Taking time to smell...

the lemon verbena and basil!

I had cut these two back to the ground a few weeks ago thinking that their summer glory was gone.

I was wrong.

All they wanted was a good cutting back!  Now I am enjoying them all over again.  It smells divine in my kitchen right now and the kids want to know what I'm cooking.

So what if school work is getting started a little late this morning.  We are taking time to enjoy the little things today!

Pickled peppers

The one thing the bugs left alone this summer were my pepper plants. Almost daily I can harvest baskets of these fiery goodies. My jalapeno plants are especially prolific:

My oldest two and I love spicy foods.

I found a tutorial online for a wonderful pickled pepper to use up all those jalapenos.  It's so good that we've already gone through two quarts of them!

If you like pickled peppers, you'll love this recipe!

Rinsing the peppers after cutting really does take a lot of the "bite" out of them and lets the flavor come through.

10 large jalapeno peppers, sliced

1 tbsp sugar 

3/4 cup white distilled vinegar

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp kosher salt (I doubled this amount)

1/2 tsp oregano

1 clove garlic (doubled this, too!)

The last of the summer sewing

Thursday evening I finished the last of three tunic dresses for little Mary Grace. I used THIS PATTERN that I got off of Etsy.  I made the 18mo. size even though MG turns one next month.  They are a little big right now (looking more moo-moo than tunic) but in six or seven months they will be perfect for spring!

I used fabric from my vintage sheet stash and I think they came out simply darling!

They even have pockets, which will be perfect for stashing Cheerios in!

Have I mentioned lately that having a little girl is really FUN?

Busy...

Sorry I have been absent from this space, but managing a family of seven has been kicking me in the butt lately!

It's a usual September, we are getting back in the routine of homeschooling, chores, and kid's activities.  Doug has decided to go back to school as well and that has been an adjustment.  Work is killing me, as usual....and I'm continuing to pray to win the lottery!

It's the simple day to day events of life.

I'm not complaining, but a nap every now and then sure would be nice!

I hope to get back here soon.  I have some wonderful projects to share.

TTFN!

I'm in LOVE with Luffas!

Every year I try to grow something "different" in the garden. This year I tried my hand at growing Luffa...and I am in LOVE!

Luffa are technically gourds and can be eaten while young and tender.  They say they taste like squash.  I'm not in them for the food value, I want them for scrubbing.  Scrubbing dishes, cars, people, anything that cannot tolerate steel wool.  I also hope to include them in some handmade Christmas gifts this year.

Growing luffa is really easy but you must have two things, a long growing season and support.  I planted two seeds underneath a huge trellis that Kyle built for me.  They outgrew the trellis in a week and have now taken over the side of my house!  One thing that just happened to work out beautifully was planting sunflower seeds next to them.  As the mammoth sunflowers grew to the height of the roof, the luffa vines were just getting started.  By the time the sunflowers had thick, sturdy stalks the luffa found them and grew right to the top.

Now the sunflower is spent, head harvested for seeds, and the stalk remains a strong support for the new luffa growing.  Yeah, it looks like crap on the side of the house, but up close it's beautifully awesome!

They've even taken over my bathroom window.  But with at least six more growing in that spot, I'm not taking the vines down any time soon!

I recommend drying the luffa right on the vine.  The green skin becomes a dried up brown color and if you shake the fruit you can hear the seeds rattle inside.  Once thoroughly dried, they were very easy to peel.  

Our luffas are super soft and smell like freshly mown hay.  I know that we will be growing these for many seasons to come.

The fall garden

It's time to rip up the summer garden because my fall seeds have come in!  This week my goal is to get the weed patch I call a garden cleared and composted so that it will be ready for these seedlings in 6-8 weeks.  Hopefully by then we'll start having some cooler temperatures, too.

That's what I love about gardening, 

it's so easy just to start all over!

I got these gorgeous heirloom, non-GMO seeds from
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

My next big project

I snagged all Kyle's old baseball jerseys one day and decided he needed them sewn into a quilt (thank you, Pintrest!).  

More to come on this project soon, 

I am stupid excited over it!

One more baseball post then I'm done, I promise!

