Despite my excitement when a daddy-daughter dance was announced during church a few Sundays ago, the looks on the faces of my husband and daughter were not so enthusiastic. I looked to my left at my daughter and got a deer-in-the-headlights expression. I looked to my right and got raised eyebrows from my husband.

But, after talking to both of them seperately, it was clear there were just a few misconceptions and silly apprehensions. She thought it was for little, little girls -- not big 9-year-old girls like herself. And my husband, well, he isn't too fond of dancing, per se. Clearly there are more important aspects of this, though. Spending time with her doing something special is really the most important part of it.

So I pushed a bit (after it was clear she really wanted him to take her). It didn't take too much, really -- just pointing out how important that kind of stuff is to a father-daughter bond. Because he is a sensitive guy at heart, I could tell he just needed that nudge.


The two of them went and bought their ticket after church, and I could tell by the way my daughter displayed it in her room, that she is really excited about it.

We had talked about getting some chickens for quite some time. We figured it would be a little toe dip into farming, which we've also daydreamed about a bit.

The ideal would be having a farm with blueberries (just because we love them), goats (for cheese) and chickens (for eggs) and maybe even grapes (for wine, of course).

But to start off the dream, we decided to get some chicks. When Tractor Supply advertised their "Chick Days," which featured a few different breeds at a good price, it seemed like a great time to just jump in. All the feed and other stuff you need also was on sale.

So we made a family trip to the store and came home with 20 chicks. We lost one on day 2 (poor little guy), but we've had 19 for the past week, and they all seem to be doing well.


My husband worked on a chicken farm years ago and his brother's family has chickens, so he at least has some background knowledge. But, for the most part, this is a learn-as-we-go situation. We're reading what we can and all participating as a family.

Our kids are a great age for helping with this, too (12 and 9). They want to make sure the chicks are fed and watered and generally cared for, so they are jumping in and helping without even being asked. (Wow!) They actaully want to do these chores!

We have to keep them inside for a few more weeks, but my husband is building the outdoor coop, so it will be ready for them. Honestly, as much as I'm enjoying them, I can't wait to get them outdoors. It turns out no matter how often you clean out their living area, the chicken coop smell doesn't really go away. No matter how much of a farm girl I think I am at heart, I don't want it to smell like a barnyard in my house.

This morning, our five year old son asked to go outside at 7:00 am.  As my husband and I sipped our coffee, we looked at each other, nodded, and off he went with his new red ball.

He's pretty obsessed with the new red ball and just can't help but bounce it EVERYWHERE.  We could tell where he was in our front yard by the different sounds the ball would make. Ping on the pavement. Thud on the grass. Then, we heard a bang on the house. Bang. Bang. Bang.  I put my coffee down and went to the door. "Please don't throw the ball at the house", I said.

Then, we heard it again.  Bang!

Suddenly, the front door flew open and in he ran. "I lost my first tooth! I lost my first tooth!".  It had been wiggling around in his mouth for over a month and I'd simply forgotten about it.  "The ball bounced off the house and knocked it right out!" he said.  He couldn't have been more excited and, to our dismay, not at all upset that after I told him not to bounce the ball on the house he did it anyway.  We couldn't help but laugh out loud as he told us over and over exactly how it happened. He thought the whole thing was "really cool".

The loss of his first tooth brings with it another "first" in our household: a visit from the Tooth Fairy.  I've thankfully been collecting brand-spanking-new gold dollar coins for this very occasion (I think I have seven in total).  They put a brand new vending machine in at our office complex and it dispenses the gold coins as change.  Since I don't use the vending machines personally, I "buy" the coins from my coworkers.

Tonight, we'll pack up the tooth in the little bag he decorated himself (a Christmas gift from his Aunt Glitter Pie - Art in a Box), place it under his pillow, and the tooth fairy will bring him something special. Let's just say, he's beyond excited!

We'll have to wait and see, though, if the fact that the Tooth Fairy comes INTO his room (and will not simply lurk around downstairs like Santa or the Easter Bunny) will keep him in his own bed all night long. That's a blog post for another day.