What a nice day to be outside! We got sooo much done! #FarmLife

The weather was so beautiful today we couldn't stay cooped up while we waited for the gas company to show up.  So we got dressed and went out to make good use of such nice weather after opening the windows to air out the house.  We started with the path between the blueberries and blackberries.  Mom had gotten the plastic pulled back last weekend when she started the blueberries so we had to rake it smooth again and pull it back straight before we could fix the bricks on the sides and add the mulch.

 

Once we got it done it looked much better and now we have easy access to the side field without having to walk all the way around the berries every time.  Plus it's wide enough to drive the riding mower through!  Now we just need to put some more mulch around the blackberries and move the back bricks out a little and that whole area will be done for the year.

  The next project we worked on was getting some potatoes planted in our first tire stack, then we used a tomato cage that we found at my sisters and some plastic mesh my brother brought by over the winter to protect the potato sprouts from the chickens until we can fence the garden.  We even added some rope to secure it to the fence so that they couldn't knock it over and hopefully we will have a nice potato harvest in the fall. 

Once we  got the potatoes squared away we moved on to the middle garden and moved the rest of the cement blocks we had from the old garden to their new home. Then we finished filling in the back garden so the peas and carrots can be planted tomorrow and we are hoping that we can finish the back garden beside the potatoes tomorrow and get it ready for the onions and tomatoes.  

We were still at it when the kids got home from school and we got some help out of them, but they were much more interested in watching the men from the gas company install the gas line, tanks and stove.

Not only did the ducks and chickens get like 4 servings of scratch today, they also got an extra special treat when we filled their big water trough that they like to swim and bathe in.  The poor things were all trying to fit in their water dish at once... Apparently 3 ducks is all you can fit at once though! As you can see below...lol!

One last cute picture for the day..."A" had rode his bike into the backyard and parked it to help me with something... when we turned back to look at his bike one of our little barred rock hens was on the back tire checking it out!

Life with Twins plus Another one!

People are always telling me I have my hands full and I really do, but I don't think having twins has anything to do with it.  I think 3 kids is a handful any way you look at it.  My kids are getting ready to turn 5 and 8 and having the three of them has been a challenge most days, but I wouldn't trade it for the world...at least most of the time...hehehe...I do love them with all of my heart and challenging or not it has been a blessing to see them grow and learn over the years.  I have kissed boo boos and wiped away tears, we have laughed and cried together, we have taken trips, and we have been a family the way family is supposed to be.

The biggest personal challenge I have faced with my kids has been them all talking to me at once and they especially love to do it when I get on the phone.  One will be repeating the same question over and over until they get an answer and the other two will be talking over each other to tell me something that they feel has to be said right now.  I don't think it's any different for me than it is for any other mother of three (I have heard "having twins must be so much harder" more than I can count).   

As far as the twins go they are like night and day in some ways and exactly the same in others.  Em is shy, mellow-dramatic, and loud (what a combination, huh?), while Is doesn't let things bother her as much, she's a social butterfly and she's quiet (this one is just as complex)!  Em is very good at reading and can read over 50 words and a couple of books.  While Is, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have that same drive to learn to read and has been more of a challenge to stay patient with as she learns.  They do both loves hugs and cuddles, going to church, dancing, singing, listening to stories, playing outside, and eating tomatoes.  They both have thousands of questions, an appetite for knowledge that is insatiable,  and great imaginations.  Neither of them like the dark and as far as dislikes go that's pretty much the only one they agree upon.    

For all of my kids I try to focus on their successes and talents and celebrate the things that make them great instead of focusing on ways they may fall short.  The first thing we do after school is a behavior check and everyone is praised for any good reports brought home, then it's time for "A" to do his homework, I make sure to continue working on reading with Is and Em daily and I encourage Em to color neatly instead of scribbling, but I also compliment her on her reading skills and Is on how good her drawings are.   For "A "we try to focus on the areas he got a smiley face for in his behavior book (yup we're there again) and the good grades he gets on most of his school work.  I feel like this gives us a way we can work on their individual challenges, but we can also offer the encouragement of praise.  

