Herman, Equal Opportunity Garden Gnome

Herman lives in our yard.  He is an equal opportunity garden gnome.  You see, he supports little boys who are nice about sharing and being loving towards their brothers.

When Pierce has been extra kind to his brothers, Herman will sometimes have a little gift at his feet.

To show his approval.

A little glow stick, a bubble wand, a sheet of stickers.

Herman knows when little boys have been good.

Just like Santa Clause.

Only year round.

So watch your back and be nice to your siblings ;-)

Summer Bucket List

Little Wonders Days is hosting a 'summer bucket list' - fun things you want to accomplish this summer with the kid/kids.  Sounds like fun to me - a great idea!  Mine is going to be a hodgepodge of things we already have scheduled, plus some that will be more spontaneous:
1.  Teach Pierce to swim.
2.  Complete the summer reading program at the library.
3.  Attend as many library story hours as possible this summer.
4.  First birthday cake for the twins come August 8th! 
5.  Take another camping trip in late summer
6.  Teach Pierce to ride a two wheeled bike (we have to get one first).
7.  Start gathering our own eggs (yes, we'll have some very soon!)
8.  Attend at least one All Comers Track Meet (Pierce will be old enough to 'race' this year).
9.  Track Tuesdays!  Okay, this is for me sort of, but we participate in a track workout as a family so I'm going to put it on here (Pierce adores it - it's so fun for him).
10.  Natural Science museum in Raleigh - we've been wanting to do this road trip for a while to walk among the dinosaurs, so I hope we can find a time to make this happen this summer.
11.  Go to the local creamery for ice cream.
12.  Go to the zoo.
13.  Transportation museum.
14.  Return to Bur-well water park once Pierce learns to swim.
15.  Go to the local fair when it comes to town (scope out Elvis's cousins while there).
16.  Enjoy some locally grown peaches from the farmer's market.
17.  Lunch with Daddy downtown one day.
18.  Go hear some bluegrass or reggae music live (this one is for Daddy)
19.  Make our own popsicles
20.  Go to Amazement Square

Should be a fun summer!

Olive Garden comes to Muffin Tin Monday

Olive Garden to go that is.  Pierce got a little bit of everyone's.  Breadsticks, olives (from home, but the kid loves olives - seriously, they were the bribe we used for potty training!), water, salad, parmesan encrusted tilapia and fettucine alfredo.

This tin makes up for lack of creativity with it's "YUM"-factor.

Want to do Muffin Tin Monday?

Click:

Now, how about some fun with chickens?

This is Natasha.

This cuddly picture is deceiving.  It took great stealth on my part to chicken-wrangle her up for a picture.  She's actually quite villanous.  Hence the name.

She picks on Elvis, and she puffs up her neck feathers to do so.

She has a kind of chicken-hawk look to her.

Scary, huh?!

On a side note, Elvis alarmed the Terminex man, who came to pretend-to-kill-stinkbugs on Wednesday.  He banged on the door and told my mom to "Come out quick and tell me what this SKUNK-BIRD is!"  He said he'd walked around him/her 3 times and couldn't find a face.

Duh! 

Don't you know an Elvis when you see one?

On a side note, next week I'll be taking a hiatis from Muffin Tin Monday.  Blasphemy, you say?!  I know, I know, but, something came up....prom! 

The Mommyologist is hosting a prom...basically an excuse for moms everywhere to put on a dress for a picture that makes them feel good.

Interested?

Click HERE to read about it.

Sounds fun, huh?

Tiger Fudge

In April I bought some colored Easter chocolates on clearance.  Blue, pink, yellow and purple.  Now I'm trying to find things to make with them.

First creation:  tiger fudge! 

1 lb. white chocolate (or in this case, blue)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 6 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt white chocolate and peanut butter together in microwave on medium, stirring several times (took me about 90 seconds total).  Melt chocolate chips in same manner.  While chocolate chips are melting, spread peanut butter mixture on a foil lined 11x15 inch cookie sheet.  Drizzle melted chocolate chips over peanut butter mixture, and swirl together to create a marble effect.  Chill thoroughly, break into pieces.  Keep refridgerated.

This is from my trusty Baylor Cookbook.  I swear, this cookbook has The Best recipes ever.  Texans can really cook!

A Few Things I Haven't Killed (Yet)

I don't have a green thumb.  I have no sense of landscaping (unlike my Dad, who rocks in vision when it comes to planting and growing and creating). 

But I have a few things that I planted when preggo with the twins that returned this year, much to my astonishment and joy.  They are in bloom right now, and beautiful.

Lavendar:

Scarlett lilies:

The hydrangeas were planted about 10 years ago when we first bought our land, but they've stuck around through thick and thin and although they don't bloom for long, we really enjoy them when they're bright and blossomy:

We are trying our hand at some veggies as well this year.  Tomatoes and squashes.  Hopefully they'll do well.  Our apple tree has tiny little apples on it - not quite golf-ball sized - and it looks to be a good year for apples.  We still have a couple of apple pies in our deep freeze from last year to eat up.  I don't imagine that'll be very hard ;-)

What's growing in your neck of the woods?

Memory Lane Friday - A Time You Were Scared

Memory Lane Friday is a time to preserve your memories for your family.  Each week has a different theme.  This week's theme is 'A Time You Were Scared'.

