Surprises and Adjustments

  It has been an interesting week here at the cottage.  Sunday started off as usual with me getting outside a little earlier to feed the animals before John woke up.  He usually helps me feed but I do it alone on Sundays so that it goes faster and we aren't late for church.  Just as I was finishing up, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.  It was John watching me from his bedroom window.  It was the first time he had EVER climbed out of his crib!  Of course he was just so proud of himself that I couldn't help but smile.  I'm sure I also let out a sigh, knowing it was the beginning of a new chapter and that my little boy was growing up.

  Colton took the side rails off of his crib so that he can get in and out of bed without the risk of falling from climbing over.  We put up a toddler guard and hopefully sometime next week, we'll get his "big boy bed" set up.  He has done really well with this at night, but nap time is another story.

  Nap time?  What even is nap time?  A distant memory of a time when this mama could catch a break in the afternoon and feel rested enough to face the rest of the evening, a time when my sweet toddler was also able to rest and be pleasant for the rest of the day. 

  To be fair, even in his crib, naps were becoming less and less of a daily thing.   The hard part is that I know he's tired in the afternoon, and even though I can get him to stay in his bed, he just won't sleep!  Instead he lays there and sings and talks quietly.  Not a problem except that a couple hours later, he's overtired and basically impossible for the rest of the day.  Keepin' it real, folks- it has me flat.worn.out.

  I know it'll pass and we'll work out a new routine, but the adjustment period has me reevaluating my time and schedule, as well as what I realistically have the energy for.  I have made the decision to put my Etsy shop on "vacation" mode for a while.  While I do enjoy it, it takes quite a bit of my time.  I'm not giving it up for good, but I do have to prioritize, and my home and family will always come first.

  Another surprise this week was the realization that we bought the WRONG chickens!  Yep, we did not buy the Buff Orpington chicks that we thought we did.  First, I thought that the chicks were not as golden as I remembered.  They were a light yellow.  Not a big deal as it's been a while since I've raised them.  But then I noticed how they were growing so much faster than our Barred Rock chicks.  I mean, like three times as fast!  They were eating so much food and were just massive.  Then they started getting their feathers, their white feathers.  I realized we had Cornish Rocks, meat birds that will be ready to butcher at 8 weeks, not the Buff Orpingtons we wanted!  

Cornish Rock chicks

  Well I felt a little silly not realizing the mistake sooner, not to mention blogging about it on the World Wide Web.  However, Tractor Supply did have them labeled incorrectly, so we went back to the store and explained the situation.  Thankfully there was a worker there who knew the signs on the chicks had accidentally been switched, and they let us take six of the correct Orpingtons for free.

Buff Orpington chicks, for real this time (I hope)

  
  They said we could return the Cornish Rocks if we wanted, but as we have already been putting feed into them, we decided to just keep them.  We'll have a new homesteading experience raising and butchering meat birds.  Who knows?  Maybe we'll like it and want to do it every year.  With everything happening in the world, an extra meat source doesn't sound like a bad idea.  Nini certainly likes them...

Cornish Rock chicks in their new space

Nini, the Hunter