Garden Story: Seeds

 

We're slowly but surely making progress on the garden. The girls and I have seeds started and most of them are looking pretty good. But this is really a learning experience for all of us. We've started tomato plants from seeds for a few years, and we've sowed seeds directly into the garden before but this year we're starting more in the house while the garden is being prepared.

 

For the first time, we're starting some of our seeds in eggshells. The shells are biodegradable and super cute. I like cute. Cute makes everything more enjoyable and I think the girls had more fun doing it this way. Plus they'll give the seeds added nutrients as they decompose in the ground.

 

 

 

Victoria (2) got bored pretty quick so Taylor (13) whipped up this amazing tent fort in the living room to keep her busy while we worked.

 

 

 

I made a tiny greenhouse to make watering and moving the seeds around easier. Some seeds are in the kitchen window and little shelves on the sides of the window and the rest are in the clear bin. I alternate the seeds between the two spots every two days or so. To be sure they stay warm and that they get enough light, I put the bin behind the curtains in front of a sunny window in the den. You could easily cover the bin with Saran Wrap for added warmth.

 

Another bonus of this is that the seeds are not in constant sight of the little ones. Out of sight, out of mind. They almost never mess with them.

 

 We'll be starting another round of seeds in a few weeks in an attempt to stretch out the growing season as long as possible.

Please note that this is totally a learning experience for us and we only have a small idea as to what we're doing here :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March Ladies Luncheon

We've tried over the last few years to practice some new outreach ideas. Our latest idea was for the girls to host a ladies luncheon once every few months. These luncheons will have to work into our monthly food budget so they'll be fairly inexpensive and mostly homemade goodies by the girls. This month was an exception to the homemade part because our kitchen floor is currently plywood and we have NO dishwasher. So the girls trashing the kitchen and dirtying every dish we own didn't sound like the best idea to me. Instead, we just bought most of the food from Walmart.

 

 

 

But I did want each girl to make something that they could share. Mary made chicken salad and Taylor made potato soup. We made enough of both to have extra for dinner that night also (in an attempt to not go over our food budget).

 

 

We added a few colorful treats and I gave the girls a quick lesson on being a good servant. We talked about working hard to ensure that our guests feel comfortable and can relax while they're here. We also talked about the importance of us being relaxed and went over the bible lesson about Mary and Martha.

 

 

The girls enjoyed the food and fellowship and I think the ladies did too. Next luncheon we're thinking about doing a brunch for some of the ladies from church.

 

 

 

Plains Indians Project

It's that time of year again!! Project time! 

Our home school group hosts a talent show and project fair every spring. Last year I had a newborn and a 15 month old so we opted out of the projects. Mary did enter the talent show but I wouldn't call it a success. We had planned on doing science projects but we bombed out at the last minute. 

I'm probably overdoing it but this year we're doing a science and a social studies project for both big girls! 

For the social studies project, I gave them ideas but ultimately let them decide on the topic. Mary chose to study Native Americans that lived in the Plains. So we studied and got to work. We did a diorama of a Plains Indian village.

 

We made tipis out of paper lunch bags and skewers. After they were shaped and taped, we coated them with mod podge (my favorite thing on the planet) to stiffin them up some. Then Mary painted them.

 

 

These were our original horses. They were way too big for our people :) We eventually got rid of them.

We added a buffalo hunt in the distance.

Then we needed a background to really tie it together.

Now it's coming along.

 

I was so pleased with the way everything turned out. We both learned so much and we had a ton of fun working together to make something cool.

 

 

 

We also found a friend who had some material that was similar to a buffalo hide, so Mary painted pictograms on it. It tells a story about her hunting buffalo and being invited to eat with her friend during the hunt! I love first grade! Good thing too because I get to do it two more times :)

 

We didn't want Victoria to be left out so she participated by doing her own worksheets, coloring her own Native American boys and girls and dressing them, and painting her own buffalo hide.

 

 

 

This Week: Filled with fun

This week began with a beautiful sunshine filled day! A perfect day for playing outside and that's exactly what we did.

 



 

The girls seem to be enjoying the day too.

 

 

First signs of spring are beginning to pop up every where.

 

 

I worked my behind off on the toy room this week. The kids and I purged and organized the toy room. I think it stayed like this for about an hour. We donated two full trash bags of toys to the Hope Center so maybe the clean up process wont be as bad.

 

 

Mary is super busy lately. She had a sewing club meeting, a birthday party, and a book club meeting this week!

 

 

She read "About Average" by Andrew Clements. It was ok but a bit long and lacking in action for Mary.

