I've officially gone off the deep end!

I gave in. 

I drank the Kool-Aid. 

I made Mary Grace some cute summer outfits. 

I made her dolls to match said outfits. 

Don't judge me.

 

She needed some red headed baby dolls.  

Is it my fault that their clothing just happened to match?

Yeah, right, I guess it is...

I thought she was irresistible before,
oh, but now...

 Here is the free downloadable pattern for your own

Black Apple Doll ~

adorable red headed baby girl not included!

 

Plants for free!

I love, love, LOVE hydrangea! 
It's my favorite flower in the garden. And now that I have FINALLY figured out how to grow it here in south Texas, I went to a local nursery and purchased a gorgeous, healthy plant to add to the garden. In case you didn't know, hydrangea are expensive! I can't afford the five or six plants I'd like to have to fill my shade garden, soooo.... I'm propagating that many and more for FREE!

Propagating hydrangea is very easy.  Take a tender branch from the plant and cut it to a length of 4-6 inches.  Remove all the leaves but the top two.  Dip the end of the cutting in rooting hormone powder and then cut the top two leaves crosswise.  Stick the whole plant into a soil less medium (seed starting mix, vermiculite, or sand) and keep moist.  Not wet, but moist.  Fasten a plastic bag over the potted plant to retain moisture and set in a shady area.

In about 10 days you'll have roots!  Take the plant out of the plastic and continue to keep soil moist as your cutting grows.  Transplant to the garden or container after new growth starts.

It really is that simple!

I also wanted to propagate some lavender.  I am growing three varieties of lavender and wanted to start a large lavender garden on the side of the barn.  The process is almost the same:

Cut a segment of lavender and strip all the leaves off but the top few.  Dip the end of the cutting into rooting hormone and place into your soil less medium.  Cover with plastic and allow to root.  Transfer to the garden when new growth appears.

I still have a lot to learn about plant propagation but so far I am hooked!  I can potentially have dozens more plants from just the purchase of one, and for a cheapskate frugal plant lover like me, it is very exciting stuff!

 

Summer sewing for the Divine Miss M

A few weeks back I started on some summer sewing for our sweet Mary Grace. I found this super cute pattern on Etsy and quickly

went to work. 

 

Quite the fashionista, isn't she?

I really love the prints now available at Hobby Lobby, and with their weekly coupons and sales, little outfits like this go together for a steal!

I think I'll also make a few out of my vintage sheet scraps.  

That will be cool and light for these HOT Texas summers.

My sweet little Gingers! 

squee!

Check out more fabulous sewing projects at 

In the Heart of My Home

 

The garden trellis

Shortly after planting our summer garden, I gave Kyle the task of building some trellises. I didn't want to spend any money and knew he could make some lovely creations with the scrap wood and fallen limbs from around the neighborhood....and he did!

Our neighborhood has a "burn pile".  It's a huge pile of yard waste that gets burned every so often.  From that pile he cut three large, fairly straight limbs for the teepee structure of the trellis.  The tops were bound with natural jute.

From there he fastened on shorter sticks and limbs to make the structures below, each one a little different from the others.

They are really works of art and the pictures don't do them justice!  Soon they'll be entirely covered with cucumber and melon vines.  Growing vertically doesn't only save space in the garden but it keeps the fruits off the ground and prevents disease, pests, and rot.

And even after the summer growing season is over, I think these beauties will remain in the garden! 

Thank you, Kyle, for making your mama so happy with your handiwork (who knew all it took was some sticks and twine!).

 

Raising the bar on the cuteness scale one month at a time!

Mary Grace ~ 6 months

Confirmed in the Spirit!

Thursday night Ryan was granted the Sacrament of Confirmation.

We are thankful for our good Bishop, the Most Reverend David Fellhauer, for bestowing the Sacrament. Also, to our dearest Fr. Gabriel Espinosa for his wisdom and teaching. And very thankful to Gisselle M. for her sponsorship and prayers.

Such a blessing shared as a family, and universally with the entire Catholic Church!

Can I get an AMEN?!

The lowly dandelion

There is a vacant lot next to us with a plethora of dandelions flowering right now. I got up early before the kids and harvested some of the flowers for jelly and the roots for medicinal tea.

The roots, leaves and blooms of the plant are edible. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a serving of uncooked dandelion leaves contains 280 percent of an adult’s daily requirement of beta carotene as well as more than half the requirement of vitamin C. Dandelion supports a healthy urinary tract, kidney and liver functions. When harvesting, be careful to select plants that have not been exposed to herbicides or pesticides.

The above picture is what I foraged. I think I'm going to need a LOT more of the root to get a substantial amount to actually use! That may be a job for the boys this afternoon.

The flowers were easy to harvest, but oh my achin' back!
I followed THIS RECIPE from one of my favorite blogs.