As a kid, one of my favorite things was to go visit my cousins.  They had so many fun things to do and their mom, Carolyn (my mother's sister) was slightly more permissive than my own mom.

Pictured below from left to right -

Me, cousin Kristin, aunt Carolyn in back with my baby brother Taylor, cousin Brandon.

Visiting their house during the summers was like opening the doors to an adventureland.

Bikes with no brakes, crawdad hunting in the creek, secret trails and bb guns.

What more could a kid ask for?

I'll tell you what.

HORROR MOVIES!

Which I wasn't allowed to watch.

First, my cousins broke me in easy.

They took me to see Jaws in 3D.

Spinetingling?  Yes.

A little jumpy in the movie seat?  Sure.

But tolerable and exciting. 

I felt so cool.

Then my cousins really let me have it.

They rented a movie.

Oh yes they did.

And then they SWORE me to secrecy.

I wasn't to tell my mom I'd been allowed to watch it.

Amityville 3D.

Copyright on this was 1983, so I'm guessing I was 8 or 9 when I watched it.

I remember sitting on the couch in their basement with my cousins while I watched it, in horror of course!

Course it was only rated PG - the rating of PG-13 didn't exist yet.

The part of the movie I remember clearly is a scene towards the end involving the basement.

There was a well in the creepy basement full of boiling liquid that was supposedly a portal to Hell.  One character is burned and dragged into the depths of the well by a demon, before the entire house catches on fire and starts exploding.

True to my promise, I didn't tell my parents I'd seen Amityville.  But a couple of months later my family took a trip to Asheville to look at houses.  My parents were considering moving there.

As we toured through different houses, we visited an old tudor.

Things started just fine as we walked through the house, room to room.

Until we went down in the basement.

For there, in the basement, was the scene from Amityville just waiting for me.

The tudor's basement looked JUST LIKE the basement from Amityville 3D!

My parents were charmed by the house.

Meanwhile I was begging and pleading in terror "YOU JUST CAN'T BUY THIS HOUSE".

"Why?" they asked me, perplexed.

And I couldn't tell them "Because it's CURSED you fools!  We will be devoured by demons if you buy this house!  Just like in Amityville horror!"  Nope, I couldn't betray my cousins that way.  So I blubbered and sobbed much to their bewilderment.

Luckily, they decided in the end not to move to Asheville.

Whew, close call though!

Want to participate in Memory Lane Friday?

It's easy!

Just grab the code below the button and copy/paste it into your blog.

<a href="http://twobearsfarm.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll311/varunner7/button_edited-3-1.jpg" /></a>

Then come back and add your website into Mister Linky:

Be sure to come back next week.  The theme is 'My Dad' and it's a chance for you to tell stories about your father just in time for Father's Day.  I'm pretty sure I can dig up a few good ones about my dad!

Things I've Learned in 6 Months of Blogging

Today marks my 6 month anniversary of blogging.  This is my 209th post!  I am still a rookie, but along the journey, I've learned a few useful things through trial and error, and from other bloggers. 

I learned that people don't like word verification.  I wish I could remember which blog I first read this on, because I'd give them credit.  After I read this (approximately 3 months ago), I turned off my word verification.  The thing is, I still preview comments, so if I got a spammer I could just delete it.  In the time since I turned off word verification, I haven't gotten any comments in other languages or in nastiness.  And it saves readers time and frustration by not having to go through it.

I learned that as in real life, in order to make friends you need to put yourself out there.  As in visiting others' blogs, making comments, and if you really enjoy what they have to say, following them.  Participating in memes or blog carnivals are a great way to meet people.  I've tried a variety to see which ones I like best, and the one that I've stuck to is Muffin Tin Monday.  But if you're not into cooking or muffin tins, there are plenty to choose from.  By coming back week to week, you'll meet other regular bloggers and make friends.

I learned that people like posts where you are real.  But all things in moderation.  Do you really want to read about someone who is constantly down or struggling?  Likewise, do you really want to read about someone who is always having a perfect life?  I think a balance between the two creates legitimacy in your blog.

Blogging shouldn't be hard.  There are so many things to blog about!  If you're having trouble thinking of topics, use what you have.  Take a picture of something you love and talk about why it's so great.  Write about a book you're reading.  A movie you've seen.  A food you've cooked.  Nutella (because it deserves its own post).  Anything can be a topic.  I once took a picture of a piece of wood that I was planning to blog about - but I had so many other things to talk about I never did get around to writing on the wood! 

Learn how to go into google and see what kind of posts you're doing that attact readers.  If only to gauge your own writing and see where your strengths are.  I just think it's an interesting study of your blog.  And it may surprise you.  It certainly did me.  My most popular post in the past 6 months?  The Lure of the Park Ranger.

I learned how to write posts ahead of time and schedule them for posting without me.  This is by far one of my favorite features.  I don't know why it took me so long to figure out.  So handy on the days that I am teaching.  Also, I especially use it with Memory Lane Fridays - this way I don't have to be up early to get my post out there for those of you who participate - it just goes automatically once I schedule it.  Love this feature!

I'm still very much a newbie and I still have tons to learn about blogging (and would love to hear your tips if you have any), but I've had a lot of fun with it so far.  I've enjoyed meeting others and having a creative outlet has been essential for me during this year of transition after having the twins.  Especially during those long, snowy winter days where we were trapped in the house.  Whew!  TGI Summer!