Vicious Cycle?

I think I have found myself in a "vicious cycle".

I am naturally a "night owl". I find myself very sleepy in the afternoons, but around 7:00 p.m. I feel like a new woman! I am wide awake an full of energy. My problem comes when I don't get tired until 1:00 a.m. and I can't get out of the bed in the morning!! I hate mornings! I think it should be a crime to have to get up while it is still dark. So I ask myself, would getting up earlier help, or would it just make me a CRABBY, busy person? I think that it would be the latter.

Here is a basic schedule of my day:

8:30 a.m. - get out of bed, cup of coffee, breakfast

9:00 a.m. - start yelling at the kids to "get up!!!", get online...check messages, write down kids lesson plan for school for the day, (and to be honest) play a little Treasure Madness on Facebook.

9:30 a.m. - threaten kids with bodily harm if they don't "GET OUT OF THE BED THIS INSTANT!!!"

9:45 a.m. - start home school (while the kids are still eating breakfast, because I'm tired of waiting for them)

10:00 a.m.- (while kids are on the computer doing school independently) I practice my guitar, take care of my birds, do Bible study, help the kids when they have questions, and work on my Medical Transcription class.

10:30 a.m.- Walk on the treadmill for 1/2 hour, lift weights for 15 min. and do yoga for 20 min.

12:00 - 3:00 p.m. - listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio, while at the same time eat lunch, clean house, pay bills, and do anything else that I need to do. (Oh, and take a shower...if I have time.)

3:00- 4:30 p.m. - Work on my Medical Transcription class

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Cook, eat, and clean up dinner

6:00 - 10 or 11:00 p.m. - Work on Medical Transcription class.

(9:00 - 9:30 p.m.) - start the process of getting the kids in bed. Kids in bed no later than 9:30.

11:00 - 1:00 - try to unwind and get sleepy so I can actually go to sleep.

I am finding myself a bit rushed and overwhelmed! I wish there were more hours in the day. I keep thinking that if I were able to get up earlier...then I could start the whole "process" earlier. My schedule is so tight, that I have no room for the unexpected, or if something happens to take longer than planned. I keep trying to look for things I can "cut" from the schedule...but they are all important! I find that the thing that gets "cut" most often is my exercise...which I hate to do because it makes me feel so much better.

Things are even more rushed lately, because I've FINALLY reached the practicum portion of the MT training. This is where I actually type reports. I LOVE IT! All of the things that I learned up to this point are finally in use, I realize that I have actually been learning, and it is all coming together! The problem is...I have 800 reports to type before I can schedule my final exam, pass the exam, apply for a job, and hopefully get hired and start bringing in some income. To this end, I've been devoting a lot more hours to my studies.

The vicious cycle is staying up so late, and getting up so late. I tell myself that in actuality I'm up the same amount of hours as most other people...it's just reverse of most other people. I have a friend who gets up EARLY!!! Like around 4:30 - 5:00 a.m., but by 9:00 p.m. she is toast...falling asleep on the couch. We are both up approximately 16 hours, but somehow, I still feel like a lazy bum because I sleep until 8:30...sometimes closer to 9:00. And, it stands to reason that my children would be on the same schedule as me, which makes me feel like I'm a bad mom.

So is it really a vicious cycle....no, I don't think so. I think it's just my "style". I would much rather be a happy night owl instead of a crabby morning person. Night owls, unite!

New Additions??? Not this time :(

Well, I made the tough decision and cleaned out the nest box....no babies this time. I decided to do it because a couple of days ago I noticed that one of the eggs had gotten cracked, and I knew that it wouldn't hatch so I discarded it. Then last night, I noticed that Rosy had thrown (purposely or by accident...I don't know) another of the eggs out of the box. I candled the eggs again, and only one looked fertile, and that one didn't look "right". I don't think Rosy incubated them correctly. All of the other "mama" birds I've had experience with, once they started incubating....NOTHING would get them off of the eggs. Rosy was on and off of the eggs too much. I think that is something that will change with experience.

I'm going to give them a month "off" to gain their strength. Then I will put the nest box back and see what happens. If nothing happens on the second attempt, I will have to wait until the Fall to try again. I don't like having babies during the summer months because I am too busy to take care of them.

I'm bummed, but..."if at first you don't succeed....try, try again!"

New Additions???? Will they EVER hatch???

Day 29 March 15 - I'm wondering if any of the eggs will hatch. According to my calculations, the first egg should have hatched on the 12th. I was figuring it might be off by a few days.

On Saturday I "candled" the eggs. That means I held each egg up to a bright light to see if they were fertilized. The eggs are so tiny, so it was no small feat, but I THINK at least 3 of the eggs are fertile. None of them looked like they were to the point that they would be hatching any time soon.

I'm still not sure if Rosy is incubating them correctly. I can't see inside the box without lifting the lid and whenever I approach the cage she scurries out of the box.

If I start calculating the hatch date starting with the day the last egg was laid, the first chick should hatch on the 22nd or 23rd. I figured it would be sooner than that though, because she started staying in the nest box consistently after the 2nd egg was laid. If I calculate the hatch date starting with the day the 2nd egg was laid, the first chick should have hatched by now. So I guess, if they are going to hatch, it could happen anytime between now and the 23rd. I will give it until the end of the month, if the eggs haven't hatched by then, they never will and I will have to throw them out and have Rosy and Rodney start all over again! I would be bummed if that happened.

Who's in control?

