Dissecting owl pellets

I ordered two barn owl pellets off of the internet, so that the kids could really see what they look like, inside and out. If you are too squeamish to do a real one, there is a virtual dissecting web site that is really cool called www.kidwings.com. I found it off of another blog called www.howdoiteach.blogspot.com. So, I bought a box of latex gloves, spread out my newspaper and had disinfectant wipes on hand. What I wasn't prepared for was the SMELL. Ewwww! It wasn't so bad that my kids were gagging or anything, it was just an odd smell on top of cutting open something that an owl puked up, kinda made my stomach a little queasy. Anyway, here are some pictures of our dissection.

Before we started, I soaked the pellets in some warm water to make them easier to cut into. It was still a little hard to cut and the bones weren't like I thought they would be (in a little skeleton shape). So, we were cutting out different bones and trying to figure out what this owl had eaten. I think they were both shrews.


This is what they looked like before we soaked and cut into them.

Who knows, he maybe a surgeon when he grows up.

Sammy holding a shrew's claw (we think).

Sadie didn't do too much cutting. It kinda grossed her out.

I think this was a pelvis.

This is the chart we tried to go by to identify the bones and what animal.

Lizzy retrieved a claw or toe.

My little scientists.

Not a very clear picture, but these are our bones that we dug out.

I don't know what I'm going to do when we have to dissect other animals. Aaron may have to take over in this area :)

Happy Birthday, Sadie Mae

No, her real name isn't Sadie Mae, but maybe it should have been. I've been calling her that since she was born. Sadie was the easiest baby I've had. She hardly ever cried and was such a happy girl. I had to be induced w/ her, because she was due on the 9th. So, on the 14th, they broke my water and she was here in less than an hour! I'm so glad God brought you into our lives, Sadie! You are such a blessing to everyone!


Lizzy holding Sadie after bringing her home from the hospital. My beautiful girls!

Thank you God!

Yesterday, I was sitting down at the kitchen table to eat my breakfast. As I was sitting there, Sammy came into the kitchen and got a pair of kids scissors from the drawer. I have seen the girls do this too many times to count and the only thought that ever comes to mind is "great, I'm going to have another mess to clean up." This time was different. I felt I that needed to go and see what Sam was up to. Just as I entered his room, I saw him trying to get the plug cover off of the electrical outlet w/ the end of the scissors. I stopped him just before he jabbed the scissors into the outlet. I very calmly told him what could have just happened to him and asked him to please put the scissors back up and never to do that again! I am just so thankful for God and his still, small voice that speaks to our hearts. I'm thankful that I followed that voice and went to see what was up. Thank you God!

Cinderella Ballet

I took the girls to the ballet last Friday to see Cinderella. It was a matinee, so they only performed one act of the entire ballet. My mom and grandma went w/ us and just made it a girl's day out! After the performance, I asked the girls if it made them want to get back into ballet classes. They all told me "no." I guess I was just hoping I might have 1 ballerina in the bunch!

Nature Center Field Trip

This school year, we have been studying animals and just taking our time learning about different ones. If the kids are really interested in certain animals, then we might do a little extra research for that particular animal. We have been reading about birds, or more specifically about raptors. So, I took the kids to the Nature Center at Western Hills where they have an eagle, an owl, and a hawk in captivity. They also have a bobcat (which Samuel absolutely loved), a coyote, a oppossum, a silver looking fox, and a few snakes that are indigenous to our area.

The eagle was my favorite. When he spread his wings, half of his right wing was gone, which was why they have him in a cage.

A hawkThe owl. Did you know that an owl does not fully digest its food? It spits it back up in pellets and if you open the pellets you can tell from the bones what animal the owl ate. Guess what? I ordered some owl pellets for the kids to cut open and see what bones are in them. I will have more pics of these later. I'm sure you can't wait to see them.

I thought my dad was going to come out of his skin when the guide brought this little girl out to us. Apparently, she raised her from a baby and is very used to being handled by humans.

The bobcat was Sammy's favorite. He kept pacing around his cage and I never could get a good shot of him.The foxThe coyote.

A trough full of animal bones. Probably from what they fed the bobcat. She said they were going to be feeding him a tasty dinner of turkey chicks that day.

The guide brought out some snakes for the kids to touch and my pictures were too blurry to post. I guess because I kept moving back away from them! She told the kids how to tell if a snake is poisonous or not. If a snake is poisonous, it's neck will be bigger than it's head. A non-poisonous snake's head and neck are the same size.

Silas' First Playdate

Faith and her mommy came over on Thursday to play w/ Silas. Instead of playing, they fought most of the time over toys. But, we did manage to get a few good shots of the two of them.

