Category: Sleep

Bright Eyed and Fluffy

1/9/2014

One advantage of mommy and daddy going back to work is that we're so well rested. We love to have them at home, but I have to admit that it's nice to get back on our regular schedule. It's good to have time to play, eat, chat back and forth with one another and (best of all) take naps without parronts hovering over us all the time.

Don't tell them I said that.

OK, truth is, they've noticed our increase in energy when they get home from work, and I suspect they already know this. I'm snuggling daddy more than ever, Chloe is stuck to mommy's shoulder like Velcro, and even Ollie is perking up and more energetic than he has been in a couple of months. Well, he was already perking up, but his recovery seems to be progressing well (especially since that polar vortex is gone and it warmed up to our normal January mid-50's today).

No doubt, the extra rest is helping us birdies. Unfortunately, mommy and daddy are worn out from working, so we try to comfort them as best as we can. That's what we do! We're such good birds. It's all about being happy together, which we are.

At least the weekend is almost here, and that's good. Weekends are always good.

That's all today. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend.

Bye!

Humans Are Weird

11/10/2013

Sometimes, humans can be so silly. For example: about an hour ago, daddy decided to go outside to test fire his shotgun in the back of the woods (silly decision #1). He fired 5 rounds. It was loud (of course - it woke my butt up). Within a few minutes, mommy's mommy called and said she though the in-laws had been shot (silly #2 and #3 - what a conclusion, and like mommy was going to march over there and check out if a madman with a gun was roaming around!). It was quite humorous sorting all of that out. But it interrupted our nap, so there you have it - life with humans is silly.

And we need our sleep because frankly, this time change from last week is messing with me. Now it's light in the morning and getting dark when the parronts get home from work. What's up with that? Time changes don't just mess with humans - it messes with your avian companions too! Add to that the fact that mommy woke up at 7:30 a.m. yesterday (she was so excited about going to the gun show and to see Thor: The Dark World that she couldn't get back to sleep), and we're sleepy parrots. And they're off for Veteran's Day tomorrow, too! I hope they retire upstairs at a decent hour tonight, at least. Our schedule is all off now. And then the drama from this afternoon has us pooped out.

Humans. They'll wear you out. But they take great care of us. They love us and we love them. They can just be so weird from time to time.

That's all today. I need to preen after all of this "adventure." Take care and have a great week.

Luv,

Ollie

A Refreshing Reprieve

8/16/2013

Zack, Chloe and I had some good snoozing weather today! It was in the mid to high 60’s and raining all day. That’s about 30 degrees below our normal temperatures this time of year (and 40 degrees below our typical heat index!). What a pleasant day! Most people would say “oh how gloomy,” but we enjoyed the break from the scorching heat of summer. It was a refreshing reprieve. Plus, some time for “power naps” did all of us birds some good. We have some visits and celebrations
ahead.

Daddy’s birthday is next Wednesday. Last night, mommy and Chloe disappeared upstairs for
a little while to order his present from us. So much for Chloe being mad at mommy about that bath on Wednesday. Those giggling girls never really get mad at each other. They go together like mashed potatoes and gravy – or macaroni and cheese, if that’s more in line with your idea of a culinary delight. But the gift is ordered, confirmation received, and daddy should receive it Wednesday. I can’t say what it is because he reads this blog. I’m no dummy. I’m a smart bird. We’re all smart birds.

And now it’s the weekend! Yay! Mommy and daddy’s friends are coming to visit tomorrow – a couple from the lower part of the state. They’re happy about that. They haven’t seen Joe and Elizabeth in a couple of months, so I know they’re all happy to have a chance to hang out again. We like them, too. They’re good folks, and they’re always nice to us.

I think the visit will be good for mommy and daddy too. It’s daddy’s busiest time of the year and he’s been stressed out this week. And mommy’s been busy with book edits for her sci-fi novel coming out in November, so it will do her some good to get out from behind the computer, between that and work. She finished the edits and turned them in Wednesday, but I think her brain’s still a little scrambled. I guess it takes her brain a while to get from the moons of Jupiter in the year 3001 back to Earth in 2013. She’s so funny in “writer mode.”

I hope you’re all doing well and had a Happy Friday today. Have a great weekend.

Luv,

Ollie

Thanks, Twitter Friends!

8/6/2013

I want to thank all of you for your care and concern over the weekend. I know that daddy tweeted that I wasn’t feeling well. It turns out that it was sleep deprivation. We got in a bad habit of staying up too late around the weekend, and it caught up with me. Thankfully, mommy and daddy have worked hard to get back on schedule, and I’ve been doing much better the past couple of days.

