Fall Mantle 2012 {Burlap and Bandanna Pennant}

I finally finished my Fall Mantle.
I really wanted a tall, empty, wooden frame to add some height on the left.
Realistically, it probably won't happen this year.
So I'm gonna enjoy it as is.

Happy Fall Ya'll.








"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

How to Decorate With Seasonal Kids Art

We are on fall break this week which leaves me with a little time on my hands to decorate the house for fall.

I big puffy heart love fall ya'll.

I keep a tote or two or five for each season and the decorations that go with it.

When the kids make any type of artwork that goes with that particular season...I usually keep it in that box.

Yesterday while pilfering through fall boxes, I found Fall/Thanksgiving artwork I have saved over the past years.

I never know what to do with it.

I used to stick it all on my kitchen cabinets but now that my cabinets are painted, I'm afraid to adhere anything onto them.

So I had the genius idea..and by genius I mean people have probably been doing this forever and I just now thought of it...of putting them up on a small wall in my kitchen...gallery style.

No measuring required.

No stressing over what goes where.

Just grab the Scotch tape and slap it up.

It's my way.



Turkeys made from hands...that still had fat dimpled fingers.

Paper chains of "gratitude".

Construction paper pilgrims.

This wall makes me happy.

I cannot wait to do the same thing for Christmas.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I keep everything my kids make.

It's bad.

I just can't seem to throw it into a garbage can when their little hands made it.

I may be on hoarders one day...making a walking path through piles of construction paper.

How about you?

Do you save your kid's art?

Pick through and keep your favorites?

Have a system for saving that you could share?

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Organizing Your Homeschool Day

I also could have titled this post, "How a Dry Erase Board Saved My Life."

Nothing profound here.

In fact I'm probably just the last homeschool mom on the planet to think of this.

A dry erase board in our school area.

Ta-da! ::crickets chirping::

I warned you.

I know, I know...right about now, you're probably finding yourself in need of forgiveness for coveting my, downright genius, creative/organizing/homeschooling skills.

I do apologize...it's a curse sometimes.

Here's how it works...for me:

Each child has a "must get done" list for the day.

The list is written in order of priority and they must work in order. (for some crazy reason they still try to save Math for last...silly kids...they must really love it)

As each child accomplishes the things on their list, they check it off.

Even the teenager comes down out of his cave a few times a day to mark off what he has accomplished. I still have no explanation as to why he has been so on board with this new system....hmm...come I think of it, he hasn't once asked, "Hey mom, aren't you gonna scream up the stairs like a banshee to ask me if I've done Algebra anymore?!"...I'm sure that has nothing to do with it though.

How does this help you ask?

The benefits have been two fold:

For the kids:

• A visual list of what must be accomplished has helped them to be more focused and intentional with their time. 
• I have seen a new sense of motivation and purpose in them
• A much smoother workflow throughout the day. Long gone are the days of , "mom, what do I need to do now?" or losing them to t.v. or games because you are busy helping a sibling and can't stop to see where they are or point them in the next direction they need to go.
• A strong display of ownership, independence, and accomplishment in them. 
• They really dig this checklist thing.

For mom:

• Let me just say this ::deep long exhale::...with a Junior in High School, a 7th Grader, and a 5th grader, this school year was starting to feel mucho overwhelming. This new system helps me to purge my brain onto something tangible and has reduced forgetfulness and stress. Keyword being reduced.
• I can breathe so much easier when I can see what we have to tackle, what we have tackled, and what still needs to be tackled.
• I have noticed that this takes away a lot of that "we're not doing enough" mentality that we homeschool moms seem to be plagued with. I can now see with my own two eyes that we are in fact doing so much more than I ever realized. 
• We are getting more work done. It's true.
• No more sitting through dinner thinking, "we still need to do math", or, "great, we're behind again" as my head hits the pillow.
• I am able to see (I'm a visual learner) exactly what we are accomplishing everyday and I am able to end our day knowing that everything that needed to get done...got done.
• I get to smell the markers. They aren't Sharpies, but they will suffice.

So there you have it.

A dry erase board, 4 holes in my living room wall, and a few colorful markers later...sanity.

Heck, it only took me 7 years to find it.

**Dry erase boards are super pricey. Two words. Hobby. Lobby. This one was $23 plus they usually have a 40% off coupon on their website under "in store specials".
**Or if you are in the creative mode you can make your own from shower board...or what they hey, why not paint an entire wall???

Disclaimer: I do still own a real camera and I do still know how to get a "level" shot. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to do either.






