Eckenrode Family

The Weekend

It feels as if summer has arrived. The temperatures have been in the 90s, we've been swimming in the pool and Memorial weekend was celebrated with a parade and a picnic. The boys have been playing and swimming with all that they have and collapsing in bed at night. We went for the first time to our town's Memorial Day Parade and immediately decided to make it a yearly tradition.
Miles & Ben with their cousins, waiting for the start of the parade.

The Coop

Tim worked with his dad this weekend to put the finishing touches on the coop and it's looking so good I stop to turn around to admire it whenever I walk away.
They trimmed the windows, finished the steps and added the guillotine style door operated with a rope and pulley system which can be opened and shut by our kids.
The only thing left to finish are the nesting boxes and the permanent run for the chicks. Then we just sit and wait for those first eggs to appear around November.

Out to the Coop

I’ve been very busy lately trying to keep our chicks happy, warm and safe from our other pets and from each other. I didn’t realize how big of a job this was going to be. Our dog (a Great Pyrenees/ Retriever mix) has taken it upon himself to be the protector of the flock. It is as if he’s been waiting his entire life to get his own flock of chicks. While this is great to see, it can also be stressful when neighborhood dogs come to check them out and when our own cats come for a peek. Also, we’ve been feverishly working on finishing the coop while these guys continued to grow at an astronomical speed. Within 2 weeks they had outgrown the 2x4 feeding tub we’d set up in the sunroom. They were pecking at each other and flying out of the tub, pooping on the floor. So, I was maintaining 2 to 3 containers of chicks and bringing them outside daily to stretch their legs. We finished the coop up, not stopping for the pouring rain. We finally finished it up on Sunday night and out they went.They seem very happy in their new home. I know I'm happy to see them leave my sunroom.





(See our kitty checking them out from her perch?)

 

Was Bin Laden a Dad?

For most of yesterday I avoided the topic of Bin Laden all together with Miles. My plan was to avoid telling him about it and reminding him about the events of 9/11 which I've talked with him about before. Then I realized that no matter how difficult it might be to explain these incredibly complicated events to a 6 year old, it was a real opportunity to talk about compassion and tolerance.

I was right, it was difficult. But, there is something very valuable in the exercise of explaining complicated world events to someone in a very elementary way. It really cuts to the core of the event. I reminded him about what happened on 9/11, explanining that it was important that we remove Bin Laden from power. I tried to explain to him that while I do not believe in killing someone because they've killed, it was the only way to stop him. Then I attempted to explain why there were people on tv cheering about this man's death.

He said, "Was he a dad?"

"Yes. He had many children." I said.

"Hmm. So now they just have a mom..."

No matter how much explaining I do about how horrific the events of 9/11, the death of this man really just comes down to this for him. This is the way that he can relate. I didn't explain how many children were left orphaned from the acts that Bin Laden's committed. I just left it at that because I guess this is his way of showing compassion and that is all that is important to me.

For a great resource on discussing these events with kids check out this site: http://htekidsnews.com/osama-bin-laden

Illustration is by Catherine Ormaeche and is from the book The Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art of 9/11 (Abrams).