There will be brooders.

I was browsing craigslist a few weeks ago, and ran across an ad for miniature horses. I jokingly called the hubs and begged and pleaded for the tiny equines for ten minutes. With my voice full is laughter and laced with mischief I cajoled and sort of whined. Then I dropped in because we are in no position to get an four legged critters more exotic than a new kitten.
 However, I saw a photo a friend posted to her own wall. Her daughter had been cuddling a chick perched on her shoulder while reading. They live in Alaska, and I figured that if they can keep those birds alive and well for years now, I can do the same in the Midwest.
The day following the miniature pony joke, I told the hubs about my desire to raise chickens for eggs. He agreed, and now we have 5 chicks in a brooder, smelling up my laundry room. We have a small coop and will be building a larger one soon. There are four Ameraucanas/Easter Eggers and one Rhode Island Red.
 They're too cute for words and I'm getting them used to being handled.

My Baby Bear will be two this month, and Berry-Girl will be starting tee-ball this summer.
Life is going along so very swiftly. My firstborn baby girl knows how to write her letters, practices her shapes, can hold pretty lively conversations, and she amazes me daily with how aware of her surroundings she seems. My Baby Bear, my second child, my spitfire, she is walking, talking, climbing, counting, singing, dancing, smiling constantly, and is simply perpetual motion.

I am at a place in life where I feel content, joyful, settled, and at peace with things as they are; while simultaneously wishing for a bit more. I want to get a job outside the home, to feel useful financially, and to contribute to our budget. Then all the things that would need to be juggled for that to happen come to mind. Finding a trustworthy daycare, finding the money in the budget to get a certification for my desired job, juggling classes and being full time mommy because we never know when Mr K will be home that night or off in another state for work, and ensuring that by the time I am certified that there is a need for the job I am training for. The part of me that absolutely hates the idea of missing anything my children do more than I already have to has won out or have been relived when I've learned that a job I've applied for has been offered to someone else.


So, instead of agonizing over the whole job thing I'm going to keep on trying to stay within budget, do my best to find ways to cut spending and not so patiently wait for Baby Bear to start preschool so I can get a job while the kids are in school.