What's growing on here.

This morning I went out to watch my husband water the garden and then I got inspired. I love being in our backyard so much so that it makes me sad to know that this is not our forever home. We love our house, our garden, our new friends, our church, but the summer heat in south Texas is a real killer. I miss being cold at night, and seeing my breath fog the air, and frost on the window panes, and rain. I want to show you how our garden is doing. I am very happy with it so far this year.

We are going to start with some flowers.

I have sunflowers growing randomly around the fence line. They are always so friendly.

I thought this was an ugly weed, so did my husband. He pulled out a bunch from around the yard.

Not a weed, a poppy. They're there to remind us that beauty comes from the inside.

Isn't she lovely. Maybe I am like a poppy.

Julia Child's Rose. Well it was the only way to get Julia Child over for dinner.

I seriously love this man!

Ever wonder if onions flower? They do.

It starts out looking like a secret and then it just lets go and becomes free.

We can all learn to become free from an onion.

Would you believe that this is part of a berry patch?

The nasturtiums (the red flowers) went wild!

I love all of the flowers around the yard. Doesn't this make you smile a little?

It grows here.

The yellow flowers are from the lettuce saying hello to the purple roses.

75% off rose that we took a chance on. After only a few months it is almost as tall as the fence that is six feet tall. Happy? Yes we are.

 Now on to the fruits and vegetables growing on. I promise I did not take a picture of everything and I am not posting all of the pictures I did take.

Grapes. I can not wait until these turn red, or are they purple. If I even see them before the kids do, which is unlikely because they check the grapes daily.

Last year our tomatoes were sad so this year we planted a lot of tomatoes. At least 20 plants maybe more. I didn't count as I was saying can you fit more in the garden. My husband says, "Maybe."

We have one single orange!

Mexican Limes

Eggplants and peppers. Warning we may have planted lots of peppers.

That little flower might mean an eggplant.

Looking at the tomatoes is like the best egg hunt ever. Can you find the green tomatoes?

Here is a few.

And a few more over here.

The first red tomatoes! Eek. I picked them and let the boys each have one.

This pretty baby is looking for trouble.

Jalapenos. Salsa anyone?

Cayenne peppers are starting to turn red at the tips.

Banana peppers. Come on baby do you do more then dance?

These are lilac bell peppers.

Green bell peppers

More tomatoes. Oh yes.

Yellow bell pepper. Hopefully.

Basil in the middle

Banana peppers

Poblano pepper. Think Chili rellenos.

Peanuts!

We also have cantaloupes, watermelons, asparagus, artichokes, hardy kiwi, and so much more planted. I want to encourage you to grow your own food. Maybe just a tomato plant in a pot, maybe just a few herbs on the back porch, or anything your heart desires. Let me tell you there is nothing more rewarding as making a meal with the food you have grown in the backyard.

I hope your day is filled with the wonder of growth, Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Self Portrait Saturday

I stumbled across "Self Portrait Saturday" on another blog and I thought why not. Here is the link to a really lovely blog that started Self Portrait Saturday http://www.thewonderforest.com/.  The whole idea is to help women to be proud of who they are and step in front of the camera.

So this is me, no make up in the garden. I set up my camera on the BBQ grill and used the self timer and I would run over to my spot and suck in my tummy. Well this was the second clear picture I took so here I am. The truth is I actually like this picture and I don't mind the flaws. I am me. I always take better pictures when I am not trying. Trust me I am not always so photogenic especially if I am eating or talking. Really it gets terrible, most of the time I think it is funny. After I see a horrible picture I hide it. I can only look at it once. Heaven forbid it was on someone else's camera then I deny the tag on Facebook. Maybe one of these Saturdays I will give you a truly awful picture. That would be hilarious. Really if you can't laugh at your self who else can. I actually have long hair. I hide in a pony tail, or a clip off of my neck. It is already in the 90's here in south Texas. I like how it looks pulled back. I am hopping that I will be in better focus for future self portraits. I would link this with the other blogs like they asked but I have no idea how to add a link up thingy.

 I want to encourage you to step in front of your camera and be proud.

I hope that your Saturday is filled with Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

How about a song?

So tonight we are all sitting around the table playing Uno. James won twice in a row and then asked, "Can we play something not boring?" We have http://www.1035bobfm.com/listenlive/ playing in the background. You know they play anything.

 For you I picked I think I'm in Love by Eddie money

Have you ever heard a song hundreds of times and then the meaning changes one day out of the blue?

Na na na na nanana? Did you fall from a shooting star? This is not one of those songs. I still love it even when I play it 9004 times in a row. What? No I am not to old to listen to one song over and over again. Besides how else is my four year old going to learn all of the lyrics to

Hot blooded? I love it when he starts singing it while we are driving in the car with the radio off. "Hey mom! I'm hot blooded. Got a fever of 103. Hot blooded, Hot blooded" Really it is super cute. One of these days I am totally going to surprise you with a very current song.

