Check here for updates on the kittens!

As you may recall, we have two feral kittens we're trying to tame and then hopefully find homes for. They are changing daily and so I'm posting a day-by-day account for any interested readers. (Maybe this will make you fall in love and come get one or both!)

Monday - Day One:
The kittens are huddled in the back corner of the carrier, one on top of the other. Brother (B) is hissing viciously and swatting! Sister (S) only hisses.

I removed the kittens from the wood pile and put them into the dog carrier, sitting by the back door. By the end of the afternoon, Mother Cat (MC) had found them and was out there meowing all night.

Tuesday - Day Two:
The kittens are no longer on top of each other, just side-by-side. B is still hissing viciously and swatting. S is still hissing, but ventured out to explore the carrier.

Chad moved the kittens inside. Maybe they'll tame faster if they're closer to us and farther from MC. I am concerned about them pooping. I know they're eating and drinking, but are they pooping? I spend part of the day with moistened cotton balls, pretending to be MC's tongue. (You fill in the rest of the actions.) No poop yet.

In the evening, MC jumped up to our window and tore an ugly hole in the less-than-9-mo.-old screen. After more than 30 minutes of trying, we trapped MC in the house at 9:30 and put her in the carrier with Brother (B) and Sister (S). She led us on quite a chase before Chad caught her on top of the girls' dresser!

She spent the night in the carrier and was very noisy.

Wednesday - Day Three:
The kittens are more playful than ever before. B and S are both hissing and swatting at me now. They are spending less time huddled together. I saw S use the litter box this evening!

In the morning I saw that she had pooped in the litter box. Since I wasn't sure how we were going to still get to the kittens to handle them multiple times a day, I let her go. She left willingly! The benefit? The kittens now use the litter box!

I carried each of them around part of the day. I have to keep them wrapped tightly so they don't turn me into an oozing scratching post!

After Chad and I held them this evening, they started playing with each other in the carrier - tumbling, pouncing and biting each other. It was very cute! I hug some shredded paper inside that they were batting at.

Thursday - Day Four:
Both cuties are still hissing and swatting, but they are hanging out at the front of the carrier now. They are getting braver!

They were watching me sweep and mop this morning. I had to clean out the carrier (which I've done every morning because I hate the smell) and they were still trying to attack me. They aren't so aggressive after I actually pick them up. I just use a blanket to put over them when I first take them out. They're probably afraid of the big blanket coming at them, but I'd prefer not to get some strange wild kitten disease from their bites and scratches.

I dumped out the litter box and put in fresh litter. I had left MC's poop in there for a bit to encourage them to use the box.

MC was at the front window when I went upstairs this morning and B was hanging with all fours on the front of the carrier. It was so funny! I didn't get to my camera in time, but I did get this video when she came back. This time, S is climbing the door!


It was a busy day so they didn't get held today except for removing them from the carrier to clean it all out. I put some dry kitten food in the carrier tonight. Hopefully, we can transition them to it soon so they don't have such yucky poops. Canned cat food is like eating whole wheat bread...yummy, but very cleansing! They are slowly getting used to us, but still not really liking us.

Friday - Day Five:
They are crying for each other when separated. They are very noisy! Yes, still hissing and swatting, but with a little less venom.

S got her foot washed off this morning and B got his whole hind end. Just like kids, they get very messy after being in the "bathroom." If they were a little older, I would give them a full-fledged bath. I hate the smell! (Glad I'm not pregnant and doing this.)

I was meowing last night and B was looking all around him for the source. He couldn't even consider that it was me. Today he came towards me when I did, but wasn't ready to get too close. He's very funny because he'll start to fall asleep while sitting up and slowly starts to tip.

They ate within a foot from me this morning. The first day they wouldn't leave the corner if they could see us. S is sitting in my lap right now and starting to play. I was scratching behind B's ears earlier and he was closing his eyes. He's enjoying it despite his resolve to hate me. My tricky ways are winning them over!

