First Days of School

I've always loved the first day of school. For me it was always a combination of great excitement and slight anxiety of meeting new people and new places. There is nothing like the smell of a box of new crayons and having all your supplies all neat and tidy in your backpack. Well our oldest started Kindergarten last week and though he only goes half days he is loving it and I'm loving it. I feel so blessed to be able to spend some time alone with our youngest. There's no fighting over toys, just snuggle time reading stories, art, games, puzzles, and more! So, while one starts K5 in private school the other is home with me. We do a lot of homeschooling stuff with a focus on playing while we learn. For an almost 3yr old we do a ton of art, PE and learning life skills. Real life is the best way to learn!

Kitty Love

Well our youngest has found true kitty love. I knew our daughter, B-Kat had my love of animals from early on, but her ultimate favorite are cats. Big ones, small ones, fluffy ones, shaved ones, she doesn't hold any prejudices against any of the varieties. When we visit people who have a cat she will immediately run over to pet it, while typically the cat looks at her with big eyes and slinks away with a look of, "uh... I don't think so!" B-Kat has also perfected the art of cat behavior which not only includes crawling around on all fours meowing, but also rubbing her head on people's legs and attempting to drink water out of a bowl. I dare-say this child is truly her father's daughter (those who know him will understand). The kitten B-Kat is holding in this photo is "Wubzy" named after the cartoon "Wow, Wow Wubzy". This poor innocent kitten has been toted around since he was 6 weeks old (he's now 4 months old) and he is the most gentle, mellow cat we've had in a long time.

Clean and Interesting Romance Book

I just finished reading Love On A Dime, by Cara Lynn James and I was amazed at how this simple romance story grabbed my attention from the start and kept it. The story is based in New England in the late 1800's, when a young socialite named Lilly writes dime novels in secret. She learns how keeping secrets can tear at your heart and soul, and when it comes to marriage, love must be number one; instead of leaning towards how the marriage could benefit the family. The story inspires the reader to worry less about what society thinks, but to follow God’s plan and to look towards him when you are unsure of what to do. This is an easy read, but keeps your attention enough so you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. As an active reader of novels I was quiet impressed at how the sweet romance between the main characters was “clean” and there was no need for the immoral lust and other things the typical romance author adds to their stories. I give this book an A+ for clean romance and a B+ for good writing and character plot. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

End of the world in 2012 - I doubt it

I recently read the book "Will the World end in 2012? by Raymond C. Hundley

For those who don’t like to read long books, this was a quick and easy read which was simple to put down and pick up again later without missing or forgetting anything.
The author analyzes ten of the most popular theories of major catastrophes predicted to occur in the year 2012. These include:

1. The Mayan factor
2. Solar storms
3. CERN and the large Hadron Collider
4. Predictions of Nostradamus
5. Reversal of the magnetic poles
6. Collision with Planet X
7. Earth’s alignment with the Galactic Plane
8. Eruption of the super volcano
9. The web bot project
10. Religious predictions of the end of the world

The beginning of the book recaps the move “2012” for those who may not have seen it. The author never chooses to share what his thoughts are about the end of the world, but simply states the popular theories and leaves it up to the reader to decide what to believe. In the final chapter the author does get into how to prepare for the end of the world and there is also a study guide in the back for individuals or groups. Overall it was a very interesting book and many of the theories I had never heard of before. The key to remember when reading the book is according to the bible “No man” knows the day or hour. I personally agree that there are many ways the world could end, and believe that it’s better to be prepared mentally and spiritually than to worry about when it will happen.

PART 2: How Many Cats Are Too Many?

We have several stray cats that have been hanging around our house the past month or so. One of them has been hanging around for about a year, but recently two more have shown up and one of them has been marking his territory on our front porch (not a good smell). We have a cat trap already, so I set it up and baited the trap with some canned cat food. I didn't have to wait very long, caught one of our own barn cats the very first night! Poor kitty was scared, but I set him free and he was fine. Two days later I was able to coax one of the stray cats into a large dog crate on our front porch with some cat food. It was really amazing because I expected him to be more skittish, but he acts like he wants to be nice though he is just a bit jumpy.
Today I came home from work to find another cat in the trap, but instead of our own this time it was the stray Manx. I was actually surprised to catch this one so quickly because he is really feral. So... two stray cats captured, 1 more to go. Oh, and in case you're wondering what my plans are for these strays, I like to use the TNR program (trap neuter release) because most of these adult cats aren't friendly and if taken to the animal shelter they'll end up being euthanized. I don't mind the cats living in our area, just as long as they aren't reproducing and adding to the overpopulation of cats.

