Aiden has staples in his head...Ouch! #LikeFatherLikeSon

 

Soooo.... this morning while I was checking my e-mail and getting caught up on Facebook I was listening to the kids playing in the girls room.  From the sounds of things everyone was being good and then I heard a "Thud" and Aiden started crying that his head was bleeding....Sure enough he had slipped while climbing down the bunk bed ladder and came down on my solid wood cradle... There was blood running down his head behind his ear and a nice gash in his head....so off to the ER we went....Aiden was tough through the whole process and only shed a few tears and the Dr even said he was more brave than a 13 year old he had seen last week.  It even took the Dr 3 tries to get the second staple to hold.  We stopped at the store for some Advil and Aiden is finally home for his bacon and cinnamon roll breakfast he had picked out yesterday!  

**Ironically Aiden's dad was 8 when he had to have stitches the first time...like Father, like Son!

Happy Memorial Day!

Today marks the 148th year Americans have celebrated Memorial Day!  Originally, it was a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War Soldiers, remembering the sacrifices they made for their country and called Decoration day.  Today we mark the graves of all Veterans to honor them for the time they served and to remember that not all of our soldiers get to come home to see their families.  

Arlington Cemetery has a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier each year and this year Memorial Day flowers are back too!  The Memorial Day Foundation is bringing over 130,000 roses to Arlington Cemetery on May 30th this year and 30,000 of them will be handed out to family visiting the cemetery that day to be placed on the graves of their loved ones. For more information on this click here!

My Dad was one of the "lucky ones" that returned from the Vietnam War in one piece, but I still remember visiting the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. with him and seeing him find the names of soldiers he knew that weren't so lucky.  He would be proud to know that this year at Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary in the Santa Clarita Valley the Vietnam Veterans that died in service to their country will be well represented among those remembered.  The kids wanted to decorate Papaw's headstone for the holiday and I think they picked out some great things for him!

I had the honor of helping my son and Mother-in-Law place a flag beside Granddaddy Wells' headstone this year while we were helping Cub Scout Pack 30 and a few other Packs and Troops place flags at Mountain View Cemetery in Vinton VA in preparation for Memorial Day!

Like everyone else, I am also enjoying the long weekend, but I hope you all will take a moment and say thanks to our fallen soldiers especially...but also then take the time to thank a Veteran...thank an Active Duty Serviceman or Servicewoman... appreciate all the freedoms their sacrifices afford every one of us and show some gratitude!  

I personally am grateful to everyone that is serving or has served in the military.  Thank you for being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to give all Americans a country where we have freedom of speech, press, religion and petition... a country where we are free to carry a gun...a country that allows us choices...Thank you for protecting America!

Some late night cuteness!

Two of Silver's Ducklings -- approx 20 days old!

Man they grow fast!  Left is one day old - right is 20 days! We still have 3 ducklings out of this nest that are not spoken for...they are Muscovy Ducks and will be ready to go by July 2! $20 each and they do not need a pond...a small tub of water for bathing is all you need to keep them happy and they have great personalities!

Though it upsets "Momma Duck" a little we still play with the babies quite frequently and we love feeding them out of our hands and holding them too!

Finishing of our Wolf Scout Adventures! #CubScoutsRule #BSA #ReadyToBeABear #DollyParton

Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to get this post together...with the push to finish belt loop requirements and the end of the school year I've been a little busy to say the least...But here it is finally! I hope you enjoy!

Over the past couple of weeks Aiden and I have been working really hard to tie up some loose ends in his Wolf Adventure and I am proud to say that when he earns his Wolf rank he will have completed 17 of 19 possible Wolf Belt Loops and the 2 that he didn't earn this year were Tiger belt loops that he earned before the program changed last year...soooo...WoW! I am so proud of him for putting in the work and earning so many belt loops and badges this year!

Motor Away #2   --- we built more than the two required boats and then Aiden and the girls had fun testing out their designs in the bathtub that night.  The whole project took about an hour to complete and cost me about two hot glue sticks... Otherwise the kids used recyclables, some craft supplies and their imaginations to create some really neat boats...Some floated really well and some sank when you blew on them...Aiden loved the project so much that he went back to building boats after his bath time was over. 

Finding Your Way #4 --- Aiden had to go on a scavenger hunt using a compass.  Our hunt was more like a treasure hunt, but he used the compass to find each clue.  I got 10 pieces of paper and walked a path around the yard noting which direction I had to travel to get between each clue and then I gave the kids a compass and their first clue telling them to go out the door of the house that faces SW...off they went and after following 10 clues successfully they were each rewarded with a Pokemon card!  Then they made their own clues and went on their own treasure hunts until it was bath time and time to try out those awesome boats we had made earlier in the day.

