Meet a Mare Monday & Contest Time

This is a very special post.  Not only is this my 100th post, and my very first contest, but this post is also in celebration a very special time on our funny farm.

The arrival of these:

That’s right!  This is the time of year when our colts are born.  This little dandy was born last week to Mr. Bum’s parents.  Isn’t she a doll.

So, the first part of this post is “Meet a Mare Monday”.  You may want to pay close attention to some of the details you are about to read because they may aid you for part of the contest.

We have 3 mares that we share a home with.  They are so much a part of our family.

First we meet Stella.

Although she is the eldest of the bunch she is far from matriarch.  You see Stella is what you call a cremello colored horse.  Although she looks white she is actually a very pale yellow.  With her unusual color comes unusual eyes.  They look like crackled blue glass.  This is the reason for the mask.  Her eyes are sensitive to light.  We didn’t realize this at first and this is part of the reason that even though she is the oldest and the biggest she is lowest on the hierarchy.  She was always dependent on the others to lead her around which made her vulnerable.  Although her mask helps to protect her from the sunlight and improve her sight she is still content to stay low mare on the totem pole.

Now this next picture will have you feeling a little sympathy for poor Stella.

Notice the baby pushing on the side of her stomach.  It’s really creepy when it moves.

Now here is the important facts on Stella.
She is due April 14h.  This will be her 5th colt.  She has had all girls.

Second we have Peanut.

She is 1 year younger than Stella.  I’ve often felt that she was Seeing Eye Horse for Stella before her mask.  She is the boss and I hate to admit she is my favorite.  All of our mares are beautiful but I think Peanut is Gorgeous.  Her long mane and blue eyes.

Check out this beautiful blue eye.

Important facts:
This will also be Peanut’s 5th colt.  The first was a girl and the last 3 have been boys. She is due around the 1st of May.

Last but now least, we have Snowball.

Okay, she’s not much for pictures so this is all I have.

Snowball is cremello like Stella.  She too seems to benefit from the fly mask, but as you can tell in this picture she needs a new one.  We actually obtained Snowball through a trade when she was just a weanling.  We had Peanut’s mom, Babydoll, who was a bit mean.   She was a doll to people but she didn’t care who was around when she decided to kick at another horse.   She was a bit dangerous.  Before we had Tex we paid for stud services elsewhere.  The family that owned the studs knew exactly how BabyDoll was (she had kicked the wall out of one of their stalls) so we traded.  It was for the best.  We no longer had a crazy horse that was constantly attacking Stella and the new owners knew exactly what they were getting.  Everyone was happy.
Sorry I went off a bit there.

Important facts:
She is due April 3rd.  This will be her 2nd colt.  The first was a girl.

I bet you wish I would quit rambling and get to the contest part.  Well here it is.  I hope your not dissappointed.

You may want to get a pencil and paper because your are going to have to work for this contest.  Just teasing.

To celebrate my 100th post I will be giving 1 of my awesome reader/friends 5 reusable Wal-Mart shopping totes and a Personally Embroidered Throw.  If you are the winner I will embroider whatever name you would like on your new throw, first name, family name, you decide.  If you win and your not a Wal-Mart shopper I will gladly substitute the shopping totes for something else.

 So what do you think?

 For a chance to win the prizes you must leave a comment on this post by Noon CST on Tuesday March 25th.  The winner will be chosen by random drawing.  Only one entry per person and the winner will be announced Tuesday evening.

For your entry to be valid it must include a few things.

1.  Your favorite post from thebarnbums

2.  3 color choices for your throw

3.  What day do you think the first colt will be born (April 3rd?  April 15?  Will it be a  girl or boy.  

The first is to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, the second is so the winner’s throw will compliment their home, and the third is for fun and also the person coming closest to the actual first birth without going over may just win a little prize of their own.

Go forth enter the contest and tell your friends.  Oh, and make sure I have a valid email address so I can contact you if you win.

Another cool contest that I know you will want to check out is over at WeAreThatFamily.  Kristen is having a week long Rodeo Rendevous.

Just an added note:  This contest is open to all,  whether your a regular reader or this is your first visit.  Join the fun.