"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Paletas {Make Your Own Popsicles}

After eating my weight in these bad boys, I started thinking that maybe I could make my own Popsicles now that I have my new obsession Vitamix.
Plus we just added "make popsicles" to our 2012 Summer List so it was a no brainer.
Popsicle makers we would be.

I read several posts about making your own popsicles, then I ordered this Popsicle maker from Amazon.
Love it.
Worth every penny.
My first goal was to make a whole fruit popsicle.
Sorta like Edy's except with more fruit.
I chopped fresh strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, and seedless watermelon into small bite size chunks.
(I put my pineapple in the Vitamix for a couple of seconds...not necessary though)



I filled each container about 3/4 full with fruit.
Then I filled to the top with fruit juice.
I used Dole Orange Pineapple Banana.
Not exactly as healthy as I was aiming for but it was on hand the day the popsicle maker arrived and well, I'm just impatient like that.
Next time I will be using something less high fructose corn syrup laden artificially sweetened.
Real fruit juice.



Lastly, I added the lid and then the sticks (both come with the maker).
Freeze till solid and....



Voila!
Gorgeous whole fruit Popsicles.

Both my husband and I loved biting into the chunks of frozen fruit.
Our kids...not so much.
That's cool.
More for us.
I promised them that next time I will put all the fruit in the Vitamix and blend well before freezing.



My second favorite Edy's popsicle is the Coconut flavor.
So I made made my own.
I'm feeling pretty powerful with this little freezing machine.

Coconut Paletas:
2 cups Coconut Milk (I found Light Coconut Milk in a can at Kroger)
2 cups skim milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2-1 cup sweetened coconut shredded (depends on how much you like coconut...I personally used a whole cup)

Mix ingredients well and fill popsicle maker.
Add the lid and sticks.
Place in freezer till frozen.

Tip:
Soak your popsicle sticks in warm water while making your popsicles. This will weigh them down and prevent them from floating up when you stick them in your popsicle maker.



Oh. My. Gracious.
Sinful.
Like drinking a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic.
Yes, I've considered it.

Have you smelled that stuff?!?

With your very own popsicle maker, you can say so long to ingredients like "Citric Acid, Corn Syrup, Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, and Soy Lecithin."
Gross.
You will know every single ingredient that goes into them.

There are so many variations of popsicles that can be made when making your own.
The possibilities truly are endless.
I have an entire board on Pinterest just for pinning popsicle recipes.

You can also visit Kelly at "The Nourishing Home" and receive her free e-book on Healthy Ice Pops and Frozen Treats.
All you need to do is subscribe to her blog.
Trust me, you are gonna be much obliged.
Fabulous healthy content.

How about you?

Do you make your own popsicles?

Have a favorite recipe you'd like to share?

Feel free to do so in the comments.

Skip to My Lou's "Made By You Monday"
A Lettered Life "Tasty Tuesdays"

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

"How Does Your Garden Grow?" {Square Foot Gardening}

Last month I decided to finally mark something off of my bucket list.
Growing my own garden.
I actually had this on our Summer List 2011 too.
Never happened.
It is intimidating.
It's that simple.
And I have just enough of the perfectionism gene to say to heck with it because I feel I won't do it "right".
This time I threw caution to the wind and said, "I'm going for it."
Ok, so I lie.
Actually, it is simply the fact that my mom lives close enough now to hold my hand, every step of the way, that I have any courage whatsoever to pull the trigger on such a venture.



I started by buying three 16 ft. long 2X8 pieces of untreated lumber from Lowe's.
I had them cut two of those in half (these would be my long sides) and one of them into four equal pieces (these would be my ends).
This helped me build two 4X8 beds and utilize every piece of wood.
A box of  3 1/4" deck screws.
Twine.
Nails.
One truckload of "Holy Cow" all in one topsoil.
All of this, plus your veggies to plant, and you will be Farmer Brown in no time!



Adam screwed them together and then we placed them out in my fenced in patio area.
If you do not have a fenced in area you will need to put up something to keep the critters out.
I knew that if they were out of sight (behind the fence), they would be out of mind.
I needed to see them everyday to enjoy think about watering it.
Once the beds were level (I ended up moving one of them after this picture) we took up the top layer of grass then put down strips of weed control.



Then my hunk of a man scooped in the Holy Cow while we spread it in the beds evenly.
You will want it almost completely to the top.



My mom was teaching Aidan how to spread the soil and break up the clumps.
She'll hate me for this.
I'll just pray she forgives me and be glad that she doesn't have her own blog.