MC is STILL hanging around and meowing like crazy. I wonder if the neighbors notice that their cat in stalking us. I keep a bottle of vinegar water around to spray at her. I need a stronger stream because she's learned to be fast in her getaway!

I was browsing YouTube this morning and saw some video from a woman that has 28 cats (she's even married). Some of them are only outside cats, but I saw 13 in one kitchen shot. Her house must STINK and her neighbors must hate her!

Saturday - Day Six:
They are letting me pick them up without hissing! They have been sleeping at the front of the carrier. The kittens have become very attached to each other and will cry very loudly if left alone in the carrier. We have heard purring!

I was holding B last night while Chad and I were watching a movie. (First Daughter...not anything fantastic.) He was on my lap and suddenly fell off to the side. Instead of running away, he crawled back up, curled up and went to sleep! This is a small miracle. He purred last night while I scratched his ears and earlier today when I was holding him.

Both kitties got baths tonight. Their fur felt so coated with yucky dirt that I didn't really like to hold them. B's fur is much longer than his sister's, so it always looked a little matted. He looks much more handsome now. As I type this, they are each wrapped in a towel and sleeping in my lap.







I watched the two of them wrestling each other this morning. B had S's back to the mat and her shoulders pinned. A clear winner. I don't know if her bite was legal, but it gained her some freedom. They were quite cute!

I would be a liar if I said I wasn't getting a little attached to them. Someone hurry up and offer to adopt them! I think they would really like to stay together. (I feel like a feline social worker.)

MC is still hanging around and meowing a lot. The kittens have stopped responding as much to her. Maybe they think I'm their mom now. I sure feel like it. I hope that she'll outgrow her mothering instincts soon. Hopefully, she won't get pregnant again and deliver in our yard!

Sunday - Day Seven:
The kittens are ready for the next step: confinement in a small room. We'll be moving them to the downstairs bathroom where they can leave the dog carrier when they'd like, but not get lost in the house.

I let the kittens loose today to see what they would do. They went immediately into a small space and started hissing and spitting at me. Are we regressing? I think they just aren't completely tame yet.

They have become very skilled at climbing the door of the carrier. They want out of there! I hope to see enough progress in a few days to start finding a home for them. I really don't like the stink! (And it's only two little kittens!) B is so cute in his black and white fur. S has a more sophisticated look with her dirty white. I wish we could keep them.

Monday - Day Eight:
B and S sat in my lap for dinner tonight and B rewarded me with a purring thank you. They are wrestling each other and becoming very familiar with the bathroom.

B scaled the baby gate that we have up in the doorway. I put some plastic wrap along the top half of the gate and have had no more escapes. Apparently, they don't like the feel.

They started out the morning hissing and hiding when I went near, but by the end of the day, they were accepting of the attention.

B and S were sitting with us on the couch this evening while I crocheted. They were very interested, but wary of my yarn. B was swatting it pretty hard! He got a little jumpy with it sometimes and tried to bite it to death.

We need to start looking for a home for them soon. It's getting harder and harder because they are so cute. But I'm not sure that Rebekah isn't allergic to them, so that's something to consider.

One cat we'd love to get rid of is MC. She's still hanging around and meowing all night. How long will she be bugging us?

Tuesday - Day Nine:
The kittens have learned how to climb the door of the carrier and have started napping on top of it. B came up to me today and started purring and pushing on me with his head. NO hissing or shying away today! *

I moved the carrier out of the bathroom this afternoon. Everything in there stinks so bad that I'm trying to get down to bare minimum. Now they have much more room to play.

I made up a flyer to try to get these guys adopted out. I put pictures on to melt hearts, but I want someone serious to take them so I made some stipulations. They have to go together and they have to give me a $30 deposit that will be refunded when they prove that both kittens have been immunized and altered (no more kitties)! We'll see if that scares away all potential families.