This one is for you friends.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with love and laughter. Be well my Friends.

Home school days; Beowulf and Disguises

Sometimes when we are doing school (yeah, it sounds like we are playing school instead of learning,but we all learn most days.) one of my favorite things is when Damian reads to us.





He is reading Beowulf.

He is a very expressive reader. He reads with passion just like his father.

He even makes sure that we see the pictures.

James does school work too. We have a starfall app on the Ipad.

Which is happy to use when he wants to do school work.

Sometimes we take a break from math to have lunch.

Honestly the last week we have been relaxed on all of the school work slowly building up to the new school year. That and it is the first week of my little summer vacation from college so I have been crocheting slippers, scarves,a purse, and planning out hats and blankets. So you see this week I have been the problem. That is really hard to admit to being the problem. Monday marks the start of our six weeks on one week off schedule. The only problem I see in my future is James. Unless he wants to learn during his time he will fight me tooth and nail. Really our conversation goes like this:

Me, "James repeat after me, A is the first vowel we say"

James, "No"

Me, "A is the first vowel we say"

James, ". . . "

Me, "James repeat after me, a is the short A Sound"

James is looking at the yellow walls behind the table, "No. I am done."

Me, "James, What is the short a sound"

James, "P!"

Me, "a is the short a sound."

James, "I done?"

Me, "Point to the A" there is a card in front of him

James points to the card, "Now?"

Me, "Um, I guess."



James thinks I will not recognize him and make him do school work in this disguise.



James is a very independent little boy who likes to do things on his time and wants to learn things on his own. This kid potty trained himself at two years old while we were living in a hotel room (when we moved here). This kid decided to pull himself up to a standing position at six months old and was running by eight months. This kid decided to ride a two wheel bike with training wheels and just did. So every night I pray that he will learn to read from osmosis, that my constant jabber sinks in and he surprises me by reading a book by himself. I can hope. Keep in mind this kid did talk until he was two an a half. His speech therapist said his only problem was compliance. A nice way to say that he is super stubborn. Is my hair turning grey? Yes and falling out.

 I love my kids and most days I am happy that I have this job and I get to watch them grow and learn. I feel so blessed to have this life, to live this life, and to be me. You should be blessed to have your life. After all it is the only one we have. If you don't like how something is going do not be afraid to change. You are worthy of happiness.

I hope that today you are blessed with love and laughter. Be well my friends. 

It's pizza

I am a lazy lunch maker. It is the hardest meal for me to find creative ideas to put in front of my kids. Of course this is also the time I let the boys eat peanut butter sandwiches because they love them in all their forms. Today I decided to think outside of the box and made mini pizza's out of homemade Carta Di Musica bread. I am going to let you in on a little secret pizza crust is bread. Most breads are made with three basic ingredients water, flour, yeast. This recipe calls for a teaspoon of sugar and salt but it has a fancy name so I am sure it will taste better. No, you're probably right it will taste like pizza crust. One of the reasons I like to make pizza for my kids is I can put vegetables on the top and it is still pizza to the kids.

Today's pizza is a Zucchini with three cheeses.

First up the dough I used

1 1/4 cup water
4 cups flour (I used my trusty wheat but use what you have)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry yeast

Mix ingredients in a bowl in the order they are listed. You can add a little more water if the dough is too dry. Then knead on a lightly floured surface until it is a firm ball of dough. Let it rise for 30-60 minutes. Then you can roll out the dough for any size pizza.

So I have a secret weapon. This tortilla press makes perfect individual pizza rounds. I use the wax paper dusted with Masa (cornmeal) to keep the dough from sticking.

These babies have zucchini slices, mozzarella, french goat cheese, and Parmesan. I baked them at 450 for about 20-30 minutes.

Look at all that gooey melted cheese. Yum!

So when you make pizza use the ingredients that you have around the kitchen to make a healthy meal for your family. Trust me anything can go on a pizza. Cici's Pizza makes macaroni and cheese pizza. Throw some old favorites on it also if you do not have pizza sauce you don't need it. Be adventurous and create a yummy pizza for the whole family to enjoy. If you do have pizza sauce or even some leftover spaghetti sauce put a little the pizza, top with fresh mozzarella cheese (you can slice it or shred it. I slice it because it is easier),and fresh basil. This makes a margarita pizza another fancy name for pure goodness.