Hometown Heroes #6 - Aiden needed to participate in a ceremony to celebrate Heroes.  We went to Mountain View Cemetery in Vinton, VA, where we met a couple other Packs to place American Flags by the graves of Veteran's in preparation for Memorial Day!  There were over 700 flags donated by the cemetery and it took about an hour to place them all.  There was even a reporter there from the Vinton Messenger and she wrote up a nice article about the service project that you can view here! 

 

Above is Aiden placing a flag by his Great-Grandaddy's grave and giving him a big salute and below is a picture of Isabella and her Grandma Dee-Dee placing a flag for another Veteran as well as a great shot of all three of my kids helping with the project...ok maybe just two of them...lol...Emma was getting tired by then and thinking hard about resting on the headstone...smh...

 

Collections and Hobbies #5 -- Aiden had to choose a famous person to write a letter to requesting an autographed picture.  We talked and talked about what makes people famous and after giving him several people to choose from Aiden chose to write to Dolly Parton.  Aiden's sisters received books from the Imagination Library and he really enjoyed the books as well!  So... we started with an introduction, followed by a Thank-you and finished with a P.S. photo request.  I hope that he at least gets a response and even more awesome would be to know that Dolly actually saw his letter.  I do have one friend that is a Super Fan of hers and he gave me an address to send the letter to. I will post an update if we get a response.

Next week is a Cub Scout Carnival Graduation that is sure to be lots of great fun and then Aiden will start his Bear Adventures and we will start the hunt for our new Pack in the NRV!

Chicken Eggs vs. Duck Eggs...Whats Crackin'? #SomethingSpecialHomestead

Here at the "Something Special Homestead" we have Brown Chicken Eggs and White Duck Eggs.  They sell for $3 a dozen and we can meet in the Moneta, VA area to fill orders...just send me a message and I will get you added to our delivery schedule!

Though Duck Eggs do contain more cholesterol and fat, they also have more Omega-3 fatty acids and can be a good substitute for Chicken eggs for those with chicken egg allergies.  Countryside Daily and Buzzle both have great articles that go a little more in depth with differences and I highly suggest reading both.     

Congratulations to my Head Start Graduates!

Congratulations to Isabella and Emma for completing their second year of Head Start.  Their first year was completed in Athens, TN and their teachers gave them a great foundation to build on when they went back to Head Start in Moneta, VA this year!  

They are both sooo excited to be going to kindergarten next year! Emma is most excited that there are no naps in Kindergarten...

Isabella is just plain excited to be growing up!

Isabella and Emma were sad to leave their teachers from last year when we moved back to VA, but they were blessed with another set of amazing teachers this year as well!  Thank you so much Mrs. Mullins and Mrs. Etter for taking such good care of the girls and teaching them so much this year!  Emma's biggest accomplishment has been reading "Playing with Dick and Jane" with very little assistance!  Isabella's biggest accomplishment has been growing into a leader and becoming even more caring towards others!

Starting this Fall all of my kids will be in school...real school...*tear...my babies are growing up so fast!  I almost cried at their graduation this morning just looking around at all the decorations in their class room.  It was such a bittersweet moment to be so proud of them and to be so sad that they aren't babies anymore!

Congratulations Girls! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of both of you and we love you to the moon and back!

Spending time with the Kiddos! #SummerIsAlmostHere #BUMC #MES

As we near the end of May lots of programs are coming to an end for the year.  The kids have had a lot of fun going to Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Moneta, VA on Wednesday nights since September of last year.  It has been great to see each of them learn more about God and Jesus and grow in their faith each week.  Though they are excited to have graduated this session of classes they are sad that Wed. church is over for the summer and they are already ready to go back next week!

I took lots of pictures, but with all the movement I didn't get many good ones.  This is a pretty good picture of the group that was at church for their "graduation" party.  They all got certificates, treasure box and cake!  It was a great night for all!

Another program coming to an end is the 21st Century After-school program offered at Moneta Elementary.  Aiden only went to a few of the fun Friday programs, because he wanted me to go to After-school with him and his sisters weren't big enough to go every day....soooo...but this last Fun Friday was arranged for the whole family!

We started with a team building exercise and worked in groups on large Lego sets...

Then we moved across the hall and built "cars" with K-nex!  Aiden was even able to complete a Cub Scout requirement towards the "Motor Away" belt loop...and he thought he was just having fun...

Third was a trip to the gym (it started raining and we couldn't enjoy the playground) and then last we went to the computer lab.  It was a nice couple of hours with the kids before we went to Christiansburg to deliver cupcakes!!!  

Tomorrow is the first day of the last week of school for the kids and I still have some things to get done before they are here with me full time for the summer...so for now I am off to write yet another list and then for some rest before Monday! (and since Monday hates me I am going to need a little extra rest...hehehe)

Project: Chicken Coop #SomethingSpecialHomestead

My major project this Thursday involved cleaning the chicken coop!  I had lots of help from the chickens, ducks and even the cat, Snowy.

