what's up weekly. (attack zone!)

Good morning, folks!  I apologize for not being here last week: I typically write these posts on Thursday nights, but I just joined a book club with the women at my church and it started last Thursday.  It has been a long time since I've done anything at night (I had to call Todd from the driveway and ask him how to turn the headlights on in the van), and I forgot that Things At Night always go later than you thought they would, and leave you more exhausted than you thought you'd be, and therein lies my excuse.  I was Booking and People-ing last Thursday, and therefore had no energy for Typing and Jokesing.  But this is a hiatus week for the book club, so here I am today!

And here is the book that kept me from you:

Okay, jumping right in.  One of the gals from church brought me a sweet gift!

We got some actual snow that hung around for a few days, and it was the perfect, wet snow for making snowballs and snowmen!  The kids logged many hours traipsing around outside, and I logged many hours mopping up mud and washing outerwear.  

Wednesday afternoons are one of the best times of the week - we turn on the fireplace, curl up and read from the Little House series.  We just finished Farmer Boy and began Little House on the Prairie.

Laurelai planned a tea party for all the sisters, and made a cookie cake to serve.  She even washed all their little tea time dishes and put them in a doll-sized strainer.  It was adorable.

Prior to baking.

And, speaking of Laurelai, let me get to the juiciest news of our week: there was a pit bull attack in our neighborhood.  The kids were outside playing in the field behind our house, when they saw a couple of stray dogs come charging at them.  Finneas yelled, "DOG! RUN!" to Laurelai, who thought he said "STOP!", so she couldn't figure out why her legs were running and wouldn't stop!  She turned around, and the dogs were right on her heels and gaining.  She didn't have time to get into the yard, so she tried climbing up over the fence but got stuck.  She just hung on, screaming and crying, while they charged at her.

Luckily, our chicken coop was nearby and it caught the dogs' attention.  They charged the run, busted in the door, and ran off with a chicken to a corner of the field.  It gave Lolo enough time to get into the yard, and then into the house.  In the meantime, Todd went out to chase them off and attempt to close up the chicken run before more chickens got out, but the dogs charged at him and then, after he got back into the yard and closed the gate in their faces, ran off down the field toward the street.

After making sure Lolo and the other kids were all okay, we went back outside to close the remaining chickens up in the coop (we were missing two at this point).  There was so much noise still happening - I thought it was just the neighborhood dogs all going crazy (which they were), but Todd was pretty sure he was hearing screaming from the street.

Once we got to the front, it was clear the dogs had done more damage.  They were being chased down the street by a neighbor, and a woman was lying on the ground, screaming, and clutching her two small dogs.  She had been out walking them, saw the pit bulls come running at them up the street, and scooped her dogs up in her arms to protect them.  The pit bulls jumped on her, pushing her to the ground, and each pit bull grabbed a small dog from her and started yanking them from her.  Her hands were cut up where she hadn't let go of the leashes, and her dogs were pretty beat up, but luckily both little dogs seemed to be okay-ish, so far at least.  (One of them had its jaw broken in two places and wasn't doing great the last we heard, but no news since then.)

So anyway.  Our week included multiple visits from neighbors as well as Animal Control.  It's been a whole thing.  Our kids are all thankfully okay, other than a little bit of nervousness right at first to play outside our fence.  One of our missing chickens actually returned!  We think she ran to the front and hid under our van the whole time.  We never saw the other one (Little Princess) after the dogs ran off with her.  We are so grateful that she gave her life distracting them from Lolo.  What a noble way for a chicken to go.

So anyway.  The court date for the dogs (who were eventually caught and retained by Animal Control) is next Thursday.  Call me politically incorrect, but they should be put down.

Okay, enough of that buzzkill.  Here are a couple things keeping our spirits up this week:

- Beautiful weather

- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: I watch this while I walk on the treadmill.  I am a couple episodes into the first season and Johnny Cash has already been sheriff, so I think this is going to be a show I can stick with, as long as they don't start spinning off into weird Hallmark love story lines.  I just want to watch a British lady with good hair trying to raise up some orphans and do a little doctorin' in post-Lincoln Colorado, okay?

- All Creatures Great and Small, the modern PBS series - it is so good!  The kids and I started it on Wednesday of this week, after our fireside Laura Ingalls time, and it was seriously the best day ever.  

- Working out: I've been trying to be more consistent with getting exercise in most days, and trying to work a little harder than I'm used to.  I walk on the treadmill, then I do some barre exercises from my ballet days, and then I lift weights.  (One weight.  I lift one weight.)  I've been fitting it in over lunch break.

- Whole 30.  Or, more honestly, being nearly done with Whole 30 is what's keeping my spirits up.  Today is Day 26.  It hasn't been too terribly hard, and I think I'm going to extend it past thirty days, though I'm not sure how far past thirty days.  But dang, I am having a hard time not having chocolate.  Most other things are easily lived without or substituted, but there is no substitute for chocolate.  I miss it.  It makes me think I'll potentially be done sooner rather than later just so I can get some chocolate; we'll see.

- These flowers: 

Todd knows February tends to be my least favorite month, so for the last few years he has gotten me flowers and made me a card on the first day.  It really does help me face February with more optimism!

Todd and Oey were both sick-ish with a cold this week, so no one really slept very well.  Todd seems to be on the mend now, and Ophelia is getting there, too, but has a really chesty cough that is lingering.  I ordered some mullein and some oregano and hopefully those will knock out any remaining ickies so she can get to feeling better.

And I think that was all of this week's news!  Here are our surviving hens to welcome you to the weekend!  Happy Friday from Howitzer, La Papa, Megadeath, Debbie and Rhoda's safe-and-snug behinds!