So…after being sucked in to the black hole known as PTA for the last two years, I’ve finally been set free from the depths of Hell!! I can’t tell you how AMAZING it feels to not have to worry about that stuff anymore.  However…my volunteering efforts have not ended and one of them was being chef for a night at the Ronald McDonald house downtown last Friday. My good friend Martha is an angel in disguise and volunteers there on a regular basis. She asked me if I’d be interested in helping out one night and I of course said “yes!”  I never knew much about this place but was told by Martha that they help out families in need who have to stay for long periods of time at hospitals because of treatment their loved ones are receiving.

The house is huge and can accommodate up to 30 families all free of charge for however long they need to stay. ALL the people that work there are volunteers and there are a lot of them. It was very humbling to take a tour of the facility and hear what it has to offer. All the food in the kitchen was donated by volunteers or businesses around town and there was a TON! One of the things we were told was that families really appreciate the fact that they don’t have to worry about buying or preparing food. When you’re stressed to the max taking care of a sick child, the last thing you want to have to worry about is making something to eat. The volunteers are able to at least help ease that particular stress and I think that’s just so awesome.

We started preparing dinner at about 4pm and served it around 6.  We cleaned up and headed home around 8:30pm. All in all it was a great experience and one that I will probably do again. The lesson I walked away with was how lucky I am that I don’t have to utilize services like these. I’m so grateful that my family and I are all healthy. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have a child in the hospital for a long period of time and have to stay here. Places like this are amazing and can really restore your faith in humanity. =)

Instead of posting these individually, I decided to put them all in one.  Enjoy

In early February, Joe decided to race the Tarantula. It’s a race he’s done before out at the red sands in Alamogordo.  The kids and I drove out to cheer him on and had a really good time.

Unfortunately those are all the pictures I took.  I had the boys by myself and trying to keep them from getting run over by motorcycles was a major feat. It was also pretty windy and we witnessed a horrible crash that kind of tainted the rest of the day. I’m really proud of Joe, but I always worry about his safety during these things. I counted about 5 people total that had major injuries and had to be taken to the hospital but thankfully he finished very well and injury free. I’m excited to hear that he wants to get back into riding competitively and we will of course be there to cheer him on when he does! =)

Our second big February event was the Spartan obstacle race that we ran with our good friends Kim and Dave. They invited us to go last Saturday and it was a blast. It was similar to the Tough Mudder we ran 4 years ago but it was shorter, much warmer and way more fun! It was about 5 miles and was peppered with about 24 obstacles. My favorites were the monkey bars and  rings as those are mine and Tom fortes.  It was definitely suited for people who climb – the only obstacle I failed was the spear throw. It would be different if I were actually trying to kill someone but spearing a hay bail doesn’t really do it for me. Oh well. =) We plan on joining them for another one sometime down the road. In the meantime, my knees have to heal from the running!

Well, the year ended on a sad note for our chickens unfortunately! Our silver laced Wyandotte, Bella, died suddenly the day before Christmas Eve. We were up in NM visiting my mom and my sweet neighbor called me and told me she had found Bella dead in the roost. She had been acting strangely the day before – like, completely out of character for her so I was concerned but I never thought she would be dead within a matter of 18 hours. We still have no idea what happened but I have my theories. I’ve been a chicken mama for only 6 months but am starting to realize what a stressful burden it is! Tommy says I care too much about them since we bought them for laying purposes originally but I’ve just fallen in love with the silly things and now am very invested in their well being even though it is an emotional roller coaster! Haha!

There are so many predators around here that we constantly have to be out with them if we are letting them free range. There is a bobcat that comes by at least 2 or 3 times a week to try and attack them while they’re in the coop. I saw him one day and not thinking, ran outside in my bare feet and threw William’s plastic lunch box at him! Haha! We’ve also had a coyote scaling our block wall and mulling around the yard the past 2 days. Tommy said he was just like a cat – jumping up on the wall with ease and then balancing across the top before turning around and trying to take a poop right into our yard! Little shit! We also have hawks all over the place. Our littlest one, Fifi, was almost grabbed the other day by a falcon. Thank God Ozzie was paying attention to the sky and gave her a quick warning  so she could scurry behind the water tank. I swear, it never ends. I’m almost tempted to have Tommy build them a super coop so we don’t have to let them out anymore and worry about them! I don’t know, time will tell. They have been providing a lot of entertainment and delicious eggs but I’m not sure the benefits outweigh the costs. I’m also very weary now of every little thing that happens with them because I’m afraid they’ll just drop dead like Bella did. Gaaaah! Anyway, I’ll keep you all posted on these 3 chooks. Hopefully we can keep them around for another year! Fingers Crossed!