I hope that you have a wonderful day filled with Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Photo of the day May

Since I have no school for the whole month of May I am going to try a photo of the day challenge from http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/04/may-photo-day-list.html. I think it could be fun but I promise that if I can not commit to this one all the way I will lay off the photo challenges. Maybe, probably. I will totally try. The thing is I tend to get a little swept away by a good idea. I can visualize each of my pictures. The problem is I also get busy, flaky, tired, annoyed, or sidetracked by another totally awesome idea. I am a work in progress and sadly that also means that at times I am a smoking hot mess. Anyway without further ado:

Here is the list for the month of May.

They're open to however you want to interpret them:

1. peace {something peaceful, a peace sign etc}
2. skyline {where the sky meets land, can be buildings, the beach, forest, whatever!}
3. something you wore today {while you're wearing it or not}
4. fun! {something you do for fun - big or small}
5. bird {a bird in the sky, an ornament, a picture, a pet etc}
6. you {a self-portrait, a picture of a picture of you, your reflection in the mirror}
7. someone that inspires you {could be someone in real life, someone well-known}
8. a smell you adore {perfume, a food, flowers, anything!}
9. something you do everyday {share something from your daily routine}
10. a favourite word {a word that you love to say, write or read}
11. kitchen {can be a picture of your kitchen, something from a kitchen or a cafe kitchen etc}
12. something that makes you happy {a person, a thing, etc}
13. mum {a picture of your mum, the word mum, a mum, mother's day celebrations etc}
14. grass {the green stuff that grows on the ground etc}
15. love {something that represents love, something or someone you love}
16. what you're reading {a book, a newspaper, a blog, a sign, a note etc}
17. snack {something you're eating as a snack}
18. something you made {food, craft, a child, anything!}
19. a favourite place {a place you love being in}
20. something you can't live without {something you'd rather not go without in your life}
21. where you stand {take a photo of where you're standing}
22. pink {something pink}
23. technology {something that uses technology}
24. something new {what's something new in your life?}
25. unusual {share something a little odd or weird}
26. 12 o'clock {take a photo at noon or midnight, whatever you're doing}
27. something sweet {a candy/lolly, a cake, a person, something cute ... anything!}
28. the weather today {is it sunny, rainy, cloudy today? Shoot it!}
29. a number
30. your personality {show us your personality in a photo, a word etc}
31. something beautiful {share something beautiful in your life}

I hope that you are inspired by something wonderful today and that everyday is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Time to Jam

I have always wanted to learn how to make my own jellies, and jams. I love it when someone hands me a homemade jar of jelly, to me it is like a rare jewel being gifted to me. In fact if you must know when we get to travel home to visit my grandparents I always raid the pantry and leave with at least one big box of random jellies, jams, preserves, and whatnot. It is a taste of home that travels 3000 miles to my table and lasts kind of a long time. I personally have been nervous about making jelly. This little quark has more to do with my canner that I have only just started using within the last year. When my husband and mother in law first gave this giant scary looking metal pot to me it felt like I could cook my small child in there. We eyed each other (the canner and me) and I happily pretended that it was the best gift I have ever gotten. I put it away just out of sight. Turns out the canner was saying, "Yes, we can be friends. I already like your wonky style." True story. As you know I have fallen in love with canning chicken broth, and turkey broth (fowl broth? um. that sounds a little like foul. so we will stick with chicken or turkey broth. sorry for the side track). Now I even use alone and can tell by sound when I need to lower the temperature. I never go far from that massive beast because I am still nervous. This last week I finally made my very own Raspberry Mango Jam and also I canned some dried beans but that is another story. Turns out it is not recommended to pressure can fruit all it needs is a really hot bath. Of course you know I have pictures.

Due to my utter lack of knowledge I bought a book and crossed refernced with my manual. 

In this pan 3 pounds of not chopped enough mango (I thought it would breakdown more), 12 ounces of frozen raspberries, and half a lemon worth of juice.

Four cups of sugar.

A helper trying to get the sugar.

Into the fruit instead.

I am so lucky to have two wonderful helpers. Even if they really only wanted to eat the Jam.

Boil the jelly jars.

And the fruit mixture. Then you carefully put jam into the jars. Try not to splash any of the boiling liquid on to your hands, chest or feet. It really hurts but is one way of knowing your almost done.

This recipe made 8 half pint jars of sparkling goodness.

Next time I will actually cut the mangoes a bit more.

This Jam was a great hit with the family and it is really easy to make.



I want to encourage you to make some homemade jelly for your family. There are tons of recipes out there for freezer jam/jelly. Also if you want to make jam with a hot water bath all you really need are some jars, a big pan with a fitted lid, a wide mouth funnel (if you can carefully pour jam into the jars with out spilling go for it. I need the funnel), and at least some tongs to help lift the hot jars out of the water. Good luck on your first batch of jam. I know you will love it.

I hope that your day is filled with jelly love and Sweet laughter. Be well my friends.