Besides Chickening..

[2mnypets]

Well, my husband and I met when we were both in the military. We've been married for 17 years, have three children ages 16, 14 & 12. My son got his license this month so my therapy sessions have begun.

My husband works for Waste Management (trash company) and does the frontloader for our city. I'm a nurse who has taken a vacation for a little while from the whole scene. We live out in the country on roughly an acre with 4 Newfoundland dogs, one cat, 2 dwarf hamsters, one canary, 3 big fishtanks (2 saltwater reef with seahorses in one), unknown numbers of NZ rabbits (for meat) and 20 chickens. I have a 24' x 16' garden that we grow our own veggies in. We moved back to DH hometown when we got out of the military. We try to live off the land as much as we can. We all hunt and fish so there is always something good on the table to eat.

I have to agree that this is a great thread. It definetely closes the gap of miles that we all share across this country and world.

 

[kelli120]

I am an allocations technician for a distribution center, my husband is a security officer and part time artist. We don't have any kids right now, but have 2 dogs, an outdoor cat that adopted us and 4 chickens.

Aside from our real jobs, we are avid flea market hoppers. I buy, sell, trade and repair video games and systems, and my husband is a "salvage king", he finds stuff like bikes, yard equipment, electronics and whatnot, repairs it and sells it at the markets. It's a fun hobby that allows us to meet people and even if we only make enough to play a few nickel slots at the casino, it was worth it.

 

[CarriBrown]

Side note to the teachers: My brother was a "Birthmark". I can't tell you how many times my parents got the "Your-kid-has-ADD-and-needs-meds" talk. Turns out he just needed to grow out of that stage (my parents never had any problems handling him) and now he's a Mechanical Engineer and working on his Masters.

Anyway, DH and I are Southern California natives. We are both 29 and just bought our second house. He works for the City of Corona in the Fleet Services department and I am a buyer for a motorcycle distribution company. We are working on the marketing side of a business we are starting, Fleet Efficency Concepts. It should be ready to launch May 1st.
MY goal is to have a kid and be a stay at home mom and do the operations side of the business, but DH and I are still "discussing" the child thing.

I've been told by about a million people that I should be a vet, but I hate school!

 

[eldiablo]

I am in the military and my wife is a pharmacy tech. I just went and bought chickens one day with out asking her. So here we are 5 months into it and she loves the fresh eggs.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it.

I have had two lives, so I'll tell you about both. First, there was my life BC (before kids) during which I was a video producer and director. I worked in this field for quite a number of years after graduating with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in radio and TV. Hubby was working and pursuing his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology before doing his hours and sitting for the tests. (Btw Carri, his dissertation was on ADD and he would agree with you that ADD is overly diagnosed.) During this time, we did a bit of traveling, twice to Europe.

Then we had kids.

While pregnant, I was working in the television industry, working on a masters degree, and planned to continue with both and raise a child. . . . until he was born 7 weeks early. Being a woman in a field of men, I had to work twice as hard, including carrying heavy equipment while pregnant. It didn't work out so good.

With a preemie, I learned real quick that the whole plan was going to have to change. We sat down and figured it out and I left my career. With the changes in technology, I knew the change would be permanent. That was soooooooooo hard to do!

Hubby's practice is full and I don't have to work. But, since I'm used to the fast paced line of work that I was in, I fill my time in many areas. We have two kids, 11 and 9, a geriatric cat, and our three chickens that we raise here in the city. I volunteer at their school, grow a veggie garden, and I choose to work for my husband. I do all the billing and bookkeeping. It's not my favorite thing to do, but it has wonderful plusses. My desk has a great view of the backyard where I get to sit and work and watch the chickens go about their business. I set my own hours so it's wonderful to be able to be involved in the kids' lives and be at their school when they win an award or a need a driver for a field trip.

I'd love to do what I do and have acreage, but that's not gonna happen here in So. Cal!

 

[homechick]