Meet a Bum Monday – Milestones

Not that you don’t already know her quite well, but keeping with the tradition, meet Lil’ Bum.  As I know I’ve mention recently she will be turning 4 in about 2 weeks.  It doesn’t seem like 4 years has come and gone.

I honestly couldn’t tell you when she started sleeping through the night as a baby, wait…..she still doesn’t.  I know I’m prejudiced but she is an extremely smart child.  I feel like she has talked since exiting the womb.  Her first word was Penny.  Some of her more memorable words have been stunk (skunk) and sh*t (I blame this one on her dad).

She is a very confident, headstrong child which is good in many ways but definitely has its drawbacks.  She frequently outsmarts me.

Her absolute favorite food is chickennuggetsfrenchfriesandketchup.  Yes, it is all one word and yes, it is from McDonald’s.  She also loves spaghetti, weinies and square cheese (American slices).  Oh, and how could I have forgot, she loves cream (whipped cream).  Her favorite drinks are pop (diet dr pepper), strawberry milk, Sunny D, and mix-up pop (just put a little of everything from the fountain).

She has a pretty good singing voice for a young child.  She loves to entertain.  Almost daily she changes clothes and puts on some type of music and dances for us.  For some reason she felt the need to dance without a shirt on this weekend.  I swear I don’t know where she got it from.  I accused Mr. Bum of letting her watch something not so G-rated while they were home on Friday but unless Tigger did a strip dance I don’t think that was it.

She loves outdoors.  She frequently assists Mr. Bum with feeding the cows and horses.  We have 2 nurse cows and when their babies are small she loves to get in the pen and play with them.  The last time we bought a couple of calves Lil’ Bum went along for the ride.  Since she would end up with the profits from one of the calves for her savings account Mr. Bum decided to let her pick out her calf.  Right now you can stand on our back porch and see all of the cows in the pasture.  All are black with a few white spots except for Lil’ Bum’s calf.  Her calf looks like a Dalmatian.  He is solid white with small black spots.  Does that make him the black sheep white cow of the family?

This weekend was sort of a milestone in Lil’ Bum’s life.  Now that she is older there are things that big girls are able to do.  Like…………………………..

Piercing their ears!!!!

She was such a trooper.  She was so determined to be brave that she wouldn’t let herself cry.  I could tell that she was fighting it so I assured her that it was okay to cry.  She instead buried her head in my shoulders until it was better.  She is so proud.

She liked the bright pink best.

Her Mimi and Papaw S were down and they bought her some extra pairs of earrings for when it is time to change them.

Stick around this here blog and you will learn lots and lots more about Miss Lil’ Bum.

Meet a Bum Monday – Baby Talk

I had planned to go in order of oldest to youngest but since Baby Bum is officially 7 months old today what better person to talk about.

The story of the week leading to Baby Bum’s birth is another installment of the bad luck we had leading up to the special day.

He was due on June 28th. The doctor and I had tentatively scheduled for inducement on the 21st if my body was ready. To put it mildly, I felt like crap. He had been playing heck with my hips and he was face up which was causing my all kinds of back pain. I had decided to take off the entire week of inducement to relax and get ready.

So, we are scheduled for inducement on Thursday and I was more than ready. The angelic lady that is our house-keeperhad visited for the first time on the prior Friday. Lil’ Bum and I had planned to make a trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on food and necessities. I was feeling pretty positive about everything. A clean house and we would be ready for the big day.

We were all ready to leave for town but the rain was falling hard. We decided to wait until it let up a little. The shear volume of rain that was falling was surreal. I stood at the back doors watching the horses and the water that was running everywhere.  We had previously had problems with our drive washing so I went to the front to check it out.  As I stepped onto the rug at the front door rug my feet became wet.

We had water coming in the front door.  The carpet near the front door was also wet. I called Mr. Bum for help. While we waited for him to come home I took some boards and tried to detour the water away from the door. My efforts were in vain. Shortly before he arrived I walked into our living room and realized that half of our living room was soaked.  The water was also in our master bedroom and closet.  