*I let the kittens wander around the family room this evening. After they had roamed a bit, their wild side returned. They hid under furniture and hissed (nowhere near what they used to do) when I went to retrieve them. This is after they came up to me and started purring as soon as I picked them up! Well, S is not so free with her affections. She's harder to win over. So I guess we still have a little ways to go.

Wednesday - Day Ten:
I awoke to the sound of MC at the front window with an urgent meowing. I stumbled to the living room to find both kitties at the window! They were hard to catch and B was (of course) hissing at me.

Those naughty kittens turned into little escape artists today. I found them upstairs one more time during the day. So the plastic wrap has lost its power. I have overlaid it with tin foil. Reynolds Release no-stick foil, no less! It has a few tears in it, but no kittens have escaped since then. I'll be shutting the bathroom door tonight for peace of mind.

I gave them a little yellow ball to bat around. They sure are energetic and B really likes to beat up on S. I hope she gives it right back to him! :)

I didn't feed them any canned food for the first time. It's really only because I was lazy. I still have a couple of cans before it's gone. Maybe they'll get it tomorrow if they're better behaved!

Thursday - Day Eleven:
The tin foil is working so far! B and S spend a lot of time rolled up into one ball, sleeping, when B isn't chasing S for fun. They are still a little too wild for adoption.

The kittens got a big of a break today. I was busy elsewhere doing other things. I am pretty sure that Rebekah's runny nose isn't entirely from her cold, so I am starting to feel more reluctant about just picking up the kittens all day.

They stink and need a bath! The bathroom stinks, too. They are messy poopers!

Friday - Day Twelve:
It is a sad day. Sister kitten died this morning. Brother is crying for his sister.

During her bath, Sister got overly worked up and I am guessing she coughed up some undigested food and choked on it. She paid me well before as she bit me hard enough to draw blood. From there she seemed to be gasping and lost conciousness. I tried to take her to the vet (about 2 minutes away), but she was already gone.

B has shredded and ripped down the tin foil in an attempt to get out and find his sister.

I told the kids she went to live with Heavenly Father. They agree that He will be nice to her.

And then my fun started. I didn't have an updated tetanus shot. The event cost $82 plus 3 days' samples of antibiotic. I'm thankful for samples.

Now B can take out his sorrow on me. I'm all drugged up and ready for another attack.

Saturday - Day Thirteen:
B is getting more reign of the house. The kids let him out today and he enjoyed exploring the living room for a while.

His wild side is really fading away now. He let me catch him without hissing at me (except for the time I had to catch him by the tail before he got under the furniture) and he purrs quite loudly. He was trying to play with me this evening...I was just trying to avoid those really sharp kitty claws!

I still feel sad about S. It all happened so fast and I was the one to dispose of her. So sad.

Sunday - Day Fourteen:
B is free! He has been running around the house most of the day.

He climbed over the gate back into the bathroom to use the litter box, so I feel very relieved that he knows where to relieve himself!

He is very energetic and attacks a lot of things. He still hisses a little, mostly when Daniel comes running at him at high speed, yelling like a crazy person. I'd hiss, too! He hissed at me when I passed once, but he was a little wound up at the moment.

Since losing his sister, B has quickly become a people's cat.

MC is still hanging around the house, but she's keeping a safer distance. One more week of her or less? Let's hope.

Monday - Day Fifteen:
B is roaming the house and attacking at random.

This kitten is slowly becoming part of the family. I'm not completely sure yet that Rebekah is allergic to him. He has bonded with us much more since he lost his sister.

B is still learning what is appropriate behavior. I'm sure I would be a much better teacher if I was MC, but I'm not reintroducing them now!

He likes to sit in my lap, but gets there by climbing my leg like a tree trunk. He likes to play, but doesn't always know when to stop. He bites and scratches, but not to injure. He's just playing!

Tuesday - Day Sixteen:
B was left alone in the house for the first time today. I think he fell asleep.

I was worried that he would freak out and destroy something or attract his mother which would result in a missing window screen. None of that seemed to have occured. In fact, we were home for quite a while before I became curious about his whereabouts. He was found under a chair in the living room, sleeping.

