Fly free Marley

A member of a forum I belong to, lost her beloved lovebird. She rescued him from a horrible situation, but he lost his battle from the abuse of his former home last night. He at least past in his momma's loving hands with family all around him.

Go and give skritches to your fiddies and be thankful that they are healthy.

I'm so sorry Laura. Marley was a lucky little boy to know such love when he needed it the most.

What a beautiful fall day!

It is just the right amount of chilly today, but too windy to burn leaves. Makes me want to put on a sweater and drink warm apple cider!

Decluttering is going very well. I am very pleased with myself! Thursday, however, I did not get anything thrown away or put aside for Godwill. It was just too busy of a day. But, every other day, I managed to throw away something. Yesterday, like most days, I threw away a ton of stuff. Old candles that I will never burn because of the birds. Potpourri that has lost its scent (seriously, they only smell good in the store...why is that???). Baskets galore. I love it! I am so proud of myself. I never considered myself a hoarder or a person that has a lot of clutter. But, I am amazed at the amount of stuff that I ponder why I have it.

Then me and the 2 girls that are staying here, rearranged the furniture in the living room and some things in the dining room. Oh, and I forgot that 2 things went out to the curb for free pickup.

I don't know what I am going to put on my menu this week. But, as soon as I know I'll post it.

I know that nobody except one person reads this blog (Hi Anneke) but that is OK. I do this more for me than for anything else. I love to write and put my thoughts down and this keeps me accountable, too.

Tata for now!

Happy Saturday!

And it is a Happy Saturday! All my babies are under one roof and that makes me a happy momma! Silly, I know, but I am happy that my college student daughter is home with me. I'm not a controlling mother, what I am is a worrier and I don't have to worry as much when she is in my sight :o)

We're going out to eat this evening at a Chinese restuarant, not one of my favs but I will suffer thru it for my babies because it IS their fav restuarant.

We're trying to save as much money as we can, so my precious girls are going to pay for their own way and then that leaves us with hubby's, Leelee's and my bill. I think we can do that...

Decluttering is going well. I'm trying to find one thing a day to declutter and today I threw away a basket. But, my box for Goodwill is still sitting in my daycare room. And, the big stereo is still in the daycare room, however, hubby and the girls said that they'd move it out to the edge of the yard with a free sign for someone to pick up.

This week's menu is:
Sunday- the Brown Sugar Chicken
Monday- Chili
Tuesday- sandwiches (grocery night and I try to go light on that meal since we are usually out until 7:30)
Wednesday- ham slices
Thursday- BBQ chicken
Friday- Order out
Saturday- ?? Not sure yet...
Sunday- ?? Not sure yet...

Maile is leaving her cage more and more... she flew out TWICE within an hour!!! But, kept going over to the conure's cage. Not a good move!! She won't step up for me, so I have to cover her up in a blankie and scoop her up that way. Then I can safely remove her and put her back in her own cage. She's not happy with that, but she needs to stay off their cage. For her sake and theirs. Soon though, her eggies will be going bye bye :o(

Gotta go and get ready!!

Yep, that is me in my profile...

And the infamous Peanut! How such a tiny being can bring such emotions in a grown person? I love that little thing as if he were one of my children! I dote on him and worry about him.

He was my first "real" bird after the parakeets. I got him at 2 and a half months old and he was my constant shadow. Where ever I went, he went. If I walked away from him and left him on the couch, he'd climb down the couch, scurry across the floor, and climb up my pant leg.

I had a place for him to play safely while I was doing daycare. The children loved him, but then came the kittens and he had to find another place to stay...upstairs out of harms way. I miss him so much even though it has almost been a year since he'd been down here. I should be over it by now, but every single time I leave him in the morning while he is calling for me...he just does not get any easier. And I swear, it is like leaving a child at daycare for the first time, all the time.

A picture or 2 or 3 of my turd bird...I learned how to upload pics!!! :o) Soooo...heeheehee you'll all be bombarded with pics!! Mwhahahahahaha

Trying something here...

Since I am getting organized, decluttering, and back to menu planning, I wanted to have some help in staying on track. So, I am joining and following this site. orgjunkie.com. But, computer illiterate me, can not figure out how to link back to the site...