Even the teenager cheerfully he kept mysteriously vanishing got in on the work.



Then we took a tape measure and marked each one foot section with a pencil making an arrow tip that points into the bed.
The nail would go inside the arrow.
We did this all the way around.



Then we nailed in the nails at each arrow at an angle.



Leaving about this much sticking up.
Then I took twine and started it on one end tying a knot around the nail.
Then I would pass it down to the opposite end and we would loop it around the nail twice and move to the nail beside that one.
Then we would pass it back down lengthwise again,
Looping and passing till we got to the last nail then tying a knot.
We used the same procedure to go across the width of the bed as well.



Then I used the hammer to bend over the nails and hammer them in to the wood a bit as to hold the twine securely and pull it as tight as possible.



Hope that makes sense.
In other words I did not tie a knot at each nail.
Only the beginning and ending nail.
The others I wrapped around twice then passed to the next nail.



This was my paper where I had charted out all the veggies I would need to make room for.
This helped me to plot out where everything would be planted based on how much I had to plant and how many squares I  had to plant in.

I advise you to Google the proper procedures for your specific veggies and fruits.
There are some rules to planting certain things.
Such as cucumbers and melons can't go side by side.
Nor can cantaloupe and watermelon.

Also you will need to know how many of each thing can fit into one square.
Tomatoes can go two to a square but lettuces can go 4 to a square.
It is worth the time to research for the most successful garden possible.

There really is a science to gardening which makes me appreciate the generations before me that literally lived off the land.
How resourceful they were.
How in sync with nature they had to be to make it all work.

And then to teach themselves to preserve it all winter without going bad?!
Mind blowing.



This was taken the day they were planted.
May 6, 2012
Bed #1: Broccoli, spinach, rosemary. jalapenos, red leaf lettuce, romaine, butter leaf lettuce, strawberries and baby watermelons.
Bed #2: Cucumbers, corn, sweet potatoes, load of different types of tomatoes, and cantaloupe.



This was my garden today.
May 30, 2012
It is a beast! :-)
I simply cannot wait to have 'mater sandwich from freshly picked tomatoes in my garden.



So proud of these two little jalapenos that are growing.
They are the first actual veggie I see forming thus far.
They are like my babies now.
I check them everyday.



I picked these yesterday morning for a salad.
I washed them and put them in the salad spinner.
They are glorious...that is all I can say.
Completely organic too!
No better feeling.





 

DIY Turquoise Pepper Mill

I got this vintage salt and pepper shaker set last year while Annivertiquing.

That's antiquing on your Anniversary.

It has become a tradition and can I just say that I fall in love with my man all over again when he takes me Annivertiquing?!?!

This was also back before my iPhone made me a lazy photographer.

Anyhoo, the pepper mill had gotten to where the grinder did not work well so I've always just kept our old wooden pepper mill for easier, faster use.

This week that old wooden boring beyond belief pepper mill was getting to me.

It was screaming, "For the love of Pete can't you see I need some color in my life?!"




So I grabbed my go to paints and got to shakin' and sprayin'.



I put tape over the hardware that I did not want to paint, and I stuffed the cavity of the pepper mill with paper towels so that paint would not get into the areas that the peppercorns would be stored.



I'm pretty much in love with it and make excuses to walk by it all day long.

Red and turquoise...don't they make a fabulous couple?

Got a wooden pepper mill in your kitchen?

Add a splash of color to your kitchen and paint that thing!

--------------------------------------------------

I'm linking up at these fabulous blogs:

Robyn at Mingle Monday

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Ladder Love {DIY}

Since sharing my turquoise ladder at Christmas, I've had numerous folks ask about it.

I figured I'd share a few of the details.

This was a ladder that my kids used to climb into their clubhouse...so it isn't your typical size.

It is 77 inches long and 14.5 inches wide.

The distance between each rung is 9 inches.

Depending on the size you are looking for, Jennifer can walk you through making your own here.

The wood on the ladder was raw so I started by spraying it with Primer.

I chose not to sand it down because I didn't want to lose the ruggedness of it.

And because I'm all about skipping steps like that.

I covered it with 2 coats of Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze.

This color is the perfect turquoise in my opinion.

Speaking of skipping steps...the entire back of the ladder never got painted.

That's just how I roll.

Here it is at Christmas.

I loved it so much I decided to keep it up once the holidays were over.

Love how it frames the silhouettes.

So go find yourself a ladder and invite it into your home.

Just don't blame me when you never want it to leave.

I'm linking up at the fabulous blogs:

Robyn at Mingle Monday

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"