He is bonding with Daniel now. I told Daniel he would if only Daniel would quit hissing at him and scaring him!

He hasn't spent a night out of the bathroom yet. Maybe tonight? Last night, he managed to open a drawer in the bathroom which prevented the door from opening more than 1/4 inch. I had to stab the side of the drawer with a long knife to push it back into its recess. How did he open a drawer that doesn't even have a handle? He's a magic cat!!

Wednesday - Day Seventeen:
B spent the night out of the bathroom!

He really tried to snuggle up to us as we fell asleep. It was kind of irritating. I finally dropped him onto the floor and he didn't show up until morning.

He is still very kittenish...full of energy and attacking without warning. He hisses if you surprise him and he still runs to hide under or behind furniture when uncomfortable. But he isn't hostile. We've come a long way, Baby!

Thursday - Day Eighteen:
B has found a home (for now)!

Unless we have someone who wants him, or things just don't work out, B has a home here. He's weaseled his way in!

Rebekah may not be allergic to him. I'm still monitoring her to make certain.

He'll often come out from hiding if I call to him. He ended up napping on my back yesterday when I went down for my own nap. He is adjusting very well.

And MC? I only heard her meow once yesterday! I didn't see her though. I think she's finally lost that incredibly strong maternal instinct. If I find her with kittens in my yard again, I'll be taking her to the pound where she will have to be altered before returning home or being adopted out to a more responsible family.

This is a fond farewell to this post (thank goodness). A story of taming feral kittens. Too bad we had to lose one.

Happy First Birthday, Rebekah!

Can you believe it? Rebekah turned one today! She is changing so fast! This is a milestone for baby and family. We kept her alive a whole year! She survived the Collett craziness! She was very cute during her cakefest. Here are some pictures of the cake- before, during and after.




This was my first real attempt at really decorating a cake.
I wanted her to really have something to destroy! And here's a video of her in action.

She got two whole presents -
a toy and a forward-facing car seat(not a lot to get the fourth child) and showed off a few wobbly steps.

What kind of Homeschooler are you?

I'm not a homeschooler, but I am usually thinking of my kids' educations. Leah and Nathan love to work on worksheets or in workbooks, which requires a lot of answers to their questions and explanations of the next task, but they are sitting still. That is worth something just in itself. I love to work with Daniel on his reading or math, but I stand back a few paces because he's not real motivated and is likely to explode at me any moment. Anyway, I found this quiz online about "what kind of homeschooler you are."

My results said:

You have your ideal of how things should look, but you're flexible enough to allow for change. You are not bothered by changing methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an eclectic combination of curriculum sources.

So for what that's worth...yahoo. I will never be a homeschooler unless my kids are in physical or emotional danger. Academic deficiencies in teachers don't scare me until high school. I figure I can supplement the education if needed. I enjoy that Daniel is gone from 7:30 until 3 each day. For some that makes me a bad mother. For others and myself, it makes me a better one. Maybe you can understand that!

Actually, that DOES describe what kind of tutor I am!

Our New Family Hobby

We have discovered a new family activity! I read about letterboxing in a family magazine this month. It is essentially a secret hunt. You follow clues and find a hidden box with a stamp and a notebook inside. You carry your own stamp, notebook, ink pad and pen. When you find it, cleverly hidden from view of casual passers-by, you stamp your stamp into their notebook and use their stamp to stamp into your own book. You can write a short note in the letterbox notebook and then carefully rehide the box for the next hunters to find. There are letterboxes hidden all over the place! Check out the link and click on "search for boxes" to start looking for some in your area. These are going to be fun to do on road trips to give us a chance to stretch our legs and add different stamps to our book! There are many hidden at rest areas. We were at a city park last night. The kids are showing off our adventure. Leah is holding our notebook, Daniel has the box we found hidden in a hole at the base of a tree, and Nathan is holding up our stamp (probably a little bigger than most). We had to look 120 degrees, cross a stream and climb over a big log to get to the box. So fun!

