Impulse Control is Not My Forte

Last Friday I took the kids to the IFA store to look at the baby chickens.  It was only a few minutes before I found myself driving home with 6 of them in a cardboard box.  I don't know what happened.  We were all, "oh look how cuuuuute and fuzzyyyyy!"  And then I was like, "yes I'll take 6 please".  I don't remember what my train of thought was in between those two moments (I did NOT go into the store with the intention of purchasing one single thing - I'll tell you what).  But alas, we are now proud chicken owners.  Actually, I'm not very proud.  In fact, I'm kind of embarrassed about the whole thing.  Ryan will gladly tell you how thrilled he is that I took it upon myself to bless our home with 6 family pets.  No, I don't have a problem with impulse control thank you very much.  Okay, maybe I do.  They're really cute though.  And with any luck they'll provide us with a few years worth of amazing organic eggs.  And LOTS of fertilizer.  


Tootsie insisted on choosing names for them.  So would you be surprised if I told you that she has finally settled on Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, and Peaches (the black one-of course)?  

We supposedly got 5 buff Orphingtons and 1 black Sexlink.  But over the past few days one of our "supposedly" buff Orphingtons has mysteriously turned white, doubled in size, and sprouted feathers on her feet.  I did a little research about this sort of chicken mutation and found out that we may have one of these on our hands.

I think it looks like a muppet.  I can't put my finger on which one exactly but there's some muppet in there for sure.  For now though, she's still pretty cute (see below).

Right as I took this picture, Peanut Baby reached in and gave Peaches a little love choke squeeze.  All six chickens wince a little bit whenever they see Peanut Baby approaching.  And for good reason.

                          Haiiiii Mom!  Am harassing chickens and just generally acting like a derp.  Is fun!

Tootsie is something of a chicken whisperer.  She can get any one of the five Fluffy's to jump into her hand just by saying, "chickee - chickee - chickee".  It's all very magical.  Until one of them craps on her hand.

I asked Ryan if he would build our chickens a small modest home.  He cautiously agreed knowing full well that there was more to my request than implied.  I repeated the words small and modest a few more times just to show him how low my expectations really were.  And then I showed him this...

Good news, we're still married.  But our chickens are going to have to live with something more along the lines of a plastic bin enclosed by a baby gate.  Some day.  Some day.  *sigh*  

Not to give you subject matter whiplash or anything, but yesterday I had the in-laws over for dinner.  The actual dinner was nothing to write home about, but at the last second I decided to bust out a batch of these Lemon Bomb Cookies.  I got the recipe from my mom, so I don't know where it came from originally.  I wish I knew, because I would send that person flowers every day for the rest of their life.  Internetz, these cookies are the KING of cookies.  They are so good in fact, that my notoriously difficult to impress mother-in-law asked to take some home with her.  They are soft and chewy and have little bits of crushed up lemon heads inside.  I know!!!  Those chickens had better deliver because I'll be making these on a regular basis in the near future.  Here's the recipe...

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
4-5 ounces lemon head candies, crushed (use food processor for best results)
3 tablespoons lemon juice 
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.  Cream together zest and butter.  Add eggs one at a time and beat until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and lemon extract.  Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just blended.  Stir in crushed lemon drops.  Roll into 1-inch balls and bake on parchment or greased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and centers are almost set.  Let cool.


Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice to make glaze (add lemon zest and a bit of butter if desired).  Spread glaze over tops of cookies.


Oh, and for all you photography enthusiasts, have you ever tried the technique called free-lensing?  OHMYHOLYCRAPIMOBSESSED!  It's not exactly healthy for your camera but it's super fun.  We'll see if I still have good things to say about it by the time I destroy my lens.  Read about it here.