I am having a lot more trouble with focusing on the good when it comes to raising "A"...some say it's because he's a boy, some have suggested medication or counseling, some say there is too much change in his life and he needs things to become and stay more constant.  He is struggling a lot in school staying focused, making friends, not annoying others, speaking and acting politely, and respecting personal space.  Each year starts out so-so in school with a few pot holes and once he has been there awhile it seems like things spiral downward and we have so many negative reports from teachers at school and church that it is hard to focus on the positives.  We tried a point system that made him angry and more defiant, we have grounded him, talked to him til we were blue in the face, and nothing seems to get better and stay better.  There is a parent-teacher conference in my near future and hopefully she will have some good suggestions.  If not then let countdown begin: there are only 3 more months of school left.  Next year we will again be in a new school (he is looking forward to that), with new friends (this part is hard for him) and a new Cub Scout Pack (so far both of our Packs have been good and we will hate to leave this one behind as well).  We are hopeful that this move will be the last one for us for awhile and things can become a little more consistent.  Maybe it will help? I guess only time will tell?

We do have plans to move this summer and we are even hoping to buy our first house.  "A" really wants to go back to the Glenvar area, but most likely we will end up a little closer to or in the NRV.  For now it's time to do a little party planning and get some rest before the new school week starts tomorrow!

Free Pokemon cards at Toys"R"us!

If you missed your chance to get a free your two free Pokemon cards, activity book and poster today at Toy"R"Us there will be another opportunity on April 2nd between Noon and 2 pm.  There was an area for kids to battle and trade cards and a table with employees handing out the freebies and a couple of featured products.  It looked kinda small when we first arrived, but after the initial crowd got through the line for the freebies there was enough space to check out each others cards.  Since we are living in two homes and didn't prepare ourselves properly we didn't have any of our card books with us, but we are going to do our best to give them the chance to show his cards off the next time...It would be a tight schedule for April 2nd, but the kids may have just enough time to stop at Toy"R"Us on the way to the Glessner wedding...I will have to see what I can do because I think those cards are awesome too and I hope the kids don't miss out on them!

Today's cards were a "Magikarp" and "Pikachu"  Toy"R"Us special edition shiny foil cards!  They are really cool collectors items even though they have low HP.

 The cards in April will be a Clefairy and Meowth have awesome designs too!  Today's event was the first Pokemon event we attended at Toys"R"us and we look forward to attending future events too.

 

The kids activity books were really cool with instructions to draw Pikachu, a couple of identification games and a maze.  The answer key to the activities was on the back page and could have been disguised better, but I liked it none-the-less.  Overall I would say I rate the event a 4 out of 5 stars.  I think the staff was friendly, the line moved smoothly and the free giveaways were nice items.  I would have stocked the area with Pokemon products instead of Legos (or at least have moved the Pokemon display to within view of the event area) and I would have put the freebies right by the entrance and the table to play in the middle to leave a bigger path on each side for people to exit. Something more like the sketch below! :0)

We did get a nice tip from the guy in front of us, who was a Pokemon expert, and even got some free $$ at the event.  There was a lady doing surveys about the event and each household could take about a 5 minute survey for $10 cash!  I had tipped my brother off to the event earlier in the day and when I saw him there I got him to participate in the survey too and we each got $10 for our time.  He used his free money to get A's birthday present and we got him a $3 discount on the present with the BOGO 40% off sale on Pokemon stuff by combining our purchases.  I had planned to buy something to go with A's birthday cake since he wants a Pokemon theme for his party and there was a sale to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon so the discount and free $$ was an awesome bonus for the shopping trip!!!!

We typically will buy our trading cards in 3 packs at the Dollar Tree and have started a nice collection for each of the kids so that by the time they can learn how to play the actual card game, they should have pretty impressive decks.  For now they are enjoying collecting and trading the cards with each other and they were all very excited to get new shiny cards at Toy"R"Us today!

Fixin' the yard!

Anyone who has raised chickens and/or ducks knows they like to make holes and generally scratch up the yard.  I have prepped their chicken run for the spring and I am hoping that their grass will start sprouting soon.  Today I used some of our pine chips to start fixing the parts of the yard that are torn up the most.  

I started with the area right in front of the coop.  If you look really close you can see a little ditch that runs parallel to the front of the coop and there is also a dip about 2-3 inches deep and 2-3 foot across a few feet in front of the big ramp.

It took about 12 wheel barrows full to do this area and I was about to give up for the day until I looked at the ground around the water trough.

We put the trough under the down spout to catch rain water when it is available and with all of the rain we have had recently it has been overflowing.  Plus the ducks like to root around in the mud around the trough eroding away even more of the dirt.  You can even see a 2-3 inch gap under the fence in places.

So even though I usually would not put mulch beside the house (since it can attract termites), I did this time.  It only took one wheel barrow full to do the area and it evened everything out quite nicely.  I was careful to keep it back from the foundation and I will be adding dirt and grass seed a little later this spring, so I think it will be fine.

