Today I made...

a lot of food.

*17.25 cups of pumpkin puree

*1 gal of pickle slices

*3 qts of sauerkraut

*pumpkin seeds from 4 small pumpkins are soaking

*5 pounds of nuts (pecans and almond) were soaked last night and dehydrated today

*peel from 1 lemon was dehydrated to make lemon pepper

*1.5 qts of kefir was made and is in it's second ferment in my cool new bottles

*a double batch of filling for coconut balls was made and is waiting to be shaped and dipped in chocolate

We are going out of town on Monday, so this seemed like the perfect time to get a boat-load of produce. And Dewey came over to work on some plumbing with Charlie. And the kids were invited to a birthday party.

Charlie and the kids like pumpkin and fall spices (allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon). I do not like any of that except cinnamon. Last weekend, Charlie made some pumpkin pancakes for them to eat. Also last week, I saw a recipe to cook pumpkins in the crock-pot. Charlie, J, L, and H hacked apart the pumpkins. They went into my big roaster on the back porch. The dehydrator was already running, and I didn't want to add anymore heat to the kitchen. When the pumpkin was done we just peeled it off the skin and mashed it. I divided it into 1.5 cup portions and put it in jars for the freezer.

Getting the seeds is gross, but we like them. Some of us like them. I just want the "free" food that comes from something normally thrown away. I'll season them and add them to different recipes.

The nuts are to make almond bars, granola, and just for eating straight. L helped make the filling for the coconut balls. She will help me finish them up tomorrow. It will be good to have snacks while we are out of town.

We are also taking our fermented pickles and sauerkraut. We all love those things! I hope to get some carrots going tomorrow as well. They are probiotic, nutritious, and delicious. They will likely be done when we get to Charlie's parents' house. The kids and I can't wait to see how all of our strange food goes over with them. We will also have our raw milk.

Making dough

Today I made play dough. I had never made it before today, and I have been wanting to try. One batch was made with the good salt. That adds a sparkly speckle to the batch. One batch wasn't enough. Why did I think it would be? I made a second batch with cheap white salt and added a pinch of cocoa for color/scent. The kids are having a good time outside with it. J isn't out there. Oh well.

We will definitely be making this again. It's easy enough for one of the big kids to make. bonus! Maybe I will look for some natural colors at WF next month so we have something besides off white speckle and light tan.

The recipe came from clumsycrafter.com

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar

Melt oil. Mix the rest. Stir until the dough comes together and gets stiff enough to break your wrist. Let cool a bit and knead. Pass to kiddles.

A little bit of this and that

School has been going well. Nine days down, 171 to go.

The heat is killing us, though. Everybody is cranky. The beach last Sunday was awesome. There was a wonderful breeze the whole time. All the kids finally got to go to the beach and play. There was also a pool with a huge slide. The big kids had a bunch of fun with that.

Yesterday, L decided she wanted to have a lemonade stand. I said she could. So at noon, the hottest part of the day, on one of the hottest days of the year they all head outside with a pitcher of blueberry lemonade and a pitcher of tea. They made $40! Many people just threw money at them. One lady gave a $10 bill for a $.25 cup of tea. A pizza delivery guy gave $5. Lots of people gave money without taking a drink.

I've done a tiny bit of sewing. I made a rice sock and hand warmers for Mr. and Mrs. McDowell. They have been L's SS teachers for 2 years. I also finally got around to making a bag for our Rummikub game. Now we can play without seeing the tiles in a zip lock baggie. Both of those together were half a yard. I'm 5.5 yards in the hole. I should be able to sew up something to break even.

14 years

I've been a mother 14 years and never had a crayon run through the washer and dryer. Until now. Nothing valuable damaged, but I'm working on getting the stains out.

We used extra hot water and baking soda with some oxy-clean to get the stains out. They all came out! I have a front loader, so I just added the baking soda on top of the clothes instead of putting it in with the detergent.

L helped. She was relieved that the clothes were clean again. So was I.