Silas, the big bully

My dog, Baby, is not very fond of small children. And, Silas knows this. But, that does not keep him from torturing my poor dog. He waits until Baby is nice and settled in a good spot and then sticks his hand in the dog's face, which results in the dog snipping at Silas. This is one of Silas' favorite games to play!

As you can tell by this last picture, this game is a blast! It's alot of fun to watch, too!

Valentines for Soldiers

Last Friday, I had 15 children, 2 babies, and 4 (including me) moms at the house to make valentines for our soldiers. The kids did a great job and were very creative! Our valentines are going to a hospital in Germany to be given to wounded soldiers. Each family also contributed some goodies, such as hot cocoa packets, pop tarts, kool aid singles, and CHOCOLATES. There is a small time frame when chocolate can be shipped w/out melting, so this is a special treat for them. I' ve included some pictures of the kids hard at work and our finished products at the end.

Hands of a Child Sale

Due to the new CPSIA law In the Hands of a Child, for the time being, is discounting their Kit Pack inventory in order to lessen their possible loss in the event that an exemption is not granted. Take a look at what they have, if you like lapbooking.

http://www.handsofachild.com/shop

Winter fun

The kids ventured out into the snow and ice today to slide down our drive way. I couldn't believe that they stayed out there for almost 2 hours! They got to warm up w/ hot cocoa when they came in!

And left a big mess for me to clean up!

Actually, they ended up cleaning it up themselves!

My Little Prairie Girls

Sharing

This is what we've been dealing w/ this week:

Snot, snot and more snot! Yuk! This is the only thing that my kids don't having a problem sharing w/ each other.

4th Folder

My friend, Trisha, tagged me to go to my 4th folder and tell about the 4th picture in that folder. This is the picture in that folder:

It was Christmas 2002 and my friend who owns Captured Moments Photography did these for me. I wish I could go back in time for a just a moment and hold these babies again! Sammy was 4, Lizzy was 3, and Sophie was about 10 months old in these.

Here are a few more from that shoot:

Lizzy turned 9!

It is hard to believe that Lizzy was born 9 years ago. Her birthday was Saturday and we had a party for her and took her to Charleston's for dinner. Happy Birthday Lizzy! I sure do love you!



She wanted cheese cake as her birthday cake. She ended up not liking it.

Her sister, Sadie, used her own money and bought her a game.

Her daddy found her this colonial dress.

Doesn't she look pretty.

Cousins and the best of friends.

My new toaster

This is my new toaster:

It was a Christmas gift from the kids this year. It is stainless steel, has settings for bagels, toast, and frozen bread. It can also toast four slices at a time, which you know if much needed in our house. There is only one flaw about this toaster: it has set off our fire alarm EVERY time we have used it so far. It just doesn't toast right, and it is not a user problem. So, I thought I would take a picture of it, because I have a feeling that I am going to go to my cabinet to get it one day and it won't be there, because Aaron will have thrown it in the trash! Thank you kids for my toaster!

WTMI - Way too much information

We have a bible study called "Balancing the Sword" that I do w/ the children every day as part of our school work. It is a really good tool to use, because you go chapter by chapter in the Bible and answer questions for that chapter. We started in the old testament and are working our way through Deuteronomy right now. I guess I didn't realize how much information was actually in the old testament, w/ regards to daily life. Today's chapter covered the topic of "feces" and how to get rid of it in a proper manner. So, as we are reading along and Sammy comes to that word, he of course wants to know what it means. As you can imagine, after answering his question, I lost control of the study for a few moments and then had to field many, many questions. "Why is poop made of? Did they have to poop in front of everyone since they didn't have a bathroom? So, does that mean we are playing in poop outside? and, it goes on and on. By the time I had answered questions to their satisfaction, Sammy puts his hand to his head and says "I think I am poop sick." I sware, I don't know where he comes up w/ some of his sayings. But, he sure gives me a good, private laugh every now and then!

By the way, if you're intested in Balancing the Sword, you can purchase it at www.visionforum.com.

I finally got them hung!

A year ago this month, my mom took me to buy some new curtains for my kitchen for my birthday. Saturday, I finally went out and bought curtain rods to hang them on. Aaron installed the rods on Sunday and they are finally up!

Back into the swing of things

We started back on school work this week, and it has been tough for all of us. We are all used to sleeping in a little bit later (especially mom). I think we should start taking a vacation AFTER the Christmas holiday, because there are too many activities going on. It would be nice right now to go to some exotic island and lay on the beach, not having to go anywhere or do anything for about a week. I think I am going to vote to do that next year, instead of all the gifts and decorations. I will probably get out voted though!

I think this picture I took of Silas this morning sums up how I have been feeling this week :)