Woof! hop hop Meow!

*This is the second time I'm writing this post. Rebekah hit the pretty red light on the surge protector just as I was FINISHING the first draft. I'm still not baby-proof and this is the 4th baby!*

We are going to need an animal permit around here soon. We are growing in numbers! Most of you already know Chocolate. We've had him for almost 3 years. He really needs a home with more land to roam and destroy. He's strong enough to pull me down. But he's a good dog, so we keep feeding him. :)
Most of you don't know that we have rabbits now. It all started about 3 weeks ago when I bought a rabbit at a yard sale. (This might be the strangest thing I've picked up at a yard sale.) I was informed that "she" was named "Ebony." She was a big black rabbit. The kids renamed her "Sally" and we got a baby rabbit from our neighbors - found out they had free ones after I bought this one...but at least we got the hutch and stuff - to give "Sally" company and something more meaningful once he got older. We adopted "Smokey" and after introducing the two, we discovered that "Sally" really was more of a "Sal" and we renamed him to "Shadow." Well, that wasn't going to work, so we traded "Smokey" for his sister which we named "Happy." We later decided that "Shadow" was too much man for little "Happy." I remembered that the man I bought the rabbit food from said he was looking for a male rabbit. I called him up and we delivered our hormonal rabbit that afternoon. They talked us into trading him for one of their females and that's how "Dot" came to join us. "Dot" is white with brown spots and "Happy" is charcol/black.

About a week after all that, Chad was getting ready for a scout campout and found some kittens in the wood pile. After doing a little research on line yesterday, I learned that feral kittens need to be "socialized" (tamed) young or they really aren't going to be tamed at all. So I removed the two kittens from their woody home yesterday morning and put them in the dog carrier. The mother found them yesterday late afternoon and hung around all last night, meowing. We brought them inside this morning. They just have to get a little bigger and stop hissing at us! It should be about two weeks. They are eating canned food and drinking water just fine. They haven't pooped yet which is bad for me. If you know anything about how mother dogs and cats get their babies to poop, you have an idea what I'm up against. The black and white one is male and the white (with a dusting of grey) is female. Anyone want some kittens in a few weeks?

Grab some popcorn and make yourself comfortable

I recorded a couple of videos this afternoon. I was trying to get Rebekah dancing, but when the camera came out, so did the hams. She was too distracted to dance, but never fear, there's still something to laugh at. My kids are vain enough to think that the camera only has eyes for them.



I was also able to get Rebekah playing a little "Where's Rebekah?" She was only half distracted so it was mostly cute. Of course, I never have a camera nearby when she's really into it.


Please excuse the music in the background. Leah's choice. Do you recognize it?

Aww!

Look, Mom. I actually used some of that fabric that you gave me. I made the girls some jumpers. The jumpers are cute, but they are really enhanced by the girls wearing them! We had to snap a picture fast. This just wasn't a moment that Rebekah wanted to show off her newly mastered skill of standing.

Of course, you can't be taking pictures without including the boys. They won't let you! Here is one of Leah and Daniel. I think she first thought that he was going to do something to her. It's an understandable reaction. I'm actually surprised he didn't try anything.

This next one is of The Boys. Yes, that does need to be capitalized. They are an organized group. The tie is a new achievement for Daniel. There were lots of tears involved and some threats. But he didn't intimidate me at all, and now he looks so handsome. Daniel's shirt is tucked in here, but I don't think it was by the time he sat through my morning choir practice in the chapel. Nathan is more realistic...why pretend that it's going to be tucked in at all? Leah follows suit most weeks as her hair usually looks like she's already been through 3 hours of church by the time she gets to Nursery. And as soon as she gets home, she wants everything out of her hair. (It's easier to coat it in whatever you're eating for lunch that way!)

MUD, but no pies!