Why am I not sewing?

Charlie is gone for a week. We are going to start school tomorrow to give us something to do while he is gone. I have it all planned, and some of the kids are excited. We will need to go to the library for some books.

I don't have anything specific to sew for myself. I hate making clothes that don't fit. The last 2 dresses I attempted were failures. What should I make? Dress? Skirt? Top?

Crafting with the kids

DIY moon sand!! Done 6/2/11. I'm not sure how much we like this one.

Food

I never really cared about food. I didn't want to cook frequently. Hated shopping for food. Really hated having to stop whatever I was doing and eat. That was fine through college and early married life before the kids started coming.

Now, I feel like I'm always thinking about it. When pregnant and nursing I had to start eating regular food at regular times. Hungry toddlers and children need to be fed. Cooking from scratch requires planning. I'm thinking about the next two meals while eating.

I keep working on planning our menus because that seems to take some of the work out of the middle of the whole cook-three-meals-every-day process. But, it adds work up front. The menu for this week worked out pretty good. Now I'm working on next week's food because I have to plan for the groceries. Six kids don't eat cheap. What used to last me and Charlie a few weeks barely lasts one week. I never buy one of anything. Even the family-sized stuff doesn't always cut it.

I'm not complaining. Usually it's funny to think about how much our kids eat. I love it when they like my food. I just don't like having to think about it all the time.

6/12/11 - 6/18/11 Meal plan. What worked and what didn't.

Sunday

B) soaked oatmeal with applesauce. Loved by all but me.

L) eggs, grits, and bacon. Nothing simpler.

D) spaghetti pie. Just another way to serve the same thing.

Monday

B) cereal. Easy for me.

L) oatmeal muffins with frozen banana pie. Awesome. The muffins were not sweet, but the banana pie was almost too sweet. No sugar added.

D) Meatloaf with green beans. Sauteed the beans in bacon with garlic. Yum.

Tuesday

B) Hot chocolate popovers. These were OK. I'm trying to have fun food while we aren't in school.

L) eggs with cheese

D) Greek salad. We added chicken to it.

Wednesday

B) cereal again. Bad start to bad day.

L) blender drinks.

D) Loaded baked potatoes and ham.

Thursday

B) cereal. We're bound to run out soon.

L) Coconut blueberry muffins. Pasta with alfredo for some.

D) Welcome to Moe's. Mom wanted a break.

Now I have to go plan the next 7 days.

Busy

I'm tired. I've had an extra kid every day this week. Poor girl, she's an only child. Then she comes here to my house. I wonder what she thinks of all the noise and activity. It's been me and the littlest two most of the day during the week with my big four at PROCLAIM camp. The last time I was a mom of two little ones I was 29. Sadly, I am no longer 29. Their personalities are so different when it just them. It's fun to watch, but it is also a lot more hands-on without my big ones to help.

Last year's grades are almost done, and I've started planning for next year. Planning for the new year is always more exciting than wrapping up the old one. I will have 9th, 8th, 6th, 3rd, and K5 grades.

Catching up

Well, where do I begin? I get behind then get overwhelmed thinking about catching up. This holds true for this blog, sewing, cleaning, everything. Sigh. Here goes trying to catch up.

I have been sewing quite a bit, but with very few pictures to show for it. I've also been organizing my scraps and supplies.

I will try to post more without waiting a month.

April craft ideas

Painting with wax on rocks!! Such a cool idea. done 4/11. kinda fun for all.

What can you do with an old T-shirt? Make a headband.

DIY twin bed with storage. It's amazing what this woman can do! Plans for a hutch to go on top.

Tips for making a strip quilt from filminthefridge.com

Another reusable snack bag to make.

Cute scrappy fabric flower headband.

A cute, modern ruffle skirt for a grown-up.

Covered night light.

AG doll patterns. Some free, some not.

Twill tape clothing labels. I need these for my sewing.

Cascading, ruffle-front shirt. All the girls would like this.

This is a holder for all those loyalty cards.