I am getting serious! My house isn't a huge mess, but I am overwhelmed by the amount of people and animals here. So, to make my life a little bit easier, I need to get control of my paper clutter. Seriously!! I can put something down, and then forget where I put it. I have too many places where I put things and then forget where I put something important. So, I have a filing cabinet for the papers that I don't need to get to frequently and I have files...have had them for awhile now but had no ambition to do it. I also have a plan for the papers that I do need everyday. I can not put my bills and such in a filing cabinet because guaranteed, I will forget about them and when something gets shut off.....it won't be pretty LOL

Now to post my weekly menu...

Monday-Breakfast for supper

Tuesday-Taco Bake

Wednesday-Creamed Chicken

Thursday-Meatballs and baked Mac and Cheese

Friday-We usually order out for that supper, but we may be going out with the whole family on Saturday, so I am going to cook on Friday...Jessica will be sooooooooo mad!! So, Friday we're having a new recipe that I got from the same site...Brown Sugar Chicken.

Saturday-Eating out

Sunday-...not sure yet.

Still dismal

My mother asked me yesterday, how on earth I can handle all that I have had to deal with lately. I told her that I can't. I said that the downstairs is a wreck because I have been cooking supper and then heading into the bird room to stay. I have not done any housework down there in a week. Why? Because as soon as I do something down there...it is wrecked. So why bother. I am so fed up with it and I am about to explode.

I told my mother that if I don't soon get out of here and do something for me, I will explode. Needless to say, I am still here. She, on the other hand, left for the morning and then left for the day at 1:30 for me to deal with all the daycare kids. Thanks mom! I am here from 6:45 AM until 5:30 PM, I do not get a break nor do I get to leave early. When 5:30 rolls around, I want out of that room and I want to spend some time with my fids.

No, I do not say anything to my mom because I do not want to hurt her. It is my people pleasing complex coming into play. I love my mom dearly and most days it is really cool to have her here. She would do anything for me and is always there for me. I wasn't the best of teenagers and so I feel that I owe her a lot because of the way I acted. I was a snot! LOL

Anyway, hubby asked me at 8:00 this morning, if we were to go out tonight, what would we do with the birds? See. It has been ages since we did anything for ourselves and that is not good! Not sure if he was serious since he went to bed after 6AM this morning or what...As much as I like to stay here and snuggle my baby Peanut (my lovebird!!!), I need a break. I need to have some fun! I need time for myself. My whole entire day is built around doing things for other people, taking care of other people and I do not do anything for me.

My family says that I do my housework for me and not for them since no one asked me to do anything. Oooookaaaayyyy. If I didn't do any cleaning at all, wouldn't social services come to visit? Wouldn't someone complain? Wouldn't the health department come? So, unless they want to be in foster care (OK, not the 21 YO and the 19YO, but the 14 YO would get taken away) or in quarantine for some nasty disease, then no, I do not do housework just for me.

On to a more pleasant topic...I just watched the most amazing thing. Baby Joey taking his first bath!!!!!! (shoosh!! it was amazing to me :P~~~~~~~~~~~~) He was rolling all around and really enjoying it! So funny!!!!

Maile is doing well. She is still just as nasty, but is coming out more and more. However, she scurries right back in when something scares her. I don't know whether or not to take out her hut... It is dirty and I would love to get it cleaned. I would also love to get her a smaller one, but I'm not sure if that would make her worse or not...

I think 2 of my budgies are going to be parents soon! Koda is constantly by Melody's side and feeds her. So sweet! I don't know if I'm ready to be a grandma yet or not LOL But, if nature takes its course, who am to intervene??? LOL

Baby Joey is doing awesome, as well. He loves people and having attention paid to him. We cut his toenails the other day...boy was that an experience because his one foot is handicapped so getting him to uncurl it was really hard!

And, last but not least, Peanut got a wing clip :o( He was being too much of a daredevil when out of the birdroom. So for his safety, it needed to be done.

Til next time....

The stuff I deal with in my life-negativity

I have a real hard time not being negative. I always see things as dismal. One little thing could go wrong and I am convinced that all is worthless. It's not that I exaggerate or that I demand attention, I think it is just a part of my disorder...anxiety and panic attack disorder. And a lot of it has to do with how I perceive things.

For instance, we have a guest staying here (I am a sucker like I said in my last post...for all things that need me as if I am a wonderful healer or something ridiculous like that...) and along with my children and husband who can be slobs, it is just too much. Children are children, I do not ask a lot from them and I do not make them do a lot of chores. They generally do what I ask, and it is my own fault for not making them do more and for not being accountable.