Daniel has a little "friend" in the neighborhood. Actually, she's the neighborhood's friend. She'd stay all night if we didn't shoo her away. The fact that she's not above helping herself to food is a little more than irritating for me. So I often say NO when she shows up at the door looking to play. On the bright side, there's a neighborhood full of kids she can play with, so I'm not the only one gritting my teeth and guarding my snack cupboard. PLUS, she has two older brothers who roam the area as well. I should be grateful they are too old for us.

Anyway, I relented to her playing yesterday afternoon, on the condition that they play outside. I figure that this way, I don't have to hear her trying to get the boys to ask for snacks or complain about something or other. Plus, she doesn't like our overly friendly dog so sometimes we let him out. We're horrible, I know. But I've gotten off track again.

Saturday, she and Daniel were outside playing and in a way only 6 year olds can, they got muddy. Not, "wash your hands before dinner" muddy. Not, "throw your shoes in the washer muddy" (I wish it was only that bad). Not, "we're making one hundred mudpies for our new bakery" muddy. It was more like, "turn the garden into a mud pool, sling it across the fence to the neighbor boys, cover the just-dried laundry on the line with mud splatters so Mommy can have two extra loads of laundry, speckle the outside of the house, turn your clothes (including underwear) so brown that no other color is visible, and leave foot and hand prints of smeared mud well into the house muddy." Of course, our little friend went home (probably filthy).

Less than two hours later, she was back in new clothes, asking if Daniel could play. She doesn't like the dog, but is more that willing to cover herself in mud. I said they could play, OUTSIDE, but don't get muddy.

I think Daniel had mud in his ears. Apparently he thought I said that they SHOULD play in the mud. I had to take a moment to gather my wits about me and then question him. Didn't he think that sounded a little strange? No. He was being obedient (for once). So we got that stopped before anything more than Nathan having mud thrown at him happened. We sent our friend home at dinnertime (before she could ask to eat with us) and later that evening Daniel found her flip flops in the backyard (caked with mud - no surprise)...who forgets to wear their shoes home???

Sunday Afternoons

We have a lot of time for stories on Sunday afternoons as everyone wakes up from naps and we're waiting for dinnertime. If we lived closer to family, we would probably go visiting. As it is, we're stuck with ourselves for companionship.

Daddy is good for Sunday stories. Here are some pictures I captured of the kids this past Sunday.

This one of Rebekah was my favorite! :)

ALL DAY!

Daniel started 1st grade yesterday! There wasn't any fighting until 3PM when Daniel came home and yelled at us. Lovely. I seem to remember my mom saying something about a quiet house when I was gone to school.

Anyway, he liked his first day. He slept in his shorts so he wouldn't be late for school. :) He got to bring something to school that represented something he likes or likes to do. He brought two Rescue Heroes. He also brought home his first 1st grade homework - a sheet with "the, an, in, on, is & a" on it over and over that he had to read over and over. He, of course, complained! (Meanwhile, Leah and Nathan are begging me to do worksheets here at home.)

So now I only have 3 kids at home. Nathan will start Kindergarten next year. He'll be more than ready by then!

Splish Splash, now they don't need a bath!

The boys took swimming lessons over the past two weeks. I was wondering how well they would take to it since they were both complaining about having to do it. I know it was just a fear of the unknown. But Nathan is a very reluctant boy in many ways and I wasn't even sure he would get into the water. He proved me wrong! By the end of the class, they were both putting their faces in the water and blowing bubbles! Daniel was the oldest in his class (that comes from putting off swimming lessons). But Daniel passed the class. Nathan will take it again next summer. He can take it with Leah who was very offended that she couldn't take it this year! The last day they went down the big slide and jumped off the diving board (without any help). I was very proud of their progress in 8 days of swimming lessons!

Here are some shots of the boys having much too much fun! (Nathan is in red pants and Daniel in green.)

tick...tick...tick...tick

I'm really getting frustrated with the little things lately. I think Leah will be the one to push me over the edge. She is so bossy and whiney and helpless and attached. She yells at me if the computer game isn't working, she yells at me to help her in the bathroom, she CONSTANTLY asks for a snack and yells at me if she doesn't get one. When she doesn't want a snack, she wants to do a worksheet. I've created a monster! For Leah to do a worksheet, I have to do it with her. She doesn't think just coloring by herself is any sort of a treat. And to top everything of, she hovers and dominates the conversation with "Why?"

