--there is no point in trying to sleep any more. Morning people make me sick. All this energy just after waking, it's sick is what it is. I really must work on this sleep deprivation thing. I do it to myself.

Yesterday, as you might know if you are a Facebook friend, one of the loud declarations that woke me was hearing Eisley panic: "There's no chocolate in this house, Daddy!"

{She said this, most likely, because the night before I had set out to make some really delicious cookies for our friends who would visit the next day, realized I had no butter, and my kind husband offered to get us chocolate croissants the next morning from the amazing Frenchman-ran neighborhood bakery down the street instead. Eisley must have overheard something about chocolate croissants. And there might have also been almond croissants and apricot croissants. Maybe.}

{I like to be silly and say it like the French: CWAH-sahn! It makes them taste better.}

This morning I woke up once again to Eisley's loud voice. This time she had one of my bras in her hand and was luring her baby brother, "Here, Paxton! Here's the boobies! Come and get them!"

I don't know if it worked. I don't want to know.

He's not even 10 months yet, and almost weaned. He loves real food too much.

Kids can be so immature, right? Justin and I bought some pig butts that were on sale recently and ever since hearing us mention pig butt in the grocery store, the girls have been calling every piece of meat they see, "Eww! Pig butt!!" It's like, grow up, kids! Except don't.

I sit here coughing and sniffing and finally ready to admit to myself that I am not suffering from that cold we all got right before Easter. I am suffering from seasonal allergies. ME?! Allergies?! Yes. For the second year in a row, April/May means my eyelids are itchy and dry, and this congestion is probably due to pollen as well.

I need to eat more local honey.

Speaking of honey, we weren't sure if we were going to get bees this year, as the chance to order a package of them {yes, a package...of bees, they come individually wrapped and everything} seemed to be during our move. We ordered a swarm bait, set our hive up in the backyard, and hoped some scout bee would come by and notice the nice home we have to offer them. Then last week, our local beekeeping supply store announced they were getting an unexpected order of 100 more packages of bees. I saw them announce it on Facebook, tagged Justin in their post thinking he may be interested, and two minutes later he texts me...

Can you get over there by 5 p.m. to pick ours up? They're holding a package for us.

A few hours later, Sander was pouring 3 lbs of Italian honeybees into our empty hive. We accidentally let the queen out too soon. We forgot to stuff the end with a marshmallow to make her little servants chew her out, forcing them to stay longer. Eating through a marshmallow wall? Not a bad life, if you ask me. Hopefully they stay!
Yesterday I let the chickens roam the backyard pen for a bit while our guests were over--because visitors often want to see our fowl poultry but probably don't want to see the foul stock tank they're living in temporarily. Every so often, a bee would check out the chicken pen, and the chickens would try and gobble up any bees that came near them.

Folks, we might have a bit of a backyard rivalry starting up here. Bees vs. Chickens. Chickens eat bees. On the other hand, it's 6 chickens and 2 silly ducks against 20,000-50,000 stinging insects. Stinging insects who have a social system that is more complicated than Elizabethan England. It's like the Homesteading Hunger Games. This is exciting.

Side note: Justin and I have been the owners of queenandhen.com for quite a while now. We're sitting on that domain name until we feel like using it later...we have dreams. Maybe someday they will come to fruition.

The chicken coop is nearly finished! I'm so proud of my husband, I've never seen him build anything before--but I shouldn't be surprised, considering his upbringing. He grew up with chickens {and geese, at one point!} and his parents practically built their lovely farm home all by themselves. But here I'd been hoping for a cute painted plywood box with windows cut out. Instead, Justin has built us a fully framed home, cemented into the ground, with a linoleum floor for easy cleaning, and he was talking my head off last night--something about French doors with a pulley system. I've picked out some shake shingles for siding accents and few Victorian accents too. Guess what color we're painting it? I'll show you later.
I've commissioned him to build the girls a playhouse next. So, we're going to have a little village in our backyard. This is crazy. My children can join this Backyard Hunger Games. Justin and I will sit on our back deck with chips & salsa, beers, and we'll watch our children experience childhood to it's fullest. Even if that means a few bee stings along the way.

Well, the whole house fan just turned itself off so I guess I've been sitting here typing too long. Justin likes to turn that marvelous thing on in the mornings and some evenings, it brings cool air into the house. Helps a little with that mid-day heat. Yeah, we don't have whole house a/c, or however you'd put it, so this summer might be interesting. There are two built-in units {oh the quirks of 1950s homes}, one hidden behind a sliding panel in the living room and the other is uglying-up our master bedroom. My friend who was over yesterday hails from Phoenix, where they have serious heat and so swimming pools are as normal in their homes as toilets and refrigerators. I have to remind myself: Colorado weather is lovely even when it hits 100 for a few days in the summer.

But right now it's springtime and I'm enjoying it in spite of my itchy eyelids and congestion.

Cheers, 

Heather

P.S. I'd been wondering what the strange sprouting bulbs were in our front yard, then Justin's dad--who knows his botany--informed us they are Lily of the Valley!! I'm so excited.

Buying a home from an elderly lady who paid for beautiful landscaping means we're having a blast watching our front & back yard bloom. I'm half-tempted to tell you all about it now, but thinking this deserves it's own post instead. I mean, bleeding hearts, peonies, and columbines?! Wheeee!!!!

Or should I say, Oui!!! Oui!!! This calls for CWAH-sahns!!

:::scratches eyes out:::