Our Bella has always been a strikingly capable child. As she's gotten older, she's shown her talents in different ways. One thing she particularly loves, and in which she excels, is cooking. The girl can bake just about anything. And, being that she eats a gluten...
We just returned home from a wonderful camping trip, which included a day at the Mother Earth News Fair. The Fair is something I've been wanting to attend for a long time and we weren't disappointed. If you're at all homestead-inclined and looking for some...
About a month ago on Facebook, I asked people to share their thoughts on that new-fangled Instant Pot. The results varied from "Can't live without it!!" to "Tell me more! I want to love it, too!" with nary a "No thanks" in the bunch. Intrigued, I hit the "Buy now...
(I think Kateri hit the "z" key and added it to the end of the word Bean. But I think it's funny, so I'll leave it there!) Welcome, July! Month of garden abundance. My green beans have just started to take off and I have a feeling I'll be buried in them soon. I...
(I'm pretty lucky to have that real, live garden fairy!) You can't argue the fact that homesteading is an expensive endeavor. We are homesteaders on a budgets, so we are very careful as to where we put our dollars. Sometimes, it's money invested with a quick...
I've always heard that radishes are one of the best vegetables to grow with kids, but I've never actually tried growing them until this year. They grow super fast and peak out of the soil surface when they're about ready to be harvested. We planted these radishes...
The bulk of this entry was originally posted on May 15, 2008, but it's worth a reprint! Today is the Feast of St Isidore the Farmer -- what a wonderful Saint for us to emulate. He didn't do anything grandiose or even all that notable. He was just an honest, hard...
Social media is ripe with complaining. It just seems to breed whine. I have seen so many stay at home mamas complaining about their husbands lately and this is a wifely trait that I've never understood. Slipping in to First Communion at the very last minute, as he'd...
(The girls are painted with blood root war paint!) This could be alternately titled "Mama Wants to Play with Her New Camera Lens". Mother's Day was crazy, with six kids, commencement at the college where Andrew works, and two First Holy Communions. But! I still...
Our sweet Kateri turns three today! I thought I would share the crazy that is her birthstory, since it is a key part of what brought us to our new home and wild homesteading life. We'd had our house on the market for the last couple of months of my pregnancy. It's...
We brought home a few additions to our wild flock the other day. Guinea fowl! Over half of our property is wooded, so ticks are prevalent. The kids are in and out of the woods most days, so tick checks are certainly part of our daily routines. Still, I'd love to...
Sun! We actually saw it today. And it was warm enough for the girls to play outside for a large part of the day. I grabbed my camera (ditched my phone! It's always so distracting.) and joined them on a walk to discover what was blooming and to check out the bee...