I love this thread! I knew there would be more teachers out there because when you feel your blood boiling, heart breaking and patience thinning, you need something to think of. I teach High School Art. I'm a first year teacher (24 years old) and I have to tell you.. it's different than I expected! I have many "children" that scare me daily.
My parents divorced when I was young. Some of my only memories of my early childhood involved my grandmothers chickens. A poem was even written about how I would stay int he chicken yard till dusk. I was the only one that WANTED to clean the coop. I can't even tell you why I wanted to do that. But I did. We moved to Saudi Arabia when i was in 3rd grade and I grew up there. I loved it. No chickens though. I moved back in High School and following culture shock and many other issues, I ended up pregnant by my second boyfriend... at age 17. Maybe this is why I make a good mother to my chickens.. but i love being a mom. Instinct I guess? Being a teen mom didn't make me any less devoted. I started college when he was 1 year and I was a straight A student (Nerd). I love creating and I'm not half bad at it.
Anyway, I have many more interests but they almost all involve some kind of nurturing. It's so... calming. I now have two sons, one 5, the other almost 1 and I also have a loving fiance that supports my wierd hobbies but doesn't jump into them either. Now that I finally live on my own, right outside city limits... I can have my chickens once more. I want to do it perfectly too. Funny thing is, I'm renting my grandmothers old house.. the same one that had the chicken yard that I spent as much time in as possible. I notice others mention how chickens got them through hard times... sometimes I wonder why the chickens are the only thing I remember from a rough time in my childhood. I did not get chickens just for their eggs.. I got them to nurish my soul.

 

[shemarie]

Sherry here, I am a secretary at a grade school. Married for 25 years...my husband works for the state of KS as a signing traffic engineer. We have 3 kids...23, 29 and 13. My oldest is getting married this summer...so that is hectic. I have 4, soon to be 6 chickens, 2 soon to be 4 Nigerian dwarf goats, a dog and a cat. We live on 3 acres and wish it was 40. Life is good.

 

[teachumusic]

I am a music teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom to 2 little kiddies and 23 chicks and big hens. I teach privately at home now. I am also a professional violinist/trumpeter. Weird combo, but it gets me lots of weddings!

My husband is a History Teacher for HS kids. He coaches Lacrosse and is also a musician. He playes with the Mummers. (A Philadelphia thing). The chickens are all his. I help out a little...I like the chicks and collecting eggs....

He does all of the cleaning. It was HIS idea, but I am hooked though. They are great for the kids. We get lots of visitors who come just to see our chickens.

 

[arwmommy]

Ok, here we go!

DH and I have been married for 13 years. We met at BYU, he graduated with his masters in Accounting-Tax and I with my bachelors in Sociological Deviance (Deviant Behavior/Criminal Psychology!!!!)

I grew up in So Calif. and he grew up in Maryland, so after graduation we went to the east coast and DH worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers. We had our son there (now 8) and he had very serious medical problems including 2 open heart surgeries and a year in ICU. He came out with a tracheostomy, on a ventilator, with oxygen, a ton of machines and a nurse 24/7 in our home (oh yeah-- and just over 5 million dollars in medical bills--- REALLY.) He is now doing great with none of the "accessories" that we dealt with for his first few years (all the equiptment, monitors and pumps!)

We then moved to CA and lived in my parents guest house until we could recover emotionally and financially. When Alec was 4.5 years, we had our daughter Maclaine. She is a crazy Daddy's girl!!

DH is a partner in a large firm and I am a stay at home volunteer--LOL!!! I am in the kids class every Friday for 3.5 hours, I am very involved in the youth program in our church, I do Meals on Wheels, and do some Lactation Education and frequently get calls from aquaintances that say "My sister/cousin/friend just had a baby with a heart defect, what should she read? Where should she go for surgery? What are good websites? Can she call you and ask you questions? etc etc" Last week my own sister had a baby with a heart defect who had surgery 2 days ago. He has had a lot of complications, and it has transported me back to when my own son was sick. It has been a brutal week for our family, to say the VERY least. This has dominated my life for the last week.

In my spare time

I procrastinate doing laundry by preparing our organic garden, researching and getting giddy about our upcoming baby chicks, baby my 105 pound chocolate Lab, spend rediculous amounts of time on cnn.com, spend time with my sick grandmother who lives nearby, cleanup the house while chatting on the phone with friends who live from Hawaii to New York.

Oh, and I also am still madly in love with my husband!---We have been very blessed, even though we have had a crazy life so far! And we are only in our mid-30's!!!

 

[MarkR]

Quote:
Oh I don't mind kids with ADD. And you're right, it'w way too convenient and overused as a label. Some of my favorite students have come with that label. Being a male teacher, I tend to get the "problem" students (I know, gender stereotyping, but I don't make these decisions). I have almost always found the "problems" to be highly overblown.

However, the kid I was refering to with my "birthmark" comment is not ADD, he's ED. He's living in a horrible situation, just a step up from being raised by wolves (meaning no disrespect to wolves), and at the age of 8 is one of the most violent individuals I have ever met. He's knocked one child unconscious, and sent another to the hospital with a broken arm, both with a smile on his face. We are trying to get him placed in a better situation, but I'm afraid it might be too late.

I have very little doubt he will, in years to come, either be president or the next criminal genius that takes over the mob (no disrespect to any mobsters on the board, if you've been a president, well. . . shame on you).

Mark