Easter egg contents

Why is it every year we go to Easter egg hunts where we have taken eggs filled with carefully thought out items the week before and return home with eggs filled with sugary candy that even most adults wouldn't want to eat. If you're a parent I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Today in our 2yr old's Easter basket there were eggs with lemonheads, fireballs, warheads, bubble gum, and other assorted totally inappropriate candy. These were the eggs parents put in the bin clearly labeled for ages 2 and under. The way it works is parents who have children ages 2 and under were to bring 1 dozen eggs filled with age appropriate items a week or two prior to the egg hunt. I'm not simply complaining, I have a solution for anyone interested. Here's a list of ideas for what to put in Easter eggs for children ages 3 and under:

stickers
Mardi Gras beads
plastic rings
plastic view finders
Easter egg shaped bouncy balls (these are larger than the standard small balls which can be a choking hazard
Easter stamps (stamper with self contained ink... again needs adult supervision, but 2-3yr olds think they are fun)
playdoh eggs
mini sized bubbles
sidewalk chalk
fruit snacks
smarties (not a big fan of candy for young children, but hey this kind is safe and easily doled out in small amounts)

Okay, so some of these items may not be so great for children under 2, but sometimes it depends on the child and what they may put in their mouths. Children under 2 need to be supervised 24/7 anyway, so if a particular item is a problem, just don't let them have it. (I know... easier said than done.)

Now you're probably thinking what should you put in Easter eggs for 4 & 5 year olds. Well here are some of the things we've used in the past or received at egg hunts:

tiny toy cars
plastic view finders
bouncy balls
tiny yo-yos
stickers
Easter theme shaped erasers
plastic rings
silly bracelets
rubber lizards, frogs and spiders
tiny zoo animals or farm animals

And, for all of you who think the best part about hunting Easter eggs is getting the candy inside the eggs.... Our 4yr old has cherished his tiny toy lizards and plastic rings much more so than any candy he ever received. Candy is eaten (or thrown away) and quickly forgotten, but small toys in the pocket of a little boy are much more enjoyable.

How many cats are too many?

Here on the farm we have problems with rats on occasion. We get the population under control for 6-8 months only to have a huge problem all over again. We've used rat bait and rat traps inside our feed shed where none of our animals have access to it, but our best rat control are our barn cats. We currently have 6 cats. Paisley is our indoor - outdoor cat and is pretty much just a pet. I've yet to see her venture out to the pasture. We have 5 other cats that actively roam our 6 acres and are fed in the barn daily. They're all neutered males and most seem to be very good hunters, bringing us moles, mice, squirrels and the occasional bird. I'm not thrilled about the birds, but I've come to realize there's nothing I can do about it. Well, to get to the point, we're once again having a problem with rats. They chew holes in the feed sacks, poop all in the feed shed and make holes and tunnels in the pastures. A co-worker has a litter of kittens so I've decided we need a couple more to grow up and help out with our rodent problem. I've heard from many sources that females make the best hunters, but since the females are triple the cost to get fixed I'm sticking with getting males for now. I've already picked out an orange tabby and a cream colored one. You might be wondering what does it matter what color they are? Well if I'm going to be adding more cats I might as well add pretty ones. :o)
So, as I've titled this blog "How many cats are too many?" this begs the question, will 8 be too many? Seriously, I really want to know. We're currently going through about 16 pounds of cat food every 2 weeks. Keep in mind we have 6 cats total, even though only 5 of them are barn cats. I like to keep our cats sleek and trim... you won't find any fat, chubby ones around here.
Let me know your thoughts and I'll share pictures of the kittens once they're old enough to leave their mom.