Decorated scissors. I want to make these for the Oaks teachers.

Painting with crayon resist lines. This would be a cool craft for the kids. The site is full of arts and craft projects.

Pinwheel hair clips! How adorable! From the Mother Huddle

This is the type of bag I would like to make for E. The site has other tutes.

How to make a knit jersey knit bracelet. Like using a knifty knitter.

This is a unique way to make a random quilt block.

Birthday clothes

I am so far behind on updating here. Oh well. I made H's outfit on time this year. I used the Tessa bloomers pattern from Marie-Madeline for the bottom. I love, love, love this pattern. Simplicity 4568 was used for the top. I had made this top before. It's easy, too.

From Family '11

She likes it quite a bit. Even though not a skirt, H can wear it to church. She says it's pretty comfy too. The top was too short so I added a ruffle at the bottom. I think it makes the top look much better.

Stats:

fabric in from PPQ 4 yds

fabric out

Tired

I am one tired mamma! Crossroads has started a walk/run ministry. We all went this afternoon. It's casual which makes me happy. There were 12 other people. Everybody meets at the gazebo for a short devotional. Then we all drive to the Sawmill Branch walking trail. Everybody runs or walks at his own pace. Two miles are marked off on the trail. We made it one. The littlest ones rode their bikes. That was sorta good and bad. They got tired on the bikes and wanted to walk with us. Then they got tired walking and wanted back on their bikes.

Tired. All of us.

February 2011 craft ideas

A tutorial for mop shoes. L would love these.

A list of ways to crochet a flower

This is a way to make a clean facing with no raw edges showing. Here is another way.

Marble painting is a cool craft that I want to do with the kids.

Ice fabric dyeing

Scrap-busting tree pillow for fall.

This is a very cool idea! A re-purposed pill box. Maybe for Darlene?

This is a new way to make a mitered corner. So cool! I bet this would work for my napkins.

Yet another corner bookmark made from paper.

edited to add new link

January 2011 craft ideas

Paper food baskets like in some restaurants. Great for our felt food goodies.

Valentine's Day cards for kids to print from Alphamom. More from here.

This is a tute for a very cute scrappy rose. Here is a rose made from a zipper.

Child ID cards that I would like to print out. It would be good for L's shellfish allergy.

Pleated headband tute, and some more felt flowers

Country Cabin quilt from Quilt Dad

This is a different way to alter a men's shirt into a girl's outfit.

Instructions for a 1-yd infinity scarf

Magnetic spice jars from baby food jars. Cool! I still have a few jars left.

Prudent Baby has some awesome labels for handmade goodies.

Better Homes and Gardens has many, many, many, many ornaments to make or recycle.

Here is a fabric star that I would like to make. It would work for any season, not just Christmas.

Directions for a circle skirt for E.

Moda has a quilt that looks simple enough for me to make.

I think this is my new favorite quilt block. It looks like stained glass.

I love the look of this embroidery stitch. The site has lots of directions for different stitches.

Here is a little vinyl bag to store small goodies.

She has very good, picture-filled examples of blanket stitches.

More felt! Little heart barrettes. Done 1/20/11

Martha has some paper heart-shaped cones for Valentine's Day.

Someone made a little book for stickers for kids

Another quiet book sample

This is another way to dress up boring milk crates. That way when I use them to store junk in the living room it will look nicer.

The most amazing mat for toy cars!

2010

This is what I managed to get done in 2010.

• *stockings for EJLHOI
• *curtains for Mrs. Peterson
• *Jalie 2558 for ELHO
• *Stop Staring 4 for LHO
• *McCall's 6123 for E
• *Scientific Seamstress vest for I
• *curtain for master bath
• *tablecloth for kitchen
• *key fob and lanyards for money
• *backpacks for EJH
• *coasters for gifts
• *doll tankini for H
• *doll sundress for L
• *McCall's 5574 for E
• *McCall's 4703 for J
• *Simplicity 9497 for H
• *crowns and party hats
• *McCall's 2150 for O

I probably managed to miss a few, but I'm not going to sweat it. I'm just glad that I'm keeping up at all. There was a lot of mending, too. Lots and lots of mending jeans!

