From Melissa's Desk

I Think I'm in Love...

There are no words to describe the deliciousness that these drinks provide. *Sigh

The War Between the States

Let me take you back in time...

Naaaah! Not really.

We did, however, get to see an awesome Civil War reenactment today. One of Georgia's largest.

And let me just say....WOW!

This was my first time to experience anything of the kind and I was thoroughly impressed.

The soldiers marched into battle with the band leading the way. They were playing Dixie.

Looks like his sweetie gave him a flower to carry.

The Blue and The Gray

The cannons thundered.

The Stars and Stripes flew high and proud.

This one makes me want to break out in a verse of "Onward Christian Soldiers".

The Confederate Soldiers prepare to advance.

In the heat of battle

This horse lost its rider.

After the battle, we walked through their camp.

And look what they were having for supper...

Ick!

We really had a great time and the kids loved it! My Little Rebel has been battling ever since we got back...

Can You Smell Them?

Mmmm...the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle.

Heaven truly must smell like this.

What are some of your favorite scents?

In My Backyard

What I've Been Doing

I was a huge fan of Mario Kart for Gamecube, but Wii has really stepped it up a notch! This game is a blast! I highly recommend it.

Kiss Your Mom Today

The Many Faces of My Little Guy

Chicken House 101

My work in our chicken houses today was an adventure I really don't care to relive anytime soon. Good thing the kind of work I did today only has to be done once per bunch. That's roughly once every 6 weeks. Not bad, right? No, it's not bad until it's time to do it. Then it's just like any other job...you just don't wanna.

The baby chickens don't stay babies very long. When we first get them we keep all 30,000 in the front half of each house in order to keep them warm enough. But, by the time they are 8-9 days old, the yellow fluff starts giving way to scruffy white feathers and they are getting much bigger. So we have to open up the other end of the houses to let them stretch their little chicken wings.

Normally I only assist in the opening of the other end, but the cards fell just so that Hubby had to work (his other job) on the day that said opening had to be done. (I still think he planned it...just kidding). So, guess who had to do it? Me, myself and I. But, I can't take all the credit. My kiddos helped too. When they weren't too busy fighting with each other over who would do what job. Ahh...sibling love.

The work involves a lot of physical labor like moving huge dividers, carrying 5 gallon buckets of feed, and picking up feed pans used for the babies. And surprisingly enough, everything went pretty smoothly...that is, until I dumped what felt like 10 lbs of feed on top of my head. I won't go into detail, but just trust me when I tell you that you wouldn't like the taste of chicken feed. And it doesn't make a good facial scrub either.

Today's work is finished, but that's really only the half of it. Just because the other end is open, doesn't mean the chickens will waltz down there. Some of them are daring and make the trip, but for the most part, they just want to sit where they are...eating, drinking and pooping.

So...tomorrow we have to push them.

Yes, push them.

No, I don't mean shove. So all you animal-rights people just chill.

We have to make them want to go to the other end.

To push them it takes 3 or 4 people getting behind the half that we want to move to the back. It helps to have something that will make noise. For example we shake empty bleach jugs filled with rocks. Chickens don't want to hear any bleach jug music, so when we play the tunes, they run. Once they get settled in the other end, we put back the huge dividers that were moved the day before and they are pretty much set for the rest of their lives and our work goes back to being fairly easy.

I like easy.

Taggity-Tag-Tag

I was tagged by JoAnn at Homeschool Distractions...so, here it goes...

Here are the rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What was I doing 10 years ago:
Let's see...May 1998, I was 4 months pregnant with my second child...so I was probably sleeping as much as my first child would let me.

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Dr. Pepper (oh, I love it dearly!)
2. Krispy Cream Donuts
3. honey roasted peanuts
4. popcorn
5. Reese's peanut butter cups

In the real world:
1. I feel like I never get enough done.
2. I hate, hate, hate laundry and dishes!
3. I feel guilty when I do something just for me.
4. I'm really shy until I get to know someone.
5. I sleep late almost every morning and then feel lazy for doing it!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. pay off all my debts and my parents & in-laws too.
2. buy an RV
3. travel the USA with my family doing some "hands-on" homeschooling
4. hire a maid (to take with us)
5. hire a chauffeur (to drive us all around the USA)

Five jobs I've had:
1. TCBY (frozen yogurt)
2. Pet Store Manager
3. Greeting Card Store Clerk
4. Secretary for Board of Education (ironic, huh?)
5. Bank Teller

Three of my habits:
1. Staying up WAY too late
2. Drinking WAY too much Dr. Pepper
3. Spending WAY too much time blogging

Five places I've lived:
1. I'm a true Southerner! I've lived in North Georgia all my life. I guess it makes this section irrelevant, doesn't it?
2.
3.
4.
5.

What do you want others to get from your blog:
a laugh or two...no seriously, I hope others get enjoyment from reading my blog.

Now I'm passing this tag along to:
 The Clan McLeod
Sheltered Not Shattered
A Peek Inside Our World
Writer Woman
The Family Revised

Kitty Talk

"Can't a cat get any privacy?"