Hecate's New Babies- UPDATED!

I'll update this soon with pictures but wanted to get this out at least. Hecate had her babies on Sunday night, the 21st, right on time!

Hecate nursing and cuddling both litters while Ostara takes a break.

I don't have pictures of it but both momma cats hug and cuddle the kittens- something I didn't really expect. They wrap their arms around the kittens to hold them, or lay their paws or arms across them in what looks like typical momma protective gestures. They can be so sweet and gentle with them and so obviously nurturing and loving. And their patience seems limitless. This little one is being stopped by a momma paw to steer it back so she can finish bathing it.

The two black ones and little white one in the front are Hecate's kittens. The larger white one in the back corner and grayish on on the left are Ostara's. The big mass in the back middle is a heap of the rest of them. They are often sleeping on top of each other in one big pile. They twitch a lot and suckle in their sleep, and bat their paws around. And they fall asleep while they nurse. Just like regular babies! 

Now that the older litter is 3 weeks old, and the younger litter is 2 weeks old, they all have their eyes open and are starting to play and explore inside their box. The older ones are much bigger than the younger ones, even though there is only a week between them. The 3 week old kittens are trying to walk, and are very wobbly. The younger ones are still mostly crawling but more alert each day. 

Hecate had 6 kittens total. The first four, all born within the span of one hour (can you even imagine?) were all black. I had really hoped for at least one all black kitty and we got 4!

The last two, with a two hour span between the first group, were white twins. Sadly, one of the twins had a birth defect and died sometime this morning. Hecate has been crying a bit for her lost baby and has been looking for her. She is not inconsolable and we are comforting her as best we can. 

The really neat part is that a few hours after all the babies were born, and Hecate was resting comfortably in her nesting box with fresh towels and linens, she moved her kittens to Ostara's nesting box, and abandoned the one we made for her entirely. I never anticipated such a thing to happen. I actually believed they would be a bit territorial about their litters possibly and we'd have to keep them somewhat separate for a bit until they became accustomed to the new scents of the kittens. But it was like a big family reunion and everyone was glad to see each other!

So now they share their nesting box, and both momma cats are nursing all the kittens interchangeably. The kittens don't seem to have any differentiation between the moms, and all the babies from both litters are nursing and snoozing alongside one another like life long friends. 

I guess technically the two litters are cousins, but they behave more like siblings and happy siblings at that. I love it! 

Often the momma cats take shifts with the babies, so one will nurse the entire 8 of them, and the other can leave the box and take a bathroom or meal break or just get a stretch and rest in in the other room. 

Sometimes when the babies are particularly rowdy both moms work cooperatively to settle everyone down, groom them all, potty them, and feed them. Both Hecate and Ostara turned out to be excellent moms. We had our doubts about how Hecate would do, but she is a loving and committed mommy, we should never have worried. We are so proud of them both. It's so lovely how well it all worked out between them! Pictures to follow in the coming days!

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Today we mixed it up with some delicious breakfast cookies. These are the EASIEST cookies in the world. They have zero bad stuff, and lots of good stuff. And they are delicious. 

I made banana-oatmeal-raisin-walnut breakfast cookies. The only two ingredients you actually need are the banana and oatmeal. The rest is all optional and based on your own preferences. 

I added raisins to mine today but you could also use chocolate chips or carob, cranberries or other dried fruit of choice. I dumped in the rest of what we had in the jar, maybe a cup's worth?

Quick cook oatmeal is likely easier, but since I buy mine organic it's not quick but it still works out just fine. I hand grind it up a bit as I put it in the bowl and a little after to help it bind a little better. Again, I dumped in the rest of the oatmeal that we had, which was probably 2 cups-ish.

You'll want to use ripe and old bananas, but you can just as easily use fresh ones. I used 5 bananas today, which was the rest of what we had, plus the mix was still too dry with only 4 bananas.

I like walnuts for brain food for the kids so I went with those, but pecans would have been yummy, too! Also, next time I make this I will add a lot more walnuts because I think they work really well in this recipe. I chop mine before adding to the mix. I think I used maybe 3/4 c of nuts.

Here they are baking in the oven. You can pack them in pretty tight because they don't spread out or rise.

And after they rest for a half a minute on the cooling rack they go onto plates and into tummies while still warm. 

I don't measure for this recipe, but here is an approximation:

1-2 cups oatmeal

2-4 bananas, mushed

Mix the two. It should be stirrable but not drippy runny. Add more of one or the other to get it thick enough that it doesn't spread out when dropped on the pan in a spoonful.

Then add whatever other ingredients you want- spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, nuts or seeds, dried fruit, etc. Mix it all together (I actually end up using my hands but a big sturdy spatula or wooden spoon might work, too).

Drop by spoonfuls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so, depending on the size you made them. The smaller ones may be ready at 15, and bigger ones need up to 30 minutes. *If you don't use parchment paper, you have to grease the pan or the oatmeal WILL stick.

They do stay a bit chewy and it's almost impossible to over bake them. I haven't tried it but these would likely do well as dehydrated cookies, too, so you could keep them raw if you wanted to. Great work-out food or on-the-go breakfast.

Super mega healthy breakfast that kids enjoy because it has the word 'cookie' in the name, looks like a cookie, smells like a cookie and tastes like a cookie. So cookies win! Woo-hoo!

Alex & Kitten

Alex holding one of the kittens, 2 days old in this picture.

