The first month of killing bugs...

Sheltered.  You know the type.  They are the ones sitting in the corner who have GermX on a key chain.  Well, that's me.  I am a germaphobe.  I hate dirt, germs, and the smell of dirt, grass, and hay, well...pretty much anything that isn't completely sanitized. However, when I moved to a farm, I really didn't think about all of this.  I assumed that my husband would be the one who killed all of the snakes, bugs, and other field critters.  Well, I was wrong. 
A week into life at the farm, I noticed that there were a lot of spiders and other misc. bugs hanging out around the house.  I hated the thought of actually sleeping with them leerking in the corners, so I thought it would be fun to do a bug scavenger hunt with the kids.  And of course there would be a reward for whoever killed the most bugs! 
I sat the kids down and explained the rules.  They could go anywhere in the house, kill as many bugs as they wanted, use whoever's shoes was closest, but they had to bring me the evidence.
So there I was, huddling in the kitchen waiting for my little hunters to bring me their kill.  Reigan, who is 4, was first to come running up the stairs.  "Momma, hurry!  I found one, it's a spider," she said pointing at the basement.  I stayed put, I wasn’t the one who was going to get the reward at the end of this little game, and I wasn't going to get my very clean, hands dirty!  "Reigan, you are supposed to kill the spider, not Momma.  Go back down stairs and kill it with your shoe."  As she turned back towards the stairs, I had to laugh.  "This was a great idea," I thought, "Kids are so gullible."
Jasmine, who is almost seven, was next to return to "base".  She has already killed three beetles, two flies, and a spider.  She was very proud.  I had her put her bugs in a pile on a paper plate, right outside the kitchen door, and then I sent her on her way, back to find more.
My pre-pre-teen, Addie, seemed to be very quiet and I hadn't heard a peep from her, so I started to get concerned.  I left my post, walked down stairs (where her bedroom is) and found her....taking a nap!  I woke her up and then practically begged her to "play".  She insisted that I was the one worried about the bugs and I should "play" if I thought it was that fun.  Little did she know that I was playing...just not the same game. 
After about an hour of all bug hunting, I had two contenders left, Jasmine and Reigan.  Reigan had a shoe full of various bugs and Jasmine had a full plate.  It was hard to judge because they both did such a great job, but I had to choose one.  Jasmine seemed fearless when it came to killing, which worried me a little.  Reigan was scared at first, but ultimately had more bugs than Jasmine.  Reigan was declared the winner.  Jasmine had a good constellation prize though; Addie had to do her chores for a week (thought that would teach her to take a nap).  Reigan's prize was a movie night of her choice.  Coincidently, she chose to watch "A Bug's Life" and have popcorn with her teddy bear.
I don't know what I would do without my little helpers.