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I want to thank everyone for your comments yesterday and support. I meant to post last night, but I was just too tired from cleaning in the barn yesterday and trying to get caught up on laundry among other things. The barn was backed up from being away so it was a lot of work trying to get it back to a more manageable level. Still got a ways to go but I made progress. 

Monday night male kid, whom I've just been referring to as Bello, Puffin, baby, etc at this point, ate and jumped out of his box on his own. Then he proceeded to jump around the living room and kitchen following me wherever I went. He was quite active. It was very positive but it's still very touch and go - I am optimistic right now but cautiously so. They are so fragile at this stage. This morning he didn't wake me up as usual at 6 AM so I woke up worried. I came out into the living room and peeked into his box and he was just sleeping, as soon as he heard me he was up and looking for food. Now that he's gotten a little stronger, he apparently doesn't need to wake up so early! Hopefully this trend of getting stronger keeps going, he's getting lots of TLC sleeping by the wood stove, playing with the little dogs (whom he loves) and sleeping on the couch with me... so hopefully that helps too.

He's bouncing around the house and playing like crazy now, typical goat kid, like he was born with springs inside of him. 

Brie, the mama of the premature kids, is doing well. She had no complications other than the fact she dropped those kids way early - the kids were delivered well and she is eating well, and acting perfectly normal. 

Monday at the Vet clinic Rollie got part 1 of his last set of puppy shots - he'll get the rest in two weeks. We wanted to split up the shots so as not overwhelm his little self- which is always a good thing to do for little dogs. He weighed 5 1/2 pounds, a pound or so more than last month when he was weighed. He's growing like a weed and quickly outgrowing Norman. Last time he was a social butterfly at the Vet clinic, this time, completely different dog. Scared, clawing my arm, hiding his face. When he got his shot last time, it didn't hurt him. He was eating a cookie and didn't even notice he got a needle - but when he came home, he was hurting. He was crying and hiding his face in the blankets. I gave him some medicine for the pain and he was quickly back to his normal self - but I could see that he remembered that. He had no other reason to be afraid except that he must have remembered the pain after his last visit. This time however he had no problem, it didn't slow him down at all.

Douglas went in to see Dr. Greg too, so he could get a couple of odd little growths checked out. The one on his chest looked like skin tag or mole but the one on his face I just wasn't sure about. When it first showed up a while ago I thought it was a pimple - Pugs get those... but it didn't go away. His pores on his face sometimes get swollen up or irritated but it quickly goes away... this didn't. Plus it just looked different.

Dr. Greg said it looked like it was also a skin tag and that neither growth was anything bad. He quickly removed the tag on Douglas face by freezing the area and just nipping it off. Douglas was an angel about the entire thing and unlike Rollie, he was very happy to be at the Vet clinic. It looks great, like there was never anything there.

After, handsome as ever. 

Norman escaped this trip to the Vet, but it will be his turn soon enough, hopefully just for his yearly physical in May though and for no other reason. 

It has been quite warm outside, about 40 F. I've been doing morning barn checks (for babies) in my nightgown and not been cold at all. Today however we are getting plenty of heavy wet snow to make up for the enjoyment of the warmer temperatures. It's a mess outside. 

I looked out the window this afternoon and saw the Wild turkey Toms all huddled up at the bottom of the driveway.

Just waiting for supper time. 

My kitchen helpers have been multiplying.

Yesterday Kevin had to run into the city to return a router that doesn't work before it was too late to return it, and I had planned on going with him even though I am so sick of driving around right now. All I want is to not leave the farm again for a month. But I decided to just give him my list and stay home so I could maybe, actually get something done. People ask me all the time, "how do you do all this stuff" and the answer is, it's all about priority. When there is a sick kid, the priority is the kid. And with so many critters, usually at least five of them are taking priority. Other things get backed up, laundry, cleaning, ah... brushing my hair...every day things... But while those things are important they are secondary. 

So I stayed home to just at least try and catch up. I knew I wouldn't get ahead - I am so ready to start spring cleaning, but at least if I could get somewhat caught up, I'd feel better. 

But priorities first. I wanted to clean. The baby goat wanted me to hold him so he could have a nap. He wins not because it's easier for me to just sit down and not do what I was about to, but because he needs my love. He needs that attention. Thankfully I also have a husband who puts up with that, he knows sometimes he has to wait to be fed and taken care of because there is a goat ahead of him in line, or a dog. 

 I managed to get a lot of laundry done, the kitchen cleaned, the birds cleaned, the Prairie dogs cleaned,  the dogs all got their nails trimmed, and I cleaned out the coffee pot which keeps giving me bitter coffee, and did animal chores. Obviously there are 5 million other things to do, but at least I feel like I made some progress. I'll take what I can get at this point.

Last night I was pretty tired. I had to force my eyes to stay open while I finished drying a load of dog and goat blankets. As soon as the blankets were dry, everyone got clean bedding, I folded the rest, made sure everyone was alright for bed, and then proceeded to crawl into bed and pass out. My deepest sleep is always done from now until about the end of May... Because by the end of the day, I'm five times as tired as I usually am. I can't watch T.V. read, or hold even a simple general conversation with Kevin... I'm just gone. Many times we've been talking and then poof, I'm gone and he's left talking to himself. Or whatever animal is listening to him. I know the birds listen...sometimes.

Tomorrow we get up and start cleaning up the wet mess from today hopefully. We also need to haul in firewood since we have barely any, and hopefully this weekend, we'll be able to get to work on the roof of the sugar shack. Maple time is quickly approaching.