 

 

Fortunately the fun she had at the meeting made up for it. The girls made hamburger bun pizzas and chocolate milk.

 

 

Then they made tornado's in a jar.

 

 

 

And they recreated the fort from the book.

 



 

 

 

 

Oh and I cant forget to mention the bunnies! Yes, bunnies. No, their were not any bunnies in the book but they were at the meeting and Mary fell in love with them.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately we came home to this!

 

 

NO dishwasher and a big hole in the kitchen. Our dishwasher bit the dust and during it's death it was nice enough to leave us with a nasty rotten floor as a remembrance of how much we hated it :( BOO!

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Story: The Planning

OK so, I know I've said it over and over again how excited we are about our garden this year but let me say it one more time. We are so excited! I'm not pregnant, I do not have a newborn, and I am extremely ready to get out of this house. I'm ready for a harvest of veggie goodness! Although there is a lot of work involved, I firmly believe that it will be totally worth it. 

 

The Garden

 

We started with a small plot on the side of our house and have used the same space for years. We've had success with tomatoes, squash, corn, and a few other things but  we've mostly focused on the tomatoes. We all love them. I've froze tomatoes and corn but never anything else from our own garden.

 

 

One year, I tried to section out a corner for small crops and make a little path of pea gravel. It worked ok. It would have worked better if I actually went outside and cared for it.

 

 

Oh well, we tilled it up and started over (Yes we had rocky soil that next year). And still have rocky soil to tell you the truth!

 

 

The Plan

 I guess when you start planning, it helps to know exactly what you want your end result to be. We know that we want to become more self reliant. We have a blurry vision of the future for our property but I wanted to really sit down and plan a clear picture. I whipped out the old Backyard Homestead and got to work.

 

 

I love this book. We've borrowed it from the library at least five times. So this year I bought it and I'm super glad I did. I love it. It's a very helpful reference to have on hand.

 

After a few days of dreaming and trying to envision our property, I decided that I needed a good visual of our land. I used Google Earth and printed out a satellite picture of our house and land. This was the best idea ever! I was able to see where everything currently is and imagine where it should be and what should be in its place. In the picture below, you can clearly see our property line, trees, garden plot, barn, and even the fire pit and horse shoe pits! (I blacked out the address, we don't really have a big black line in the yard :)

 

 

 

 

Next, I drew all over my printed out picture. It was so easy to see what would fit where and how everything would work. I strongly recommend you do the same if you're planning a change on your property.

 

I made several drafts and worked out every idea on graph paper. The greatest help may have been finding out that some of my ideas wouldn't work. We ended up moving the garden all the way to the edge of our property but still in the same corner.

 

 

 

 Once I had a pretty good idea what would be possible in the future with our one acre (fruit and nut trees, pigs, veggies, fruits, herbs, chickens), we were able to design the fence and purchase the supplies.

 

We also ordered the first round of seeds. I ordered from a new company this year, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

 

 

Next step: The hard part :)

 

 

 

 

 



February Sewing Club

 

 Mary's book club has recently turned into a book and sewing club. I was a little unsure if Mary would be mature enough at 6 years old to handle a needle and thread and have the fine motor skills to sew. But I must say, I was absolutely AMAZED at the wonderful job she did. It made me feel like I may be underestimating some of her abilities. I still see her as my sweet little girl. Maybe I should have more confidence in her and what she's capable of accomplishing. I'm so glad we decided to join this awesome girls' club. I'm seeing Mary in a whole new light. I like her in this light. She is a special, unique person and I'm certain she will bring great things to this world.

  

 

This month the girls made hats out of sweaters. Mary learned the blanket stitch. She caught on so quickly. She had a blast and can't wait until the next meeting where they'll be making skirts!!

 

 

 

The finished product!

 

 

 



March Dinner Menu

I owe my family a big apology. February has not been my best month. I have slacked for sure. Really, the entire last half of the month has been a disaster. My meal plan never made it past the first week. That's right, I didn't even plan the last three weeks at all.

Every night has been it's own nightmare to end my unorganized day.

Next month will be different though. This month I'm ready. I've got my menu made early. My shopping list is started and our budget is in the works and I'm focused. Focus is the most important part. It's what keeps me prepared and motivated. I bet focus would work for my diet too..... hmmmmm. I'll have to think about that another day. One thing at a time. Menu!

 

Here is my dinner menu for March. Keep in mind that I've some how fallen backwards into survival mode again. I had to pick meals that were easy, cheap, and fast. I'm struggling to keep it all together but as usual, if I plan, then life will become less stressful.