After I broke the news to him he immediately started digging a trench in our front yard for drainage. The amount of water was so overwhelming that as it hit our house it came in through the foundation. It is something that had never and may never happen again.

He made a phone call to our insurance agent and his mother and went back to work.  I didn’t want to be alone so she came to stay  and help get the small things up.  Very shortly after Mr. Bum returned to work he learned that our insurance policy didn’t cover floods.  He then arranged for a cleaning service to come out and they were there in a jiffy.

It was going to cost at-least $1000 to dry our carpet and then we would still run the risk of mold.  I couldn’t bring a new baby into a moldy house.  We thanked him and sent him away.  What happened next was a little unnerving.  My nice clean house got completely turned upside down.  Mr. Bum and his mother moved all of the furniture into other rooms and took up all of the soaked carpet.  We couldn’t even get to the refrigerator to get Lil’ Bum a sandwich.  That first night we couldn’t stay there.  The next day we moved a few things onto the slab and stayed.  Just try to imagine being miserably pregnant and having your house completely messed up.  You would be proud of me though, I only broke down 1 time.

Lil’ Bum and I spent the remainder of the afternoon picking up fans and selecting new carpet.  The people at the carpet place were awesome.  They moved us forward on the installation list and had our carpet laid the same day Baby Bum was born. 

After the little guy’s birth Mr. Bum’s entire family went to our house and put everything back in place.  When we arrived home a couple of days later everything was neat and clean.  It was great to be home, to a nice normal clean house. 

Baby Bum has been a blast for us all.  He is always smiling and full of energy.  He has started crawling recently and the kid is everywhere.  He has no fear and the whole house is open for his exploration.

This post was started on Monday but the kids and I had the day off and they didn’t give me much computer time. 

Meet a Bum Monday – Feline Fun

Finally!!…back with the bum meeting.  The holidays really threw me off track.

This week I want to introduce our feline family member, Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver.

These pictures really don’t do him justice.  Of course I forgot to take them in the afternoon when he was lounging at the house.  I waited until he came up for dinner last night.  He spends his nights in the barn and comes up to the house in the afternoon.  He is usually waiting on us when we come home in the evening.

Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver doesn’t suffer from multiple personality disorder.  The only disorder he suffers from are his human owners.

He is a persistent cat.  When our house was finished 4 years ago and we moved in, so did he.  He wasn’t welcomed with open arms but that didn’t deter him.  He had chosen us……..end of discussion.  We tried ignoring him.  I wasn’t very fond of him.  He picked on my other cats.  He was a true pain in the rear.

One day things took a very different turn.  As baby Lil’ Bum and I ventured down to the barn we met Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver.  He was drooling and as I tried to shoo him he hissed at me.  How dare him.  I immediately diagnosed him with rabies and ordered the Big Guy to protect our baby and put him out of his misery.  I couldn’t have a rabid cat on the loose.  I made the orders but was too much of a coward to witness the deed so baby Lil’ Bum and I went into the house.  My conscious got the best of me and as I ran out the back door to undo what I had done I heard the cry of the pellet gun.  I was too late.

Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver ran away.  What had I done!

It was too late.  He was gone………………….for a little while atleast.  Remember I told you he was persistent.  He forgave me and came back about a month later.  He returned with a different look about him.  His right eye looked a little funny.  He must have gotten into a fight.   Sure that’s what happened.

This time baby Lil’ Bum took notice of him.  She liked him very much which sealed his fate.  To be safe we took him to the vet’s office to have his vaccinations and have his eye checked out.

Guess what that crazy vet said about his eye???

Head trauma…..like he had experienced a hard blow to the side of the head. 

I still think that vet must have been a quack.   It had to have been something else…..probably infection………….which could have been why he was drooling that day.  Maybe he was rabid and just had a miraculous recovery.

Note the hazy eye.

So for about 3 years now Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver has been spoiled rotten as a result of my guilt for diagnosing him with rabies and ordering euthenasia.  That is the reason for name #2. 

He was already a great mouser.  You could tell he had a previous owner because we got into a routine very quickly.  I feed him everytime he asked and he asked ALL THE TIME.  He was already a good sized cat but began to get a whole lot bigger.  The Big Guy began to call him Fatcrack and the cute way baby Lil’ Bum would say Fat Qwauck caused it to also stick.