Daniel helps by beating up his siblings then looking at me confused when I send him to his room. Sometimes I just stand there speechless as I look at him in amazement. I realize that he's only six, but did he REALLY think he would get away with that?

I feel like I'm a step away from losing my sanity (or just plain losing "it"). My impossible dream is that Leah will leave me alone for an hour, Daniel will think of something pleasant to do to someone and Nathan will stop coming to me and asking, "What can I do?" -- We all know that's a loaded question because he doesn't actually want any of the suggestions you're realistically going to give him...he just wants you to drop everything and spend some time with him.

Which really brings us to the root of the problem. I need to spend time with my children but I don't think I have the time to do it. They want more than I can spare; I can spare more than I think I can, but feel like I don't have any to spare at all. My house looks like a battlefield, I have "what's for dinner?" running like a scrolling marquee through the back of my mind, and all 4 of my kids head in my direction whenever I enter a room.

Do you think I could find one of these on eBay?

Little Buckaroo Rodeo

We went to the rodeo last night. Not the one you're thinking of. The oldest participant was probably 12. They have this rodeo for the kids every year in a small town near here (yes...smaller than our town)! We're wondering if our kids want to get involved next year. Daniel thinks he might like to ride a sheep!

Here are some pictures and a movie.

This girl got a lot longer ride than most kids! We were always just hoping that they didn't end up with a hoof in their face!

Out of the gate on a great woolly!


Barrell racing on stick horses.



This was a ribbon pull. The kids came up to a goat and raced to get a ribbon off. Later, other kids raced to tie one one (older kids, but still young).

They had some barrell racing on Elmo here. He was a very gentle horse and only got up to a trot twice in two nights of rodeo!


It started getting too dark for pictures so these are my last ones. Here are some kids riding the bull calves. Most didn't get very far before sending up a cloud of dust!

They also had a pig scramble where all the constants lined up on one end of the arena and took off after a greased piglet at "GO." That was pretty entertaining. The night ended with all kids 5 and under being allowed to chase after chickens. If you caught it, it was yours. I didn't know that then, so I'm glad for timid kids. We snuck Daniel in since he's the size of a 5 year old and not as tough as most of them. He did a good job keeping Nathan company. Leah started out fine, but all the excitement got too much for her and we had to pull her out.

And that's what you do for fun in farming country!

Quilt Blocks...7 months worth!

Here are the quilt blocks our Enrichment group has been doing this year. Some have been a little easier than others. The names are only what I know them by. There are probably other names and variations that you may know.
A=Advanced B=Beginner
Click on the pictures to see them better.

January
A-Corner Stepping Stones












B-Double Four Patch












February
A- Kansas Troubles













B- Friendship













March
A-Old Favorite













B-Dutchman's Puzzle












April
A-Dresden Plate (applique- yuck!)












B-Honey Bee (more applique)












May
A-Mosaic












B-Ohio Star












June
A-Kaleidoscope












B-Indian Star - - This one doesn't look much like a star because I sewed it wrong. Oh well. It wasn't worth unpicking so much of it!












July
A-Adavanced Posie (applique AGAIN! - I'm getting better!)












B-Posie (applique)












I would like to thank Blogger letting me actually put the first 5 pictures in at once. I would like to complain to Blogger for making me put the rest of the pictures in one at a time. That took too long.

Housework

It was time to clean up this morning. The 3 kids really got into it! So much so, I was a little bewildered. I think the mention of the dreaded "DI Bag" really motivated them. They really do care!

Daniel took a turn with the vacuum first, followed by Leah and ending with me (of course - I really did want ALL the cracker crumbs gone).

So now we have a clean room for the next 30 mintues.