So, anyway, back to being dismal (I can joke even in my dismal state LOL), I wake up at 5:30 in order to get some housework done before the daycare children start to arrive. This particular morning, I swept the entire upstairs floor and washed the kitchen floor. But, it looks as if I did nothing. Why? Because as I said up above...the members of my family are slobs.

I would go on strike, but I can not live in slobsville like my family can. They seriously do. not. care. !!!!

And so, in my dismal state, I sit and stew and ponder how my life turned into being a maid to these ungrateful people and when is it ever about me, when will they ever do anything for me? Then I rant and rave and blow up.

I have no time for myself. My mornings could be better spent on doing things for myself...yoga, taking a nice long bath, drinking my coffee leisurely...etc etc...

See how I am? I know that I am this way, so is this a mind over matter thing? Can I cure myself from this horrible condition? I don't think this is depression, I've been depressed before. I just think this is part of who I am because I have been this way ever since I was a child. And I have had anxiety attacks since I was a child as well. I am a nervous person.

Well, onto more exciting things...at least it is for me LOL

We let our 2 lovebirds meet :o) What about quarantine, you ask? Well, I for one do not believe in it when a bird comes from someone I know and trust. This lovebird came from my sister in law's house and she has been there for over a month. If she was sick, something would have happened sooner. And since she is hormonal and cage aggressive, it is very important to start breaking her from that ASAP. She was an only bird in both her former homes so I don't think she knows how to be a bird.

I say that because it is very apparent that she was not let out of her cage much. She has all her flight feathers, but can not fly well. How sad is that?! So, see, it is very important to teach her how to be a bird and I alone can not do that. She needs to see that humans are not all bad. That we will not hurt her. And the best way to show her that is to let her see how we are with our other birds. Time is of the essence here. (Is that the right phrase that I want?)

And, with her not having much exercise, except charging at our fingers, she is quite plump. A lot bigger than our lovie is.

Heeheehee, as I am typing this, Peanut is on my head taking a nap! LOL

School finally (!!!) started here so I am down to 2 fulltime daycare children. I love these kids, but it gets to be too much when they are all here. My son and my nephew are doing cyber school this year and it has been a rough first few days.

My nephew is doing his school here because his mom works during the day and with it being school on the internet, a number of things can and does go wrong. We've had a lot of problems starting out and I am glad that he was here instead of at home alone. I am sure that he would have given up and went back to bed LOL

During the first 2 weeks of school, they want all the kids on their computers by 8 AM sharp!! Someone was asleep at the wheel when they thought up that one, because 1400 kids trying to get on their server all at once is not feesible!

Friday nights are ordering out nights and we tried a new restuarant last night that did not meet my expectations. I do not know what I expected... we tried a soup and sandwich shop but seriously, I can get a whole pound of lunchmeat for the price of one sandwich at this shop. So, to me it seemed ridiculous and a waste of money...lesson learned :o)

See, in my dismal state, my train of thought would be something like, nothing ever goes right for me, I never get what I want, yadda yadda yadda...but, in reality, that kind of place does appeal to some people because that shop was hopping with business. And I'm sure that they won't miss me when I take my restuarant preference elsewhere...

Gotta go to the bank before it closes...toodles.

She has a name!!

She finally has a name. After searching the internet for all kinds of names, I finally found one that suits her. Her name is Maile, pronounced MY-lee. It is an Hawaiian plant that they sometimes uses the leaves to make lei's. It is green in color and usually flowers between fall-winter and the flower has a faint vanilla scent. I love the smell of vanilla and she came to us in the early fall. Perfect!

She is ummm, settling in nicely. However, when we get to close to her cage she scurries into her hut and just waits for us to get close so she can charge. I can understand...she is protecting her nest. But, once she gets more use to us we can let her out to fly and play and she won't be as cage aggressive as she is now.

However, I think she bit one of my budgies toes :o( It is all black and blue and a little swollen. I need to catch him and put some antibiotic cream on it but I don't want to stress him out which catching him will surely do to him. Poor baby.

I have not had a chance to play with my dolls lately. Been very busy. And since it is the last unofficial day of summer, everyone is putting yard sales out. We hit one huge one today and that was all I could manage. My back hurt so badly that I could have puked. Sorry.

