Chicken update

I think I have finally reached the point where I can sit back and rake in the returns of all my chicken-related efforts. We now have three excellent layers providing 2-3 eggs a day, and they have a relatively predator-proof run where I can leave them during the day. (Dad helped me build it. I quickly realized that I am not detailed-oriented enough to build a sturdy chicken run by myself).

Not that there aren't still challenges. Yesterday I made the mistake of letting them free-range in the back yard while I went to pick Melina up from preschool; I had forgotten to close the bamboo fence across the driveway, and when I returned, there were no chickens in the back yard at all. Melina picked up on my little wave of panic and started crying, but pretty soon we found them all under the bushes in the front yard. This was the first time they've all left the back yard, so I guess we're entering a new era of chicken adventurousness.

And speaking of adventurousness, chicken Dolly (pictured above) has become so tame (and demanding) that she now goes in the kitchen whenever possible to eat the cat food. (Note to self: buy the fish-flavored, not the poultry). She also begs at the table whenever we eat outside. She seems to like being picked up; both Melina and I can carry her around in our arms when we want. That's kind of nice, because I've gotten home late a few times this week and have had to move all the chickens from their roosting place on the deck to their coop. Dolly is the easiest to move, by far; Martha will put up with it, but Abigail acts like you're trying to kill her.

Two

I remember someone saying once that their daughter's personality changed overnight when she turned two - her sweet, compliant little angel turned into an unrecognizable, screeching harpy. I congratulated myself for several months that this hadn't happened with Melina (no doubt due to my superior parenting skills), but now I have to take it back. Melina CAN be a screeching, demanding, unforgiving, thankless little dictator. Luckily these spells never last too long (a few days here and there), but when they're upon her, it's brutal. Pretty much all she wants to do is eat popsicles (limit: one a day), and watch "Wheels on the Bus" on YouTube. And when she does get to watch Wheels on the Bus, she wants to watch a different version of Wheels on the Bus. And then a different version. At this point I would willingly pay someone to create a new version of Wheels on the Bus for YouTube just so I could watch something new.

And then there are the spoons and forks. Melina has always been picky about which spoons and forks she uses, but now it's a bigger deal. Spoons go in and out of favor (right now she likes the Big Bird spoon, or as she says, "Big Duck"). A favorite spoon or fork one day is out the window the next. And of course the blueberries have to be put in just the right spot on the tray, and the milk has to be put in just the right type of glass or cup. Very persnickety.

And then there's the Scary Slide at Wilshire Park. It's an old 1970s metal corkscrew version, pre-lawsuit, that's 9.5 feet high (I looked it up). If a kid sits in the wrong place and doesn't hold on, they drop straight down the middle of the slide or go flying off. I know of at least two kids who have fallen off. Of course, it's Melina's favorite slide. Usually I don't worry TOO much about it, because she's very coordinated, she goes down safely (holding on), and I stand in the danger zone to catch her if she should fall. But yesterday she observed some older girls going down it BACKWARD. Wayyyy dangerous. Melina started to go down it backward and I had to pull her back up by the arms, at which point she tried again, and again, while all other little kids were waiting below. I couldn't grab her and take her back down the steps (too high and hazardous with a squirming child) and I couldn't let her go down it backward. I also couldn't go down it with her (not big enough for me). Finally I let her go partway down it lying down, and then I descended to catch her in case she fell. She made it without falling, but I think it scared her enough that she didn't want to do it again.

I've thought about calling or emailing the Parks Department about that slide. I know that it's the bane of other parents' existence, too. It says "Not for small children" in big letters, but small children can't read. I don't to be one of those overprotective parents who takes away the favorite piece of playground equipment because her child stubbed a toe or something, but I think that most parents would be relieved if that thing was gone. I guess if Melina keeps wanting to go down it backwards I will just have to forbid it altogether, but that will make trips to the park into a living hell. It will stand there like forbidden fruit, leading to endless temper tantrums - at least until she's old enough to reason with.

Will she ever be old enough to reason with?

So many changes!

I haven't been able to post lately because I've been crazy busy both at work and at home. On August 28 we got back from a ten-day trip to the Boston area and Maine. Melina did great on the plane both ways and she had a fantastic time being adored by the grandparents. One of my favorite memories of the trip is of Melina sitting in the front of granddad's boat on a lake in Maine, bouncing up and down as we sped across the lake, saying "faster! faster!" She also enjoyed getting down on her stomach at the dock to look at the big frog that lived there, and I'm sure she enjoyed all the wonderful Greek and Italian food prepared by Aunt Bette, Yaya, and Grammy Alba. We also got to see my friend Melinda (who should be posting a response to this any day now) and her brother's kids. Funny how ten days really doesn't seem very long at all once you're in the middle of it.

Almost as soon as we got home, I went away for a private retreat with my friend Tara at Breitenbush Hot Springs. It was the first time I've been away for non-work purposes, and Tara's first time away ever. We went for a good hike; spent lots of time alone (reading, doing sudoku puzzles, meditating, walking); talked a lot; ate lots of organic carbohydrates (quinoa being a favorite); slept; and soaked in the hot tubs and pools. I am happy to report that the peace of mind gained from two days at a new age resort is worth the small amount of guilt I may have felt for leaving Melina behind with her daddy and grandparents. Especially since when I got back, nobody seemed to have noticed that I was gone. Melina barely raised an eyebrow when I got home. I'm not sure if she was giving me the silent treatment, if she had forgotten that I existed, or if she was just distracted. Either way, we all survived.

And then Melina started preschool. She is going to a small private preschool near our house; there about 12 kids attending. So far, she seems to really like it; she never wants to leave when I come to pick her up. This week the kids made paper, went to the gym, made pizza, sang songs, and spent lots of time outside playing. Melina even napped - easily. And I had a few free hours to go to the grocery store and build a new chicken run. (I pick her up after she finishes her nap, around 3:30). It will be interesting to see how this new schedule changes our lives.

OK, gotta run. More soon.