About a year ago Lil’ Bum became really partial to the movie Charlotte’s Web and we had a pet garden spider move in further giving Kitty aka Fatcrack another name, Wilver.

Also Meet Charlotte Web RIP.

Okay, so we are all friends here and I was very honest…..so believe me when I tell you we do not abuse animals.  I really did think he had rabies.  I overreacted and was wrong.  I am so happy it worked out.  Please don’t hate me.

Added Note:  I almost forgot one of the many identities for Kitty aka Fatcrack aka Wilver.  Penny calls him her Love Kitten.  Oh yes she does and it is soooo embarrassing when we have company. 🙂  .

Meet a Bum Monday – The Blogger

I told you on Friday that today’s edition of “Meet a Bum Monday” would be about me but I didn’t get any good pictures of myself.  Do I really have to?

Yes I do.  Why???  If I tell you I will do it, chances are I will.  I hate to disappoint.

Let’s see where to start…………….I turned 30 on November 17th.  I am 5’6″ and weigh in at about 165.  Yeah!!!!  That might not be impressive to you but when Baby Bum was born 6 months ago I weighed about 205.  I failed to reach my goal of 150 by Christmas but am very proud of my progress so far.

I grew up in southern Arkansas.  I moved away about 10 years.  Although I miss my family greatly I don’t have any plans of moving back.  I love where I am.

I graduated college with a BS in Human Services Counseling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and a minor in Interpreting but I work as an accountant.  Not a CPA but I am considered an accountant by the entity for which I work.  People often ask me why I am not using my degree and I just tell them its a long story.  Its a good one but a long one.  I am very happy where I am and feel it is where I was meant to be.

I am a bit of a pushover.  No matter how mean you are to me I will probably be nice to you.  I can sleep alot easier with hurt feelings than a bad conscious. 

I do have bad qualities also.  I am pretty spoiled.  I usually get my way when it comes to Big Bum.  It’s all his fault.  When we were dating he pushed me to speak my mind and be more assertive.  So with him I do.  Don’t worry, I am not mean to him.  He’s spoiled also.  Another bad thing is that I have been a nail biter since I was 5.

Last night when I was thinking about the fact that I didn’t have a good picture to include with today’s post I decided that I would show you the normal me.  Nothing fancy or flashy. If I keep waiting for the perfect picture I will wait forever.

I have naturally wavy, dark brown hair.  I usually pin it back when I get home to keep my bangs out of my eyes.  I am currently growing all the highlights out of my hair.  

Lil’ Bum was gone with her grandparents last night so I took a minute to soak in the tub and shave my legs etc (quick showers are usually all I get).  I took off my makeup and with my hair pinned back I decided to take a pic.

So……………………….here I am in all my mommy glory:

I promise to fix myself up for you one day.  Maybe….

Meet a Bum Monday – Canine Edition

That’s right.  It’s time for the next edition of “Meet a Bum Monday”.  Today I have chosen to introduce our canine family members, Micah and Penny.  I had planned on interviewing the girls but with the ice storm that we are having and below freezing temperatures neither dog would come out of their warm holes.  

First we have Penny.

Penny is 7 years old and weighs in at  a whopping 11 pounds.  She prefers to spend her days sleeping and following Lil’ Bum around waiting for her to drop food and even once poop for her to eat.   Penny is MY dog.  She was a birthday gift from Big Bum.  It makes no difference to her where I sleep..she will follow.  I often joke that if I slept on a concrete slab she would sleep there with me.  Of course, we know Penny is a dog but we often indulge her as if she were a child.  Saturday I took the kids to Memaw’s (MIL) to stay while I finished up some shopping.  Penny also got to go to Memaw’s.  The dog loves to go go go.

Last but not least we have Micah.