On Monday night, the Sugarland Skeeters recognized our boys before their game at Constellation Field.

They let the guys on the field a good thirty minutes before the game started.  Kyle really took everything in, I think he loves the Skeeters more than he loves the Astros!

It was fun to watch the boys who started out all lined up against the fence.  Slowly, they gravitated as a group to touch the grass, talk to some players, and joke around with Moe the mascot.

The night was "a buzz" for the Wharton All Stars!

(pun intended)

Then finally it was time to take the field with the Skeeters...

And to use the words of a young man who doesn't say very much...

"It was VERY cool!"

Gettin' my groove back!

So we spent six days in Arkansas,

threw a birthday party for my son's 18th birthday the next day,

then I worked three back-to-back 12 hr. shifts.

Y'all, I was tired!

I did absolutely nothing on Monday but laundry and nap, 

but it seems that I've gotten my second wind today!

I planned and prepared EIGHT freezer meals for the crockpot...

thank you Pinterest!

 These meals worked out to be a little less than ten bucks per meal and it only took me an hour to prepare all eight of them.

Directions are written right on the bags.  All Doug or the boys have to do is take a bag from the freezer, drop the frozen "brick" into the crock pot, set it on low and forget it!  And I get to come home to a home cooked meal on the days that I work...it's a win-win!

Our busy day meal stash includes:
2 packs Asian meatballs
2 packs pepper steak
chicken fajitas
shredded beef burritos
Italian beef sandwiches
chicken curry

Check out this Pinterest link for more crock pot 
freezer cooking recipes.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

My first born turned eighteen this week. 

 EIGHTEEN!

I am now the mother of an adult child.

I think I may need to go lay down for a bit...

We came, we saw, we conquered...almost!

So proud of our Wharton All Stars!  They competed in the Southwest Regional Tournament and came in third, the last Texas team to still stand.  And even though they didn't make it to the World Series, I think they are pretty proud of their accomplishment!

I know we are!

Truly, by a miracle, we were ALL able to make the trip to Arkansas.

The players stayed with "host families" while in Arkansas.  That meant we didn't have to worry about washing uniforms, making it to practice on time, or feeding them.  The host families were a blessing to us, especially ours!  Mr. Bob is a rock star in our eyes and we are so thankful for his hospitality and generosity!

 Kyle turned 15 while we were there and I know he made some awesome memories.  On the long drive home he told me, "I know we were there to play ball, but that was kind of in the background.  I had the best time with my friends and traveling to some place new!"

My heart swells for that boy!

We stayed in a hotel for the six days we were there.

John Paul and Daniel thought they died and went to Heaven.

 Swimming, hot tubs, waffles for breakfast every morning, having someone else make your bed...

and eating popcorn in bed while watching TV~

Danny told me, "This is the LIFE!"

Our family doesn't do yearly vacations, but I think we'll count this trip as one.  We got to see some of the beauty of the Ozarks, meet some wonderful people, and watch some great baseball games.  Some really good memories were made this last week, thank you Mountain Home for treating us so well!

We're headed to Arkansas!

Take a good look, these guys are the 

East Texas State Champions 

in 14 year old Babe Ruth baseball!  

They are headed to Mountain Home, Arkansas to compete in the Southwest Regional tournament next week.

I can't tell you how proud I am of these young men 

(and of course, one in particular!) 

You'll be glad to know that Texas will be very well represented.  These boys are such talented athletes as well as young men of character and sportsmanship.

If they win big in Arkansas, they will go onto the World Series in Utah.

This is definitely not a "kid's game," 

 we are in it to win it!

And if you could, say a prayer for their safety as they travel,

for them to play to the full potential of their God given talents,

and for some of the family they leave behind on this trip. 

(who cannot possibly go because of work/finances.

 GRRRRRR!  >:-<  )

Just know, boys, that a whole small town in southeast Texas is rooting for y'all!  Make some awesome memories and have the time of your life!

What the bugs didn't get...

 Eggplant

 Basil

 Peppers

I'm thinking this will be our dinner tonight,

maybe turned into toppings for pizza on the grill!

This guy is NOT on the guest list!

(much to the boy's dismay!)