I think one thing that’s been an issue is that daddy switched work schedules recently. In June and July, he works longer days Monday thru Thursday and has Fridays off. That’s thrown me off and mommy said she noticed that each Friday I seemed a bit more “off.” Daddy’s back to working his regular, 5 day week now. I’m sorry he doesn’t have Fridays off any more, but being back on our normal schedule has helped me. We’re going to have to figure out a way to make that schedule work better for me, Zack and Ollie next summer. We love having our parronts home more, but if our sleep schedule gets disrupted too much then we get snappy. They’re working on making sure we have a more consistent daily schedule now.

Plus, I lost a few feathers over the weekend. I’m not sure if my fall molt is starting or if that was a side effect of the sleep deprivation. Even though it’s still summer in South Carolina and will be for at least another 6 weeks, I suppose the “nature cycle” is going into the late summer patterns and molting time is upon us. Ollie just finished his molt last week and I guess Zack and I have turns coming soon. That always makes us feel kind of blah too.

Thanks to all of you for being such great friends! I’m flattered that you were concerned about my well being. You guys are the best. I couldn’t ask for better friends than you. Thank you and God bless you all! I’m sorry that I didn’t blog sooner, but mommy is my typist and she’s been very busy trying to keep things going at home lately. It seems the chores and errands avalanche on her every now and then, and it happened over the past couple of days. Plus, August is a busy time for the parronts with work, lots of birthdays, family and friend visits, etc. Sometimes, keeping the routine business of day to day living is a job in itself!

That’s all today. Take care.

Luv,

Chloe

Flock Member Down!

9/26/2012

Oh my goodness, there's an emergency in our nest. Mommy is sick with a sinus infection. We have a flock member down!

She went to the doctor, and they gave her antibiotics to kill the nasty oogie-boogies in her sinuses. The problem is, the antibiotic makes her feel tired and achey until she adjusts to it. Now how's that supposed to work? You feel bad being sick, and the cure makes you feel bad too. Goodness, humans can't win sometimes, can they?

We spent the day trying to comfort mommy and make sure she was ok. Zack and Chloe screamed every time she got too quiet while daddy was at work. Once he got home, he helped out because he talked to her and she stayed up to talk back. She complained - something about getting sleep, but aren't we supposed to make sure our flock members are ok? Our humans usually don't roost in the middle of the day. She was just laying there, way too still. We had to check on her and daddy wasn't here until 4:30. If we can't get out of the cage to do it, we have to scream. I don't think she gets it.

Anyway, she's up now and seems to be doing ok. She's still achey, but I think the medicine is starting to work. I hope she feels better tomorrow.

That's all today. I hope you and your flock are well. Take care.

Bye!

Ollie

A Conure's Top 5 Favorite Things List

7/13/2012

As mommy is preparing a weekend blog entry on 5 things she's looking forward to in the coming months, I'd like to share my own Top 5 things. Wondering what us birds love? Well, here you go:

1.    Snuggle/flock time! I love to snuggle, and even though Chloe and Ollie aren't snugglers they also love spending time with our parents. We get so happy when they come home from work. I love to snuggle daddy, and Chloe loves to hang out on mommy's shoulder. We do love our flock and spending time with them is the best.

2.    Feeding time! Well, duh. Who doesn't like meal times? And the more snacks, the better. Bring on the bread, popcorn, peanuts, and Lafabers featuring Popcorn treats. Yummy. Tummy time is great.

3.    Play time! We love chewing toys, preening toys, tearing up cardboard papertowel roles and empty tissue boxes - anything we can sink our beaks into. I show those toys who the master of this universe is on a regular basis. And Happy Huts - oh, those are Heaven on Earth. They're the best!

4.    Helping our human parents with their tasks. Whether it's folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, housecleaning, cage cleaning, playing games on the computer, or blogging, we're here to help. We make great supervisors.

5.    Sleepy time. Humans aren't the only ones that need to recharge. It takes a lot of energy to be an adorable snuggle bug, after all, and we do need our rest to stay at our best.

So that's a conure's top 5 list. See, we aren't that complicated!

Have a Happy Friday and a great weekend.

Luv,

Zack

Molting Stinks!

2/15/2012

I don't like this time of year. It's tough. I'm molting, and that's not fun. I don't feel good and my feathers are coming out! Mommy says I'll have a beautiful suit soon, but it's a heck of a process to get it. Why's it have to be this way? Why do my feathers have to fall out? It's a mess and it's embarassing!

Well, at least I'm inside and everybody's trying to comfort me. It's been kind of cold lately, and I appreciate everybody being nice and understanding, and mommy and daddy letting me get a little extra sleep. I'll be glad when this is over. Molting season stinks!

I hope you are all doing well. Take care.

Luv,

Ollie