After washing the roots, I sliced them thin and put them in the dehydrator. Once dried, they can be steeped in boiling water for tea, or roasted and ground for coffee.

Dandelion root tea is an excellent diuretic and liver detoxifier.
Kinda like "spring cleaning" for the body!

Should we get caught in a zombie apocalypse...

We'll be good to go on rose petal jelly for quite some time!

Now off to gather dandelion flowers for more jelly making,
maybe even a little wine making!

(Because you'd definitely need a some wine in a zombie apocalypse!)

Bluebonnet baby

It's a Texas tradition!

Every little Texan gets a picture sitting in a patch of bluebonnets!

A new garden project!

Like I need another project while parenting five kids and working full time, but here it is, our medicinal herb garden!

I know it doesn't look like much right now, but that's changing this week! Doug and Kyle got some stones to define the garden and we laid down tons of wet newspapers to snuff out the grass. It all gets a big helping of soil and compost and soon I will be ready to plant.

In peat pots all over my laundry room are seedlings, LOTS of seedlings! Ever since discovering medicinal herbs three years ago, I have developed a "wish list" of plants that I want to grow. Unfortunately, that list keeps getting longer and longer!

Hopefully by mid summer that little plot on the side of our house will be filled with wonderful holistic remedies for our various ills. I can't wait to make tinctures, teas, poultice, and salves with:

Arnica, Motherwort, Evening Primrose, Mullein, All Heal, Feverfew, Boneset, Echinacea, Plantain, and Cowslip.

And if you're feeling a little under the weather and in need of healing, come have a glass of water kefir and some organic herbs with the
Crazy Herb Lady of Wharton!

(Hmmm...sounds like a great name for a new blog!)

5 months old

At this time last year, I was merely existing day to day thinking she would never survive.

But God is so good.

And now our day to day living is full of hugs, kisses, the most glorious laughter and smiles!

They're (almost) baaaack!

Have you filled your feeders yet?

The hummingbirds are coming back to the U.S. after wintering in South America THIS MONTH! You know they'll be hungry after their long journey so fill up your feeders with a 1:4 part sugar/water mixture. No need to dye the water, I had just used up the last bit of commercially prepared "nectar" I had in the fridge.

Hummingbirds will return to the same feeders year after year and we can't wait for our hummers to get back to Texas. Their antics at the feeders are better entertainment than anything on tv these days!

To track migration patterns and to see when hummingbirds are back in your area, check out:

World of Hummingbirds

Cecile Richards does NOT speak for me...

but this lady sums up my thoughts EXACTLY!

Water kefir

Consuming water kefir is a great way to help your gut flora thrive and bring you increased immunity through improving digestion. The fermentation process not only produces great probiotics, but also a fizzy drink similar to soda (which is a real treat to our kids because we never buy the stuff!) It's also super cheap! I can make quarts of water kefir for literally pennies!

Other benefits of water kefir:

* It's a great way to obtain beneficial bacteria, minerals and enzymes.

* It soothes the intestinal lining and helps to heal inflammation.

* Helps to detoxify and cleanse the liver.

* Gives you more energy!

* Can help with skin conditions, acne, eczema, and overall improves health of skin and hair.

* Its tranquilizing effect on the nervous system has benefited many who suffer from sleep disorders, depression, ADHD and autism.

* Can stop unhealthy food cravings, especially cravings for sugar and sweet foods.

Making water kefir is extremely easy. First, you must purchase water kefir grains online or get them from a friend like me!

Add the following ingredients to a clean quart sized canning jar...

1 quart of spring water.
Do NOT use tap water as it contains chlorine which kills the friendly bacteria.
1/3 cup organic brown sugar.
You can also used plain old white sugar but the minerals in raw sugars really help keep your grains healthy. If you're worried about the content of sugar, don't be, the kefir eats most of it! Totally safe for even diabetics to drink!
1 tsp of molasses
optional - use if you use refined sugar because it provides healthy minerals for the grains.

Mix ingredients until all the sugar is dissolved and add the kefir grains:

Place a cap on the jar and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours so it can ferment and create the water kefir.

After 24 hours, taste test it. If its too sweet, let it go another day. It can ferment up to 5 days. Then strain out your water kefir grains using a nylon strainer - contact with metal will also kill the bacteria.

Rinse the grains well with room temperature spring water and repeat the process using the grains. If you keep your grains happy and fed, they will reproduce like crazy. You can dehydrate them, freeze them, or share with your friends!

To flavor your kefir:

After the initial 12-48 hour ferment, strain your kefir into a clean jar and flavor with fresh or unsulphered dried fruits and juices. Here is a jar that we added organic grape juice and some elderberry syrup to. Once you add your desired flavors, seal tightly and let ferment another 24 hours, that's what gives you the fizzy component like soda~

Probiotics, vitamins, minerals, and low sugar content...

and the kids think they're getting a treat!
Can't beat that!