We got our new Nesting boxes installed!

My sister is selling her house in Moneta and there are some things still there that are not practical to move all the way to WY, so Mom and I have been given the opportunity to stock her farm with some "new to us" things, tomato cages, rocks for building up garden beds and all sorts of useful things. The other day Mom and I went down to my sisters old farm and got some nesting boxes for the hen house that were direly needed.  

Now, as many of you know when things are left behind it can also mean that cleaning them to move them would have been a chore as well....so when we got them home I set to work scrubbing and scraping and got them pretty clean so that they could be installed.  I did this between rain storms and had to put them in the garage to dry out too... Though they are heavy I found a couple furniture dollies and was able to wheel them in instead of trying to drag them.

Since we had to go through the yard to get them to the coop and Mom would have hurt herself trying to carry them that far, we loaded one end into the garden wagon that she pulled and I carried the other end.   Before we could get them all the way in the coop the barred rock hens had to "help us out"...I think all 8 of them were on them before they made it to the wall. :0)  

We installed a brace on the wall even with a roost we had put in last fall and put screws through the back wall into all of the supporting beams for the shed that we could and Wa-La we had new nesting boxes.  The chickens were very appreciative of the new boxes and a couple of them told us all about it the whole time we were working...lol...I love those crazy birds. :0)

We also took some crates the chickens were using as roosts and pooping in (We had hoped they would make good nesting boxes, but the chickens had other ideas) and we flipped them up on their sides on the original nesting shelf.  We may still need to put dividers in, but we found out pretty quickly that a solid top was a necessity as one of the hens fell through the top and got stuck for a minute before falling all the way through.  Though it was amusing to watch, they could hurt themselves so we moved a spare piece of panel board to the top of the crates and problem solved....for now...

Mom happily collected a few eggs by the time we were done and the chickens were super happy at bedtime as they checked out their new options.  The ducks didn't seem interested though so we may need to put in some lower options for them next. :0)

Spring is almost here and there is still so much to do.  I am off to tackle my list for the day!

Teddy Bear Brigade for Gleaning for the World! #CubScouts #ServiceProject

 Cub Scout Pack 30

has started a new service project and we would like to reach out to the community to see how much support we can rally!  We have joined together with the local OA to support Gleaning for the World in their "Teddy Bear Brigade" this year!

This mission project was created to help provide comfort and security to kids going through a tough time.  They may have been abandoned, have had a house fire, be seriously ill or have been affected by a war or natural disaster and most of them have nothing to call their own.  Children going through a disaster or illness are changed by receiving even a small gift of something they can claim as theirs.  

For anyone that lives in SW VA ---- If you have any spare toys or would like to buy some to donate that fit the criteria below please let me know by April 20, 2016 and I will make arrangements to meet you to pick them up before our deadline of April 26, 2016 or you can drop them off at Bethlehem United Methodist in Moneta, VA.

The stuffed animals you donate should fit the following criteria and can be new or used:

• Clean and free of rips, tears, stains, and odors
• No battery packs or squeaky toys
• Nothing scary, Halloween-related, or military affiliated
• Stuffed animals of all sizes will be accepted but the suggested size range is stuffed animals between 10” and 15” tall

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We have actually participated in a few toy drives for gently used toys and of course we moved not too long ago, so we have been whittling down our stuffed toy collection, but when I counted there were still 90 of them between the three kids.  I was actually surprised that we seemed to have so few, but even as small as most of them are the pile still covered the couch.  "Em" really impressed me with her generosity and willingness to give away even some of her most favorites, "Is" shed a few tears in the process, but eventually found a couple she was willing to part with and "A", who has more than his sisters put together, was the most difficult, but he too found some generosity in his heart and made his contribution.  I am proud of all three of them for participating in this mission and I hope it helps to shape them into giving and caring adults one day!

((And even though we have so many stuffed animals, they are all dear to us and hold special memories and it was hard to let go of any of them, but we felt like we should do our part to help some less fortunate kids who will love them just as much or more than we did!))

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Introducing "Piece of Cake Bakery" !!

I put out some feelers over the past week or so and got loads of support from my family and friends and I finally took the plunge.  After a lot of thought I decided that a Facebook Page would be a great place to start advertising.  I have gotten over 25 likes on my page already and I am hopeful that that number will continue to grow everyday as my friends and family share my page with their friends and families and so on!  I am going to be working on adding flavors and different options to a "Menu" of sorts on my Facebook page and I will follow the creation of the cakes on my blog.  

