Randomness

(Tyler trying to feed the chickens a stick in their old digs)

The weather has been fabulous these last few days, in the low 70's and sunny. Basically, I have decided that if I let my kids play outside all day long that means they cannot mess up the house. Except they do. With their dusty feet and dandelion puffs. But who can complain? We are all getting more than our share of sunshine. I am reading two books right now about children and their need to play outside. Seriously, there are a plethora of books written on this subject. You know what the sad truth is? Children spend an average of 30 minutes of unstructured outdoor playtime....a WEEK! Well, shiver me timbers! I think my kids spend that much time outside before breakfast some days. I couldn't believe when I read that, but I have seen that statistic thrown around several times since. Instead of outdoor time, kids spend 5-7 hours a day on TV, computer, video games, etc. Crazy! Now here I am, off on a soapbox again. Speaking of soapbox, I was really happy to hear that Florida is making it illegal for pediatricians to ask parents if they own a gun. It really ticks me off every time I went to our previous pediatrician and they interrogated me about various (non-health-related) things, particularly if I own any guns. Is it any of there business?? Phew! I promise no more soapboxes for today. Aside from that, the chickens are enjoying their new digs. Katie and Tyler will sit at the fence and feed them various tidbits. Katie digs for worms for them, and brings them bugs and grass. James finds worms and calls for Katie to come and get them, because they 'gross him out.' Tyler tries to feed them sticks and rocks, which they look at and roll their eyes. I have been planting stuff every day in the garden, and so far...no groundhog! We do, however, have skunks rummaging around at night.....remember the notorious skunk incident of 2010???? Let's not repeat that again!