The only thing I bought was 2 doilies for my dining room table, some cable ties (which I ended up paying the wrong person for so I paid for them twice LOL)...hmmmm....I took a $20 bill, and came home with only $5 but for the life of me I can not remember what else I bought. Oh well.

New baby

We have a brand new baby girl!! No name yet, but she is a fiesty and noisy one. She is a Seagreen Peach Faced Lovebird. So that makes the bird count up to 11...uhoh, an odd number! I do not like odd numbers!! But, it will have to do for now because our house is full. There is no more room for another member of this family unless I start invading children's rooms which I am sure they would not like...at all!

Peanut is happy to have a friend. He had to fly to her cage as soon as we opened the door. It was weird because he did his scaredy chirp first, then after he heard her, he flew right to her cage! He didn't stay scared for long.

We need names!! I can not think of any. Her original name was Evil and there is no way that I am keeping that!

My very first post!!

Hi! Welcome to my blog *_____*

A little about me: I am a mom of 3 awesome kids! And have a wonderful hubby who lives with my craziness. He's an enabler of sorts! Heeheehee

My passions aka madness are (in no particular order); my birds, my dogs, my family, my dolls, my house... don't worry, I will hound you all with pics o_O

Right now I am taking a break from cleaning the bird room. Ovey! What a mess! I absolutely hate cleaning cages, especially the budgie's cage and have actually been thinking of getting rid of it. I mean, they would rather sleep on the boing that is above their cage, so why have a cage???

The bigger bird's cages are easier to keep clean because they are never in theirs and they don't poop as often as the budgies.

Although, Peanut, my lovebird, is being punished in his cage right now because he was being a pain as I was *trying* to clean cages. It's summer and that means that it is mating season. *sigh* So 3 of our 10 birds want romance LOLOLOL but with the wrong species!!!! I demand dinner before I am romanced, but not THAT kind of dinner!!!!

So....now what should I talk about???

How about dolls???

I lubs my dolls! Strawberry Shortcakes being my favs! I just love to get an older neglected doll off of Ebay and turn her into a beautiful little girl. They get the spa treatment here.

My new favorite doll to tote around is Yotsuba doll. Ohmygosh, she is just toooo cute! She can be posed in so many different poses and she comes with different faces and hands, much like a BJD and a Pinky Street doll. I wonder if she is the offspring of these 2 dolls LOL Seriously, (as serious as one can get when talking about dolls LOL) she is so much fun!

Hey, that reminds me of the recent news reports about doll people. An actual doctor diagnosed us as being nuts. Ummm, I am just as sane as the person who collects coins, Boyds Bears, shoes, stamps, antique glass, action figures...I could go on but I won't. I lied, I am going to go on...what about the people who collect matchbox cars or Harley Davidson stuff? Are they nuts too? What is the difference between any of the collections that I mentioned compared to doll collecting?

I can understand where people think that a doll that looks like a real baby can be creepy. I think those puppets are creepy and I do not understand a person who collects coins...I'm sorry, but I can not figure that one out. But, it is not my place to call another person nuts for collecting ANYTHING!

A person who collects baseball cards, wants to keep those cards in pristine condition. A person who collects dolls, also wants to keep them in pristine condition. And, that may mean that they dress them in cute clothes and do their hair. I love to redress my dolls and do their hair like how I did my daughter's hair. Except my dolls don't scream and fidget when I pull their hair accidently...or do they??? Joking!!

Anyway, back to my point...people collect dolls for various reasons. Some collect them to remind them of their childhood...maybe their mother threw away their dolls when she thought they were too old for dolls. Some collect dolls because they are cute and those are the ones who usually keep them in their original clothing and hair style. Some collect them for the monetary value and those are usually the ones that never take them out of their boxes. And then there are some who collect them to actually play with. Hey! Do not make fun! If grown men and play video games, why can't grown women play with a doll? Lots of women get a doll to redress, do their hair, put into adorable poses, put into doll houses, etc etc.

And then there are the women who collect dolls because a particular doll reminds them of a child that they lost or of their child/children when they were young. I have a few dolls that look like how my children did when they were babies.

I do not collect dolls for the amount of money that I can get when I sell them. None of my dolls are that expensive. And a doll only retains its value if other's want that particular doll. No one wants the dolls that I have LOL Also, when I get a doll, I do not intend to resell it. I tend to keep it so I redress it and have fun :o) Am I crazy? No, don't answer that!