The fabric stash totals are also off a bit because I inherited Mimi's fabric (and patterns, thread, buttons, and much more). I didn't count her fabric. I just tried to keep up with what I am purchasing to make sure I'm actually sewing. Just buying fabric isn't very helpful. It has to be sewn to be useful.

Fabric in was 32.25 yards, and fabric out was 59.75! I have already started using up some stash for this year. I didn't sew 100 yards in 2010, but I made a good dent.

Older sewing

In October I made a curtain for the master bathroom. I have been wanting to decorate with some denim and buttons for ages, so I just did it. It took very little time but looks so cute.

From Projects

I really wanted the buttons to be random. I dumped a big handful of buttons from my button jar and sorted out the ones with shanks. Then, without looking I picked some up and placed them along the bottom edge. When I was satisfied, I quit. That simple. Here is the boring, time-consuming part. I had to pick up each button and rub a bit of glue stick on it and put it back. Then all that was left to do was sew each button in place. I tried hand sewing. HaHaHaHa!! That was not going to happen. Waaaaaay too many buttons. The machine made quick work of it. Here is a close-up of the buttons along the bottom edge.

From Projects

Stats:

1.5 yds out

many old buttons out

Christmas dresses 2010 part 4

They are done! Mr. Ed took pictures, but I don't have them yet. Everybody looked so stinking cute in the clothes. The vest from Scientific Seamstress was made for I, and he looked adorable! L, H, and O got the Sunny Scallop dress from Stop Staring. E got McCall's 6123. She liked having a more grown-up looking dress. All the girls had the shrug from Jalie.

The sewing was all done about 1 in the morning Sat/Sun after Thanksgiving. The shrugs were last and the easiest. I definitely want to make more of them.

Stats:

27 yards out! Whoohoo!

1 vest

4.875 McC 6123, including muslin

17.625 Stop Staring, including muslins

3.5 Jalie 2558, including muslin

Christmas dresses 2010 part 3

I have made more muslins than I usually do for these. I made one for O's to see if the pattern ran true to size and to see how it went together. The instructions are awful! I also made a muslin of the shrug for her. Those are so, so easy to put together! Then, I had to make a muslin for E's dress because I wanted it to fit.

L grew some after her measurements were taken and after I had cut out and partially sewn her dress. The front and back are all one piece, so that required more fabric. Good thing the online stores still had some.

Construction required a lot of bias strips and a lot of strips for ruffles. I made almost 4 yards of bias tape, over 5 yards of green ruffles, and about 3 yards of green print ruffle. Some of the bias tape is left over. It's cute and not Christmasy so I'll use it later on something else. None of the green ruffle is left over. The green print ruffle is left over because it just didn't look right with the dresses. I'll put it somewhere.

Stats:

yardage in 2.5 yds

November project links

This woman has amazing plans for making everything! http://ana-white.com/category/plans/page/19

Cowl-neck shirt re-fashion.

Make-up bag. Saved in patterns.

Free coloring pages for kids.

Here are some felt leaves that I would like to make.

A set of count-down blocks. The original is for Christmas, but I think they would be cool for birthdays or how-many-more-days-until-daddy-comes-home times.

This is a pattern for an unusual bib. Great gift idea.

Pipe-cleaners, who knew? Cover them and they make neat bendy gifts for use as hair bows, bracelets, etc. Done 12/10/10

Zipper pouch made with measuring tapes.

Doll clothes from dollar store underwear. How do people think of this?

This tiny, matching-game quilt is amazing. Amazing! Must make.

Fabric bowl covers. Her site has many ideas for crafts.

Leather bows for headbands.

edited to show completion

Christmas dresses 2010 part 2

Today I bought the fabric. Lots of it. Twenty-three yards! I'll get to sewing it as soon as it all gets out of the washer.