The First Day Dress

Ever since I saw the First Day Dress on 

danamadeit.com,

I knew that Mary Grace had to have it

(or rather, I had to make it!).

And I was not disappointed.

So far I've been obsessed with sewing just the swing dress, 

but the pattern also allows for an 

A-line dress/top, and a swing top option.

I'm not sure yet if I like it better 

with the capped sleeves or without.

I might have to make a few more,

you know, just to be sure!

Mary Grace loves the "twirl factor" from the circle skirt.

And poking mommy with sticks 

when she gets tired of modeling for the day!

That's fine.
I'll just go back to my sewing.

Last harvest of the summer

It's the day I've been waiting for all summer, 

the watermelon harvest!

Just four small Sugarbaby melons came from the mulch bed garden.  I've never had much luck growing melons, but this variety seemed to do well, it makes me regret not planting more!  

They are super sweet and just the right size to store in the fridge.  And perfect for a summer morning breakfast!

I'm also very excited about these birdhouse gourds and luffa!

These will be part of our homemade Christmas gifts this year.

After they dry out over the fall, Kyle and I have plans to decorate them with a wood-burning pen and then dip them in stain and high gloss polyurethane.  

They are going to be gorgeous hanging in the trees next spring!

Our luffa are going into handmade soaps, 

kind of a soap and body scrubber all-in-one!

There will be a few more pepper harvests and some eggplant, too.  They just love these long Texas summers.  

Soon work will begin to ready the garden for fall plants: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and greens.  

Oh, and less weeding, too!  

That's my favorite part about the winter garden!

Smells like laundry

Living in the country with five kiddos and a dog, 

sometimes the house can smell less than...

fresh.

I have a couple of those wax warmer thingies strategically placed around the home for such occasions,

 but I was out of the scented wax melts.  

A perfect substitute:

Gain Fireworks laundry booster!

About two tablespoons of scent booster 

makes a nice subtle smell throughout the house. 

It smells like laundry day, 

but without all the work!

Happy Feast of the Assumption

And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His Name.

 He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”

A busy month!

Y'all, July flew by for us!

It's been really bustling in the Creamer household,

here's what we've been up to:

Ryan graduated from WCJC 

(actually his second graduation from a program there!)

and he has been super busy preparing to take his state boards. 

 HE DID IT! 

He passed his Cosmetology boards with flying colors and now has a job at Visible Changes that he really likes.

I like that he has full time employment!

And even though he's a fancy shmancy hair stylist now, he still makes time to take care of all of us with free haircuts!  

And if that wasn't enough, 

Ryan celebrated his 20th birthday!

I feel so old. 

Kyle had a birthday this month, too. 

We celebrated by going to an Astros game.

That boy is a die hard Astros fan!

He also got his very first job working at the local BBQ joint.

Sometimes he comes home with leftover ribs and kolaches.

My husband loves Kyle's new job.

Family selfie

I love that things have finally settled down and we can get back to our normal routine and a new home school year.  

Things don't stay quiet around here for long.