Though I may look goofy...cleaning a chicken coop is especially hazardous (you can get salmonella from the poop dust...yuck!)  ...so even I, "invincible me", use a respirator mask.  I also wore gloves today since I managed to slice my hand on the tub drain on Wednesday and I didn't want to take any chances... smh...sometimes bad luck is the only luck I have, but still I push on...

Now, I have been posting about my compost pile and it is doing very well, but to continue doing good it needs to be turned...  

I have closed off the bin on the left and as I cleaned out the chicken coop I turned the middle bin into the waste I collected from the coop into the bin on the left. 

I took seven full wheel barrels out of the coop...and chased the mice out again too... I am really surprised that the mice have survived after seeing the ducks and chickens fighting over a mole yesterday, but still they manage...

Then I added new straw on the floor and in all of the nesting boxes...and the birds helped me spread out the stuff on the floor...

 

The chickens that were nesting when I added hay to the boxes were not impressed...two of them grudgingly moved out of my way, but "Broody" was not so easily persuaded to leave her eggs...she did get off her nest at one point and I saw five or seven eggs...I can't remember right now...If they are fertile eggs they should hatch about the time Mom gets home or maybe just before... I think her Homestead is going to be in full swing by then and she is going to really be able to enjoy it finally!

By the time I finished cleaning the coop I had filled the first compost bin as full as I possibly could and still had leftovers...since my back was starting to hurt and I had other more pressing chores to get done, I set up the third bin and put the last load from the chicken coop in there until I can get back out to finish turning the compost I have in the middle bin.  

This week has been a full one and I got a lot of work done, but we also got some time to have fun... Now it is time to rest for a few before tomorrow's adventure! Til next time!

As the garden grows! #SomethingSpecialHomestead

I got a new load of manure in the past couple of weeks and with planting season upon us I have been working on moving it to the garden as quickly as I can.  I got three wagon loads done on Monday and yesterday I managed to get one more load done before the drive belt broke...grounding that project to a halt...The belt has been ordered and if things go as planned I will be able to resume this project on Monday of next week...

 

...until then I started planting in any available space I could find and actually got quite a bit added to our garden...Above on the left is a "Scottish Bonnet" pepper plant that is supposed to be hotter than a jalapeno and on the right is a "Long Red Slim" hot pepper that will be used for jellies...

 

...next up we have a "Gypsy" pepper plant on the left and a "Red Bell" pepper on the right...these should both be a sweet pepper variety.  I have never tried the Gypsy peppers so I only bought one plant, but got two of the red bell peppers since they are a family favorite!...

...our zucchini plants are thriving under their tent and do not seem to be having near the pest problem that the green beans are facing...

 

...our peas and potatoes are doing well...I finally remembered to add hay to the tire stacks and hope to get some more tires soon that I can add to each of these stacks and to make a sweet potato tower out of as well... The peas are starting to get ripe and Aiden tried them fresh off the vine for the first time yesterday...He loved them so much that he didn't want to share with his sisters, but they were glad he did!  Their poor grandma may be lucky to find any fresh peas in the freezer to enjoy when she gets home as impressed as they were...We also have a small line of carrots in front of the peas that they kids discovered and they may be gone in no time as well...lol

...This is the first set of tomatoes we got planted this year and they are growing by leaps and bounds with all of the recent rain... looks like I will be building tomato cages sooner rather than later to contain these buggers...

 

...and just in case that's not enough tomatoes I added another 14 paste tomato plants to the garden yesterday as well...and there's more...Seriously if anyone in the area wants some tomato plants I can meet you between Moneta and Christiansburg this weekend...until I get 5 more cement blocks and get the tractor fixed I won't be able to plant any more and really I'm not sure how much salsa Mom can process in a year...lol...

...I literally started with this whole tray of tomato plants and I think less than 1/4 of them have found a home in the garden...

...last but not least, I planted a tray of cilantro and marigolds around the garden...the cilantro is great in salsa and the marigolds are supposed to help keep the bugs down...

...in the front of the house I trimmed the bushes by the front walk down to a little bit of nothing (Mom doesn't like them and digging them out is too big a job to add to my plate right now)...

 

...and then I replanted Aiden's "onions", really Mom's daffodils, along with some hyacinth bulbs and cowl lilies that needed to be taken care of... I think if the bushes are kept trimmed way down this will be a beautiful garden for mom to watch bloom...all it needs is a few tulip bulbs and it will be complete!

...now it's time to find new homes for our latest batch of 19 trees... I have ideas for some of them, but I really wish I had the lawn tractor running to help me carry everything to the other side of the field...til next time!