saving chicks

This is what we saw yesterday afternoon while the chicks were outside, a hawk.

6/14

The chicks are still here, much bigger, their tails and feathers have grown, and we are letting them roam outside with our supervision to keep an eye out for the hawk, cats or other pesky creatures. 6/14

06/03 the chicks get cuter every day...still not keeping them though.

06/03 Michael & Belli spending some time with the chicks

06/01/10 Belli watches them while they spend time outside

This post has nothing to do with crafts, sewing or parties, but I just wanted to share what I did today. For the last couple of months there have been chicken around our property, and I have been feeding them mostly to entertain the kids and because I like the sound they make when they find food...-it brings back memories when I was 9 and had my own chicken-but lately it went from a hen with 6 chicks of which only 1 survived, the others were taken by the hawk -we actually saw it happen- to about 17 of which 4 are roosters, 5 are hens and the rest are small chicks. It has gotten out of control, I don't know who the owners are but I don't think they even know how many they have or where they roam. For the past couple of weeks I have been watching this hen, she had been laying eggs, I just did not know where, and lately I saw her all fluffy all the time, then I didn't see her at all until yesterday when I was planting some flowers by my backdoor. There she was with 6 tiny chicks, all fluffy and barely standing, I feed her some rice and water and then peaked under the steps to see what was going on. There were about 7 more unhatched eggs, of which 1 had already cracked the shell so I left her alone and went on about my business. This morning, after I dropped off the kids to school I went to check on her, and her STILL 6 chicks, I found 3 eggs had cracks on them including the one from last night, the poor chick was barely making a sound, so I decided to help it. Here is the video...

After I got this chick out I took it to the mama but she kept leaving him unattended while she roamed with the other 6 chicks, who are very alert and walking now. While the chick was unattended the ants were getting to him so I decided to rescue him -again- and keep an eye on the other eggs. At about noon I kept hearing little chicks cry so I went to take a peek and found 3 more that had hatched but were cold and full of ants so I rescued them too, the other 3 eggs left were not cracked but I could hear them crying. At about 4 this afternoon I tried giving them back but she won't stay in one spot and they can't walk yet, then when I checked on them again I found cracks on all them but 1 chick was not alive anymore so I decided to assist the other 2 in getting out of the shell. I have 6 chicks total and they are all doing great they are all fluffy now, they will be spending the night inside since they can't stand by themselves yet and I will try to give them back to their mama tomorrow.

Thursday 5/27 a.m. update: This morning, as soon as I woke (6 A.M.)I went to check on the chicks, they were all still alive but 4 of them do not look so good (these are the last four I rescued) so I took them outside and put them in the sunshine. At about 10:30 on the 4th time I checked on them 3 had already died :( and 1 is still alive but he doesn't look good. The other two (including the one in the video)are very alert and chirping a lot! I buried the ones that did not make it I put the 2 in a different container because they might hurt the other one. I will keep checking on the small chick and hopefully he can pull tru. I love animals but this is the reason I do not like to keep any, my kids and I get attached to them and then is hard when something goes bad.

Tuesday 6/01 p.m. update The 3 chicks are still alive and doing well, and Michael, Gabby and Belli have already named them -after themselves, of course!- I on the other hand, do not wish to keep them. They are very cute and all but they are too much for me to handle, so I am looking for a good home for them -let me know if you are interested-

Alejandra's Graduation announcements

Alejandra is graduating?! that was Belli's reaction when she saw me working on her announcements. It was even worse when I told her it was from pre-K, since Belli is also in the same age group. After I explained to her that not all schools do a graduation for pre-k ers some do it for kinder and some, like Belli's school do not do it at all until the students leave 5th grade.
I also promised her that next year when she finishes kinder we'll throw a "little" -we all know what little means to us- end of school party, and she was content with the idea.

She looks so grown up!

BTW- this will be a great picture to be paired with her senior H.S picture in about 13 years...

My girls room...

My girls room is always a work in process. First there was the making of the bed -headboard and bed frame-, then there was the entertainment center -which for those of you who didn't know, my wonderful handy husband made from scratch, although Belli and I helped with the painting, it was mostly his project-, then there was the rescued chair and the small bench, which I was so excited about and forgot to take before pictures, but believe me they looked nothing like they doe now. Then the chest came and we put it on hold for a long time, but it is finished now! It seems that these kind of pieces follow us -maybe because everyone in our family knows we like to "restore and reuse" old furniture, I can't wait to see what else is comming our way : )

The chest turned out pretty good, I had a lot of doubting people with the color green but I'm glad I stuck with it.

see the before pics of the chest here www.belligusher.blogspot.com/2010/03/lane-chest.html

This chair belongs to Gabby -can you tell?-

The making of the headboard cost more than we expected ($175) but was still cheaper than the store bought ones. Here you can see the bench with the pink fabric -it was a garage sale find- I painted it antique white and reupholstered it, now it serves as a seating area for the build a bears...a couple of them at least.

of course Belli had to pose with the new bed!

the entertainment center that Gus made from scratch -02/2008

the upholstery fabric matches the runner on the entertainment center

Belli and I painted it

pincushion

...doesnt this make you want to sew?