I love this picture.  Micah is 16 years old.  She is a Pointer and was a very good hunter of quail in her younger days.  She is Big Bum’s dog but knows who to talk to when she needs a favor.  I am the one that rallied for her to be let out of her pen even though she dug up the yard………….and tore up the trash.  I am also the one that buys her favorite food.  Right now Micah is living out her last years being spoiled.  She gets canned food everyday (a delicacy at our house and oh is Penny jealous), all the scraps she could want, and a new bed every 3 to 4 weeks (she suffers from incontinence and man her beds get smelly). 

Our dogs are like family and I can’t bear to think of the day that something might happen to either of them.  As for Micah, we know the end is near, but as long as she seems happy and healthy enough we will continue to spoil her.  Hopefully Penny has several more years to go.

Please be in prayer for everyone that is affected by the ice storm.  We got off pretty easy but I know further north it is not so easy.  During times like these it is the electrical lineman and the highway workers that I keep close to my heart.  I pray for their safety and for those not fortunate enough to have a warm place to go and warm winters clothes.

Meet A Bum Monday

See…I told you I would get on schedule.

I decided that since last week you got to meet our stud horse , Tex, then this week I would introduce you to our other stud……my husband.

Think about the first time you saw your true love.  Did you know?  Did your gut tell you they were the one?  That is exactly what happened to me.  One evening when I was grocery shopping I had just turned down the chip isle and there he was.  This 6’5″ gorgeous guy.  He was wearing a work cap, wranglers and a dirty Carhart coat and best of all he had a goatee.  I’m a sucker for facial hair.  I remember looking at him and thinking, “He’s probably married.”  The end.

I know it was meant to be because we live in city of 20,000+ people and we soon crossed  paths again.

Big Bum, as I think we’ll call him, is ten years my senior.  He is the rugged outdoorsy type.  He loves hunting and fishing and everything to do with being outside.   

He’s usually dirty from working, but he cleans up REALLY nice.  I tried to take a picture of him last night at church but every time the picture snapped his mouth was wide open.  He really likes to talk.

Although he is rough and tough, he is also tender and compassionate.

This is him playing with a miniature donkey, Pedro.  Pedro’s mother rejected him so Big Bum took over.  I often watched as the two would play chase.  A big tough guy playing with a little delicate donkey that barely hit him at the knee.

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but when I was pregnant with Lil’ Bum I completely underestimated the father that Big Bum would become.  He had never been around children much and the whole rough-tough man thing had me fooled.  He remained diligent during my long labor.  His exhausted eyes glistened when he watched as the nurses cleaned her up and he followed closely behind when they took to the nursery.  The man that I thought would always be afraid of holding a baby became a father and an awesome one at that.

He is a wonderful, loving father and a caring and helpful husband.

I feel blessed beyond belief.

Added note:  He is not going to divorce me over Lil’ Bum’s hair but did make it clear that he likes it better longer.  What is it with Daddys and their daughter’s hair?

Meet A Bum…….Thursday?

I had this idea……”Meet a Bum Mondays”.

Well, I missed Monday so I am going to start it off all wrong and start today.  Next week I will actually post a bio on Monday.

Since we are called the “Barn” Bums I thought I would start with a bio of one of the animals.  Our stud horse Tex.
                          

My husband hates this picture because it distorts his head, but I think it’s cute.  He is reaching over the fence looking for a carrot.

Not growing up around farm animals, when I was told we were getting a stud I was very apprehensive.  The only thing I had ever known of stud horses was they were mean and would bite.  Boy was I wrong!  Tex is a doll.  He is well mannered and has never offered to bite.  My husband calls him a “gelding that can breed”.

 Tex is very territorial.  There has been a time or two that he has gone after a strange dog (and unfortunately caught a few) but I will never forget the day one of our neighbors pregnant nanny goats somehow got into his pen.  I really thought I was going to see dead goat that day, but luckily I was able to coax her out. 

The one thing that probably influenced my trusting Tex the most was the time my Boston Terrier, Penny, wandered into his pen.  I PANICKED.  This horse had killed dogs.  The thought of seeing her die was more than I could handle.  She was directly underneath him and he was staring down at her……….HE NEVER MOVED……He let her walk right out and then went back to his grazing.  He had no intentions of hurting her.  He knew she belonged there.

He is a pretty guy.  Don’t ya think?