Other updates: the white kitten has one eye open already, and the dad came back around again after having gone out to get a saucer of milk and didn't return shortly after mating. Maybe he senses his babies were born, or we are dragging their scent around the yard, or he smells available female once again? Who knows. Either way, there will be no baby mama drama 'round here, fo sho. The ladies of the house are still on lock down and will remain so until their spay appointment. 

Ostara's New Litter

The babies have all arrived and are doing fantastic!

4 healthy babies arrived today between 10am-2:30pm.

Three are gray and black. One is all white. Right now I am not handling the kittens much, so it will be a little longer yet before we'll know the sexes. 

Already the white one has asserted itself and is the more vocal among them and the more fiesty, pushing the others out of the way for a feeding spot. Even though there are nine nipples to choose from, she seems to think they are all hers. 

Ostara did so well. She delivered silently with no fuss. Her labor lasted from 8am to 2:45/3pm. She wouldn't let me leave her, even dragging one partially delivered baby with her to race after me when I tried to leave once. She was very adamant that I stay right with her through the whole process. Alex, the stinker, slept right through it because he stayed up aaalllllllll night. 

Ostara seemed a bit panicky the first time all the babies squealed and wanted her. She kept looking to me to do something, lol. She's nursing wonderfully now and caring for her babies with motherly affection. She trusts me and Alex to be near them, and occasionally leaves the  box to come get loves and cuddles from us. 

Hecate is set to deliver next week. Both of the cats and all the kittens will be getting fixed when they are done nursing in a couple months. Once the kittens are recovered and have had their first round of vaccinations they will be ready for adoption.

Ostara's First Baby is Out!

Kandinsky Circles

It was a rainy day today so the preschoolers and toddlers all made some Kandinski style circles for art. I love the colors they used and the choices they made. My only instructions were the circles couldn't match the color they were touching and the bottom color beneath each new piece had to show all the way around. This helped stay truer to the style of the Kandinsky circles, and ensured some contrast. Not a processed based art activity, but still a valuable one and so fun.

My Kindergarten students will explore these later this year in watercolor along with dozens of other fun artists. The kids really enjoyed doing them. 

It's easy to tie in math concepts to this particular art activity because the kids have to decide which circles are bigger and smaller, sort them according to size, and place them in a grid pattern. The older kids did the grid, though we really didn't worry about that too much on this project, and the toddlers did a scaled down version so we didn't need to worry about the grid there either.   

Fun!

Teacher Tom: Rending Ribbons

Teacher Tom: Rending Ribbons

This is a little off season, but I loved the way he writes about our need to take care in how we react and regard weather in front of our kids. Everything he says reflects my own attitude. If our children hear us grumbling about the rain, or huddling under a tree in the cold with our arms crossed and head down, how will they ever be open to playing outside in weather that isn't absolutely perfect? 

Coming from Seattle, we learned to enjoy the rain and the cold and the clouds as much as the sun and the warmth. If you don't, you quickly realize you can't go outside for most of the year. So you adapt. And you love it! But for places that get lots of Summer and clear days, they may not get the chance to experience this opportunity to open their minds to the possibilities of being active and playing outside in (nearly) all weather. 

When we first moved here we were shocked to see no one outside when it rained. No kids or adults playing in the puddles or in their backyards. Everyone seemed to hide inside on cold days, rainy days, cloudy days, stormy days, windy days.  The ironic thing is that children rarely care about the weather, until their parents care about the weather. If we censor our own negativity or worries we'll see they are happy to play outside in all the elements, and if we're really willing to set aside our own prejudices about weather, we'll find we can enjoy it, too.   

Here is an excerpt from the ever eloquent Teacher Tom:

It can be a tough climatic transition this time of year here in the Great Northwest, especially this year with our extended summer followed by a relatively mild, dry fall, but the cold and rain are upon us now and staying active while outdoors is important.

For better or worse, we're raising our children on the site of an ancient rain forest. If they don't learn to be outdoors in the elements, they aren't going to get outside much at all. Learning to stay in motion, while also intellectually engaged is one of the keys. Bodies and brains in motion create warmth. That and proper clothing.

But conditioning ourselves for the weather is psychological as much as physical. I've been reminding parents to pay attention to their own self-talk, about how our children often take their cues from us about how to feel regarding things like weather. If you call it "nasty" or "yucky" or "miserable," it makes it that much harder to get some kids to want to be outside. This is especially true of 2-year-olds who really don't yet know it's "bad weather" until we tell them.

I try to encourage words like "brisk," "refreshing," and "dramatic." I urge parents to try to at least affect enthusiasm for being outside, to keep their own bodies moving, and to avoid standing around with their arms crossed, shivering, hiding out under trees and awnings. And to wear proper clothing!

One of the great advantages of being raised around here is the opportunity to develop the physical and psychological robustness that characterizes us. We're known for our fashion casualness, something foisted upon us by the necessity to dress for rain and cold.

There is no bad day for rending fabric to make ribbons, but there are better days, like when the sun barely rises above the horizon and we don't really see it anyway because it's behind rain clouds. It keeps us moving, it keeps warm. And, of course, it can't be said often enough: there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.

July 4th Craft

The kids made mini flags to celebrate the 4th of July this week. How cute are they?!!

Our Magical Adventures Begin- Gnomes

Welcome to your new home, little rainbow gnomies!

Making Pizza

Last week we made pizza dough for our bread. The kids had lots of fun dressing the pizza. I didn't get pictures for the later stages because we moved inside to finish and I was too busy helping keep the ingredients flowing. 

In addition to our pizza sauce and cheese, we added some spinach and diced tomatoes, plus sprinkled on some ground flax, chopped parsley, and kelp. And of course there was nothing leftover.They loved every bite!