I had made one of this for my mom last mother's day and had enough fabric for another one, so I got to work and here it is, currently listed on etsy www.bellygusher.etsy.com

canvas

I love to draw and paint, I just don't have the time and patience to do so anymore! Last week I found these 8X10 canvas sets on sale ($3.00) at Hobby Lobby and bought 5 sets!! they are always good for a last minute present or even for the kids to express their creative side. I made one for Lexie (her b-day was this weekend) and one for Samantha (just because) I will be making something for my son next because he already complained I haven't made him anything in a while : (

I made Samantha a bow holder

Samantha's was made to match her crib bedding

Lexie's 1st birthday -minnie mouse-

It seems like just a couple of weeks that I was making Griselda's baby shower invites and favors,
(March 2009) and now her little girl is turning 1. She decided to do a minnie mouse theme, but instead of going with the classic colors, it'll be pink on pink.

I used the disney font on the banner and the cards for the centerpieces to tie the theme together

banner

chocolate pops

completed centerpiece

back of centerpiece

the invitation

I found the disney font and was able to download for free! and it completes the look just right. I only wish I had the time and resources when Michael and Gabby had their mickey party at 2, I storebought everything : (

Michael & Gabby's 12th Birthday Party

the porch was the perfect setting for the main decor: the birthday banner, pompoms and lanterns

In all the rush and excitement I forgot to place the cupcake toppers before I took the picture...I realized this until I downloaded the pics the next day : (

the cake was made by my sister's husband's cousin (somehow, I always end up knowing someone who knows how to do something)

After spending a couple of hours putting these sets of utensils together (80) I decided not to do the same for the desert forks and spoons...

so, I ran to Target's dollar bin and got this green carryall, and it looks pretty cute too.

the centerpieces are actually outdoor candle holders. I filled them up with shredded tissue and topped it with a pinwheel and lollipops.

these candy jars are filled with M&M's and will be part of the tables centerpiece

I had to make 45 candy bags -every year there is 1 or 2 new members in the family!!-

these are the favors for about 36 adults

May 6
I am proud of myself, I have done more than I expected! the invites, the banner, and the cupcake toppers. This week I'll be doing some pom-poms and trying to figure out the table decor, I found these cute pinwheels in the coordinating colors for less than $.45 ea and I am sure I can use them somewhere. I do have another party to finish-minnie mouse- so hopefully by this weekend I can have a sample of my centerpieces.

I plan to make about 15 of these pom-poms (not to be confused with flowers), they are fairly inexpensive but a bit time consuming...it's OK, I have time : )

April 30

so by now you should know that in exactly 1 month my twins are turning 12. And I am practically forcing a party on them! Last year they convinced us to buy them the Nintendo dsi instead of a birthday party, and this year they already had plans to pull a fast one on me! what is wrong with these kids? what do you mean you don't want a party?! Although I was able to convince them that as a child a party is needed -because when you're an adult it is not always possible to celebrate your special day- I was unable to compromise with them on a theme, it was mostly Gabby who didn't want to participate. We agreed that as long as it wasn't girly she could pick the colors for it, and since she is a not girly at all & blue and green are her favs, it worked out perfectly...so it looks like I'll be busy over the weekend. I'm so glad the porch is finished just in time! (take a look at the updated post on the finished project)

Baptism Invitations

I recently had an order for Baptism Invitations, these are very simple to make but after assembling a couple of them it gets a bit boring. They turned out great with a bit of lilac on black and white.

another poodle party!!!

A good friend of mine called me after seeing last month's post -Alejandra's poodle party- and asked me if she could pass my number to another friend of hers who was looking for "girly" party supplies for her daughter's upcomming birthday. Of course I said YES! so after getting all the information down, I got to work. This package consists of 12 invites, 12 empty goodie bags, 1 personalized birthday banner, and 24 cupcake toppers.

cupcake toppers are 4 designs including initial and # (6 of each design)

birthday banner is personalized Happy 5th Birthday Alyssa

If you or someone you know is intersted in this package in any theme the price is $65