What a week! Birds, Bees, IMSA, and Dishwashers…

Good morning… and May the Fourth be with you! 😉 I think that Mr. 10’s pose here pretty much expresses how this week has unfolded. Is it just me, or does May always seem to get crazy as the end of the school year approaches and everything somehow has to cram into a few short weeks?

So: Let me try to emulate this feeling for you today by cramming the highlights of our week into one short post this morning.

Let’s start with the birds

In our last backyard chickens update I told you about how MashupDad picked up two new chicks… oh, just about a month ago now. The above picture demonstrates why you don’t impulse buy the adorable little baby chicks around Easter unless you’re prepared to start raising backyard chickens — because in just one short month Peepers and Winky here have turned into these gangly awkward teenagers!

We still have them separated from the full-grown chickens, but they’re getting there. They won’t start laying for a few more months, though. (Read more on our ongoing backyard chickens adventures here.)

Life is like a box of… bees?

In case you’ve ever wondered how a box of bees sounds… they’re loud. Louder than my phone was able to pick up properly in this video, actually… MashupDad picked up some packages of bees this past weekend and then installed two of them at a friend’s home in Lisle, since she’s hosting a couple of his hives on her property this year. (Yes, you can order packages of bees and pick up a box full — complete with queen — in the spring when the weather’s right to install them in a hive!)

MashupDad also installed a box of bees in this year’s new observation hive. Think of this one as kind of an ant farm for bees, where we’ll be able to see their activity and how they build out comb etc. He is going to write up more about how this works, so I’ll post some “after” photos of the hive full of bees another day; It’s pretty cool.

Did the bees leave you all fidgety?

Here’s a bonus video in case your kids (or, OK, you…) are also obsessed with fidget spinners…

Mr. 10 will show you how he made one out of K’Nex! He does also have a real fidget spinner (as does MashupDad now on his desk at work) that I picked up off Amazon. If you don’t have an elementary age kid, these are all the rage — if you do have an elementary school kid and you haven’t heard of these yet, do realize that a lot of teachers have now banned their use in class before you invest in one.

Mr. 10’s busy (as a bee) week

We just got this year’s tae kwon do photos back, and yes: He really is that flexible! This week has also included a beginning band concert, an open house at school, and a tae kwon do camp coming up this weekend.

High School Guy’s busy (as a bee) week

So yesterday High School Guy received his acceptance letter to IMSA! Which means that in a few short months he’ll be living in Aurora most of the time. Yikes, but… WOW. We’re very proud of him. 🙂 Meanwhile, his math team from his current high school is headed out to compete at state this weekend.

Bad Kitty Lucy’s busy (as a bee) week, plus: Dishwasher Madness

Our dishwasher broke a while back, but I guess I can’t blame the Notorious BKL for that (although I’d really, really like to…). We finally bit the bullet and ordered a new one, which was supposed to be delivered Tuesday between 10AM and 2PM. So I sit home waiting. And sit. And sit. And… They show up at… 3:15 with no call and no apology, opine that the new dishwasher wouldn’t fit in the space because of an electrical box in the way behind the old one, and leave with it still on their truck.

Long story short: The multi-talented MashupDad moved the electrical box and is working from home today to be here for the re-delivery attempt. Which was supposed to be between 10AM and 2PM. And… they showed up at 9:20AM and just finished with the installation as I type. (That’s about right, lol.) And BKL spent some time locked away this morning because she’s inclined to be… helpful.

Oh, I also had to clear out under the kitchen sink for this little project. How on earth did I have all of this stuff packed in there (plus three rolls of paper towels, not pictured)?! I also don’t remember ever buying these Mr. Clean reusable wipes and have no idea how old they are, but am kind of excited to have found them after reading the reviews.

I’m sure there’s much more to our mad, mad week —  but I’ll just leave you this morning with this parting photo of a boy and his cat. (Because I have to go buy birthday gifts to start preparing for next week’s madness, which will range from a roller skating party to an orchestra concert!)

So… How’s your week going? 🙂