While my budgies are quietly incubating their eggs, I thought I would step away from that topic for awhile and write about something else.

The question of the day is Who is in control? I, like most people, want to be in control. I want everything in my little world to go according to "my plans." In striving for control, I have discovered so many things that are completely out of my control.

About 9 years ago, my thyroid gland decided to take a permanent vacation. Since that time I have been on medication to control it. Sometimes the medication works properly, and the problem is "in control". Other times the medicine doesn't work, and I feel completely "out of control." But really, in both cases....who is really "in control"?

About 2 years ago, my digestive tract decided to take a long and unscheduled vacation. (What's with all my body parts taking vacations without me!?!?) There were many times at the beginning where I thought I was literally going to die. Talk about being totally "out of control!" There was nothing I, nor the doctors could do to "control" the situation. It has taken many, many hours of detective work, trial and error, scouring the internet, and talking to health food professionals to ease my pain and regain some "control" over what my body does. Even though I have many more good days....who is really "in control"?

Several months ago, I approached a friend, out of love and concern, about something that I had noticed. This friend is a fellow Christian, and a younger woman. I felt that I should practice
Titus 2:3 "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (particularly vs.4&5) This friend got very angry, and has not spoken to me since. I mourn the loss of this friendship, and I feel completely "out of control". Although I know that my motive were pure, it does not stop me from wishing that I could change the situation, that I could regain "control".

So who IS in control? I know that ultimately, it is God who is in control. Does it make it any easier to accept the situations that I can't control?....Yes. Does it make it any easier to let go of these situations and LET God have control?.....No. It is something that I struggle with every day. But it is something that I strive for.....to let God have complete control, to trust that He knows what is best for me.

Today I have been very depressed and upset. I have been trying to lose a few pounds before Summer gets here. I have been very diligently exercising 6 days a week, and watching what I eat. The scale has NOT been my friend! I got on the scale this morning, only to discover that I had gained back 3 of the 5 pounds that I had lost! My daughter Olivia approached me a little while ago and said, "Mom, you've been keeping something from me all day. What is it?" So I told her that I gained 3 pounds. She said, "Well, God must have wanted you to gain them." WOW! Out of the mouth of babes! Oh, to have such a faith as that! To simply surrender everything to God and trust Him completely!

Though life will continue to throw me curve balls, I pray that I will learn my daughter's childlike faith and will remember that whatever happens, "God must have wanted it....", that God knows best.

New Additions??? continued....

Day 23 March 9- There's nothing much to report on my budgies. Rosy spends ALL of her time in the nest box now. She only comes out rarely to stretch her wings and get a drink or go poo. There hasn't been another new egg since March 4th, so I think she is officially done laying and is concentrating her efforts on incubating them now. I still think the first egg will hatch on or around March 12th (this Friday!!!!), but that could be off by a few days.

Rodney has gone into the nest box a few times. I really think he is lonely for Rosy. Sometimes he will get very agitated and hop around the cage and cling to the side and chirp really loudly. After he has his little "temper tantrum", he will settle back down again. I hope that he is a good daddy and helps out after the babies hatch. He has been a very attentive "husband", so I think he will make a good daddy too.

New Additions??? continued.....

Day 18. March 4- Sassy 7!!! I can't believe that Rosy is still laying eggs!! This time she laid the egg in the bottom of the cage, and I had to put it in the nest box. I'm not sure why she did that. I'm a little bit concerned that all she knows how to do is lay eggs and she won't actually incubate the eggs and have them hatch. Then, if the eggs actually hatch, will she know how to feed and take care of the babies? There are so many things to worry about when dealing with an inexperienced pair. I'm still not sure she is spending enough time sitting on the eggs. She is in the nest box most of the time, but she will leave the nest box at the smallest noise or disturbance near the cage. God created these little creatures to just KNOW how to do these things...so I guess I need to stop worrying about it and just see what happens. I'm expecting the first egg to hatch in 9 days....that is when the "proof is in the pudding" as they say. Here's the latest picture:

I took this picture with a different camera. The quality is better, but I'll have to zoom in more the next time I take a picture.

New Additions??? continued.....

Day 16. March 2 - Sensational 6!!!! Rosy laid her sixth egg today (seventh if you count the first one that broke). I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever STOP laying eggs! :) Here is a picture of the lovely eggs.

Budgie Trivia:

* Only the mother budgie feeds newly hatched chicks. When they begin to feather out, the dad will also begin feeding.

* A baby budgie is completely weaned from it's parents by 5 weeks of age!!

* With appropriate care and diet, a pet budgie can live to the ripe old age of 12-14 years!

New Additions??? continued....

Day 15. March 1 - Fabulous 5!!! I checked the nest box this morning and now there are 5 eggs!! :) It could have been laid late last night, but I'm writing it down as being laid today.



More budgie trivia:
* Most people refer to budgies as "parakeets" that is what they are most often called in the pet stores. In actuality, "parakeet" is a generic term that refers to any bird with long, slender tail feathers. There are many different varieties of "parakeets".

* It is a myth that birds only need seeds to eat. The fact is, most birds eat a variety of foods that include bugs and vegetation. For your pet budgie to remain healthy, they need a wide range of foods in their diet. Fresh vegetables, fruits and protein in the form of hard boiled eggs should make up the majority of their diets with seed playing a minor roll.

* Budgies can learn to talk! With the record holder knowing 400 words. Male budgies are more likely to talk, whereas female budgies are good whistlers.