Menu 

One of the things I have struggled with for awhile is what to call my business.  I knew I wanted something catchy, as any new entrepreneur should, but I couldn't decide if I should have my name in there or not and slew of other things.  I also wanted to be original so I searched different names as they crossed my mind and kept finding that other people had already taken those ideas.  Then I found it and I am proud to announce the opening of:

Piece of Cake Bakery

I am so excited to start this journey that words cannot express my joy.  I have been writing my blog for some time and I am finally starting to get some followers and steady traffic, but it took awhile.  So, I was excited to get such a great response to my Facebook page and I even got my first message today that could result in my first Vegan Wedding Cake!  

  

One thing that I hadn't thought about before I got started was specialty cakes.  Now I'm not talking about special flavors or "specialty" because of the decoration. No I mean real specialty cakes for people with dietary restrictions. I don't have any dietary restrictions and am thankful everyday for that, but I do know many people that are Vegan, lactose intolerant, Gluten-free, etc and I want to be able to bake for them too.  So along with making cakes the traditional way with milk and butter and eggs I am looking into alternative recipes for my ingredient challenged friends out there.  Currently I am looking into vegan and gluten free options that I can offer.  No promises yet but, I am definitely going to start doing some test baking and see if I can find some recipes that I like.  Then I think I will see if I can find a good sugar-free recipe to add to the mix. Wish me luck! :0)

Life on the farm!

I had to separate the Drakes again tonight.  They have gotten along together all day in the yard, but when it was time to go to bed Quackers, the large silver duck shown above, started going after Pretty Boy, shown below and he had to be moved out to the bachelor pad again.  I shipped one of the silver girl ducks off with him to keep him company and we will see what happens tomorrow.  If the rain clears it seems like it might be time to clip wings so that we can keep the birds separated...last time we separated them it only took two days for all four of the birds we moved to hop back over the fence into the main back yard.  I just hope they don't start climbing the fence when they can't fly anymore..lol...no seriously I have seen them do it but it does make me laugh. :0)

I got a good picture of Stubborn today too.  He was named stubborn because he didn't grow tail-feathers as quickly as the hens...kid logic, he's A's rooster.  He did finally grow some tail-feathers and you can see them in the picture above and him standing pretty in the picture below. 

He really is a sweet rooster, but he can still look mean when he wants to...hehehe...

 

We visited the Vinton Fire Station! #CubScouts #CouncilFire #HometownHeroes

I want to send out a big thanks to the Fire/EMS crew at Vinton Fire Station for welcoming us tonight.  We had all seven of our scouts from Tiger to Bear come out for a great tour.  One of the Firefighter/EMS workers, William, took the lead and he talked to the boys about Fire Safety, why they all chose to be Firemen and EMS personnel, what they do for the community and more. The main things William wanted to make sure the boys all knew were: Stop, drop and roll, Get low and go, Call 9-1-1 and Don't play with matches or lighters.  For my Wolves this will fulfill their 5th requirement for their "Council Fire" belt loop and their 2nd requirement for "Hometown Heroes" once they have written a Thank-you note to one of the Firemen we saw! 

Next William had Andrew dress in his full turnout gear to show the kids how different he looks and sounds when he has it all on and that he was still the same friendly fireman.  Then he reviewed with the boys that in a fire situation, when the firemen are dressed in their turnout gear they can look kinda scary, but they are always there to help.  He made sure to tell the boys never to hide from a Fireman during a fire and make sure to answer them if you hear them calling out or go to them if you can see them.

We got to see the ambulance and learn about some of the things they carry with them when they take the ambulance out.  Plus we learned that the firemen still carry their turnout gear with them in special compartments when they ride the ambulance.

The kids were allowed to look at all of the equipment that the Firetruck holds for the many situations a Fireman could encounter and climb through one of the trucks to see the inside too.  Plus we got to check out their awesome thermal camera that helps them find people in the dark AND best of all they sent Tucker down the Fire pole!!!  My camera wasn't fast enough, but if you look above the ambulance you can see the pole and they do still use it occasionally!

 Luckily there were no calls during our visit and we even got to meet Lieutenant Larry and Captain Jerry while we were there. They both provided comic relief and seemed to really enjoy having the kids come out to visit them.   

At the end of our visit they let us take some pictures on the front of their biggest Fire Truck!

And of course we couldn't pass up the chance to take a silly face picture too!

Thanks again Vinton Fire Station for letting us come visit and for everything that you do for the community!